History of New-York, from the first discovery to the year 1732 : to which is annexed, a description of the country, with a short account of the inhabitants, their religious and political state, and the constitution of the courts of justice in that colony

Presented to the

LIBRARY of the

UNIVERSITY OFTORONTO

LEGISLATIVE LI33A2Y

•HISTORY

OP

NEW-YORK*

HISTORY

«' \

' I

OF

NEW-YORK,

FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE YEAR M.DCC.XXXU.

TO WHICH IS ANNEXED, A DESCRIPTION OP THE COrNTSY, WITH A SHORT
ACCOUNT OP THE INHABITANTS, THEIIl KBKXGIOtrS AflM POLITICAL
STATE, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GOtfKTS OP
IN THAf COLONY.

Lo ! swarming O\T U«> new, di.n-oi'er'd world,

Gay ortonies extend j U^^loi fetreat

Of undeserved distress ..... .. ... ............ THOMSON

minor e*t it'r/ws, quam

., parta tueri,

BY WILLIAM SMITH, A. M.

'H A CONTINUATION,

^&tfF 1732, to the Commencement of the Year 18U-

• » *• ' •

ALBANY;

PRINTED BY RYER SCHERMERHOK^
Sold by himself and G. Forbes, Albany ; H. Stockwell,vTroy^; A, Si
nnd Andrus & Starr, Hartford

District of New-York, &s.

BE it remembered, that on the thirtieth day of July, in the thirty-ninth year of the
Independence of the United States of America, Ryer Schermerhorn, of the said district,
has deposited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor,
in the words and figures following, to wit :

" History of New- York, from the first discovery to the year M.DCC.XXXII. To which is
annexed, a description of the country, with a short account of the inhabitants, their reli-
gious and political state, and the constitution of the courts of justice in that colony.

" Lo ! swarming o'er the new discovered world,
44 Gay colonies extend ; the calm retreat

" Of undeserv'd distress THOMSON.,

" Nee minor est virtus, quam quxrere, parta lueri.

" By William Smith, A. M With a continuation, from the year 1732, to the commence-
ment of the year 1814."

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled " An act for the
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books to the authors
and proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned." And also to an act,
entitled " an act supplementary to an act, entitled an act for the encouragement of learn-
ing, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of
such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to
the arts of designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints "

THEllOiN RUDD, Clerk of the District of New-York.

A D VER TISEMENT.

AN point of wealth, resources and importance, the
state of New- York is second to none in the Union.
She has been the theatre of interesting transactions
since her first colonization. The ambitious views of the
aspiring court of France, while it contiouled the Cana-
das, were frequently directed to her subjugation : arid
in repelling the incursions of the French and Indians,
much of her blood has been drawn, and much of her
treasure dissipated. The history of the founders of
this state is crouded with striking incidents. With a
bravery and vigour of soul, which, were they recorded
in Grecian or Roman history, would have exalted their
names, they defended their territory against invasion,
and their civil and religious rights from the encroach-
ments of arbitrary power. In truth, they possessed
an unusual portion of that proud spirit of freedom,
which looks indignantly upon chains, and spurns
coercion. In reviewing the conduct of our ancestors,
we find much to swell our bosoms with honourable
pride.

Little attention, however, has, hitherto, been directed
to the history of this state. While INew-Hampshire, Mas-
sachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and some other states,
possess accurate and valuable historical memoirs, of
recent date, New-York has been, for the last seventy
years, eutuely neglected. The history by Judge

VI.

Smith, is a work of established reputation, but it closes
when the more interesting events of our history begin
to develope. To supply this deficiency, as far as pro-
gress has been made, is the object of the continuation
to the present work. How far, and how successfully
this has been accomplished, is left to the decision of
the candid and impartial reader.

The historical facts have been collected from official
documents, so far as these were accessible ; and where
these were deficient recourse has been had to such
other sources as were entitled to credit.

In copying Smith's history, few deviations from his
mode of spelling the names of places, particularly such
as are derived from the aboriginal tongues, have been
made. It is believed that he adopted the mode of spell-
ing which conveyed most clearly the sound of Indian
words.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

EARL OF HALIFAX, VISCOUNT SUNBURY,
First Lord Commissioner of Trade and Plantations, &c. &c.
MY LORD,

I BEG your favourable acceptance of this short account of the
ancient and present state of the province of New- York.

It is not presented for your lordship's information. All the world
knows that the affairs of the British colonies have been, for several
years past, under your principal direction : and the wisdom of the mea-
sures pursued for their prosperity and defence, are indisputable argu-
ments of your acquaintance with their condition.

Nor am I induced to inscribe these pages to your lordship by inte-
rest, the common motive to addresses of this kind. Being, therefore,
uninfluenced by the principle, I shall not follow the example, of dedi-
cators ; but suppress those sentiments concerning your lordship, which
would, nevertheless, give offence only to yourself, and to those who
envy your talents and your virtues, and are enemies to their effects,
your reputation, and your power.

My lord, your ardent attention to the American plantations, and as-
siduous labours for their protection and growth, have laid us under the
most indispensable obligations to gratitude.

Your lordship will, therefore, excuse me for embracing this opportu-
nity to make a publick declaration of the deep sense I have of your
kind offices to my country, and to do myself the honour of testifying-,
that

I am, my lord, your lordship's

Most obedient and most humble servant,

WILLIAM SMITH,
New-York, June 15, 1756,

PREFACE.

WHOEVER considers the riumber and extent of
the British colonies, on this continent ; their climates,
soil, ports, rivers, riches, and numberless advantages,
must be convinced of their vast importance to Great
Britain ; and be at a loss to account for the ignorance
concerning them, which prevails in those kingdoms,
whence their inhabitants originally sprang. The mer-
chants indeed, by profitable experience, have not been
altogether unacquainted with our trade and our growth
— and some gentlemen of an inquisitive turn, by the
help of their correspondents, have obtained the know-
ledge of many other particulars equally important.
But the main body of the people conceive of these
plantations, under the idea of wild, boundless, inhos-
pitable, uncultivated desarts ; and hence the punish-
ment of a transportation hither, in the judgment of
most, is thought not much less severe, than an infa-
3nous death. Nay, appealing to facts, we may safely
assert, that even the publick boards, to whose care
these extensive dominions have been more especially
committed, attained but lately, any tolerable acquaint
tance with their condition. This is the more to be
wondered at, as it is natural to imagine, that the king's
governours have statedly transmitted full accounts of

x Preface.

their respective provinces. The case has been quite
otherwise. Governments were heretofore too often
bestowed upon men of mean parts, and indigent cir-
cumstances. The former were incapable of the task,,
and the latter too deeply engrossed by the sordid
views of private interest, either to pursue or study our
common weal. The worst consequences have result-
ed from these measures. Perpetual animosities being
engendered between the governours, and the people
subjected to their authority ; aril attempts for conciliat-
ing the friendship of the Indians, promoting the fur
trade, securing the command of the lakes, protecting
the frontiers, and extending our possessions far into
the inland country, have too often given place to par-
ty projects and contracted schemes, equally useless
and shamefuL The conduct of the French has been
just the reverse : in spite of all the disadvantages of
a cold climate, a long and dangerous navigation up
the river of St. Lawrence, a rough, barren, unsettled*
country, locked up from all communication with the
ocean, the greatest part of the year ; I say, notwith-
standing these difficulties, they have seized all the ad-
vantages which we have neglected. The continent,
for many hundred leagues, has been thoroughly ex-
plored, the main passes fortified, innumerable tribes
of Indians, either won over to their interest,t subdued
or bridled, the fur trade engrossed, a communication
maintained between the extremes of New-France, the
British colonies restricted to scant limits along: the sea

* " Encore moins peuple." Charlevoix.

f " Notre nation, la seule, qui ait eu le secret de gagner reflection-
des Amcriquains."

Preface. xi

r-liore, and nothing left remaining for the establishment
of a vast empire, but to open a free water passage to
the ocean, by the conquest of the province of New-
York.

If the governours of these plantations had formerly
been animated by the same generous and extensive
views, which inspired Mr. Burnet ; the long projected
designs of our common enemy might, with the aid of
Great Britain, have been many years ago supplanted,
or at least defeated, at a trifling expense, But alas !
little, too little, attention has been had to these impor-
tant affairs, till the late encroachments on the river
Ohio, in the province of Pennsylvania, gave the alarm,
and the ministry were apprised of the French machi-
nations, by the seasonable representations of General
Shirley ; and if the colonies have now attracted the
notice of his majesty and his parliament, their grateful
acknowledgments are due principally to the noble
lord, to whom these sheets are dedicated, for his laud-
able enquiries into their state, and his indefatigable
zeal and industry for their defence and prosperity.

At present our affairs begin- to wear a more smiling
aspect. We are under the guardianship of a sovereign
who delights in the welfare of his people \ are respect-
ed by a parliament, affected with a generous sympa-
thy for the distresses of their fellow subjects, in all
their dispersions ; and by a wise improvement of the
British aids, it is hoped, we shall be able to retrieve
the ill consequences of our long, reproachful, and in-
sensible security.

Formerly the colonies were at home disregarded
and despised, nor can any other reason be assigned for
it, than that they were unknown. This is, in a great

Sii* Preface.

degree, to be imputed to ourselves. If our governours
withheld those informations, which their duty required
them to have given, persons of private character ought
to have undertaken that useful and necessary task.
But, except some accounts of the settlements in the
Massachusetts Bay and Virginia, all the other histo-
ries of our plantations upon the continent are little
else than collections of falsehoods, and worse than
none. That this charge against those published con-
cerning this province, in particular, can be fully sup-
ported, I persuade myself, will incontestably appear
from the following summary, concerning which I shall
say a few words.

Having been formerly concerned, according to an
appointment by act of assembly, in a review and di-
gest of our provincial laws, it wras the duty of myself,
and my partner in that service, to peruse the minutes
of the council, and the journals of the general assem-
bly, from the glorious revolution, at the accession of
king William, to the year 1751 • and as an acquaint-
ance with our publick transactions, was a branch of
instruction, of which a student for the profession of
the law ought not to be ignorant, I have since re-
examined those entries, beginning with the first min-
utes of council, and read over many of the records
in the secretary's office. From these authentick ma-
terials, the following pages were, in a great measure,
compiled. For many of those parts, which concern
pur affairs with the French and the Indians, antece*
dent to the peace of Ryswick, in 1697, I am bound to
inake liberal acknowledgments to Dr. Golden, the au-
thor of the history of the Five Nations.

Mr. Alexander, a gentleman eminent in the law,

Preface*

and equally distinguished for his humanity, generosi-
ty, great abilities, and honourable stations, supplied
me with some useful papers ; and has left behind
him a collection, that will be very serviceable to any
gentleman who may hereafter incline to continue this
narrative, through the administrations of Mr. Cosby,
and Lieutenant-Governour Clarke. The draught of
this work was unfinished, at the time of Mr. Alexan-
der's decease ;* and therefore, as it never passed un-
der his examination, many important additions are
lost, which his long and intimate acquaintance with
the affairs of this province would have enabled him to
supply.

When I began 'to frame this digest, it was only in~-
tended for private use ; and the motives which now
induce me to publish it, are the gratification of the
present thirst in Great Britain after American intelli-
gences : contributing, as far as this province is con-
cerned, to an accurate history of the British empiref
in this quarter of the world ; and the prospect of do-
ing some small service to my country, by laying be-
fore the publick a summary account of its first rise
and present state.

Influenced by these views, I am not so regardless
of the judgment of others, as not to wish it may be, in

* He died on the 2d of April, 1756.

f As the provinces are different in their constitutions, and with
respect to government, independent of each other ; no general history
of America can be expected, till gentlemen of leisure will draw up
particular accounts of the respective colonies with which (her are
acquainted.

xiv Preface.

some measure, acceptable. To please all sorts of rea*
ders I know is impossible : he who writes with such
hopes, is a stranger to human nature, and will be in-
fallibly disappointed. My design is rather to inform
than please. He who delights only in pages shining
with illustrious characters, the contentions of armies,
the rise and fall of empires, and other grand events,
must have recourse to the great authors of antiquity.
A detail of the little transactions, which concern a co-
lony, scant in its jurisdiction, and still struggling with
the difficulties naturally attending its infant state, to
gentlemen of this taste, can furnish no entertainment.
The ensuing narrative, (for it deserves not the name of
a history, though for brevity's sake I have given it
that title) presents us only a regular thread of simple
facts ; and even those unembellished with reflections,
because they themselves suggest the proper remarks,
and most readers will doubtless be best pleased with
their own. The sacred laws of truth have been in-
fringed neither by positive assertions, oblique, insidious,
hints, wilful suppressions, or corrupt misrepresenta-
tion. To avoid any censure of the kind, no reins have
been given to a wanton imagination, for the invention
of plausible tales, supported only by light probabili-
ties ; but choosing rather to be honest and dull, than
agreeable and false, the true import of my vouchers
hath been strictly adhered to and regarded.

With respect to its style, the criticks, in that branch
of literature, are at full liberty to condemn at their
pleasure. The main use of language is to express our
ideas. To write in the gay, pleasing, pomp of diction,
is above my capacity. If any are disposed to blame
me for being too verbose, let it be remembered that

Preface* ±v

this is the indefeasible right of my profession, founded
upon immemorial prescription. Perspicuity is all I have
endeavoured to maintain, nor am I at leisure to study
any higher attainments in language,

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.

PART I.

From the Discovery of the Colony to the Surrender

in 1664.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, a Genoese, em-
ployed by Ferdinand and Isabel, king and queen of
Castile, was the first discoverer of America.* He
sailed from St. Lucar in August, 1492, and made
sight of one of the Bahama islands on the eleventh of
October following. Newfoundland and the main con-
tinent, were discovered five years after, by Sebastian
Gabato, a Venetian, in the service of Henry VII. of
England, from the 38th to the 68th degree of north
latitude.

On the tenth of April, 1606, king James I. for plant-
ing two colonies, passed the great north and south
Virginia patent. To Sir Thomas Gates and others,
leave was given to begin a plantation, at any place on
the continent, tkey should think convenient, betweeri

* Some authors alledge, that Columbus first offered his services to
the republick of Genoa ; then to John II, of Portugal, and afterwards
to our king Henry VII ; but this disagrees with Lord Bacon's ac-
count, who informs us, that Christopher Columbus sailed, before hisr
brother Bartholomew had laid the project before the king, which was
to his falling into the hands of pirates on his way to England.

3

18 History of New- York.

the 34th and 41st degrees of latitude : and all the lands
extending fifty miles, on each side, along the coast, one
hundred miles into the country, and all the islands
within one hundred mites opposite their plantations,
were granted in fee, to be called the first colony. By
the same patent, a like quantity was granted to Tho-
mas Henham, Esq. and others, for a plantation between
38 and 45 degrees of latitude, under the name of the
second colony. The first began a settlement in the
great bay, (Chesapeake) in 1607. The latter was plant-
ed at Plymouth, in New-England, 1620.

Henry Hudson, an Englishman, according to our au-
thors, in the year 1608,=* under a commission from the
king his master, discovered Long Island, New-York,
and the river which still bears his name ; and afterwards
sold the country, or rather his right, to the Dutch.
Their writers contend, that Hudson was sent out by the
East-India company in 1609, to discover a north west
passage to China ; and that having first discovered Del-
aware bay, he came hither and penetrated up Hudson's
river, as far north as the latitude of 43°. It is said,
however, that there was a sale, and that the English ob-
jected to it, though they for some time neglected to
oppose the Dutch settlement of the country.

In 1610, Hudson sailed again from Holland to this
country, called by the Dutch, New-Netherland ; and
four years after, tiie States General granted a patent to
sundry merchants, for an exclusive trade on the North

* Charlevoix, a French Jesuit, author of the General History of
New-France, thinks this discovery was in 1609, vol. I. 12mo. edition,
p. 221. But Stith, Douglas, Oldmixon, and ether English writer?
agree that Hudson's first voyage was in the preceding year.

History of New-York, 19

River, who in 1614 built a fort, on the west side, near Al-
bany, which was first commanded by Henry Christiaens.
Captain Argal was sent out by sir Thomas Dale, go-
vernour of Virginia, in the same year, to dispossess the
French of the two towns of Port-Royal and St. Croix,
lying on each side of the bay of Fundy in Acadia, then
claimed as pail of Virginia*. In his return, he visited
the Dutch on Hudson's river, who being unable to re-
sist hi-n, prudently submitted for the present to the king
of England, and under him to the governour of Vir-
ginia. The very next year, they erected a foil on the
south-west point of the island Manhattans, and two oth-
ers in 1623 : one called Good-Hope, on Connecticut
river, and the other Nassau, on the east side of Dela-
ware bay. The author of the account of New-Nether-
landf asserts, that the Dutch purchased the lands on
both sides of that river in 1632, before the English were
settled in those parts ; and that they discovered a little
fresh river, farther to the east, called Varsche Riviertie,
to distinguish it from Connecticut river, known among
them, by the name of Varsche Rivier, which Vander-
donk also claims for the Dutch.

* Charlevoix places this transaction in 1613. VoL I. Hist, of New-
France, in 12mo, p. 210. But Stith, whom I follow, being a clergy-
man in Virginia, had greater advantages of knowing the truth than the
French Jesuit.

f The pamphlet is entitled, " Beschryvinghe van Virginia, Neiuw
Nederland," &c, and was printed at Amsterdam in 1651. It contains
two descriptions of the Dutch possessions. The first is a copy of that
published by John De Laet, at Leyden. The second gives a view of
this country several years after, in 1649. A short representation of
the country of the Mahakuase Indians, written in 1641, by John Me-
gapolensis, jun. a Dutch minister residing here, is annexed to that part
of the pamphlet concerning JNcw-NelherJand.

20 History of New-York.

Determined upon the settlement of a colony, the States
General made a grant of the country, in 1621, to the
West-Ind> company. AYouter Van T wilier, arrived at
Fort- Amsterdam, now New- York, and took upon him-
self the government in June, 1629. His style, in the pa-
tents granted by him, was thus, " We director and coun-
cil, residing in New-Netherland on the island Manhat-
tans, under the government of their high mightinesses,
the lords States General of the United Netherlands, and
the privileged West-India company." In his time the
New-England planters extended their possession West-
ward as far as Connecticut river. Jacob Van Curlet,
the commissary there, protested against it, and in the
second year of the succeeding administration, under
William Kieft,* who appears first in 1638, a prohibi-
tion was issued, forbidding the English trade at fort
Good-Hope ; and shortly after, on complaint of the in-
solence of the English, an order of council was made for
sending more forces there, to maintain the Dutch terri-
tories. Dr. Mather confesses, that the New-England
men first formed their design of settling Connecticut riv-
er in 1635, before which time, they esteemed that river,
at least 100 miles from any English settlement ; and that
they first seated themselves there in 1636, at Hartford,
near fort Good-Hope, at Weathersfield, Windsor, and
Springfield. Four years after, they seized the Dutch
garrison, and drove them from the banks of the river,

* We have no books among our Dutch records remaining in the secre-
tary's office, relating to state matters, before Kieft's time, nor auy enrol-
pent of patents, till the year after Van T\viller arrived here. Mr. J»-
pb Goelet supplied us with several extracts from the Dutch records;

History of N&v-YorJc. 21

having first settled New-Haven in 1638, regardless of
Kieft's protest against it.

The extent of New-Netherlandwasto Delaware, then
called South River, and beyond it ; for I find, in the
Dutch records, a copy of a letter from William Kieft,
May 6, 1638, directed to Peter Minuit*, who seems by
the tenour of it, to be the Swedish governour of New-
Sweden, asserting, "that the whole South River of New-
Netherland, had been in the Dutch possession many
years above and below, beset with forts, and sealed
with their blood." Which Kieft adds, has happened
even during your administration " in New-Netherland,
and so well known to you."

The Dutch writers are not agreed in the extent of
Nova Belgia, or New-Netherland ; some describe it to
be from Virginia to Canada ; and others inform us, that
the arms of the States General were erected at Cape Cod,
Connecticut, and Hudson's river, and on the west side
of the entrance into Delaware bay. The author of the
pamphlet mentioned in the notes gives Canada river for
a boundary on the north, and calls the country, north
west from Albany, Terra Incognita.

*' The anonymous Dutch author of the Description of ]NTew-I^ether-
land in 1649, calls him Minnewits ; and adds, that in 1638 he arrived
at Delaware with two vessels, pretending that he touched for refresh-
ment in his way to the West-Indies ; but that he soon threw off the
disguise, by employing his men in erecting a fort. The same historian
informs us, of the murder of several Dutch men, at South River, by
the Indians, occasioned by a quarrel, concerning the taking away the
States' arms, which the former had erected at the first discovery cf that
country; in resenting which an Indian had been killed. If Kiefi's let-
ter alludes to this affair, then Miuuit preceded Van T wilier, in the
chief command here ; and being perhaps disobliged by the Dutch,
entered iuto the service of the queen of Sweden.

22 History of New-York.

In 1640, the English, who had overspread the eastern
pail of Long Island, advanced to Oysterbay. Kieft
broke up their settlement in 1 642, and fitted out two
sloops to drive the English out of Schuylkill, of which
the Marylanders had lately possessed themselves. The
instructions, dated May 22, to Jan Jansen Alpendam,
who commanded in that enterprise, are upon record,
and strongly assert the right of the Dutch, both to the
soil and trade there. The English from the eastward
shortly after sent deputies to New- Amsterdam, for the
accommodation of their disputes about limits, to whom
the Dutch offered the following conditions, entered in
their books exactly in these words :

" Conditiones a D. Directore Gen. senatuys Novi
" Belgii, Dominis Weytingh atque Hill, Delegatis
" a nobili Senatu Hartfordiensi, oblate :

" Pro Agro nostro Hartfordiensi, annuo persolvent
" Prsepoteritiss. D. D. Ordinibus Feed. Provinciarmn
** Belgicarum ant eorum Vicariis, decimam Partem
" Rcventus Agrorum, turn Aratro, turn Ligone, aliove
" Ctiltorum medio ; Pomariis, Hortisq ; Oleribus di-
** catis, Jugerum Hollandium non excedentibus ex-
*c ceptis ; aut Decimarum Loco, Pretium nobile postea
" const it uenduin, tain diu qua, in diu possessores ejus-
*' clem Agri futuri erunt. Actum in Arce Amsteloda-
" mensi in novo Belgio, Die Julii 9 Anno Christi 1642.'*

We have no account that the English acceded to
these proposals, nor is it probable, considering their
superior strength, that they ever did : on the contrary,
they daily extended their possessions, and in 1643 the
colonies of the Massachusetts' Bay, Plymouth, Connect-
icut, and New-Haven, entered into a league both
against the Dutch and Indians, and grew so powerful

History of Ncn-York. 23

as to meet shortly after, upon a design of extirpating the
former. The Massachusetts' Bay declined this enter-
prise, which occasioned a letter to Oliver Cromwell
from William Hooke, dated at New-Haven, November
3, 1653, in which he complains of the Dutch, for supply-
ing the natives with arms and ammunition, begs his assis-
tance with two or three frigates, and that letters might be
sent to the eastern colonies, commanding them to join
in an expedition against the Dutch colony. Oliver's af-
fairs would not admit of so distant an attempt,* but
Richard Cromwell afterwards drew up instructions to his
commanders for subduing the Dutch here, and wrote let-
ters to the English American governments for their aid ;
copies of which are preserved in Thurloe's collection,
vol. l.p. 721,&c.

Peter Stuy vesant wras the last Dutch governour, and

* The war between him and the States, which began in July, 1 652,
was concluded by a peace on the fifth of April, 1(354. The treaty
makes no particular mention of this country. If any part of it can be
considered as relating to the American possessions, it is to be found m
the two first articles, which are in these words : " Imprimis, It is
agreed and concluded, that, from this day forwards, there be a true,
firm, and inviolable peace, a sincere, intimate and close friendship,
affinity, confederacy, and union, betwixt the republick of England and
the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and die
lands, countries, cities, and towns, under the dominions of each, without
distinction of places, together with their people and inhabitants of what-
soever degree.

" II. That hereafter all enmity, hostility, discord, and contention
betwixt the said republicks, and their people and subjects, shall cease,
and both parties shall henceforwards abstain from the committing all
manner of mischief, plunder, and injuries, by land, by sea, and on tiie
fresh waters, in all their lauds, countries, dominions, places, and govern-
ments whatsoever,

:!4 History oj New-York.

thougli be bad a commission in 1646, lie did not begin
bis administration tiJl May 27, 1647. Tlie inroads and
claims upon bis government, kept him constantly em-
ployed. New-England on the east, and Maryland on
the west, alarmed bis fears by their daily increase ; and
about the same time captain Forrester, a Scotchman,
claimed Long Island for the dowager of Stirling. The
Swedes too we re perpetually incroaching upon Delaware.
Through the unskilfulness of the mate, one Deswyck, a
Swedish captain and supercargo arrived in Raritan riv-
er. The ship was seized, and himself made a prisoner
at New-Amsterdam. Stuyvesant's reasons were these.
In 1651, the Dutch built foil Casimir, now called New-
castle, on Delaware. The Swedes, indeed, claimed the
country, and Printz, their governour, formally protested
against the works. Risingh, his successor, under the
disguise of friendship, came before the fortress, fired
two salutes, and landed thiily men, who were entertain-
ed by the commandant as friends ; but he had no sooner
discovered the weakness of the garrison, than he made
himself master of it, seizing also upon all the ammuni-
tion, houses, and other effects of the West-India com-
pany, and compelling several of the people to swear
allegiance to Christina, queen of Sweden. The Dutch,,
in 1655, prepared to retake fort Casimir. Stuyvesant
commanded the forces in person, and arrived with them
in Delaware the 9th of September. A few days after,
be anchored before the garrison, and landed his troops.
The fortress was immediately demanded as Dutch pro-
perty : Suen Scutz, the commandant, desired leave to
consult Risingh, which being refused, be surrendered
the 16th of September on articles of capitulation. The
whole strength of the place consisted of four cannon.

History of New- York. i ,

fourteen pounders, five swivels, and a parcel of small
arms, which were all delivered to the conquered* Fort
Christina was commanded by Risingh. Stuyvesant
came before it, and Risingh surrendered it upon terms
the 25th of September. The country being thus sub-
dued, the Dutch governour issued a proclamation, in
favour of such of the inhabitants, as would submit to the
new government, and about thirty Swedes swore, " Fi-
delity and obedience to the States General, the lords di-
rectors of the West-India company, their subalterns of
the province of New-Netherlands, and the director
general then, or thereafter, to be established." Ri-
singh and one Elewych, a trader of note, were order-*
ed to France, or England, and the rest of the Swedish
inhabitants to Holland, and from thenee to Gottenberg,
The Swedes being thus extirpated, the Dutch became
possessed of the West side of Delaware bay, now call-
ed the three lower counties.

This country wras afterwards under the command oi
lieutenant-governours, subject to the controul of, and
commissioned by, the director general at New-Amster-
dam, lohan Paul Jaquet was the first vice-director, or
lieutenant-governour, of South River, His successors
were Alricks, Hinojossa and William Beekman. The
posterity of the last remains amongst us to this day.
These lieutenants had power to grant lands, and their
patents make a part of the ancient titles of the present
possessors. Alrick's commission, of the 12th of April,
1657, shews the extent of the Dutch claim on the west
side of Delaware at that time. He was appointed " Di-
rector general of the colony of the South River of New-
Netherlands, and the fortress of Casimir, now called
Niewer Aoistel, with all the lands depending thereon,

4

26 History of Nen-York*

according to the first purchase and deed of release of
the natives, dated July 19, 1651, beginning at the west
side of the Minquaa, or Christina Kill, in the Indian
language named Suspecough, to the mouth of the bay,
or river called Bompt-Hook, in the Indian language
Gannaresse; and so far inland as the bounds and limits
of the Minquaas land, with all the streams, &c. appur-
tenances, and dependencies." Of the country north-
ward of the kill, no mention is made. Orders in 1 658
were given to William Beekman to purchase Cape Hin-
lopen from the natives, and to settle and fortify it,
which, for want of goods, was not done till the succeed-
ing yeaiv

In the year 1659, fresh troubles arose from the Mary-
land claim to the lands on South River; and in Septem-
ber Colonel Nathaniel Utie, as commissioner from Fen-
dal lord Baltimore's governour, arrived at Niewer Am-
stel from Maryland. The country was ordered to be
evacuated, lord Baltimore claiming all the land, be-
tween 38 and 40 degrees of latitude, from sea to sea.
Beekman and his council demanded evidence of his
lordship's right, and offered to prove the States General's
grant to the West-India company, their payment to
them for the land and possession ; and upon the whole
proposed to refer the controversy to the republicks of
England and Holland, praying at the same time, three
weeks to consult Stuyvesant, the genera]. The com-
missioner, notwithstanding, a few days after, warned
him to draw of, beyond the latitude of 40° : but Beek-
man disregarded the threat. Colonel Utie thereupon re-
turned to Maryland, and an immediate invasion was ex-
pected.

Early in the spring of the year 1660, Nicholas Yap-

History vf New- York. 21

3eth, and Brian Newton, were dispatched from fort Am-
sterdam to Virginia, in quality of ambassadors, with
full power to open a trade, and conclude a league, of-
fensive and defensive against the barbarians. William
Berckley, the governour, gave them a kind reception,
approved their proposal of peace and commerce, which
Sir Henry Moody was sent here to agree upon and per-
fect. Four articles, to that purpose, were drawn up,
and sent to the governour for confirmation. Stuyve-
sant artfully endeavoured, at this treaty, to procure an
acknowledgement of the Dutch title to the country,
which Berckley as carefully avoided. This was his an-
swer :

" SIR,

" I have received the letter, you were pleased to
send me, by Mr. Mills his vessel, and shall be ever
ready to comply with you, in all acts of neighbourly
friendship and amity. But truly, sir, you desire me to
do that, concerning your titles, and claims to land, in
this northern part of America, which I am in no capa-
city to do ; for I am but a servant of the Assembly's :
neither do they arrogate any power to themselves, far-
ther than the miserable distractions of England force
them to. For when God shall be pleased in his mercy,
to take away and dissipate the unnatural divisions of
their native country, they will immediately return to
their own professed obedience- What then they should
do in matters of contract, donation, or confession of
right, would have little strength or signification ; much
more presumptive and impertinent, would it be in me
to do it, without their knowledge or assent. We shall
very shortly naeet again, and then, if to them you signi-

28 History of New- York,

fy your desires, I shall labour all I can, to get you a
satisfactory answer.

" I am, sir,

" Your humble servant,
" WILLIAM BERCKLEY."

" Virginia, August 20, 1660.'!

Governour Stuyvesant was a faithful servant of the
West-India company : this is abundantly proved by
his letters to them, exciting their care of the colony.
In one, dated April 20, 1660, which is very long and
pathetidk, representing the desperate situation of affairs
on both sides of the New-Netherlands, he writes, " Your
honours imagine, that the troubles in England will pre-
vent any attempt on these parts : alas ! they are ten
to one in number to us, and are able without any assis-
tance, to deprive us of the country when they please."
On the 25th of June, the same year, he informs them,
*' that the demands, encroachments, and usurpation, of
the English, gave the people here great concern. The
right to both rivers, says he, by purchase and possession
is our own, without dispute. We apprehend, that they,
our more powerful neighbours, lay their claims under a
;royal patent, which we are unable hitherto to do in
jour name.*" Colonel Utie being unsuccessful the

* If we should argue, from this letter, that the West-India company
bad DO grants of the New-Netherlands, from the States General, as
some suppose, we discredit De Laet's History, dedicated to the States
in 1624, as veil as all the Dutch writers, and even Stuyvesant himself,
who, in his letter to Richard Nicolls, at the surrender, asserts that
they had a grant, and shewed it under seal to the English deputies.
But the genuine construction of the Dutch governour's letter, is this,
that in 1660. he had not the patent to the West-India company, to lay
before the English in America, who disputed the Dutch right to this
-country.

History of New-York. 23

Jast year, in his embassy for the evacuation of the
Dutch possessions on Delaware, Lord Baltimore, in au-
tumn, 1660, applied, by captain Neal, his agent, to the
West-India company, in Holland, for an order on the
inhabitants of South River to submit to his authority,
which they absolutely refused, asserting their right to
4hat part of their colony.

The English, from New-England, were every day en-
croaching upon the Dutch. The following letter, from
Stuyvesant to the West-India company, dated July 21,
1661, shews the state of the colony at that time, on both
sides. " We have not yet begun the fort on Long Is-
land, near Oysterbay, because our neighbours lay the
boundaries a mile and an half more westerly, than we
do, and the more as your honours, by your advice of
December 24, are not inclined to stand by the treaty of
Hartford, and propose to sue for redress on Long Island
and the Fresh Water River, by means of the States' am-
bassador. Lord Sterling is said to solicit a confirtna-
tion of his right to all Long Island, and importunes the
present king, to confirm the grant made by his royal
father, which is affirmed to be already obtained. But
more probable, and material, is the advice from Mary-
land, that Lord Baltimore's patent, which contains the
south part of South River, is confirmed by the king,
and published in print : that Lord Baltimore's natural
brother, who is a rigid papist, being made governour
there, has received Lord Baltimore's claim, and protest
to your honours in council, (wherewith he seems but lit-
tle satisfied) and has now more hopes of success. We
have advice from England, that there is an invasion in-
tended against these parts, and the country solicited of

30 History of ^few-York.

the king, the duke, and the parliament, is to be annex-
ed to their dominions ; and for that purpose, they desire
three or four frigates, persuading the king, that the
company possessed and held this country under an un-
lawful title, having only obtained of king James leave
for a watering place on Staten Island, in 1623."

In August 1(563, a ship arrived from Holland at
South River, with new planters, ammunition, and im-
plements of husbandry. Lord Baltimore's son landed a
little after, and was entertained byBeekman at Niewer
Amstel. This was Charles, the son of Cecilius, who in
3661, had procured a grant and confirmation of the pa-
tent, passed in favour of his father in 1632. The pa-
pistical principles of the Baltimore family, the charge of
colonizing, the parliamentary war with Charles I. and
Oliver's usurpation, all conspired to impede the settle-
ment of Maryland, till the year 1661. And these con-
siderations account for the extension of the Dutch li-
mits, on the west side of Delaware bay.

While the Dutch were contending with their Euro-
pean neighbours, they had the ail always to maintain a
friendship with the natives, until the war which broke
out this year with the Indians at Esopus, now Ulster
county. It continued, however, but a short season.
The Five Nations never gave them any disturbance,
which was owing to their continual wars with the French
who settled at Canada in 1603. I have before observ-
ed, that Oliver Cromwell was applied to, far his aid in
the reduction of this country, and that his son Richard
took some steps towards accomplishing the scheme ;
the work was however reserved for the reign of Charles
II. an indolent prince, and entirely given up to pleasure,
who was driven to it, more perhaps, by the differences

History of New-York. 31

then subsisting between England and Holland, than by
any motive that might reflect honour upon his prudence,
activity, and publick spirit. Before this expedition, the
king granted a patent on the 12th of March, 1664, to his
brother, the duke of York and Albany, for sundry
tracts of land in America, the boundaries of which, be-<
caifse they have given rise to important and animated
debates, it may not be improper to transcribe.

" All that part of the main land of .New-England, be-
ginning at a certain glace, called or known by the name
of St. Croix, next adjoining to New-Scotland in Ameri-
ca, and from thence extending along the sea coast, unto
a certain place call eel Pemaquie, or Pemequid, and so
up the river thereof, to the furthest head of the same,
as it tendeth northward ; and extending from thence*
to the river of Kimbequin, and so upwards, by the
shortest course, to the river Canada northward : and
also all that island, or islands, commonly called by the
several name or names of Meitowacks, or Long Island,
situate and being towards the west of Cape Cod, and
the narrow Higansetts, abutting upon the main land,
between the two rivers, there called or known by the
several names of Connecticut and Hudson's river, to-
gether also with the said river, called Hudson's river,
and all the land from the West side of Connecticut
river, to the east side of Delaware bay, and also, all
those several islands, called or known by the names of
Martin's Vineyard, or Nantuck's, otherwise Nantucket :
together, &c. "

Part of this tract was conveyed by the duke, to John
lord Berkley, baron of Stratton, and sir George Car-
teret of Saltrum in Devon, who were then members of
the king's council. The lease was for the consider?!-

4,2 History of New-York.

tion of ten shillings, and dated the 23d of June, 1664,
The release, dated the next day, mentions no particu-
lar sum of money, as a consideration for the grant of
the lands, which have the following description :

" All that tract of land, adjacent to New-England,
and lying and being to the westward of Long Island,
and bounded on the east part by the main sea, and
partly by Hudson's river; and hath upon the west,
Delaware bay, or. river, and extendeth southward, to
the main ocean as far as Cape May, at the mouth of
Delaware bay : and to the northward, as far as the
northermost branch of the said bay or river of Delaware,
which is forty one degrees and forty minutes of lati-
tude : which said tract of land is hereafter to be called
by the name, or names of Nova Csesarea, or New-
Jersey."

Thus the New-Netherlands became divided into New-
Jersey, so called after the isle of Jersey, in compli-
ment to sir George Carteret, whose family came from

thence ; and New- York, which took its name in hon-
pur of the duke of York.

The Dutch inhabitants, by the vigilance of their gov-
ernour, were not unapprised of the designs of the
English court against them, for their records testify,
that on the 8th of July, " The general received intel-
ligence, from one Thomas Willet, an Englishman, that/
an expedition was preparing in England, against this
place, consisting of two frigates of 40 and 50 guns, and
a fly boat of 40 guns, having on board three hundred
soldiers, and each frigate one hundred and fifty men,
and that they lay at Portsmouth, waiting for a wind."
News arrived also from Boston, that they had already
The burgomasters were thereupon called into

History of New- York. 33

council. The fortress was ordered to be put into a posture
of defence, and spies sent to Milford and Westchester
for intelligence. Boston was in the secret of the ex-
pedition, for the general court had in May preceding,
passed a vote for a supply of provisions, towards re-
freshing the ships on their arrival. They were four in
number, and resolved to rendezvous at Gardener's
Island in the Sound, but parted in a fog about the 20th
of July. Richard Nicolls and Sir George Carteret, two
of the commissioners, were on board the Guyny, and
fell in first with Cape Cod. The winds having blown
from the southwest, the other ships, with Sir Robert
Carr, and Mr* Mavenick, the remaining commissioners,
were rightly concluded, to be driven to the eastward.
After dispatching a letter to Mr. Winthrop, the go
vernour of Connecticut, requesting his assistance, Colo-
nel Nicolls, proceeded to Nantasket, and thence to
Boston. The other ships got into Piscataway. John
Endicot, a Very old man, was then go vernour of Boston,,
and incapable of business. The commissioners, therefore^
had a conference with the council, and earnestly im-
plored the assistance of that colony. Colonel Nieoll-
and Sir George Carteret, in their letter from Boston, to
Sir H. Bennet, secretary of state, complain much of
the backwardness of that province. The reasons urg-
ed in their excuse, were poverty and the season, it be-
ing the time of harvest ; but perhaps disaffection to the
Stewart family, whose persecuting fury had driven them
from their native country, was the true spring of their
Conduct. The king's success in the reduction of thf
Dutch, evidently opened him a door to come at hi?
fcnemies in New-England, who were far from

34 , History of New- York.

few * ; and whether this consideration might not have
given rise to the project itself, I leave to the conjectures
of others.

, On the 27th of July, Nicolls and Carteret made a
formal request in writing, " That the government of
Boston would pass an act to furnish them with armed
men, who should begin their march to the Manhattans,
on the 20th of August ensuing, arid promised, that if
they could get other assistance, they would give them
an account of it." The governour and council answer-
ed, that they would assemble the general court, and
communicate the proposal to them.
. From Boston, a second letter was written to gover-
nour Winthrop, in Connecticut, dated the 29th of July,
in which he was informed that the other ships were then
arrived, and would sail with the first fair wind, and he
was desired to meet them at the west end of Long Island.
One of the ships entered the bay of the North River,
several days before the rest ; and as soon as they were
all come up, Stiiyvesant sent a letter dated -i-f of Au-
gust, at Fort Anil, directed to the commanders of the
English frigates, by John Declyer, one of the chief
council, the Rev, John Megapolensis, minister, Paul

* T. Dixwel, Esq. one of Charles' I. judges, and excepted out of
the general pardon, lived many years at New-Haven, incog, in quality
of a country merchant : Sir Edmond Andross, in one of his tours
through the colony of Connecticut, saw him there at church, and
strongly suspected him to be one of the regicides. In his last illness,
lie revealed himself to the minister of the town, and ordered a small
stone to be set at the head of his grave, which I have often seen there,
inscribed T. D. Esq. W Lile at JNTew-Haveii, he went uuder the name
«>f John Dayis,

History of New-York. 35

Lunder Vander Grilft, major, and Mr. Samuel Mega-
polensis, doctor in physic, with the utmost civility, to
desire the reason of their approach, and continuing i»
the harbour of Naijarlij, without giving notice to the
Dutch, which (he writes) they ought to have done.

Colonel Nicolls answered the next day with a sum-
mons.

a To the honourable the governour, and chief council
at the Manhattans,

" Right worthy sirs,

" I received a Ic tter by some worthy persons intrust-
ed by you, bearing date the -y- of Aiugust, desiring
to know the intent of the approach of the English
frigates ; in return of which, I think it fit to let you
know, that his majesty of Great Britain, whose right and
title to these parts of America is unquestionable, well
knowing how much it derogates from his crown and
dignity, to suffer any foreigners, how near soever they
be allied, to usurp a dominion, and without his majesty's
royal consent, to inherit in these, or any other of his
majesty's territories, hath commanded me, in his name,
to require a surrender of all such forts, towns, or places
of strength, which are now possessed by the Dutch, un-»
der your commands ; and in his majesty's name, I do
demand the town, situate on the island, commonly
known by the name of Manhattoes, with all the forts
thereunto belonging, to be rendered unto his majesty's
obedience and protection, into my hands. I am further
commanded to assure you, and every respective inha-
bitant of the Dutch nation, that his majesty being ten-
der of the effusion of Christian blood, doth by these
presents, confirm and secure to every man his estate,
life, and liberty, who shall readily submit to his govern-:

|6 gistory of New- York.

pient. And all those who shall oppose tis majesty's
gracious intention, must expect all the miseries of a
war, which they bring upon themselves. I shall ex-
pect your answer by these gentlemen, Colonel George
Carteret, one of his majesty's commissioners in Ameri-
ca ; Captain Robert Needham, Captain Edward Groves,
and MJ-. Thomas Delavall, whom you will entertain
with such civility as is due to them, and yourselves^
and yours shall receive the same, from

" Dated on board his Worthy Sirs,

majesty's ship, the
Guyny, riding be- Your very humble servant,

fore Nay ch, the£-J

of Aug. 1 664. Richard Uncoils.

Mr,, Stuy vesant promised an answer to the summons
the next morning, and in the mean time convened the
council and burgomasters. The Dutch governour was
a good soldier, and had lost a leg in the service of the
States, He would willingly have made a defence ; and
refused a sight of the summons, both to the inhabitants
and burgomasters, lest the easy terms offered, might
induce them to capitulate. The latter, however, insist-
ed upon a copy, that they might communicate it to the
late magistrates and principal burghers. They called
together the inhabitants at the stadt house, and acquaint-
ed them with the governour's refusal. Governour Win-
throp, at the same time, wrote to the director arid his
council, strongly recommending a surrender. On the
22d of August, the burgomasters came again into
council, and desired to know the contents of the Eng-
lish message from Governour Winthrop, which Stuyve-
sant still refused. They continued their importunity ;
and he, in a fit of anger, tore it to pieces : upon which,
they protested against the act and all its consequence

History of Nem-York. 37

Determined upon a defence of the countiy, Stuyvesant
wrote a letter in answer to the summons, which, as it is
historical of the Dutch claim, will doubtless be accept-
able to the reader. The following is an exact trans-
cript of the record.

" My Lords,

" Your first letter, unsigned, of the $f August, to-
gether with that of this day, signed according to form,
being the first of September, have been safely delivered
into our hands by your deputies, unto which we shall
say, That the rights of his majesty of England, unto
any part of America hereabout, amongst the rest, unto
the colonies of Virginia, Maryland, or others in New-
England, whether disputable or not, is that which for
the present, we have no design to debate upon. But
that his majesty hath an indisputable right, to all the
lands in the north parts of America, is that, which the
kings of France and Spain will disallow, as we abso-
lutely do, by virtue of a commission given to me, by my
lords, the high and mighty States General, to be gover-
nour general over New-Holland, the Isles of Curacoa;
Bonaire, Aruba, with their appurtenances and depen-
dencies, bearing date the 26th July, 1646. As also by
virtue of a grant and commission, given by my said
lords, the high and mighty States General, to the West*
India company, in the year 1621, with as much power
and as authentick, as his said majesty of England hath
given, or can give, to any colony in America, as more
fully appears by the patent and commission of the said
lords, the States General, by them signed, registered,
and sealed with their great seal, which were shewed to
your deputies, Colonel George Carieret, Captain Ro-
bert Needharn, Captain Edward Groves, and Mr. Tho-

38 History of New-York.

mas Delavall ; by which commission and patent, to-
gether (to deal frankly with you) and by divers letters,
signed and sealed by our said lords, the States General,
directed to several persons, both English and Dutch, in-
habiting the towns and villages on Long Island, (which
without doubt, have been produced before you, by
those inhabitants) by which they are declared and ac-
knowledged to be their subjects, with express com-
mand, that they continue faithful unto them, under
penalty of incurring their utmost displeasure, which
makes it appear more clear than the sun at noon day,
that your first foundation, viz. (that the right and title,
of his majesty of Great Britain, to these parts of Amer-
ica is unquestionable) is absolutely to be denied. More-
over, it is without dispute, and acknowledged by the
world, that our predecessors, by virtue of the com-
mission and patent of the said lords, the States General,
have without controul and peaceably (the contrary ne-
ver coming to our knowledge) enjoyed Foil Orange,
about 48 or 50 years, the Manhattans about 41 or 42
years, the South River 40 years, and the Fresh Water
River about 36 years. Touching the second subject
of your letter, viz. " his majesty hath commanded me,
in his name, to require a surrender of all such forts,
towns, or places of strength, which now are possessed
by the Dutch, under your command ;" we shall answer,
that we are so confident of the discretion and equity of
his majesty of Great Britain, that in case his majesty
were informed of the truth, which is, that the Dutch
came not into these provinces, by any violence, but by
virtue of commissions from my lords, the States Gene-
ral, first of all in the years 1614, 1615 and 1616, up the
North River, near Fort Orange, where, to hinder the

History of New-York. 39

invasions and massacres, commonly committed by the
savages, they built a little fort, and after, in the year
1622, and even to this present time, by virtue of com-
mission and grant, to the governours of the West-India
company ; and moreover, in the year 1656, a grant to
the honourable the burgomasters of Amsterdam, of the
South River ; insomuch, that by virtue of the above-
said commissions fro in, the high and mighty States Gene-
ral, given to the persons interested as aforesaid, and
others, these provinces have been governed, and con-
sequently enjoyed, as also in regard of their first dis-
covery, uninterrupted possessions, and purchase of the
lands of the princes, natives of the country, and other
private persons (though gentiles) we make no doubt,
that if his said majesty of Great Britain, were well in-
formed of these passages, he would be too judicious to
grant such an order, principally in a time when there is
so straight a friendship, and confederacy, between our
said lords and superiors, to trouble us in the demanding
and summons of the places and fortresses, which were
put into our hands, with order to maintain them, in the
name of the said lords, the States General, as was made
appear to your deputies, under the names and seal of
the said high and mighty States General, dated the 28th
of July, 1646. Besides what had been mentioned, there
is little probability, that his said majesty of England
(in regard to the articles of peace are printed, and were
recommended to us to observe seriously and exactly,
by a letter written to us by our said lords, the States
General, and to cause them to be observed religiously
in this country) would give order touching so danger-
ous a design, being also so apparent, that none other
than my said lords, the States General, have any right

<10 History of New- Fork.

to these provinces, and consequently, ought to com*
marid and maintain their subjects, and in their absence,
we the goveraour general are obliged to maintain their
rights, and to repel and take revenge of all threaten-
ings, unjust attempts, or any force whatsoever, that
shall be committed against their faithful subjects and
inhabitants, it being a very considerable thing, to affront
so mighty a state, although it were not against an ally
and confederate. Consequently, if his said majesty
(as it is fit) were well informed, of all that could be
spoken upon this subject, he would not approve of what
expressions were mentioned in your letter ; which are,
that you are commanded by his majesty, to demand in
his name, such places and fortresses as are in the pos-
session of the Dutch under my government ; which, as
it appears by my commission before mentioned, wras
given me by my lords, the high and mighty States Gen-
eral. And there is less ground in the express demand
of my government, since all the world knows, that
about three years ago, some English frigates being on
the coast of Africa, upon a pretended commission, they
did demand certain places under the government of our
said lords, the States General, as Cape Vert, River of
Gambo, and alJ other places in Guyny, to them belong-
ing. Upon which, our said lords, the States General,
by virtue of the articles of peace, having made appear
the said attempt to his majesty of England, they receiv-
ed a favourable answer, his said majesty disallowing all
such acts of hostility, as might have been done, and
besides, gave order, that restitution should be made, to>
the East-India company, of whatsoever had been pillag-
ed, in the said river of Garnbo ; and likewise restored
them to their trade, which makes us think it necessary^

History of New-York. 41

that a more express order should appear unto us, as a
sufficient warrant for us, towards my lords, the high and
mighty States General, since by virtue of our said com-
mission, we do in these provinces, represent them, as
belonging to them, and not to the king of Great Britain,
except his said majesty, upon better grounds, makes it
appear to our said lords, the States General, against
which they may defend themselves, as they shall think
fit. To conclude : We cannot but declare unto you,
though the governours and commissioners of his majes-
ty have divers times quarrelled with us, about the
bounds of the jurisdiction, of the high and mighty the
States General, in these parts, yet they never question-
ed their jurisdiction itself ; on the contrary, in the year
1C50, at Hartford, and the last year at Boston, they
treated with us upon this subject, which is a sufficient
proof, that his majesty hath never been well informed
of the equity of our cause, insomuch as we cannot ima-
gine, in regard of the articles of peace, between the
crown of England and the States General, (under whom
there are so many subjects in America, as well as Eu-
rope) that his said majesty of Great Britain would give
a commission to molest and endamage the subjects of
my said lords, the States General, especially such, as
ever since fifty, forty, and the latest thirty-six years,
have quietly enjoyed their lands, countries, forts, and
inheritances ; and less, that his subjects would attempt
any acts of hostility, or violence against them : and in
case that you will act by force of arms, we protest and
declare, in the name of our said lords, the States Gen-
eral, before GOD and MEN, that you will act an unjust
violence, and a breach of the articles of peace, so
solemnly sworn, agreed upon, and ratified by his inajes*

0

i:i' tiislory of wefip

iy of England, and my lords, the States General, and
the rather, for that to prevent the shedding of blood,
in the month of February last, we treated with Captain
John Scott, (who reported he had a commission from
his said majesty) touching the limits of Long Island,
and concluded for the space of a year ; thai, in the mean
time, the business might be treated on between the king
of Great Britain, and my lords, the high and mighty
States General : and again, at present, lor the hindrance
and prevention of all differences, and the spilling of
innocent blood, not only in these parts, but also in
Europe, we offer unto you, a treaty by our depulier,
Mr. Cornelius Van Ruyven, secretary, and receiver of
New-Holland, Cornelius Steenwyck, burgomaster, Mr.
Samuel Megapolensis, doctor of physic, and Mr- James
Cousseau, heretofore sheriff. As touching the threat*
in your conclusion we have nothing to answer, only
that we fear nothing, but what GOD (who is as just
as merciful) shall lay upon us ; all things being in his
gracious disposal, and we may as well be preserved by
him, with small forces, as by a great army, which makes
us to wish you all happiness and prosperity, and re-
commend you to his protection. My lords, your thrice
humble, and affectionate servant and friend, signed, P,
Stuyvesant. — At the fort at Amsterdam, the second
of September, new style, 1664."

While the Dutch governour and council were contend-
ing with the burgomasters and people in the city, the
English commissioners published a proclamation* in

* It -was in these words ': " Forasmuch as his majesty hath sent us
by commission under the great seal of England, amongst other things,
tp expel, or to reduce to his majesty's obedience, all such foreigners^

History of New- York. 43

the country, encouraging the inhabitants to submit, and
promising them the king's protection and all the privi-
leges of subjects ; and as soon as they discovered by
Stuyvesant's letter, that he was averse to the surrender,
officers were sent to beat up for volunteers in Middle-
borough, Ulissen, Jamaica, and Hempsted, A warrant
was also issued to Hugh Hide, who commanded the
squadron, to prosecute the reduction of the fort ; and
an English ship then trading here, was pressed into the
service. These preparations induced Stuyvesant to
write another letter, on the 25th of August, old style,
wherein, though he declares that he would stand the
storm, yet to prevent the spilling of blood,. he had sent
John De Decker, counsellor of state, Cornelius Van
Ruyven, secretary and receiver, Cornelius Steemvyck,
major, and James Cousseau, sheriff, to consult, if possi-
ble, an accommodation. Nicolls, who knew the dispo-
sition of the people, answered immediately from Graves-
end, that he would treat about nothing but a surrender.
•The Dutch governour, the next day, agreed to a treaty

as without his majesty's leave and consent, have seated themselves
amongst any of his dominions in America, to the prejudice of his ma-
jesty's subjects, and diminution of his royal digniiy ; we his said ma-
jesty's commissioners, do declare and promise, that whosoever, of
what nation soever, will, upon knoAvledge of this proclamation, acknow-
ledge aim testify themselves, to submit to this his majesty's government,
a? his good . subjects, shall be protected in his majesty's laws and jus-
tice, and peaceably enjoj^ whatsoever God's blessing, and their owo
honest industry, have furnished them with ; and all other privileges,
with his majesty's English subjects. We have caused this to be pub-
lished, that we might prevent all inconveniencies to others, if it were
possible : however, to clear ourselves from the charge of all those mise-
ries, that may any way befall such as live here, and will [not] acltnow
kdge his majesty for tbf.'.r sovi 'Jod preserve,."

44 History of New- York,

and surrender, on condition the English and Dutch lim-
its in America, were settled by the crown and the
States General. The English deputies were Sir Robert
Carr, George Carteret, John Winthrop, governour of
Connecticut, Samuel Wyllys, one of the assistants or
council of that colony, and Thomas Clarke, and John
Pynchon, commissioners from the general court of the
Massachusetts' bay, who, but a little before, brought an
aid from that province. What these persons agreed
upon, Nicolls promised to ratify. At eight o'clock in
the morning, of the 27th of August, 1604, the commis-
sioners, on both sides, met at the governour's farm, and
there signed the following articles of capitulation.

These articles following were consented to by the
persons here under subscribed, at the governour's bow-
ery, August the 27th, old style, 1664.

I. " We consent, that the States General, or the
West-India company, shall freely enjoy all farms and
houses (except such as are in the forts) and that within
six months, they shall have free liberty to transport all
such arms and ammunition, as now does belong to
them, or else they shall be paid for them.

II. " All publick houses shall continue for the uses
which they are for.

III. " All people shall still continue free denizens,
and shall enjoy their lands, houses, goods, wheresoever
they are within this country, and dispose of them as
they please.

IV. " If any inhabitant have a mind to remove him-
self, he shall have a year and six weeks from this day5
to remove himself, wife, children, servants, goods, and
to dispose of his lands here.

History of New- York. 45

V. " If any officer of state, or publick minister of
state, have a mind, to go for England, they shall be
transported fraught free, in his majesty's frigates, when
these frigates shall return thither.

VI. " It is consented to, that any people may freely
come from the Netherlands, and plant in this colony,
and that Dutch vessels may freely come hither, and any
of the Dutch may freely return home, or send any soil
of merchandize home, in vessels of their own country.

VII. " All ships from the Netherlands, or any other
place, and goods therein, shall be received here, and
sent hence, after the manner which formerly they were
before our coming'hither, for six months next ensuing.

VIII. " The Dutch here shall enjoy the liberty of
their consciences in divine worship and church disci-
pline.

IX. " No Dutchman here, or Dutch ship here, shall
upon any occasion, be pressed to serve In war against
any nation whatsoever.

X. " That the townsmen of the Manhattans, shall not
liave any soldiers quartered upon them, jvithout be-
ing satisfied and paid for them by their officers, ancl
that at this present, if the fort be not capable of lodg-
ing all the soldiers, then the burgomasters, by their offi-
cers, shall appoint some houses capable to receive them.

XI. " The Dutch here shall enjoy their own customs
concerning their inheritances.

XII. " All publick writings and records, which con-
cern the inheritances of any people, or the reglement of
the church or poor, or orphans, shall be carefully kept
by those in whose hands now they are, and such writ-
ings as particularly concern the States General, may at
any time be sent to them.

46 History of New- York,

XIII. " No judgment that has passed any judicature
here, shall be called in question, but if any conceive
that he hath not had justice done him, if he apply him-
self to the States General, the other party shall be bound
to answer for the supposed injury.

XIV. " If any Dutch, living here, shall at any time
desire to travel or traffick into England, or any place,
or plantation, ia obedience to his majesty of England,
or with the Indians, he shall have (upon his request to
the governour) a certificate that he is a free denizen of
this place, and liberty to do so.

XV. " If it do appear, that there is a publick en-
gagement of debt, by the town of Manhattoes, and a
way agreed upon for the satisfying that engagement, it
is agreed, that the same way proposed shall go on, and
that the engagement shall be satisfied.

XVI. " All inferior civil officers and magistrates,
shall continue as now they are, (if they please) till the
customary time of new elections, and then new ones to
be chosen by themselves, provided that such new cho-
sen magistrates shall take the oath of allegiance to
his majesty of England, before they enter upon their
office.

XVII. " All differences of contracts and bargains
made before this day, by any in this country, shall be
determined, according to the manner of the Dutch.

XVIII. " If it do appear, that the West-India com-
pany of Amsterdam, do really owe any sums of money
to any persons here, it is agreed that recognition, and
other duties payable by ships going for the Netherlands*
be continued for six months longer.

History of Nen-York. 47

XIX. " The officers military, and soldiers, shall
march out with their arms, drums beating, and colours
flying, and lighted matches; and if any of them will
plant, they shall have tifty acres of land set out for
them ; if any of them will serve as servants, they shall
continue with all safety, and become free denizens
afterwards.

XX. "If at any time hereafter, the king of Great
Britain, and the States of the Netherlands do agree that
this place and country be redelivered into the hands of
the said States, whensoever his majesty will send his
commands to redeliyer it, it shall immediately be done.

XXI. " That the town of Manhattans shall choose
deputies, and those deputies shall have free voices in
all publick a flairs, as much as any other deputies.

XXII. " Those who have any property in any houses
in the fort of Aurania, shall (if they please) slight the
fortifications there, and then enjoy all their houses, as
all people do where there is no fort.

XXIII. " If there be any soldiers that will go into
Holland, and if the company of West-India in Amster-
dam, or any private persons here, will transport them
into Holland, then they shall have a safe passport from
Colonel Richard Nicolls, deputy governour under his
royal highness, and the other commissioners, to defend
the ships that shall transport such soldiers, and all the
goods in them, from any surprizal or acts of hostility,
to be done by any of his majesty's ships or subjects.
That the copies of the king's grant to his royal high-
ness, and the copy of his royal highness' commission
to Colonel Richard Nicolls, testified by two commis-
sioners more, and Mr. Winthrop, to be true copies, shall
be delivered to the honourable Mr. Stuyvesant, the

48 tiistory of iViw-

present governour, on Monday next by eight of the clock
in the morning, at the Old Miln, and these articles con-
sented to, and signed by Colonel Richard Nicolls, de-
puty governour to his royal highness, and that within two
hours after the fort and town called New* Amsterdam,
upon the isle of Manhattoes, shall be delivered into the
hands of the said Colonel Richard Kicolls by the service
of such as shall be by him thereunto deputed, by las
hand and seal.

" John De Decker, Nich. Yerleett, Sam. Megapolen-
sis, Cornelius Steenwyck, Oloflfe Stevens Yan Kortlant,
James Cousseau, Robert Carr, Geo. Carteretj John
Winthrop, Sam. Willys, Thomas Clarke, John Pyn-
chon.

" I do consent to these article,?,

Richard NicoHs"

These articles, favourable as they were to the inha-
bitants, were however very disagreeable to the Dutch
governour; and he therefore refused to ratify them, till
two days after they were signed by the commissioners.

The town of New-Amsterdam, upon the reduction of
the island Manhattans, took the name of New-York.*
It consisted of several small streets * laid out in the year
1656, and was not inconsiderable for the number of its
houses and inhabitants. The easy terms of the capitu-
lation, promised their peaceable subjection to the new
government ; and hence we find, that in two days after
the surrender, the Boston aid was dismissed, with the
thanks of the commissioners to the general court. Hud-
son's and the South River were, however, still to be
reduced. Sir Robert Carr commanded the expedition

* Vide coQclusioa of this volume..

History of New-York. 49

on Delaware, and Carteret was commissioned to sub-
due the Dutch at Fort Orange. The garrison capitu-
lated on the 24th of September, and he called it Alba-
ny, in honour of the duke. While Carteret was here,
he had ari interview with the Indians of the Five Na-
tions, and entered into a league of friendship with
them, which remarkably continues to this day.* Sir
Robert Carr was equally successful on South River,
for he compelled both the Dutch and Swedes to capi-
tulate and delivei' up their garrisons the first of Octo-
ber, 1664; and that was the day in which the whole
New-Netherlands became subject to the English crown.
Very few of the ^inhabitants thought proper to re-
move out of the country. Governour Stuyvesant
himself, held his estate, and died here. His remains
Were interred in a chapel, which he had erected on
his own farm, at a small distance from the city, now
possessed by his grandson, Gerardus Stuyvesant, a
man of probity, who has been elected into the ma-
gistracy, above thirty years successively. Justice
obliges me to declare, that for loyalty to the pre-
sent reigning family, and a pure attachment to the
protestant religion, the descendants of the Dutch
planters are perhaps exceeded by none of his ma*
jesty's subjects*

* The Dutch were sensible of the importance of preserving an unin-
terrupted amity with those Indians, for they were both very numerous
and warlike. The French pursued quite different measures, and the
irruptions of those tribes, according to their own authors, haye often
r>dnred Canada to the brink of ruim

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK*

PART II.

From the Surrender in 1664, to the Settlement at the
Revolution.

RlCHARD NICOLLS being now possessed of the
country, took the government upon him, under the
style of " deputy governour under his royal highness
the duke of York, of all his territories in America.''
During his short continuance here, he passed a vast
number of grants and confirmations of the ancient
Dutch patents, the profits of which must have been ve-
ry considerable. Among these, no one has occasioned
more animated contention, than that called the Eliza-
bethtown grant, in New- Jersey ; which, as it relates to
another colony, I should not have "mentioned, but for
the opportunity to caution the reader against a repre-
sentation of that controversy contained in Douglass*
summary. I have sufficient reasons to justify my charg-
ing that account with partiality and mistakes ; and for
proofs, refer to the printed answer in chancery, publish-
ed in the year 1751.

Besides the chief command of this province, Nicolls
had a joint power * with Sir Robert Carr, Carteret, and

* The commission from king Charles II. was dated the 26th of
Apr)!, 1064. After a recital of disputes concerning limits in New-

52 History of New- York.

Maverick, to settle the contested boundaries of certain
great patents. Hence we find, that three of them had a
conference with several gentlemen from Connecticut,
respecting the limits of this and that colony, The re-
sult was an adjudication, in these words :

" By virtue of his majesty's commission, we have
heard the difference, about the bounds of the patents
granted to his royal highness the duke of York, and his
majesty's colony of Connecticut, and having deliberate-
ly considered all the reasons alledged by Mr. Allen,
sen. Mr. Gold, Mr. Richards, and Captain Winthrop, ap-
pointed by the assembly held at Hartford, the thirteenth
of October, 1664, to accompany John Winthrop, Esq ;
the governour of his majesty's colony of Connecticut to
New- York, and to agree upon the bounds of the said
colony, why the said Long Island should be under the
government of Connecticut, which are too long here to
be recited, we do declare and order, that the southern
bounds of his majesty's colony of Connecticut, is the
sea, and that Long Island is to be under the govern-
ment of his royal highness the duke of York, as is ex-
pressed by plain words, in the said patents, respectively,
and also by virtue of his majesty's commission, and the
consent of both the governours and the gentlemen above*
named. We also order and declare, that the creek, or
river called Mamaroneck, which is reputed to be about
thirteen miles to the east of Westchester, and a line

England, and that addresses had been sent home from the Indian na-
tives, complaining of abuses received from the English subjects ; the
commissioners, or any three or two of them, of which Nicolls was to
be one, were authorised to visit the New-England colonies, and deter-
mine all complaints military, civil and criminal, according to their dis-
cretjoa, and such instructions as they might receive from U|e crown.

History of New-York. 53<

drawn from the east point or side, where the fresh wa-
ter falls into the salt, at high water mark, north north-
west to the line of the Massachusetts, be the western
bounds of the said colony of Connecticut, and all plan-
tations lying westward of that creek and line so drawn,
to be under his royal highness' government ; and all
plantations lying eastward of that creek and line, to be
under the government of Connecticut. Given under
our hands, at James' fort in New- York, on the island
of Manhattan, this first day of December, 1664.

Richard Nicolls,
George Carteret,
S. Maverick."

" We the governour and commissioners of the gen-
eral assembly of Connecticut, do give our consent to
the limits and bounds abovementioned, as witness our
hands,

Gold,

John Winthrop, jun.

John Winthrop, sect.

Allen, sen.

Richards;'

At the time of this determination, about two thirds
of Long Island were possessed by people from New-
England, who had gradually encroached upon the
Dutch. As to the settlement between New- York and
Connecticut, on the main, it has always been considered
by the former, as founded upon ignorance and fraud.^
The station at Mamaroneck was about thirty miles
from New- York, from Albany one hundred and fifty.

* The town of Rye was settled under Connecticut, and the granjt
rroui that colony is bounded by this line of division.

54 History of New- York.

The general course of the river is about north 12 or 15*
east : and hence it is evident, that a north north-west
line will soon intersect the river, and consequently
leave the Dutch country, but a little before surrender-
ed to Colonel Carteret, out of the province of New-
York. It has been generally esteemed that the Con-
necticut commissioners in this affair, took advantage of
the duke's agents, who were ignorant of the geography
of the country.

About the close of the year, the estate of the West-
India company was seized and confiscated, hostilities
being actually commenced in Europe as well as Ame-
rica, though no declarations of war had yet been pub-
lished by either of the contending parties. A great
dispute between the inhabitants of Jamaica on Long
Island, which was adjusted by Colonel Nicolls, on the
second of January, 1665, gave rise to a salutary insti-
tution, which has in part obtained ever since. The
controversy respected Indian deeds, and thenceforth it
was ordained, that no purchase from the Indians, with-
out the governour's licence, executed in his presence,
should be valid. The strength and number of the na-
tives rendered it necessary to purchase their rights ;
and to prevent their frequent selling the same tract, it
was expedient that the bargain should be attended with
some considerable solemnity.

Another instance of Colonel Nicolls' prudence, was
his gradual introduction of the English methods of go-
vernment. It was not till the 12th of June, this year,
that he incorporated the inhabitants of New- York, un-
der the care of a mayor, five aldermen, and a sheriff.
Till this time, the city was ruled by a scout, burgo-
masters, and schepens.

History of New- York. 55

In March preceding, there was a great convention,
before the governour at Hempsted, of two deputies
from every town on Long Island, empowered to bind
their constituents. The design of their meeting was to
adjust the limits of their townships for the preservation
of the publick peace.

The war being proclaimed at London, on the fourth
of this month, Nicolls received the account of it in
June, with a letter from the lord chancellor, informing
him, that De Ruyter, the Dutch admiral, had orders to
visit New- York. His lordship was misinformed, or the
admiral was diverted from the enterprize, for the Eng-
lish peaceably held the possession of the country dur-
ing the whole war, which was concluded on the 21st of
July, 1667, by the treaty of Breda. Some are of opin-
ion, that the exchange made with the Dutch for Surri-
nam, which they had taken from us, was advantageous
to the nation ; but these. judges do not consider that it
would have been impossible for the Dutch to have pre-
served this colony against the increasing strength of the
people in New-England, Maryland, and Virginia.

After an administration of three years, Nicolls re-
turned to England. The time during his short resi-
dence here, was almost wholly taken up in confirming
the ancient Dutch grants. He erected no courts of
justice, but took upon himself the sole decision of all
controversies whatsoever. Complaints came before him
by petition ; upon which he gave a day to the parties,
and after a summary hearing, pronounced judgment.
His determinations were called edicts, and executed by
the sheriffs he had appointed. It is much to his honour,
that notwithstanding all this plenitude of power, he gov-
erned the province with integrity and moderation. A

56 History of New- York.

representation from the inhabitants of Long Island, to
the general court of Connecticut, made about the time
of the revolution, commends him as a man of an easy
and benevolent disposition ; and this testimonial is the
more to be relied upon, because the design of the wri-
ters, was by a detail of their grievances, to induce the
colony of Connecticut to take them under its immedi-
ate protection.

Francis Lovelace, a colonel, was appointed by the
duke, to succeed Nicolls in the government of the pro-
vince, which he began to exercise in May, 1667. As he
was a man of great moderation, the people lived very
paceably under him, till the re-surrender of the colony,
which put an end to his power, and is the only event,
that signalized his administration.

The ambitious designs of Louis XIV. against the
Dutch, gave rise to our war with the States General in
1672. Charles II. a prince sunk in pleasures, profligate,
and poor, was easily detached from his alliance with the
Dutch, by the intrigues and pecuniary promises of the
French king. The following passage from a fine wri*
ter*, shews that his pretences for entering into the war,
were perfectly groundless and trifling.

" The king of England, on his side, reproached them
with disrespect, in not directing their fleet to lower the
flag before an English ship ; and they were also accu-
sed in regard to a certain picture, wherein Cornelius De
Witt, brother to the pensionary, was painted with the
attributes of a conqueror. Ships were represented irt
the back ground of the piece, either taken or burnt
Cornelius De Witt, who had really had a great share io

* Voltaire's age of Lewis XIV.

History of New- York. 57

the maritime exploits against England, had permitted
this trifling memorial of his glory : but the picture,
which was in a manner unknown, was deposited in a
chamber wherein scarce any body ever entered. The
English ministers, who presented the complaints of their
king against Holland, in writing, therein mentioned cer-
tain abusive pictures. The states, who always translat-
ed the memorials of ambassadours into French, having
rendered abusive, by the words fautifs trompeurs, they
replied, that they did not know what these roguish pic-
tures, (ces tableaux trompeurs) were. In reality, it
never in the least entered into their thoughts, that it
concerned this portrait of one of their citizens, nor did
they ever conceive this could be a pretence for declar-
ing war."

A few Dutch ships arrived the year after on the 30th
of July, under Staten Island, at the distance of a few
miles from the city of New- York. John Manning, a
captain of an independent company, had at that time
the command of the foil, and by a messenger sent down
to the squadron, treacherously made his peace with
the enemy. On that very day the Dutch ships came
up, moored under the fort, landed their men, and en-
tered the garrison, without giving or receiving a fehot.
A council of war was afterwards held at the stadt house,
at which were present

Cornelius Evertse, jun. j Commodores>

Jacob Benkes, >

Anthony Colve, i

Nicholas Bowes, > Captains*

Abm. Ferd. Van Zyll, )

All the magistrates and constables from East Jersey*
Song Island, Esopus, and Albany, were immediately

8

58 History of New-York.

summoned to New- York ; and the major part of them
swore allegiance to the States General, and the prince
of Orange. Colonel Lovelace was ordered to depart
the province, but afterwards obtained leave to return
to England with Commodore Benkes. It has often
been insisted on, that this conquest did not extend to
the whole province of New- Jersey ; but upon what
foundation I cannot discover. From the Dutch records
it appears, that deputies were sent by the people inha-
biting the country, even so far westward as Delaware
River, who in the name of their principals, made a de-
claration of their submission ; in return for which, cer-
tain privileges were granted to them, and three judica-
tories erected at Niewer Amstel, Upland, and Hoer
Kill. Colve's commission to be governour of this coun-
try is worth printing, because it shews the extent of the
Dutch claims. The translation runs thus :

" The honourable and awful council of war, for their
high mightinesses . the States General of the United
Netherlands, and his serene highness the prince of
Orange, over a squadron of ships, now at anchor in
Hudson's River, in New-Netherlands. To all those
who shall see or hear these, greeting. As it is necessa-
ry to appoint a fit and able person, to carry the chi f
command over this conquest of New-Netherlands, with
all its appendencies and dependencies, from Cape Hin-
lopen on the south side of the South or Delaware bay,
and fifteen miles more southerly, with the said bay and
South River included ; so as they were formerly pos-
sessed by the directors of the city of Amsterdam, and
after by the English government, in the name and
right of the duke of York ; and further from the said
Hinlopen, along the Great Ocean, to the east end

History of New- York. 59

of Long Island, and Shelter Island ; from thence west-
ward to the middle of the Sound, to a town called
Greenwich, on the main, and to run landward in, north-
erly ; provided that such line shall not come within ten
miles of North River, conformable to a provincial trea-
try made in 1650, and ratified by the States General,
February 23, 1656, and January 23, 1664 ; with all
lands, islands, rivers, lakes, kills, creeks, fresh and salt
waters, fortresses, cities, towns, and plantations therein
comprehended. So it is, that we being sufficiently as-
sured of the capacity of Anthony Colve, captain of a
company of foot, in the service of their high mightiness-
es, the States General of the United Netherlands, and
his serene highness the prince of Orange, &c. By vir-
tue of our commission, granted us by their before men-
tioned high mightinesses and his highness, have appoint-
ed and qualified, as we do by these presents appoint
and qualify, the said Captain Anthony Colve, to govern
and rule these lands, with the appendencies and depen-
dencies thereof, as governour general ; to protect them
from all invasions of enemies, as he shall judge most ne-
cessary ; hereby charging all high and low officers, jus-
tices, and magistrates, and others in authority, soldiers,
burghers, and all the inhabitants of this land, to acknoAV-
ledge, honour, respect and obey, the said Anthony Colve,
as governour general ; for such we judge necessary, for
the service of the country, waiting the approbation of
our principals. Thus done at fort William Hendrick,
the 12th day of August, 1673.

" Signed by Jacob Benkes,

Cornelius Evertse, jun."

The Dutch governour enjoyed his office but a very
short season, for on the 9th of February, 1674, the trea-

60 History of New-York.

iy of peace between England and the States Genera
was signed at Westminster ; the sixth article of which,
restored this country to the English. The terms of it
were generally, " That whatsoever countries, islands,
towns, ports, castles, or foils, have or shall be taken on
both sides, since the time that the late unhappy war
broke out, either in Europe or elsewhere, shall be res-
tored to the former lord and proprietor, in the same con-
dition they shall be in, when the peace itself shall be
proclaimed ; after which time, there shall be no spoil
nor plunder of the inhabitants, no demolition of fortifi-
cations, nor carrying away of guns, powder or other
military stores, which belonged to any castle or fort, at
the time when it was taken."

The lenity which began the administration of Colonel
Nicolls was continued under Lovelace. He appears to
have been a man, rather of a phlegmatic than an enter-
prising disposition, always pursuing the common road,
and scarcely ever acting without the aid of his council.
Instead of taking upon himself the sole determination
of judicial controversies, after the example of his prede-
cessor, he called to his assistance a few justices of the
peace. This, which was called the court of assizes,*
was the principal law judicatory in those times. The
legislative power under the duke, was vested entirely in

* This -was a court both of law and equity, for the trial of causes of
201. and upwards, and ordinarily sat but once a year. Subordinate to
this, were the town courts and sessions ; the former took cognizance of
actions under $1. and the latter, of suits between that sum and 201. se-
Ven constables aad overseers were judges in the first, and in the last
the justices of the peace, with a jury of seveji men. The verdict -of
<the majority was sufficient,

History of New- York.

the governour and council. A third estate might then
be easily dispensed with, for the charge of the province
was * small, and in a great measure defrayed by his
royal highness, the proprietor of the country.

Upon conclusion of the peace in 1674, the duke of
York, to remove all controversy respecting his proper-
ty, obtained a new patent f from the king, dated the 29th
of June, for the lands granted in 1664, and two days
after commissioned major, afterwards Sir Edmond An-
dross, to be governour of his territories in America. Af-
ter the resignation of this province, which was made to
him by the Dutch possessors, on the 31st of October
following, he called a court martial, to try Manning for
his treacherous and cowardly surrender. The articles
of accusation exhibited against him, were in substance,

* The manner of raising publick money, was established by Colonel
JNTicolls, on the first of June, 1665, and was thus : The high sheriffis-
sued a warrant annually, to the high constables of every district, and
they sent theirs to the petty constables ; who, with the overseers of
each town, made a list of all male persons above sixteen years of
age, with an estimate of their rent and personal estates, and then
taxed them according to certain rates, prescribed by a law. Af-
ter the assessment was returned to the high sheriff, and approved by the
governour, the constables received warrants for levying the taxes by
distress and sale.

f Some are of opinion that the second patent was unnecessary, the
duke being revested per post liminium. This matter has been often
disputed in the ejectments between the New- Jersey proprietors and
the Elizabethtown patentees. In New- York the right of postliminy was
disregarded, and perhaps unknown ; for there are many instances, es-
pecially on Long Island, of new grants from Sir Edmond Andross, for
lands patented under Nicolls and Lovelace, by which the qui (rents have
been artfully enlarged.

62 History of New-York.

I. That the said Manning, on the 28th of July, 1673,
having notice of the approach of the enemy's fleet, did
not endeavour to put the garrison in a posture of de-
fence ; but on the contrary, slighted such as offered their
assistance.

II. That while the fleet was at anchor under Stateri
Island, on the 30th of July, he treacherously sent on
board to treat with the enemy, to the great discourage-
ment of the garrison.

III. That he suffered the fleet to moor under the
fort, forbidding a gun to be fired on pain of death.

IV. That he permitted the enemy to land, without
the least opposition.

Y. That shortly after he had sent persons to treat
with the Dutch commodores, he struck his flag, even
before the enemy were in sight of the garrison, the fort
being in a condition, and the men desirous, to fight,

VI. And lastly, that he treacherously caused the foflrt
gates to be opened, and cowardly and basely let in the
enemy, yielding the garrison without articles.

This scandalous charge, which Manning on his trial
confessed to be true, is less surprising, than the lenity
of the sentence pronounced against him. It was this,
that though he deserved death, yet because he had
since the surrender been in England, and seen the king
and the duke, it was adjudged that his sword should be
broke over his head in publick, before the city hall,
and himself rendered incapable of wearing a sword, and
of serving his majesty for the future, in any publick
trust in the government.

fhis light censure, is however no proof that Sir Ed-
mond was a man of a merciful disposition ; the histo-
rians of New-England, where he was afterwards gover-

History of Nttv- York. 63

nour, justly transmit him to posterity, under the odious
character of a sycophantick tool to the duke, and an
arbitrary tyrant over the people committed to his care.
He knew no law, but the will of his master, and Kirk
and Jeiferies were not fitter instruments than he to ex-
ecute the despotick projects of James II.

In the year 1675, Nicholas Renslaer, a Dutch cler-
gyman, arrived here. He claimed the manor of Rens-
laerwyck, and was recommended by the duke to Sir
Edmond Andross for a living in one of the churches at
New- York or Albany, probably to serve the popish
cause.* Niewenhyt, minister of the church at Albany,
disputed his right to" administer the sacraments, because
he had received an Episcopal ordination, and was not
approved by the classis of Amsterdam, to which the
Dutch churches here hold themselves subordinate. In
this controversy the governour took the part of Rens-
laer, and accordingly summoned Niewenhyt before
him, to answer for his conduct. This minister was
treated with such singular contempt, and so frequently
harrassed, by fruitless and expensive attendances before
the council, that the dispute became interesting, and
the greater part of the people resented the usage he

* Another reason is assigned for the favour he met with from the
crown. It is said that while Charles II. was an exile, he predicted
the day of his restoration. The people of Albany had a high opinion of
his prophetick spirit, and many strange tales about him still prevail
there. The parson made nothing of his claim, the manor being after-
wards granted, by Colonel Dongan to Killian Van Renslaer, a dis-
tant relation. This extensive tract, by the Dutch called a colony, is
an oblong extending twenty-four miles upon Hudson's river, and as ma-
ny upon each side. The patent of confirmation was issued by special
direction from the king, and is the most liberal in the privileges it grants
of any one iu the province.

64 History of New- York.

met with. Hence we find, that the magistrates of Al-
bany, soon after imprisoned Renslaer, for several dubi-
ous words, (as they are called in the record) delivered
in a sermon. The governour, on the other hand, or-
dered him to be released, and summoned the magis-
trates to attend him at New- York. Warrants were
then issued to compel them to give security in 5000/.
each, to make out good cause for confining the minis-
ter. Leisler, who was one of them, refused to comply
with the warrant, and was thrown into jail. Sir Ed-
mond, fearful that a great party would rise up against
him, was at last compelled to discontinue his ecclesias-
tical jurisdiction, and to refer the controversy to the
determination of the consistory of the Dutch church at
Albany. It is perhaps riot improbable, that these po-
pish measures sowed the seeds of that aversion to the
duke's government, which afterwards produced those
violent convulsions in the province under Leisler, at
the time of the revolution in favour of the prince of
Orange.

If Sir Edmond Andross' administration at New- York
appears to be less exceptionable than while he com-
manded at Boston, it was through want of more oppor-
tunities to shew himself in his true light. The main
course of his publick proceedings, during his continu-
ance in the province, was spent in the ordinary acts of
the government, which then principally consisted in
passing grants to the subject, and presiding in the court
of assize, established by Colonel Lovelace. The pub-
lick exigencies were now in part supplied by a kind of
benevolence ; the badge of bad times ! This appears
in an entry on the records* of a letter of May the 5th,
1676, from Governour Andross, to several towns on

History of New-Yorfc. 65

Long Island, desiring to know what sums they would
contribute towards the war. Near the close of his ad-
ministration he thought proper to quarrel with Philip
Carteret, who in 1680, exercised the government of
East Jersey, under a commission from Sir George Car-
teret, dated the 31st of July, 1675. Andross disputed
his right, and seized and brought him prisoner to New-
York ; for which it is said he lost his own government ;
but whoever considers that Sir Edmond was immedi-
ately preferred to be governour of Boston, will rather
believe that the duke superseded him for some other
reasons.

Before I proceed to the succeeding administration,
in which our Indian affairs began to have a powerful
influence upon the publick measures, it may not be
improper to present the reader with a summary view of
the history and character of the Five Nations.* These,
of all those innumerable tribes of savages, which inha-
bit the northern pail of America, are of most impor-
tance to us and the French, both on account of their
vicinity and warlike disposition. Before the late incor-
poration of the Tuscaroras, a people driven by the in-
habitants of Carolina from the frontiers of Virginia, they
consisted of five confederate cantons.f What in par-
ticular gave6 rise to this league, and when it took place,
are questions which neither the natives, nor Europeans,

* By the Dutch called Maquaas, by the French Iroquois, and by us,
Five Nations, Six Nations, and lately the Confederates. They are greak
ly diminished, and consist now only of about twelve hundred fighting
men.

t The Tuscaroras were received upon a supposition that they were
originally of the same stock with the Five Nations, because there i.s
some similitude between their languages.

9

66 History of New- York.

pretend to answer. Each of these nations is divided
into three families, or clans, of different ranks, bearing
for their arms, and being distinguished by the names of
the tortoise, the bear, and the wolf.*

No people in the world perhaps have higher notions
than these Indians of military glory. All the surround-
ing nations have felt the effects of their prowess ; and
many not only became their tributaries, but were so
subjugated to their power, that without their consent,
they durst not commence either peace or war.

Though a regular police for the preservation of har-
mony within, and the defence of the state against inva-
sions from without, is not to be expected from the peo-
ple of whom I am now writing, yet, perhaps, they have
paid more attention to it than is generally allowed.
Their government is suited to their condition, A peo-
ple whose riches consist not so much in abundance, as in
a freedom from want ; f who are circumscribed by no
boundaries, who live by hunting, arid not by agriculture,
must always be free, and therefore subject to no other
authority, than such as consists with the liberty necessa-
rily arising from their circumstances. All their affairs,
whether respecting peace or war, are under the direc-
tion of their sachems, or chief men. Great exploits and
publick virtue procure the esteem of a people, and qual-
ify a man to advise in council, and execute the plans con-
certed for the advantage of his country : thus whoever

* Their instruments of conveyances are signed by signatures, which
they make with a pen, representing these animals.

f An Indian, in answer to his question, What the white people meant
by covetousness ? was told by another, that it signified, A desire of
more than a man had need of. Thai's strange ! said the querist.

History of New- York. €7

•appears to the Indians in this advantageous light, com-
mences a sachem without any other ceremony.

As there is no other way of arriving at this dignity, so
it ceases, unless an uniform zeal and activity for the
common good, is uninterruptedly continued. Some
have thought it hereditary, but that is a mistake. The
son, is indeed, respected for his father's services, but
without personal merit, he can never share in the gov-
ernment ; which, were it otherwise, must sink into per-
fect disgrace. The children of such as are distinguish-
ed for their patriotism, moved by the consideration of
their birth, and the perpetual incitements to virtue con-
stantly inculcated into them, imitate their fathers' ex-
ploits, and thus attain to the same honours and influence ;
which accounts for the opinion that the title and pow-
er of sachem are hereditary.

Each of these republicks has its own particular chiefs,
who hear and determine all complaints in council, and
though they have no officers for the execution of justice,
yet their decrees are always obeyed, from the general
reproach that would follow a contempt of their advice.
The condition of this people exempts them from fac-
tions, the common disease of popular governments. It
is impossible to gain a party amongst them by indirect
means ; for no man has either honour, riches, or power
to bestow7.*

* The learned and judicious author of the Spirit of Laws, speaking of
a people who have a fixed property in lands, observes, " That if a
chief would deprive them of their liberty, they would immediately go
and seek it under another, or retire into the woods, and live there with
their families." The Five Nations can never be enslaved, till they
grow rich by agriculture and commerce. Property is the most perma-

68 History of New- York.

All affairs which concern the general interest are de-:
termined in a great assembly of the chiefs of each can^
ton, usually held at Onondaga, the centre of their coun-
try. Upon emergencies they act separately, but no-
thing can bind the league but the voice of the general
convention.

The French, upon the maxim, divide et impera>
have tried all possible means to divide these republicks,
and sometimes have even sown great jealousies among
them. In consequence of this plan, they have seduced
many families to withdraw to Canada, and there settled
them in regular towns; under the command of a fort,
and the tuition of missionaries.

The manners of these savages are as simple as their
government. Their houses are a few crotched stakes
thrust into the ground, and overlaid with bark. A fire
is kindled in the middle, and an aperture left at the
top for the conveyance of the smoke. Whenever a
considerable number of those huts are collected, they
have a castle, as it is called, consisting of a square with-
out bastions, surrounded with palisadoes. They have
no other fortification ; and this is only designed as an
asylum for their old men, their wives and children,
while the rest are gone out to war. They live almost
entirely without care. While the women, or squaws,
cultivate a little spot of ground for corn, the men em-
ploy themselves in hunting. As to clothes, they use .
a blanket girt at the waist, and thrown loosely over
their shoulders ; some of their women, indeed, have*

went basis of power. The authority of a sachem depending only upon
his reputation for wisdom and courage, must be weak and precarious^
and therefore safe to the

History of New- York. 69

besides this, a sort of a petticoat, and a few of their
men wear shirts ; but the greater part of them are gen-
erally half naked. In winter their legs are covered
with stockings of blanket, and their feet with socks of
deer skin. Many of them are fond of ornaments, and
their taste is very singular. I have seen rings affixed,
not only to their ears, but to their noses. Bracelets of
silver and brass round their wrists, are very common.
The women plait their hair, and tie it up behind in a
bag, perhaps in imitation of the French beaux in Cana-
da. Though the Indians are capable of sustaining great
hardships, yet they cannot endure much labour, being
rather fleet, than strong. Their men are taller than the
Europeans, rarely corpulent, always beardless,* straight
limbed, of a tawny complexion, and black uncurled
hair. In their food they have no manner of delicacy, for
tho' venison is their ordinary diet, yet sometimes they
eat dogs, bears, and even snakes. Their cookery is of two
kinds, boiled or roasted ; to perform the latter, the meat
is penetrated by a short sharp stick set in the ground,
inclining towards the fire, and turned as occasion re-
quires. They are hospitable to strangers, though few
Europeans would relish their highest favours of this
kind, for they are very nasty both in their garments
and food. Every man has his own wife, whom he takes
and leaves at pleasure : a plurality, however, at the same
time, is by no means admitted among them. They
have been generally commended for their chastity, Wit -,
I am informed by good authority, that they are very

* Because they pluck out (he hairs. The French writers, who say
they have naturally no beards, are mistaken ; and the reasons they as-
sign for it are ridiculous.

70 History of New-York.

lascivious, and that the women, to avoid reproach, fre-
quently destroy the foetus in the womb. They are so
perfectly free, that unless their children, who general-
ly assist the mother, may be called servants, they have
none. The men frequently associate themselves for
conversation, by which means they not only preserve
the remembrance of their wars, and treaties, but diffuse
among their youth incitements to military glory, as
well as instruction in all the subtilties of war.

Since they became acquainted with the Europeans,
their warlike apparatus is a musket, hatchet,* and a
long knife. Their boys still accustom themselves to
bows and arrows, and are so dexterous in the use of them,
that a lad of sixteen, will strike an English shilling live
times in ten at twelve or fourteen yards distance.
Their men are excellent marksmen, both with the gun
and hatchet ; their dexterity at the latter is very extra-
ordinary, for they rarely miss the object, though at a
considerable distance. The hatchet in the flight per-
petually turns round, and yet always strikes the mark
with the edge.

Before they go out, they have a feast upon dogs*
flesh, and a great war dance. At these, the warriours, who
are frightfully painted with vermilion, rise up and sing
their own exploits, or those of their ancestors, and there-
by kindle a military enthusiasm in the whole company.
The day after the dance, they march out a few miles in
* a tow, observing a profound silence. The procession
being ended, they strip the bark from a large oak, and

* Hence, to take up the hatchet, is, with them, a phrase signifying to
declare war ; as, on the contrary, to bury it, denotes the establishtneot
of peace.

History of New- York. 71

paint the design of their expedition on the naked trunk.
The figure of a canoe, with the number of men in it, de-
termines the strength of their party ; and by a deer, a
fox, or some other emblem painted at the head of it, we
discover against what nation they are gone out.

The Five Nations being devoted to war, every art is
contrived to diffuse a military spirit through the whole
body of their people. The ceremonies attending the
return of a party, seem calculated in particular for
that purpose. The day before they enter the village,
two heralds advance, and at a small distance set up a
yell, which by its modulation intimates either good or
bad news. If the former, the village is alarmed, and an
entertainment provided for the conquerours, who in the
mean time approach in sight : one of them bears the
scalps stretched over a bow, and elevated upon a long
pole. The boldest man in the town comes out, and re-
ceives it, and instantly flies to the hut where the rest
are collected. If he is overtaken, he is beaten unmer-
cifully ; but if he outruns the pursuer, he participates
in the honour of the victors, who at their first entrance
receive no compliments, nor speak a single word till the
end of the feast. Their parents, wives, and children
then are admitted, and treat them with the profoundest
respect. After these salutations, one of the conquer-
ours is appointed to relate the whole adventure, to
which the rest attentively listen, without asking a ques-
tion, and the whole concludes with a savage dance.

The Indians never fight in the field, or upon equal
terms, but always sculk and attack, by surprise, in small
parties, meeting every night at a place of rendezvous.
Scarcely any enemy can escape them, for by the dispo-
sition of the grass and leaves, they follow his tract with

72 History of New- York.

great speed any where but over a rock. Their barbar-
ity is shocking to human nature. Women and children
they generally kill and scalp, because they would re-
tard their progress ; but the men they carry into cap-
tivity. If any woman has lost a relation, and inclines
to receive the prisoner in his stead, he not only escapes
a series of the most inhuman tortures, and death itself,
but enjoys every immunity they can bestow, and is es-
teemed a member of the family into which he is adopt-
ed. To part with him would be the most ignominious
conduct and considered as selling the blood of the de-
ceased ; and for this reason it is not without the great-
est difficulty that a captive is redeemed.

When the Indians incline to peace, a messenger h
sent to the enemy with a pipe, the bowl of which is
made of soft, red marble ; and a long reed, beautifully
painted, and adorned with the gay plumage of birds,
forms the stem. This is his infallible protection from
any assault on the way. The envoy makes his propo-
sals to the enemy, who, if they approve them, ratify
the preliminaries to the peace, by smoking through the
pipe, and from that instant a general cessation of arms
takes place. The French call it a calumet. It is used,
as far as I can learn, by all the Indian nations upon the
continent. The rights of it are esteemed sacred, and
have been only invaded by the Flat Heads ; in just in-
dignation for which, the confederates maintained a war
with them for near thirty years.

As to the language of the Five Nations, the best ac-
count I have had of it, is contained in a letter from
the Reverend Mr. Spencer, who resided amongst them
in the year 1748, being then a missionary from the
Scotch society for propagating Christian knowledge.
He writes thus :

History of New-JTorfc-.

« Sill,

<c Though I was very desirous of learning the Indiart
tongue, yet through my short residence at Onough-
quage, and the surly disposition of my interpreter, I
confess my proficiency was not great*

" Except the Tuscaroras, all the Six Nations speak
a language radically the same. It is very masculine
and sonorous, abounding with gutturals and strong as-
pirations, but without labials. Its solemn grave tone
is owing to the generosity of its feet, as you will ob-
serve in the following translation of the Lord's prayer,
in which I have distinguished the time of every sylla-
ble by the common* marks used in prosody.*

Soungwauneha, caurounkyawga, tehseetaroan, sauhs8neyotista,
<jsa, sawaneyou, okettauhsela, ehneauwoung, na, caurounkyawga,
nughwonshaQga, neattewehnesalauga, taugwaunautoronoantoug-
sick, toantaugweleewheyoustaunp;, cheneeyeut, chaquataut6hwhe-
youstaunna, toughsau, taugwaussareneh, tawautSUenaugalougbto-
nngga, nasawn£, sacheautaugwass, coantehsalohaunzaickaw, esa^
sawaunneyou, esa, sashautzta, esa, soungwasoung, ehenneauhaung-
\va, auwen.

" The extraordinary length of Indian words, and
the guttural aspirations necessary in pronouncing them,
render the speech extremely rough and difficult. The
verbs never change in their terminations, as in Latin*
Greek and Hebrew, but all their variations are prefix-

* If we bad a good dictiotiaty, marking the quantity as well as eittp
phasis of every syllable in the English language, it would conduce to
an accuracy and uniformity of pronunciation. The dignity of style^
so far as the ear is concerned, consists principally in generous feet ; and
perhaps it may be a just remark that no sentence, unless in a dialogue,
ends well without a full sound. Gordon and Fordyce rarely swerte
from this rule, and Mr. Mason, an ingenious author, has lately writttJB
with great applause, on this attribute of styles

10

?4 History oj Nctu-York.

ed. Besides the singular and plural, they have also
the dual number. A strange transposition of syllables
of different words, euphonice gratia, is very common in
the Indian tongue, of which I will give an instance
— ogilla signifies fire, and cawaunna, great, but instead
of joining the adjective and substantive to say great
Jire, cawaunna ogilla, both words would be blended in-
to this one, co-gHla-ivaunna. The dialect of the Oney-
das, is softer than that of the other nations ; and the
reason is, because they have more vowels, and often
supply the place of harsh letters with liquids. Instead
of JR, they always use L : Rebecca, would be pronounc-
ed Lequeccd.

The art of publick speaking is in high esteem among
the Indians, and much studied. They are extremely
fond of method, and displeased with an irregular har-
angue, because it is difficult to be remembered. When
they answer, they repeat the whole, reducing it into
strict order. Their speeches are short, and the sense
conveyed in strong metaphors. In conversation they
are sprightly, but solemn and serious in their messages
relating to publick affairs. Their speakers deliver
themselves with surprising force and great propriety of
gesture. The fierceness of their countenances, the
flowing blanket, elevated tone, naked arm, and erect
stature, with a half circle of auditors seated on the
ground, and in the open air, cannot but impress upon
the mind, a lively idea of the ancient oratourg of
Greece and Rome,

At the close of every important part of the speech,
ratifying an old covenant, or creating a new one, a
belt is generally given, to perpetuate the remembrance

History of New- York. 75

of the transaction. These belts are about four inches
wide, and thirty in length. They consist of strings of
conque shell beads fastened together.*

With respect to religion, the Indians may be said to
be under the thickest gloom of ignorance. If they have
any, which is much to be questioned, those who affirm
it, will find it difficult to tell us wherein it consists.
They have neither priest nor temple, sacrifice nor altar.
Some traces, indeed, appear of the original law written
upon their hearts ; but they have no system of doc-
trines, nor any rites and modes of publick worship.
They are sunk, unspeakably, beneath the polite pagans
of antiquity. Some confused notions, indeed, of beings
superiour to themselves, they have, but of the Deity
and his natural and moral perfections, no proper or
tolerable conceptions ; and of his general and particu-
lar Providence they know nothing. They profess no
obligations to him, nor acknowledge their dependence
upon him. Some of them, it is said, are of opinion,
that there are two distinct, powerful beings, one able
to help, the other to do them harm. The latter they
venerate most, and some alledge, that they address him
by a kind of prayer. Though there are no publick
monuments of id9latry to be seen in their country, yet
the missionaries have discovered coarse imagery in
wooden trinkets, in the hands of their jugglers, which
the converts deliver up as detestable, The sight of

* Those beads, -which pass for money, are called by the Indians,
•wampum, and by the Dutch, sewant : six beads were formerly valued
at a stiver. There are always several poor families at Albany, who
support themselves by coining this cash for the traders.

3$ History of New- York.

them would remind a man of letters of the lares an4
penates of the ancients, but no certain judgment can be
drawn of their use. The Indians sometimes assemble
in large numbers, and retire far into the wilderness,
where they eat and drink in a profuse manner. These
conventions are called kenticoys. Some esteem them
to be debauched revels or Bacchanalia ; but those, who
have privately followed them into these recesses, give
such accounts of their conduct, as naturally lead one to
imagine, that they pay a joint homage and supplication
to some invisible being. If we suppose they have a re-
liirion, it is worse than none, and raises in the generous
mind, most melancholy ideas of their depraved condi-
tion. Little has been done to illuminate these dark
corners of the earth with the light of the Gospel. The
French priests boast indeed of their converts, but they
have made more proselytes to politicks than religion.
Queen Anne sent a missionary among them, and gave
him an appointment out of the privy purse. He was a
man of a good life, but slow parts, and his success very
inconsiderable. The reverend Mr. Barclay afterwards
resided among the Mohawks, but no suitable provision
being made for an interpreter, he was obliged to break
up the mission. If the English society for propagating
the Gospel, that truly venerable body, instead of main-
taining missionaries in rich Christian congregations
along the continent, expended half the amount of their
annual contributions on evangelists among the heathen,
besides the unspeakable religious benefits that would,
it is to be hoped, accrue to the natives, such a proceed-
ing would conduce greatly to the safety of our colo^
iiies, and his majesty's service. Much has been written

History of New- York. %$•

upon this subject in America;* and why nothing to
purpose has yet been attempted in England, towards so
laudable a design, can only be attributed to the amaz-
ing falsehoods and misrepresentations, by which some
of the missionaries have long imposed upon benevolent
minds in Great Britain.f

As to the history of the Five nations, before their ac-
quaintance with the Europeans, it is wrapt up in the
darkness of antiquity. It is said that their first residence
was in the country about Montreal ; and that the supe-
riour strength of the Adirondacks, whom the French
call Algonquins, drove them into their present posses-
jsions, lying on the south side of the Mohawks river, and

* See Mr. Hobart's letters to the Episcopalians in New-England.
The accounts of the Scotch mission at Stockbridge. Douglass' Sum-
mary, &c.

f This is notorious to all who give themselves the trouble of perusing
the abstracts of their accounts published in England. It would be a
very agreeable office to tne, on this occasion, to distinguish the inno-
cent from the guilty, but that such a task would infallibly raise up a
host of enemies. Many of the missionaries are men of learning and
examplary morals. These in America are known and honoured, and
cannot be prejudiced by an indiscriminate censure. Their joining in a
representation for distinguishing the delinquents, who are a disgrace to
the cloth, will serve as a full vindication of themselves to (he society.
Mr. Ogilvie is, I believe, the only person now employed by that char-
itable corporation among the Indians, and the greatest part even of his
charge is in the city of Albany. All the Scotch missionaries are among
the heathen, and their success has been sufficient to encourage any fu-
ture attempts. There is a regular society of Indian converts in New-
Jersey ; and it is worthy of remark, that not one of them has aposta-
tized into heathenism. Some of them have made such proficiencies in
practical religion, as ought to shame many of us, who boast the illumi-
nating aids of our native Christianity. Not one of these Indians has
fteen concerned in those barbarous irrnptioos, which inve lately delug-

78 History of New-York.

the great lake Ontario.* Towards the close of those
disputes, which continued for a great series of years,
the confederates gained advantages over the Adiron-
dacks, and struck a general terrour into all the other
Indians. The Hurons on the north side of the lake
Erie, and the Cat Indians on the south side, were totally
conquered and dispersed. The French, who settled
Canada in 1603, took umbrage at their success, and be-
gan a war with them, which had well nigh ruined the new
colony. In autumn 1665, Mr. Courcelles, the governour,
sent out a party against the Mohawks. Through igno-
rance of the country, and the want of snowshoes, they
were almost perished, when they fell in with Schenec-

«d the frontiers of the south western provinces, with the blood of seve-
ral hundred innocents of every age and sex. At the commencement
of these ravages, they flew into the settlements, and put themselves un-
der the protection of the government. These Indians no sooner be-
came Christians, than they openly professed their loyalty to king
George ; and therefore to contribute to their conversion, was as truly
politick, as nobly Christian. Those colonies which have done most
for this charitable design, have escaped best from the late distressing
calamities. Of all the missionaries, Mr. David Brainerd, who recover-
ed these Indians from the darkness of paganism, was most successful.
He died the 9th of October, 1 747, a victim to his extreme mortifica-
tion and inextinguishable zeal, for the prosperity of his mission. Those
who are curious to enquire particularly into the effects of his indefatig-
able industry, may have recourse to his journal, published at Philadel-
phia, by the American correspondents of the Scotch society, in whose
service he was employed. Dr. Douglass, ever ready to honour his
native country, after remarking that this self-denying clergyman rode
about 400 miles, in the year 1744, with an air of approbation, asks,
" Is there any missionary, from any of the societies, for propagating
the Gospel in foreign parts, that has reported the like."

* Charlevoix, in partiality to the French, limits the country of the
Five Nations, on the north, to the 44th degree of latitude ; according

History of Nerv-York. 79

lady. And even there the Indians would hare sacrific-
ed them to their barbarous rage, had not Corlear, a
Dutchman, interposed to protect them. For this sea-
sonable hospitality, the French governour invited him
to Canada, but he was unfortunately drowned in his
passage through the lake Champlain. It is in honour of
this man, who was a favourite of the Indians, that the
governours of New-York, in all their treaties, are ad-
dressed by the name of Corlear. Twenty light compa-
nies of foot, and the whole militia of Canada, marched
the next spring into the country of the Mohawks ; but
their success was vastly unequal to the charge and la-
bour of such a tedious inarch of 700 miles, through an
uncultivated desart ; for the Indians, on their approach,
retired into the woods, leaving behind them some old
sachems, who preferred death to life, to glut the fury
of their enemies. The emptiness of this parade on the
one hand, and the Indian fearfulness of fire arms on the
other, brought about a peace in 1667, which continued
for several years after. In this interval, both the Eng-
lish and French cultivated a trade with the natives
very profitable to both nations. The latter, however,
were most politick and vigorous, and filled the Indian

to which, all the country on the north side of lake Ontario, and the
fiver issuing thence to Montreal, together with a considerable tract
of land on the south side of that river, belongs to the French. Hen-
nepin, a recollect friar, has more regard to truth than the Jesuit ; for
he tells us in effect, that the Iroquois possessed the lands on the north,
as well as on the south side of the lake, and mentions several of th«ir
villages in 1679, viz. Tejajahon, Kente, and Ganneousse. The map
5n his book agrees with the text. Charlevoix is at variance with his
geographer ; for Mr. Bellin, besides laying down these towns in the-
map, contained in the fifth volume, writes on the north side of tfee
protraction of lake Ontario, les Irogttois du nord.

80 Hisl&ry of New-York.

country with the ir missionaries. The sieur Perot, the,
very year in which the peace was concluded, travelled,
above 1200 miles westward, making proselytes of the
Indians every where to the French interest. Courceiles
appears to have been a man of art and industry. He
took every measure in his power for the defence of
Canada. To prevent the irruptions of the Five Nations,
by the way of lake Champlain, he built several forts in
1665, between that and the mouth of the river SoreL
In 1672, just before his return to France, under pre^
tence of treating with the Indians more commodiously,
but in reality, as Charlevoix expresses it, " to bridle
them," he obtained their leave to erect a fort at Cadar-
acqui, or lake Ontario, which count Frontenac, his suc-
cessor, completed the following spring, and called af-
ter his own name*. The command of it was afterwards
given to Mr. De la Salle, who, in 1678, rebuilt it with
stone. This enterprising person, the same year, launch-
ed a bark of ten tons into the lake Ontario, and anoth-
er of sixty tons, the year after, into lake Erie : about
which time he inclosed with palisadoes, a little spot at
Niagara.

Though the duke of York had preferred colonel
Thomas Dongan to the government of this province on
the 30th of September, 1682, he did not arrive here till
the 27th of August, in the following year. He was a
man of integrity, moderation, and genteel manners, and
though a professed papist, may be classed among the
best of our governours.

** In May, 1721, it was a square, with four bastions, built of stone*
being a quarter of a French league in circumference ; before it, are
many small island*, and a good harbour, and behind it a morass. Char-

History of New-York. • 81

The people, who had been formerly ruled at the will
of the duke's deputies, began their first participation in
the legislative power under colonel Dongan, for short-
ly after his arrival, he issued orders to the sheriffs, to
summon the freeholders for choosing representatives,
to meet him in assembly on the 17th of October, 1683.
Nothing could be more agreeable to the people, who,
whether Dutch or English, were born the subjects of a
free state ; nor, indeed, was the change of less advan-
tage to the duke, than to the inhabitants. For such a
general disgust had prevailed, and in particular in Long
Island, against the old form which colonel Nicolls had
introduced, as threatened the total subversion of the
publick tranquility. Colonel Dongan saw the disaffection
of the people at the east end of the Island, for he land-
ed there on his first arrival in the country ; and to ex-
tinguish the fire of discontent, then impatient -to burst
out, gave them his promise, that no laws or rates for
the future should be imposed, but by a general assem-
bly. Doubtless, this alteration was agreeable to the
duke's orders, who had been strongly importuned for
it,* as well as acceptable to the people, for they sent
him soon after an address, expressing the highest sense
of gratitude, for so beneficial a change in the govern-
ment. It would have been impossible for him much
longer to have maintained the old model over free sul>
jects, who had just before formed themselves into a co»

* The petition to his royal highness was drawn by the council, the
aldermen of New- York, and the justices of the peace at the court of
assize, the 29th of June, 1681. I have seen a copy ini the hands of
Lewis Morris, Esq. It contains many severe reflections upon the tjr*
*ranny of Six Edmond Andross.

11

82 History of Ntn-York.

lony for the enjoyment of their liberties, and had ev eft
already solicited the protection of the colony of Con-
necticut, from whence the greatest part of them came.
Disputes relating to the limits of certain townships at
the east end of Long Island, sowed the seeds of enmity
against Dongan, so deeply in the heaits of many who
were concerned in them, that their representation to
Connecticut, at the revolution, contains the bitterest in-
vectives against him.

Dongan surpassed all his predecessors in a due at-
tention to our affairs with the Indians, by whom he was
highly esteemed. It must be remembered to his honour
that though he was ordered by the duke, to encourage
the French priests, who were come to reside among the
natives, under pretence of advancing the popish cause,
but in reality to gain them over to the French interest ;
yet he forbid the Five Nations to entertain them. The
Jesuits, however, had no small success. Their prose-
lytes are called praying Indians, or Caghnuagaes, and
reside now in Canada, at the fall of St. Lewis, opposite
to Montreal. This village was begun in 1671, and con-
sists of such of the Five Nations as have formerly been
drawn away by the intrigues of the French priests, in
the times of Lovelace and Andross, who seem to have
paid no attention to our Indian affairs.* It was ow-
ing to the instigation also of these priests, that the
Five Nations about this time, committed hostilities on
the back parts of Maryland and Virginia, which occa-

* Of late some others of the confederates have been allured to settle
at Oswegatchi, called by the French, la Gallette, near fifty miles be^
low Frootenac. General Shirley's emissaries from Oswego, in 1755,
prevailed with several of these families to return to their old habitations.

History of New-York. 83

sioned a grand convention at Albany, in the year 1684.
Lord Howard of Effingham, the governour of Virginia,
was present, and made a covenant with them for pre-
venting further depredations, towards the acomplish-
merit of which, colonel Dongan was very instrumental.*
Doctor Golden has published this treaty at large, but as
it has no immediate connection with the affairs of thig
province, I beg leave to refer the reader for a full ac-
count of it to his history of the Five Nations.

While lord Howard was at Albany, a messenger from
De la Barre, then governour of Canada, arrived there,
complaining of the Seneca Indians, for interrupting
the French in their .trade with the more distant Indians,
commonly included among us by the general name of
the Far Nations.f Colonel Dongan, to whom the mes-
sage was sent, communicated it to the Senecas, who
admitted the charge, but justified their conduct, alledg-
ing, that the French supplied arms and ammunition to
the Twightwiesjj with whom they were then at war*
De la Barre, at the same time, meditating nothing less
than the total destruction of the Five Nations, proceed-
ed with ^n army of 1700 men to the lake Ontario.
Mighty preparations were made to obtain the desired
success : fresh troops were imported from France, and a
letter procured from the duke of York to colonel Don-
gan, commanding him to Jay no obstacles in the way,
The officers posted in the out forts, even as far as

* This covenant was ratified in 1635, and at several times since.

f By the Far Nations, are meant all those numerous tribes inhabiting
the countries on both sides of the lakes Huron and Erie, westward, as
far as the Missisippi, and the southern country along the banks of the
Ohio, and its branches.

J By the French called Miamies.

84 History of New-York.

eilimakinac, were ordered to rendezvous at Niagara, with
all the western Indians they could engage. Dongan,
regardless of the duke's orders, apprised the Indians of
the French designs, and promised to assist them. Af-
ter six weeks delay at fort Frontenac, during which
time a great sickness, occasioned by bad provisions,
broke out in the French army, De la Barre found it ne-
cessary to conclude the campaign with a treaty, for
which purpose he crossed the lake, and came to the
place which, from the distress of his army, was called
la Famine. Dongan sent an interpreter among the In-
dians, by all means to prevent them from attending the
treaty. The Mohawks and Senecas accordingly re-
fused to meet De la Barre, but the Oneydoes, Ononda-
gas, and Cayugas, influenced by the missionaries, were
unwilling to hear the interpreter, except before the
priests, one La Main, and three other Frenchmen, and
afterwards waited upon the French governour. Two
days after their arrival in the camp, monsieur De la
Barre, addressing himself to Garrangula, an Onondaga
chief, made the following speech, the Indians, and
French officers at the same time forming a circle round
about him.

" The king, my master, being informed that the Five
Rations have often infringed the peace, has ordered me
to come hither with a guard, and to send Ohguesse to the
Onondagas, to bring the chief sachems to my camp. The
intention of the great king is, that you and I may smoke
the calumet of peace together ; but on this condition,
that you promise me, in the name of the Senecas, Cay-
ugas, Onondagas, and Mohawks, to give entire satisfac*
tion and reparation to his subjects, and for the future
never to molest them*.

History of New- York. 85

" The Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneydoes, and
Mohawks, have robbed and abused all the traders that
were passing to the Illinois and Miamies, and other In-
dian nations, the children of my king. They have
acted, on these occasions, contrary to the treaty of
peace with my predecessor. I am ordered, therefore,
to demand satisfaction, and to tell them, that in case of
refusal, or their plundering us any more, I have ex-
press orders to declare war. This belt confirms my
words. The warriours of the Five Nations have con-
ducted the English into the lakes, which belong to the
king, my master, and brought the English among the
nations that are his diildren, to destroy the trade of his
subjects, and to withdraw these nations from him. They
have carried the English thither, notwithstanding the
prohibition of the late governour of New-York, who
foresaw the risque that both they and you would run.
I am willing to forget those things, but if ever the like
shall happen for the future, I have express orders to de-
clare war against you. This belt confirms my words.

" Your warriours have made several barbarous in-
cursions on the Illinois and Miamies ; they have
massacred men, women, and children, and have made
many of these nations prisoners, who thought them-
selves safe in their villages in time of peace :
these people, who are my king's children, must
not be your slaves ; you must give them their liberty,
and send them back into their own country. If the
Five Nations shall refuse to do this, I have express or-
ders to declare war against them. This belt confirms
ray words.

" This is what I have to say to Garrangula, that he
carry to the Senecas, Onondagas, Oneydoes, Cay-

8£ History of Nen-YorTc*

ugas, and Mohawks, the declaration which the king, my
master, has commanded me to make. He doth not
wish them to force him to send a great army to Cadar-
ackui fort, to begin a war, which must be fatal to them,
He would be sorry that this fort, that was the work of
peace, should become the prison of your warriours.
We must endeavour, on both sides, to prevent such
misfortunes. The French, who are the brethren and
friends of the Five Nations, will never trouble their re-
pose, provided that the satisfaction, which I demand, be
given ; and that the treaties of peace be hereafter ob-
served. I shall be extremely grieved, if my words do
not produce the effect which I expect from them ; for
then I shall be obliged to join with the governour of
New- York, who is commanded by his master, to assist
me, and burn the castles of the Five Nations and de-
stroy you. This belt confirms my words."

Garrangula heard these threats with contempt, be^
cause he had learnt the distressed state of the French
army, and knew that they were incapable of executing
the designs with which they set out ; arid, therefore, af-
ter walking five or six times round the circle, he an-
swered the French governour, who sat in an elbow
chair, in the following strain :
" YONNONDIO,

" I honour you, and the warriours that are with me
likewise honour you. Your interpreter has finished
your speech ; I now begin mine. My words make
haste to reach your ears ; hearken to them.

" Yonnondio, you must have believed, when you
left Quebec, that the sun had burnt up all the forests,
which render our country inaccessible to the French, or
that the lakes had so far overflown the banks, that they

History of Nerv-York. 87

had surrounded our castles, and that it was impossible
for us to get out of them. Yes, Yonnondio, surely you
must have dreamt so, and the' curiosity of seeing so-
great a wonder, has brought you so far. Now you are
undeceived, since that I and the warriours here pre-
sent, are come to assure you, that the Senecas, Cayu^
gas, Onondagas, Oneydoes, and Mohawks, are yet alive.
I thank you, in their name, for bringing back into their
country the calumet, which your predecessor received
from their hands. It was happy for you, that you left
under ground that murdering hatchet that has been so
often dyed in the blood of the French. Hear, Yonnon-
dio, I do not sleep, "I have my eyes open, and the sun,
which enlightens me, discovers to me a great captain
at the head of a company of soldiers, who speaks as if
he were dreaming. He says, that he only came to the
lake to smoke on the great calumet with the Ononda-
gas. But Garrangula says, that he sees the contrary,
that it was to knock them on the head, if sickness had
not weakened the arms of the French.

" I see Yonnondio raving in a camp of sick men,
whose lives the Great Spirit has saved, by inflicting this
sickness on them. Hear, Yonnondio, our women had
taken their clubs, our children and old men had carried
their bows and arrows into the heart of your camp, if
our warriours had not disarmed them, and kept them
back, when your messenger, Ohguesse, came to our
castles. It is done, and I have said it. Hear, Yonnon-
dio, we plundered none of the French, but those that
carried guns, powder, and ball to the Twightwies and
Chictaghicks, because those arms might have cost us
our lives. Herein we follow the example of the Jesu-
its, who stave all the kegs of rum brought to our cas-

fi8 History of Nvv-York.

ties, lest the drunken Indians should knock them on
the head. Our warriours have not bever enough to
pay for all these arms that they have taken, and our
old men are not afraid of the war. This belt preserves
my words.

" We carried the English into our lakes, to trade
there with the Utawawas and Quatoghies, as the Adi-
rondacks brought the French to our castles, to carry on
a trade, which the English say is theirs. We are born
free ; we neither depend on Yonnondio nor Corlear.

" We may go where we please, and carry with us
whom we please, and buy and sell what we please : if
your allies be your slaves, use them as such, command
them to receive no other but your people. This belt
pre serves my words.

" We knocked the Twightwies and Chictaghicks on
the head, because they had cut down the trees of peace,
which were the limits of our country. They have
hunted bevers on our lands : they have acted contra-
ry to the customs of all Indians ; for they left none of
the bevers alive, they killed both male and female*
They brought the Satanas * into the country, to take
pail with them, after they had concerted ill designs
against us. We have done less than either the English
or French, that have usurped the lands of so many In-
dian nations, and chased them from their own country.
This belt preserves my words.

" Hear, Yonnondio, what I say, is the voice of all
the Five Nations ; hear what they answer ; open your
ears to what they speak. The Senecas, Cayugas, On-
ondagas, Oneydoes, and Mohawks say, that when they

* By the French called Sauounons.

History of New-York. 89

buried the hatchet at Cadarackui (in the presence of
your predecessor) in. the middle of the fort; they plant-
ed the tree of peace in the same place, to be there
carefully preserved, that, in place of a retreat for sol-
diers* that fort might be a rendezvous for merchants :
that in place of arms and ammunition of war, beavers
and merchandise should only enter there.

" Hear, Yonnondio, take care for the future, that so
great a number of soldiers as appear there do not choke
the tree of peace planted in so small a fort. It will be
a great loss, if, after it had so easily taken root, you
should stop its growth, and prevent its covering your
country and ours with its branches. I assure you, in
the name of the Five Nations, that our warriours shall
dance to the calumet of peace under its leaves, arid
shall remain quiet on their mats, and shall never dig up
the hatchet, till their brother Yonnondio or Corlear
shall either jointly or separately endeavour to attack
the country, which the Great Spirit has given to our
ancestors. This belt preserves my words, and this
other, the authority which the Five Nations have given

me."

Then Garrangula, addressing himself to monsieur
La Main, said " Take courage^ Ohguesse, you have
spirit, speak, explain niy words, forget nothing, tell all
that your brethren and friends say to Yonnondio, your
governour, by the mouth of Garrangula, who loves you,
and desires you to accept of this present of beaver, and
take part with me in my feast, to which I invite you*
This present of beaver is sent to Yonnondio, on the
part of the Five Nations."

Enraged at this bold reply, De la Barre as soon as
the peace was concluded, retired to Montreal, and in-

12

90 History of New- York.

gloriously finished an expensive campaign, as Doctor
Colden observes, in a scold with an old Indian.

De la Barre was succeeded by the marquis De Non-
ville, colonel of the dragoons, who arrived with a rein-
forcement of troops, in 1685. The marquis was a man
of courage and an enterprising spirit, and not a little
animated by the consideration, that he was sent over to
repair the disgrace which his predecessor had brought
upon the French colony. The year after his arrival at
Quebec, he wrote a letter to the minister in France,
recommending the scheme of erecting a stone fort, suf-
ficient to contain four or five hundred men, at Ni-
agara, riot only to exclude the English from the lakes,
but to command the fur trade and subdue the Five
Nations. Dongan, who was jealous of his designs,
took umbrage at the extraordinary supplies sent to
fort Frontenac, and wrote to the French governour,
signifying that if he attacked the confederates, he would
consider it as a breach of the peace subsisting between
the two crowns ; and to prevent his building a fort at
Niagara, he protested against it, and claimed the coun-
try as dependent upon the province. De Nonville, in
his answer, denied that he intended to invade the Five
Nations, tho' the necessary preparations for that pur-
pose were then carrying on, and yet Charlevoix com-
mends him for his piety and uprightness, " cgalcmcnt
estimable (says the Jesuit) pour sa valeur, sa droiture SC
sa piete" Colonel Dongan, who knew the importance
of our Indian alliance, placed no confidence in the de-
clarations of the marquis, but exerted himself in pre-
paring the confederates for a war ; and the French au-
thor, just mentioned, does him honour, while he com-
plains of him as a perpetual obstacle in the way of the

History of New-York. 91

execution of their schemes. Our allies were now tri-
umphing in their success over the Chictaghics, and me-
ditating a war with the Twightwies, who had disturbed
them in their beaver hunting. De Nonviile, to prevent
the interruption of the French trade with the Twight-
wies, determined to divert the Five Nations^ and carry
the war into their country. To that end, in 1687, he
collected two thousand troops and six hundred Indians
at Montreal, and issued orders to all the officers in the
more westerly country, to meet him with additional
succours at Niagara, on an expedition against the Sen-
ecas. An English party, under one M'Gregory, at the
same time, was gone*out to trade on the lakes, but the
French, notwithstanding the peace then subsisting be-
tween the two crowns, intercepted them, seized theii
effects, and imprisoned their persons. Monsieur Fori-
ti, commandant among the Chictaghics who was com-
ing to the general's rendezvous at Niagara, did the
like to another English party, which he met with in
lake Erie.* The Five Nations, in the mean time, were
preparing to give the French army a suitable recep-<
tion. Monsieur Cornpanie, with two or three hundred
Canadians, in an advanced party, surprised two villages
of the confederates, who, at the invitation, and on the
faith of the French, seated themselves down about eight
leagues from lake Fadarackui or Ontario. To pre-
vent their escape with intelligence to their countrymen,
they were carried to the fort, and aJl but thirteen died
in torments at the stake, singing with an heroic k spirit,

* Both these attacks were open infractions of the treaty at Whitehall,
executed in November, 1686; by which it was agreed that the Indian
trade in America should be free to the English and French,

i*2 History of New-York.

in their expiring moments, the perfidy of the French,
The rest, according to the express orders of the French
king, were sent to the galleys in Europe. The mar-
quis having embarked his whole army in canoes, set out
from the fort at Cadarackui, on the 23d of June, one
half of them passing along the north, and the other
on the south side of the lake ; and botli arrived the
same day at Tyrondequait, and shortly after set out on
their inarch towards the chief village of the Senecas,
at about seven leagues distance. The main body was
composed of the regulars and militia, the front and
rear of the Indians and traders. The scouts advanced
the second day of their march, as far as the corn of the
village, and within pistol shot of five hundred Senecas,
who lay upon their bellies undiscovered. The French,
who imagined the enemy were all fled, quickened their
march to overtake the women and old men. But no
sooner had they reached the foot of a hill, about a mile
from the village, than the Senecas raised the war shout,
and in the same instant charged upon the whole army,
both in the front and rear. Universal confusion ensu-
ed. The battalions divided, fired upon each other, and
flew into the wood. The Senecas improved the disor-
der of the enemy, till they were repulsed by the
French Indians. According to Charlevoix's account,
which may be justly suspected, the enemy lost but six
men, and had twenty wounded, in the conflict. Of the
Senecas, he says, sixty were wounded and forty-five
slain. The marquis was so much dispirited, that he
could not be persuaded to pursue the enemy that day;
which gave the Senecas an opportunity to burn their
village and get off. Two old men remained in the castle
to receive the general, and regale the barbarity of his,

History of Ncn-York. 93

Indian allies. After destroying the corn in this and seve-
ral other Tillages, the army retired to the banks of the
lake, and erected a fort with four bastions on the south-
east side of the streights at Niagara, in which they left
one hundred men, under the command of Le Chevalier
de le Troye, with eight months provisions ; but these
being close blocked up, all, except seven or eight of
them, who were accidentally relieved, perished through
famine.* Soon after this expedition, colonel Dongan
met the Five Nations at Albany. To what intent, ap-
pears from the speech he made to them on the 5th of
August, which I choose to lay before the reader, to
shew his vigilance and zeal for the interest of his mas-
ter, and the commonweal of the province committed
to his care.

c* BRETHREN,

" I am very glad to see you here in this house, and
am heartily glad that you have sustained no greater
loss by the French, though I believe it was their inten-
tion to destroy you all, if they could have surprised
you in your castles.

" As soon as I heard their design to war with you, I
gave you notice, and came up hither myself, that I
might be ready to give all the assistance and advice
that so short a time would allow me.

* Nothing can be more perfidious and unjust than this attack upon
our confederates. The two crowns had but just concluded a treaty
for the preservation of the peace : La Hontau, oue of the French his-
torians, censures De Nonville's conduct, and admits the British title to
the command of the lakes, but Charlevoix blames him, as he does
Hennepin, De L'Isle, and every other author, who confesses the triifli
to the prejudice of the ambitious claims of the conrt of France*.

94 History of New- Y ork,

" I am now about sending a gentleman to England,
to the king, my master, to let him know, that the
French have invaded his territories on this side oj the
great lake, and warred upon the brethren, his subjects.
I therefore would willingly know whether the brethren
have given the governour of Canada any provocation
or not ; and if they have, how, and in what manner ;
because I am obliged to give a true account of this mat-
ter. This business may cause a war between the king
of England, and the French king, both in Europe and
here, and therefore I must know the truth.

" I know the governour of Canada dare not enter in-
to the king of England's territories, in a hostile manner,
without provocation, if he thought the brethren were
the king of England's subjects ; but you have, two or
three years ago, made a covenant chain with the French,
contrary to my command (which I knew could not hold
long) being void of itself among the Christians ; for
as much as subjects (as you are) ought not to treat
with any foreign nation, it not lying in your power*.
You have brought this trouble upon yourselves, and,
as I believe, this is the only reason of their falling on
you at this time.

" Brethren, 1 took it very ill, that after you had put
yourselves into the number of the great king of England's
subjects, you should ever offer to make peace or war,
without my consent. You know that we can live with-
out you but you cannot live without us ; you never
found that I told you a lie, and I offered you the assis-
tance you wanted, provided that you would be advised
by me ; for I know the French better than any of you
do.

History of New- York. 95

" Now since there is a war begun upon you by the
governour of Canada, I hope without any provocation
by you given, I desire and command you, that you
hearken to no treaty but by my advice ; which if you
follow, you shall have the benefit of the great chain of
friendship between the great king of England, and the
king of France, which came out of England the other
day, and which I have sent to Canada by Anthony le
Junard ; in the mean time, I will give you such advice
as will be for your good ; and will supply you with
'such necessaries as you will have need of.

" 1st, My advice is, as to what prisoners of the French
you shall take, that you draw not their blood, but bring
them home, and keep them to exchange for your peo-
ple, which they have prisoners already, or may take
hereafter."

" 2dly, That if it be possible, that you can order it so,
I would have you take one or two of your wisest sa-
chems, and one or two of your wisest captains, of each
nation, to be a council to manage all affairs of the war*
They, to give orders to the rest of the officers what they
are to do, that your designs may be kept private ; for
after it comes among so many people, it is blazed abroad,
and your designs are often frustrated; and those chief
men should keep a correspondence with me by a trusty
messenger.

" 3dly, The great matter under consideration with
the brethren, is, how to strengthen themselves, and
weaken their enemy. My opinion is, that the breth-
ren should send messengers to the Utawawas, Twight-
wies, and the farther Indians, and to send back likewise
some of the prisoners of these nations, if you have any
left, to burv the hatchet, and to make a cove riant chain,

96 History of New-York.

that they may put away all the French that are among
them, and that you will open a path for them this way
(they being the king of England's subject likewise,
though the French have been admitted to trade with
them ; for all that the French have in Canada, they had
it of the great king of England) that, by that means,
they may come hither freely, where they may have
every thing cheaper than among the French : that you
and they may join together against the French, and
make so firm a league, that whoever is an enemy to one,
must be to both.

" 4thly, Another thing of concern is, that you ought
to do what you can to open a path for all the north In-
dians and Mahikanders that are among the Dtawawas
and further nations. I will endeavour to do the same
to bring them home. For, they not daring to return
home your way, the French keep them there on pur-
pose to join with the other nations against you, for yrur
destruction; for you know, that one of them is worse
than six of the others ; therefore all means must be used
to bring them home, and use them kindly as they pass
through your country.

" 5thly, My advice further, is, that messengers go, in
behalf of all the Five Nations, to the Christian Indians
in Canada to persuade them to come home to their na-
tive country. This will be another great means to weak-
en your enemy ; but if they will not be advised, you
know what to do with them.

" Gthly, I think it very necessary, for the brethren's
security and assistance, and to the endamaging the
French, to build a fort upon the lake, where I may keep
stores and provisions in case of necessity ; and therefore
I would have the brethren let me know what place will
be most convenient for it*

History of New- York. 97

" 7thly, T would not have the brethren keep their corn
in their castles, as I hear the Onondagas do, but bury it a
great way in the woods, where few people may know
where it is, for fear of such an accident as has happened
to the Senecas.

" ftthly, I have given my advice in your general as-
sembly, by Mr. Dirk Wessels and Akus, the interpre-
ter, how you are to manage your parties, and how ne-
cessary it is to get prisoners, to exchange for your own
men that are prisoners with the French, and I am glad
to hear that the brethren are so united as Mr. Dirk
Wessels tells me you are, and that there were no rotten
members nor French spies among you.

" 9thly, The brethren may remember my advice,
which I sent you this spring, not to go to Cadarackui ;
if you had, they would have served you as they did
your people that came from hunting thither, for I told
you that I knew the French better than you did.

" lOthly, There was no advice or proposition that I
made to the brethren all the time that the priest lived
at Onondaga, but what he wrote to Canada, as I found
by one of his letters, which he gave to an Indian to car-
ry to Canada, but which was brought hither ; therefore,
I desire the brethren not to receive him, or any French
priest any more, having sent for English priests, with
whom you may be supplied to your content.

" llthly, I would have the brethren look out sharp,
for fear of being surprised. I I elieve all the strength
of the French will be at their frontier places, viz. at Ca-
darackui and Oniagara, where they have built a fort
now, and at Trois Rivieres, Montreal and Chambly.

13

98 History of New- York.

" 12thly, Let me put you in mind again, not to make
any treaties without my means, which will be more ad-
vantageous for you, than your doing it for yourselves,
for then you will be looked upon as the king of Eng-
land's subjects, and let me know, from time to time,
every thing that is done.

" Thus far I have spoken to you relating to the war."

Not long after this interview, a considerable party of
Mohawks and Mahikandcrs, or River Indians, beset
fort Chambly, burnt several houses, and returned with
many captives to Albany. Forty Onondagas, about
the same time, surprised a few soldiers near fort Fron-
tenac, whom they confined instead of the Indians sent
home to the galleys, notwithstanding the utmost address
tvas used to regain them, by Larnberville, a French
priest, who delivered them two belts, to engage their
kindness to the prisoners, and prevent their joining the
quarrel with the Senecas. The belts being sent to colonel
Dongan,he wrote to l)e Nonville, to demand the reason
of their being delivered. Perele Vaillant was sent here
about the beginning of the year 1 688, under colour of
bringing an answer, but in reality as a spy. Col. Don-
gan told him, that no peace could be made with the Five
Nations, unless the Indians sent to the galleys, and the
Caghnuaga proselytes were returned to their respec-
tive contons, the forts at Niagara and Frontenac razed
and the Senecas had satisfaction made them, for the
damage they had sustained. The Jesuit, in his return,
was ordered not to visit the Mohawks.

Dongan, wiio wyas fully sensible of the importance of
the Indian interest to the English colonies, was for com-
pelling the French to apply to him in all their a flairs
ivith the Five- Nations ; while they, on the other hand,,

History of • New-York. 99

were for treating with them independent of the Eng-
lish. For this reason, among others, he refused them
the assistance they frequently required, till they ac-
knowledged the dependence of the confederates on the
English crown. King James, a poor, bigotted, popish,
priestridden prince, ordered his governour to give up this
point, and to persuade the Five Nations to send messen-
gers to Canada, to receive proposals of peace from the
French. For this purpose a cessation of arms and mu-
tual redelivery of prisoners was agreed upon. Near
twelve hundred of the confederates attended this nego-
ciation at Montreal, and in their speech to De Nonville,
insisted, with great resolution, upon the terms proposed
by colonel Dongan to father Le V aillant. The French
govei.iour declared his willingness to put an end to the
war, if all his allies might be included in the treaty of
peace, if the Mohawks and Senecas would send depu-
ties to signify their concurrence, and the French might
supply foil Frontenac with provisions. The confede-
rates, according to the French accounts, acceded to
these conditions, and the treaty was ratified in the field.
But a new rupture not long after ensued, from a cause
entirely unsuspected. The Dinondadies had lately in-
clined to the English trade at Messilimakinac, and their
alliance was therefore become suspected by the French.
Adario, their chief, thought to regain the ancient confi-
dence which had been reposed ia his countrymen, by a
notable action against the Five Nations ; and for that
purpose put himself at the head of one hundred men :
nothing was more disagreable to him than the prospect
of peace between the French and the confederates ; for
that event would not only render the amity of the Di-
nondadies useless, but give the French an opportunity

100 History of New-York.

of resenting their late favourable conduct towards the
English. Impressed with these sentiments, out of af-
fection to his country, he intercepted the ambassadours
of the Five Nations, at one of the falls in Cadarackui
river, killed some, arid took others prisoners, telling
them that the French governour had informed him, that
fifty warriours of the Five Nations were coming that
way. As the Dinondadies and confederates were then
at war, the ambassadours were astonished at the perfidy
of the French governour, and could not help communi-
cating the design of their journey. Adario, in prosecu-
tion of his crafty scheme, counterfeited the utmost dis-
tress, anger, and shame, on being made the ignominious
tool of De INonville's treachery, and addressing himself
to Dekariesora, the principal ambassadour, said to him,
" Go, my brethren, I untie your bonds, and send you
home again, though our nations be at war. The French
governour has made me commit so black an action,
that I shall never be easy after it, till the Five Nations
shall have taken full revenge." This outrage and indig-
nity upon the rights of ambassadours, the truth of which
they did not in the least doubt, animated the confede-
rates to the keenest thirst after revenge ; and accord-
ingly twelve hundred of their men, on the 26th of July,
1688$ landed on the south side of the island of Montreal,
while the French were in perfect security ; burnt their
houses, sacked their plantations, and put to the sword
all the men, women, and children, without the skills of
the town. A thousand French were slain in this inva-
sion, and twenty-six carried into captivity and burnt
alive. Many more were made prisoners in another at-
tack in October, arid the lower part of the island whol-

History of New-York. 101

ly destroyed. Only three of the confederates were
lost, in all this scene of misery and desolation.*

Never before did Canada sustain such a heavy blow.
The news of this attack on Montreal no sooner reach-
ed the garrison at the lake Ontario, than they set fire to
the two barks, which they had built there, and abandon-
ed the fort, leaving a match to twenty-eight barrels of
powder, designed to blow up the works. The soldiers
went down the river in such precipitation, that one of
the battoes arid her crew were all lost in shooting a fall.
The confederates in the mean time seized the fort, the
powder and the stores ; and of all the French allies,
who were vastly numerous, only the Nepicirinians and
Kikabous adhered to them in their calamities. The
Utawawas and seven other nations instantly made peace
with the English ; and but for the uncommon sagacity
and address of the sieur Perot, the western Indians
would have murdered every Frenchman among them.
Nor did the distresses of the Canadians end here. Nu-
merous scouts from the Five Nations, continually in-
fested their borders. The frequent depredations that
were made, prevented them from the cultivation of their
fields, and a distressing famine raged through the whole
country. Nothing but the ignorance of the Indians in
the art of attacking fortified places, saved Canada from
being now utterly cut off. It was therefore unspeaka-
ably fortunate to the French, that the Indians had no
assistance from the English, and as unfortunate to us,

* I have followed Dr. Colden in the account of this attack, ivho dif-
fers from Charlevoix. That Jesuit tells us, that the invasion was late
in August, and the Indians fifteen hundred strong ; ami as to the loss
of the French, he diminishes it only to two hundred souls.

102 History of New- York.

that our colonies were then incapable of affording suc-
cours to the confederates, through the malignant influ-
ence of those execrable measures, which were pursued
under the infamous reign of king James the second.
Colonel Dongan, whatever his conduct might have been
in civil affairs, did all that he could in those relating to
the Indians, and fell at last into the king's displea-
sure, through his zeal for the true interest of the pro-
vince.

While these things were transacting in Canada, a
scene of the greatest importance was opening at JNew-
York. A general disaffection to the government pre-
vailed among the people. Papists began to settle in
the colony under the smiles of the governour. The col-
lector of the revenues, and several principal officers,
threw off the mask, and openly avowed their attach-
ment to the doctrines of Home. A Latin school was
set up, and the teacher strongly suspected for a Jesuit,
The people of Long Island, who were disappointed in
their expectation of mighty boons, promised by the
governour on his arrival, were become his personal
enemies ; and, in a word, the whole body of the peo-
ple trembled for the protestant cause. Here the lea-
ven of opposition first began to work. Their intel-
ligence from England, of the designs there in favour
of the prince of Orange, blew up the coals of discon-
tent, and elevated the hopes of the disaffected. But
no man dared to spring in action, till after the rup-
ture in Boston. Sir Edmond Andross, who was per-v
fectly devoted to the arbitrary measures of king
James, by his tyranny in New-England, had drawn
upon himself the universal odium of the people, an-
imated with the love of liberty and in the defence of

History of New-York.

it resolute and courageous ; and, therefore, when they
could no longer endure his despotick rule, they seiz-
ed and imprisoned him, and afterwards sent him to
England. The government, in the mean time, was vest-
ed in the hands of a committee for the safety of the
people, of which Mr. Bradstreet, was chosen presi-
dent. Upon the news of this event, several captains
of our militia convened themselves to concert mea-
sures in favour of the prince of Orange. Among*
thf-se, Jacob Leisler, was the most active. He was a
man in tolerable esteem among the people, and of
a moderate fortune, but destitute of every qualifica-
tion necessary for tile enterprise. Milborne, his son
in law, an Englishman, directed all his councils,
while Leisler as absolutely influenced the other offi-
cers.

The first thing they contrived, was to seize the
garrison in New- York ; and the custom, at that time,
of guarding it every night by the militia, gave Leis-
ler a fine opportunity of executing the design. He
entered it with forty-nine men, and determined to
hold it till the whole militia should join him. Colo-
nel Dongan, who was about to leave the province,
then lay embarked in the bay, having a little be-
fore resigned the government to Francis Nicholson,
the lieutenant governour. The council, civil officers,
and magistrates of the city, were against Leisler,
and therefore many of his friends were at first fear-
ful of openly espousing a cause disapproved by the
gentlemen of figure. For this reason, Leisler's first de-
claration in favour of the prince of Orange, was sub-
scribed only by a few, among several companies of
the trained bands. While the people, for four days

104 History of New-York.

successively, were in the utmost perplexity to deter-
mine what part to choose, being solicited by Leisler
on the one hand, and threatened by the lieutenant
governour on the other, the town was alarmed with
a report that three ships were coming up with or-
ders from the prince of Orange, This falsehood was
very seasonably propagated to serve the interest of
Leisler; for, on that day, the 3d of June, 1689, hi*
party was augmented by the addition of six captains
and four hundred men in New- York, and a compa-
ny of seventy men from past Chester, who all subscrib-
ed a second declaration,^ mutually covenanting to
bold the fort for the prince. Colonel Dongan continu-
ed till this time in the harbour, waiting the issue of
these commotions ; arid Nicholson's party being now
unable to contend with their opponents were totally
dispersed, the lieutenant governour himself absconding.,
the very night after the last declaration was signed.

* I have taken au exact copy of it for the satisfaction of the reader.
" Whereas our intention, tended only but to the preservation of the
protestant religion, and the fort of this citty, to the end that we may
avoid and prevent, the rash judgment of the world, in so just a design ;
wee have thought fitt, to let every body know by these publirk pro-
clamation, that till the safe arn veil of the ships, that wee expect eve-
ry day, from his royal highness the prince of Orange, with orders for
the government of this country in the behalf of such person, as the said
royal highness had chosen, and honoured with the charge of a gover-
nour, that as soon as the bearer of the said orders, shall have let us see
his power, then, and without any delay, we shall execute the said or*
ders punctually ; declaring that we do intend to submit and obey, not
only the said orders, but also the bearer thereof, committed for the ex-
ecution of the same. In witness hereof, we have signed these pre-
sents, the third of June, 1 689.

History of New- York. 105

Leisler being now in complete possession of the fort,
sent home an address to king William and queen Ma-
ry, as soon as he received the news of their accession to
the throne. It is a tedious, incorrect) ill-drawn narra-
tive of the grievances which the people had endured,
and the methods lately taken to secure themselves, end-
ing with a recognition of the sovereignty of the king
and queen over the whole English dominions.

This address was soon followed by a private letter
from Leisler to king William, which, in very broken
English, informs his majesty of the state of the garri-
son, the repairs he had made to it, and the temper of the
people, and concludes with strong protestations of his
sincerity, loyalty, and zeal. Jost Stoll, an ensign, on
the delivery of this letter to the king, had the honour
to kiss his majesty's hand, but Nicholson, the lieutenant
governour, and one Ennis, an episcopal clergyman, ar-
rived in England before him ; and by falsely represent-
ing the late measures in New-York, as proceeding
rather from their aversion to the church of England,
than zeal for the prince of Orange, Leisler and his par-
ty missed the rewards and notice which their activity
for the revolution justly deserved. For though the king
made Stoll the bearer of his thanks to the people for
their fidelity, he so little regarded Leisler's complaint*
against Nicholson, that he was soon after preferred to
the government of Virginia. Dongan returned to Ire-
land, and, it is said, succeeded to the earldom of Lime-
rick.

Leisler's sudden investiture with supreme power
over the province, and the probable prospects of king
William's approbation of his conduct, could not but ex-
cite the envy and jealousy of the late council and ma-

14

History of New- York.

gistrates, who had refused to join in the glorious work of
the revolution ; and hence the spring of all their aver-
sion, both to the man and his measures. Colonel Bay-
ard, and Courtland, the mayor of the city, were at the
head of his opponents, and finding it impossible to raise
a party against him in the city, they very early retired
to Albany, and there endeavoured to foment the oppo-
sition. Leisler, on the other hand, fearful of their in-
fluence, and to extinguish the jealousy of the people,
thought it prudent to admit several trusty persons to a
participation of that power, which the militia on the 1st
of July had committed solely to himself. In conjunc-
tion with these, (who, after the Boston example, were
called the committee of safety) he exercised the go-
vernment, assuming to himself only the honour of being
president in their councils. This model continued till
the month of December, when a packet arrived with a
letter from the lords Carmarthen, Halifax,, and others,
directed " to Francis Nicholson, esq ; or in his absence,
to such as for the time being, take care for preserving
the peace and administering the laws, in their majes-
ties' province of N e w-York, in America.'* This letter
was dated the 29th of Julyy and was accompanied with
another from lord Nottingham, dated the next day,
which, after empowering Nicholson to take upon him
the chief command, and to appoint for his assistance as
many of the principal freeholders and inhabitants as he
should think fit, requiring also " to do every thing ap-
pertaining to the office of lieutenant governour, accord-
ing to the laws and customs of New- York, until further
orders."

1\ icholson being absconded when this packet came to
hand, JLeisler considered the letter as directed to him-

History of New- York. 107

>clf, and from this time issued all kinds of commissions
in his own name, assuming the title, as well as authori-
ty, of lieutenant governour. On the llth of December,
he summoned the committee of safety, and agreeable
to their advice, swore the following persons for his
council : Peter de Lanoy, Samuel Staats, Hendrick
Jansen, and Johannes Vermilie, for New-York. Ge-
rardus Beekman, for King's county. For Queen's coun-
ty, Samuel Edsel. Thomas Williams, for Westchester.
William Lawrence, for Orange county.

Except the eastern inhabitants of Long Island, all
the southern pail of the colony cheerfully submitted
(o Leisler s command. The principal freeholders, how-
ever, by their respectful letters, gave him hopes of their
submission, and thereby prevented his betaking himself
to arms, while they were privately soliciting the colony
of Connecticut to take them under its jurisdiction. They
had indeed no aversion to Leisler's authority, in favour
of any other party in the province, but were willing to
be incorporated with a people from whence they had
originally colonized ; and, therefore, as soon as Con-
necticut declined their request, they openly appeared
to be advocates for Leisler. At this juncture the Long
Island representation was drawn up, which I have more
than once had occasion to mention.

The people of Albany, in the mean time, were de-
termined to hold the garrison and city for king Wil-
liam, independent of Leisler, and on the 26th of Octo-
ber, which was before the packet arrived from lord
Nottingham, formed themselves into a convention for
that purpose. As Leisler's attempt to reduce this coun-
try to his command, was the original cause of the fu-
ture divisions in the province, and in the end brought

108 History of New- York.

about his own ruin, it may not be improper to see the
resolution of the convention, a copy of which was sent
down to him at large.

Peter Schuyler, Mayor, Claes Ripse, .

Dirk Wessels, Recorder, David Schuyler, r

Jan Wandal, Albert Ryckman, ( *

Jan Jansen Bleeker,

Killian V. Renslaer, Justice, John Cuyler,

Capt. Marte Gerritse, Justice, Gerri* Ryerse,
Capt. Gerrit Tunisse, Evert Banker,

Dirk Tunisse, Justice, Rynier Barentse;

Lieut. Robert Sanderse,

" Resolved, since we are informed by persons com-
ing from New- York, that captain Jacob Leisler is de-
signed to send up a company of armed men, upon pre-
tence to assist us in this country, who intend to make
themselves master of their majesties' fort and this city,
and carry divers persons and chief officers of this city,
prisoners to New-York, and so disquiet and disturb
their majesties' liege people, that a letter be writ to al-
derman Levinus Yan Schaic, now at New- York, and
lieutenant Jochim Staets, to make narrow enquiry of the
business, and to signify to the said Leisler, that we have
received such information ; and withal acquaint him,
that notwithstanding we have the assistance of ninety-
five men from our neighbours of New-England, who
are now gone for, and one hundred men upon occasion,
to command, from the county of Ulster, which we
think will be sufficient this winter, yet we will willing-
ly accept any such assistance as they shall be pleased
to send for the defence of their majesties' county of
Albany : Provided, they be obedient to, and obey such
orders and commands, as they shall, from time to time,
receive from the convention ; and that by no means.

History of New- York. 109

they will be admitted, to have the command of their
majesties' fort or this city ; which we intend, by God's
assistance, t<f k|?ep and preserve for the behoof of their
majesties William and Mary, king and queen of Eng-
land, as we hitherto have done since their proclamation ;
and if yon hear, that they persevere with such inten-
tions, so to disturb the inhabitants of this county, that
you then, in the name and behalf of the convention and
inhabitants of the city and county of Albany, protest
against the said Leisler, and all such persons that shall
make attempt, for all losses, damages, bloodshed, or
whatsoever mischiefs may ensue thereon ; which you
are to communicate with all speed, as you perceive
their design."

Taking it for granted, that Leisler at New-York,
and the convention at Albany, were equally affected
to the revolution, nothing could be more egregiously
foolish, than the conduct of both parties, who, by their
intestine divisions, threw the province into convulsions,
and sowed the seeds of mutual hatred and animosity,
which, for a long time after, greatly embarrassed the
publick affairs of the colony. When Albany declared
for the prince of Orange, there was nothing else that
Leisler could properly require : and rather than sacri-
fice the publick peace of the province, to the trifling
honour of resisting a man who had no evil designs, Al-
bany ought in prudence to have delivered the garrison
into his hands, till the king's definitive orders should ar-
rive. But while Leisler, on the one hand, was inebri-
ated with his new gotten power, so on the other, Bay-
ard, Courtland, Schuyler, and others, could not brook
a submission to the authority of a man, mean in his
abilities, and inferiour in his degree. Animated by

110 History of New-York*

these principles, both parties prepared, the one to re-
duce, if I may use the expression, the other to retain,
the garrison of Albany. Mr. Livingston? a principal
agent for the convention, retired into Connecticut, to
solicit the aid of that colony for the protection of the
frontiers against the French. Leisler suspecting that
they were to be used agninst him, endeavoured not on-
ly to prevent these supplies, but wrote letters, to have
Livingston apprehended as an enemy to the reigning
powers, and to procure succours from Boston, falsely
represented the convention as in the interest of the
French and king James.

Jacob Milborne was commissioned for the reduction
of Albany. Upon his arrival there, a great number of
the inhabitants armed themselves and repaired to the
fort, then commanded by Mr. Schuyler, while many
others followed the other members of the convention
to a conference with him at the city hall. Milborne,
to proselyte the crowd, declaimed much against king
James, popery, and arbitrary power ; but his oratory
was lost upon the hearers, who, after several meetings,
still adhered to the convention. Milborne then ad-
vanced with a few men up to the fort, and Mr. Schuy-
ler had the utmost difficulty to prevent both his own
men, and the Mohawks, who were then in Albany, and
perfectly devoted to his service, from firing upon Mil-
borne's party, which consisted of an inconsiderable
number, In these circumstances, he thought proper to
retreat, and soon after departed from Albany. In the
spring he commanded another party upon the same er-
rand, and the distress of the country upon an Indian
irruption, gave him all the desired success. No sooner
was he possessed of the garrison, than mo^ °f the prin-

History of Nav- York. 1 1 1

dpal members of the convention absconded. Upou
which, their effects were arbitrarily seized and confis-
cated, which so highly exasperated the sufferers, that
their posterity, to this day, cannot speak of these trou^
bles, without the bitterest invectives against Leislev
and all his adherents.

In the midst of those intestine confusions at New-
York, the people of New-England, were engaged in a
war with the Owenagungas, Ourages, and Penocoks.
Between these and the Schakook Indians, there wras then
a friendly communication, and the same \vas suspected
of the Mohawks, among whom some of the Owenagun-
gas had taken sanctuary. This gave rise to a confer-
ence between several commissioners from Boston, Ply-
mouth, and Connecticut, and the Five Nations, at Al-
bany, in September, 1689, the former endeavouring to
engage the latter, against those eastern Indians, who
were then at war with the New-England colonies.
Tahajadoris, a Mohawk sachem, in a long oration, an-
swered the English message, and, however improbable
it may seem to Europeans, repeated all that had been
said the preceding day. The art they have in assisting
their memories is this. The sachem who presides, has
a bundle of sticks prepared for the purpose, and at the
close of every principal article of the message delivered
to them, gives a stick to another sachem charging him
with remembrance of it. By this means the oratour, af-
ter a previous conference with the Indians, is prepared
to repeat every part of the message, and give it its pro-
per reply. This custom is invariably pursued in all
their publick treaties.

The conference did not answer the expectation of the
people of New-England, the Five Nations discovering:

112 History of New- York.

a great disinclination to join in the hostilities against the
eastern Indians. To atone for which, they gave the
highest protestations of their willingness to distress the
French, against whom the English had declared war, on
the 7th of May preceding. That part of the speech
ratifying their friendship with the English colonies, is
singularly expressed. " We promise to preserve the
chain inviolably, and wish that the sun may always
shine in peace over all our heads that are comprehend-
ed in this chain.* We give two belts. One for the
sun, and the other for its beams. We make fast the
roots of the tree of peace and tranquility which is plant-
ed in this place. Its roots extend as far as the utmost
of your colonies ; if the French should come to shake
this tree, we would feel it by the motion of its roots,
which extend into our country. But we trust it will
not be in the governour of Canada's power to shake
this tree, which has been so firmly, and long planted
with us."

Nothing could have been more advantageous to these
colonies, and especially to New- York, than the late suc-
cess of the Five Nations against Canada. The mise-
ries to which the French were reduced, rendered us
secure against their inroads, till the work of the revo-
lution was in a great measure accomplished ; and to
their distressed condition, we must principally ascribe
the defeat of the French design, about this time, to
make a conquest of the province. De Callieres, who

* The Indians' conception of the league between them and us, i»
couched under the idea of a chain extended from a ship to a tree ;
s^ad every renewal of this league they call brightening the chain.

*r
£?%.£*!

jffisfory of New-York 113

went to France in 1 688, first projected the .scberne ;*
and the troubles in England encouraged the French
court to make the attempt. Caffiniere commanded the
ships which sailed for that purpose from Rocnefort ;
subject, nevertheless, to the count De Frontenac, who
was general of the land forces, destined to march from
Canada by the rout of Sorel river and the lake Cham-
plain. The fleet and troops arrived at Chebucta, the
place of rendezvous, in September : from whence the
count proceeded to Quebec, leaving orders with Caf-
finiere to sail for New-York, and continue in the bay,
in sight of the city, but beyond the fire of our cannon,
till the 1st December : when, if he received no intelli-
gence from him, he was ordered to return to Prance, af-
ter unlading the ammunition, stores, and provisions at
Port-Roy al.f The count was in high spirits, and fully
determined upon the enterprise, till he arrived at Que-
bec ; where the news of the success of the Five Nations
against Montreal, the loss of his favourite fort at lake
Ontario, and the advanced season of the year, defeated
his aims, and broke up the expedition. De Nonville,
who was recalled, carried the news of this disappoint-
ment to the court of France, leaving the chief command
of the country in the hands of count Frontenac. This

* Charlevoix has published an extract of the memorial presented to
the French king. The force demanded for this enterprise was to consist
of 1300 regulars, and 300 Canadians. Albanjr was said to be fortified
only by an inclosure of stockadoes and a little fort with four bastions ;
and that it contained but 150 soldiers and 300 inhabitants. That
New-York, the capital of the province, was opon, had a stone fort
with four bastions, and about four hundred iuhabiUmts; divided into
-eight companies.

Annapolis.

15

J14 History of fferv-Yorft.

gentleman was a man of courage, and well acquainted
with the affairs of that country. He was then in the 68th
year of his age, and yet so far from consulting his ease^
that in a few days after he landed at Quebec, he re-
embarked in a canoe for Montreal, where his presence
was absolutely necessary, to animate the inhabitants
and regain their Indian alliances. A war, between the
English and French crowns, being broke out, the count
betook himself to every art, for concluding a peace be-
tween Canada and the Five Nations ; and for this pur-
pose, the utmost civilities were shown to Taweraket
and the other Indians, who had been sent to France by
De Nonville, and were now returned. Three of those
Indians, who doubtless were struck with the grandeur
and glory of the French monarch, were properly sent
on the important message of conciliating the friendship
of the Five Nations. These, agreeable to our alliance,
sent two sachems to Albany, in December, with notice
that a council for that purpose was to be held at Onon-
daga. It is a just reflection upon the people of Albanyj
that they regarded the treaty so slightly, as only to
send four Indians and the interpreter with instructions,
in their name, to dissuade the confederates from a ces-
sation of arms ; while the French, on the other hand,
had then a Jesuit amon^ the Oneydoes. The council
began on the 22d of January, 1690, and consisted of
eighty sachems. Sadekanaghtie, an Onondaga chief,
opened the conference. The whole was managed with
great art and formality, and concluded in showing a
disposition to make peace with the French, without per-
fecting it ; guarding, at the same time, against giving
the least umbrage to the English.

History of New- York. 1W

Among other measures to detach the Five Nations
from the British interest, and raise the depressed spirit
of the Canadians, the count De Frontenac thought pro-
per to send out several parties against the English col-
onies. ITAillebout, De Mantel, and Le Moyne, com-
manded that against New- York, consisting of about two
hundred French and some Caghnuaga Indians, who, be-
ing proselytes from the Mohawks, were perfectly ac-
quainted with that country. Their orders were, in gen-
eral, to attack New- York ; but pursuing the advice of
the Indians, they resolved, instead of Albany, to sur-
prise Schenectady, a village seventeen miles northwest
from it, and about the same distance from the Mohawks.
The people of Schenectady, though they had been in-
formed of the designs of the enemy, were in the great-
est security ; judging it impracticable for any men to
march several hundred miles, in the depth of winter,
.through the snow, bearing their provisions on their back?>
Besides the village was in as much confusion as the rest
of the province ; the officers who were posted there,
being unable to preserve a regular watch, or any kind
of military order. Such was the state of Schenectady,
as represented by colonel Schuyler, who was at that
time mayor of the city of Albany, and at the head of
the convention. A copy of his letter to the neighbour-
ing colonies, concerning this descent upon Schenecta-
dy, dated 15th of February, 1689-90, I have now lying
before me, under his own hand.

After two and twenty days march, the enemy fell in
with Schenectady, on the 8th of February ; and were
reduced to such straight s, that they had thoughts of sur-
rendering themselves prisoners of war. But their scouts,
aarho were a day or hvo in the village entirely unsuspect*

1 1 6 History of New- YorL

ed, returned with such encouraging accounts of the ab-
solute security of the people, that the enemy deter-
mined on the attack. They entered on Saturday night
about eleven o'clock, at the gates, which were found
unshut ; and, that every house might be invested at the
same time, divided into small parties of six, or seven
men. The inhabitants were in a profound sleep, and
unalarmed, till their doors were broke open. Never
were people in a more wretched consternation. Before
they were risen from their beds, the enemy entered
their houses, and began the perpetration of the most in-
human barbarities. No tongue, says colonel Schuyler,
can express the cruelties that were committed. The
whole village was instantly in a blafce. Women with
child ripped open, and their infants cast into the flames,
or dashed against the posts of the doors. Sixty persons
perished in the massacre, and twenty seven were carri-
ed into captivity. The rest fled naked towards Albany,
through a deep snow which fell that very night in a ter-
rible storm ; and twenty-five of these fugitives, lost
their limbs in the flight, through the severity of the frost.
The news of this dreadful tragedy reached Albany
about break of day ; and universal dread seized the in-
habitants of that city, the enemy being reported to be
one thousand four hundred strong, A party of horse
was immediately dispatched to Schenectady, and a few
Mohawks, then in the town, fearful of being intercepted,
were with difficulty sent to apprise their own castles.

The Mohawks were unacquainted with this bloody
ecene, till two days after it happened ; our messengers
being scarce able to travel through the great depth of
Snow. The enemy, in the mean time, pillaged the
town of Schenectady till noon the next day ; and them

History of New- York. 117

went off with their plunder, and about forty of their best
horses. The rest, with all the cattle they could find,
lay slaughtered in the streets.

The design of the French, in this attack, was to alarm
the fenrs of our Indian allies, by shewing that we were
incapable of defending them. Every art also was used
to conciliate their friendship, for they not only spared
those Mohawks who were found in Schenectady, but
several other particular persons, in compliment to the
Indians, who requested that favour. Several women
and children were also released at the desire of captain
Glen, to whom the French offered no violence ; the offi-
cer declaring he had strict orders against it, on the score
of his wife's civilities to certain French captives in the
time of colonel Dongan.

The Mohawks, considering the cajoling arts of the
French, and that the Caghnuagas who were with them,
were once a pail of their own body, behaved as well as
could be reasonably expected. They joined a party of
young men from Albany, fell upon the rear of the ene-
my, and either killed or captivated five and twenty.
Several sachems, in the mean time, came to Albany,
and very affectingly addressed the inhabitants, who
were just ready to abandon the country ; urging their
stay, and exciting an union of all the English colonies
against Canada. Their sentiments concerning the French
appear from the following speech of condolence.
" Brethren, we do not think, that what the French have
done can be called a victory : it is only a farther proof
of their cruel deceit : the governour of Canada, sent to
Onondaga, and talks to us of peace with our whole
house ; but war was in his heart, as you now see by wo-
ful experience. He did the same, formerly, at Cadar-

118 History of New- York.

acqui, and in the Seneca's country. This is the third
time he has acted so deceitfully. He has broken open
our house, at both ends ; formerly in the Seneca's coun-
try, and now here. We hope however to be revenged
ofthem."

Agreeable to this declaration, the Indians soon after
treated the chevalier d'Eau and the rest of the French
messengers, who came to conclude the peace proposed
by Taweraket, with the utmost indignity ; and after-
wards delivered them up to the English. Besides this,
their scouts harrassed the borders of the enemy, and
fell upon a party of French and Indians, in the ri-
ver, about one hundred and twenty miles above Mon-
treal, under the command of Louvigni, a captain, who
was going to Missilimakinac, to prevent the conclusion of
the peace between the Utawawas and Uuatoghies, with
the Five Nations. The loss in this skirmish was nearly
equal on both sides. One of our prisoners was deliver-
ed to the Utawawas, who ate him. In revenge for this
barbarity, the Indians attacked the island of Montreal,
at Trembling Point, and killed an officer and twelve
men ; while another party carried off about fifteen pri-
soners taken at Riviere Puante, whom they afterwards
slew, through fear of their pursuers ; and others burnt
the French plantations at St. JEurs. But what render-
ed this year most remarkable, was the expedition of
sir William Phips against Quebec. He sailed up the
river with a fleet of thirty-two sail, and came before
the city in October. Had he improved his time and
strength, the conquest would have been easy ; but by
spending three days in idle consultations, the French
governour brought in his forces, and entertained such
a mean opinion of the English knight, that he not only

History of New- York. 119

despised bis summons to surrender, but sent a verbal
answer, in which he called king William an usurper,
and poured the utmost contempt upon his subjects.
The messenger, who carried the summons, insisted up-
on a written answer, and that within an hour ; but the
count de Frontenac absolutely refused it, adding, " I'll
answer your master by the mouth of my cannon, that
he may learn that a man of my condition is not to be
summoned in this manner." Upon this, sir William
made two attempts to land below the town, but was re-
pulsed by the enemy, with considerable loss of men,
cannon and baggage. Several of the ships also cannon-
aded the city, but without any success. The forts at
the same time returned the fire, and obliged them to
retire in disorder. The French writers, in their ac-
counts of this expedition, universally censure the con-
duct of sir William, though they confess the valour of
his troops. La Hontan, who was then at Quebec, says,
he could riot have acted in a manner more agreeable to
the French, if he had been in their interest.*

* Dr. Golden supposes this attack was made upon Quebec, in 1691,
but he is certaioly mistaken ; see life of sir William Phips, published
at London, 1697...Oldmixon's Brit. Empire... and Charlevoix.

Among the causes of the ill success of the fleet, the author of the life
of sir William Phips, mentions the neglect of the conjoined troops of
New-York, Connecticut, and the Indians, to attack Montreal, accord-
ing to the original plan of operations. He tells us, that they marched
to the lake, but there found themselves unprovided with battoes, and
that the Indians were dissuaded from the attempt. By what authority
these assertions may be supported, I know not. Charlevoix says our
army was disappointed in the intended diversion, by the small pox,
which seized the camp, killed three hundred race, and terrified ear
Indian allies.

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.

PART III.

From the Revolution to the second Expedition against

Canada.

W HILE our allies were faithfully exerting them*
selves against the Common enemy, colonel Henry
Sloughter, who had a commission to be governour of this
province, dated the 4th of January, 1689, arrived here,
and published it on the 19th of March, 1691. Never was
a governour more necessary to the province, than at this
critical conjuncture ; as well for reconciling a divided
people, as for defending them against the wiles of a
cunning adversary. But either through the hurry of
the king's affairs, or the powerful interest of a favour-
ite, a man was sent over, utterly destitute of every
qualification for government, licentious in his morals,
avaricious, and poor. The council present at his arrival
were,

Joseph Dudley, Gabriel Mienvielle,

Frederick Philipse, Chudley Brook,

Stephen Van Courtlandt, Thomas Willet,

William Pinhorne.

If Leisler had delivered the garrison to colonel
Sloughter, as he ought to have done, upon his first
landing, besides extinguishing, in a great degree, the
animosities then subsisting, he would, doubtless, have at-
tracted the favourable notice, both of the governouj;

16

J'2'2 History of Nciv- YorK:

and the crown. But being a weak man, he was so in-
toxicated with the love of power, that though lie had*
been well informed of Sloughter's appointment to the
government, he not only shut himself up in the Jbrt
with Bayard and Nichols, whom he had, before that time,
imprisoned, but refused to deliver them up, or to sur-
render the garrison. From this moment he lost all cre-
dit with the governour, who joined the other party
against him. On the second demand of the fort, Mil-
borne and De Lanoy came out, under pretence of con-
.ferring with his excellency, but in reality to discover his
designs. Sloughter, who considered them as rebels,
threw them both into gaol. Leisler, upon this event,
thought proper to abandon the fort, which colonel
Sloughter immediately entered. Bayard and Nichols
were now released from their confinement, and sworn
of the privy council. Leisler having thus ruined his
cause, was apprehended with many of his adherents, and
a commission of oyer and tenniner issued to sir Thomas
Robinson, colonel Smith, and others, for their trials.

In vain did they plead the merit of their zeal for king
AVilliam, since they had so lately opposed his governour.
Leisler, in particular, endeavoured to justify his con-
duct, insisting that lord Nottingham's letter entitled
him to act in the quality of lieutenant governour.
Whether it was through ignorance or sycophancy, I
know not : but the judges instead of pronouncing their
own sentiments upon this part of the prisoner's defence,
referred it to the governour and council, praying their
opinion, whether that letter " or any other letters, or
papers, in the packet from Whitehall, can be under-
stood, or interpreted, to be and contain, any power, or
Direction to captain Leisler, to take the government of"

History of New- YorJc. 1 23

this province upon himself, or that the administration
thereupon be holden good in law." The answer was, as
might have been expected, in the negative ; and Leisler
and his son were condemned to death for high treason.
These violent measures drove many of the inhabitants,
who were fearful of being apprehended, into the neigh-
b airing colonies which shortly after occasioned the pass-
ing an act of general indemnity.

From the surrender of the province to the year 1683,
the inhabitants were ruled by the duke's goyernours
and their councils, who, from time to time, made rules
and orders, which were esteemed to be binding as laws.
These, about the year 1674, were regularly collected
under alphabetical titles ; and a fair copy of them re-
mains, among our records, to this day. They are com-
monly known by the name of the duke's laws. The
title page of the book, written in the old court hand, is
in these bald words,

JUS

NOV.E EBORACENSIS ;
VEL,

>I,EGES ILLUSTRISSIMO PRINCIPE JACOBI DUCE
EBORACI ET A.]LBANJE, ETC.
INSTITUTE ET ORDINATJE,
AD OBSERVANDUM IN TERRITORIIS AMERICA ;
TRANSCRIPTS,
ANNO DOMINI
M.DC.LXXIV.

Those ad? which were made in 1683, and after the
duke's accession to the throne, when the people were
admitted to a participation of the legislative power,
are for the most part rotten, defaced, or lost. Few
minutes relating to them remain on the council books,
ard none in the journals of the house.

124 History of New- York.

As this assembly, in 1691, was the first after the re-
volution, it may not be improper to take some paiticu-
lar notice of its transactions,*

It began the 9th of April, according to the writs of
summons issued on the 20th of March preceding. The
journal of the house opens with a list of the member^
returned by the sheriffs.

City and county of New- York. County of Richmond.
James Graham, Elias Dukesbury,

William Merrett, John Dally.

Jacobus Van Courtlandt, County of \Vestchesteix

Johannes Kipp, John Pell.

City and county of Albany. County of Suffolk.

^ Derrick Wessels, Henry Pierson,

Levinus Van Scayck. Mathew Howell.

Ulster and Dutchess county. Queen's county.

Henry Beekman, John Bound,

Thomas Gartoq, Nathaniel Percall.

King's county.
Nicholas Stillwell,
John Poland.

The members for Queen's county, being quakers,
ivere afterwards dismissed, for refusing the oaths direct-
ed by the governour's commission; but all the rest
were qualified before two commissioners appointed for
that purpose,

James Graham was elected their speaker, and ap-
proved by the governour.

The majority of the members of this assembly were
Against the measures which Leisler pursued in the lat-

* All laws made here, antecedent to this period, are disregarded
both by the legislature and the courts of law. In the collection of our
acts, published in 1 752, the compilers were directed to begin at this
Assembly. The validity of the old grants of the powers of govern-
ment, in several American colonies, is very much doubted in this pro-
Vice©,

History of New- York. 123

f er part of his time ; and hence we find the house, after
considering a petition, signed by sundry persons, against
Leisler, unanimously resolved, that his dissolving the
late convention, and imprisoning several persons, was
tumultuous, illegal, and against their majesties' right,
and that the late depredations on Schenectady were to
be attributed to his usurpation of all power.

They resolved against the late forcible seizures made
of effects of the people, and against the levying of mo-
ney on their majesties' subjects. And as to Leisler's
holding the fort against the governour, it was voted to
be an act of rebellion.

The house havirfg, by these agreeable resolves, pre-
pared the way of their access to the governour, ad-
dressed him in these words :

" May it please your excellency,

" We their majesties' most dutiful and loyal subjects,
convened, by their majesties' most gracious favour, in
general assembly, in this province, do, in all most hum-
ble manner, heartily congratulate your excellency,
that as, in our hearts, we do abhor and detest all the
rebellious, arbitrary, and illegal proceedings of the
late usurpers of their majesties' authority over this pro-
vince, so we do, from the bottom of our hearts, with
all integrity, acknowledge and declare, that there are
none, that can or ought to have right to rule and go-
vern their majesties' subjects here, but by their majes-
ties' authority, which is now placed in your excellency;
and therefore we do solemnly declare, that we will,
With our lives and fortunes, support and maintain the
administration of your excellency's government, under
their majesties, against all their majesties' enemies
whatsoever : and this we humbly pray your excellency
to accept as the sincere acknowledgment of all their

History of New- York.

majesties' good subjects within this their province ;
praying for their majesties' long and happy reign over
us, and that your excellency may long live and rule, as
according to their majesties' most excellent constitution
of governing their subjects by a general assembly."
1 Before this house proceeded to pass any acts, they
unanimously, resolved, " That all the laws consented to
by the general assembly, under James duke of York,
and the liberties and privileges therein contained,
granted to the people, and declared to be their rights,
not being observed, nor ratified and approved by his
royal highness, nor the late king, are null and void,
and of none effect ; and also, the several ordinances,
made by the late governours and councils, being con-
trary to the constitution of England, and the practice
of the government of their majesties' other plantations
in America, are likewise null and void, and of no effect,
nor force, within this province."

Among the principal laws enacted at this session, we
may mention that for establishing the revenue, which
was drawn into precedent. The sums raised by it, were
made payable into the hands of the receiver general,
and issued by the governour's warrant. By this means
the governour became, for a season, independent of the
people, and hence we find frequent instances of the as-
semblies contending with him for the discharge of debts
to private persons, contracted on the faith of the go-
vernment.

Antecedent to the revolution, innumerable were the
controversies relating to publick townships and private
rights ; and hence, an act was now passed, for the con-
firmation of ancient patents and grants, intended to put
an end to those debates. A law was also passed for the

History of Nen-Yorlk. 127

establishment of courts of justice, though a perpetual
act had been made to that purpose in 1683, and the old
court of assize entirely dissolved in 1684. As this en-
acted in 1691, was a temporary law, it may hereafter
be disputed, as it has been already, whether the present
establishment of our courts, for general jurisdiction, by
an ordinance, can consist even with the preceding act,
or the general rules of law. Upon the erection of the
supreme court, a chief justice, and four assistant judg-
es, with an attorney general, were appointed. The chief
justice, Joseph Dudley, had a salary of 130Z. per an-
num; Johnson, the second judge, 100Z. and both were
payable out of the revenue ; but William Smith, Ste-
phen Van Courtlandt, and William Pinhorne, the other
judges, and Newton, the attorney general, had nothing
allowed for their services.

It has, more than once, been a subject of animated
debate, whether the people, in this colony, have a right
to be represented in assembly, or whether it be a pri-
vilege enjoyed through the grace of the crown. A me-
morable act passed this session, virtually declared in fa-
vour of the former opinion, upon that, and several other
of the principal and distinguishing liberties of English-
men. It must, nevertheless, be confessed, that king
William was afterwards pleased to repeal that law, in
the year 1697.*

Colonel Sloughter proposed, immediately after the
session, to set out to Albany, but as Leisler's party were
enraged at his imprisonment, and the late sentence

* It was entitled, " An act declaring what are the rights and privi-
leges of their majesties' subjects inhabiting within their province of
New- York,'1

History of New-York.

against him, his enemies were afraid new troubles would
spring up in the absence of the governour ; for this rea-'
son, both the assembly and counciladvised that the pri-
soners should be immediately executed. Sloughter, who
had no inclination to favour them in this request, those
rather to delay such a violent step, being fearful of cut-
ing off two men, who had vigorously appeared for the
king, and so signally contributed to the revolution.
Nothing could be more disagreeable to their enemies,
whose interest was deeply concerned in their destruc-
tion. And, therefore, when no other measures could
prevail with the governour, tradition informs us, that a
sumptuous feast was prepared, to which colonel Slough-
ter was invited. When his excellency's reason was
drowned in his cups, the entreaties of the company pre-
vailed with him to sign the death wan-ant, and before he
recovered his senses, the prisoners were executed.
Leisler's son afterwards carried home a complaint to
king William, against the governour. His petition was
referred, according to the common course of plantation
affairs, to the lords commissioners of trade, who, after
hearing the whole matter, reported on the llth of March,
1692, that they were humbly of opinion, that Jacob
Leisler and, Jacob Mil borne, deceased, were condemned
and had suffered according to law." Their lordships,
however, interceded for their families, as fit objects of
mercy, and this induced queen Mary, who approved the
report, on the 17th of March, to declare, " that upon the
humble application of the relations of the said Jacob
Leisler and Jacob Milborne, deceased, her majesty will
order the estates of Jacob Leisler and Jacob Milborne,
to be restored to their families, as objects of her majes-
ty's mercy." The bodies of these unhappy sufferers

History of Nerv-YorR. 129

were afterwards taken up and interred, with great pomp,
in the old Dutch church, in the city of New- York.
Their estates were restored to their families, and Leis-
ler's children, in the publick estimation, are rather dig-
nified, than disgraced, by the fall of their ancestor.

These distractions in the province so entirely en-
grossed the publick attention, that our Indian allies,
who had been left solely to contend with the common
enemy, grew extremely disaffected. The Mohawks,
in particular, highly resented this conduct ; and, at the
instance of the Caghnuagas, sent a messenger to Cana-
da, to confer with count Frontenac about a peace. To
prevent this, colonel -Sloughter had an interview at Al-
bany, in June, with the other four nations, who express-
ed their joy at seeing a governour again in that place*
They told him that their ancestors, as they had been
informed, were greatly surprised at the arrival of the
first ship in that country, and were curious to know
what was its huge belly. That they found Christians
in it, and one Jacques, with whom they made a chain
of friendship, which .they had preserved to this day*
All the Indians, except the Mohawks, assured the go-
vernour, at this meeting, of their resolution to prosecute
the war. The Mohawks confessed their negociations
with the French, that they had received a belt from Can-
ada, and prayed the advice of the governour, and after-
wards renewed their league with all our colonies.

Sloughter soon after returned to New- York, and end-
ed a short, weak, and turbulent administration, for he
died suddenly on the 23d of July, 1691. Some were not
without suspicions that he came unfairly to his end, but
the certificate of the physician and surgeons who open-

17

130 History of New-York.

ed his body, by an order of council, confuted these con-
jectures, and his remains were interred in Stuyvesant's,
vault, next to those of the old Dutch governour.

At the time of Sloughter's decease, the government
devolved, according to the late act for declaring the
rights of the people of this province, on the council, in-
which Joseph Dudley had a right to preside ; but they
committed the chief command to Richard Ingolsby, a
captain of an independent company, who was sworn in-
to the office of president on the 26th of July, 1698.
Dudley, soon afterwards, returned to this province, from
Boston, but did not think proper to dispute IngolsbyV
authority, though the latter had no title, nor the great-
est abilities for government, and was besides obnox-
ious to the party who had joined Leisler, having been
an agent in the measures which accomplished his ruin.
To the late troubles, which were then recent, and the
agreement subsisting between the council and assembly,
we must ascribe it, that the former tacitly acknowledg-
ed Ingolsby's right to the president's chair ; for they
concurred with him, in passing several laws, in autumn,
and the spring following, the validity of which ha&
never yet been disputed.

This summer major Schuyler,* with a party of Mo-
hawks, passed through the lake Champlain, and made a
bold irruption upon the French settlements, at the north

'\

* The French, from his great influence at Albany, and activity
among the Indians, concluded that he was the governour of that city ;
and hence their historians honour him with that title, though he was
then only mayor of the corporation. " Pierre Schuyler, says Charle-
voix, etoit UQ fort hounete homme."

History of New- York. 131

end of it.* De Callieres, the governour of Montreal,
to oppose him, collected a small army, of eight hun-
dred men, and encamped at La Prairie. Schuyler had
several conflicts with the enemy, and slew about three
hundred of them, which exceeded in number his whole
party. The French, ashamed of their ill success, attri-
bute it to the want of order, too many desiring to have
the command. But the true cause was the ignorance of
then* officers in the Indian manner of fighting. They
kept their men in a body, while ours posted themselves
behind trees, hidden from the enemy. Major Schuyler's
design, in this descent, was to animate the Indians, and
preserve their enmity with the French. They, accord-
ingly, continued their hostilities against them, and, by
frequent incursions, kept the country in constant alarm*
In the midst of these distresses, the French governour
preserved his sprightliness and vigour, animating every
body about him. After he had served himself of the Uta-
wawas, who came to trade at Montreal, he sent them
home under the care of a captain and one hundred and
ten men ; and to secure their attachment to the French
interest, gave them two Indian prisoners, and, besides,
sent very considerable presents to the western Indians, in
their alliance. The captives were afterwards burnt. The
Five Nations, in the mean time, grew more and more in-
censed, and continually harrassed the French borders.
Mr. Beaucour, a young gentleman, in the following
winter, marched a body of about three hundred men to
attack them at the isthmus, at Niagara. Incredible were

•

* Dr. Golden relates it as a transaction of the year 1691, which is
true : but he supposes it was before sir William Phips' attack upon
Quebec, and thus falls into an anachronism of a whole year, as I have
already observed..

History of New-York.

the fatigues they underwent in this long march over the
snow, bearing their provisions on their backs. Eighty
men, of the Five Nations, opposed the French party
and bravely maintained their ground, till most of them
were cut off. In return for which, the confederates, in
small parties, obstructed the passage of the French
through lake Ontario, and the river issuing out of it, and
cut off their communication with the western Indians.
An Indian called Black Kettle, commanded in these in-
cursions of the Five Nations, and his successes, which
continued the whole summer, so exasperated the count,
that he ordered an Indian prisoner to be burnt alive.
The bravery of this savage was as extraordinary, as the
torments inflicted on him were cruel. He sung his mili-
tary achievements without interruption, even while his
bloody executioners practised all possible barbarities.
They broiled his feet, thrust his fing ers into red hot
pipes, cut his joints, and twisted the sinews with bars of
iron. After this his scalp was ripped off, and hot sand
poured on the wound.

In June, 1692, captain Ingolsby met the Five Nations
at Albany, and encouraged them to persevere in the
war. The Indians declared their enmity to the French, in
the strongest terms, and as heartily professed their
friendship to us. "• Brother Corlear, said the sachem,
we are all subjects of one great king and queen, we
have one head, one heart, one interest, and are all engag-
ed in the same war." The Indians, at the same time,,
did not forget, at this interview, to condemn the inac-
tivity of the English, telling them, that the destruction
of Canada would not make one summer's work, against
their united strength, if vigorously exerted.

History of New-York. 133

Colonel Benjamin Fletcher arrived, with a commis-
sion to be governour, on the 29th of August, 1692,
which was published the next day, before the following
members, in council :

Frederick Philipse, Chudley Brooke,

Stephen Yan Courtlandt, William Nicoll,
Nicholas Bayard, Thomas Willet,

Gabriel Mienvielle, * Thomas Johnson.
William Pinhorne, one of that board, being a non resi-
dent, wras refused the oaths ; and Joseph Dudley, for
the same reason removed, both from his s^at in coun-
cil and his office of chief justice. Caleb Heathcote and
John Young succeeded them in council : arid William
Smith was seated, in Dudley's place, on the bench.

Colonel Fletcher brought over with him a present to
the colony, of arms, ammunition and warlike stores ;
ia gratitude for which, he exhorted the council and as-
sembly, who were sitting at his arrival, to send home
an address of thanks to the king. It consists, principal-
ly, of a representation of the great expense the province
was continually at to defend the frontiers, and praying
his majesty's direction that the neighbouring colonies
might be compelled to join their aid for the support of
Albany. The following passage in it shows the sense
of the legislature upon a matter which has since been
very much debated. " When these countries were
possessed by the Dutch West-India company, they al-
ways had pretences (and had most part of it within
their actual jurisdiction) to all that tract of land (with
the islands adjacent) extending, from the west side
of Connecticut river, to the lands lying on the west side
of Delaware bay, as a suitable portion of land for one
colony or government ; all which, including the lands on

134 History of New- York.

the west of Delaware bay or river, were in the duke of
York's grant, from his majesty king Charles the second,
whose governours also possessed those lands on the
west side of Delaware bay or river. By several grants,
as well from the crown, as from the duke, the said pro-
vince has been so diminished, that it is now decreased
to a very few towns and villages ; the number of men
fit to bear arms, in the whole government, not amount-
ing to three thousand, who are all reduced to great po-
verty."

I Fletcher was by profession a soldier, a man of strong
passions, and inconsiderable talents, very active and
equally avaricious. Nothing could be more fortunate
to him than his early acquaintance with major Schuy-
ler, at Albany, at the treaty for confirmation of the
Indian alliance, the fall after his arrival. No man,
then in this province, understood the state of our affairs
with the Five Nations better than major Schuyler. He
had so great an influence over them, that whatever
Quider,^ as they called him, recommended or disap-
proved, had the force of a law. This power over them
was supported, as it had been obtained, by repeated of-
fices of kindness, and his singular bravery and activity
in the defence of his country. These qualifications
rendered him singularly serviceable and necessary,
both to the province and governour. For this reason
Fletcher took him into his confidence, and, on the 2Mi
of October, raised him to the council board. Under
the tutelage of major Schuyler, the governour became
daily more and more acquainted with our Indian af-
fairs ; his constant application to which procured and

* Instead of Peter, which they could not projioiince.

• History of New- York* 135

preserved him a reputation and influence in the colony.
Without this knowledge, and which was all that he had
to distinguish himself, his incessant solicitations for mo-
ney, his passionate temper, and bigotted principles,
must necessarily have rendered him obnoxious to the
people, arid kindled a hot fire of contention in the pro-
vince.

The old French governour, who found that all his
measures for accomplishing a peace with the Five Na-
tions, proved abortive, was now meditating a blow on
the Mohawks. He accordingly collected an army of
six or seven hundred French and Indians, and supplied
them with every thing necessary for a winter campaign.
They set out from Montreal, on the 15th of January,
1693 ; and after a march attended with incredible hard-
ships, they passed by Schenectady, on the 6th of Fe-
bruary, and, that night, captivated rive men and some
women and children, at the first castle of the Mohawks.
The second castle was taken with equal ease, the In-
dian inhabitants being in perfect security, and, for the
most pail, at Schenectady. At the third, the enemy
found about forty Indians in a war dance, designing to
go out, upon some enterprise, the next day. Upon
their entering the castle a conflict ensued, in which the
French lost about thirty men. Three hundred of our
Indians were made captives in this descent ; and, but
for the intercession of the savages in the French inte-
rest, would all have been put to the sword.*

^ Dr. Golden and the Jesuit Charleroix are uot perfectly agreed in
the history of this irruption. I have followed sometimes the former,
and at other times the latter; according as the facts, more immediately*,
related to the conduct of their respective countrymen.

136 History of New-York. •

The Indians were enraged, and with good reason, at.
the people of Schenectady, who gave them no assist-
ance against the enemy, though they had notice of their
marching by that village. But this was atoned for by
the succours from Albany. Colonel Schuyler volun-
tarily headed a party of two hundred men, and went
out against the enemy. On the 15th of February he
was joined by near three hundred Indians, ill armed,
and many of them boys. A pretended deserter, who
came to dissuade the Indians from the pursuit, inform-
ed him, the next day, tiiat the French had built a fort,
and waited to fight him ; upon which he sent to Ingols-
by, the commandant at Albany, as well for a reinforce-
ment as for a supply of provisions ; for the greatest
part of his men came out with only a few biscuits in
their pockets, and at the time they fell in with the en-
emy, on the 17th of the month, had been several days
without any kind of food. Upon approaching the French
army, sundry skirmishes ensued ; the enemy endea-
vouring to prevent our Indians from felling trees for
their protection. Captain Syms, with eighty regulars of
the independent companies, and a supply of provisions,
arrived on the 19th, but the enemy had marched offthe
day before, in a great snow storm. Our party, however,
pursued them, and would have attacked their rear, if
the Mohawks had not been averse to it. AYhen the
French reached the north branch of Hudson's river,
luckily a cake of ice served them to cross over it, the
river being open both above and below. The frost was
npw extremely severe, and the Mohawks fearful of an
engagement ; upon which Schuyler who had retaken
about fifty Indian captives, desisted from the pursuit on
the 20th of February ; four of his men and as many In-

History of New-York* 137

dians being killed, and twelve wounded. Our Indians*
at this time, were so distressed for provisions, that they
fed upon the dead bodies of the French ; and the ene-
my, in their turn, were reduced, before they got home,
to eat up their shoes. The French in this enterprise lost
eighty men, and had above thirty wounded*

Fletcher's extraordinary dispatch up to Albany, up-
on the first news of this descent, gained the esteem both
of the publick and our Indian allies.

The express reached New-York on the 12th of Fe-
bruary, at ten o'clock in the night, and in less than two
days, the governoujr embarked with three hundred vo-
lunteers. The river, which was heretofore very uncom-
mon at that season, was open.* Fletcher landed at Al-
bany, and arrived at Schenectady, the 17th of the
month, which is about one hundred and sixty miles from
New- York ; but he was still too late to be of any other
use than to strengthen the ancient alliance. The Indians,
in commendation of his activity on the occasion, gave
him the name of Cayenguirago, or, the great swift ar-
row.

Fletcher returned to New- York, and, in March, met
the assembly, who were so well pleased with his late
vigilance, that besides giving him the thanks of the house*
they raised 6000/. for a year's pay of three hundred
volunteers, and their officers, for the defence of the fron-
tiers.

As the greatest part of this province consisted of
Dutch inhabitants, all our governours, as well in the

* The climate of late years is much altered, and this day, February
14,1756, three hundred recruits sailed from New- York for the army
under the command of general Shirley, now quartered at Albany ; and
last year, a sloop went up the river a month earlier.

18

138 History of New- York.

duke's time, as after the revolution, thought it good
policy to encourage English preachers and schoolmas-
ters in the colony. No man could be more bent upon
such a project than Fletcher, a bigot to the episcopal
form of church government. He, accordingly, recom-
mended this matter to the assembly, on his first arrival,
as well as at their present meeting. The house, from their
attachment to the Dutch language, and the model of the
church of Holland, secured by one of the articles of sur-
render, were entirely disinclined to tlje scheme, which
occasioned a warm rebuke from the governour, in hi«
speech at the close of the session, in these words : " gen-
tlemen, the first thing that I did recommend to you, at
our last meeting, was to provide for a ministry, and
nothing is done in it. There are none of you, but what
are big with the privileges of Englishmen and magna
charta, which is your right ; and the same law doth pro-
vide for the religion of the church of England, against
sabbath breaking and all other profanity. But as you
have made it last, and postponed it this session, I hope
you will begin with it the next meeting, and do some-
what toward it effectually."

The news of the arrival of the recruits and ammuni-
tion at Canada, the late loss of the Mohawks, and the
unfulfilled promises of assistance, made from time to
time, by the English, together with the incessant soli-
citations of Milet, the Jesuit, all conspired to induce the
Oneydoes to sue for a peace with the French. To pre-
vent so important an event, Fletcher met the Five Na-
tions at Albany, in July, 1693, with a considerable pre-
sent of knives, hatchets, clothing, and ammunition, which
had been sent over, by the crown, for that purpose.
The Indians consented to a renewal of the ancient

History of New- York. 1 39

league, and expressed their gratitude, for the king's dona-
tion, with singular force. " Brother Cayenguirago, we
roll and wallow in joy, by reason of the great favour
the great king and queen hare done us, in sending us
arms and ammunition at a time when we are in the
greatest need of them ; and because there is such unity
among the brethren." Colonel Fletcher pressed their
delivering up to him Milet, the old priest, which they
promised, but never performed. On the contrary, he
had influence enough to persuade all, but the Mohawks,
to treat about the peace at Onondaga, though the go-
vernour exerted himself to prevent it.

Soon after this interview, Fletcher returned to New-
York ; and, in September, met a new assembly, of
which James Graham was chosen speaker. The gover-
nour laboured, at this session, to procure the establish-
ment of a ministry throughout the colony, a revenue to
his majesty for life, the repairing the fort in New-York,
and the erection of a chapel. That part of his speech,
relating to the ministry, was in tiiese words : " I recom-
mended, to the former assembly, the settling of an able
ministry, that the worship of God may be observed
among us, for I End that great and first duty very much
neglected. Let us not forget that there is a God that
made us, who will protect us if we serve him. This has
been always the first thing I have recommended, yet the
last in your consideration. J hope you are all satisfied
of the great necessity and duty that lies upon you to
do this, as you expect his blessing upon your labours."
The zeal with which this affair was recommended, induc-
ed the house, on the 12th of September, to appoint a
committee of eight members, to agree upon a scheme
for settling a ministry, in each respective precinct,

140 History of New-York.

throughout the province. This committee made a re-
port the next day, but it was recommitted till the af-
ternoon, and then deferred to the next morning. Se-
veral debates arising about the report, in the house, it
was again " recommitted for farther consideration." On
the 15th of September it was approved, the establish-
ment being then limited to several parishes in four coun-
ties, and a bill ordered to be brought in accordingly ;
which the speaker (who, on the 18th of September, was
appointed to draw all their bills,) produced on the 19th.
It was read twice on the same day, and then referred
to a committee of the whole house. The third reading
was on the 21st of September, when the bill passed, and
was sent up to the governour and council, who imme-
diately returned it with an amendment, to vest his ex-
cellency with an episcopal power of inducting every
incumbent, adding to that part of the bill near the end,
which gave the right of presentation to the people,
these words, " and presented to the governour, to be ap-
proved and collated." The house declined their con-
sent to the addition, and immediately returned the bill,
praying, " that it may pass without the amendment,
having, in the drawing of the bill, had a due regard to
that pious intent of settling a ministry, for the benefit
of the people." Fletcher was so exasperated with their
refusal, that he no sooner received the answer of the
house, than he convened ti^em before him, and in an an-
gry speech broke up the session. I shall lay that part of
it, relating to this bill, before the reader, because it is
jpharacteristick of the man.

" GENTLEMEN,

* There is also a bill for settling a ministry in this
pity, and home other countries pf the government, In

History of New- York. 141

tiiat very thing you have shown a great deal of stiff-
ness. You take upon you as if you were dictators. I
sent down to you an amendment of three or four words
in that bill, which, though very immaterial, yet was
positively denied. I must tell you it seems very un-
mannerly. There never was an amendment yet desir-
ed by the council board, but what was rejected. It is
the sign of a stubborn ill temper, and this have also
passed.

" But, gentlemen, I must take leave to tell you, if
you seem to understand by these words that none can
serve without your collation or establishment, you
are far mistaken. Por I have the power of collating
or suspending any minister in my government, by
their majesties' letters patent ; and whilst I stay in
the government I will take care that neither heresy,
sedition, schism, or rebellion, be preached among you,
nor vice and profanity encouraged. It is my endea-
vour to lead a virtuous and pious life among you, and
to give a good example : I wish you all to do the same.
You ought to consider that you have but a third share
in the legislative power of the government ; and ought
not to take all upon you, nor be so peremptory. You
ought to let the council have a share. They are in the na-
ture of the house of lords, or upper house ; but you seem
to take the whole power in your hands, and set up for
every thing. You have set a long time, to little pur-
pose, and have been a great charge to the country.
Ten shillings a day is a large allowance, and you punc-
tually exact it. You have been always forward enough
to pull down the fees of other ministers in the govern-
ment. Why did you not think it expedient to correct
your own, to a more moderate allowance ?

142 History of New- York.

" Gentlemen, I shall say no more, at present, but
that yon do withdraw to your private affairs in the
country. I do prorogue you to the tenth of Janu-
ary next, and you are hereby prorogued to the tenth
day of January next ensuing."

The violence of this man's temper is very evident in
all his speeches and messages to the assembly ; and it
can only be attributed to the ignorance of the times
that the members of that house, instead of asserting
their equality, peaceably put up with his rudeness.
Certainly they deserved better usage at his hands. For
the revenue, established the last year, was, at this ses-
sion, continued for five years longer than was original-
ly intended. This was rendering the governour, for a
time, independent of the people. For at that day, the
assembly had no treasure ; but the amount of all taxes
went, of course, into the hands of the receiver general,
who was appointed by the crown. Out of this fund
monies were only issuable by the governour's warrant;
so that every officer in the government, from Mr.
Blaithwait, who drew annually five per cent, out of the
revenue, as auditor general, down to the meanest ser-
vant of the publick, became dependent, solely, of the
governour. And hence we find the house, at the close
of every session, humbly addressing his excellency for
the trifling wages of their own clerk. Fletcher was,
notwithstanding, so much displeased with them, that,
soon after the prorogation, he dissolved the assembly.

The members of the new assembly met, according to
the writ of summons, in March, 1694, and chose colo-
nel Peirson for their speaker, Mr. Graham being left
out at the election for the city. The shortness of this
session, which continued only to the latter end of the

History of New- York. 143

month, was owing to the disagreeable business the
house began upon, of examining the state of the pub-
lick accounts, and, in particular, the muster rolls of
the volunteers in the pay of the province. They, how-
ever, resumed it again in September, and formally en-
tered their dissatisfaction with the receiver general's
accounts. The governour, at the same time, blew up
the coals of contention, by a demand of additional pay
for the king's soldiers, then just arrived, and new supplies
for detachments in defence of the frontiers. He at last
prorogued them, after obtaining an act for supporting
one hundred men upon the borders. The same disputes
revived again in the spring, 1695 ; arid proceeded to
such lengths, that the assembly asked the governour's
leave to print their minutes, that they might appeal to
the publick. It was at this session, on the 12th of April,
1695, that, upon a petition of five church wardens and
vestrymen of the city of New- York, the house declared
it to be their opinion, " that the vestrymen and church
wardens have power, to call a dissenting protest ant min-
ister, and that he is to be paid and maintained as the act
directs." The intent of this petition was to refute an
opinion, which prevailed, that the late ministry act was
made for the sole benefit of episcopal clergymen.

The quiet, undisturbed state of the frontiers, while
the French were endeavouring to make a peace with
the Five Nations, and the Complaints of many of the
volunteers, who had not received their pay, very much
conduced to the backwardness of the assembly, in an-
swering Fletcher's perpetual demands of money. But
when the Indians refused to comply with the terms of
peace demanded by the French governour, which were
to suffer him to rebuild the fort at Cadaraqui, and to in-

144 History of New- York.

elude the Indian allies, the war broke out afresh, and
the assembly were obliged to augment both their de-
tachments and supplies. The count Frontenac now
levelled his wrath principally against the Mohawks, who
were more attached, than any other of the Five Nations,
to our interest : but as his intentions had taken air, he
prudently changed his measures, and sent a party of
three hundred men to the isthmus of Niagara, to sur-
prise those of the Five Nations that might be hunting
there. Among a few that were met with, some were
killed, and others taken prisoners, and afterwards burnt
at Montreal. Our Indians imitated the count's exam-
ple, and burnt ten Dewagunga captives.

Colonel Fletcher and his assembly having come to
an open rupture in the spring, he called another in June,
of which James Graham was chosen speaker. The
count Frontenac was then repairing the old fort at Ca-
daraqui ; and the intelligence of this, and the king's
assignment of the quotas of the several colonies, for an
united force* against the French, were the principal
matters which the governour laid before the assembly.
The list of the quota was this :

* As such an union appeared to be necessary so long ago, it is very
surprising that no effectual scheme for that purpose has hitherto been
carried iuto full execution. A plan was concerted, in the great con-
gress consisting of commissioners from several colonies, met at Albany,
in 1 754 ; but what approbation it received at home, has not hitherto
been made publick. The danger to Great Britain, apprehended from
our united force, is founded in a total ignorance of the true state and
character of the colonies. None of his majesty's subjects are more loy-
al, or more strongly attached to protestant principles ; and the remark-
able attestation, in the elegant address of the lords of the 1 3th of No-
vember, 1755, in our favour, " That we are a great body of brave and
faithful subject?," is as justly due to us, as it was nobly said by them.

History of New- York. 145

Pennsylvania, 80/. Rhode Island and Provi-

Massachusetts' Bay, 350 dence Plantations, 48/.
Maryland, 160 Connecticut, 120

Virginia, 240 New-York, 200

As a number of forces were now arrived, the assem*-
bly were in hopes the province would be relieved from
raising any more men for the defence of the frontiers ;
and, to obtain this favour of the governour, ordered
10007. to be levied, one half to be presented to him,
and the rest he had leave to distribute among the Eng-
lish officers and soldiers. A bill for this purpose was
drawn ; but though his excellency thanked them for
their favourable intention, he thought it not for his ho-
nour to consent to it. After passing several laws, the
session broke up in perfect harmony, the governour, in
his great grace, recommending it to the house to ap-
point a committee to examine the publick accounts
against the next session.

In September, Fletcher went up to Albany with ve-
ry considerable presents to the Indians ; whom he
blamed for suffering the French to rebuild the fort at
Cadaraqui, or Frontenac, which commands the entrance
from Canada into the great lake Ontario.

While these works were carrying on, the Diononda-
dies, who were then poorly supplied by the French,
made overtures of a peace with the Five Nations, which
the latter readily embraced, because it was owing to
their fears of these Indians, who lived near the lake
Missiliinachinac, that they never dared to march with
their whole strength against Canada. The French com-
mandant was fully sensible of the importance of pre-
venting this alliance. The civilities of the Dionondadies
to the prisoners, by whom the treaty, to prevent a

19

146 History of New-York.

covery, was negociated, gave the officer the iirst suspi-
cion of it. One of these wretches had the unhappiness
to fall into the hands of the French, who put him to the
most exquisite torments, that all future intercourse with
the Bionondadies might be cut off. Dr. Golden, in just
resentment for this inhuman barbarity, has published
the whole process from La Pother re's history of Worth
America, and it is this :

" The prisoner being first made fast to a stake, so as
to have room to move round it ; a Frenchman began the
horrid tragedy, by broiling the flesh of the prisoner's
legs, from his toes to his knees, with the red hot barrel
of a gun. His example was followed by an Utawa\va,
who, being desirous to outdo the French in their refin-
ed cruelty, split a furrow from the prisoner's shoulder
to his garter, and, filling it with gunpowder, set fire to
it. This gave him exquisite pain, and raised excessive
laughter in his tormentors. When they found his throat
so much parched that he was no longer able to gratify
their ears with his howling, they gave him water, to
enable him to continue their pleasure longer. But at
last his strength failing, an Utawawa fieaed off his scalp,
and threw burning hot coals on his scull. Then they
untied him, and bid him run for his life. He began to
run, tumbling like a drunken man. They shut up the
way to the east, and made him run westward, the coun-
try, as they think, of departed miserable souls. He had
still force left to throw stones, till they put an end to his
misery by knocking him on the head. After this every
one cut a slice from his body, to conclude the tragedy
with a feast."

From the time colonel Fletcher received his instruc-
tion respecting the quotas of these colonies, for the de-
fence of the frontiers, he repeatedly, but in vain, urged.

History of New- York. 147

their compliance with the king's direction : he then
carried his complaints against them home to his majes-
ty, but all his applications were defeated by the agents
of those colonies, who resided in England. As soon,
therefore, as he had laid this matter before the assem-
bly, in autumn, 1 695, the house appointed William Ni-
coll, to go home in the quality of an agent for this pro-
vince, for which they allowed him WOOL But his so-
licitations proved unsuccessful, and the instruction, re-
lating to these quotas, which is still continued, remains
unnoticed to this day. Fletcher maintained a good cor-
respondence with the assembly, through the rest of his
administration; and^ nothing appears, upon their jour-
nals, worth the reader's attention,

The French never had a governour, in Canada, so
vigilant and active as the count De Frontenac. He had
no sooner repaired the old fort, called by his name, than
he formed a design of invading the country of the Five
Nations with a great army. For this purpose, in 1696,
he convened, at Montreal, all the regulars, as well as
militia, under his command; the Chvenagungas, Quatog-
hies of Loretto, Adlroridacks, Sokakies, Nipiciriniens,
the proselyted praying Indians of the Five Nations,
and a few Utawawas. Instead of waggons and horses,
which are useless in such a country, as he had to march
through, the army was conveyed, through rivers and
lakes, in light barks, which are portable, whenever the
rapidity of the stream and the crossing an isthmus ren-
dered it necessary. The count left la Chine, at the
south end of the Island of Montreal, on the 7th of Ju-
ly. Two battalions of regulars, under the command of
Le Chevalier de Callieres, headed by a number of In-
dians, led the van, with two small pieces of cannon, the
mortars, grenadoes, and ammunition. After them fol-

148 History of New- York.

lowed the provisions ; then the main body, with the
count's household, a considerable number of volunteers,
and the engineer ; and four battalions of the militia,
commanded by monsieur De Ramezai, governour of
Trois Rivieres.

Two battalions of regulars and a few Indians, under
the chevalier De Vaudrueil, brought up the rear. Be-
fore the army went a parcel of scouts, to descry the
tracts and ambuscades of the enemy. After twelve days
march, they arrived at Cadaraqui, about one hundred
and eighty miles from Montreal, and then crossed the
lake to Oswego. Fifty men marched on each side of the
Onondaga river, which is narrow and rapid. When they
entered the little lake,* the army divided into two parts,
coasting along the edges, that the enemy might be un-
certain as to the place of their landing, and where they
did land, they erected a foil. The Onondagas had sent
away their wives and children, and were determined to
defend their castle, till they were informed by a deser-
ter of the superiour strength of the French, and the na-
ture of bombs, which were intended to be used against
them, and then, after setting fire to their village, they
retired into the woods. As soon as the count heard of
this, he marched to their huts in order of battle ; being
himself carried in an elbow chair, Behind the artillery.
"With this mighty apparatus he entered it, and the de-
struction of a little Indian corn was the great acquisition,
A brave sachem, then about a hundred years old, was

* The Onondaga lake, noted for a good salt pit at the southeast
end ; which, as it may be very advantageous to the garrison at Oswe-
go, it is hoped the government will never grant tp aay private com-
pany.

History of New- York. 149

the only person, who tarried in the castle to salute the
old general. The French Indians put him to torment,
which he endured with astonishing presence of mind.
To one who stabbed him with a knife, " you had better,
says he, make me die by fire, that these French dogs may
learn how to suffer like men : you Indians, their allies,
you dogs of dogs, think of me when you are in the like
condition."* This sachem was the only man, of all the
Onondagas, that was killed ; and had not thirty-five
Oneydoes, who waited to receive Yaudrueil at their
castles, been afterwards basely carried into captivity,
the count would have returned without the least mark
of triumph. As soon as he began his retreat, the Onon-
dagas followed, and annoyed his army by cutting off
several battoes.

This expensive enterprise, and the continual incur-
sions of the Five Nations, on the country near Montre-
al, again spread a famine through all Canada. The
count, however, kept up his spirits to the last ; and sent
out scalping parties, who infested Albany, as our In-
dians did Montreal, till the treaty of peace, signed at
Ryswick, in 1697.

Richard, earl of Bellamont, was appointed to succeed
colonel Fletcher, in the year 1695, but did not receive
his commission till the 18th of June, 1697 ; and as he
delayed his voyage till after the peace of Ryswick, which
was signed the 10th of September following, he was
blown off our coast to Rarbadoes, and did not arrive
here before the 2d of April, 1698.

* " Never, perhaps, says Charlevoix, was a man treated with more
cruelty, nor did any ever bear it with superiour magnanimity and re-
solution."

History of New- York.

During the late war, the seas were extremely infested
with English pirates, some of whom sailed out of New-
York ; and it was strongly suspected that they had re-
ceived too much countenance here, even from the go-
vernment, during Fletcher's administration. His lord-
ship's promotion to the chief command of the Massachu-
setts' bay and New-Hampshire, as well as this province,
was owing partly to his rank, but principally to the af-
fair of the pirates ; and the multiplicity of business, to
which the charge of three colonies would necessarily ex-
pose him, induced the earl to bring over with him John
Nanfan, his kinsman, in the quality of our lieutenant
governour.* When lord Bellamont was appointed to
the government of these provinces, the king did him the
honour to say, " that he thought him a man of resolu-
tion and integrity, and with these qualities more likely
than any ottier he could think of, to put a stop to the
growth of piracy."

Before the earl set out for America, he became ac-
quainted with Robert Livingston, esq ;f who was then
in England, soliciting his own affairs before the council
and the treasury,. The earl took occasion, in one of his

* His commission was dated the 1st of July, 1697.

f This gentleman was a son of Mr. John Livingston, one of the com-
missioners from Scotland to king Charles II. while he was an exile at
Breda. He was a clergyman distinguished by his zeal and industry ;
and, for his opposition to episcopacy, became so obnoxious, after the re-
storation, to the English court, that he left Scotland, and took the pas-
toral charge of an English presbyterian church in Rotterdam. His
descendants are very numerous in this province, and the family in the
first rank for their wealth, morals, and education. The original diary,
in the hand writing of their commou ancestor, is still among them, and
contains a history of his life.

-

History of New-York.

conferences with Mr. Livingston, to mention the scan-
dal the province, was under on account of the pirates*
The latter, who confessed it was not without reason,
brought the earl acquainted with one Kid, whom he re-
commended as a man of integrity and courage, that
knew the pirates and their rendezvous, and would un-
dertake to apprehend them, if the king would employ
him in a good sailing frigate of thirty guns and one hun-
dred and fifty men. The earl laid the proposal before the
king, who consulted the admiralty upon that subject ;
but this project dropped, through the uncertainty of the
adventure, and the French war, which gave full employ-
ment to all the ships'in the navy. Mr. Livingston then
proposed a private adventure against the pirates, offer-
ing to be concerned with Kid, a fifth part in the ship
and charges, and to be bound for Kid's faithful execu-
tion of the commission. The king then approved of
the design, and reserved a tenth share, to show that he
was concerned in the enterprise. Lord chancellor So-
mers, the duke of Shrewsbury, the earls of Romney
and Oxford, sir Edmond Harrison and others, joined in
the scheme, agreeing to the expense of 60CO/. But the
management of the whole affair was left to lord Bella-,
mont, who gave orders to Kiel to pursue his commis-
sion, which was in common form. Kid sailed from
Plymouth for New-York, in April, 1696; and after-
wards turned pirate, burnt his ship, and came to Boston,
where the earl apprehended him. His lordship wrote
to the secretary of state, desiring that Kid might be
sent for. The Rochester man of war was dispatched
upon this service ; but being driven back, a general
suspicion prevailed in England, that all was collusion
between the ministry and the adventurers, who, it was

152 History of New-York.

thought, were unwilling Kid should be brought home,
lest he might discover that the chancellor, the duke,
and others, were confederates in the piracy. The
matter even proceeded to such lengths, that a motion
was made, in the house of commons, that all who were
concerned in the adventure might be turned out of their
employments ; but it was rejected by a great majority.
The tory party, who excited these clamours, though
they lost their motion in the house, afterwards impeach-
ed several whig lords ; and, among other articles, charg-
ed them with being concerned in Kid's piracy. But
these prosecutions served only to brighten the innocen-
cy of those against whom they were brought ; for the
impeached lords were honourably acquitted by their
peers.

Lord Bellamont's commission was published in coun-
cil on the day of his arrival ; colonel Fletcher, who
still remained governour under the proprietors of Penn-
sylvania, and lieutenant governour Nanfan, being pre-
sent. The members of the council were,

Frederick Philipse, William Nicoll,

Stephen Van Cortlandt, Thomas Willet,
Nicholas Bayard, William Pinhorne,

Gabriel Mienville, John Lawrence.

William Smith,

After the earl had dispatched captain John Schuylery
and Dellius, the Dutch minister of Albany, to Canada,
with the account of the peace, and to solicit a mutual
exchange of prisoners ; he laid before the council the
letters from secretary Vernon and the East-India com-
pany, relating to the pirates ; informing that board,
that he had an affidavit, that Fletcher had permitted
them to land their spoils in this province, and that Mr.

History of Nerv-YorK. 153

Nicoll bargained for their protections, and received fof
his services 800 Spanish dollars. Nicoll confessed the
receipt of the money for protections* but said it was in
virtue of a late act of assembly, allowing privateers on
their giving security ; but he denied the receipt of any
money from known pirates. One Weaver was admit-
ted, at this time, into the council chamber, and acted in
the quality of king's council, and in answer to Mr. Ni-
coll, denied that there was any such act of assembly as
he mentioned. After considering the whole matter, the
council advised his excellency to send Fletcher home,
but to try Nicoll here, because his estate would not
bear the expense of a trial in England, Their advice
was never carried into execution, which was probably
owing to a want of evidence against the parties accused,,
It is, nevertheless, certain that the pirates were frequent-
ly in the sound, and supplied writh provisions by the in-
habitants of Long Island, who, for many years after-
wards, were so infatuated with a notion that the pirates
buried great quantites of money along the coast, that
there is scarce a point of land, or an island, without the
marks of their auri sacra fames. Some credulous peo-
ple have ruined themselves by these researches, and
propagated a thousand idle fables, current to this day,
among our country farmers.

As Fletcher, through the whole of his administration,
had been entirely influenced by the enemies of Leisler ;
nothing could be more agreeable to the numerous ad-
herents of that unhappy man, than the earl's disaffec-
tion to the late governour. It was for this reason they
immediately devoted themselves to his lordship, as the
head of their party*

20

154 History of New-York.

The majority of the members of the council were-
Fletcher's friends, and there needed nothing more to
render them obnoxious to his lordship. Leisler's advo-
cates, at the same time, mortally haled them ; not only
because they had imbrued their hands in the blood of
the principal men of their party, but also because they
had engrossed the sole confidence of the late governour,
and brought down his resentment upon them. Hence, at
the commencement of the earl's administration, the mem-
bers of the council had every thing to fear ; while the
party they had depressed, began once again to erect
its head under the smiles of a governour, who was fond
of their aid, as they were solicitous to conciliate his fa-
vour. Had the earl 'countenanced the enemies, as well as
the friends of Leisler, which he might have done, his ad-
ministration would, doubtless, have been easier to him-
self and advantageous to the province. But his inflex-
ible aversion to Fletcher prevented his acting with that
moderation, which was necessary to enable him to go-
vern both parties. The fire of his temper appeared very
early, on his suspending Mr. Nicoll from the board of
council, and obliging him to enter into a recognizance
in 2000/. to answer for his- conduct relating to the pro-
tections. But his speech to the new assembly, conven-
ed on the 18th of May, gave the fullest evidence of his
abhorrence of the late administration. Philip French
was chosen speaker, and waited upon his excellency,
with the house, when his lordship spoke to them in the
following manner :

" I cannot but observe to you what a legacy my pre-
decessor has left me, and what difficulties to struggle
with ; a divided people, an empty purse, a few misera-
ble, naked, half starved soldiers, not half the number the

History of New-York. 153

Idng allowed pay for : the fortifications, and even the
governour's house very much out of repair, and, in a
word, the whole government out of frame. It hath been
represented to the government in England, that this pro-
vince has been a noted receptacle of pirates, and the
trade of it under no restriction, but the acts of trade vio-
lated by the neglect and connivance of those whose du-
ty it was to have prevented it."

After this introduction, he puts them in mind that the
revenue was near expiring. " It would be hard, says he,
if I that come among you with an honest mind, and a
resolution to be just^to your interest, should meet with
greater difficulties, in the discharge of his majesty's
service, than those that have gone before me. I will
take care there shall be no misapplication of the publick
money. I will pocket none of it myself, nor shall there
be any embezzlement by others ; but exact accounts
shall be given you, when, and as often, as you shall re-
quire."

It was customary with Fletcher to be present in the
field to influence elections ; and as the assembly con-
sisted, at this time, of but nineteen members, they were
too easily influenced to serve the private ends of a fac-
tion. For that reason his lordship was warm in a
scheme of increasing their number, at present, to thir-
ty, and so, in proportion, as the colony became more
populous ; and hence we find the following clause in
his speech : " You cannot but know what abuses have
been formerly in elections of members to serve in the
general assembly, which tends to the subversion of your
liberties. I do, therefore, recommend the making of a
law to provide against it,"

156 History of New-York.

The house, though unanimous in a hearty address of
thanks to the governour for his speech, could scarce
agree upon any thing else. It was not till the beginning of
June before they had finished the controversies relating
to the late turbulent elections ; and even then six mem-
bers seceded from the house, which obliged his excel-
lency to dissolve the assembly, on the 14th of June,
1698. About the same time the governour dismissed
two of the council ; Pinhorne, for disrespectful words
of the king, and Brook, the receiver general, who was
also turned out of that office, as well as removed from
his place on the bench.

In July the disputes with the French, concerning the
exchanging of prisoners, obliged his excellency to go
up to Albany. When the earl sent the account of the
conclusion of the peace to the governour of Canada, all
the French prisoners, in our custody, were restored,
and as to those among the Indians, he promised to or-
der them to be safely escorted to Montreal. His lord-
ship then added, " I doubt not, sir, that you, on your
part, will also issue an order to relieve the subjects of
the king, captivated during the war, whether Christians
or Indians."

The count, fearful of being drawn into an implicit
acknowledgment, that the Five Nations were subject to
the English crown, demanded the French prisoners,
among the Indians, to be brought to Montreal ; threat-
ening, "at the same time, to continue the war against
the confederates, if they did not comply with his request.
After the earl's interview with them, he wrote a second
letter * to the count, informing him that they had in>

* Charlevoix has published both these letters, at large, together with

History of New- York. 157

portunately begged to continue under the protection
of the English crown, professing an inviolable subjec-
tion and fidelity to his majesty ; and that the Five Na-
tions were always considered as subjects, which, says
his lordship, " can be manifested to all the world by
authentick and solid proofs." His lordship added, that
he would not suffer them to be insulted, and threatened
to execute the laws of England upon the missionaries,
if they continued any longer in the Five Cantons. A
resolute spirit runs through the whole letter, which con-
cludes in these words : " if it is necessary, I will arm
every man in the provinces, under my government, to
oppose you ; and repress the injury that you may per-
petrate against our Indians." The count, in his answer,
proposed to refer the dispute to the commissaries to be
appointed according to the treaty of Ryswick •* but
the earl continued the claim, insisting that the French
prisoners should be delivered up at Albany.

The French count dying while this matter was con-
troverted, monsieur de Callieres, his successour, sent
ambassadours, the next year, to Onondaga, there to re-
gulate the exchange of prisoners, which was accomplish-
ed without the earl's consent ; and thus the important
point, in dispute, remained unsettled. The Jesuit, Bruy-
as, who was upon this embassage, offered to live at On-

count Frontenac's answer. I have had no opportunity of enquiring in-
to the Jesuit's integrity, in these transcripts, being unable to find his
lordship's letters in the secretary's office.

* The count misunderstood the treaty. No provision was made by
it for commissaries to settle the limits between the English and French
possessions, but only to examine and determine the controverted rights
end pretensions to Hudson's Bay.

158 History of New-York.

ondaga ; but the Indians refused his belt, saying that
Corlear, or the governour of New- York, had already
offered them ministers for their instruction.

Great alterations were made in council, at his excel-
lency's return from Albany. Bayard, Mienvielle, Wil-
let, Townley, and Lawrence, were all suspended on the
28th of September ; and colonel Abraham de Peyster,
Robert Livingston, and Samuel Staats, called to that
board. The next day, Frederick Philipse resigned his
seat, and Robert Walters was sworn in his stead.

The new assembly, of which James Graham was cho-
sen speaker, met in the spring. His excellency spoke
to them on the 21st of March, 1699.

As the late assembly was principally composed of
Anti Leislerians, so this consisted, almost entirely, of
the opposite party. The elections were attended with
great outrage and tumult, and many applications made,
relating to the returns ; but as Abraham Governeur,
>vho had been secretary to Leisler, got returned for
Orange county, and was very active in the house,* all
the petitions were rejected without ceremony.

Among the principal acts, passed at this session, there
was one for indemnifying those who were excepted out
of the general pardon in 1691 ; another against pirates ;
one for the settlement of Milborne's estate ; and anoth-
er to raise fifteen hundred pounds, as a present to his
lordship, and five hundred pounds for the lieutenant
governour, his kinsman. Besides \vhich, the revenue
\vas continued for six years longer. A necessary law
was also made for the regulation of elections, contain-
ing the substance of the English statutes of 8 Hen. VI.
chap. VII. and the 7 and 8 Will. III.

* Mr. Govemeur married Milborne's widow.

History of New-York. 159

This assembly took, also, into consideration sundry
extravagant grants of land, which colonel Fletcher had
made to several of his favourites. Among these, two
grants to Dellius, the Dutch minister, and one to Ni-
cholas Bayard, were the most considerable. Dellius
was one of the commissioners for Indian affairs, and
had fraudulently obtained the Indian deeds, according
to which the patents had been granted. One of the
grants included all the lands within twelve miles on the
east side of Hudson's river, and extended twenty miles
in length, from the north bounds of Saraghtoga. The
second patent, which, was granted to him, in company
with Pinhorne, Bancker, and others, contained all the
lands within two miles on each side of the Mohawks
river, and along its banks to the extent of fifty miles.
Bayard's grant was also for lands in that country, and
very extravagant. Lord Bellamont, who justly thought
these great patents, with the trifling annual reservation
of a few skins, would impede the settlement of the coun-
try, as well as alienate the affections of our Indian al-
lies, wisely procured recommendatory instructions from
the lords justices, for vacating those patents, which was
now regularly accomplished by a law, and Dellius there-
by suspended from his ministerial function.

The earl haying thus carried all his points at New-
York, set out for Boston in June, where, after he had
settled his salary, and apprehended the pirate Kid, he
returned here again in the fall.

The revenue being settled for six years, his lordship
had no occasion to meet the assembly till the summer of
the year 1700, and then indeed little else was done
than to pass a few laws. One for hanging every popish
priest, that came voluntarily into the province, which

160 History of NeiQ-Yofk*

was occasioned by the great number of French Jesuits/
who were continually practising upon our Indians. By
another, provision was made for erecting a fort in the
country of the Onondagas ; but as this was repealed a few
months after, the king's providing for that purpose, so
the former continues, as it for ever ought, in full force,
to this day.

The earl was a man of art and polite manners, and be-
ing a mortal enemy to the French, as well as a lover of
liberty, he would doubtless have been of considerable
service to the colony ; but he died here on the 5th of
IVI'irch, in 1701, when he was but just become acquaint-
ed with the colony.

The earl of Bellamont's death was the source of new
troubles, for Nanfan, the lieutenant governour, being
then absent in Barbadoes, high disputes arose among
the counsellors, concerning the exercise of the powers of
government. Abraham de Peyster, Samuel Staats, Rob-
ert Walters, and Thomas Weaver, who sided with the
party that adhered to Leisler, insisted that the govern-
ment was devolved upon the council, who had a right
to act by a majority of voices ; but colonel Smith con-
tended that all the powers of the late governour were
devolved upon him, as president, he being the eldest
member of that board. Colonel Schuyler and Robert
Livingston, who did not arrive in town till the 21st of
March, joined Mr. Smith, and refused to appear at the
council board, till near the middle of April. The as-
sembly, which was convened on the 2d of that month*/
were in equal perplexity, for they adjourned from day
to day, waiting the issue of this rupture. Botii parties
continuing inflexible, those members, who opposed col-
onel Smith, sent down to the house a representation of

History of New- York. 161

the controversy, assigning a number of reasons for the
sitting of the assembly, which the house took into their
consideration, and, on the 16th of April, resolved jliat
the execution v»f the earl's commission and instructions,
in the absence of the lieutenant governour, was the
right of the council by majority of voices, and not of
any single member of that board ; and this was after-
wards the opinion of the lords of trade. The disputes,
nevertheless, continuing in the council, strenuously sup-
ported by Mr. Livingston, the house, on the 19th of
April, thought proper to adjourn themselves to the first
Tuesday in June.

In this interval, on'the 19th of May, John Nanfan, the
lieutenant governour, arrived, and settled the contro-
versy, by taking upon himself the supreme command.

Upon Mr. Nanfan's arrival, we had the agreeable
news that the king had given two thousand pounds
sterling, for the defence of Albany and Schenectady, as
well as five hundred pounds more for erecting a fort in
the country of the Onondagas. And not long after, an
ordinance was issued, agreeable to the special direction
of the lords of trade, for erecting a court of chancery,
to sit the first Thursday in every month. By this ordi-
nance the powers of the chancellor were vested in the
governour and council, or any two of that board : com-
missions were also granted appointing masters, clerks,
and a register : so that this court was completely or-
ganized on the 2d of September, 1701.

Atwood, who was then chief justice of the supreme
court, was now sworn of the council. Abraham de
Peyster and Robert Walters were his assistants on the
bench ; and the former was also made deputy auditor
general; under Mr. Blaithwait. Sampson Shelton

21

162 History of New-York.

Broughton was the attorney general, and came into
that office when Atwood took his seat on the bench, be-
fore the decease of lord Bellamonl. Both these had
their commissions from England. The lieutenant go-
vernour, and the major part of the board of council, to-
gether with the several officers above named, being
strongly in the interest of the Leislerian party, it was
not a little surprising that Mr. Nanfan dissolved the
late assembly on the 1st of June last.

Great were the struggles at the ensuing elections,
which, hoAvever, generally prevailed in favour of those,
who joined Leisler at the revolution"; and hence, when
the new assembly met, on the 19th of August, 1701,
Abraham Governeur was elected for their speaker.
Dutchess was thought heretofore incapable of bearing
the charge of a representation ; but the people of that
county, now animated by the heat of the times, sent Ja-
cob Rutsen and Adrian Garretsen to represent them in
assembly*

Mr. Nanfan, in his speech to the house, informs them
of the memorable grant made to the crown, on the 19th
of July, by the Five Nations, of a vast tract of land, to
prevent the necessity of their submitting to the French
in case of a war ; that his majesty had given out of his
exchequer two thousand five hundred pounds sterling
for forts, and eight hundred pounds to be laid out in
presents to the Indians ; and that he had also settled a
salary of three hundred pounds on a chief justice, and
one hundred and fifty pounds on the attorney general,
who were both now arrived here.

The fire of contention, which had lately appeared in
the tumultuous elections, blazed out afresh in the house.
Nicoll, the late counsellor, got himself elected for Suf-

History of New- York. 163

folk, and was in hopes of being seated in the chair :
but Abraham Governeur was chosen speaker. Several
members contended that he, being an alien, was un-
qualified for that station. To this it was answered,
that he was in the province in the year 1683, at the
time of passing an act to naturalize all the free inhabi-
tants, professing the Christian religion ; and that, for
this reason, the same objection against him had been
overruled at the last assembly. In return for this at-
tack, Governeur disputed Nicoll's right of sitting as a
member of that house ; and succeeded in a resolve that
he and Mr. Wessels, who had been returned for Alba-
ny, were both unqualified according to the late act,
they being neither of them residents in the respective
counties for which they were chosen. This occasioned
an imprudent secession of seven members, who had
joined the interest of Mr. Nicoll ; which gave their ad-
versaries an opportunity to expel them, and introduce
others in their stead.

Among the first opposers of captain Leisler, none was
more considerable than Mr. Livingston. The measures
of the convention at Albany were very much directed
by his advice ; and he was peculiarly obnoxious to his
adversaries, because he was a man of sense and resolu-
tion, two qualifications rarely to be found united in one
person at that day. Mr. Livingston's intimacy with
the late earl, had, till this time, been his defence
against the rage of the party which he had formerly op-
posed : but as that lord was now dead, and Mr. Living-
ston's conduct in council, in favour of colonel Smith,
had given fresh provocation to his enemies, they were
fully bent upon his destruction. It was in execution of
this scheme, that, as soon as the disputed elections were

164 History of Ntrv-YorTc.

over, the house proceeded to examine the state of the
publick accounts, which they partly began at the late
assembly.

The pretence was that he refused to account for the
publick monies, he had formerly received out of the
excise ; upon which a committee of both houses ad-
vised the passing a bill to confiscate his estate, unless he
agreed to account by a certain day. But instead of
this an act was afterwards passed to oblige him to ac-
count for a sum amounting to near eighteen thousand
pounds. While this matter was transacting, a new com-
plaint was forged, and he was summoned before another
committee of both houses, relating to his procuring the
Five Nations to signify their desire that he should be
sent home to solicit their affairs. The criminality of
this charge can be seen only through the partial optics
with which his enemies then scanned his behaviour.
Besides, there was no evidence to support it, and, there-
fore, the committee required him to purge himself by
his own oath. Mr. Livingston, who was better acquaint-
ed with English law and liberty, than to countenance a
practice so odious, rejected the insolent demand with
disdain ; upon which the house, by advice of the com-
mittee, addressed the lieutenant governour, to pray his
majesty to remove him from his office of secretary of
Indian affairs, and that the governour, in the mean
time, would suspend him from the exercise of his com-
mission,*

It was at this favourable conjuncture that Jacob Leis-
ler's petition to the king, and his majesty's letter to the

* Mr. Livingston's reason for not accounting was truly unanswera-
ble ; his books and vouchers were taken into the hands of government,
Hud detained from him.

History of New- York. 1 65

late earl of Bellamont, were laid before the assembly.
Leisler, displeased with the report of the lords of trade,
that his father and his brother, Milborne, had suffered ac-
cording to law, laid his case before the parliament, and
obtained an act to reverse the attainder. After which,
he applied to the king, complaining that his father had
disbursed about four thousand pounds in purchasing
arms, and forwarding the revolution ; in consequence
of which he procured the following letter to lord Bella-
mont, dated at Whitehall, the 6th of February, |||f .

" MY LORD,

" The king being moved upon the petition of Mr. Jacob
Leisler, and having a-gracious sense of his father's ser-
vices and sufferings, and the ill circumstances the peti-
tioner is thereby reduced to, his majesty is pleased to
direct that the same be transmitted to your lordship,
and that you recommend his case to the general assem-
bly of New- York, being the only place where he can
be relieved, and the prayer of his petition complied
with. I am,

" My lord, your lordship's

" Most obedient humble servant,

" JERSEY."

As soon as this letter and the petition were brought
into the house, a thousand pounds were ordered to be
levied for the benefit of Mr. Leisler, as well as several
sums for other persons, by a bill for paying the debts of
the government; which, nevertheless, did not pass into a
law till the next sessions. Every thing that was done at this
meeting of the assembly, which continued till the 18th
of October, was under the influence of a party spirit ;
and nothing can be a fuller evidence of it, than an in-
correct, impertinent address to his majesty, which wag

16(> History of New- York.

drawn up by the house, at the close of the session, and
signed by fourteen of the members. It contains a te-
dious narrative of their proceedings, relating to the dis-
puted elections, and concludes with a little incense, to
resale some of the then principal agents in the publick
affairs, in these words :

" This necessary account of ourselves and our un-
happy divisions, which we hope the moderation of our
lieutenant governour, the wisdom and prudence of*
William At wood, esq. our chief justice, and Thomas
Weaver, esq. your majesty's collector and receiver ge-
nera], might have healed, we lay before your majesty,
with all humility, and deep sense of your majesty's
goodness to us, lately expressed in sending over so ex-
cellent a person to be our chief justice."

The news of the king's having appointed lord Corn-
bury to succeed the earl of Bellamont, so strongly ani-
mated the hopes of the Anti Leislerian party, that about
the commencement of the year 1702, Nicholas Bayard
promoted several addresses to the king, the parliament,
and lord Cornbury, which were subscribed at a tavern
kept by one Hutchins, an alderman of the city of New-
York. In that to his majesty, they assure him, "that the
late differences were not grounded on a regard to his
interest, but the corrupt designs of those who laid hold
on an opportunity to enrich themselves by the spoils of
their neighbours." The petition to the parliament says,
that Leisler and his adherents gained the fort at the revo-
lution without any opposition ; that he oppressed and
imprisoned the people without cause, plundered them of
Iheir goods, and compelled them to flee their country,
though they were well affected to the prince of Orange.
That the earl of Bellamont appointed indigent sheriffs,

History of New- York. 167

who returned such members to the assembly as were
unduly elected, and in his lordship's esteem. That he
suspended many from the board of council, who were
faithful servants to the crown, introducing his own tools
in their stead. Nay, they denied the authority of the
late assembly, and added, that the house had bribed
both the lieutenant governour and the chief justice ; the
one to pass their bills, and the other to defend the le-
gality of their proceedings. A third address was pre-
pared, to be presented to lord Coinbury, to congra-
tulate his arrival, as well to prepossess him in their
favour, as to prejudice him against the opposite party.

Nothing could hav*e a more natural tendency to ex-
cite the wrath of the lieutenant governour, and the re-
venge of the council and assembly, than the reflections
contained in those several addresses. Nanfan had no
sooner received intelligence of them, than he summon-
ed Hutchins to deliver them up to him, and, upon his
refusal, committed him to jail on the 19th of January.
The next day Nicholas Bayard, Rip Van Dam, Philip
French, and Thomas Wenham, hot with party zeal,
sent an imprudent address to the lieutenant governour,
boldly justifying the legality of the address, and de-
manding his discharge out of custody. I have before
taken notice, that upon Sloughter's arrival in 1691, an
act was passed to recognize the right of king William
and queen Mary to the sovereignty of this province.
At the end of that law a clause was added in these
words, " That whatsoever person or persons shall by
any manner of ways, or upon any pretence whatso-
ever, endeavour, by force of arms, or otherwise, to
disturb the peace, good, and quiet of their majesties'
government, as it is now established, shall bo deemed

168 History of New-York.

and esteemed as rebels and traitors unto their majesties,
and incur the pains, penalties, and forfeitures, as the
laws of England have for such offences made and pro-
vided." Under the pretext of this law, which Bayard
himself had been personally concerned in enacting, Mr.
Nanfan issued a warrant for committing him to jail as
a traitor, on the 21st of January ; and, lest the mob
should interpose, a company of soldiers, for a week af-
ter, constantly guarded the prison.

Through the uncertainty of the time of lord Cornbu-
ry's arrival, Mr. IXanfan chose to bring the prisoner to
his trial as soon as possible ; and for that purpose issu-
ed a commission of oyer and terminer, on the 1 2th of
February, to William Atwood, the chief justice, and
Abraham de Peyster and Robert Walters, who were
the puisne judges of the supreme court ; and, not long
after, Bayard was arraigned, indicted, tried and con-
victed of high treason. Several reasons were afterwards
offered in arrest of judgment ; but as the prisoner was
unfortunately in the hands of an enraged party, Atwood
overruled what was offered, and condemned him to
death on the 16th of March. As the process of his trial
has been long since printed in the state trials at large,
Heave the reader to his own remarks upon the conduct
of the judges, who are generally accused of partiality.

Bayard applied to Mr. Nanfan for a reprieve, till his
majesty's pleasure might be known ; and obtained it,
not without great difficulty, nor till after a seeming
confession of guilt was extorted. Hutchins, who was
also convicted, was bailed upon the payment of forty
pieces of eight to the sheriff : but Bayard, who refused
to procure him the gift of a farm, of about fifteen hun-
dred pounds value, was not released from his confine-

History of New- York. 169

ment till after the arrival of lord Cornbury, who not
only gave his consent to an act for reversing the late at-
tainders, but procured the queen's confirmation of it,
upon their giving security, according to the advice of
sir Edward Northey, not to bring any suits against
those who were concerned in their prosecution ; which
the attorney general thought proper, as the act ordain-
ed all the proceedings to be obliterated.

After these trials, Nanfan erected a court of exche-
quer, and again convened the assembly, who thanked
him for his late measures, and passed an act to outlaw
Philip French and Thomas Wenham, who absconded
upon Bayard's commitment ; another to augment the
number of representatives, and several others, which
were, all but one, afterwards repealed by queen Anne*
During this session, lord Cornbury being daily expect-
ed, the lieutenant governour suspended Mr. Livingston
from his seat in council, and thus continued to abet
Leisler's party to the end of his administration.

Lord Cornbury's arrival quite opened a new scene*
His father, the earl of Clarendon, adhered to the cause
of the late abdicated king, and always refused the oaths
both to king William and queen Anne. But the son
recommended himself, at the revolution, by appearing
very early for the prince of Orange, being one of the
first officers that deserted king James' army. King
William, in gratitude for his services, gave him a com-
mission for this government, which, upon the death of
the king, was renewed by queen Anne, who, at the
same time, appointed him to the chief command of
New- Jersey, the government of which the proprietors
had lately surrendered into her hands. As lord Corn-
bury came to this province in very indigent circum-
stance^ hunted out of England by a host of hungry credj?.

22

History of Nerv-YorX.

tors, he was bent upon getting as much money as he
eould squeeze out of the purses of an impoverished
people. His talents were, perhaps, not superior to
the most inconsiderable of his predecessors ; but in his
zeal for the church he was surpassed by none. With
these bright qualifications he began his administration,
on the 3d of May, ] 702, assisted by a council consist-
ing of the folio-wing members : ,
William Atwood, Thomas Weaver,
William Smith, Sampson Shelton Broughton,
Peter Schuyler, Wolfgang William Romar,
Ab'm de Peyster, William Lawrence,
Samuel Staats, Gerardus Reekma%
Robert Walters, Rip Van Dam.

His lordship, without the least disguise, espousing the
Anti Leislerian faction, Atwood, the chief justice, and
Weaver, who acted in quality of solicitor general,
thought proper to retire from his frowns to Virginia,
whence they sailed to England : the former concealing
himself under the name of Jones, while the latter call-
ed himself Jackson. Colonel Heathcote and doctor
Bridges succeeded in their places at the council board'.

The following summer was remarkable for an uncom-
mon mortality, which prevailed in the city of New-
York, and makes a grand epoch among our inhabitants,
distinguished by the " time of the great sickness."* On
this occasion lord Cornbury had his residence and court
at Jamaica, a pleasent village on Long Island, distant
about twelve miles from the city.

* The fever killed almost every patient seized \vitli it, and was
brought here in a vessel from St. Thomas, in the West Indies, an ifelaad
remarkable for contagious diseases.

History of New-York. 171

The inhabitants of Jamaica consisted, at that time,
•partly of original Dutch planters, but mostly of New-
England' emigrants, encouraged to settle there, after
the surrender, by the duke of York's conditions for
plantations, one of which was in these words : "that eve-
ry township should be obliged to pay their own minis-
ters, according to such agreements as they should make
with him ; the minister being elected by the major part
of the householders and inhabitants of the town." These
people had erected an edifice for the worship of God,
and enjoyed a handsome donation of a parsonage house
and glebe, for the use of their minister. After the min-
istry act was passed,* by colonel Fletcher, in 1693, a few
episcopalians crept into the town, and viewed the pres-
byterian church with a jealous eye. The town vote, in
virtue of which the building had been erected, contain-
ed no clause to prevent its being hereafter engrossed
by any other sect. The episcopal party, who knew
this, formed a design of seizing the edifice for them-
selves, which they shortly after carried into execution,
by entering the church between the morning and eve-
ning service, while the presbyterian minister and his
congregation were in perfect security, unsuspicious of
the zeal of their adversaries, and a fraudulent ejectment,
on a day consecrated to sacred rest.

Great outrage ensued among the people, for the con-
tention being pro aris et focis, was animating and im-
portant. The original proprietors of the house tore up
their seats, and afterwards got the key and possession
of the church, which were shortly after again taken
from them by force and violence. In these controver-
sies the governour abetted the episcopal zealots, and har-
assed, the others by numberless prosecutions, heavy

172 History of Nerv-York.

fines, and long imprisonments ; through fear of which
many, who had been active in the dispute, fled out of
the province. Lord Cornbury's noble descent and edu-
cation should have prevented him from taking part in
so ignominious a quarrel ; but his lordship's sense of
honour and justice was as weak and indelicate, as his
bigotry was rampant and uncontroulable : and hence
we find him guilty of an act complicated of a number of
vices, which no man could have perpetrated without
violence to the very slightest re mains of generosity and
justice. When his excellency retired to Jamaica, one
Hubbard, the presbyterian minister, lived in the best
house in the town. His lordship begged the loan of it
for the use of his own family, and the clergyman put
himself to no small inconvenience to favour the go-
vernour's request ; but in return for the generous bene-
faction, his lordship perfidiously delivered the parson-
age house into the hands of the episcopal party, and en-
couraged one Cardwel, the sheriff, a mean fellow, who
afterwards put an end to his own life, to seize upon the
glebe, which he surveyed into lots, and farmed for the
benefit, of the episcopal church. These tyrannical mea-
sures justly inflamed the indignation of the injured suf-
ferers, and that again the more embittered his lordship
against them. They resented, and he prosecuted : nor
did he confine his pious rage to the people of Jamaica.
He detested all who were of the same denomination ;
nay, averse to every sect except his own, he insisted
that neither the ministers nor schoolmasters of the
Dutch, the most numerous^ persuasion in the province,
bad a right to preach or instruct without his guberna-
torial licence ; and some of them tamely submitted to
his authoritative rule. A general account of his lord-

History of New-York. 173

i

ship's singular zeal, is preserved under the title of the
Watch Tower, in a number of papers published in the
New-York Weekly Mercury, for the year 1755.

While his excellency was exerting his bigotry, dur-
ing the summer season, at Jamaica ; the elections were
carrying on, with great heat, for an assembly, which
met him, at that village, in the fall. It consisted prin-
cipally of the party which had been borne down by
the earl of Bellamont and his kinsman ; and hence we
find Philip French, who had lately been outlawed, was
returned a representative for New-York, and William
Nicoll elected into the speaker's chair. Several ex-
tracts from my lord's* speech are proper to be laid be-
fore the reader, as a specimen of his temper and designs.
" It was an extreme surprise to me (says his lordship)
to find this province, at my landing at New- York, in
such a convulsion as must have unavoidably occasioned
its ruin, if it had been suffered to go on a little longer.
The many complaints that were brought to me, against
the persons I found here in power, sufficiently proved
against them ; and the miserable accounts I had of the
condition of our frontiers, made me think it conven-
ient to delay my meeting you in general assembly, till
I could inform myself, in. some measure, of the condi-
tion of this province, that I might be able to offer to
your consideration, some few of those things, which Will
be necessary to be done forthwith, for the defence of
the country."

He then recommends their fortifying the port of New-
York, and the frontiers: adding that he found the soldiers
naked and unarmed : after which, he proposes a militia
bill, the erection of publick schools, and an examination
of the provincial debts and accounts ; and not only
promises to make a faithful application of the monies to

174 History of New-York.

be raised, but that he would render them an account.
The whole speech is sweetened with this gracious con-
clusion : " now, gentlemen, I have no more to trouble
you with, but to assure you, in the name of the great
queen of England, my mistress, that you may safely de-
pend upon all the protection that good and faithful sub-
jects can desire or expect, from a sovereign whose great-
est delight is the welfare of her people, under whose
auspicious reign we are sure to enjoy what no nation in
the world dares claim but the subjects of England ; I
mean, the free enjoyment of the best religion in the
world, the full possession of all lawful liberty, and the
undisturbed enjoyment of our freeholds and properties.
These are some, of the many, benefits which I take the
inhabitants of this province to be well entitled to by the
laws of England ; and I am glad of this opportunity to
assure you, that as long as I have the honour to
serve the queen in the government of this province,
those laws shall be put in execution, according to
the intent with which they were made ; that is, for
the preservation and protection of the people, and not
for their oppression. I heartily rejoice to see that
the free choice of the people has fallen upon gentlemen,
whose constant fidelity to the crown, and unwearied ap-
plication to the good of their country, is so universally
known."

The house echoed back an address of high compli-
ment to his lordship, declaring, " that being deeply sen-
sible of the misery and calamity the country lay under
at his arrival, they were not sufficiently able to express
the satisfaction they had, both in their relief and their
deliverer."

History of New-York.

Well pleased with a governour who headed their par-
ty, the assembly granted him all his request ; eighteen
hundred pounds were raised for the support of one hun-
dred and eighty men, to defend the frontiers, besides
two thousand pounds more, as a present towards defray-
ing the expenses of his voyage. The queen, by her let-
ter of the 20th of April, in the next year, forbid any such
donations for the future. It is observable, that though
the county of Dutchess had no representatives at this as-
sembly, yet such was then the known indigence of that
now populous and flourishing county, that but eighteen
pounds were apportioned for their quota of these le-
vies.

Besides the acts above mentioned, the house brought
up a militia bill, and continued the revenue to the 1st
of May, 1 709 ; and a law passed to establish a grammar
shool, according to his lordship's recommendation. Be-
sides the great harmony that subsisted between the go-
vernour and his assembly, there was nothing remarkable
except two resolves against the court of chancery erect-
ed by Mr. Nanfan, occasioned by a petition of several
disappointed suitors; who were displeased with a decree.
The resolutions were in these words : " that the setting
up a court of equity in this colony, without consent of
general assembly, is an innovation without any former
precedent, inconvenient and contrary to the English
law." And again : " that the court of chancery, as late-
ly erected, and managed here, was and is unwarranta-
ble, a great oppression to the subject, of pernicious ex-
ample and consequence ; that all proceedings, orders,
and decrees in the same, are, and of right ought to be,
declared null and void ; and that a bill be brought in,
according to these two resolutions," which was done, ;

176 History of New- York.

but though his lordship was by no means disinclined to
fix contempt on Nanfan's administration, yet as this bill
would diminish his own power, himself being the chan-
cellor, the matter was never moved farther, than to the
order for the engrossment of the bill upon the second
reading.

Though a war was proclaimed by England, on the 4th
of May, 1702, against France and Spain, yet as the Five
Nations had entered into a treaty of neutrality with the
French in Canada, this province, instead of being har-
rassed on its borders by the enemy, carried on a trade
very advantageous to all those who were concerned in
it. The governour, however, continued his solicitations
for money, with unremitted importunity, and by alarm-
ing the assembly, which met in April, 1703, with his
expectation of an attack by sea, fifteen hundred pounds
were raised, under pretence of erecting two batteries
at the Narrows ; which instead of being employed for
that use, his lordship, notwithstanding the province had
expended twenty two thousand pounds during the late
peace, was pleased to appropriate to his private advan-
tage. But let us do him the justice to confess, that
while he was robbing the publick, he at the same time
consented to several other laws for the emolument of
the clergy.

Whether it was owing to the extraordinary sagacity
of the house, or their presumption that his lordship was
as little to be trusted as any of his predecessors, that, af-
ter voting the above sum for the batteries, they added,
that it should be " for no other use whatsoever," I
leave the reader to determine. It is certain they now
began to see the danger of throwing the publick money
into the hands of a receiver general appointed by the

History of New- York. 177

crown, from whence the governour, by his warrants,
might draw it at his pleasure. To this cause we must
assign it, that in an address to his lordship, on the 19th of
June, 1703, they " desire and insist, that some proper
and sufficient person might be commissioned treasur-
er, for the receiving and paying such monies now intend-
ed to be raised for the publick use, as a means to ob-
struct misapplications for the future.'* Another address
was sent home to the queen, complaining of the ill state of
the revenue, through the frauds which had formerly been
c mmitted, the better to facilitate the important design
of having a treasurer dependent on the assembly. The
success of these measures will appear in the sequel.

Though our frontiers enjoyed the profoundest Iran-
quility all the next winter, and we had expended thir-
teen hundred pounds in supporting one hundred fuzileers
about Albany, besides the four independent companies
in the pay of the crown, yet his excellency demanded
provisions for one hundred and fifty men, at the next
meeting of the assembly, in April, 1704. The house
having reason to suspect that the several sums of eigh-
teen and thirteen hundred pounds, lately raised for the
publick service, had been prodigally expended or em-
bezzled, prudently declined any farther aids, till they
were satisfied that no misapplication had been made.
For this purpose they appointed a committee, who re-
ported that there was a balance of near a thousand
pounds due to the colony. His lordship, who had
hitherto been treated with great complaisance, took of-
fence at this parsimonious scrutiny, and ordered the as-
sembly to attend him ; when, after the example of
Fletcher, whom, abating that man's superior activity,
his lordship mostly resembled, he made an angry speech,

23

178 History of Neiv-Yorfc.

in which he charges them with innovations never at-
tempted by their predecessors, and hopes they would
not force him to exert " certain powers" vested in him
by the queen. But what he more particularly took no-
tice of, was their insisting in several late bills, upon the
title of " general assembly," and a saving of the " rights
of the house," in a resolve agreeing to an amendment
for preventing delay ; with respect to which his
lordship has these words : " I know of no right that
you have as an assembly, but such as the queen is
pleased to allow you." As to the vote, by which they
found a balance due to the colony, of nine hundred
and thirteen pounds, fifteen shillings, " it is true (says
his lordship) the queen is pleased to command me, in
her instructions, to permit the assembly, from time to
time, to view and examine the accounts of money, or
value of money, disposed by virtue of the laws made by
them ; but you can in no wise meddle with that mo-
ney ; but if you find any misapplication of any of that
money, you ought to acquaint me with it, that I may
take care to see those mistakes rectified, which I shall
certainly do."

The house bore these rebukes with the utmost pas-
siveness, contenting themselves with little else than a
general complaint of the deficiency of the revenue,
which became the subject of their particular considera-
tion in the fall. The governour, on the one hand, then
proposed an additional duty of ten per cent, on certain
goods, not immediately imported from Europe, to which
the assembly, on the other, were utterly averse, and as
goon as they resolved against it, the very printer, clerk,
and doorkeeper, were denied the payment of their sala-
ries. Several other demands being made for the publick

History of New-York. 179

debts, the house resolved to address his lordship for an
exact account of the revenue, which, together with their
refusal to admit the council's amendment to a money
bill, «rave him such high provocation, that he was in-
duced to dissolve an assembly, whose prodigal liberali-
ty had justly exposed them to the resentment of the
people. The new assembly, which met on the 14th of
June, 170/3, neglected the affair of the revenue and the ad-
ditional duty, though his lordship strongly recommend-
ed them both. Among the principal acts passed at this
meeting, is that for the benefit of the clergy, who were
entitled to the salaries formerly established by colonel
Fletcher ; which, though less than his lordship recom*-
mended, was doubtless a grateful offering to his unceas-
ing zeal for the church, manifested in a part of his
speech at the opening of the session, in these words :
" The difficulties which some very worthy ministers of
the church of England have met with, in getting the
maintenance settled upon them, by an act of the general
assembly of this province, passed in the year 1693,
moves me to propose to you the passing an act explanato-
ry of the forernentioned act, that those worthy good men,
who have ventured to come so far for the service of
God in his church, and the good and edification of the
people, to the salvation of their souls, may not, for the
future, be vexed, as some of them have been ; but may
enjoy, in quiet, that maintenance, which was by law
provided for them.* I farther recommend to you the
passing an act to provide for the maintenance of some

* The majority of our people are of a contrary opinion, if my lord
thought the establishment was -designed only for the episcopal clergy.

180 History of New-York.

ministers in some of the towns at the east end of Long
Island, where I don't find any provision has been yet
made for propagating religion."

Our harbour being wholly unfortified, a French pri-
vateer actually entered it in 1705, and put the inhabi-
tants in great consternation. The assembly, at their
session in June, the next year, were not disinclined,
through the importunity of the people, to put the city
in a better posture of defence for the future ; but be-
ing fully convinced, by his lordship's embezzlement
of 1,500/. formerly raised for two batteries at the Nar-
rows, and near WOOL levied for the protection of the
frontiers, that he was no more to be trusted with pub-
lick monies, offered a bill for raising 3000/. for fortifi-
cations, appointing that sum to be deposited in the
hands of a private person of their own nomination ; but
liis excellency did not pass it till their next meeting in
the fall, when he informed them that he had received
the queen's commands, " to permit the general assem-
bly to name their own treasurer, when they raised ex-
traordinary supplies for particular uses, and which are
no pail of the standing and constant revenue ; the trea-
surer being accountable to the three branches of the
legislature, and the governour always acquainted with
the occasion of issuing such warrants."

His lordship's renewing the proposal of raising forti-
fications at the Narrows, which he had himself hitherto
scandalously prevented, is a proof of his excessive ef-
frontery and contempt of the people ; and the neglect
of the house, to take the least notice, either of that
matter, or the revenue, occasioned another dissolution.

Before I proceed to the transactions of the new as-
sembly, which did pot meet till the year 1708, it will

History of New-York. 181

not be improper to lay before the reader the account
of a memorable proof of that persecuting spirit which
influenced lord Cornbury's whole administration.

The inhabitants of the city of Nevv-Ycrk consisted,
at thl^ time, of Dutch Calvinists, upon the plan of the
church of Holland ; French refugees, on the Geneva
model ; a few English episcopalians ; and a still small-
er number of English and Irish presbyterians ; who,
having neither a minister nor a church, used to assem-
ble themselves, every Sunday, at a private house, for
the worship of God. Such were their circumstances,
when Francis M'Kemie and John Hampton, two pres-
byterian ministers, arrived here in January, 1707. As
soon as lord Cornbury, who hated the whole persua-
sion, heard that the Dutch had consented to M'Kemie 's
preaching in their church, he arbitrarily forbid it ; so
that the publick worship, on the next sabbath, was per-
formed, with open doors, at a private house. Mr.
Hampton preached, the same day, at the presbyterian
church, in New town, distant a few miles from the city.
At that village both these ministers were, two or three
days after, apprehended, by Cardwel, the sheriff, pur-
suant to his lordship's warrant, for preaching without
his license. From hence they were led in triumph a
circuit of several miles through Jamaica to New-York.
They appeared before his lordship with an undaunted
courage, and had a conference with him, in which it is
difficult to determine, whether my lord excelled in the
character of a savage bigot, or an ill mannerly tyrant.
The ministers were no lawyers, or they would not have
founded their justification on the supposed extent of
the English act of toleration. They knew not that the
ecclesiastical statutes had no relation to this colony ;

182 History of New- York.

and that its religious state consisted in a perfect parity
between protestants of all denominations. They erro-
neously supposed that all the penal laws extended to
this province, and relied, for their defence, on the tole-
ration, offering testimonials of their having complied
with the act of parliament in Virginia and Maryland,
and promised to certify the house, in which M'Kemie
had preached, the next sessions. His lordship's dis-
course with them was the more ridiculous, because he
had Bickley, the attorney general, to assist him.
Against the extension of the statute they insisted that
the penal laws were limited to England, and so also the
toleration act, because the sole intent of it was to take
away the penalties formerly established. But grant the
position, and one consequence they drew from it ar-
gues that my lord and Mr. attorney were either very
weak, or influenced by evil designs. If the penal laws
did not extend to the plantations, then the prisoners
were innocent ; for where there is no law, there can be
no transgression ; but according to these incomparable
sages, if the penal laws and the toleration were restrict-
ed to the realm of England, as they contended, then
the poor clergymen, for preaching without his license,
were guilty of a heinous crime, against his private, un-
published instructions ; and for this cause he issued an
informal precept, to the sheriff of New- York, for their
commitment to jail, till further orders. They continued
in confinement, through the absence of Moinpesson,
the chief justice, who was in New-Jersey six weeks and
four days ; but were then brought before him by writ
of habeas corpus. Mompesson being a man of learn-
ing in his profession, and his lordship now apprised of
the illegality of his first warrant, issued another, on the

History of New-fork. 1 83

very day of the test of the writ, in which he virtually
contradicts what he had before insisted on, at his con-
ference with the prisoners. For, according to this, they
were imprisoned for preaching without being qualified
as the toleration act required, though they had offered
themselves to the sessions during their imprisonment.
They were then bailed to the next supreme court,
which began a few days after. Great pains were taken
to secure a grand jury for the purpose, and among those
who had found the indictment, to their shame be it re-
membered, were several Dutch and French protestants.

Mr. M'Kemie returned to New- York, from Virgin-
ia, in June ; and was now come to his trial on the in-
dictment found at the last court. As to Mr. Hamp-
ton, he was discharged, no evidence being offered to the
grand jury against him.

Bickley, the attorney genera], managed the prosecu-
tion in the name of the queen ; Reignere, Nicoll and
Jamison, appeared for the defendant. The trial was
held on the 6th of June, and being a cause of great ex-
pectation, a numerous audience attended. Roger Mom-
pesson sat on the bench as chief justice, with Robert
Mil ward and Thomas Wenham for his assistants. The
indictment was, in substance, that Francis M'Kemie,
pretending himself to be a protestant dissenting minister,
contemning and endeavouring to subvert the queen's
ecclesiastical supremacy, unlawfully preached without
the governour's license first obtained, in derogation of
the royal authority and prerogative : that he used other
rites and ceremonies, than those contained in the com-
mon prayer book. And, lastly, that being unqual-
ified by law to preach, he nevertheless did preach at an
illegal conventicle : arid both these last charges were

184 Histoiy of New- York.

laid to be contrary to the form of the English statutes.
For it seems that Mr. attorney was now of opinion that
the penal laws did extend to the American plantations,
though his sentiments were the very reverse at the first
debate before his excellency : but Bickley was rather
remarkable for a voluble tongue, than a penetrating
hv ad or much learning. To support this prosec ution, he
endeavoured to prove the queen's ecclesiastical suprem-
acy in the colonies, and that it was delegated to her no-
ble cousin, the governour ; and hence, he was of opinion,
that his lordship's instructions, relating to church mat-
ters, had the force of a law. He, in the next place, con-
tended for the extension of the statutes of uniformity,
and, upon the whole, was pleased to say, that he did
not doubt the jury would find a verdict for the queen.
Reignere, for the defendant, insisted, that preaching was
no crime by the common law, that the statutes of uni-
formity, and the act of toleration, did not extend here,
and that the governour's instructions were riot laws.
INicoll spoke to the same purpose, and so did David
Jamison ; but IVPKemie concluded the whole defence
in a speech, which sets his capacity in a very advanta-
geous light. The reader may see it in the narrative of
this trial, which was first published at the time, and
since reprinted, at New- York, in the year 1755. The
chief justice, in his charge, advised a special verdict, but
the jury found no difficulty to acquit the defendant, who,
through the shameful partiality of the court, was not
discharged from his recognizance, till they had illegal-
ly extorted all the fees of his prosecution, which, togeth-
er with his expenses, amounted to eighty-three pound?
seven shillings and six pence.

tiislory of New- York.

Lord Cornbury was now daily losing the favour of
the people. The friends of Leisler had him in the ut-
most abhorrence from the beginning ; and being all spies
upon his conduct, it was impossible for his lordship to
commit the smallest crime unnoticed. His persecution
of the presbyterians very early increased the number
of his enemies. The Dutch too were fearful of his re-
ligious rage against them, as he disputed their light to
call and settle ministers, or even schoolmasters, without
his special license. His excessive avarice, his embezzle-
ment of the publick money, and his sordid refusal to
pay his private debts, bore so heavily upon his reputa-
tion, that it was impossible for his adherents, either to
support him, or themselves, against the general oppo-
sition. Such being the temper of the people, his lord-
ship did not succeed, according to his wishes, in the new
assembly, which met on the 19th of August, 1708. The
members were all against him, and William Nicoll was
again chosen speaker.

Among; the several things recommended to their con-

™ o

sideration, the affair of the revenue, which was to expire
in May following, and the propriety of making presents
to the Indians, were the chief. The house were not in-
sensible of the importance of the Indian interest, and of
the infinite arts of the French to seduce them from our
alliance : but suspicious that his lordship, who hereto*
fore had given himself little concern about that matter,
was seeking a fresh opportunity to defraud the publick,
they desired him to give them a list of the articles of
which the presents were to consist, together with an es*
timate of the charge, before they would provide for
that donation.

With respect to the revenue, his lordship was pot so

24

186 History of New-York.

successful, for the assembly resolutely refused to con-
tinue it; though they consented to an act to discharge
him from a contract of 2501. and upwards, which he had
made with one Hanson, for the publick service. Thomas
Byerly was, at that time, collector and receiver gene-
ral; and by pretending that the treasury was exhausted,
the debts of the goveinment were unpaid. This gave
rise to many petitions to the assembly to make provi-
sion for their discharge. Colonel Schuyler, who had ex-
pended large sums on the publick credit, was among
the principal sufferers, and joined with several others
in an application to the house, that Byerly might be
compelled to account. The disputes, relating to this
matter, took up a considerable part of the session, and
were litigated with great heat. Upon the whole, an act
was passed to refund 700/. which had been misapplied.

The resolutions of the committee of grievances, ap-
proved by the house, show the general objections of the
people to his lordship's administration. These were
made at the beginning of the session ; and yet we find
this haughty lord subdued by the opposition against
him, and so dispirited through indigence, and the inces-
sant solicitations of his creditors, that he not only omit*
ted to justify himself, but to show even an impotent re-
sentment. For after all the censures of the house, be
tamely thanked them for passing the bill to discharge
him from a small debt, which they could not, injustice,
havf refused. The resolutions were in these words :

" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee,
that the appointing coroners in this colony, without
their being chosen by the people, is a grievance, and
contrary to law.*

* Sro lord Bacon's works, fol. edit. 2 vol. 152, and yet the coroners
Ih every county are still appointed by the governour.

History of New- York. 187

« Resolved, That it is, and always has been, the un-
questionable right of every freeman in this colony, that
he hath a perfect and entire property in his goods and
estate.

" Resolved, That the imposing and levying of any
monies upon her majesty's subjects of this colony, un-
der any pretence or colour whatsoever, without con ,t
in general assembly, is a grievance, and a violation of
the people's property.

" Resolved, That for any officer whatsoever, to ex-
tort from the people extravagant and unlimited fees,
or any money whatsoever, not positively established
and regulated by consent in general assembly, is un-
reasonable and unlawful, a great grievance, and tend-
ing to the utter destruction of all property in this
plantation.

" Resolved, That the erecting a court of equity,
without consent in general assembly, is contrary to law,
without precedent, and of dangerous consequence to
the liberty and property of the subjects.

" Resolved, That the raising of money for the go-
vernment, or other necessary charge, by any tax, im-
post, or burden on goods imported, or exported, or any
clog or hindrance, on traffic or commerce — is found by
experience to be the expulsion of many, and the im-
poverishing of the rest of the planters, freeholders, and
inhabitants of this colony ; of most pernicious conse-
quence, which, if continued, will unavoidably prove
the ruin of the colony.

" Resolved, That the excessive sums of money screw-
ed from the masters of vessels trading here under the
notion of port charges, visiting the said vessels by su-
pernumerary officers, and taking extraordinary fees, JB

188 History of New- York.

the great discouragement of trade and strangers com-
ing among us, beyond the precedent of any other port,
and without colour of law.

" Resolved, That the compelling any man upon trial
by jury, or otherwise, to pay any fees for his prose-
cution, or any thing whatsoever, unless the fees of the
officers whom he employs for his necessary defence, is
$ great grievance, and contrary to justice."*

Lord Cornbury was no less obnoxious to the people
of New-Jersey, than to those of New-York. The as-
sembly of that province, impatient of his tyranny, drew
up a complaint against him, which they sent home to
the queen,

Her majesty graciously listened to the cries of her
injured subjects, divested him of his power, and ap-
pointed lord Lovelace in his stead ; declaring lhat she
would not countenance her nearest relations in oppress-
ing her people.

As soon as my lord was superseded his creditors
threw him into the custody of the sheriff of New- York ;
and he remained here till the death of his father, when,
succeeding to the earldom of Clarendon, he returned to
England.

We never had a governour so universally detested,
nor any who so richly deserved the publick abhorrence.
In spite of his noble descent, his behaviour was trifling,
mean and extravagant.

It was not uncommon for him to dress himself in a wo-
man's habit, and then to patrole the fort in which he re-
sided, Such freaks of low humour exposed him to the
universal contempt of the people ; but their indigna-

'$ fbis had a special relation to the late prosecution of Mr.

History of New- York. 189

lion was kindled by his despotick rule, savage bigotry,
insatiable avarice, and injustice, not only to the publick,
but even his private creditors ; for he left some of the
lowest tradesmen in his employment unsatisfied in their
just demands.

John lord Lovelace, baron of Hurley, was appointed
to this government, in the spring, 1708, but did not ar-
rive here till the 18th of December following. Lord
Corn bury 's oppressive, mean administration had long
macie the people very desirous of a change ; and there-
fore his successor was received with universal joy. Hav-
ing dissolved the general assembly, soon after his acces-
sion to the government, he convened a new one on the
5th of April, 1709, which, consisting of members of the
same interest with the last, re-elected William JXicoll.
the former speaker, into the chair. His lordship told
them, at the beginning of the session* " that he had
brought with him large supplies of soldiers and stores
of war, as well as presents for the Indians," than which
nothing could be more agreeable to the people. He
lamented the greatness of the provincial debts, and the
decay of publick credit ; but still recommended their
raising a revenue, for the same term with that establish-
ed by the act in the llth year of the last reign. He al-
so pressed the discharge of the debts of the government,
and their examination of the publick accounts, " that it
may be known (says he) what this debt is, and that it
may appear hereafter, to all the world, that it was not
contracted in my time." This oblique reflection upon
his predecessor, who was now ignominiously imprison-
ed by his creditors, was displeasing to no body.

Though the assembly, in their answer, heartily con-
gratulated his lordship's arrival, and thanked the queen

190 History oj New- York.

for her care of the province, yet they sufficiently inti-
mated their disinclination to raise the revenue which
the governour had requested. " Our earnest wishes,
(to use the words of the address) are that suitable mea-
sures may be taken to encourage the few inhabitants
left to stay in it, and others to come. The just free-
dom enjoyed by our neighbours, by the tender indul-
gence of the government, has extremely drained and ex-
hausted us both of people and stock ; whilst a different
treatment, the wrong methods too long taken, and se-
verities practised here, have averted and deterred the
usual part of mankind from settling and coming hither-
to/' Towards the close, they assure him, " that as the
beginning of his government gave them a delightful
prospect of tranquility, so they were come with minds
prepared to consult the good of the country and his sa-
tisfaction."

The principal matter which engaged the attention of
the assembly, was the affair of the revenue. Lord Corn-
bury's conduct had rendered them utterly averse to a
permanent support for the future, and yet they were un-
willing to quarrel with the new governour. They, how-
ever, at last agreed, on the 5th of May, to raise 2,5007.
to defray the charges of the government to the 1st of
May ensuing, 1,600/. of which was voted to his excellen-
cy, and the remaining sums towards a supply of fire*
wood and candles to the several forts in New-York, Al-
bany, and Schenectady ; and for payment of small sa-
laries to the printer, clerk of the council, and Indian in-
terpreter.

This new project of providing, annually, for the sup-
port of government, was contrived to prevent the mis-
chiefs tp which the long revenues had formerly exposed

History of New-York. 191

as. But as it rendered the governour, and all the other
servants of the crcv:n dependent upon the assembly, a
rupture, between the several branches of the legislature,
would doubtless have ensued ; but the very day, in
which the vote passed the house, his lordship died of a
disorder contracted in crossing the ferry at his first ar-
rival in the city of N^w-York. His lady continued
here, long after his death, soliciting for the sum voted
to her husband ; but though the queen interposed, by
a letter, in her behalf, nothing was allowed till several
years afterwards.

HISTORY OF N^W-YORK*

PART

From the Canada Expedition, in 1709, to the arrival
of Governour Burnet*

JLjORD Lovelace being dead, the chief command de-
volved upon Richard Ingolsby, the lieutenant gover-
nour, the same who had exercised the government, se-
veral years before, upon the decease of colonel Slough-
ter. His short administration is remarkable, not for
his extraordinary talents, for he was a heavy man, but
for a second fruitless attempt against Canada. Colonel
Vetch, who had been, several years before, at Quebec,
and sounded the river of St. Lawrence, was the first pro-
jector of this enterprise. The ministry approved of it,
and Vetch arrived in Boston, and prevailed upon the
New-England colonies to join in the scheme. After
that, he came to New- York and concerted the plan of
operations with Francis Nicholson, formerly our lieu*
tenant governour, who, at the request of Ingolsby, the
council, the assembly, Gurdon Saltonstal, the governour
of Connecticut, and Charles Gookin, lieut. governour
of Pennsylvania, accepted the chief command of the pro-
vincial forces, intended to penetrate into Canada, by the
way of lake Champlain. Impoverished as we were, th£
assembly joined heartily in the enterprise. It was at
this juncture our first act, for issuing bills of credit, was

25

194 History $J Nciv-Yvrfc*

passed ; an expedient without which we could not hare
contributed to the expedition, the treasury being then
totally exhausted. Universal joy now brightened every
mails countenance, because all expected the complete-
reduction' of Canada before the ensuing fall. Big with
the pleasing prospect of an event which would put a
period to all the ravages of an encroaching, merciless
etoemy, extend the British empire, and augment our
trade, we exerted ourselves to the utmost, for the success
of the expedition. As soon as the design was made
known to the house, twenty ship and house carpenters
were impressed into the service for building battoes.
Commissioners also were appointed to purchase provi-
sions and other necessaries* and empowered to break
open houses for that purpose ; and to impress men, ves-
sels, horses, and waggons, for transporting the stores.
Four hundred and eighty-seven men, besides the inde-
pendent companies, were raised and despatched to Alba-
ny, by the 27th of June : from whence they advanced,
with the main body, to the Wood Creek. Three forts
were built there, besides many block houses and stores
for the provisions, which were transported with great
despatch. The province of New- York (all things con-
sidered) has the merit of having contributed more than
any of her neighbours towards this expedition. Penn-
sylvania gave no kind of aid, and New-Jersey was only
at the expense of 3000/. One hundred battoes, as many
birch canoes, and two of the forts, were built entirely,
and the other fort, for the most part, at the charge of
this government. All the provisions and stores for the
army were transported at our expense ; and besides
our quota of volunteers and the independent companies,
we procured and maintained six hundred Indians, and

History of New- For/r. 195

victualled -a thousand of their wives and children at Al-
bany, during the campaign.

Having thus put ourselves to the expense of above
twenty thousand pounds towards this enterprise, the de-
lay of the arrival of the fleet spread a general discon-
tent through the country : and early in the fall, the as-
sembly addressed the lieutenant governour to recall our
forces from the camp. Vetch and Nicholson soon after
broke up the campaign, and retired to New-Port, in
Rhode-Island, where there was a congress of governours.
Ingolsby, who was invited to it, did not appear, in com-
pliance with the inclination of the assembly, who incens-
ed at the publick disappointment, harboured great jea-
lousies of all the first promoters of the design. As soon,
therefore, as lord Sunderland's letters, which arrived
here on the 21st of October, were laid before the house,
they resolved to send an address to the queen, to lay
before her a true account of the manner in which this
province exerted itself in the late undertaking.

Had this expedition been vigorously carried on,
doubtless it would have succeeded. The publick af-
fairs at home were conducted by a wise ministry. The
allied army triumphed in repeated successes in Flan-
ders ; and the court of France was in no condition to
give assistance to so distant a colony as Canada. The
Indians of the Five Nations were engaged, through the
indefatigable solicitations of colonel Schuyler, to join
heartily in the attempt : and the eastern colonies had
nothing to fear from the Ouwenagungas ; because those
Indians had, a little before, concluded a peace with the
confederates. In America, every thing was ripe for
the attack. At home, lord Sunuerlandj. the secretary
of state, had proceeded so far as to despatch orders to

History of New-York.

the queen's ships, at Boston, to hold themselves in rea-
diness, and the British troops were upon the point of
their embarkation. At this juncture the news arrived
of the defeat of the Portuguese, which reducing our al-
lies to great streights, the forces intended for the Ame-
rican adventure were then ordered to their assistance,
and the thoughts of the ministry entirely diverted from
the Canada expedition.

As we had not a man in this province who had more
extended views of the importance of driving the French
out of Canada, than colonel Schuyler, so neither did
any person more heartily engage in the late expedi-
tion. To preserve the friendship of the Five Nations,
without, which it would be impossible to prevent our
frontiers from becoming a field of blood, he studied all
the arts of insinuating himself into their favour. He
gave them all possible encouragement and assistance,
and very much impaired his own fortune by his liberal-
ity to their chiefs. They never came to Albany, but
they resorted to his house, and even dined at his table ;
and by this means he obtained an ascendency over them,
which was .attended with very good consequences to
the province ; for he could always, in a great degree,
obviate or eradicate the prejudices and jealousies, by
which the French Jesuits were incessantly labouring to
debauch their fidelity.

Impressed with a strong sense of the necessity of
some vigorous measures against the French, colonel
Schuyler was extremely discontented at the late disap-
pointment ; and resolved to make a voyage to England
at his private expense, the better to inculcate on the
ministry the absolute necessity of reducing Canada to
the crown of Great Britain. For that purpose he pro**

History of New-York. 197

posed to carry home with him five Indian chiefs. The
house no sooner heard of his design, than they came
to a resolution, which, in justice to his distinguished
merit, I ought not to suppress. It was this :

" Resolved, nemine contradictntey That the humble
address of the lieutenant governour, council, and gene-
ral assembly of this colony, to the queen, representing
the present state of this plantation, be committed to his
charge and care, to be presented by himself to her sa-
cred majesty \ he being a person, who, not only in the
last war, when he commanded the forces of this colony
in chief at Canada, but also in the present, has perform-
ed faithful services to this and the neighbouring colo-
nies ; and behaved himself in the offices, with which he
has been entrusted, with good reputation, and the gene-
ral satisfaction of the people in these parts."

The arrival of the five sachems in England made a
great bruit through the whole kingdom. The mob fol-
lowed wherever they went, and small cuts of them were
sold among the people. The court was at that time in
mourning for the death of the prince of Denmark :
these American kings* were therefore dressed in black
underclothes, after the English manner ; but instead
of a blanket, they had each a scarlet-in-grain cloth
mantle, edged with gold, thrown over all their other
garments. This dress was directed by the dressers of
the playhouse, and given by the queen, who was advis-
ed to make a show of them. A more than ordinary
solemnity attended the audience they had of her ma-
jesty. Sir Charles Cotterel conducted them, in two
coaches, to St. James's ; and the lord chamberlain in-

* This title is commonly bestowed on the sachems, though the In-
elians have no such dignity or office among therm

History of A'cw-Forfc

troduced them into the royal presence. Their speech,
on the 19th of April, 1710, is preserved by Oldmixon,
•and was in these words :
" GREAT QUEEN,

" We have undertaken a long voyage, which none of
our predecessors could be prevailed upon to undertake,
to see our great queen, and relate to her those things
which we thought absolutely necessary for the good of
her, and us, her allies, on the other side the water.

" We doubt not but our great queen has been ac-
quainted with our long and tedious war, in conjunction
with her children, against her enemies, the French;
and that we have been as a strong wall for their securi-
ty, even to the loss of our best men. We were mighti-
ly rejoiced when we heard our great queen had resolv-
ed to send an army to reduce Canada ; and immediate-
ly, in token of friendship, we hung up the kettle, and
took up the hatchet, and, with one consent, assisted
colonel Nicholson in making preparations on this side
the lake ; but, at length, we were told our great queen
by some important affairs, was prevented in her design
at present, which made us sorrowful, lest the French,
who had hitherto dreaded us, should now think us un-
able to make war against them. The reduction of
Canada is of great weight to our free hunting ; so that
if our great queen should not be mindful of us, we
must, with our families, forsake our country, and seek
other habitations, or stand neuter, either of which will
be much against our inclinations.

" In token of the sincerity of these nations, we do, in
their names, present our great queen with these belts of
wampum, and in hopes of our great queen's favour,

leave it to her most gracious consideration."

History of New- York. 19$

While colonel Schuyler was at the British court,
captain Irigolsby was displaced, and Gerardus Beekman
exercised the powers of government, from the 10(h of
April, 1710, till the arrival of brigadier Hunter, on the
14th of June following. The council then present were,
Mr. Beekman, Mr. Mompesson,

Mr. Van Dam, Mr. Barbarie,

Colonel Renslaer, Mr. Philipse.

Hunter was a native of Scotland, and, when a boy,
put apprentice to an apothecary. He left his master,
and went into the army ; and being a man of wit and
personal beauty, recommended himself to lady Hay,
whom lie afterwards married. In the year 1707, he was
appointed lieutenant governour of Virginia, but being
taken by the French, in his voyage to that colony, he
was carried into France, and upon his return to Eng-
land, appointed to succeed lord Lovelace in the govern-
ment of this and the province of New-Jersey. Dean
Swift's letter to him, during his captivity, shows that he
had the honour of an intimacy with Mr. Addison and
others, who were distinguished for their good sense and
learning ; and perhaps it was by their interest he was
advanced to this profitable place.

Governour Hunter brought over with him near three
thousand Palatines, who, the year before, fled to Eng-
land from the rage of persecution in Germany. Many
of these people seated themselves in the city of New-
York, where they built a Lutheran church, which is
now in a declining condition. Others settled on a tract
of several thousand acres, in the manor of Livingston.
Their village there, called thn Camp, is one of tho plea
santest situations on Hudson's river : right opposite, on
the west bank, are manv other families of them. Soiwv

200 History of New- York.

went into Pennsylvania, and by the favourable accounts
of the country, which they transmitted to Germany,
were instrumental to the transmigration of many thou-
sands of their countrymen into that province. Queen
Anne's liberality to these people, was not more benefi-
cial to them, than serviceable to this colony. They
have behaved themselves peaceably, and lived with
great industry. Many are rich, all are protestants, and
well affected to the government. The same must be
said of those who have lately settled amongst us, and
planted the lands westward of Albany. We have not
the least ground for jealousy with respect to them.
Amongst us they are few in number, compared to those
in Pennsylvania. There they are too numerous to be
soon assimilated to a new constitution. They retain all
the manners and principles which prevail in their native
country, and as many of them are papists, some are not
without their fears, that sooner or later, they will be-
come dangerous to our colonies.*

The late attempt to attack Canada proving abortive,
exposed us to consequences equally calamitous, dread-
ed and foreseen. While the preparations were mak-
ing to invade it, the French exerted themselves in ca-
joling their Indian allies to assist in the repulse ; and as

* The surprising importation of Germans into that colony, gave rise
to the scheme of dispersing English clergymen and schoolmasters
among them. The project is founded on principles of sound policy.
If a political mission among the Indians had been seasonably encour-
aged, the province of Pennsylvania might have escaped all that shock-
ing devastation, which ensued the fatal defeat of general Braddock's
army, on the 9th of July, 1755 ; and would, perhaps, have prevented
even the erection of fort Quesoe? which has already cost the nation so
much blood and treasure.

History of New-York. 201

soon as fhe scheme dropped, numerous parties were sent
out to liarrass the English frontiers. These irruptions
were, principally, made on the northern parts of New-
England, where the most savage cruelties were daily
committed. New- York had, indeed, hitherto escaped,
being covered by the Indians of the Five Nations ;
but the danger we were in, induced governour Hunter,
soon after his arrival, to make a voyage to Albany,
where he met the confederate chiefs, and renewed the
old covenant. While there, he was strongly solicited,
by the New-England governments, to engage our In-
dians in a war with those who were daily ravaging their
borders ; but he prudently declined a measure, which
might have exposed his own province to a general de-
vastation. A treaty of neutrality subsisted, at that
time, between the confederates and the Canada French
and their Indians ; which, depending upon the faith of
lawless savages, was, at best, but precarious, and yet
the only security we had for the peace of our borders,
A rupture between them would have involved us in a
scene of misery, at a time, of all others, most unseason-
able. However the people of New-England might cen-
sure the governour, it was a proof of his wisdom to re-
fuse their request. For besides a want of men and arms
to defend us, our forts were fallen down, and the trea-
sury exhausted.

The new assembly met, at New-York, on the 1st of
September. Mr. Nicoll, the speaker, Mr. Livingston,
Mr. De Laueey, and colonel Morris, were the members
most distinguished for their activity in the house. Mr.
De Lancey was a protest ant refugee, a native of Caen,
in Normandy ; and by marrying a daughter of Mr.
Cpurtlandt, connected with a family, then, perhaps,

26

202 History of New- York.

most opulent and extensive of any in the province. He-
was an eminent merchant, and, by a successful trade/
had amassed a very considerable fortune. But of all
these, colonel Morris had the greatest influence on our.
publick affairs. He was a man of letters, and, though a
little whimsical in his temper, was grave in his manners
and of penetrating parts. Being excessively fond of the so-
ciety of men of sense and reading, he was never wearied
at a sitting, till the spirits of the whole company were
dissipated. From his infancy, he had lived in a manner
best adapted to teach him the nature of man, and to for-
tify his mind for the vicissitudes of life. He very early
lost both his father and mother, and fell under the pa-
tronage of his uncle, formerly an officer, of very con-
siderable rank, in Cromwell's army ; who, after the re-
storation, disguised himself under the profession of qua-
keiism, and settled on a fine farm, within a few miles of
the city, called, after his own name, Morrisania. Be-
ing a boy of strong passions, the general indications of
a fruitful genius, he gave frequent offence to his uncle,
and, on one of these occasions, through fear of his re-
sentment, strolled away into Virginia, and thence to
Jamaica, in the West-Indies,^ where, to support himself,
he set up for a scrivener. After several years spent in"
this vagabond life, he returned again to his uncle, who
received the young prodigal with joy ; and, to reduce
him to regularity, brought about his marriage with a

Hugh Coppathwait, a quaker zealot, was his preceptor : the pupil
ing advantage of his enthusiasm, hid himself in a tree, and calling
to I im, ordered him to preach the gospel among the Mohawks. The
crednlous quaker took it fur a miraculous call, aud was upon the point
$ setting out when the cheat was discovered.

History of New- York. 203

•daughter of Mr. Graham, a fine lady, with whom he liv-
ed above fifty years, in the possession of every enjoy-
ment, which good sense and polite manners in a woman
could afford. The greatest part of his life, before the
arrival of Mr. Hunter, was spent in New-Jersey,* where
he signalized himself in the service both of the propri-
etors and the assembly. The latter employed him to
draw up their complaint against my lord Cornbury, and
he was made the bearer of it to the queen. Though he
was indolent in the management of his private affairs,
yet, through the love of power, he was always busy in
matters of a political nature, and no man in the colony
equalled him in the knowledge of the law and the arts
of intrigue. From this character, the reader will easily
perceive that governour Hunter shewed his prudence,
in taking Mr. Morris into his confidence, his talents and
advantages rendering him either a useful friend or for-
midable foe. Such were the acting members of this as-
sembly. When brigadier Hunter spoke to them, he
recommended the settling a re venue, the defence of the
frontiers, and the restoration of the publick credit, which
lord Cornbury had almost entirely destroyed. To sti-
fle the remaining sparks of our ancient feuds, he con-
cluded with these words : " if any go about to disturb
your peace, by reviving buried parties or piques, or
creating new ones, they shall meet with no countenance
or encouragement from me ; and I am sure they deserve

* He was one of the -council in that province, and a judge of the
supreme court there, in 1692. Upon the surrender of the government
to queen Anne, in 1702, he was named to be governour of the colony ;
but the appointment was changed in favour of lord Cornbury, the
queen's cousin.

Wi History of Nerv-YorK.

as little from you." The address of the house was per-
fectly agreeable to the governour. They promised to
provide for the support of government, and to restore
the publick credit, as well as to protect the frontiers.
In answer to the close of his speech, they declare their
hope, " that such as excited party contentions might
meet with as little credit, and as much disgrace, asth y
deserve." This unanimity, however, was soon interrupt-
ed. Colonel Morris, for some warm words dropped in
a debate, was expelled the house ; and soon after a dis-
pute arose, between the council and assembly, concern-
ing some amendments^ made by the former, to a bill
" for the treasurer's paying sundry sums of money." The
design of it, in mentioning the particular sums, and ren-
dering them issuable by their own officer, was to re-
strain the governour from repeating the misapplications
Vhich had been so frequent in a late administration.
The council, for that reason, opposed it, and adhered
to their amendments ; which occasioned a prorogation,
on the 25th of November, after the passing of several
other necessary laws.

Mr. Hunter cautiously avoided entering, publickly,
into the dispute between the two houses, till he knew
the sentiments of the ministry, and then he opened the
spring sessions with a speech too singular not to be in-
serted.

" GENTLEMEN,

" I hope you are now corne with a disposition to an-
swer the ends of your meeting, that is, to provide a
suitable support for her majesty's government here, ii>
the manner she has been pleased to direct ; to find out
means to restore the publick credit, and to provide bet*
fer for your own security,

History of Ncrv-YorJc. 805

*' They abuse you, who tell you, that you are hardly
dealt by in the augmentation of salaries. Her majesty's
instructions, which I communicated to you, at our last
meeting, might have convinced you, that it was her ten-
derness towards her subjects in the plantations, who suf-
fered under an established custom of making considera-
ble presents to their governours, by acts of assembly,
that induced her to allot to each of them such a salary
as she judged sufficient for their support, in their re-
spective stations, with a strict prohibition of all such
presents for the future ; which instruction has met with
a cheerful and grateful compliance in all the other co-
lonies.

" If you have been in any thing distinguished, it is
by an extraordinary measure of her royal bounty and
care. I hope you will make suitable returns, lest some
insinuations, much repeated of late years, should gain
credit at last, that however your resentment has fallen
upon the governour, it is the government you dislike.

" It is necessary, at this time, that you be told also,
that giving money for the support of government, and
disposing of it at your pleasure, is the same with giv-
ing none at all. Her majesty is the sole judge of the
merits of her servants. This right has never yet been
disputed at home, and should I consent to give it up
abroad, I should render myself unworthy, not only of
the trust reposed in me, but of the society of my fellow
subjects, by incurring her highest displeasure. If I have
tired you, by a long speech, I shall make amends by
putting you to the trouble of a very short answer.

" Will you support her majesty's government, in the
manner she has been pleased to direct, or are you re-

206 History of New-York.

solved that burden shall lie still upon the governour,
who cannot accuse himself of any thing that may have
deserved this treatment at your hands ?

" AVill you take care of the debts of the government ;
or, to increase my sufferings, must I continue under the
torture of the daily cries of such as have just demands
upon you, and are in misery, without the power of giv-
ing them any hopes of relief ?

" Will you take more effectual care of your own
safety, in that of your frontiers ; or are you resolved
for the future to rely upon the security of an open win-
ter, and the caprice of your savage neighbours ? I shall
be very sorry if this plainness offends you. I judge it
necessary towards the establishing and cultivating a good
understanding betwixt us. I hope it will be so con-
strued, and wish heartily it may have that effect."

Perplexed with this remarkable speech, the assembly,
rafter a few days, concluded, that as his excellency had
prorogued them in February, while he was at Burling-
ton, in the province of New-Jersey, they could not sit
and act as a house ; upon which they were the same
day dissolved.

The five Indian kings carried to England by colonel
Schuyler, having seen all the curiosities in London, and
been much entertained by many persons of distinction,
returned to Boston, with commodore Martin and colo-
nel Nicholson ; the latter of whom commanded the
forces designed against Port-Royal and the coast of
Nova-Scotia. In this enterprise the Ne w-England colo-
nies, agreeable to their wonted courage and loyalty,
lent their assistance ; and the reduction of the garrison,
which was then called Annapolis-Royal, was happily
completed on the 2d of October, 1710. Animated by
this, and some other successes in Newfoundland, Ni-

History of New-York. 20?

cholson again urged the prosecution of the scheme for
the reduction of Canada ; which, having been strongly
recommended by the Indian chiefs, as the only effectu-
al means to secure the northern colonies, was now again
resumed.

Towards the execution of this project, five thousand
troops, from England and Flanders, were sent over un-
der the command of brigadier Hill, the brother of Mrs.
Masham, the queen's new confidant, on the disgrace of
the duchess of Marlborough. The fleet of transports,
under the convoy of sir Hoveden Walker, arrived, al-
ter a month's passage, at Boston, on the 4th of June,
1711. The proviskms, with which they expected to be
supplied there, being not provided, the troops landed.
Nicholson, who was to command the land forces, came
immediately to New-York, where Mr. Hunter conven-
ed the assembly, on the 2d of July. The re-election of
the same members who had served in the last, was a
sufficient proof of the general aversion to the establish-
ment of a revenue. Robert Livingston, junior, who
married the only daughter of colonel Schuyler, came
in for Albany ; and, together with Mr. Morris, who was
again chosen for the borough of Westchester, joined
the governour's interest. Brigadier Hunter informed
the assembly of the intended expedition, and the arri-
val of the fleet and forces ; that the quota of this pro-
vince, settled by the council of war, at New-London,
was six hundred private sentinels and their officers ;
besides which, he recommended their making provision
for building battoes, transporting the troops and pro-
visions, subsisting the Indians, and for the contingent
charges : nor did he forget to mention the support of
government and the publick debts.

208 History of

The house was so well pleased with the design upon
Canada, that they voted an address of thanks to the
queen, and sent a committee to Nicholson, to congra-
tulate his arrival, and make an honourable acknowledge-
ment of his " sedulous application to her majesty for
reducing Canada." In a few days time an act was pass-
ed for raising forces ; and the assembly, by a resolu-
tion, according to the governour's advice, restricted the
price of provisions to certain particular sums. Bills of
credit, for forwarding the expedition, were now also
struck, to the amount of 10,000/. to be sunk in five
years, by a tax on estates real and personal. After
these supplies Avere granted, the governour prorogued
the assembly ; though nothing was done relating to the
ordinary support of government.

While these preparations were making at New- York,
the fleet, consisting of twelve men of war, forty trans-
ports, and six store ships, with forty horses, a fine train
of artillery, and all manner of warlike stores, sailed for
Canada, from Boston, on the 30th of July ; and, about
a month afterwards, Nicholson appeared at Albany, at
the head of an army of four thousand men, raised in
this and the colonies of New-Jersey and Connecticut ;
the several regiments being commanded by colonel In-
golsby, colonel Whiting, and colonel Schuyler, the lat-
ter of whom procured six hundred of the Five Nations
to join our army.

The French, in Canada, were not unapprised of these
-designs. Vaudreuil, the governour general, sent his or-
ders, from Montreal, to the sieurDe Beaucourt, to has-
ten the works he was about at Quebec, and command-
ed that all the regulars and militia should be held in
readiness to march on the first warning. Four or five

History of New-York. 209

hundred Indians, of the more distant nations, arrived at
the same time at Montreal, with messieurs St. Pierre
and Tonti, who, together with the Caughnuaga prose-
lytes, took up the hatchet in favour of the French,
Vaudreuil, after dispatching several Indians and two
missionaries among the Five Nations, to detach them
from our interest, went to Quebec, which Beaucourt,
the engineer, had sufficiently fortified to sustain a long
siege. All the principal posts below the city, on both
sides of the river, were prepared to receive the British
troops in case of their landing. On the 14th of August*
Sir Hoveden Walker arrived with the fleet in the mouth
of St. Lawrence river ; and fearing to lose the company
of the transports, the wind blowing fresh at northwest,
he put into Gaspy bay, and continued there till the 20th
of the same month. Two days after he sailed from
thence, the fleet was in the utmost danger, for they had
no soundings, were without sight of land, the wind high
at east southeast, and the sky darkened by a thick fog^
In these circumstances the fleet brought to, by the ad-
vice of the pilots, who were of opinion, that if the ships
lay with their heads to the southward, they might be
driven by the stream into the midst of the channel : but
instead of that, in two hours after, they found them-
selves on the north shore, among rocks and islands, and
upon the point of being lost. The men of war escaped,
but eight transports, containing eight hundred souls, of-
ficers, soldiers, and seamen, were cast away. Two or
three days being spent, in recovering what they could
from the shore, it was determined, at a consultation of
sea officers, to return to some bay or harbour, till a fur-
ther resolution could be taken. On the 14th of Septem-
ber they arrived at Spanish-River bay, where a

.27

210 History of New-York.

cil of war, consisting of land and sea officers, consider-
ing that they had but ten weeks provision, and judging
that they could not depend upon a supply from New*
England, unanimously concluded to return home, with-
out making any farther attempts ; and they according-
ly arrived at Portsmouth on the 9th of October, when,
in addition to our misfortunes, the Edgar, a 70 gun ship,
was blown up, having on board above four hundred men,
besides many persons who came to visit their friends.

As soon as the marquis De Vaudreuil, by the ac-
counts of the fishermen and two other ships, had reason
to suspect that our fleet was returned, he wrent to Cham-
bly, and formed a camp of three thousand men to op-
pose Nicholson's army, intended to penetrate Canada,
at that end. But he was soon informed that our troops
were returned, upon the news of the disaster which had
befallen the fleet, and that the people of Albany were
in the utmost consternation.

The new ministry are generally censured for their
conduct in this expedition by the whigs, who condemn
both the project and the measures taken towards its
execution. The scheme was never laid before the par-
liament, though it was then sitting ; but this, it is said,
was for the greater secrecy, and for the same reason
the fleet was not fully victualled at home. They reli-
ed upon New-England for supplies, and this destroyed
the design. For the ships tarried at Boston till the
season for the attack was over.

According to lord Harley's account of this expedi-
tion, the whole was a contrivance of Bolingbroke,
Moore, and the lord chancellor Harcourt, to cheat the
publick of twenty thousand pounds. The latter of these

History of New-York 211

was pleased to say, " No government was worth serving
that would not admit of such advantageous jobs."

Apprehensive that the enemy would fall upon our
borders, as they afterwards really did, in small parties,
upon the miscarriage of that enterprise ; governour
Hunter pressed the assembly, in autumn, to continue
a number of men in pay the ensuing winter, and to re-
pair the out forts. After the house had passed several
votes to this purpose, his excellency, during the session,
went up to Albany, to withdraw the forces of the colo-
ny, and give orders for the necessary repairs.

The publick debts, by this unfortunate expedition,
were become greatly enhanced, and the assembly, at
last, entered upon measures for the support of govern-
ment, and sent up to the council several bills for that
purpose. The latter attempted to make amendments,
which the other would not admit, and a warm contro-
versy arose between those two branches of the legisla-
ture. The council assigned instances that amendments
had formerly been allowed ; and, besides this argu-
ment, drawn from precedent, insisted that they were a
part of the legislature, constituted as the assembly
were, " by the mere grace of the crown ;" adding, that
the lords of trade had determined the matter in their
favour. The house, nevertheless, adhered to their re-
solutions, and answered in these words :

" 'Tis true, the share the council have (if any) in the
legislation, does not flow from any title they have from
the nature of that board, which is only to advise ; or
from their being another distinct state, or rank of peo-
ple in the constitution, which they are not, being all
commons ; but only from the mere pleasure of the
prince, signified in the commission. On the contrary,

212 History of New-York.

the inherent right the assembly have to dispose of the
money of the freemen of this colony, does not proceed
from any commission, letters patent, or other grant
from the crown ; but from the free choice and election
of the people, who ought not to be divested of their
property, (nor justly can) without their consent. Any
former condescensions, of other assemblies, will not
prescribe to the council, a privilege to make any of
those amendments, and therefore they have it not. If the
lords commissioners for trade and plantations, did con-
ceive no reason why the council should not have right
to amend money bills, this is far from concluding there
are none. The assembly understand them very well, and
are sufficiently convinced of the necessity they are in,
not to admit of any encroachment so much to their pre-
judice."

Both houses adhered obstinately to their respective
opinions : in consequence of which, the publick debts
remained unpaid, though his excellency could not omit
passing a bill for pay ing to himself 3750 ounces of plate.

Upon the return of the fleet, Dudley, Saltonstal, and
Cranston, the governours of the eastern colonies, form-
ed a design of engaging the Five Nations in a rupture
with the French, and wrote on that head to Mr. Hunter;
who suspicious that his assembly would not approve of
any project that might increase the publick debts, laid
their letter before the house, and, according to his ex-
pectations, they declared against the scheme.

About this time colonel Hunter, by the advice of his
council, began to exert ise the office of chancellor, hav-
ing, on the 4th of October, appointed messieurs yan
Dam and Philipse, masters, Mr. Whileman, register, Mr.
garrison, examiner, and messieurs Sharpas and Brough-

History of New- York. 213

ton, clerks. A proclamation was then issued, to signify
the sitting of the court on Thursday in every week.
This gave rise to these two resolutions of the house :

" Resolved, That the erecting a couit of chancery,
without consent in general assembly, is contrary to law,
without precedent, and of dangerous consequence to
the liberty and property of the subjects.

" That the establishing fees, without consent in gen-
eral assembly, is contrary to law." The council made
these votes the subject of part of a long representation,
which they shortly after transmitted to the lords of trade,
who, in a letter to the governour, in answer to it, approv-
ed of his erecting a court of equity, and blamed the
assembly ; adding, " that her majesty has an undoubt-
ed right of appointing such, and so many courts of ju-
dicature, in the plantations, as she shall think necessary
for the distribution of justice."

At the next meeting, in May, 1712, colonel Hunter
strongly recommended the publick debts to the consi-
deration of the assembly, informing them, that the lords
of trade had signified their opinion, with respect to the
amending money bills, in favour of the council. The
house neglected the matters laid before them, and the
governour broke up the sessions by a short prorogation
of three days. After which they soon passed an act for
paying his excellency 802/3 ounces of plate. Our pub-
lick affairs never wore a more melancholy aspect than
at this juncture.

Among the Five Nations many emissaries from the
French were daily seducing them from the British in-
terest, and our late ill success gave such a powerful in-
fluence to their solicitations, that the Indians even at
Call's Kill sent a belt of Wampum to those in Dutchess

214 History of New-York.

county to prepare for a war. The Senecas and Shaw-
anas were also greatly disaffected, and it was generally
apprehended that they would fall upon the inhabitants
along Hudson's River. An invasion was strongly sus-
pected, by sea, on the city of New- York, where they
had been alarmed, in April, by an insurrection of the
negroes ; who, in execution of a plot to set fire to the
town, had burnt down a house in the night, killed several
people who came to extinguish the fire, for which nine-
teen of them were afterwards executed. But distressed as
the colony then was, the assembly were inflexibly averse
to the establishment of a revenue, which had formerly
been wickedly misapplied and exhausted. At the ensuing
session, in the fall,. colonel Hunter proposed a scheme
to the assembly, which was, in substance, that the re-
ceiver general should give security, residing in the co-
lony, for the due execution of his office ; and, every
quarter, account, to the governour and council, for the
sums he might receive. That the creditors of the go-
vernment should, every three months, deliver in their de-
mands to the governour and council ; when, if that
quarter's revenue equalled the amount of such debts,
the governour, by the advice of council, should draw
for it : but if the revenue, for that quarter, should fall
short of the governour's demands ; then the warrants
were to be drawn for so much only as remained, and
the creditors should afterwards receive new drafts for
their balances in the next quarter. That no warrant
should be issued, until the quarterly account of the re-
venue was given in ; but that then they should be paid
in course, and an action of debt be given against the
receiver general in case of refusal. That he should ac-
count also to the assembly when required, and permit

History of New-York. 215

all persons to have recourse to his books. The house
turned a deaf ear to this plausible project, and displeas-
ed with a letter from the lords of trade, favouring the
council's claim to amend money bills, they agreed upon
an address to the queen, protesting their willingness to
support her government, complaining of misapplications
in the treasury, intimating their suspicions that they
were misrepresented, and praying an instruction to the
governour to give his consent to a law, for supporting
an agent to represent them at the court of Great Bri-
tain. Provoked by this conduct, and to put an end to
the disputes subsisting between the two houses, his ex-
cellency dissolved the assembly.

Before the meeting of the next assembly, the peace of
Utrecht was concluded, on the 31st of March, 1713. A
peace, in the judgment of many, dishonourable to Great
Britain, and injurious to her allies. I shall only consider
it with relation to our Indian affairs. The reader, doubt-
less, observed that lord Bellamont, after the peace at
Ryswick, contended with the governour of Canada, that
the Five Nations ought to be considered as subjects of
the British crown, and that the point was disputed even
after the death of count Frontenac. It does not appear
that any decision of that matter was made between the
two crowns, till the treaty of Utrecht, the xvth article
of which is in these words :

" The subjects of France inhabiting Canada, and oth-
ers, shall hereafter give no hindrance or molestation to
the Five Nations, or cantons of Indians, subject to the
dominion of Great Britain, nor to the other nations of
America, who are friends to the same. In like manner,
the subjects of Great-Britain shall behave themselves
peaceably towards the Americans, wiio are subjects or

216 History of New-York.

friends to France ; and on both sides they shall enjoy
full liberty of going and coming on account of trade.
Also the natives of these countries shall, with the same
liberty, resort, as they please, to the British and French
colonies, for promoting trade on one side and the oth-
er, without any molestation or hindrance, either on the
part of the British subjects, or of the French. But it
is to be exactly and distinctly settled by commissaries,
•who are, and who ought to be, accounted the subjects
of Britain or of France."

In consequence of this treaty, the British crown be-
came entitled, at least for any claim that could justly
be interposed by the French, to the sovereignty over
the country of the Five Nations, concerning the extent
of which, as it never was adjusted by commissaries, it
may not be improper to say a few words.

When the Dutch began the settlement of this coun-
try, all the Indians on Long Island, and the northern
shore of the sound, on the banks of Connecticut, Hud-
son's, Delaware, and Susquehanna rivers, were in sub-
jection to the Five Nations ; and, within the memory of
persons now living, acknowledged it by the payment
of an annual tribute.* The French historians of Can-
ada, both ancient and modern, agree that the more
northern Indians were driven before the superior mar-
tial prowess of the confederates. The author of the
book entitled, Relation de ce qui s'esl passe de plus re-
marquable aux mission de peres de la compagnie de
Jesus, en la nouvctte France, published with the privilege
of the French king, at Paris, in 166], writes with such

* A little tribe, settled at the sugar-loaf mountain, in Orange coun-
ty to this day, make a yearly payment of about 201. to the Mohawks,

*,

History of Nerv-YorJc. 217

singular simplicity, as obviates the least suspicion of
those sinister views, so remarkable in the late French
histories. He informs us that all the northern Indians,
as far as Hudson's bay, were harrassedby the Five Na-
tions. " Partout, (says he, speaking in the name of the
missionaries) nous trouvons Iroquois, qui comme un
phantome importun, nous obsede en tons lieux" In the ac-
count he gives of the travels of a father, in 1658, we
are told, that the banks of the upper lake were lined
with the Algonkins, " ou la crai.nte dcs Iroquois leur a
fait chercher un asyle" Writing of the Hurons, " la
nation la plus sedentaire SC la plus propre pour les se-
menccs de la foi," he represents them as totally destroy-
ed by the confederates. Charlevoix, whose history of
New-France is calculated to countenance the encroach-
ments of the French, gives the following description of
the territory of the confederates :

" The country of the Iroquois (says he) extends it-
self between the 41st and 44th degrees of north lati-
tude, about seventy or eighty leagues from east to
west, from the head of the river, bearing for its name
that of Richelieu and Sorel ;* that is, from lake St. Sa-
crament to Niagara, and a little above forty leagues
from north to south, or rather northeast and southwest
from the head of the Mohawks river to the river Ohio.
Thus the last mentioned river and Pennsylvania bound
it on the south. On the west it has lake Ontario ; and
lake Erie on the northwest ; St. Sacrament and the ri-
ver St. Lawrence on the north ; on the south and south-
east, the province of New- York. It is watered with

* The river issuing from lake Champlain is called Riviere des Tro-
quois de Richelieu & Sorel : but the last is now mast commonly used.

28

2IS1 History of New-York.

many rivers. The land is in some places broken, but
generally speaking, very fertile."

In this partial description the Jesuit is neither con-
sistent with his geographer, nor several other French
authors ; and yet both his history and Mr. Bellin's
maps, in 1744,^ which are bound up with it, furnish
many strong evidences in favour of the British claims.
I will point out a few instances. The ancient country
of the Hurons is laid down on the north side of lake
Erie, by which we are ascertained of the extent of ter-
ritory, to which the Five Nations are entitled by their
conquest of that people. The right of the confederates
to the south side of that lake, is also established by their
dispersion of the Cat Indians, to whom it originally be-
longed. The land, on both sides of the lake Ontario,
is admitted to be theirs by this geographer, who writes
on the north, " les Iroquois du nord," and on the south
side, " pays des Iroquois." Hennepin, La Hontan and

* Mr. Bellin published a new set of maps in 1745, the first plate be-
ing thought too favourable to our claims, especially in the protraction of
the north side of the bay of Fuiuly, for ISr ova-Scotia, which in the se-
cond plate, was called " the south part of New-France." General Shir-
ley, one of the British commissaries for settling the disputed limits,
took occasion to speak of this alteration to Mr. Belliri, at Paris, ; nd
informed him that one hundred copies of his first maps were dispersed
in London, upon which he discovered some surprise ; but instead of
urging any thing in support of the variation in his new draft, said,
smiling, " we iu France must follow the command of the monarch." I
mention this to show that since the French government interposes in
the construction of their maps, they are proper evidence against them*
Among the English, Dr. Mitchell's is the only authentick one extant.
None of the rest, concerning America, have passed under the examina-
tion, or received the sanction of any publick board; and, for this rea-
son, they ought not to be construed to our prejudice. Add, that they
generally copy from the French.

History of New- York. 21 D

BeJisle, all concur with Bellin, in extending the right of
the Five Nations, to the lands on the north side of lake
Ontario. The first of these, besides what appears from
his map, speaking of that lake, has these words, " there
are likewise on the north side these Iroquois villages,
Tejajahon, Kente, and Ganneousse ;" every one of which
is laid down even in Bellin's, and almost all the maps I
have seen of that country, whether French or English.
What renders Hennepin's account the more remarkable,
>is, that these villages were there in 1679, seven years af-
ter the erection of foil Frontenac. From whence it may
fairly be -argued, that .their not opposing those works,
was by no means a cession of the country to the French ;
and indeed Charlevoix himself represents that matter as
carried on by a fraud, for, says he, " under pretext of
seeking their advantage, the governour had nothing in
view, que de les tenir en bride'''

To these attestations, which are the more to be de-
pended upon, because they are given by the French
writers, whose partiality leads them to confine the
Five Nations to contracted limits,* we may add, that
our Indians universally concur in the claim of all the
lands, not sold to the English, from the mouth of Sorel
river, on the south side of the lakes Erie and Ontario,
on both sides of the Ohio, till it falls into the Missisip-
pi ; and on the north side of those lakes, that whole ter-

* Mr. Bellin was engineer of the marine, and tells us that Charlevoix
performed his travels in this country by order of the French court;
that he was a man of attention and curiosity, and had a determined re-
solution to collect all possible intelligence, which he designed to make
publick. To give the greater credit to the Jesuit's history and his own
map, he adds, that Charlevoix was never without (he instruments pro-
per for a voyager, u partout la boussole a la main."

220 History of New-York.

ritory between the Outawais river and the lake Huron,
and even beyond the straights between that and lake
Erie. This last tract, and the land on the north side of
the lakes Erie and Ontario, were contained in their sur-
render to king William, in 1701 ; of which I took notice
in its proper place : and doubtless to that, and lord Bel-
lamont's contest with count Frontenac, we must ascribe
it, that the Five Nations were afterwards so particular-
ly taken notice of in the treaty of Utrecht.

The British title to fort Frontenac, and the lands on
the north west side of Cadaracqui river, has of late been
drawn into question by some, who, from jealousy, or
other motives equally shameful, were bent upon rind-
ing fault with every measure planned by general Shir-
ley. The advocates for the French claim, relied much
on a late Map of the middle British Colonies, and two
pamphlets published by Lewis Evans.

" The French, says he, being in possession of fort
Frontenac, at the peace of Ryswick, which they attain-
ed during their war with the confederates, gives them
an undoubted title to the acquisition of the northwest
side of St. Lawrence river, from thence to their settle-
ment at Montreal." The writer adds ; " it was upon
the faith and honour of king William's promise (by
the fourth article of the treaty of Ryswick) of not
disturbing the French king in the free possession of
the kingdoms, countries, lands, or dominions he then en-
joyed, that I said the French had an undoubted title
to their acquisition of the northwest side" of St. Law-<
reiice river, from Frontenac to Montreal."

Whether the treaty ought to be considered, as hav-
ing any relation to this matter, is a question which I
shall not take upon me to determine. The map malt-

History of New- York.

er supposes it to be applicable, and, for the present, I
grant it. The xiith article of this treaty is in these
words : " the most Christian king shall restore to the
king of Great-Britain, all countries, islands, forts, and
colonies, wheresoever situated, which the English did
possess before the declaration of the present war. And
in like manner, the king of Great Britain shall restore
to the most Christian king, all countries, islands, forts,
and colonies, wheresoever situated, which the French
did possess before the said declaration of war." If there-
fore the British subjects were in possession of fort Fron-
tenac at the commencement of the war, the French,
who attained it during its continuance, according to this
treaty, ought to have surrendered it to the British crown.
Whatever the French title to fort Frontenac might
have been antecedent to the year 1688, in which the
island of Montreal was invaded by the Five Nations, it
is certain that it was then abandoned, and that the In-
dians entered it, and demolished a great part of the
works.* But the author of the map affirms, " that the
English did not possess fort Frontenac before the de-
claration of war terminated by the peace of Ryswick."
To which I reply, that the Indians acquired a title in
1688, either by conquest, or dereliction, or both ; and
that the crown of Great Britain had a right to take ad-
vantage of their acquisition, in virtue of its sovereign-
ty over the Five Cantons. That they were our depend-
ents, was strongly and often insisted upon by gover-
nour Dongan and lord Bellamont, and the point re-
mained sub jvdice, till the treaty of Utrecht. Then a
decision Avas solemnly made in our favour, which looks

* Le fort de Catarocouy ctoit £mcue & ruic<5. Charlevoix.

222 History of New-York.

back, as the determination of all disputes do, at least as
far as the first rise of the controversy ; posterior to
which, and prior to king William's war, his Indian sub-
jects obtained the possession of the fort in question.*
Whence I think it may be fairly deduced, if we take
the treaty of Ryswick for our rule, that fort Fron-
tenac, which was regained by the French during their
war with us, ought to have been surrendered to the Bri-
tish crown. Every publick transaction between the
French and the Five Nations, without the participation
of the government of Great Britain, since the Indians
were claimed as our dependents, is, perhaps, absolutely
void, and particularly the treaty of peace made between
the Indians and the chevalier De Callieres, after the
death of count Frontenac.f

The possession of any part of the country of the
Five Nations by the French, either before or since the
close of queen Anne's war, cannot prejudice the Bri-
tish title, because the treaty of Aix la Chapelle renews
and confirms that executed at Utrecht, in 1713, and ex-
pressly stipulates, that the dominions of the contracting
parties shall be in the same condition, which they ought

*The Five Nations entered the fort in 1688, and the war against
France was not proclaimed till May, 1689.

f Evan's map and first pamphlet, or analysis, were published in the
summer, 1755, and that part in favour of the French claim to Fronte-
nac, was attacked by two papers in the New- York Mercury, io Jan.
1756. This occasioned his publication of the second pamphlet the
next spring, in wrhich he endeavours to support his map. He was a
man in low circumstances, in his temper precipitate, of violent passions,
great vanity, and rude manners. He pretended to the knowledge of
every thing, and yet had very little learning. By his inquisitive turn
he filled his head with a considerable collection of materials ; and a per-

History of New- York. 223

of right to have been in before the late war." Commis-
saries were soon after appointed to adjust the contro-
verted limits, who accordingly met at Paris, and conti-
nued the negotiation, till the French king perfidiously
seized upon several parts of Nova-Scotia, or Acadia^the
settlement of the bounds of which, was part of the very
business of the commissaries. This gave rise to the pre-
sent operations, and the longest sword will determine the
controversy.

Brigadier Hunter was disappointed in his expecta-
tions upon the late dissolution, for though the elections
were very hot, and several new members came in, yet
the majority were in the interest of the late assembly,
and on the 27th of May, 1713, chose Mr. Nicoll into the
chair. The governour spoke to them with great plain-
ness, informing them, that it would be in vain to endea-
vour to lodge the money allotted for the support of go-
vernment, in any other than the hands of the queen's of-
ficers. Nevertheless (says he) if you are so resolved,
you may put the country to the expense of a treasurer
for the custody of money raised for extraordinary uses."
He added, that he was resolved to pass no law, till pro-

son of more judgment than he had, might, for a few days, receive ad-
vantages from his conversation. He piqued himself much upon his two
maps, which are, however, justly chargeable with many errours. His
ignorance of language is evident, both in them and the two pamphlets
of his analysis, the last of which is stuffed with groundless aspersions on
general Shirley, who deserves so well from these colonies, that on that
account, and to weaken the authority of a map prejudicial to his majes-
ty's rights, I beg the reader's excuse for this infraction of the old rule,
de mortuis nil nisi bonum. Readied at New- York. June 12, 1756,
under an arrest for a gross slander uttered against Mr. Morris, the
governour of Pennsylvania.

224 History of New- York.

vision was made for the government. The members
were therefore reduced to the dilemma of passing a bill
for that purpose, or breaking up immediately. They
chose the former, and the governour gave his assent to
that, and an excise bill on strong liquors, which conti-
nues to this day, producing into the treasury about one
thousand pounds per annum. After a short recess, se-
veral other laws were enacted in the fall. But the debts
of the government still remained unnoticed, till the sum-
mer of the year 1714. A long session was then almost
entirely devoted to that single affair. Incredible were
the numbers of the publick creditors. New demands
were every day made. Petitions came in from all quar-
ters, and even for debts contracted before the revolution*
Their amount was near twenty-eight thousand pounds.
To pay this prodigious sum, recourse was had to the
circulation of bills of credit to that value. These were
* lodged in the hands of the province treasurer, and issu-
ed by him only, according to the directions of the act.

The news of the queen's death arriving in the ensu-
ing fall, a dissolution ensued of course; and a new,
house met in May, 1715, which continued only to the
21st of July ; for the governour being now determin-
ed to subdue those whom he could not allure, again
dissolved the assembly. He succeeded in his design, for
though Mr. Nicoll was re-elected into the chair, on the
9th of June, 1716, yet we plainly perceive, by the har-
mony introduced between the several branches of the
legislature, that the majority of the house were now in
the interest of the governour.

An incontestable evidence of their good understand-
ing appeared at the session in autumn, 1717, when the
governour informed them of a memorial, which had

History of New-York. 225

been sent home, reflecting upon his administration. The
house immediately voted an address to him, which was
conceived in terms of the utmost respect, testifying
their abhorrence of the memorial, as a false and mali-
cious libel. It was supposed to be written by Mul-
ford, a representative for Suffolk county, who always
opposed the measures that were taken to preserve the
friendship of the Five Nations, and foolishly projected
a scheme to cut them off. It was printed in England,
and delivered to the members at the door of the house
of commons, but never had the author's intended ef-
fect.

It was at this meeting the council, on the 3Jst of Oc-
tober, sent a message by Mr. Alexander, then deputy
secretary to the house, desiring them " to appoint pro-
per persons for running the division line between this
colony and the province of New-Jersey, his excellency
being assured the legislature of the province of New-
Jersey will bear half the expense thereof." The as-
sembly had a bill before them, at that time, which af-
terwards passed into a law, for the payment of the re-
maining debts of the government, amounting to many
thousand pounds ; in which, after a recital of the gene-
ral reasons for ascertaining the limits between New-
York and New- Jersey on the one side, and Connecti-
cut on the other, a clause was added, to defray the ex-
pense of those services. Seven hundred and fifty
ounces of plate were enacted " to be issued by war-
rant, under the hand and seal of the governour of this
province for the time being, by and with the advice
and consent of his majesty's council, in such parts and
portions as shall be requisite for that service, when the
survey, ascertaining, and running the said line, limit,

29

226 History of New-York.

and boundary, shall be begun, and carried on, by the
mutual consent and agreement of his excellency and
council of this province, and the proprietors of the soil
of the said province of New-Jersey." According to
this law, the line " agreed on by the surveyors and
commissioners of each colony was to be conclusive."
Another sum was also provided by the same clause,
for running the line between New- York and Connect-
icut ; and in the year 1719, an act was passed for the
settlement of that limit, of which I shall have occasion
to take notice in a succeeding administration.

Whether it was because Mr. Nicoll was disgusted
with the governour's prevailing interest in Ihe house,
or to his infirm state of health, that he desired, by a
letter to the general assembly, on the 18th of May,
1718, to be discharged from the speaker's place, is un-
certain. His request was readily granted, and Robert
Livingston, esq. chosen in his stead. The concord be-
tween the governour and this assembly was now wound
up to its highest pitch. Instead of other evidences of
it, I shall lay before the reader his last speech to the
house, on the 24th of June, 1719, and their address in
answer to it.

" GENTLEMEN, .

" I have now sent for you, that you may be witnesses
to my assent to the acts passed by the general assem-
bly in this session. I hope that what remains unfinish-
ed may be perfected by to-morrow, when I intend to
put a close to this session.

" I take this opportunity also to acquaint you, that
my late uncertain state of health, the care of my little
family, and my private affairs, on the other side, have
at last, determined me to make use of that license of

History of New- York. 227

absence, which has been, sometime ago, so graciously
granted me ; but with a firm resolution to return to you
again, if it is his majesty's pleasure that I should do so :
but if that proves otherwise, I assure you that whilst I
live, I shall be watchful and industrious to promote the
interest and welfare of this country, of which, I think,
I am under the strongest obligations, for the future,
to account myself a countryman.

" I look with pleasure on the present quiet and flour-
ishing state of the people here, whilst I reflect on that
in which I found them at my arrival. As the very name
of party or faction seems to be forgotten, may it for
ever lie buried in oblivion, and no strife ever happen
among you, but that laudable emulation, who shall ap-
prove himself the most zealous servant and most dutiful
subject of the best of princes, and most useful member
of a well established and flourishing community, of
which you, gentlemen, have given a happy example,
which 1 hope will be followed by future assemblies. I
mention it to your honour, and without ingratitude and
breach of duty I could do no less."

Colonel Morris and the new speaker, were the authors
of the answer to this speech, though it was signed by all
the members. AYhether Mr. Hunter deserved the eulo-
gium they bestowed upon him, I leave the reader to de-
termine. It is certain that few plantation governours
have the honour to carry home with them such a testi-
monial as this :

" Sir, when we reflect upon your past conduct, your
just, mild, and tender administration, it heightens the
concern we have for your departure, and makes our
grief such as words cannot truly express. You have
governed well and wisely, like a prudent magistrate.

228 History of New- York.

like an affectionate parent ; and wherever you go, and
whatever station the Divine Providence shall please to
assign you, our sincere desires and prayers for the hap-
piness of you and yours, shall always attend you.

" We have seen many governours, and may see more;
and as none of those, who had the honour to serve in
your station, were ever so justly fixed in the affections
of the governed, so those to come will acquire no mean
reputation, when it can be said of them, their conduct
has been like yours.

" We thankfully accept the honour you do us, in call-
ing yourself our countryman ; give us leave then to
desire, that you will not forget this as your country,
and, if you can, make haste to return to it.

" But if the service of our sovereign will not admit of
what we so earnestly desire, and his commands deny us
that happiness ; permit us to address you as our friend,
and give us your assistance, when we are oppressed
with an administration the reverse of yours."

CoLmel Hunter departing the province, the chief com-
mand devolved, the 31st of July, 1719, on Peter Schuy-
ler, esq. then the eldest member of the board of council.
As he had no interview with the assembly during his
short administration, in which he behaved with great
moderation and integrity, there is very little observa-
ble in his time, except a treaty, at Albany, with the In-
dians, for confirming the ancient league ; and the trans-
actions respecting the partition line between this and
the colony of New-Jersey : concerning the latter of
which, I shall now lay before the reader a very sum-
mary account.

The two provinces were originally included in the
|jrant of king Charles to the duke of York. JNew-Jer-

History of New-York. 229-

sey was afterwards conveyed by the duke to lord Berk-
ley and sir George Carteret. This again, by a deed of
partition, was divided into East and West Jersey, the
former being released to sir George Carteret, and the
latter to the assigns of lord Berkley. The line of di-
vision extended from little Egg Harbour to the north
partition point on Delaware river, and thus both those
tracts became concerned in the limits of the province
of New-York. The original rights of lord Berkley and
sir George Carteret, are vested in two different sets,
consisting each of a great number of persons, known by
the general name of the proprietors of East and West
Jersey, who, though they surrendered the powers of
government to queen Arine, in the year 1702, still retain-
ed their property in the soil. These were the persons
interested against the claim of New-York. It is agreed,
on all sides, that the deed to New- Jersey is to be first
satisfied out of that great tract granted to the duke,
and that the remainder is the right of New- York. The
proprietors insist upon extending their northern limits
to aline drawn from the latitude of 41° 40 on Delaware,
to the latitude of 41° on Hudson's river ; and alledge
that before the year 1671, the latitude of 41°, was reput-
ed to be fourteen miles to the northward of Tappau
creek, part of those lands being settled under New-Jer-
sey till 1684. They farther contend, that in 1684 or
1685, Dongan and Lawrie, (the former governour of
New- York, and the latter of New-Jersey) with their
respective councils agreed that the latitude on Hud-
son's river was at the mouth of Tappan creek, and that
a line from thence to the latitude of 41° 40' on Dela-
ware should be the boundary line. Tn 1686, Robinson,

.230 History of New-York.

Wells, and Keith,* surveyors of the three several pro-
vinces, took two observations, and found the latitude of
41° to be 1' and 25" to the northward of the Yonker's
mills, which is four miles and forty-five chains to the
southward of the mouth of Tappan creek. But against
these observations the proprietors offer sundry objec-
tions, which it is not my business to enumerate. It is
not pretended by any of the litigants, that a line, ac-
cording to the stations settled by Dongan and Lawrie,
was actually run ; so that the limits of these contend-
ing provinces must long have existed in the uncertain
conjectures of the inhabitants of both ; and yet the in-
conveniences of this unsettled state, through the infancy
of the country, were very inconsiderable. In the year
1701, an act passed in New- York, relating to elections,
which annexed Wagacherneck, and great and little Min-
isink, certain settlements near Delaware, to Ulster
county. The intent of this law was to quiet disputes
before subsisting between the inhabitants of those
places, whose votes were required both in Orange and
Ulster. The natural conclusion from hence, is that
the legislature of New- York then deemed those planta-
tions not included within the New- Jersey grant.

Such was the state of this affair till the year 1717,
when provision was made by this province for running
the line. The same being done in New- Jersey the suc-
ceeding year, commissions for that purpose, under the
great seals of the respective colonies, were issued in
May, 1719. The commissioners, by indenture, dated
the 25th of July, fixed the north station point on the

* The same who left the qnakers, and took orders in the church of
^England. Burnet's hist, of his owq times.

History of New- York. 231

northermost branch of Delaware, called the Fish-Kill ;
and from thence a random line was run to Hudson's
river, terminating about five miles to the northward of
the mouth of Tappan creek. In August the surveyors
of East Jersey met for fixing the station on Hudson's
river. All the commissioners not attending, through
sickness, nothing further was done. What had already
been transacted, however, gave a general alarm to ma-
ny persons interested in several patents under New-
York, who before imagined their rights extended to the
southward of the random line. The New- York survey-
or afterwards declined proceeding in the work, com-
plaining of faults in the instrument, which had been
used in fixing the north station on Delaware. The
proprietors, on the other hand, think they have answer-
ed his objections, and the matter rested, without much
contention, till the year 1740. Frequent quarrels
multiplying after that period, relating to the rights of
soil and jurisdiction southward of the line in 1719, a
probationary act was passed in New- Jersey, in Febru-
ary, 1748, for running the line ex parte, if the province
of New- York refused to join in the work. Our assem-
bly, soon after, directed their agent to oppose the king's
confirmation of that act ; and it was accordingly drop-
ped, agreeably to the advice of the lords of trade,
whose report of the 18th of July, 1753, on a matter of
so much importance, will doubtless be acceptable to
the reader.

" To the king's most excellent majesty :
" May it please your majesty,

1 AVe have lately had under our consideration, an
act passed in your majesty's province of New- Jersey, in

232 History of New- York.

1747-3, entitled, an act for running and ascertain ing the
line of partition and division betwixt this province of
New-Jersey, and the province of New- York.

" And having been attended by Mr. Paris, solicitor
in behalf of the proprietors of the eastern division of
New-Jersey, with Mr. Hume Campbell and Mr. Hen-
ley, his counsel, in support of the said act ; and by Mr.
Charles, agent for the province of New-York, with Mr.
Forrester and Mr. Pratt, his counsel, against the said act ;
and heard what each party had to offer thereupon ; we
beg leave humbly to represent to your majesty, that
the considerations which arise upon this act are of two
sorts, viz. such as relate to the principles upon which it
is founded, and such as relate to the transactions and
circumstances which accompany it.

" As to the first, it is an act of the province of New-
Jersey interested in the determination of the limits, and
in the consequential advantages to arise from it.

" The province of New- Jersey, in its distinct and sep-
arate capacity, can neither make nor establish bounda-
ries : it can as little prescribe regulations for deciding
differences between itself and other parties concerned
in interest.

" The established limits of its jurisdiction and terri-
tory, are such as the grants under which it claims have
assigned. If those grants are doubtful, and differences
arise upon the constructions, or upon the matters of
them, we humbly apprehend that there are but two
methods of deciding them : either by the concurrence
of all parties concerned in interest, or by the regular and
legal forms of judicial proceeding : and it appears to
us, that the method of proceeding must be derived from
the immediate authority of the crown itself, signified by

History of New-York. 233

a commission from your majesty under the great seal ;
the commission of subordinate officers and of derivative
powers being neither competent nor adequate to such
purposes : to judge otherwise would be, as we humbly
conceive, to set up ex parte determinations and incom-
petent jurisdictions in the place of justice and legal au-
thority.

" If the act of New-Jersey cannot conclude other par-
ties, it cannot be effectual to the ends proposed ; and
that it would not be effectual to form an absolute de-
cision in this case, the legislature of that province seems
sensible, whilst it endeavours to leave to your majesty's
determination the cfecision of one point relative to this
matter, and of considerable importance to it ; which
power your majesty cannot derive from them, without
their having the power to establish the thing itself, with-*
out the assistance of your majesty.

" As we are of opinion that the present act, without
the concurrence of other parties concerned in interest,
is unwarrantable and ineffectual ; we shall, in the next
place, consider what transactions and proceedings have
passed, towards obtaining such concurrence;

" The parties interested are your majesty and the
two provinces of New- York and New-Jersey. Your*
majesty is interested with respect to your sovereignty,
seigneurie, and property; and the said provinces with
respect to their government and jurisdiction.

" With regard to the transactions on the part of New-
York, we beg leave to observe, that whatever agree-
ments have been made formerly between the two provin-
ces for settling their boundaries ; whatever acts of assem-
bly have passed, and whatever comrnibsions have been
issued by the respective governours and govemiueut* *

30

234 History of New-York.

the proceedings under them have never been perfected,
the work remains unfinished, and the disputes between
the two provinces subsist with as much contradiction as
ever ; but there is a circumstance that appears to us to
have still more weight, namely, that those transactions
were never properly warranted on the part of the cro^ n ;
the crown never participated in them, and, therefore*
cannot be bound with respect to its interests by pro-
ceedings so authorised.

" The interest which your majesty has in the deter-
mination of this boundary, may be considered in three
lights : either as interests of sovereignty, respecting
mere government ; of seigneurie, which respect es-
cheats, and quitrents ; or of property, as relative to the
soil itself ; which last interest takes place in such cases
where either your majesty has never made any grants
of the soil, or where such grants have, by escheats, re-
verted to your majesty.

" With regard to the first of these interests, viz. that
of sovereignty, it has been alledged to us in support of
the act, that it is not materially affected by the question,
as both provinces are under your majesty's immediate
direction and government : but they stand in a very dif-
ferent light with respect to your majesty's interest in
the quitrents and escheats ; in both which articles the
situation of the two provinces appears to us to make a
very material alteration : for although the province of
Ke\\ -Jersey is not under regulations of propriety or
charter with respect to its government, yet it is a pro-
prietary province with respect to the grant and tenure
of its territory, and consequently as New- York is not
in that predicament, the determination of the boundary
in prejudice to that province, will affect your majesty's

History of New- York. 235

/

Interest with respect to the tenure of such lands as are
concerned in this question : it being evident, that what-
ever districts are supposed to be included in the limits
of New- Jersey, will immediately pass to the proprietors
of that province, and be held of them, by which means
your majesty would be deprived of your escheats, and
the quitrerits would pass into other hands.

" To obviate this objection, it has been alledged, that
the crown has already made absolute grants of the whole
territory that can possibly come in question under the
denomination of this boundary, and reserved only tri-
fling and inconsiderable quitrents on those grants. But
this argument does not seem to us to be conclusive,
since it admits an interest in your majesty, the greatness
or smallness of which is merely accidental ; and there-
fore does not affect the essence of the question : and
we beg leave to observe, that in the case of exorbitant
grants with inconsiderable quitrents ; and where, conse-
quently, it may reasonably be supposed, that the crown
has been deceived in such grants by its officers ; your
majesty's contingent right of property in virtue of your
eeigneurie, seems rather to be enlarged than diminish-
ed.

" This being the case, it appears to us, that gover-
nour Hunter ought not to have issued his commission
for running the line above mentioned, without having
previously received the royal direction and instruction
for that purpose ; and that a commission issued without
such authority, can be considered, with respect to the
interests of the crown, in no other light than as a
mere nullity : and even with respect to New- York, we
observe, that the said commission is questionable, as it
does not follow the directions of the above mentioned

236 History of Nerv-YorJc.

act, passed in 1717, which declares that the commission
to be issued, shall be granted under the joint authority
of the governour and council of that province.

" But it has been further urged that the crown has
since confirmed these transactions, either by previous
declarations, or by subsequent acquiescence, and con-
sequently participated in them, so far as to conclude
itself : we shall therefore, in the next place, beg leave
to consider the circumstances urged for this purpose.

" It has been alledged that the crown, by giving con-
sent to the aforesaid act, passed in New-York, in 1717,
for paying and discharging several debts due from that
colony, &c. concluded and bound itself with respect to
the subsequent proceedings had under the commission
issued by governour Hunter : but the view and purport
of that act appears to us so entire, and so distinctly
formed for the purpose of raising money and establish-
ing funds — so various and so distinct from any conside-
ration of the disputes subsisting in the two provinces,
with respect to the boundaries — that we cannot con-
ceive a single clause, in so long and so intricate an act,
can be a sufficient foundation to warrant the proceed-
ings of governour Hunter subsequent to it, without a
special authority from the crown for that purpose : and
there is the more reason to be of this opinion, as the
Crown, by giving its assent to that act, can be constru-
ed to have assented only to the levying money for a
future purpose ; which purpose could not be effected
by any commission, but from itself; and, therefore, can
never be supposed to have, thereby, approved a com-
mission from another authority, which was at that time
Already issued, and carrying in execution, previous to
mich assent

History of New-York. 237

" We further beg leave humbly to represent to your
majesty, tit at the line of partition and division between
your majesty's province of New-York and colony of
Connecticut, having been run and ascertained, pursu-
ant to the directions of an act, passed at New- York,
for that purpose, in the year 1719, and confirmed by
his late majesty, in 1723 ; the transactions between the
said province and colony, upon that occasion, have
been alledged to be similar to, and urged as a prece-
dent, and even as an approbation, of the matter now in
question : but we are humbly of opinion, that the two
cases are materially and essentially different. The act
passed in New-Yort, in 1719, for running and ascer-
taining the lines of partition and division between that
colony and the colony of Connecticut, recites, that in
the year 1683, the governour and council of New-York,
and the governour and commissioners of Connecticut,
did, in council, conclude an agreement concerning the
boundaries of the two provinces ; that, in consequence
of this agreement, commissioners and surveyors were
appointed on the part of each government, who did ac-
tually agree, determine, and ascertain the lines of par-
tition ; marked out a certain part of them, and fixed
the point from whence the remaining part should
be run : that the several things agreed on and done by
the said commissioners, were ratified by the respective
governours — entered on record in each colony, in
March, 1700 — approved and confirmed by order of
king William the third, in his privy council — and by
his said majesty's letter to his governour of New- York.
From this recital it appears to us that those transac-
tions were not only carried on with the participation,
but confirmed by the express act and authority of the

238 History of New-York.

crown ; and that confirmation made the foundation of
the act, passed by New- York, for settling the bounda-
ries between the two provinces ; of all which authority
and foundation, the act, we now lay before your majes-
ty, appears to us to be entirely destitute.

" Upon the whole, as it appears to us, that the act in
question cannot be effectual to the ends proposed —
that your majesty's interest may be materially affected
by it — and that the proceedings on which it is founded,
were not warranted in the first instance by the proper
authority, but carried on without the participation of
the crown ; we cannot think it advisable to lay this
act before your majesty, as fit to receive your royal
approbation.

" Which is most humbly submitted,

" Dunk Halifax,
" J. Grenville,
" James Oswald,

* Andrew Stone,
" Whitehall, July 18, 1753,"

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.

PART V.

From the year 1720, to the commencement of the Ad*
ministration of Colonel Cosby.

WlLLIAM BURNET, esq. took upon him the go-
vernment of this province, on the 17th of September,
1720. The council, named in his instructions, were
Colonel SchuyLr, Mr. Barbarie,

Colonel De Peyster, Mr. Philipse,

Captain Walter, Mr. Byerly,

Colonel Beekman, Mr. Clarke,

Mr. Van Dam, Dr. Johnson,

Colonel Heathcote, Mr. Harison.

Mr. Burnet was a son of the celebrated bishop of that
name, whose piety and erudition, but especially his zeal
and activity for the glorious revolution and protestant
succession, will embalm his memory to the most distant
ages. The governour was a man of sense and polite
breeding, a well read scholar, sprightly, and of a social
disposition. Being devoted to his books, he abstained
from all those excesses into which his pleasurable relish
would otherwise have plunged him. He studied the arts
of recommending himself to the people, had nothing of
the moroseness of a scholar, was gay and condescending,
affected no pomp, but visited every family of reputa-
tion, and often diverted himself in frse converse with

240 History of New- York.

the ladies, by whom he was very much admired. Na
governour, before him, did so much business in chan-
cery. The office of chancellor was his delight. He
made a tolerable figure in the exercise of It, though he
was no lawyer, and had a foible very unsuitable for a
judge, I mean his resolving too speedily ; for he used to
say of himself, " I act first, and think afterwards." He
spoke however always sensibly, and by his great reading
was able to make a literary parade. — As to his fortune
It was very inconsiderable, for he suffered much in the
South Sea scheme. While in England, he had the of-
fice of comptroller of the customs at London, which he
resigned to brigadier Hunter, as the latter, in his favour,
did the government of this and the colony of New-Jer-
sey. Mr. Burnef s acquaintance with that gentleman
gave him a fine opportunity, before his arrival, to ob-
tain good intelligence both of persons and things. The
brigadier recommended all his old friends to the favour
of his successor, and hence we find that he made few
changes amongst them.* Mr. Morris, the chief justice,
was his principal confidant. Dr. Golden and Mr. Alex-
ander, two Scotch gentlemen, had the next place in his
esteem. He shewed his wisdom in that choice, for they
were both men of learning, good morals, and solid
parts. The former was well acquainted with the af-
fairs of the province, and particularly those which con-
cerned the French in Canada and our Indian allies. The
latter was bred to the law ; and, though no speaker, at

* Colonel Schayler and Mr. Philipse were, indeed, removed from
the council board, by his representations ; and their opposing, in coun-
cil, the continuance of the assembly, after his arrival, was the cause
of it

History of New- York. 241

the head of his profession for sagacity and penetration;
and in application to business no man could surpass
hi.n. Nor was he unacquainted with the affairs of the
publick, having served in the secretary's office, the best
school in the province, for instruction in matters of go-
vernment ; because the secretary enjoys a plurality of
offices, conversant with the first springs of our provin-
cial economy. Both those gentlemen Mr. Burnet soon
raised to the council board, as he also did Mr. Morris,
,jun. Mr Van Horn, whose daughter he married, and
Mr. Kennedy, who succeeded Byerly, both at the coun-
cil board, and in the office of receiver general.

Of all our governtnirs none had such extensive and
just views of our Indian affairs, and the dangerous neigh-
bourhood of the French, as governour Burnet, in which
Mr. Livingston was his principal assistant. His atten-
tion to these matters appeared at the very commence-
ment of his administration, for in his first speech to the
assembly, the very fall after his arrival, he .laboured to
implant the same sentiments in the breasts of the mem-
bers ; endeavouring to alarm their fears, by the daily ad-
vances of the French, their possessing the main passes,
seducing our Indian allies, and increasing their new set-
tlements in Louisa nia.

Chief justice Morris, whose influence was very great
in the house, drew the/address in answer to the gover-
nour's speech, which contained a passage manifesting
the confidence they reposed in him. " We believe that
the son of that worthy prelate, so eminently instrumen-
tal under our glorious monarch, William the third, in
delivering us from arbitrary power, and its concomitants,
popery, superstition, and slavery ; has been educated
in, and possesses, those principles, that so justly recom-

31

.242 History of New-York.

mended his father to the council and confidence of pro-
testant princes ; and succeeds our former governour,
not only in power, but inclination, to do us good.''

From an assembly, impressed with such favourable
sentiments, his excellency had the highest reason to ex-
pect a submissive compliance with every tiling recom-
mended to their notice. The publick business proceed-
ed without suspicion or jealousy, and nothing intervened
to disturb the tranquility of the political state. Among
the most remarkable acts, passed at this session, we may
reckon that for a five years support ; another for lay-
ing a duty of two percent, prime cost, on the importa-
tion of European goods, which was soon after repealed
by the king ; and a third, for prohibiting the sale of In-
dian goods to the French. The last of these was a fa-
vourite act of the governour's and though a law very ad-
vantageous to the province, became the source of an
unreasonable opposition against him, which continued
through his whole administration. From the conclusion
of the peace of Utrecht, a great trade was carried on be-
tween Albany and Canada, for goods saleable among
the Indians. The chiefs of the confederates wisely fore-
saw its ill consequences, and complained of it to the
commissioners of Indian affairs,* who wrote to Mr. Hun-

* The governour's residing at New- York, rendered it necessary that
some persons should be commissioned, at Albany, to receive intelligence
from the Indians, and treat wilh them upon emergencies. This gave
rise to the office of commissioners of Indian affairs, who, in general,
transact all such matters as might be done by the governour. They
receive no salaries, but considerable sums are deposited in their hands
for occasional presents. There are regular minutes of their transac-
tions from the year 1675. These were in separate quires, till Mr.
Alexander, who borrowed them for his perusal, in 1751, had them

History of New-York. 243

*

ler, acquainting him of their dissatisfaction. The letter
\vas laid before the house, hut no effectual step taken
to prevent the mischief, till the passing of this act, which
subjected the traders to a forfeiture of the effects sold,
and the penalty of 100/. Mr. Burnet's scheme was to
draw the Indian trade into our own hands ; to obstruct
the communication of the French with our allies, which
gave them frequent opportunities of seducing them from
their fidelity ; and to regain the Caghnuagas, who be-
came interested in their disaffection, by being the car-
riers between Albany and Montreal. Among those who
were more immediately prejudiced by this new regula-
tion, the importers of those goods, from Europe, were
the chief; and hence the spring of their opposition to
the governour.

All possible arts were used, both here and at home,
to preserve the good temper of the assembly. Briga-
dier Hunter gave the ministry such favourable accounts
of the members, that colonel Schuyler, during his presi-
dentship, had orders from Mr. secretary Craggs, neither
to dissolve them himself, nor permit them to be dissolv-
ed ; and at the spring session, in the year 1721, Mr.
Burnet informed them that his continuance of them

bound up in four large volumes in folio. Here all our Indian treaties
are entered. The books are kept by a secretary, commissioned in
England, whose appointment is an annual salary of one hundred pounds
proclamation out of the quitrents. The commandant at Oswego is
generally a commissioner. The office would probably have been
more advantageous than it has been, if the commissioners were not trad-
ers themselves, than which nothing is more ignoble in the judgment of
the Indians. Sir William Johnson is at present the sole commissioner,
and, within nine months after the arrival of general Braddock, received,
10,0001. sterling to sec ure the Indian interest.

244 History of New- York.

was highly approved at home. Horatio Wai pole, the
auditor general, who had appointed Mr. Clarke for his
deputy, thought this a favourable conjuncture for pro-
curing five per cent, out of the treasury. But the house
were averse to his application, and, on the 2d of June,
Abraham De Peyster, jun. was appointed treasurer by
the speaker's warrant, with the consent of the goverriour,
in the room of his father, who was infirm ; upon which
he entered into a recognizance of 5GQO/. to the king, be-
fore a judge of the supreme court, for the faithful exe-
cution of his trust, which was lodged in the secretary's
office. The house, at the same time, in an address, de-
clared their willingness that the treasurer should ac-
count ; but utterly refused to admit of any draughts up-
on the treasury, for the auditor general, who was con-
strained to depend entirely upon the revenue, out of
which he received about 200/. per annum.

Mr. Burnet being well acquainted with the geography
of the country, wisely concluded that it was, to the
last degree, necessary to get the command of the great
lake Ontario as well for the benefit of the trade, and
the security of the friendship of the Five Nations, as to
frustrate the French designs of confining the English
colonies to narrow limits, along the sea coast, by a chain
of forts on the great passes from Canada to Louisania.
Towards the subversion of this scheme, he began the
erection of a trading house at Oswego, in the country
of the Senecas, in 1 722 ; and recommended a provision
for the residence of trusty persons among them, and the
Onondagas, which last possess the centre of the five
cantons. This year was remarkable for a congress of
several governours and commissioners, on the renewal
of the ancient friendship with the Indians at Albany.

History of New-York. 245

Mr. Burnet prevailed upon them to send a message to
threaten the eastern Indians with a war, unless they
concluded a peace with the English, who were very
much harrassed by their frequent irruptions. On the 20th
of May, in the year following, the confederates were
augmented by their reception of above eighty JXica-
riagas, besides women and children, as they had been
formerly, by the addition of the Tuscaroras. The coun-
try of the Nicariagas was on the north side Messilima-
kinac, but the Tuscaroras possessed a tract of land near
the sources of James's river, in Virginia, from whence
the encroachments of the English induced them to re-
move, and settle ne^ar the south east end of the Oneyda
lake.

The strict union subsisting between the several
branches of the legislature, gave a handle to Mr. Bur-
net's enemies to excite a clamour against him. Jea-
lousies were industriously sown in the breasts of the
people. The continuance of an assembly, after the ac-
cession of a new governour, was represented as an anti
constitutional project : and though the affairs of the
pubiick were conducted with wisdom and spirit,
many were so much imposed upon, that a rupture
between the governour and the assembly was thought
to be absolutely necessary for the weal and safety
of the community. But this was not the only stra-
tagem of those who were disaffected by the prohibition
of the French trade. The London merchants were in-
duced to petition the king for an order to his gover-
nour, prohibiting the revival of the act made against it,
or the passing any new law of that tendency. The pe-
tition was referred to the board of trade, and backed
before their lordships, with suggestions of the most no-
torious falsehoods. The lords of trade prudently ad-

246 History of New-York.

vised that no such directions should be sent to Mr.
Burnet, till he had an opportunity of answering the ob-
jections against the act. They were accordingly sent
over to him, and he laid them before his council. Dr.
Golden and Mr. Alexander exerted themselves in
a memorable report in answer to them, which drew up-
on them the resentment of several merchants here, who
had first excited the London petition, and laid the foun-
dation for a variance between their families, which has
manifested itself on many occasions. Injustice to Mr.
Burnet's memory, and to show the propriety of his
measures for obstructing the French trade, I cannot re-
frain the republication of the council's report at full
length.

" May it please your excellency,

' In obedience to your excellency's commands, in
council, the 29th of October, referring to us a petition
of several merchants in London, presented to the king's
most excellent majesty, against renewing an act passed
in this province, entitled, " an act for encouragement of
the Indian trade, and rendering it more effectual to the
inhabitants of this province, and for prohibiting the
selling of Indian goods to the French :" as likewise the
several allegations of the said merchants before the
right honourable the lords of trade and plantations, we
beg leave to make the follow ing remarks.

" In order to make our observations the more dis-
tinct and clear, we shall gather together the several
assertions of the said merchants, both in their petition,
and delivered verbally before the lords of trade, as to
the situation of this province, with respect to the
French and Indian nations ; and observe on them, in
the first place, they being the foundation on which all
their other allegations are grounded. Afterwards we

History of New- York. 247

shall lay before your excellency what we think neces-
sary to observe on the other parts of the said petition,
in the order they are in the petition, or in the report of
the lords of trade.

f In their geographical accounts they say, " besides
the nations of Indians that are in the English interest,
there are very many nations of Indians who are at pre-
sent in the interest of the French, and who lie between
New- York and the nations of Indians in the English
interest. The French and their Indians would not per-
mit the English Indians to pass over by their forts."
The said act " restrains them, (the Five Nations) from
a free commerce with the inhabitants of New-York."

" The Five Indian Nations are settled upon the
banks of the river St. Lawrence, directly opposite to
Quebec, two or three hundred leagues distant from the
nearest British settlements in New- York."

" They (the Five Nations of Indians) were two or
three hundred leagues distant from Albany ; and that
they could not come to trade with the English, but by
going down the river St. Lawrence, and from thence
through a lake, which brought them within eighteen
leagues of Albany."

' These things the merchants have thought it safe for
them, and consistent with their duty to his sacred ma-
jesty, to say in his majesty's presence, and to repeat
them afterwards before the right honourable the lords
of trade, though nothing can be more directly contra-
ry to the truth. For there are no nations of Indians
between New- York and the nations of Indians in the
English interest, who are now six in number, by the ad-
dition of the Tuscaroras. The Mohawks (called An-

248 History of New-York. •

nies * by the French) one of the Five Nations, live on
the south side of a branch of Hudson's river, (not on the
north side, as they are placed in the French maps) and
but forty miles directly west from Albany, and within
the English settlements ; some of the English i'arm.s, up-
on the same river, being thirty miles further west. The
Oneydas (the next of the Five Nations) lie likewise west
from Albany, near the head of the Mohawks' river,
about one hundred miles from Albany. The Ononda-
gas lie about one hundred and thirty miles west from
Albany ; and the Tuscaroras live partly with the Oney-
das, and partly with the Onondagas.f The Cayugas are
about one hundred and sixty miles from Albany ; and
the Senecas, (the furthest of all these nations,) are not
above two hundred and forty miles from Albany, as
may appear from Mr. De LTsle's map of Louisania,
who lays down the Five Nations under the name of Fro-
quois : and goods are daily carried, from this province,
to the Senecas, as well as to those nations that lie near-
er, by water, all the way, except three miles (or, in the
dry seasons, five miles) where the traders carry over
land between the Mohawks' river and the Wood creek,
which runs into the Oneydas' lake, without going near
either St. Lawrence river, or any of the lakes upon
which the French pass, which are entirely out of their
way.

* The nearest French forts or settlements to Albany,
are Chambly and Montreal, both of them lying about
north and by east from Albany, and are near two hun-
dred miles distant from it. Quebec lies about three
hundred and eighty miles northeast from Albany. So

* Agnies. f De L'Isle.

History of New-York. 24$

far is it from being true that the Five Nations are situ-
ated upon the banks of the river St» Lawrence, oppo-
site to Quebec, that Albany lies almost directly be-
tween Quebec and the Five JNations. And to say that
these Indians cannot come to trade at Albany, but by
going down the river St. Lawrence, and then into a lake
eighteen leagues from Albany (we suppose they mean
lake Champlain) passing by the French forts, is to the
same purpose as if they should say, that one cannot go
from London to Bristol, but by way of Edinburgh.

' Before we go on to observe other particulars, we
beg leave further to remark, that it is so far from being
true, that the Indians in the French interest, lie between
New- York and our Five Nations of Indians ; that some
of our nations of Indians lie between the French and
the Indians, from whence the French bring the far
greatest quantity of their furs : for the Senecas (whom
the French call Sonontouons *) are situated between
lake Erie and Cadaracqui lake, (called by the French*
Ontario) near the great fall of Iagara,f by which all the
Indians that live round lake Erie, round the lake of the
Hurons, round the lake of the Illinois, or Michegan,
and round the great upper lake, generally pass in their
way to Canada. All the Indians situated upon the
branches of the Missisippi, must likewise pass by the
same place, if they go to Canada. And all of them like*
wise, in their way to Canada, pass by our trading place
upon the Cadaracqui lake, at the mouth of the Ononda-
ga river. The nearest and safest way of carrying goods
upon the Cadaracqui lake, towards Canada, being along

;* Tsonnontoiians.

f Sometimes Oniagara, Ochoiagara, but commonly Niagara.

32

250 History of Nen-York.

the south side of that lake, (near where our Indians ar£
settled, and our trade of late is fixed) and not by the
north side and Cadaracqui, or Frontenac fort, where the
French are settled.

' Now that we have represented to your excellency
that not one word of the geography of these merchants
is true, upon which all their reasoning is founded ; it
might seem needless to trouble your excellency with
any further remarks, were it not to show with what
earnestness they are promoting the French interest, to
the prejudice of all his majesty's colonies in North
America, and that they are not ashamed of asserting any
thing for that end, even in the royal presence.

* First they say, " that by the act passed in this pro-
vince, entitled, an act for the encouragement of the In-
dian trade, &c. all trade whatsoever is prohibited in
the strictest manner, and under the severest penalties,
between the inhabitants of New-York government, and
the French of Canada."

* This is not true ; for only carrying goods to the
French, which are proper for the Indian trade, is pro-
hibited. The trade, as to other things, is left in the
same state it was before that act was made, as it will ap-
pear to any person that shall read it : and there are,
yearly, large quantities of other goods, openly, carried
to Canada, without any hindrance from the government
of New- York. Whatever may be said of the severity
and penalties in that act, they are found insufficient to
deter some from carrying goods clandestinely to the
French ; and the legislature of this province are convinc-
ed that no penalties can be too severe to prevent a
trade, which puts the safety of all his majesty's subjects
of North America in the greatest danger.

History of New- York. 251

* Their next assertion is, " all the Indian goods have
by this act been raised 25Z. to 30Z. per cent," This is
ihe only allegation in the whole petition that there is
any ground for. Nevertheless, though the common chan-
nel of trade cannot be altered without some detriment
to it in the beginning ; we are assured from the custom
house books, that there has been every year, since the
passing of this act, more furs exported from New-York,
than in the year immediately before the passing of this
act. It is riot probable that the greatest difference be-
tween the exportation, any year before this act, and any
year since, could so much alter the price of beaver, as
it is found to be this* last year. Beaver is carried to Bri-
tain from other parts besides New-York, and it is cer-
tain that the price of beaver is not so much altered here
by the quantity in our market, as by the demand for it
in Britain. But as we cannot be so well informed here,
what occasions beaver to be in greater demand in Bri-
tain, we must leave that to be enquired after in England.
However, we are fully satisfied that it will be found to
be for very different reasons from what the merchants
alledge.

* The merchants go on and say, " whereas, on the
other hand, this branch of the New- York trade, by the
discouragements brought upon it by this act, is almost
wlnlly engrossed by the French, who have already, by
this act, been encouraged to send proper European
goods to Canada, to carry on 'this trade, so that should
this act be continued, the New- York trade, which is
very considerable, must be wholly lost to us, and cen-
tre in the French. — Though New-York should not fur-
nish them, the French would find another way to be
supplied therewith, either from some other of his majes-

252 History of New-York.

ty's plantations, or it might be directly from Europe. — •
Many of the goods, which the Indians want, being as
easy to be had directly from France or Holland, as
from Great Britain."

' This is easily answered, by informing your excel-
lency that the principal of the goods proper for the In-
dian market, are only of the manufactures of Great Bri-
tain, or of the British plantations, viz. strouds, or stroud-
"waters, and other woollens, and rum. — The French
must be obliged to buy all their woollens (the strouds
especially) in England, and thence carry them to
France, in order to their transportation to Canada.

' The voyage to Quebec, through the bay of St. Law-
rence, is well known to be the most dangerous of any
in the world, and only practicable in the summer
months. The French have no commodities in Canada,
by reason of the cold and barrenness of the soil, proper
for the West-India markets ; and therefore have no rum
but by vessels from France, that touch at their islands
in the West-Indies. New-York has, by reason of its si-
tuation, both as to the sea and the Indians, every way
the advantage of Canada. The New-York vessels make
always two voyages in a year from England, one in
summer, and another in winter, and several voyages in
a year to the West-Indies. It is manifest, therefore,
that it is not in the power of the French to import any
goods near so cheap, to Canada, as they are imported
to New- York

f But to put this out of all controversy, we need on-
ly observe to your excellency, that strouds (without
which no considerable trade can be carried on with the
Indians) are sold at Albany for 10/. a piece : they were
sold at Montreal, before this act took place, at 13/. 2s;

History of New- York. 253

Or/, and now they are sold there for 251. and upwards ;
which is an evident proof that the French have not in
these four years time (during the continuance of this
act) found out any other way to supply themselves with
strouds ; and likewise that they cannot trade without
them, seeing they buy them at so extravagant a price.

' It likewise appears that none of the neighbouring
colonies have been able to supply the French with these
goods, and those that know the geography of the coun-
try, know it is impracticable to do it at any tolerable
rate, because they must carry their goods ten times fur-
ther by land than we need to do.

£ We are likewise assured that the merchants of Mon-
treal lately told Mr. Vaudreuil, their governour, that if
the trade from Albany be not by some mean or other
encouraged, they must abandon that settlement. We
have reason, therefore, to suspect that these merchants
(at least some of them) have been practised upon by
the French agents in London ; for no doubt the French
will leave no method untried to defeat the present de-
signs of this government, seeing they are more afraid
of the consequences of this trade between New-York
and the Indians, than of all the warlike expeditions that
ever were attempted against, Canada.

* But to return to the petitioners. " They conceive
nothing can tend more to the withdrawing the affections
of the Five Nations of Indians from the English inter-
est, than the continuance of the said act, which in its ef-
fects restrains them from a free commerce with the in-
habitants of New-York, and may too probably estrange
them from the English interest ; whereas by a freedom
of commerce, and an encouraged intercourse of trade
with the French and their Indians, the English interest
might, in time, be greatly improved and strenghtenecU"

254 History of New-York.

* It seems to us a strange argument to say that an
act, the whole purport of which is to encourage our
own people to go among the Indians, and to draw
tiie far Indians through our Indian country to Al-
bany (and which has truly produced these effects)
would, on the contrary, restrain them from a free
commerce with the inhabitants of New-York, and
may too probably estrange them from the English
interest ; and therefore that it would be much wiser
in us to make use of the French, to promote the
English interest ; and for which end, we ought to en-
courage a free intercourse between them and our In-
dians. The reverse of this is exactly true, in the opin-
ion of our Fivre Nations ; who in all their publick trea-
ties with this government, have represented against this
trade, as the building the French forts with English
strouds : that the encouraging a freedom of commerce
with our Indians, and the Indians round them, who must
pass through their country to Albany, would certainly
increase both the English interest and theirs, among all
the nations to the westward of them ; and that the car-
rying the Indian market to Montreal in Canada, draws
all the far Indians thither.

c The last thing we have to take notice of, is what the
merchants asserted before the lords of trade, viz. " that
there has not been half the quantity of European goods-
exported since the passing of this act, that used to be."
— ' We are well assured, that this is no better grounded
than the above facts they assert with the same positive-
ness. For it is well known, almost to every person in
New-York, that there has not been a less, but rather,
a greater, quantity of European goods imported into
this place, since the passing of this act than was at any
time before it, in the same space of time. As this ap-

History of New- York. 255

pears by the manifests in the custom house here, the
same may likewise be easily proved by the custom
house books in London.

' As all the arguments of the merchants run upon the
ill effects this act has had upon the trade and the minds
of the Indians, every one of which we have shown to be
asserted without the least foundation to support them ;
there nothing now remains but to shew the good effects
this act has produced, which are so notorious in this
province, that we know not one person that now opens
his mouth against the act.

' Before this act passed, none of the people of this
province travelled into the Indian countries to trade.
We have now above forty young men, who have been
several times as far as the lakes a trading, and thereby
become well acquainted, not only with the trade of the
Indians, but likewise with their manners and languages ;
and those have returned with such large quantities of
furs, that greater numbers are resolved to follow their
example ; so that we have good reason to hope, that in
a little time, the English will draw the whole Indian
trade of the inland countries to Albany, and into the
country of the Five Nations. This government has built
a publick trading house upon Ca laracqui lake, at Iron-
dequat, in the Senecas' land, and another is to be built,
next spring, at the mouth of the Onondagas' river. All
the far Indians pass by these places, in their way to
Canada ; and they are not above half so far from the
English settlements, as they are from the French.

* So far is it from being true what the merchants say,
" That the French forts interrupt all communication
between the Indians and the English ;" that if these
places be well supported, as they easily can be from

256 History of New- York.

our settlements, in case of a rupture with the French,
it will be in the power of this province to intercept the
greatest part of the trade between Canada and the In-
dians round the lakes and the branches of the Missisip-
pi. — Since this act passed, many nations have come to
Albany to trade, in peace and friendship, whose names
had not so much as been heard of among us. In the
beginning of May, 1723, a nation of Indians came to
Albany, singing and dancing, with their calumets be-
fore them, as they always do when they come to any
place where they have not been before. We do not
find that the commissioners of Indian affairs were able
to inform themselves what nation this was.

' Towards the end of the same month, eighty men,
besides the women and children, came to Albany, in the
same manner. These had one of our Five Nations with
them for an interpreter, by whom they informed the
commissioners that they were of a great nation, called
Nehkereages, consisting of six castles and tribes ; and
that they lived near a place called by the French Mis-
simakinah, between the upper lake and the lake of the
Hurons. These Indians not only desired a free com-
merce, but likewise to enter into a strict league of friend-
ship with us and our Six Nations, that they might be
accounted the seventh nation in the league, and being
received accordingly, they left their calumet as a pledge
of their fidelity. — In June another nation arrived, but
from what part of the continent we have not learned.

' In July, the Twightwies arrived, and brought an In-
dian interpreter of our nations with them, who told, that
they were called by the French, Miamies, and that they
live upon one of the branches of the river Missisippi. —
At the same tame some of the Tahsagrondie Indians,

History of New- York. 257

Who live between lake Erie arid the lake Hurons, near
a French settlement, did come and renew their league
with the English, nor durst the French hinder them. —
In July, this year, another nation came, whose situation
and name we know not ; and in August and Septem-
ber, several parties of the same Indians that had been
here last year ; but the greatest numbers of these far
Indians have been met this year in the Indian country
by our traders, every one of them endeavouring to get
before another, in order to reap the profits of so advan-
tageous a trade, which has, all this summer long, kept
about forty traders constantly employed, in going be-
tween our trading places, in our Indian country, and
Albany.

' All these nations of Indians, who came to Albany,
said that the French had told them many strange sto-
ries of the English, and did what they could to hinder
their coining to Albany, but that they had resolved to
break through by force. The difference on this score
between the Tahsagrondie Indians and the French (who
have a fort and settlement there, called by them Le De-
troit) rose to that height, this summer, that Mr. Tonti,
who commanded there, thought it proper to retire, and
return to Canada with many of his men.

' We are, for these reasons, well assured, that this
year there will be more beaver exported for Great Bri-
tain, than ever was from this province in one year ; and
that if the custom house books at London be looked into
it will be found that there will be a far greater quanti-
ty of goods for the Indians (strouds especially) sent over
next spring, than ever was at any one time to this pro-
vince. For the merchants here tell us, that they have
at this time ordered more of these goods than ever was
done at any one time before.

33

History of New-York.

' These matters of fact prove, beyond contradiction,
that this act has been of the greatest service to JNr-\v-
York, in making us acquainted with many nations of
Indians, formerly 'entirely unknown, and strangers to
us ; withdrawing them from their dependence upon the
French, and in uniting them to us and our Indians, by
means of trade and mutual offices of friendship. — Of
w! at great consequence this may be to the British in-
ti -rest in genera], as to trade, is apparent to any body.
It is no less apparent, likewise, that it is of the greatest
consequence to the safety of all the British colonies in
North America. We feel, too sensibly, the ill effects
of the French interest in the present war betwixt New-
England, and only one nation of Indians supported by
tl e French. Of what dismal consequences then might
it be, if the French should be able to influence, in the
same manner, so many and such numerous nations, as
lie to the westward of this province, Pennsylvania and
Maryland? On the other hand, if all these nations (who
assert their own freedom, and declare themselves friends
to those that supply them best with what they want) be
brought to have a dependence upon the English (as we
have good reason to hope in a short time they will) the
French of Canada, in case of a war, must be at the mer-
cy of the English.

( To these advantages must be added, that many of our
young men having been induced by this act to travel
among the Indians, they learn their manners, their lan-
guages, and the situation of all their countries, and be-
come inured to all manner of fatigues and hardships ;
and a great many more being resolved to follow their
example, these young imn, in case of war with the In-
dians, will be of ten times tiw service, that the same

Hislory of New-York. 259

number of the common militia can be of. — The effects
of this act have likewise so much quieted the minds of
the people, with respect to the security of the frontiers,
that our settlements are now extended above thirty
miles further west towards the Indian countries than
tLey were before it passed.

f The only thing that now remains to answer is an
objection which we suppose may be made, what can
induce the merchants of London to petition against an
act which will be really so much for their interest in
the end ? The reason is, in all probability, because they
only consider their present gain ; and that they are not
at all concerned for the safety of this country, in en-
couraging the most necessary undertaking, if they ap-
prehend their profit for two or three years may be les-
sened by it. This inclination of the merchants has been
so notorious that few nations at war with their neigh-
bours have been able to restrain them from supplying
their enemies with ammunition and arms. The count
d'Estrade, in his letters, in 1638, says that when the
Dutch were besieging Antwerp, one Beiland, who had
loaded four fly boats with arms and powder for Ant-
werp, being taken up by the prince of Orange's order,
and examined at Amsterdam, said, boldly, that the
burghers of Amsterdam had a right to trade every
\vhere : that he could name a hundred that were factors
for the merchants at Antwerp, and that he was one.
" That trade cannot be interrupted, and that for his
part he was very free to own, that if to get any tl ing
by trade it were necessary to pass through hell, he would
venture to burn his sails." ' When this principle, so
common to merchants, is considered, and that some in
this place have got estates by trading many years to

260 History of New- York.

Canada, it is not to be wondered that they have acted
as factors for Canada in this affair, and that they have
transmitted such accounts to their correspondents in
London, as are consistent with the trust reposed in
them by the merchants of Canada.

< In the last place, we are humbly of opinion that it
may be proper to print the petition of the merchants of
London, and their allegations before the lords of trade,
together with the answers your committee has made
thereto, in vindication of the legislature of this pro-
vince, of which we have the honour to be a part, if your
excellency shall approve of our answers ; that what we
have said may be exposed to the examination of every
one in this place, where the truth of the matters of fact
is best known, and that the correspondents of these
merchants may have the most publick notice to reply, if
they shall think it proper, or to disown, in' a publick
manner, that they are the authors of such groundless
informations. All which is unanimously and humbly
submitted, by

' Your excellency's

6 Most obedient humble servants*
< R. Walter, < Cadwallader Colden,
c Rip Van Dam, c James Alexander,
c John Barbaric, c Abraham Van Home/
c Fr. Harison,

Govern our Rurnet transmitted this report to the
board of trade ; and it had the intended effect. About
the latter end of the year 1724, an unfortunate dispute
commenced in the French church, of which, because it
had no small influence on the publick affairs of the go-
vernment, I shall lay before the reader a short account.

History of New- York. 261

The persecutions ia France, which ensued upon the
revocation of the edict of Nantz, drove the protestant
subjects of Louis XIV, into the territories of other
princes. Many of them fled even into this province :
the most opulent settled in the city of JNfevv-York ;
others went into the country and planted New Rochelle,
and a few seated themselves at the New Paltz, in Ul-
ster county. Those who resided at New- York soon
erected a church, upon the principles and model of
that in Geneva ; and by their growth and foreign acces-
sions, formed a congregation, for numbers and riches,
superior to all but the Dutch. They had two ministers ;
Rou, the first called^ was a man of learning, but prourl,
pleasurable, and passionate. Moulinaars, his colleague,
was most distinguished for his pacih'ck spirit, dull parts,
and unblameable life and conversation. Ron despised
his fellow labourer, and for a long time commanded the
whole congregation, by the superiority of his talents
for the pulpit. The other, impatient of repeated affronts
and open contempt, raised a party in his favour, and
this year succeeded in the election of a set of elders,
disposed to humble the delinquent. Rou being suspi-
cious of the design, refused to acknowledge them duly
elected. Incensed at this conduct, they entered an act
in their minutes, dismissing him from the pastoral charge
of the church, and procured a ratification of the act un-
der the hands of the majority of the people. Governour
Burnet had, long before this time, admitted Rou into
his familiarity, on the score of his learning ; and that
consideration encouraged a petition to him, from Rou's
adherents, complaining against the elders. The mat-
ter was then referred to a committee of the council,
who advised that the congregation should be admonish-

262 History of New-York.

eel to bring their differences to an amicable conclusion.
Some overtures, to that end, were attempted ; and the
elders offered to submit the controversy to the Dutch
ministers, But Ron, who knew that the French church
in this country, without a synod was unorganized, and
could not restrain him, chose rather to bring his bill in
chancery before the governour.

Mr. Alexander was his council, and Mr. Smith,* a
young lawyer, of the first reputation as a speaker, ap-
peared for the elders. He pleaded to the jurisdiction
of the court, insisting that the matter was entirely ec-
clesiastical, and, in the prosecution of his argument, en-
tered largely into an examination of the government of
the prottstant churches in France. According to which
he showed that the consistory were the proper judges
of the point in dispute, in the first instance ; and that
from thence an appeal lay to a collogue, next to a pro-
vincial, and last of all to a national synod. Mr Bur net
nevertheless over ruled the plea, and the defendants, be-
ing fearful of a decree, that might expose their own es-
tates to the payment of Ron's salary, thought it advis-
able to drop their debates, reinstate the minister, and
leave the church.

All those who opposed Ron were disobliged with the
governour : among these Mr. De Lancey was the most
considerable for his wealth and popular influence. He
•was very rigid in his religious profession, one of the first
builders, and by far the most generous benefactor of
the French church, and therefore left it with the utmost

* These gentlemen came into the colony in the same ship, in 1715.
The latter was born at Newport Pagnel, in Buckinghamshire. They
were among the principal agents in the political struggles during the
administration of colonel Cosby.

History of Nen-Yorlc. 263

reluctance. Mr. Burnet, before this time, had consi-
dered him as his enemy, because he had opposed the pro-
hibition of the French trade ; and this led him into a
step, which, as it was a personal indignity, Mr. DeLan-
cey o uld never recollect without resentment. This
gentleman was returned for the city of New-York, in
the room of a deceased member, at the meeting of the
assembly in September, 1725. When he offered himself
for the oaths, Mr. Hurnet asked him how he became a
subject of the crown ? He answered, that he was denized
in England, and his excellency dismissed him, taking
ti ne to consider the matter. Mr. De Lancey then laid
before the house an act of a notary publick, certifying
that hf1 was named in a patent of denization, granted in
the reign of James the second — A patent of the same
kind, under the great seal of this province, in 1686 —
And two certificates, one of his having taken the oath
of allegiance, according to an act passed here, in 1683,
and another of his serving in several former assemblies.
The governour, in the mean time, consulted the chief
justice, and transmitted his opinion* to the house, who
resolved in favour of Mr. De Lancey. Several other
new representatives came in, at this session, upon the
decease of the old members ; and Adolph Philipse, who
was some time before dismissed from the council board,
\vas elected into the speaker's chair, in the absence of
Mr. Livingston. The majority, however, continued in
the interest of the governour ; and consented to the re-

* What colonel Morris' opinion was I have not been able to disco-
ver. Governour Burnet's conduct was thought to be unconstitutional,
and an invasion <>!' the rights of the assemble , \vho claim the exclusive
privilege of determining the qualifications of their own members.

264 History of New- York.

viva! of the several acts which had been passed for pro-
hibiting the French trade ; which, in spite of all the re-
straints laid upon it, was clandestinely carried on by the
people of Albany. Oswego, nevertheless, grew consi-
derable for its commerce: fifty-seven canoes went there
this summer, and returned with seven hundred and thir-
ty eight packs of beaver and deer skins.

Nothing could more naturally excite the jealousy of
the French than the erection of the new trading house
at the mouth of the Onondaga river. Fearful of losing
a profitable trade, which they had almost entirely en-
grossed, and the command of the lake Ontario, they
launched two vessels in it in 1726, and transported mate-
rials for building a large storehouse and repairing the
fort at Niagara. The scheme was not only to secure
to themselves the entrance into the west end of the
lake, as they already had the east, by the fraudulent
erection of fort Frontenac, many years before ; but
also to carry their trade more westerly, and thus ren-
der Oswego useless, by shortening the travels of the
western Indians near two hundred miles. Baron de
Longueil, who had the chief command in Canada, on the
death of the marquis de Vaudreuil, in October, 1725,
was so intent upon this project, that he went, in person,
to the Onondaga canton, for leave to raise the store-
house at Niagara : and as those Indians were, most of
all, exposed to the intrigues of the Jesuits, who con-
stantly resided amongst them, he prevailed upon them,
by fraud and false representations, to consent to it, for
their protection against the English. But as soon as
this matter was made known to the other nations, they
declared the permission granted by the Onondagas to
be absolutely void ; and seat deputies to Niagara, with

History of Nen-York. 2$$

a message, signifying that the country in which they
were at work, belonged solely to the Senecas ; arid re-
quired them immediately to desist. The French, not-
withstanding, were regardless of the embassage, and
pushed on their enterprise with all possible dispatch,
while Joncaire exerted all his address among the Indians
to prevent the demolition of the works. Canada was
very much indebted to the incessant intrigues of this
man. He had been adopted by the Senecas, and was
well esteemed by the Onondagas. He spoke the Indian
language, as Charlevoix informs us,"avec la plus sublime
eloquence Iroquoise," and had lived among them, afc
ter their manner, from the bginning of queen Anna's
reign. All these advantages he improved for the inte-
re>t of his country ; he facilitated the missionaries in
their progress through the cantons, and more than any
man contributed to render their dependence upon the
English weak and precarious. Convinced of this col-
onel Schuyler urged the Indians, at his treaty with
them, in 1719, to drive Joncaire out of their country,
but his endeavours were fruitless.*

The Jesuit Charlevoix does honour to Mr. Burnet, in
declaring that he left no stone unturned to defeat the
French designs at Niagara. Nor is it much to be won-
dered at. For besides supplanting his favourite trade
at Oswego, it tended to the defection of the Five Na-
tions ; and in case of a rupture, exposed the frontiers of
our southern colonies to the ravages of the French and

•* The same thing has since been frequently laboured, but to no pur-
pose. His son continued the course of intrigues begun by the father,
till general Shirley, while he was at Oswego, in 1755, prevailed upon
the Senecas to order him to Canada.

34

,266 History of New- York.

their allies. Mr. Burnet, upon whom these considera-
tions made the deepest impression, laid the matter be-
fore the house, remonstrated against the proceedings to
Longuiel, in Canada, wrote to the ministry in England,
who complained of them to the French court, and met
the confederates at Albany, endeavouring to convince
them of the danger they themselves would be in, from
an aspiring, ambitious neighbour. He spoke first about
the affair privately to the sachems, and afterwards, in
the publick conference, informed them of all the en-
croachments which the French had made upon their
fathers, and the ill usage they had met with, according
to La Potherie's account, published with the privilege
of the French king, at Paris, in 1722. He then ren ind-
ed them of the kind treatment they had received from
the English, who constantly fed and clothed them,
and never attempted any act of hostility to their preju-
dice. This speech was extremely well drawn, the
thoughts being conceived in strong figures, particular-
ly expressive and agreeable to the Indians. The go-
vernour required an explicit declaration of their senti-
jnents concerning the French transactions at Niagara,
and their answer was truly categorical. " We speak
now in the name of all the Six Nations, and come to
you howling. This is the reason why we howl, that
the governour of Canada encroaches on our land and
builds thereon." After which they entreated him to
write to the king for succour. Mr. Burnet embraced
this favourable opportunity to procure from them a
deed surrendering their country to his majesty, to be
protected for their use, and confirming their grant in
J701, concerning which there was only an entry in the

History of New-York. 26?

books of the secretary for Indian affairs.* It happened,
very unfortunately, that his excellency's hands were
then more weakened than ever, by the growing disaf-
fection in the house. The intrigues of his adversaries,
and the frequent deaths of th%members, had introduced
such a change in the assembly, that it was with difficul-
ty he procured a three years support. The clamours
of the people ran so high, without doors, for a new
election, that he was obliged to dissolve the h< >use, and
soon after another dissolution ensued upon the death of
the king. The French, in the mean time, completed
their works at Niagara, and Mr. Burnet, who was un-
able to do any thing else, erected a fort, in 1727, for
the protection of the post and trade at Oswego. This
necessary undertaking was pregnant with the most im-
portant consequences, not only to this, but all our
colonies ; and though the governour's seasonable ac-
tivity deserved the highest testimonials of our grati-
tude, I am ashamed to confess, what I am bound to re-
late, that he built the fort at his private expense, and
that a balance of above 56/. principal, though frequent-
ly demanded, remains due to his estate to this very day.

* Besides the territories at the west end of lake Erie, and on the
north side of that, and the lake Ontario, which were ceded, in 1701,
the Indians now granted, for the same purpose, all their habitations
from O wego to Cayahoga river, which disembogues into lake Erie,
and the country extending sixty miles from the southermost banks of
those lakes. Though the first surrender, through negligence, was not
made by the execution of a formal deed under seal ; yet as it was
transacted with all the solemnity of a treaty, and as the second surren-
der confirms the first, no intermediate possession by the French can
prejudice the British title derived by the cession in 1701.

368 History of New-York.

Beauharnois, the governour of Canada, who supei>
seeled Longuiel, was so incensed at the building of the
fort, that he sent a written summons, in July, to the
officer posted there, to abandon it ; and though his pre-
decessor had done the same, a little before, at Niagara,
in the country of the Senecas, the acknowledged sub-
jects of the British crown,* yet with a singular effron-
tery, he dispatched de la Chassaigne, a man of parts,
an 1 gpvernour of Trois Rivieres, to New- York, with
the strongest complaints to Mr. Burnet upon that head.
His excellency sent him a polite, but resolute answer,
on the eighth of August ; in which he refuted the argu-
ments urged by the French governour general ; and
remonstrated against the proceedings of the last year
at Niagara.

The new assembly met in September, 1727, and con-
sisted of members all ill affected to the governour. The
long continuance of the last, the clamours which were

* Though the'sovereignty over the Five Nations was ceded to
Great Britain, and Charlevoix himself had acknowledged that Niagara
was part of their country, yet the pious Jesuit applauds the French
settlement there, which was so manifest an infraction of the treaty of
Utrecht. The marquis de Nonville, in his letter to the court of
France, in 1686, proposed the erection of a fort there, to secure the
communication with the lakes, and deprive us of a trade which he
computed to be worth 400,000 francs per annum. Charlevoix, per-
haps, considered these advantages sufficient to justify the violation of
publick faith ; reasoning upon the principles of le chevalier de Cal-
lieres, who thought the legality of making a conquest of New-York,
during the strict peace in James lid's reign, might he inferred from the
benefit that would thereby accrue to the French colony, " qu' il n'y
avoit point d* autre voye pour conserver la colonie, que de nous rendre
mail res de la Nouvelle York ; et que cette couquete etpit legitime
la uecessite."

History of New- York. 2fi9

excited by several late important decrees in chancery,
the affair of the French church, and especially the pro-
hibiting the Canada trade, were the causes to which the
loss of his interest is to be ascribed. Mr. Philipse, the
speaker, was piqued at a decree in chancery against
himself, which very much aflected his estate ; no won-
der, then, that the members who were very much influ-
enced by him, came, on the 25th of November, into
the following resolutions. Colonel Hicks, from the
committee of grievances, reported, " That as well by
the complaints of several people, as by the general cry
of his majesty's subjects inhabiting this colony, they
find that the court of 'chancery, as lately assumed to be
set up here, renders the liberties and properties of the
said subjects extremely precarious ; and that by the
violent measures taken in, and allowed by it, some
have been ruined, others obliged to abandon the colo-
ny, and many restrained in it, either by imprisonment or
by excessive bail exacted from them not to depart, even
when no manner of suits are depending against them :
and, therefore, are of opinion that the extraordinary
proceedings of that court, and the exhorbitant fees and
charges, countenanced to be exacted by the officers
and practitioners thereof, are the greatest grievance
and oppression this colony hath ever felt : and that for
removing the fatal consequences thereof, they had
come to several resolutions, which being read, were
approved by the house, and are as follow :

" Resolved, That the erecting or exercising, in this
colony, a court of equity or chancery (however it may
be termed) without consent in general assembly, is un-
warrantable, and contrary to the laws of England, and

270 History of New- York.

a manifest oppression and grievance to the subject^
and of pernicious consequence to their liberties and pro-
perties.

" Resolved, That this house will at their next meet-
ing prepare and pass an act to declare and adjudge all
orders, ordinances, devices, and proceedings, of the
court, so assumed to be erected and exercised as above
mentioned, to be illegal, null, and void, as by law and
right they ought to be.

" Resolved, That this house, at the same time, will
take into consideration whether it be necessary to es-
tablish a court of equity or chancery in this colony ;
in whom the jurisdiction thereof ought to be vested ;
and how far the powers of it shall be prescribed and
limited."

Mr. Burnet no sooner heard of these votes, than he
called the members before him, and dissolved the as-
sembly. They occasioned, however, an ordinance in
the spring following, as well to remedy sundry abuses
in the practise in chancery, as to reduce the fees of
that court, which, on account of the popular clamours,
were so much diminished that the wheels of the chan-
cery have ever since rusted upon their axes, the prac-
tise being contemned by all gentlemen of eminence in
the profession.

We are now come to the close of Mr. Burnet's ad-
ministration, when he was appointed to the chief com-
mand of the Massachusetts' Bay. Though we never
had a governour to whom the colony is so much indebt-
ed as to him ; yet the influence of a faction, in the
judgment of some, rendered his removal necessary for
the publick tranquility. Insensible of his merit, the
undistinguishing multitude were taught to consider it

History of N&v-YorJc. 271

-as a most fortunate event ; and till the ambitious de-
signs of the French king, with respect to America,
awakened our attention to the general welfare, Mr.
Burnet's administration was as little esteemed as that
of the meanest of his predecessors.

He was very fond of New-York, and left it with re-
luctance. His marriage here connected him with a
numerous family, and, besides an universal acquaint-
ance, there were some gentlemen with whom he con-
tracted a strict intimacy and friendship.

The excessive love of money, a disease common to
all his predecessors, and to some who succeeded him,
w;as a vice from which he was entirely free. He sold
no offices, nor attempted to raise a fortune by indirect
means ; for he lived generously, and carried scarce any
thing away with him but his books. These and the
conversation of men of letters, were to him inexhausti-
ble sources of delight. His astronomical observations
have been useful ; but by his comment on the Apoca-
lypse, he exposed himself, as other learned men have
before him, to the criticisms of those who have not abil-
ities to write half so well.

John Montgomerie, esq. received the great seal of
this province, from Mr. Burnet, on the 15th of April,
1728, having a commission to supersede him here and
in New- Jersey, The council board consisted of,
Mr. Walters, Mr. Alexander,

Mr. Van Dam, Mr. Morris, jun.

Mr. Barbarie, Mr. Van Home,

Mr. Clarke, Mr. Provoost,

Mr. Harrison, Mr. Livingston,

Dr. Golden, Mr. Kennedy.

272 History of New-York.

The governour was a Scotch gentleman, and bred a
soldier ; but, in the latter part of his life, he had little
concern with arms, having served as groom of the bed-
chamber to his present majesty, before his accession to
the throne. This station, and a seat he had in parlia-
ment, paved the way to his preferment in America. In
his talents for government he was much inferiour to his
predecessor, for he had neither strength nor acuteness
of parts, and was but little acquainted with any kind of
literature.

As in the natural, so in the political world, a violent
storm is often immediately succeeded by a peaceful
calm ; tjred by the mutual struggles of party rage,
every man now ceased to act under its influence. The
governour's good humour too, extinguished the flames
of contention, for being unable to plan, he had no par-
ticular scheme to pursue ; and thus by confining him-
self to the exercise of the common acts of government,
our publick affairs flowed on in a peaceful, uninterrupt-
ed, stream.

The reader will, for this reason, find none of those
events in colonel Montgomerie's short administration,
which only lake rise under the superintendency of a
man of extensive views. Indeed he devoted himself so
much to his ease, that he has scarce left us any thing to
perpetuate the remembrance of his time.

The two rocks, upon which the publick tranquility
was shipwrecked in the late administration, he carefully
avoided; for he dissolved the assembly, called by his
predecessor, before they had ever been convened : and
as to the chancery he himself countenanced the cla-
mours against it, by declining to sit, till enjoined to
exercise the office of chancellor by special orders from

History of New-York. 273

England. He then obeyed the command, but not with-
out discovering his reluctance, and modestly confess-
ing to the practisers that he thought himself unqualifi-
ed for the station. Indeed the court of chancery was
evidently his aversion, and he never gave a single de-
cree in it, nor more than three orders ; and these, both
as to matter and form, were first settled by the counsel
concerned.

Mr. Philipse was chosen speaker of the assembly,
whii h met on the 23d of July, and continued sitting, in
perfect harmony, till autumn. After his excellency had
procured a five years support, and several other la\vs to
his mind, of less considerable moment, he went up to
Albany, and, on the 1st of October, held a treaty with
the Six Nations, for a renewal of the ancient covenant.
He gave them great presents, and engaged them in the
defence of Oswego. Nothing could be more seasonable
than this interview ; for the French, who eyed that im-
portant garrison, and our increasing trade there, with
the most restless jealousy, prepared, early in the spring
following, to demolish the works. Governour Burnet
gave the first intelligence of this design, in a letter to
colonel Montgomerie, dated at Boston, the 31st of
March, 1729. The garrison was thereupon immediate-
ly reinforced by a detachment from the independent
companies ; which, together with the declared resolu-
tion of the Indians, to protect the fort, induced the
French to desist from the intended invasion.*

* From that time, to the year 1754, this garrison was guarded only
by a lieutenant and five and twenty men. General Shirley's parting
from the forces destined against fort du Q,uesne, and proceeding with
half the army to Oswego, in 1 755, was extremely fortunate to our col-

35

274 History of New- York.

Thus far our Indian affairs appeared to be under a
tolerable direction ; but these fair prospects were soon
obscured by the king's repealing, on the llth of De-
cember, J729, all the acts which Mr. Burnet, with so
much labour and opposition, procured for the prohibi-
tion of an execrable trade between Albany and Mont-
real. To whose intrigues this event is to be ascribed,
cannot be certainly determined. But that it was preg-
nant \\ith the worst consequences, time has sufficiently
evinced. Nothing could more naturally tend to under-
mine the trade at Oswego, to advance the French com-
merce at Niagara, to alienate the Indians from their
fidelity to Great Britain, and particularly to rivet the
defection of the Caghnuagas. For these, residing on
the south side of St. Lawrence, nearly opposite to Mont-
real, were employed by the French as their carriers ;
and thus became interested against us, by motives of
the most prevailing nature. One would imagine that
after all the attention bestowed on this affair in the late
administration, the objections against this trading inter-
course with Canada must have been obvious to the
meanest capacity ; and yet so astonishing has been our
conduct, that from the time Mr. Burnet removed to
Boston, it has rather been encouraged than restrained.
Tliis trade, indeed, was subject to duties ; but that at
Oswego always was, and still is exposed to the same

onies ; the French being fhen determined and prepared to possess them-
selves of that post. Besides the vessels launched there, to secure the
command of the lake, the general, before he returned to winter quar-
ters, erected two strong square forts, with bastions, commanding as well
the entrance into the Onondaga river, as the old fort ; in the situation
of which little regard was had to any thing besides the pleasantness of
f}]ie prospect.

History of New- York. 273

incumbrance ; while the French trade, in the interval
between the years 1744 and 1750, was perfectly free :
and as the duty, by the law then made, is laid only on
goods sold in the city and county of Albany, the trader,
to elude the act, is only exposed to the trouble of
transporting his merchandise beyond the scant district
of the city ascertained in the charter. But how much
soever our inattention to this matter may deserve cen-
sure, I cannot, in justice to my countrymen, help ob-
serving, that from the severest scrutiny I could make,
our people are free from the charge of selling ammu-
nition to the French, which has so unjustly exposed the
inhabitants of Albany to the odium of all the colonies
in \ew England.*

The year 1731 was distinguished only by the com-
plete settlement of the disputed boundary between this
province and the colony of Connecticut. An event, con-
sidering the late colonizing spirit and extensive claims
of the people of New-England, of no small importance,
and concerning which it may be proper to give a suc-
cinct account.

The partition line agreed upon, in 1664, being con-
sidered as fraudulent, or erroneous ; a second agree-
ment, suspended only for the king's and the duke's ap-
probation, was concluded, on the 23d of November,
1683, between colonel Dongan and his council, and
Robert Trent, esq. then governourof Connecticut, and
several other commissioners appointed by that colony.

* Ever since the year 1729, the sale of arms and ammunition to the
French has been exempt both from duties and a prohibition ; which I
attribute to the confidence of the government that the calumny is en-
tirely groundless.

276 History of Nen-York.

The line of partition then agreed to be established, was
to begin at the mouth of Byram brook, " where it falleth
into the sound, at a point called Lyon's point, to go as
the said river runneth, to the place where the common
road, or wading place, over the said river is ; and from
the said road or wading place, to go north northwest
into the country, as far as will be eight English miles
from the foresaid Lyon's point ; and that a line of twelve
miles, being measured from the said Lyon's point, ac-
cording to the line or general course of the sound east-
ward : where the said twelve miles endeth, another line
shall be run from the sound, eight miles into the coun-
try north northwest, and also, that a fourth line be run
(that is to say) from the northernmost end of the eight
miles line, being the third mentioned line, which fourth
line with the first mentioned line, shall be the bounds
where they shall fall to run ; and that from the easter-
nmost end of the fourth mentioned line (which is to be
twelve miles in length) a line parallel to Hudson's
river, in every place twenty miles distant from Hudson's
river, shall be the bounds there, between the said terri-
tories or province of New-York, and the said colony of
Connecticut, so far as Connecticut colony doth extend
northwards ; that is, to the south line of the Massachu-
setts colony : only it is provided, that in case the line
from Byram brook's mouth, north northwest eight miles
and the line, that is then to run twelve miles to the end
of the third forementioned line of eight miles, do dimin-
ish or take away land, within twenty miles of Hudson's
river, that then so much as is in land diminished of twen-
ty miles of Hudson's river thereby, shall be added out
of Connecticut bounds unto the line aforementioned,
parallel to Hudson's river and twenty miles distant from

History of New-York. 277

it ; the addition to be made the whole length of the
said parallel line, and in such breadth, as will make up,
quantity for quantity, what shall be diminished as afore-
said."

Pursuant to this agreement some of the lines were ac-
tually run out, and a report made of the survey, which,
on the 24th of February, 1684, was confirmed by the
governour of each colony, at Milford, in Connecticut.
Here the matter rested, till a dispute arose concerning
the right of jurisdiction over the towns of Rye and Bed-
ford, which occasioned a solicitation at home ; and on
the 28th of March, 1700, king William was pleased to
confirm the agreement in 16£3.

Nineteen years afterwards, a probationary act was
passed, empowering the governour to appoint commis-
sioners, as well to run the line parallel to Hudson's ri-
ver, as to resurvey the other lines and distinguish the
boundary. The Connecticut agent opposed the king's
confirmation of this act, tolls viribus; but it was approv-
ed on the 23d of January, 1723. Two years after,
the commissioners and surveyors of both colonies met
at Greenwich, and entered first into an agreement re-
lating to the method of performing the work.

The survey was immediately after executed in part,
the report being dated on the 12th of May, 1725 ; but
the complete settlement was not made till the 14th of
May, 1731, when indentures, certifying the execution
of the agreement in 1725, were mutually signed by the
commissioners and surveyors of both colonies. Upon
the establishment of this partition, a tract of land lying
on the Connecticut side, consisting of above 60,000 acres,
from its figure called the oblong, was ceded to New-

278 History of Ncrv-York.

York, as an equivalent for lands near the sound surren-
dered to Connecticut.*

The very clay after the surrender, made by that col-
ony, a patent passed in London to sir Joseph Eyles and
others, intended to convey the whole oblong. A grant
posterior to the other was also regularly made here, to
Hauley and company, of the greatest part of the same
tract, which the British patentees brought a bill in chan-
cery to repeal. But the defendants filed an answer, con-
taining so many objections against the English patent,
that the suit remains still unprosecuted, and the Ame-
rican proprietors have ever since held the possession.
Mr. Barison, of the council, solicited this controversy
for sir Joseph Eyles and his partners, which contributed,
in a great degree, to the troubles, so remarkable, in a
succeeding administration.

Governour Montgomerie died on the 1st of July,
1731 ; and being a man of a kind and humane disposi-
tion, his death was not a little lamented. The chief com-
mand then devolved upon Rip Van Darn, esq. he being
the oldest counsellor, and an eminent merchant, of a fair
estate, though distinguished more for the integrity of
his heart, than his capacity to hold the reins of govern-
ment. He took the oaths before,

Mr. Alexander, Mr. De Lancey,f

Mr. Van Home, Mr. Courtlandt,

Mr. Kennedy,

* See Douglas' late plan of the British dominions of New-England.

f This gentleman, being a youth of fine parts, was called up to the
council board on the 26th of January, 1729, just after his return from
the university. Mr. Morris, jun. was suspended on the same day, for
•words dropped in a dispute relating to the governour's drafts upon the
revenue.

History of New- York 279

This administration is unfortunately signalized by the
memorable encroachment at Crownpoint. An enemy
despised at first for his weakness, generally grows for-
midable for his activity and craft This observation is
true, applied to private persons, religious sects, or pub-
lick states. The French, in Canada, have always been
jealous of the increasing strength of our colonies ; and
a motive of fear led them, naturally, to concert a regu-
lar system of conduct for their defence. Confining us
to scant limits along the sea coast, is the grand object
they have long had in view ; and seizing the important
passes from Canada to Louisania, seducing our Indian
allies, engrossing the* trade, and fortifying the routes
into their country, were all proper expedients towards
the execution of their plan. By erecting fort St. Fred-
erick, they secured the absolute command of lake Cham-
plain, through which we must pass, if ever a descent be
made upon Canada, either to conquer the country, or
harrass its out settlements. The garrison was, at first,
situated on the east side of the lake, near the south end;
but was afterwards built upon a commodious point on
the opposite side. Of all their infractions of the treaty
of Utrecht, none was more palpable than this. The
country belonged to the Six Nations, and the very spot,
upon which the fort stands, is included within a patent
to Dellius, the Dutch minister, of Albany, granted under
the great seal of this province in 1696. Besides, nothing
could be more evident than the danger to which it ex-
posed us. Through this lake the French parties made
their ancient bloody incursions upon Schenectady, the
Mohawks' castles, and Deerfield ; and the erection of
this fort was apparently adapted to facilitate the inroads
of the enemy, upon the frontiers of the colonies of

280 History of New- York.

New- York, Massachusetts Bay, and New-Hampshire.
For it served not only as an asylum to fly to after the
perpetration of their inhumanities, but for a magazine
of provisions and ammunition ; and though it was much
above 120 miles from the very city of Albany, yet by
the conveyance through Sorel river and the lake, it may
be reinforced from Montreal in three or four days.*

The Massachusetts government foresaw the dangerous
consequences of the French fort at Crownpoint, and
governour Belcher gave us the first information of it,
in a letter from Boston to Mr. Van Dam. He inform-
ed him of the vote of the general court, to bear their
proportion of the charge of an embassage to Canada, to
forbid the works, and pressed him to engage the oppo-
sition of the Six Nations. Van Dam laid the letter be-
fore his council, on the 4th of February, 1732 ; who,
•with singular calmness, advised him to write to the com-
missioners of Indian affairs, at Albany, ordering them
to enquire whether the land belonged to the confede-
rates or the River Indians. That Mr. Van Dam ever
wrote to the commissioners, I have not been able to dis-
cover ; nor whether any complaint of the encroachment
was sent home, according to the second advice of coun-
cil on the llth of February ; who, besides the first step,

* The present fort at Crownpoint is said to be a square with four
bastions, and a high castle within the walls. It has no ditch, but is
strengthened by a redoubt, and mounts six and thirty small cannon.
While the colony forces, consisting of about lour thousand militia, lay
at lake George, employed in erecting fort William Henry, in 1755,
the French threw up an advanced work at Ticonderoga, near the
northeast end of lake George ; an important pass, about sixteen miles
to the southward of fort Frederick.

History of New-York. 281

were now pleased to recommend his transmitting go*
vernour Belcher's letter and the Boston vote to the se-*
veral southwestern colonies.

The passiveness we discovered, on this impudent and
dangerous invasion of his majesty's rights, is truly
astonishing ; and the more so, as the crown had, at that
time, four independent companies, which had long been
posted here for our protection, at the annual expense
of about 7500/. sterling. A very good scheme, in some
measure, to repair this shameful misconduct, was after-
wards projected, by settling the lands near lake George,
with loyal protestant Highlanders from Scotland. Cap-
tain Laughlin Campbel, encouraged by a proclamation
to that purpose, came over in 1737, and ample promises
were made to him. He went upon the land, viewed and
approved it ; and was entreated to settle there, even by
the Indians, who were taken with his Highland dress.
Mr. Clarke, the lieutenant governour, promised him, in
a printed advertisement, the grant of 30,000 acres of
land, free from all but the charges of the survey and
the king's quitrent. Confiding on the faith of the go-
vernment, captain Campbel went home to Isla, sold his
estate, and, shortly after, transported, at his own ex-
pense, eighty -three protestant families, consisting of
four hundred and twenty-three adults, besides a great
number of children. Private faith and publick ho-
nour loudly demanded the fair execution of a pro-
ject, so expensive to the undertaker and beneficial
to the colony. But it unfortunately dropped, through
the sordid views of some persons in power, who aimed
at a share in the intended grant ; to which Campbel,
who was a man of spirit, would not consent.

Captain Campbel, afterwards, made an attempt to
redress himself, by an application to the assembly here,

v 3G

History of New- York

and then to the board of trade in England. The first-
proved abortive, and such were Ihe difficulties attending
the last, that he left his colonists to themselves ; and,,
with the poor remains of his broken fortune, purchased
a small farm in this province. JNo man was better qualifi-
ed than he, for the business he had engaged in. He had a
high sense of honour and a good understanding : was
active, loyal, and of a military disposition. For, upon
the news of the late rebellion in Scotland, he went
home ; fought under the duke, returned to his family,
and soon after died ; leaving a widow and several chil-
dren, who still feel the consequences of his disappoint-
ments.

Mr. Van Dam finished his administration, on the 1st of
-August, 1732 ; when William Cosby, esq. arrived, with
a commission, to govern this and the province of New-
Jersey. The history of our puhlick transactions, from
tins period, to the present time, is full of important and
entertaining events, which I leave others to relate. A
very near relation to the author had so great a concern
in the publick controversies with colonel Cosby, that
the history of those times will be better received from
a more disinterested pen. To suppress truth, on the
one hand, or exaggerate it, on the other, are both inex-
eusable faults, arid perhaps it would be difficult for me
to avoid those extremes. Besides, a writer, who exposes
the conduct of the living, will inevitably meet with their
fury and resentment. The prudent historian of his own
times will always be a coward, and never give lire, till
death protects him from the malice and stroke of his-
enemy.

-HISTORY OF HEW-YORK.
PART VI.

CHAPTER I.

A Geographical Description of the Country,

JL HE province of New-York, at present, contains
Long Island, Staten Island, and the lands, on the east
side of Hudson's river, to the bounds of Connecticut.
From the division line between that colony and the
Massachusetts' Bay, northward, to the line between us
and the French, we claim an extent to Connecticut ri-
ver.* On the west side of Hudson's river from the sea

* The grounds of this claim are contained in the following report of
a committee of council, to governour Clinton, on the 2d of March*
1753, which was drawn up by Mr. Alexander.
" May it please your excellency,

" In obedience to your excellency's order, in council, of the 3d day
of July last, referring to a committee thereof the petitions of Robert
Livingston, jun. esq. and of the owners of a certain tract of land call-
ed Westenhook, complaining of new claims and encroachments made
upon their lands by the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay, and also
the surveyor general's and the attorney general's repor(s on the said
two petitions : the committee having maturely weighed and consi-
dered of the same, humbly beg leave to report to your excellency :

" 1st, That they apprehend the claims of Massachusetts Bay to
the manor of Livingston, or the said tract of land, called W estenuook^

284 History of New- York.

to the latitude of 41° lies New-Jersey. The line of par-
tition between that province and this, from that latitude

cannot be well founded ; because they find that the Dutch claimed
the colony of New-Netherland, as extending from cape Cod to cape
Cornelius, now called cape FJenlopen, westward of Delaware bay,
along the sea coast, as far back into the country as any of the rivers
within those limits extend ; and that they were actually possessed of
Connecticut river, long before any other European people knew any
thing of the existence of such a riv er, and were not onljr possessed of
the mouth of it, where they had a fort and garrison, but discovered the
river afcove an hundred miles up, had their people trading there, and
purchased of the natives almost all the lands on both sides of the said
river.

" 2dly, That governour Stuyvesant, the Dutch governour of the
said province, by his letter, dated the 2d of September, 1664, new
style, in answer to a letter from governour Richard JSicolls, of ih* f J
August preceding, demanding the surrender of all the forts and places
of strength possessed by the Dutch under his (governour Stuyvesanfs)
command, writes as follows : — " Moreover it's without dispute, and
acknowledged by all the world, that our predecessors, by virtue of
the commission and patent of the said lords the States General, have,
without controul, and peaceably (the contrary never coming to our
knowledge) enjoyed fort Orange about forty -eight or fifty years ; and
Manhattans about forty-one or forty-two years ; the south river forty
years, and the fresh river about thirty-six years." Which last men-
tioned river the committee find to be the same that is now called
Connecticut river,

" 3dly, That the said Dutch governour Stuyvesant did, in the year
1664, surrender all the country, which the Dutch did then possess, to
king Charles* the second, and that the States General made a cession
thereof, by the treaty of Breda, in the year 1667 : that the Dutch re-
conquered part of this province in 1673, and surrendered and abso-
lutely yielded it to king Charles the second, in 1673-4, by the treaty
ef London ; and that in the year 1674, king Charles granted to the
duke of York all the land between Connecticut river and Delaware
bav ; the whole of these lands being part of the former colony of New-

History of New-York. 285

to the other station on Delaware, is unsettled. From
thence, wheresoever it may be fixed, we claim all the

" 4th, That the duke of York, in h-s several commissions to major
Edmund Andross, on the 1st of July, 1674, and to governour Dongan,
on the 30th of September, 1682, among other descriptions of th boun-
daries of this province, mentions all the lands from the west side of
Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware bay : that their majes-
ties, king William and queen Mary, hy their commission, bearing date
the fourth day of January, in the first year of their majesties' reign,
appointed Henry Sloughter to be governour of the province of New-
York, and territories depending thereon ; the boundaries whereof, to
Connecticut river, on the east, were notorious, by the grant and other
commissions aforesaid, and many other grants and commissions relat-
ing to the same.

" 5th, That the committee apprehend Connecticut river continued
the east bounds of this province, until the 28th of March, 1700, when,
by king William's confirmation of an agreement between this province
and Connecticut, the western bounds of that colony were settled at
twenty miles from Hudson's river : and they cannot find any other al-
teration in the eastern hounds of this province, and have no reason to
believe any other was made before, or since, that time.

" 6th, That king James the first, by letters patent, bearing date
the 3d of November, in the 18th year of his reign, granted unto the
council of Plymouth, from forty to forty eight degrees of north lati-
tude inclusive; in which there is a recital to this purpose : " Now for as
much as the king has been certainly given to understand, by divers
good subjects, that have, for these many years, frequented those coasts
and territories, between the degrees of 40 and 48, that there are no
other subjects of any Christian king or state, or by any authority
from their sovereigns, lords, or princes, actually in possession of any
of the said lands or precincts, whereby any right, claim, interest, or
title, may or ought, by that means, to accrue or belong to them," &c.
And also a proviso in these words, " Provided always, that the said
lands, islands, or any of the premises, hy the said letters patent in-
tended or meant to be granted, were not then actually possessed or in-
habited hy any other Christian power or state." Which patent, the
committee conceive, could not vest any thing in the grantees, by

286 History of New-York.

lands, on the east side of Delaware, to the north line of
Pennsylvania ; and all the territory, on both sides of

reason of the said recital and condition upon which it was granted;
part of the premises being then actually possessed by the Dutch, aiid
most of the said colony of New-Netherland being within the bounds
thereof.

" 7th, That the council of-Plymouth, hy their deed, dated the 19th
of March, in the third year of king Charles the first, granted to sir
Henry Rosswell and others, part of what was supposed to be granted
by the said letters patent, which grant, from the said council of Ply-
mouth, the committee take to be void, as founded upon the said void
patent.

" 8th That he, the said sir Henry Rosswell, an'l others, obtained a
grant and confirmation thereof, from the crown, under the greU seal
of England, dated the 4th of March, in the fourth year of king Charles
the first, within which grant and confirmation, the province of Massa-
chusetts Bay is included ; which grant and confirmation was adjudg-
ed void in the high court of chancery of England, in the year 1684.
And the committee are of opinion, that nothing, to the westward of
Connecticut river, could pass by that grant and confirmation ; lor that
his majesty could not have had an intention to grant the same, it be-
ing then possessed by the Dutch, as before mentioned.

" 9th, That the committee conceive the inhabitants of Massachu-
setts Bny can claim nothing at present, but what is granted them by
their last chartpr, in 1691 ; all their other grants and charters being
cither void of themselves, or declared so in the chancery of England.

" 10th, That the bounds, granted by this charter, are westward as
far as the colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the Narraganset
country : which words being in the case of a grant from the crown,
the committee conceive, cannot extend their bounds farther th >n to
Connecticut colony, and therefore not to Connecticut river, and much
less to the westward of it ; because Connecticut itself, at the time of
that charter, did not, in the knowledge of the crown, extend west-
ward of that river; nor did till nine years after, when, by the royal
approbation, the agreement between this province and' that colony
taking place, (which was not to be in force till such approbation) the
bounds of that colony were settled as is before mentioned; : and the

History of New- York.

the Mohawks river, and westward to the isthmus at Ni-
agara : in a word, all the country belonging to the

committee conceive it to be against reason, to suppose that the crown
intended, by the suid charter, to grant any part of the province of
New-York, under the then immediate government of the crown, with-
out express mention thereof in the charter ; and without notification
thereof to Henry bloughter, then governour of this province, that the
crown had granted such a part of what was before within his jurisdic-
tion, by their majesties' commission aforesaid to him.

" 1 1th, That both the patents, under which the petitioners claim,
the committee find were granted under the great seal of this province^
that of the m; nor of Livingston, in 1686, arid that of Westenhook, in
1735. And that the land;? contained in the said grants are, the com-
mittee apprehend, within the jurisdiction of this province, they being
both west of Connecticut river.

" 1 21 h, That the committee are of opinion, the attempts of the inha-
bitants of Massachusetts Bay, to make encroachments upon any
lands, granted by letters patent, under the great seal of New-York, or
upon any lands within the jurisdiction of this province, are disre-
spectful to his majesty's authority, tend to the disturbance of the sub*
jects of this province, and may be the cause of great mischiefs and
disorders.

"13th, That the steps taken by the said inhabitants, even were,
the bounds of this province doubtful and unsettled, are intrusions, and
disrespectful to his majesty's authority.

" And, lastly, The committee are of opinion, that a copy of so
much of this report, as shall be approved of by your exeellencj' and (lie
council, be transmitted to the lieutenant governour of (he province of
Massachusetts Bay, requesting that he would take effectual measures
that all encroachments and disturbances, by the people of that colony
en his majesty's subjects of this province, be stayed ; and that he
would lay this matter before the next general court, that they may
inform your excellency by what warrant they claim or exercise any
right to soil or jurisdiction, westward of Connecticut river ; that the
same may be considered, and such ?teps lakrn towards removing nil
causes of encroachments, or disturbances, for the future, as may be

288 History of New- York.

crown of Great Britain, not already granted ; for We are
to consider New- York, among her sister colonies, to
borrow a law phrase, as a residuary legatee.

Hence we have, from the beginning, been exposed to
controversies about limits. The New-Jersey claim in-
cludes several hundred thousand acres, and has not a
little impeded the settlement of the colony. The dis-
pute with the Massachusetts' Bay is still more important
and, for several years past, occasioned very considera-
ble commotions. The New-Hampshire pretensions have,
as yet, exposed us to no great trouble. But when all
those claims are settled, a new controversy will pro-
bably commence with the proprietaries of Pennsylva-
nia.

This province was, in 1691, divided, by an act of as-
sembly, into twelve counties, which I shall describe in
their order.

CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW-YORK.

THE city of Ntw-York, at first, included only the
island, called, by the Indians, Manhattans. Manning's

agreeable to equity and justice : to the end, that good understanding
may be preserved, which ought to subsist between fellow subjects
and neighbouring provinces.

" All which is nevertheless humbly submitted.
" By order of the committee,

" JAMES DE LANCEY, Chairman."

The government of Massachusetts Bay never exhibited the reasons
®f their claim, in answer to this report, but continued their encroach-
ments : and, in the spring, 1755, surveyed and sold lands, lying seve-
ral miles west of the eastern extent of the manor of Livingston an<l
the patent of Claverack.

History of New-York, 289

island, the two Barn islands and the three oyster islands
were in the county. But the limits of the city have since
been augmented by charter. The island is very narrow,
not a mile wide at a medium, and about fourteen miles
in length. The southwest point projects into a fine spa-
cious bay, nine miles long and about four in breadth ;
at the confluence of the waters of Hudson's river, and
the straight between Long Island and the northern
shore. The narrows, at the south end of the bay, is
scarce two miles wide, and opens the ocean to full view.
The passage up to New- York from Sandy Hook, a point
that extends farthest into the sea, is safe, and not above
five and twenty niile$ in length. The common naviga-
tion is between the east and west banks, in two or three
and twenty feet water. But it is said that an eighty gun
ship may be brought up, through a narrow, winding,
unfrequented channel, between the north end of the
east bank and Coney island.

The city has, in reality, no natural bason or harbour.
The ships lie off in the road, on the east side of the
town, which is docked out, and better built than the
west side, because the freshets in Hudson's river, fill it>
in some winters, with ice.

The city of IN ew- York, as I have elsewhere had occa-
sion to mention, " consists of about two thousand five
hundred buildings. It is a mile in length, and not above
half that in breadth. Such is its figure, its centre of busi-
ness, and the situation of the houses, that the mean cart-
age from one part to another, does not exceed above
one quarter of a mile, than which nothing can be more
advantageous to a trading city."

It is thought to be as healthy a spot as any in the
world. The east and south parts, in general, are low,

37

29O History of New-York.

but the rest is situated on a dry, elevated soil. The
streets are irregular, but, being paved with round peb-
bles, are clean, and lined with well built brick houses,
many of which are covered with tiled roofs.

No part of America is supplied with markets abound-
ing with greater plenty and variety. We have beef,
pork, mutton, poultry, butter, wild fowl, venison, fish,
roots, and herbs, of all kinds, in their seasons. Our oys-
ters are a considerable article in the support of the poor.
Their beds are \\ithin view of the town ; a fleet of two
hundred small craft, are often seen there, at a time, when
the weather is mild, in winter ; and this single article
is computed to be worth annually 10 or 12,000/.

This city is the metropolis and grand mart of the pro-
vince, and, by its commodious situation, commands al-
so all the trade of the western part of Connecticut, and
that of East Jersey. "No season prevents our ships
from launching out into the ocean. During the great-
est severity of winter, an equal, unrestrained activity
runs through all ranks, orders, and employments."

Upon the southwest point of the city stands the fort,
which is a square with four bastions. Within the walls
is the house in which our governours usually reside ;
and opposite to it brick barracks, built, formerly, for
the independent companies. The governour's house
is in height three stories, and fronts to the west ; hav-
ing, from the second story, a fine prospect of the bay
ftnd the Jersey shore. At the south end there was for-
merly a chapel, but this was burnt dowrn in the negro
conspiracy, of the spring, 1741. According to gover-
nour Burnet's observations, this fort stands in the lati-
tude of 49° 42' N,

History of New-York. 291

Below the walls of the garrison, near the W7ater, we
have lately raised a line of fortifications, which com-
mands the entrance into the eastern road and the mouth
of Hudson's river. This battery is built of stone, and
the merlons consist of cedar joists, filled in with earth.
It mounts ninety two cannon, and these are all the
works we have to defend us. About six furlongs,
southeast of the fort, 1 ies Not ten island, containing
about one hundred or one hundred and twenty acres, re-
served, by an act of assembly, as a sort of clemense for
the governours, upon which it is proposed to erect a
strong castle, because an enemy might from thence ea-
sily bombard the city, without being annoyed either by
our battery, or the fort. During the late war a line of
palisadoes was run from Hudson's to the East river, at
the other end of the city, with block houses at small
distances. The greater part of these still retrain as a
monument of our folly, which cost the province about
8000/.

The inhabitants of New- York are a mixed people,
but mostly descended from the original Dutch planters.
There are still two churches, in which religious wor-
ship is performed in that language. The old building
is of stone and ill built, ornamented within by a small
organ loft and brass branches. The new church is a
high, heavy edifice, has a very extensive area, and was*
completed in 1729. It has no galleries, and yet will
perhaps contain a thousand or twelve hundred auditors*
The steeple of this church a fiords a most beautiful pro-
spect, both of the city beneath and the surrounding
country. The Dutch congregation is more numerous
than any other, but as the language becomes disused,
it is much diminished ; and unless they change their

292 History of New-York.

worship into the English tongue, must soon suffer a to-
tal dissipation. They have at present two ministers :
the reverend messieurs Ritzma and De Ronde, who are
both strict Calvinists. Their church was incorporated
on the 1 1th of May, 1696, by the name of the minister,
elders, and deacons, of the reformed protestant Dutch
church of the city of New- York, and its estate, after
the expiration of sundry long leases, will be worth a
very great income.1*

All the Low Dutch congregations, in this and the pro-
vince of New-Jersey, worship after the manner of the
reformed church in the United Provinces. With re-
spect to government, they are in principle presbyteri-
ans; but yet hold themselves in subordination to the clas-
sis of Amsterdam, who sometimes permit, and at other
times refuse, them the powers of ordination. Some of
their ministers consider such a subjection as anti consti-
tutional, and hence, in several of their late annual con-
ventions, at New-York, called the Ccetus, some debates
have arisen among them ; the majority being inclined
to erect a classis, or ecclesiastical judicatory, here, for
the government of their churches. Those of their min-
isters, who are natives of Europe, are, in general, averse
to the project. The expense attending the ordination
of their candidates, in Holland, and the reference of
their disputes to the classis of Amsterdam, is very con-
siderable ; and with what consequences, the interrup-
tion of their correspondence with the European Dutch,
would be attended, in case of a war, well deserves their
consideration.

* Their charter was confirmed by a late act of assembly, ratified by
Hs majesty, which recites the viiith article of the surrender, in 1 664»-

History of New- York. 293'

There are, besides the Dutch, two episcopal churches
in this city, upon the plan of the established church in
South Britain. Trinity church was built in 1 696, and
afterwards enlarged in 1737. It stands very pleasantly
upon the banks of Hudson's river, and has a large ce-
metery, on each side, inclosed in the front by a painted
paled fence. Before it a long walk is railed off from
the Broad way, the pleasantest street of any in the
whole town. This building is about one hundred and
forty-eight feet long, including the tower and chancel,
and seventy-two feet in breadth. The steeple is one
hundred and seventy-five feet in height, and over the
door facing the river js the following inscription :
PER ANGUSTAM.

" Hoc Trinitatis Templum fundatum est Anno Reg-
ni illustrissiini, supremi Domini Gulielmi tertii, Dei
• Gratia, Anglia3, Scotiae, Francis et Hibernia3 Regis,
Fidei Defensoris, &c. Octavo, Annoq. Domini 1696.

" Ac voluntaria quorundarn contributione ac Donis
jEdificatum, maxime autem, dilecti Regis Chiliarcha3
BENJAMINI FLETCHER, hujus provincire stratseci et Im-
peratoris, Munificentia animatum et auctum, cujus tern-
pore moderaminis, hujus Civitatis incolae, Religionem
protestantem EcclesiaB Anglicanse, ut secundum Le^
gem nunc stabilitae profitentes, quodam Diplomate, sub
Sigillo Provincial incorporati sunt, atque alias pluriinas,
ex Re sua familiari, Donatiories notabiles eidem de~
dit."

The church is, within, ornamented beyond any other
place of publick worship among us. The head of the
chancel is adorned with an altarpiece, and opposite to
it, at the other end of the building, is the organ. The
tops of the pillars, which support the galleries, are deck-

294 History of New-York.

ed with the gilt busts of angels winged,. From the ceil-
ing are suspended two glass branches, and on the walls
hang the arms of some of its principal benefactors. The
aisles are paved with flat stones.

The present rector of this church is the rev. Mr. Hen-
ry Barclay, formerly a missionary among the Mohawks,
who receives 100/. a year, levied upon all the other
clergy and laity in the city, by virtue of an act of as-
sembly procured by governour Fletcher. He is assisted
by Dr. Johnson and Mr. Auchmuty.

This congregation, partly by the arrival of strangers
from Europe, but principally by proselytes from the
Dutch churches, is become so numerous, that though
the old building will contain two thousand hearers, yet
a new one was erected in 17/)2. This, called St.
George's chapeP is a very great edifice, faced with hewn
stone and tiled. The steeple is lofty ,f but irregular ;
and its situation in a new, crouded, and ill built part
of the town.

The rector, churchwardens, and vestrymen of Trinity
church, are incorporated by an act of assembly, which
grants the two last the advowson or right of presenta-
tion ; but enacts, that the rector shall be instituted and
inducted in a manner most agreeable to the king's in-
structions to the governour, and the canonical right of
the bishop of London. Their worship is conducted af-
ter the mode of the church of England ; and with re-
spect to government, they are empowered to make rules
and orders for themselves, being, if I may use the ex-
pression, an independent ecclesiastical corporation.

* The length, exclusive of the chancel, ninety-two feet, and its
breadth twenty feet less.
f One hundred and seventy-five feet;

History of New-York* 295

The revenue of this church is restricted, by an act of
assembly, to 500/. per annum ; but it is possessed of a
real estate, at the north end of the town, which, having
been lately divided into lots and let to farm, will, in a
few years, produce a much greater income.

The presbyterians, increasing after lord Cornbury's
return to England, called Mr. Anderson, a Scotch min-
ister, to the pastoral charge of their congregation ; and
Dr. John Nicol, Patrick Mac Night, Gilbert Livingston
and Thomas Smith, purchased a piece of ground and
founded a church, in 1719. Two years afterwards they
petitioned colonel Schuyler, who had then the chief
command, for a charter of incorporation, to secure their
estate for religious worship, upon the plan of the church
in North Britain ; but were disappointed in their expec-
tations, through the opposition of the episcopal party.
They, shortly after, renewed their request to governour
Burnet, who referred the petition to his council. The
episcopalians again violently opposed the grant, and the
governour, in 1 724, wrote upon the subject to the lords
of trade for their direction. Counsellor West, who was
then consulted, gave his opinion in these words : " Upon
consideration of the several acts of uniformity that have
passed in Great Britain, I am of opinion that they do
not extend to New- York, and consequently an act of
toleration is of no use in that province ; and, therefore,
as there is no provincial act for uniformity, according
to the church of England, I am of opinion, that, by law,
such patent of incorporation may be granted, as
by the petition is desired. Richard West, 20 August,
1724."

After several years solicitation for a charter, in vain,
and fearful that those who obstructed such a reasonable.

296 History of New- York

request, would watch an opportunity to give them a
more effectual wound ; those, among the presbyterians,
who were invested with the fee simple of the church and
ground, " conveyed it, on the 16th of March, 1730, to
the moderator of the general assembly of the church of
Scotland and the commission thereof, the moderator of
the presbytery of Edinburgh, the principal of the col-
lege of Edinburgh, the professor of divinity therein, and
the procurator and agent of the church of Scotland, for
the time being, and their successors in office, as a com-
mittee of the general assembly." On the 15th of August,
1732, the church of Scotland, by an instrument under
the seal of the general assembly, and signed by Mr.
Kiel Campbell, principal of the university of Glasgow,
and moderator of the general assembly and commission
thereof; Mr. James Nesbit, one of the ministers of the
gospel at Edinburgh, moderator of the presbytery of
Edinburgh ; Mr. William Hamilton, principal of the
university of Edinburgh ; Mr. James Smith, professor
of divinity therein ; and Mr. William Grant, advocate
procurator for the church of Scotland, for the time be-
ing ; pursuant to an act of the general assembly, dated
the 8th of May, 1731, did declare, " that notwithstand-
ing the aforesaid right made to them and their succes-
sors in office, they were desirous, that the afore-
said building and edifice and appurtenances there-
of, be preserved for the pious and religious purposes
for which the same were designed ; and that it should
be free and lawful to the presbyterians then resid-
ing, or that should at any time, thereafter, be resi-
dent, in, or near, the aforesaid city of New-York, in
America, or others joining with them, to convene,
in the foresaid church, for the worship of God in

History of New-York. 297

all the parts thereof, and for the dispensation of all gos-
pel ordinances ; and, generally, to use and occupy the
said church and its appurtenances, fully and freely in
all times coming, they supporting and maintaining the
edifice and appurtenances at their own charge."

Mr. Anderson was succeeded, in April, 1727, by the
rev. Mr. Ebenezer Pemberton, a man of polite breed-
ing, pure morals, and warm devotion ; under whose in-
cessant labours the congregation greatly increased, and
was enabled to erect the present edifice in 1748. It is
built of stone, railed off from the street, is eighty feet
long and in breadth ^ixty. The steeple, raised on the
south west end, is in height one hundred and forty-five
feet. In the front to the street, between two long win-
dows, is the following inscription gilt and cut in a black
slate six feet in length.

Auspicante Deo

Hanc sedem

Cultui divino sacram

In perpetuura

celebrando,

A. D. MDCCXIX.

Primo fundatam ;

Denuo penitus reparatam

et

Ampliorem et ornatiorem
A. D. MDCCXLVIII

Constructam,

Neo-Eboracenses presbyteriani

In suum et suorum usum

Condentes,

38

298 History of New-York

V

In bar vofiva tabula

DDDQ.

# * #

Concordia, amore
Necnon fidei ( ultus et monim

Puritate
SufFulta, clariusq. exornata,

Annuente Christo,
Longum perduret in aevum.

Mr. Alexander dimming, a young gentleman of
lean ing and singular penetration, was chosen colleague
to Mr. Pemberton, in 1750 : but both were dismissed,
at their request, about three years afterwards ; the for-
mer through indisposition, and the latter on account of
trifling contentions, kindled by the bigotry and igno-
rance of the lt)wer sort of people. These debates con-
tinued till they were closed, in April, 1756, by a deci-
sion of the synod, to which almost all our presbyterian
churches, in this and the southern provinces, are sub-
ject, The congregation consists, at present, of twelve
or fourteen hundred souls, under the pastoral charge of
the reverend Mr. David Bostwick, who was lately trans-
lated from Jamaica to New- York, by a sy nodical de-
cree. Be is a gentleman of a mild, catholick disposi-
tion ; and being a man of piety, prudence and zeal,
confines himself entirely to the proper business of his
function. In the art of preaching he is one of the most
distinguished clergymen in these parts. His discourses
are methodical, sound, and pathetick ; in sentiment, and
in point of diction, singularly ornamented. He deli-
Tt-rs himself without notes, and yet with great ease and
fluency of expression ; and performs every part of di-
vine worship with a striking solemnity.

History of New-York. 299

The French church, by the contentions in 1724, and
the disuse of the language, is now reduced to an incon-
siderable handful. The building, which is of stone,
is nearly a square,* plain both within and without. It is
fenced from the street, has a steeple and a bell, the lat-
ter of which was the gift of sir Henry Ashurst, of Lon-
don. On the front of the church is the following in-
scription :

JEDES SACRA
GALDR. PROT.

REFORM.
FViNDA. 1704.
* PENITVS
REPAR. 1741.

The present minister, Mr. Carle, is a native of
France, and succeeded Mr. Rou in 17<f)4. He bears an
irreproachable character, is very intent upon his stu Jies*
preaches moderate Calvinism, and speaks with proprie-
ty, both of pronunciation and gesture.

The German Lutheran churches are two. Both their
places of worship are small : one of them has a cupola
and bell.

The Quakers have a meetinghouse, and the Mora-
vians, a new sect among us, a church, consisting princi-
pally of female proselytes from other societies. Their
service is in the English tongue,

The Anabaptists assemble at a small meetinghouse,
but have as yet no regular settled congregation. The
Jews, who are not inconsiderable for their numbers,
worship in a synagogue, erected in a very private part
of the town, plain without, but very neat within.

* The area is seventy feet long, and in breadth fifty*

300 History of New-York.

The city hall is a strong brick building, two stories
in height, in the shape of an oblong, winged with one
at each end, at right angles with the first. The floor
below is an open walk, except two jails, and the jailor's
apartments. The cellar underneath is a dungeon, and
the garret above a common prison. This edifice is
erected in a place where four streets meet, and fronts,
to the southwest, one of the most spacious streets in
town. The eastern wing, in the second story, consists
of the assembly chamber, a lobby, and a small room
for the speaker of the house. The west wing, on the
game floor, forms the council room and a library ; and
in the space between the ends, the supreme court is or-
dinarily held.

The library consists of a thousand volumes, which
were bequeathed to the society for the propagation of
the Gospel in foreign parts, by Dr. Millington, rector of
INewington. Mr, Humphrys, the society's secretary, in
a letter of the 23d of September, 1728, informed gover-
nour Montgomerie, that the society intended to place
these books in New- York, intending to establish a li-
brary, for the use of the clergy and gentlemen of this
and the neighbouring governments of Connecticut, New-
Jersey, and Pennsylvania, upon giving security to re-
turn them ; and desired the governour to recommend
it to the assembly, to provide a place to deposit the
books, and to concur in an act for the preservation of
them and others that might be added. Governour
IVIontgomerie sent the letter to the assembly, who or-
dered it to be laid before the city corporation, and the
latter, in June, 1729, agreed to provide a proper reposi-
tory for tie books, which were accordingly soon after

History of New-York. 301

sent over. The greatest part of them are upon theolo-
gical subjects, and, through the carelessness of the keep-
ers, many are missing.

In 1754, a set of gentlemen undertook to carry about
a subscription towards raising a publick library, and in
a few days collected near 600/. which were laid out in
purchasing about seven hundred volumes of new, well
chosen books. Every subscriber, upon payment of 51.
principal, and the annual sum of 105. is entitled to the
use ol these books. His right, by the articles, is assign-
able, and for non compliance with them may be forfeit-
ed. The care of this library is committed to twelve
trustees, annually elected by the subscribers, on the
last Tuesday of April, who are restricted from making
any rules repugnant to the fundamental subscription.
This is the beginning of a library, which, in pro-
cess of time will probably become vastly rich and vo-
luminous ; and it would be very proper for the compa-
ny to have a charter for its security and encourage-
ment. The books are deposited in the same room with
those given by the society.

Besides the city hall, there belong to the corporation,
a large almshouse or place of correction, and the ex-
change, in the latter of which there is a large room rais-
ed upon brick arches, generally used for publick enter-
tainments, concerts of musick, balls and assemblies.

Though the city was put under the government of a
mayor, &c. in 1665, it was not regularly incorporated
till 1686. Since that time several charters have been
passed : the last was granted by governour Montgo-
merie on the 15th of January, 1730.

It is divided into seven wards, and is under the go-
vernment of a mayor, recorder, seven aldermen, and as

502 History of Nerv-YorJc.

many assistants or common councilman. The mayor,
a .sheriff*, and coroner, are annually appointed by the
governour. The recorder has a patent during pleasure.
The aldermen, assistants, assessors and collectors, are
annually elected by the freemen and freeholders of the
respective wards. The mayor has the sole appoint-
ment of a deputy, and, together with four aldermen,
may appoint a chamberlain. The mayor, or recorder,
four aldermen, and as many assistants, form " The com-
mon council of the city of New- York ;" and this body,
by a majority of voices, hath power to make bye laws
for the government of the city, which are binding only
for a year, unless confirmed by the governour and coun-
cil. They have many other privileges relating to fer-
riages, markets, fairs, the assize of bread, wine, &c. and
the licensing and regulation of tavern keepers, cartage,
and the like. The mayor, his deputy, the recorder and
aldermen, are constituted justices of the peace ; and
may hold not only a court of record once a week, to
take cognizance of all civil causes, but also a court of
general quarter sessions of the peace. They have a
common clerk, commissioned by the governour, who en-
joys an appointment worth about four or five hundred
pounds per annum. The annual revenue of the corpo-
ration is near two thousand pounds. The standing mi-
litia of the island consists of about twenty-three hun-
dred men,* and the city has in reserve, a thousand stand
of arms for seamen, the poor and others, in case of an
invasion.

* The whole number of the inhabitants, exclusive of ff males above
sixty, according to a list returned to the govmiour, in the spring,
1750, amounted to 10,468 wh'tes, and 2.275 negroes; but that ac-
count is erroneous. It is most probable that there are iu the city
!5}OQO souls.

History of New-York. 303

The north eastern part of New- York island, is inha-
bited, principally, by Dutch farmers, who have a small
village there called Haerlem, pleasantly situated on a
flat cultivated for the city markets.

WESTCHESTER.

THIS county is large, and includes all the land be-
yond the island of Manhattans, along the sound, to the
Connecticut line which is its eastern boundary. It ex-
tends northward to the middle of the highlands, and
westward to Hudson's river. A great part of this coun-
ty is contained in the manors of Philipsburgh, Pvdha n,
Fordham, and Courtlandt, the last of which has the
piivilege of sending a representative to the general as-
sembly. The county is tolerably settled. The lands
are in general rough but fertile, and therefore the far-
mers run principally on grazing. It has several towns,
East-Chester, West-Chester, New-Rochelle, Rye, Bed-
ford, and North-Castle. The inhabitants are either Eng-
lish or Dutch presbyterians, episcopalians, quakers and
French protestants. The former are the most nume-
rous. The two episcopal missionaries are settled at Rye
and East-Chester, and receive each GO/, annually taxed
upon the county. The town of West-Chester is an in-
corporated borough, enjoying a mayor's court, and the
right of being represented by a member in assembly.

DUTCHESS.

THIS county adjoins to West-Chester, which bounds
it on the south, the Connecticut line on the east,* Hud-

* In describing the limits of the several counties, I regard their
bounds according to the jurisdiction as now exercised in each, rather

304 History of New-York.

son's river on the west, and the county of Albany on
the north. The south part of this county is mountain-
ous and fit only for iron works, but the rest contains a
great quantity of good upland well watered. The only
villages in it are Poughkeepsie and the Fish Kill, though
they scarce deserve the name. The inhabitants on the
banks of the river are Dutch, but those more easterly,
Englishmen, and, for the most part, emigrants from
Connecticut and Long Island. There is no episcopal
church in it. The growth of this county has been very
sudden, and commenced but a few years ago. Within
the memory of persons now living, it did not contain
above twelve families ; and, according to the late re-
turns of the militia, it will furnish, at present, above
two thousand five hundred fighting men.

ALBANY.

THIS county extends from the south bounds of the
manor of Livingston, on the east side, and Ulster, on
the west side of Hudson's river : on the north its limits
are not yet ascertained. It contains a vast quantity of
fine low land. Its principal commodities are wheat,
peas, and pine boards.

The city of Albany, which is near one hundred and
fifty miles from New-York, is situated on the west side
of the river. There our governours usually treat with
the Indians dependent upon the British crown. The
houses are built of brick, in the Dutch taste, and are in
number about three hundred and fifty. There are two

than the laws relating to them, which are very imperfect, especially
the general act, in 1691. The greatest part of Hudson's river is not
included in any of our counties.

History of New- York. 305

churches in it. That of the episcopalians, the only one
in this large county, is a stone building. The congre-
gation is but small, almost all the inhabitants resorting
to the Dutch church, which is a plain, square, stone
edifice. Besides these, they have no other publick
buildings, except the city hall and the fort ; the latter
of which is a stone square, with four bastions, situated
on an eminence which overlodfks the town, but is itself
commanded by higher ground. The greatest part of
the city is fortified only by palisadoes, and in some
places there are small cannon planted in blockhouses.
Albany was incorporated, by colonel Dongan, in 1686,
and is under the government of a mayor, recorder, six
aldermen, and as many assistants. It has also a sheriff
town clerk, chamberlain, clerk of the markets, one
high constable, three sub-constables, and a marshal.
The corporation is empowered besides, to hold a ma-
yor's court for the trial of civil causes, and a court of
general quarter sessions.

Sixteen or eighteen miles northwest from Albany
lies Schenectady, on the banks of the Mohawks' river,
which falls into Hudson's river twelve miles to the
north of Albany. This village is compact and regular,
built principally of brick, on a rich flat of low land, sur-
rounded with hills. It has a large Dutch church, with
a steeple and town clock, near the centre. The wind-
ings of the river through the town, and the fields (which
are often overflowed in the spring) form, about harvest,
u most beautiful prospect. The lands, in the vale of
Schenectady, are so fertile that they are commonly
sold at 45/. per acre. Though the farmers use no kind
of manure they till the fields every year, and they al-
ways produce full crops of wheat or peas. Their

39

306 History of New-York

church was incorporated by governour Cosby, and the
town has the privilege of sending a member to the as-
sembly.

From this village our Indian traders set out in bat-
toes for Oswego. The Mohawks' river, from hence to
fort Hunter, abounds with rifts and shoals, which, in the
spring, give but little obstruction to the navigation.
From thence to its head? or rather to the portage into
the Wood creek, the conveyance is easy and the cur-
rent less rapid. The banks of this river are, in general,
low, and the soil exceeding good. Our settlements, on
the north side, extend to Burnet's field, a flat inhabited
by Germans, which produces wheat and peas in surpris-
ing plenty. On the south side, except a few Scotch
Irish in Cherry Valley at the head of Susquehanna, we
have but few farms west of the three German towns on
Schoharie, a small creek which empties itself into the Mo-
hawks' river, about twenty miles west of Schenectady.
The fur trade at Oswego, is one of the principal advan-
tages of this county. The Indians resort thither in May*
and the trade continues till the latter end of July. A
good road might be made from Schenectady to Oswego.
In the summer seventeen hundred and fifty-five, fat cat-
tle were easily driven there for the army under the
command of general Shirley.

The principal settlements to the northward of Albany
are Connestigiune, eastward of Schenectady, on the Mo-
hawks' river, which a little lower tumbles down a pre-
cipice of about seventy feet high, called the Cahoes.
The surprise, which, as one might imagine, would na-
turally be excited by the view of so great a cataract, is
much diminished by the height of the banks of the ri-
ver ; besides, the fall is as uniform as a mill dam, being
uninterrupted by the projection of rocks.

History of New-York. 307

At Scaglitahook, on the east side of the north branch
of Hudson's river, there are a few farms, but many more
sev Tal miles to the eastward, and about twenty-five miles
from Albany, in the patent of Hosick. These were all
broke up by an irruption of French and Indians, who,
on the 28th of August, 1754, killed and scalped two
persons, and, set fire to the houses and barns.

About forty miles to the northward of Albany, on
the west side of the river, lies Saratoga, a fine tract of
low land, from which several families were driven by
the French Indians, in the late war. A project of pur-
chasing these lands from the proprietors, settling them
with Indians, raising a foil there and cultivating the
soil for them, has been often talked of since captain
CampbeFs disappointment, as a proper expedient to
curb the scalping parties sent out from Crownpoint.

In the southern part of the county of Albany, on
both sides of Hudson's river, the settlements are very
scattered, except within twelve miles of the city, when
the banks become low and accessible. The islands
here, which are many, contain perhaps the finest soil in
the world.

There are two manors in the county, Renslaerwyck
and Livingston, which have each the privilege of sending
a member to the assembly. The tenants of these man-
ors, and of the patents of Claverack, have free farms at
the annual rent of a tenth of the produce, which has as
yet been neither exacted nor paid. At Ancram, in the
minor of Livingston, is an iron furnace, about fourteen
miles from the river. Its best and most improved lands
lie at Tachanic, in the eastern parts, which have of late
been much disturbed by the inroads of the Massachu-
setts' Bay, on this and the patents of Westenhook and
Claverack.

308 History of New- York.

The winters in this county are commonly severe, and
Hudson's river freezes so bard a hundred miles to the
southward of Albany, as to bear sleds loaded with great
burdens. Much snow is very serviceable to the far-
mers here, not only in protecting their grain from the
frost, but in facilitating the transportation of their
boards and other produce, to the banks of the river,
against the ensuing spring.

FLSTErt.

THIS county joins to that of Albany, on the west side
of Hudson's river. Its northern extent is fixed at Saw-
yer's rill : the rivers Delaware and Hudson bound it
east and west, and a west line from the mouth of Mur-
derer's creek is its southern limit.

The inhabitants are Dutch, French, English, Scotch,
and Irish, but the first and the last are most numerous.
The episcopalians in this county are so inconsiderable,
that their church is only a mean loghouse. The most
considerable town is Kingston, situated about two miles
from Hudson's river. It contains about one hundred
and fifty houses, mostly of stone, is regularly laid out
on a dry level spot, and has a large stone church and
court house near the centre. It is thought to resemble
Schenectady, but far exceeds it in its elevation : on the
north side of the town, the Esopus kill winds through
rich and beautiful lawns. The people of Ulster, hav-
ing long enjoyed an undisturbed tranquility, are some
of the most opulent farmers in the whole colony.

This county is most noted for fine flour, beer, and a
good breed of draught horses. At the commencement
of the range of the Apalachian hills, about ten miles
from Hudson's river, is an inexhaustible quarry of mill-

History of New-York. 309

stones, which far exceed those from Colen, in Europe,
formerly imported here, and sold at 80/. a pair. The
Marbletown millstones cost not a fourth part of that
sum. This and the counties of Dutchess and Orange
abound with limestone, and on the banks of Hudson's
river are found great bodies of blue slate.

The principal villages, besides Kingston, are Mar-
bletown, Hurley, Rochester ,New-Paltz, and the Wall-
kill, each of which is surrounded with fine tracts of low
land. The militia of Ulster is about fifteen or sixteen
hundred men and a company of horse.

ORANGE

COUNTY is divided by a range of mountains, stretch-
ing westward from Hudson's river, called the Highlands.
On the north side the lands are very broken, but fertile,
and inhabited by Scotch, Irish, and English presbyte-
rians. The society's missionary in Ulster preaches
here, sometimes to a small congregation of the episco-
pal persuasion, which is the only one in the county.
Their villages are Goshen, Bethlehem and Little Bri-
tain, all remarkable for producing, in general, the best
butter made in the colony. The people on the south
side of the mountains are all Dutch : and Orangetown,
more commonly called by the Indian name, Tappan, is
a small, but very pleasant inland village, with a stone
court house and church. The militia consists of about
thirteen hundred fighting men.

This county joins to the province of New-Jersey on
the south ; and the non settlement of the partition line
has been the greatest obstruction to its growth.

There is a very valuable tract, called the drowned
lands, on the north side of the mountains, containing

310 History of New-York.

about forty or fifty thousand acres. The waters, which
descend from the surrounding hills, being but slov\ly
discharged by the river issuing out of it, cover these
vast meadows every winter ; and hence they become
extremely fertile. The fires kindled up in the woods,
by the deer hunters in autumn, are communicated by
the leaves to these meadows, before the waters rise
above the channel of the river, and a dreadful devour-
ing conflagration overruns it, consuming the herbage,
for several days. The Wallkill river, which runs
through this extensive, amphibious tract, if I may use
the expression, is, in the spring, stored with eels of un-
common size and plenty, very useful to the farmers re-
siding on its banks. The river is about two chains in
breadth, where it leaves the drowned lands, and has a
considerable fall. The bottom of it is a broken rock ;
and I am informed by Mr. Clinton, a gentleman of inge-
nuity and a mathematical turn, that the channel might,
for less than 2,0007. be sufficiently deepened to draw
off all the water from the meadows. Some parts near
the banks of the upland, have been already redeemed
from the floods. These spots are very fertile, and pro-
duce English grass, hemp, and Indian corn.

The mountains, in the county of Orange, are clothed
thick with timber, and abound with iron ore, ponds, and
fine streams for iron works. Goshen is well supplied
with white cedar, and in some parts of the woods is
found great plenty of black walnut.

Before I proceed to the description of the southern
counties, I beg leave to say a few words concerning
Hudson's river.

Its source has not, as yet, been discovered. We
know7, in general, that it is in the mountainous, uninhab»

History of New-York. 311

Ited country, between the lakes Ontario and Ghamplain.
In its course s uthward it approaches the Mohawks' ri-
ver within a few miles at Saucondauga. From thence it
runs north and northeasterly towards lake St. Sacra-
ment, now called lake George, and is not above eight
or ten miles distant from it. The course then to New-
York is very uniform, being in the main south 12 or
15° west.

The distance from Albany to lake George is comput-
ed at sixty-five miles. The river in that interval is na-
vigable only for battoes, and interrupted by rifts, which
occasion two portages of half a mile each.* There are
three routes from Crovvnpoint to Hudson's river in the
way to Albany ; one through lake George, another
through a branch of lake Champlain, bearing a southern
course, and terminating in a bason, several miles east
of lake George, called the South bay. The third is by
ascending the Wood creek, a shallow stream about one
hundred feet broad, which, coming from the southeast,
empties itself into the south branch of the lake Cham-
plain.

The place, where these routes meet, on the banks of
Hudson's river, is called the carrying place. Here fort
Lyman, since called fort Edward, is built ; but fort
William Henry, a much stronger garrison, was erected
at the south end of lake George, after the repulse of the
French forces under the command of baron Dieskau, on
the 8th of September, 1755. General Shirley thought
it more advisable to strengthen fort Edward in the con-
currence of three routes, than to erect the other at lake
George, seventeen miles to the northward of it ; and

* In the passage from Albany to fort Edward, the whole land car-
riage is about twelve or thirteen miles.

•3 1 2 History of New- York.

wrote a very pressing letter upon that head to sir Wil-
liam Johnson, who then commanded the provincial
troops.

The banks of Hudson's river are, for the most part,
rocky cliffs, especially on the western shore. The pas-
sage through the highlands affords a wild romantick
scene, for sixteen miles, through steep and lofty moun-
tains. The tide flows a few miles above Albany. The
navigation is safe, and performed in sloops of about
forty or fifty tons burden, extremely well accommodat-
ed to the river. About sixty miles above the city of
New-York the water is fresh, and in wet seasons much
lower. The river is stored with a variety of fish, which
renders a summer's passage to Albany, exceedingly di-
verting to such as are fond of angling.

The advantages of this river for penetrating into Can-
ada, and protecting the southern colonies from the ir-
ruptions of the French, by securing the command of
the lakes, and cutting off the communication between
the French settlements on St. Lawrence and the Mis-
sisippi, though but lately attended to, must be vqry ap-
parent to every judicious observer of the maps of the
inland part of North America.

The French, as appears from the intended invasion,
in 1689, have long eyed the English possession of this
province with jealousy ; and it becomes us to fall upon
every method for its protection and defence.

The singular conveniency of Hudson's river to this
province, in particular, was so fully shewn in one of the
late papers, published in 1753, under the title of the In-
dependent Reflector, that I cannot help reprinting the
passage relating to it.

History of New-York. 313

" High roads, which, in most trading countries, are
extremely expensive, and a\yake a continual attention
for their reparation, demand, from us, comparatively
speaking, scarce any publick notice at all. The whole
province is contained in two narrow oblongs, extending
from the city east and north, having water carriage from
the extremity of one, and from the distance of one hun-
dred and sixty miles of the other ; and, by the most ac^
curate calculation, has not, at a medium, above twelve
miles of land carriage, throughout its whole extent.
This is one of the strongest motives to the settlement of
a new country, as it affords the easiest arid most speedy
conveyance from tlie remotest distances, and at the low-
est expense. The effects of this advantage are greater
than we usually observe, and are therefore not suffi-
ciently admired.

" The province of Pennsylvania, has a fine soil, and,
through the importation of Germans, abounds with in-
habitants ; but being a vast inland country, its produce
must, of consequence, be brought to a market over a
great extent of ground, and all by land carriage. Hence
it is, that Philadelphia is crouded with waggons, carts,
horses, and their drivers : a stranger, at his first entrance,
would imagine it to be a place of traffick, beyond any one
town in the colonies ; while at New- York, in particular,
to which the produce of the country is all brought by
water, there is more business, at least, business of profit,
though with less show and appearance. JNot a boat in
our river is navigated with more than two or three men
at most ; and these are perpetually coming in from, and
returning to, all parts of the adjacent country, in the
same employments that fill the city of Philadelphia
with some hundreds of men, who, in respect to the pub*

40

314 History of New-York.

lick advantage, may justly be said to be laboriously idle :
for, let any one nicely compute the expense of a wag-
gon, with its tackling ; the time of two men in attend-
ing it ; their maintenance ; four horses and the charge
of their provender, on a journey of one, though they of-
ten come, two hundred miles ; and he will find these
several particulars amount to a sum far from being in-
considerable. All this time the New-York farmer is in
the course of his proper business, and the unincumbered
acquisitions of his calling ; for, at a medium, there is
scarce a farmer in the province, that cannot transport
the fruits of a year's labour, from the best farm, in three
days, at a proper season, to some convenient landing,
where the market will be to his satisfaction, and all the
wants from the merchant, cheaply supplied : besides
which, one boat shall steal into the harbour of New-
York, with a lading of more burden and value, than
forty waggons, one hundred and sixty horses, and eigh-
ty men, into Philadelphia ; and perhaps with less noise,
bluster, or show than one.

" Prodigious is the advantage we have in this article
alone, I shall not enter into an abstruse calculation, to
evince the exact value of it, in all the lights in which it
may be considered ; thus much is certain, that barely
on account of our easy carriage, the profits of farming,
with us, exceed those in Pennsylvania, at least by thirty
per cent, and th ;t difference, in favour of our farmers,
is of itself sufficient to enrich the n ; while the others
find the disadvantage they are exposed to, so heavy, (es-
pecially the remote inhabitants of their country) that a
bi re subsistence is all they can reasonably hope to ol>
taiu. Take this province through* ut, the expense of
transporting a bushel of wheat, is but two pence, for the

History of New- York. 315

distance of one hundred miles ; but the same quantity
at the like distance in Pennsylvania, will always exceed
us one shilling at least. The proportion between us, hi
the conveyance of every thing else, is nearly the same.
How great, then, are the incuinbrances to which they
are exposed ! what an immense charge is saved to us |
how sensible must the embarrassments, they are subject
to, be to a trading people !"

RICHMOND

COUNTY consists of Staten Island, which lies nine miles
southwestward from the city of New-York. It is about
eighteen miles long, and at a medium six or seven in
breadth. On the south side is a considerable tract of
good level land, but the island is, in general, rough, and
the hills high. The inhabitants are principally Dutch
and French. The former have a church, but the latter,
having been long without a minister, resort to an epis-
copal church in Richmond town, a poor mean village
and the only one on the island. The parson of the pa-
rish receives 407. per annum, raised by a tax upon the
county.

Southward of the main coast of this and the colony
of Connecticut, lies Long Island, called, by the Indians,
Matowracs, and named, according to an act of assembly
in king William's reign, Nassau. Its length is comput-
ed at one hundred and twenty miles, arid the mean
breadth twelve. The lands on the north and south side
are good, but in the middle sandy and barren. The
southern shore is fortified against any invasion from the
sea by a beach inaccessible to ships, and rarely to be
approached, even by the smallest long boats, on account
of the surge, which breaks upon it with great fury, even

316 .History of Men-York,

when the winds are light. The coast east and west ad-
mits of regular soundings far into the ocean, and as the
lands are, in general, low for several hundred miles,
nothing can be more advantageous to our ships, than
the high lands of Neversink, near the entrance at the
Hook, which are scarce six miles in length, and often
seen thirty leagues from the sea. This island affords
the finest roads in America, it being very level and but
indifferently watered. It is divided into three counties.

KING'S

COUNTY lies opposite to New-York, on the north
side of Long Island. The inhabitants are all Dutch,
and enjoying a good soil, near our markets, are, gene-
rally, in easy circumstances. The county, which is
very small, is settled in every part, and contains several
pleasant villages, viz. Bush wick, Brooklyn, Bedford,
TTatbush, Flatlands, New-Eutrecht, and Gravesend.

QUEEN'S

COUNTY is more extensive, and equally well settled.
The principal towns are Jamaica, Hempstead, Flushing,
New town and Oysterbay. Hempstead plain is a large,
level, dry, champaign heath, about sixteen miles long,
•and six or seven wide, a common land belonging to
the towns of Oysterbay and Hempstead. The inhabi-
tants are divided into Dutch and English presbyterians,
episcopalians and quakers.

There are but two episcopal missionaries in this
county, one settled at Jamaica, and the other at Hemp-
stead : and each of them receives 60/. annually, levied
tipon all the inhabitants

History of Nen-York: 317

SUFFOLK

INCLUDES all the eastern part of Long Island, Shelter
Island, Fisher's Island, Plumb Island, and .the Isle of
White. This large county has been long settled, and,
except one small episcopal congregation, consists en-
tirely of English presbyterians. Its principal towns are
Huntington, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Southampton,
Southhold, and Easthampton. The farmers are, for the
most part, graziers ; and, living very remote from New-
York, a great part of their produce is carried t9 mar-
kets in Boston and Rhode Island. The Indians, who
were formerly numerous on this island, are now be-
come very inconsiderable. Those that remain, gene-
rally bind themselves servants to the English. The
whale fishery, on the south side of the island, has de-
clined of late years, through the scarcity of whales, and
is now almost entirely neglected.

The Elizabeth islands, Nantucket, Martin's Vine-
yard, &c. and Pemy Quid, which anciently formed
Duke's, and the county of Cornwal, are now under the
jurisdiction of Massachusetts Bay. Sir William Phips
demanded them of governour Fletcher, in February,
1692-3, not long after the new charter to that pro-
rince : but the government here was then of opinion
that that colony was not entitled to any islands west-
ward of Nantucket.

An estimate of the comparative wealth of our coun-
ties may be formed from any of our assessments. In
10,000/. part of a 45,000/. tax, laid in 1755, the propor-
tions, settled by an act of assembly, stood thus :
New- York, />3,332 0 0

Albany, 1,060 0 0

King's, 484 0 0

318 History of Nerv-York.

Queen's, 1,000 0 0

Suffolk, 860 0 0

Richmond, 304 0 0

Westcliester, 1,000 0 0

Ulster, 860 0 0

Dutchess, 800 0 0

Orange, 300 0 0

L 10,000 0 0

CHAPTER II.

Of the Inhabitants.

THIS province is not so populous as some have ima-
gined. Scarce a third part of it is under cultivation.
The colony of Connecticut, which is vastly inferiour to
this in its extent, contains, according to a late authen-
tic k enquiry, above 133,000 inhabitants, and has a mi-
litia of 27,000 men ; but the militia of New-York, ac-
cording to the general estimate, does not exceed 18,000.
The whole number of souls is computed at 100,000.

Many have been the discouragements to the settle-
ment of this colony. The French and Indian irrup-
tions, to which we have always been exposed, have dri-
ven many families into New-Jersey. At home, the
British acts for the transportation of felons, have
brought all the American colonies into discredit with
the industrious and honest poor, both in the kingdoms
of Great Britain and Ireland. The mischievous tenden-
cy of those laws was shewn in a late paper, which it-
may not be improper to lay before the reader.1*

* The Independent Reflector.

History of New- York. 319

cc It is too well known that in pursuance of divers
acts of parliament, great numbers of fellows who have
forfeited their lives to the publick, for the most atrocious
crimes, are annually transported from home to these
plantations. Very surprising, one would think, that
thieves, burglars, pickpockets, and cut purses, and a
herd of the most flagitious banditti upon earth, should
be sent as agreeable companions to us ! that the su-
preme legislature did intend a transportation to Ame-
rica, for a punishment of these villains, I verily believe :
but so great is the mistake, that confident I am, they are
thereby, on the contrary, highly rewarded. For what,
in God's name, can be more agreeable to a penurious
wretch, driven, through necessity, to seek a livelihood
by breaking of houses, and robbing upon the king's
highway, than to be saved from the halter, redeemed
from the stench of a gaol, and transported, passage free,
into a country, where, being unknown, no man can re-
proach him with his crimes ; where labour is high, a lit-
tle of which will maintain him ; and where all his ex-
penses will be moderate and low. There is scarce a
thief in England that would not rather be transported
than hanged. Life in any condition, but that of extreme
misery, will be preferred to death. As long, therefore,
as there remains this wide door of escape, the number
of thieves and robbers at home, will perpetually multi-
ply and their depredations be incessantly reiterated.

" But the acts were intended for the better peopling
the colonies. And will thieves and murderers be con-
ducive to that end ? what advantage can we reap from
a colony of unrestrainable renegadoes ? will they exalt
the glory of thv crown ? or rather, will not the digni y
of tiie most illustrious monarch in the world, be sullied

320 History of New-York.

by a province of subjects so lawless, detestable, and ig-
nominious? can agriculture be promoted, when the mid
boar of the forest breaks down our hedges and pulls up
our vines ? will trade flourish, or manufactures be en-
couraged, where property is made the spoil of such who
are too idle to work, and wicked enough to murder and
steal ?

" Besides, are we not subjects of the same king, with
the people of England ; members of the same body po-
litick, and therefore entitled to equal privileges with
them ? if so, how injurious does it seem to free one part
of the dominions from the plagues of mankind, and cast
them upon another ? should a law be proposed to take
the poor of one parish, and billet them upon another,
would not all the world, but the parish to be relieved,
exclaim against such a project, as iniquitous and ab-
surd ? should the numberless villains of London and
Westminster be suffered to escape from their prisons,
to range at large and depredate any other part of the
kingdom, would not every man join with the sufferers,
and condemn the measure as hard and unreasonable ?
and though the hardships upon us, are indeed not equal
to those, yet the miseries that flow from laws, by no
jneans intended to prejudice us, are too heavy, not to
be felt. But the colonies nlust be peopled. Agreed :
and will the transportation acts ever have that tenden-
cy ? no, they work the contrary way, and counteract
their own design. We want people, 'tis true, but not
villains ready, at any time, encouraged by impunity, and
habituated upon the slightest occasions, to cut a man's
throat, for a small part of his property. The delights
of such company, is a noble inducement, indeed, to the
honest poor, to convey themselves into a strange coun-

History of New-York. 321

try. Admidst all our plenty, they will have enough to
exercise their virtues, and stand in no need of the asso-
ciation of such as will prey upon their property, and
gorge themselves with the blood of the adventurers.
They came over in search of happiness ; rather than
starve, will live any where, and would be glad to be ex-
cused from so afflicting an antepart of the torments of
hell. In reality, sir, these very laws, though otherwise
designed, have turned out, in the end, the most effectual
expedients, that the art of man could have contrived, to
prevent the settlement of these remote parts of the king's
dominions. They have actually taken away almost ev-
ery encouragement to so laudable a design. I appeal
to facts. The body of the English are struck with ter-
rour at the thought of coming over to us, not because
they have a vast ocean to cross, or leave behind them
their friends ; or that the country is new and unculti-
vated : but from the shocking ideas, the mind must ne^
cessarily form of the company of inhuman savages, and
the more terrible herd of exiled malefactors. There
are thousands of honest men, labouring in Europe, at
four pence a day, starving in spite of all their efforts, a
dead weight to the respective parishes to which they be-
long ; who, without any other qualifications than com-
mon sense, health, and strength, might accumulate
estates among us, as many have done already. These,
and not the others, are the men that should be sent over,
for the better peopling the plantations. * Great Britain
and Ireland, in their present circumstances, are over-
stocked with them ; and he who would immortalize
himself, for a lover of mankind, should concert a scheme
for the transportation of the industriously honest abroad
and the immediate punishment of rogues and plunderers

41

322 History of New-York.

at home. The pale faced, half clad, meagre, and starv-
ed skeletons, that are seen in every village of those
kingdoms, call loudly for the patriot's generous aid.
The plantations too would thank him for his assistance,
in obtaining the repeal of those laws, which, though
otherwise intended by the legislature, have so unhappi-
ly proved injurious to his own country, and ruinous to
us. It is not long since a bill passed the commons for
the employment of such criminals in his majesty's
docks, as should merit the gallows. The design was
good. It is consistent with sound policy, that all those,
who have forfeited their liberty and lives to their coun-
try, should be compelled to labour the residue of their
days in its service. But the scheme was bad, and wisely
was the bill rejected by the lords, for this only reason,
that it had a natural tendency to discredit the king's
yards : the consequences of which must have been pre-
judicial to the whole nation. Just so ought we to reason
in the present case, and we should then soon be brought
to conclude, that though peopling the colonies, which
was the laudable motive of the legislature, be expedient
to the publick ; abrogating the transportation laws
must be equally necessary."

The bigotry and tyranny of some of our governours,
together with the great extent of their grants, may also
be considered among the discouragements against the
full settlement of the province. Most of these gentle-
men, coming over with no other view than to raise their
own fortunes, issued extravagant patents, charged with
small quitrents, to such as were able to serve them in
assembly : and these patentees, being generally men of
estates, have rated their lands so exorbitantly high, that
very few poor persons could either purchase or lease

History of New-York. 323

them. Add to all these, that the New-England plant-
ers have always been disaffected to the Dutch, nor was
th ore, after the surrender, any foreign accession from
the Netherlands. The province being thus poorly in-
habited, the price of labour became so enormously en-
hanced, that we have been constrained to import ne-
groes from Africa, who are employed in all kinds of
servitude and trades.

English is the most prevailing language among us,
but not a little corrupted by the Dutch dialect, which
is still so much used, in some counties, that the sheriffs
find it difficult to obtain persons sufficiently acquainted
with the English tpngue, to serve as jurors in the courts
of law.

The manners of the people differ, as well as their
language. In Suffolk and Queen's county, the first set-
tl : >-s of which were either natives of England, or the
immediate descendants of such as began the plantations
in the eastern colonies, their customs are similar to
those prevailing in the English counties, from whence
th?y originally sprang. In the city of New- York,
through our intercourse with Europeans, we follow the
London fashions ; though, by the time we adopt them,
they become disused in England. Our affluence, dur-
ing the late war, introduced a degree of luxury in ta-
bles, dress and furniture, with which we were before
unacquainted. But still we are not so gay a people as
our neighbours at Boston, and several of the southern
colonies. The Dutch counties, in some measure, follow
the example of New-York, but still retain many modes
peculiar to Hollanders.

The city of New- York consists principally of mer-
chants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, who sustain the.

324 History of New-York.

reputation of honest, punctual and fair dealers. With
respect to riches, there is not so great an inequality
among us, as is common in Boston, arid some other
places. Every man of industry and integrity has it in
his power to live well, and many are the instances of
persons, who came here distressed by their poverty,
who now enjoy easy and plentiful fortunes.

New7- York is one of the most social places on the
continent. The men collect themselves into weekly
evening clubs. The ladies, in winter, are frequently
entertained either at conceits of musick or assemblies,
and make a very good appearance. They are comely,
and dress well ; and scarce any of them have distorted
shapes. Tinctured with a Dutch education, they ma-
nage their families with becoming parsimony, good pro-
vidence, and singular neatness. The practice of extra-
vagant gaming, common to the fashionable part of the
fair sex, in some places, is a vice with which my coun-
trywomen cannot justly be charged. There is nothing
they so generally neglect as reading, and, indeed, all
the arts for the improvement of the mind, in which, I
confess, we have set them the example. They are mo-
dest, temperate, and charitable ; naturally sprightly,
sensible, and good humoured ; and, by the help of a
more elevated education, would possess all the accom-
plishments desirable in the sex. Our schools are in the
lowest order ; the instructors want instruction, and
through a long, shameful neglect of all the arts and
sciences, our common speech is extremely corrupt ;
and the evidences of a bad taste, both as to thought and
language, are visible in all our proceedings, publick
and private.

History of New- York. 325

The people, both in town and country, are sober, in-
dustrious, and hospitable, though intent upon gain.
The richer sort keep very plentiful tables, abounding
with great varieties of flesh, fish, fowl, and all kinds
of vegetables. The common drinks are beer, cider,
weak punch, and Madeira wine. For desert, we have
fruits in vast plenty, of different kinds and various spe-
cies.

Gentlemen of estates rarely reside in the country,
arid hence few or no experiments have yet been made
in agriculture. The farms being large, our husband-
men, for that reason, have little recourse to art for ma-
nuring and improving their lands; but it is said, that na-
ture has furnished us with sufficient helps, whenever
necessity calls us to use them. It is much owing to the
disproportion between the number of our inhabitants,
and the vast tracts remaining still to be settled, that we
have not, as yet, entered upon scarce any other manu-
factures, than such as are indispensably necessary for
our home convenience- Felt making, which is perhaps
the most natural of any we could fall upon, was begun
some years ago, and hats were exported to the West
Indies with great success, till lately prohibited by an
act of parliament.

The inhabitants of this colony are in general healthy
and robust, taller, but shorter lived, than Europeans,
and, both with respect to their minds and bodies, arrive
sooner to an age of maturity. Breathing a serene, dry,
air, they are more sprightly in their natural tempers
than the people of England, and hence instances of sui-
cide are here very uncommon. The history of our dis-
eases belongs to a profession with which I am very lit-
tle acquainted. Few physicians amongst us are emi-

326 Hislory of New- York.

nent for their skill. Quacks abound like locusts iii
Egypt, and too many have recommended themselves to
a full practice and profitable subsistence. This is the
less to be wondered at, as the profession is under no kind
of regulation. Loud as the call is, to our shame be it
remembered, we have no law to protect the lives of the
king's selects, from the malpractice of pretenders.
Any man, at his pleasure, sets up for physician, apoth-
ecary, and chirurgeon. No candidates are either exam-
ined or licensed, or even sworn to fair practice.* The
natural history of this province would of itself furnish
a small volume, and therefore I leave this also to such
as have capacity and leisure to make useful observations
in that curious and entertaining branch of natural phi-
losophy.

CHAPTER III.

Of our Trade.

THE situation of New-York, with respect to foreign
markets, for reasons elsewhere assigned, is to be pre-
ferred to any of our colonies. It lies in the centre of
the British plantations on the continent, has at all times
a short, easy access to the ocean, and commands almost
the whole trade of Connecticut and New-Jersey, two
fertile and well cultivated colonies. The projection of
cape Cod into the Atlantick, renders the navigation
from the former to Boston, at some seasons, extremely

* The necessity of regulating the practice of physic, and a plan for
that purpose, were strongly recommended by the author of the Inde-
pendent Reflector, in 1753, when the city of New-York alone boasted
the honour of having above forty gentlemen of that faculty.

History of Neiv-York.

perilous ; and sometimes the coasters are driven off,
and compelled to winter in the West Indies. But the
conveyance to New-York from the eastward, through
the sound, is short, and unexposed to such dangers.
Philadelphia receives as little advantage from New-
Jersey, as Boston from Connecticut, because the only
rivers which roll through that province disembogue not
many miles from the very city of New- York. Several
attempts have been made to raise Perth Amboy into a
trading port ; but hitherto it has proved to be an un-
feasible project. New- York, all things considered, has
a much better situation, and, were it otherwise, the city
has become too rich and considerable, to be eclipsed
by any other town in its neighbourhood.

Our merchants are compared to a hive of bees,
who industriously gather honey for others....ncm vobis
mellificatis apes. The profits of our trade centre chief-
ly in Great Britain, and, for that reason, methinks,
among others, we ought always to receive the generous
aid and protection of our mother country. In our traf-
fick with other places, the balance is almost constantly
in our favour. Our exports to the West Indies are
bread, peas, rye meal, Indian corn, apples, onions,
boards, staves, horses, sheep., butter, cheese, pickled
oysters, beef, and pork. Flour is also a main article, of
which there is shipped about eighty thousand barrels
per annum. To preserve the credit of this important
branch of our staple, we have a good law, appointing
officers to inspect and brand every cask before its ex-
portation. The returns are chiefly rum, sugar, and mo-
lasses, except cash from Curacoa, and when mules,
from the Spanish main, are ordered to Jamaica, and
the Windward Islands, which are generally exchang-

328 History of Ncn-YorL

ed for their natural produce, for we receive but lit-
tle cash from our own islands. The balance against
them would be much more in our favour, if the in-
dulgence to our sugar colonies, did not enable them
to sell their produce at a higher rate than either the
Dutch or French islands.

The Spaniards commonly contract for provisions,
with merchants in this and the colony of Pennsylva-
nia, very much to the advantage both of the con-
tractors and the publick, because the returns are
wholly in cash. Our wheat, flour, Indian corn, and
lumber shipped to Lisbon and Madeira, balance the
Madeira wine imported here.

The logwood trade to the bay of Honduras is very
considerable, and was pushed by our merchants with
great boldness in the most dangerous times. The ex-
portation of flax seed to Ireland is of late very much
increased. Between the 9th of December 1755, and
the 23d of February following, we shipped off twelve
thousand five hundred and twenty-eight hogsheads. In
return for this article, linens are imported and bills of
exchange drawn in favour- of England, to pay for the
dry goods we purchase there. Our logwood is remit-
ted to the English merchants for the same purpose.

The fur trade, though, very much impaired by the
French wiles and encroachments, ought not to be pass-
ed over in silence/* The} building of Oswego has con-

* It is computed that formerly we exported one hundred and fifty
hogsheads of beaver aad other fine furs, per annum, and two hundred
hogshead? of Indian dressed < leer skms, besides those carried from
Albany into New-England. S kins undressed are usually shipped to
Holland.

History of New-York. 329

duced, more than any thing else, to the preservation of
tliis trade. Peltry of all kinds is purchased with rum,
ammunition, blankets, strouds, and wampum, or conque
shell bugles. The French fur trade, at Albany, was
carried on till the summer, 1755, by the Caghnuaga
proselytes ; and in return for their peltry, they receiv-
ed Spanish pieces of eight, and some other articles
which the French want to complete their assortment of
Indian goods. For the savages prefer the English
strouds to theirs, and the French found it their interest
to purchase them of us, and transport them to the
western Indians on the lakes Erie, Huron, and at the
.streight of Misilimakinac.

Our importation of dry goods from England is so
vastly great, that we are obliged to betake ourselves to
all possible arts, to make remittances to the British mer-
chants. It is for this purpose we import cotton from St.
Thomas's and Surinam ; lime juice and Nicaragua wood
from Curacoa ; and logwood from the bay, &c. and yet
it drains us of all the silver and gold we can collect.
It is computed that the annual amount of the goods
purchased by this colony in Great Britain, is in value
not less than 100,000/. sterling ; and the sum would be
much greater if a stop was put to all clandestine trade.
England is, doubtless, entitled to all our superfluities ;
because our general interests are closely connected, and
her navy is our principal defence. On this account, the
trade with Hamburgh and Holland for duck, chequered
linen, oznabrigs, cordage, and tea, is certainly, upont<e
whole, impolitick and unreasonable ; how much soever
it may conduce to advance the interest of a few mer-
chants, or this particular colony.

42

330 .History of New-York.

"

By what measures this contraband trade may be ef-
fectually obstructed is hard to determine, though it well
deserves the attention of a British parliament. Increas-
ing the number of custom house officers, will be a re-
medy worse than the disease. Their salaries would be
an additional charge upon the publick ; for if we argue
from their conduct, we ought not to presume upon their
fidelity. The exclusive right of the East India compa-
ny to import tea, while the colonies purchase it of fo-
reigners thirty per cent, cheaper, must be very prejudi-
cial to the nation. Our people, both in town and country,
are shamefully gone into the habit of tea drinking ;
and it is supposed we consume of this commodity in
value near 10,OOOZ. sterling per annum.

Some are of opinion that the fishery of sturgeons,
which abound in Hudson's river, might be improved to
the great advantage of the colony ; and that, if proper
measures were concerted, much profit would arise from
ship building and naval stores. It is certain we have
timber in vast plenty, oak, white and black pines, fir,,
locust, red and white mulberry, and cedar ; and per-
haps there is no soil on the globe, fitter for the produc-
tion of hemp than the low lands in the county of Alba-
ny. To what I have already said concerning iron ore,
a necessary article, I shall add an extract from the In-
dependent Reflector.

" It is generally believed that this province abounds
with a variety of minerals. Of iron, in particular,
\ve have such plenty, as to be excelled by no country
in the world, of equal extent. It is a metal of intrin-
sick value beyond any other, and preferable to the pur-
est gold. The former is converted into numberless
forms, for as many indispensable uses ; the latter, for

History of New- York. 331

its portableness and scarcity, is only fit for a medium of
trade : but iron is a branch of it, and, I am persuaded,
will, one time or other, be one of the most valuable ar-
ticles of our commerce. Our annual exports to Bos-
ton, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and, since the late
act of parliament, to England, are far from being in-
considerable. The bodies of iron ore, in the northern
parts of this province, are so many, their quality so
good, and their situation so convenient, in respect of
wood, water, hearth stone, proper fluxes, and carriage,
for furnaces, bloomeries, and forges, that with a little
attention, we might very soon rival the Swedes in the
produce of this article. If any American attempts in
iron works have proved abortive, and disappointed their
undertakers, it is not to be imputed either to the quali-
ty of the ore, or a defect of conveniences. The want
of more workmen, and the villainy of those we general-
ly have, are the only causes to which we must attribute
such miscarriages. No man, who has been concerned
in them, will disagree with me, if I assert, that from the
founder of the furnace to the meanest banksman, or
jobber, they are usually low, profligate, drunken, and
faithless. And yet, under all the innumerable disad-
vantages of such instruments, very large estates have,
in this way, been raised in some of our colonies. Our
success, therefore, in the iron manufactory, is obstruct-
ed and discouraged by the want of workmen, and the
high price of labour, its necessary consequence, and by
these alone ; but 'tis our happiness, that such only be-
ing the cause, the means of redress are entirely in our
own hands. Nothing more is wanting to open a vast
fund of riches to the province, in this branch of trade,
than the importation of foreigners. If our merchants and

332 History of New-York.

landed gentlemen could be brought to a coalition
this design, their private interests would not be better
advanced by it, than the publick emolument ; the lat-
ter, in particular, would thereby vastly improve their
lands, increase the number and raise the rents of their
tenants. And I cannot hut think, that if those gentle-
men, who are too inactive to engage in such an enter-
prise, would only be at the pains of drawing up full
representations of their advantages for iron works, and
of publishing them, from time to time, in Great Britain,
Ireland, Germany, and Sweden ; the province would
soon be supplied with a sufficient number of capable
workmen in all the branches of that manufactory.'*

The money used in this province is silver, gold, Bri-
tish halfpence, and bills of credit. To counterfeit
either of them is felony without benefit of clergy ; but
none, except the latter, and Lyon dollars, are a legal
tender. Twelve halfpence, till lately, passed for a
shilling ; which being much beyond their value in any
of the neighbouring colonies, the assembly, in 1753,
resolved to proceed, at their next meeting, after the
first of May ensuing, to the consideration of a method
for ascertaining their value. A set of gentlemen, in
"number seventy-two, took the advantage of the discre-
dit that resolve put upon copper halfpence, and on the
22d of December, subscribed a paper, engaging not to
receive or pass them, except at the rate of fourteen
coppers to a shilling. This gave rise to a mob, for a
few days, among the lower class of people ; but some
of them being imprisoned, the scheme was carried into
execution, and established in every part of the province,
without the aid of a law. Our paper bills, which are
issued to serve the exigencies of the government, were

in

History of New- York. 33$

at first equal to an ounce of silver, then valued at eight
.shillings. Before the late Spanish war, silver and gold
were in great demand, to make remittances for Euro-
pean goods, and then the bills sunk, an ounce of silver
being worth nine shillings and three pence. During
the war, the credit of our bills was well supported, part-
ly by the number of prizes taken by our privateers, and
the high price of our produce abroad ; and partly by
the logwood trade and the depreciation of the New-
England paper money, which gave ours a free circula-
tion through the eastern colonies. Since the war, sil-
ver has been valued at about nine shillings and two
pence an ounce, aud is doubtless fixed there, till our
imports exceed what we export. To assist his majesty
for removing the late encroachments of the French, we
have issued 80,OOOZ. to be sunk in short periods, by a
tax on estates real and personal ; and the whole amount
of our paper currency is thought to be about 160,000/.
Never was the trade of this province in so flourish-
ing a condition, as at the latter end of the late French
war. Above twenty privateers were often out of this
port, at a time ; and they were very successful in their
captures. Provisions, which are our staple, bore a high
price in the West Indies. The French, distressed
through a want of them, gladly received our flags of
truce, though sometimes they had but one or two pri-
soners on board, because they were always loaded with
fl=»ur, beef, pork, and such like commodities. The dan-
ger their own vessels were exposed to, induced them to
sell their sugars to us at a very low rate. A trade was,
at the same time, carried on between Jamaica and the
Spanish Main, which opened a fine market to the north-
ern colonies, and the returns were, principally, in cash.

334 History of New- York.

It was generally thought, that if the war had continued
the greatest part of the produce of the Spanish and
French settlements in the West Indies would have been
transported to Great Britain, through some one or oth-
er of her colonies ; whence we may fairly argue their
prodigious importance.

The provincial laws relating to our trade are not
very numerous. Those concerned in them, may have
recourse to the late edition of our acts at large, pub-
lished in 1752 ; and for this reason, I beg to be excused
from exhibiting an unentertaining summary of them in
this work.

CHAPTER IV.

Of our Religious Slate.

BY the account already given, of the rise and pro-
gress of the acts for settling a ministry in four counties,
and the observations made concerning our various
Christian denominations, I have, in a great measure, an-
ticipated what I at first intended to have ranged under
this head.

The principal distinctions among us, are the episco-
palians, and the Dutch and English presbyterians ; the
two last, together with all the other protestants in the
colony, are sometimes (perhaps here improperly) called
by the general name of dissenters ; and, compared to
them, the episcopalians are, I believe, scarce in the pro-
portion of one to fifteen. Hence partly arises the gen-
eral discontent on account of the ministry acts ; not so
much that the provision made by them is engrossed by
the minor sect, as because the body of the people, are

History of New-York: 335

for an equal, universal, toleration of protestants, and
utterly averse to any kind of ecclesiastical establish-
ment. The dissenters, though fearless of each other, are
all jealous of the episcopal party, being apprehensive
that the countenance they may have from home, will
foment a lust for dominion, and enable them, in process
of time, to subjugate and oppress their fellow subjects.
The violent measures of some of our governours have
given an alarm to their fears, and if ever any other gen-
tleman, who may be honoured with the chief command
of the province, begins to divert himself, by retrench-
ing the privileges and immunities they now enjoy, the
confusion of the province will be the unavoidable con-
sequence of his folly. For though his majesty has no
other subjects upon whose loyalty he can more firmly
depend, yet an abhorrence of persecution, under any of
its appearances, is so deeply rooted in the people of
this plantation ; that as long as they continue their
numbers and interest in the assembly, no attempt will
probably be made upon the rights of conscience, with-
out endangering the publick repose.

Of the government of the Dutch churches, I have al-
ready given an account. As to the episcopal clergy,
they are missionaries of the English society for propa-
gating the gospel, and ordinarily ordained by the bi-
shop of London, who, having a commission from the king
to exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction, commonly ap-
points a clergyman here for his commissary. The min-
isters are called by the particular churches, and main-
tained by the voluntary contribution of their auditors
and the society's annual allowance, their being no law
for tithes.

336 Hislory of JS civ-York,

The English presbyterians are very numerous*
Those inhabiting New- York, New-Jersey, Pennsylva-
nia, and the three Delaware counties, are regularly
formed, after the manner of the church of Scotland, in-
to consistories or kirk sessions, presbyteries and synods,
and will probably soon join in erecting a general as-
sembly. The clergy are ordained by their fellows,
and maintained by their respective congregations, I
except those missionaries among the Indians, whose sub-
sistance is paid by the society in Scotland for propagat-
ing Christian knowledge. None of the presbyterian
churches in this province are incorporated, as is the case
of many in New-Jersey. Their judicatories are upon a
very proper establishment, for they have no authority
b\ legal sanctions to enforce their decrees. Nor indeed
is ctny religious sect, amongst us, legally invested with
powers prejudicial to the common privileges of the
rest. The dominion of all our clergy is, as it ought to
be, merely spiritual. The episcopalians, however, some-
times pretend, that the ecclesiastical establishment in
South Britain extends here ; but the whole body oftiie
dissenters are averse to the doctrine. The point has
been disputed with great fervour, and the sum of the
arguments against it is contained in a late paper, which
I shall lay before the reader, at large, without any ad-
ditional reflections.

It was published in September, 1753, under the title
of the Independent Reflector, and is in these words :

The arguments in support of an ecclesiastical esta-
blishment, in tliis province, impartially considered and
refuted :

History of New-York 337

Eripe turpi

Colla jugo : liber, liber sum, die age. Hor.

Whether the church of England is equally establish-
ed in the colonies, as in the southern parts of Great
Britain, is a question that has often been controverted.
Those who hold the affirmative, have drawn a long train
of consequences in favour of the episcopalians, taking
it for granted that the truth is on their side. The pres-
byterians, independents, congregationalists, anabaptists,
quakers, and all those among us, who, in England,
would fall under the general denomination of dissenters,
are warm in the negative. I beg leave, therefore, to
interpose in the debate ; and, as I promised in the in-
troduction to these papers, to vindicate the religious, as
well as civil rights and privileges of my countrymen ; I
shall devote this paper to a consideration of so impor-
tant a point : to which I am the more strongly inclined,
because such establishment has often been urged against
the scheme I have proposed for the constitution of our
college. My opinion is, that the notion of a general
religious establishment in this province, is entirely
groundless. According to the strict rules of controver-
sy, the onus probandi, or the burden of the proof, lies
upon those who affirm the position, and it would there-
fore be sufficient for me barely to deny it. I shall, ne-
vertheless, wave the advantage of this rule of the schools;
and, as becomes an impartial advocate for truth, pro-
ceed to state the arguments which are generally ur^vd
in support of an establishment. I shall then show their
insufficiency, and conclude with the paiticular reasons
upon which my opinion is founded.

They who assert that the church of England is esta-
blished in this province, never., that I have heai4 oft

43

338 History of New- York,

pretended that it owes its establishment to any provin-
cial law of our own making. Nor, indeed, is there the
least ground for such a supposition. The acts, that es-
tablish a ministry in this, and three other counties, do
not affect the whole colony ; and, therefore, can by no
means be urged in support of a general establishment.
IS'or were they originally designed to establish the epis-
copalians in preference or exclusion of any other pro-
testants in those counties to which they are limited.
But as the proposition is, that the establishment of the
church of England is equally binding here, as in Eng-
land ; so, agreeable thereto, the arguments they ad-
duce are the following :

First, That as we are an English colony, the constitu-
tional laws of our mother country, antecedent to the
legislature of our own, are binding upon us ; and there-
fore at the planting of this colony, the English religious
establishment immediately took place.

Secondly, That the act, which established the epis-
copal church in South Britain, previous to the union of
England and Scotland, extends to, and equally aflects,
all the colonies.

These are the only arguments that can be offered
with the least plausibility ; and if they are shown to be
inconclusive, the position is disproved, and the argu-
ments, of consequence, must be impertinent and ground-
less. I shall begin with the examination of the first :
and here it mut-t be confessed, for undoubted law, that
every new colony, till it has a legislature of its own, is,
in general, subject to the laws of the country from which
it originally sprang. But that all of them, without dis-
tinction, are to be supposed binding upon such planters,
is neither agreeable to law nor reason. The laws- which

History of New-York* 339

they carry with them, and to which they are subject,
are such as are absolutely necessary to answer the ori-
ginal intention of our entering into a state of society.
Such as are requisite, in their new colony state, for the
advancement of their and the general prosperity ; such,
without which they will neither be protected in their
lives, liberty, or property : and the true reason of their
b^ing consi lered, even subject to such laws, arises fro n
the absolute necessity of their being under some kind
of government, their supporting a colony relation and
dependence, and the evident fitness of their subject! >n
to the laws of their mother country, with which alone
they can be supposed to be acquainted. Even at this
day we ext°nd every general act of parliament which
we think reasonable and fit for us, though it was neither
designed to bo a law upon us, nor has words to include
us, and has even been enacted long since we had a le-
gislature of our own. This is a practice we have intro-
duced for our conveniericy ;* but that the E iglish
laws, so far as I have distinguished them, should be
binding upon us, antecedent to our having a legislature
of our own, is of absolute unavoidable necessity. But
no such necessity can be pretended in favour of the in-
troduction of any religious establishment whatsoever;
bei ause, it is evident that different societies do exist
with different ecclesiastical laws, or, which is sufficient
to my purpose, without such as the English establish-
ment ; and that civil society, as it is antecedent to any
ecclesiastical establishments, is in its nature unconnect-
ed with them, independent of them, and all social hap-
piness completely attainable without them.

* This practice is very dangerous, and is assuming little less than
a legislative authority.

349 History of New-York.

Secondly, To suppose all the laws of England, with*
out distinction, obligatory upon every new colony at
its implantation, is absurd, and would effectually pre-
vent the subjects from undertaking so hazardous an ad-
ventine. Upon such a supposition a thousand laws will
be introduced, inconsistent with the state of a new coun-
try, and destructive of the planters. To use the words
of the late attorney general, sir Du lley Ryder,* " It
would be acting the part of an unskilful physician, who
should pres'. ribe th^ same dosr to every patient, with-
out distinguishing the variety of distempers and con-
stituti ns." According to this doctrine, we are subject
to the payment of tithes ought to have a spiritual court,
and impoverished, as the first settlers of the province
must h ive been, they were yet liable to the payment
of the land tax. And had this been the sense of our
rulers, and their conduct conformable thereto, scarce
ever would our colonies have appeared in their present
flourishing condition ; especially if it be considered
that the first settlers of most of them, sought an exemp-
tion in these American wilds, from the establishment to
which "they were subject at home.

Thirdly, If the planters of every new colony carry
with them the established religion of ihe country from
•whence they migrate ; it follows, that if a colony had
been planted when the English nation were pagans, the
establishment in such col ny must be paganism alone :
and, in like manner, had this colony been planted while
popery was established in England, the religion of pa-
pists must Lave been our established religion ; and if it

* Afterwards lord chief justice of »he fcinir'e bench. These were his
vor<'s. in ail opinion against the exteiit of the statute ol frauds and
perjuries.

I fist or y of New-York. 341

is our duty to conform to the religion established at
home, we are equally bound, against conscience and
the Bible, to bo pagans, papists, or protestants, accord-
ing to the particular religion they shall please to adoot.
A doctrine that can never be urged, but with a very
ill grace indeed, by any protestant minister !

Fourthly, If the church of England is established in
this colony, it must either be founded on acts of parlii-
ment, or the common law. That it is not established
by the first, I shall prove in the sequel ; and that it can-
not be established by the co morion law, appears from
the following considerations.

The common law of England, properly defined, con-
sists of those general laws to which the English have
baen accustomed, from time whereof there is no mem-
ory to the contrary : and every law, deriving its v.ilid-
ity from such immemorial custom, must be carried
back as far as to the reign of Richard I. whose death
happened on the 6th of April, 1199. But the present
establishment of the church of England was not till the
fifth year of queen Anne. And hence it is apparent,
that the establishment of the church of England, can
never be argued from the common law even in Eng-
land ; nor could be any part of it, since it depends not
for its validity upon custom immemorial. And there-
fore, though it be admitted, that every English colony
is subject to the common law of the realm, it by no
means follows, that the church of England is established
in the colonies ; because, the common law knows of no
such religious establishment, nor considers any religious
establishment whatever, as any part of the English con-
stitution. It does, indeed, encourage religion ; but that,
and a particular church government, are things entirely
different.

342 History of New-York.

I proceed now to a consideration of the second argu-
ment insisted on, to prove an episcopal establishment
in the colonies, founded on the act which established
the church of England, passed in the fifth year of queen
Anne, recited and ratified in the act for an union of the
two kingdoms of England and Scotland. And that this
act does not establish the church of England in the col-
onies, has been so fully shown by Mr. Hobart,* in his
second address to the episcopal separation in New-Eng-
land, that I shall content myself with an extract from
the works of that ingenious gentleman, which, with
very little alteration, is as follows :

" The act we are now disputing about, was made in
the fifth year of queen Anne, and is entitled, an act for
securing the church of England, as by law established.
The occasion of the statute was this: the parliament in
Scotland, when treating of an union with England, were
apprehensive of its endangering their ecclesiastical es-
tablishment. Scotland was to have but a small share in
the legislature of Great Britain, but forty-five members
in the house of commons, which consists of above five
hundred, and but sixteen in the house of lords, which
then consisted of near an hundred, and might be increas-
ed by the sovereign at pleasure. The Scots, therefore,
to prevent having their ecclesiastical establishment re-
pealed in a British parliament, where they might be so
easily outvoted by the English members, passed an act,
previous to the union, establishing the presbyterian
church within the kingdom of Scotland, in perpetuity,
and made this act an essential and fundamental pail of
the union which might not be repealed, or altered by
any subsequent British parliament; and this put the

* A minister of one of tke churches at Fairfield, ia Connecticut.

History of New- York. 34$

English parliament upon passing 1liis act for securing
the church of England. Neither of them designed to
enlarge the bounds of their ecclesiastical constitution,
or extend their establishment farther than it reached be-
fore, but only to secure and perpetuate it in its then
present extent. This is evident, not only from the oc-
casion of the act, but from the charitable temper the
English parliament was under the influence of, when
they passed it. The lord North and Grey offered a
ri ier to be added to the bill for an union, viz. That it
mii{ht not extend to an approbation or acknowledgment
of the truth of the presby terian way of worship, or al-
lowing the religion *of the church of Scotland to be, what
it is styled, the true protestant religion. But this clause
was rejected. — A parliament that would acknowledge
the religion of the church of Scotland, to be the true
protestant religion, and allow their acts to extend to an
approbation of the presby terian way of worship, though
they might think it best to secure and perpetuate the
church of England within those bounds, wherein it was
before established, can hardly be supposed to have de-
signed to extend it beyond them.

" The title of the act is exactly agreeable to what we
have said of the design of it, and of the temper of the
parliament that passed it. 'Tis entitled, an act not for
enlarging, but for securing the church of England, and
that not in the American plantations, but as it is now by-
law established ; which plainly means no more than to
perpetuate it within its ancient boundaries.

" The provision made in the act itself, is well adapted
to this design ; for it enacts, that the act of the 13th of
Elizabeth, and the act of uniformity, passed in the 13th-
vear of Charles IL and all and singular, other acts of

314 History of New- York.

parliament then in force for the establishment and pre-
servation of the church of England, should remain in
full force for ever ; and that every succeeding sove-
reign should, at his coronation, take and subscribe an
oath to maintain and preserve inviolably the said settle-1
merit of the church of England, as by law established,
within the kingdoms of England and Ireland, the do-
minion of Wales, and town of Berwick upon Tweed*
ar-d the territories thereunto belonging. This act doth
not use such expressions, as would have been proper
and even necessary, had the design been to have made
a new establishment ; but only such as are proper to
ratify and confirm an old one. The settlement, which,
the king is sworn to preserve, is represented as existing
previously to the passing this ad, and i;ot as made by
it. The words of the oath are, to maintain and pre-
serve inviolably the said settlement. If it be asked,
what settlement ? The answer must be, a settlement
heretofore made and confirmed by certain statutes,
which for the greater certainty and security are enume-
rated in this act, and declared to be unalterable. This
is the settlement the king is sworn to preserve, and tris
settlement has no relation to us in America. For the
act, which originally made it, did not reach hither ; and
this act, which perpetuates them, does not extend them
to us."

It is a mistake to imagine, that the word territories
necessarily means these American colonies. " These
countries are usually in law, as well as other writings,
styled colonies or plantations, and not territories. An
instance of this we have in the charter to the society
for propagating the gospel in foreign parts." And it is
the invariable practice of the legislature, in ever} act

History of New-York. 345'

of parliament, both before and after this act, designed
to affect us, to use the words colonies, or plantations.
INior is it to be supposed, that, in so important a matter,
words of so direct and broad an intent would have been
omitted. " The islands of Jersey and Guernsey were
properly territories belonging to the kingdom of Eng-
land, before the union took place ; and they stand in
the same relation to the kingdom of Great Britain since.
The church of England was established in these islands,
and the legislature intended to perpetuate it in them, as
well as in England itself; so that as these islands were
not particularly named in the act, there was occasion to
use the word territories, even upon the supposition that
they did not design to make the establishment more ex-
tensive than it was before this law passed." Further,
in order to include the plantations in the word territo-
ries, we must suppose it always to mean every other
part of the dominions not particularly mentioned in the
instrument that uses it, which is a construction that can
never be admitted : for, hence it will follow, that those
commissions which give the government of a colony,
and the territories thereon depending in America (and
this is the case of every one of them) extend to all the
American colonies, and their governours must of con-
sequence have reciprocal superintendencies ; and should
any commission include the word territories generally,
unrestricted to America, by the same construction the
g vernour, therein mentioned, might exercise an author-
ity under it, not only in America, but in Africa and
the Indies, and even in the kingdom of Ireland, and,
perhaps, in the absence of the king, in Great Britain it-
self. Mr, Ho bait goes on, and argues against the eg-

44

346 History of New-York,

tablishment from the light in which the act of union ha?,
ever since it was passed, been considered.

" Dr. Bisse, bishop of Hereford, (says he) a member
of the society, preached the annual sermon, February
21, 1717, ten years after the act of union took place ;
and he says, it would have well become the wisdom
wherewith that great work (the reformation or esta-
blishment of the church of England) was conducted in
this kingdom, that this foreign enterprise (the settle-
ment of plantations in America) also should have been
carried on by the government in the like regular way.
But he owns the government at home did not interpose
in the case, or establish any form of religion for us. In
truth (says his lordship) the whole was left to the wis-
dom of the first proprietors, and to the conduct of every
private man. He observes, that of late years the civil
interest hath been regarded, and the dependence of the
colonies, on the imperial crown of the realm, secured :
but then, with regard to the religion of the plantations,
his lordship acknowledges, that the government itself
here at home, sovereign as it is, and invested doubtless
with sufficient authority there, hath not thought fit to
interpose in this matter, otherwise than in this charita-
ble way : it hath enabled us to ask the benevolence of
all good Christians towards the support of missionaries
to be sent among them. Thus bishop Bisse thought as
I do, and that the act of union nor any other law prior
thereto, did extend the establishment to the plantations ;
and if the society had not been of the same opinion,
they would hardly have printed and dispersed his ser-
mon. Neither did the civil rulers of the nation, who
may justly be supposed acquainted with its laws, think
the act of union, or any other law, established the church

History oj Ncrv-York. 347

of England in America. This is plain from the letter
of the lords justices to governour Dum ner, in the year
1725, almost twenty years after the union, wherein they
say, there is no regular establishment of any national
or provincial church in these plantations.

" If it be urged that the king's commission to the late
bishop of London, proves an ecclesiastical establishment
here, it is sufficient to answer, that his lordship was re-
markable for skill in the laws, so far as they relate to
ecclesiastical affairs, as appears from his codex ; and he
was of the contrary opinion ; for in his letter to Dr.
Colman, of May 24, 1735, he writes thus : my opinion
has always been, th^at the religious state of New Eng-
land is founded in an equal liberty to all protestants ;
none of which can claim the name of a national esta-
blishment, or any kind of superiority over the rest.
This opinion the bishop gave not only since the act of
union, but even seven years after he had received his
commission ; and surely it must be admitted that as he
had time enough to consider it, so he, of all others, best
understood it." Thus far Mr. Hobart. With respect
to the act of union, I beg leave only to subjoin, that it
is highly probable the Scotch parliament believed the
English intended to establish their church only in Eng-
land. For in the close of the act, by which they had
established the presbyterian church in Scotland, it is
declared, in these express words, " That the parliament
of England may provide for the security of the church
of England, as they think expedient, to take place with-
in the bounds of the said kingdom of England." And
whatever latitude the word kingdom has in common
speech, it, in a legal sense, is limited to England, pro-
perly so called, and excludes the plantations.

348 History of Nerv-Yorlc.

Nor can we suppose, that the church of England is
established in these colonies, by any acts prior to the
act of union above considered. For, besides the several
opinions, against such supposition, already adduced, it
i> unreasonable to imagine, that if there was any such
establishment, king Charles II. in direct repugnancy
thereto, should have made the grant of Pennsylvania,
and given equal privileges to all religi< ns in that | ro-
vince, without even excej ting the Roman catholicks ;
and that the colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut and
the Massachusetts' Bay, should be permitted to make
their provincial establishments, in opposition to an ante-
cedent establishment of the church of England, espe-
cially as the laws of the Massachusetts' Bay province,
are constantly sent home, and the king has the absolute
power of repealing every act he should think improper
to be continued as a law. Whoever, therefore, consi-
ders this, and that the king is sworn to preserve the
church of England establishment, must necessarily con-
clude, that whatever sentiments may obtain among the
episcopalians in America, our Kings and their councils
have always conceived that such establishment could
by no means be extended to us. As to Connecticut, all
the episcopalians of that colony, and even their minis-
ters, were legally compellable to contribute to an an-
nual tax for the support of the congregational clergy,
till of late they were favoured with a law which grai ts
them a privilege of exemption from that iniquitous and
unreasonable burden. But whether they are subject to
the like unchristian imposition in the other colonies
above mentioned, I am not sufficiently acquainted with
their laws to determine,"*

"* I believe there is no just cause for the complaints transmitted hy

History of New-York. 349

The thirteenth number of the Watch Tower publish-
ed at New- York, in 1755, espouses the same side with
the author of the Reflector, adds several new arguments
and the opinions of eminent counsel at law, and consi-
ders the force of what is advanced by the late Dr Doug-
lass, in favour of his position, that the religious state of
the American plantations is an universal toleration of
protestants of every denomination.

The clergy of this province are, in general, but in-lif-
ferently supported : it is true they live easily, but few
of them leave any thing to their children. The epis-
copal missionaries, for enlarging the sphere of their se*
cular business, notlnany years ago, attempted, by a pe-
tition to the late governour Clinton, to engross the pri-
vilege of solemnizing all marriages. A great clamour
ensued and the attempt was abortive. Before that time
the ceremony was even performed by justices of the
peace, and the judges at law have determined such mar-
riages to be legal. The governour's licenses now run
to " all protestant ministers of the gospel." Whether
the justices act still, when the bans are published in
our churches, which is customary only with the poor,
1 have not been informed. Marriage in a new country
ought to have the highest encouragements, and it is on
this account, perhaps, that ue have no provincial law
against such as are clandestine, though they often hap-
pen, and, in some cases, are attended with consequences
equally melancholy and mischievous.

the missionaries. Dr. Douelass assigns several instances of gross mis-
representations and fals< hoods. Vid. his Summary, 2d vol. p. 139.
Boston edt. 1753, aucl the Watch Tower, ISo. xli. published at JSew-
, in 1753.

35O History of New-York,

As to the number of our clergymen, it is large enough
at present, there being but few settlements unsupplied
with a ministry, and some super-abound. In matters of
religion we are not so intelligent, in general, as the in-
habitants of the New-England colonies; but both in this
respect and good morals, we certainly have the advan-
tage of the southern provinces. One of the king's in-
structions to our governours, recommends the investi-
gation of means for the conversion of negroes and In-
dians. An attention to both, especially the latter, has
been too little regarded. If the missionaries of the
English society for propagating the gospel, instead of
being seated in opulent Christianized towns, had been
sent out to preach among the savages, unspeakable po-
litical advantages would have flowed from such a salu-
tary measure. Dr. Douglass, a sensible, immethodical
writer, often incorrect, expects too much :* besides, he
treats the missionaries with rudeness and contempt, and
lashes their indolence with unmerciful acrimony.

CHAPTER V.

The Political State.

THIS colony, as a part of the king's dominions, is
subject to the controul of the British parliament ; but
its more immediate government is vested in a gover-
nour, council and general assembly.

* " Our young missionaries may procure a perpetual alliance and
commercial advantages with the Indians, which the Roman catholick
clergy cannot do, because they are forbid to marry. I mean our
missionaries may intermarry with the daughters of the sachems and
other considerable Indians, and their progeny will for ever be a cer-
tain cement between us and the Indians." Dougl. Sum. &«, vol. fi.
p. 138, Boston edt. 1753.

History of New-York: 351

The governours in chief, who are always appointed
by the king's commission, under the great seal of Great
Britain, enjoy a vast plenitude of power, as may be seen
in their patents, which are nearly the same. The fol-
lowing is a copy of that to the late sir Danvers Osborn.

GEORGE the second by the grace of God of Great
Britain France and Ireland king defender of the faith
and so forth. To our trusty and well beloved sir Dan-
vers Osborn baronet greeting Whereas we did by our
letters patent under our great seal of Great Britain
bearing date at Westminster the third day of July, in
the fifteenth year of our reign constitute and appoint
the honourable George Clinton esq. captain general and
governour in chief in and over our province of New-
York and the territories depending thereon in Ame-
rica for and during our will and pleasure as by the said
recited letters patent (relation being thereunto had)
may more fully and at large appear now know you that
we have revoked and determined and by these presents
do revoke and determine the said recited letters patent
and every clause article and thing therein contained
and further know you that we reposing especial trust
and confidence in the prudence courage and loyalty of
you the said sir Danvers Osborn of our especial grace
certain knowledge and meer motion have thought fit to
constitute and appoint you the said sir Danvers Osborn
to be our captain general and governour in chief in and
over our province of New- York and the territories de-
pending thereon in America and we do hereby require
and command you to do and execute all things in due
manner that shall belong unto your said command and
the trust we have reposed in you according to the seve-
ral powers and directions granted or appointed you by

35-2 History of New- York.

this present commission and the instructions herewith
given you or by such further powers instiuctions and
authorities as shall at any time hereafter be granted or
appointed you under our signet and sign manual or by
our order in our privy council and according to such
reasonable laws and statutes as now are in force or
hereafter shall be made and agreed upon by you with
the advice and consent of our council and the assembly
of our said province under your government in such
manner and form as is hereafter expressed and our will
and pleasure is that you the said sir Danvers Osborn af-
ter the publication of these our letters patent do in the
first place take the oaths appointed to be taken by an
act passed in the tirst year of our late royal father's
reign entitled an act for the further security of his ma-
jesty's person and government and the succession of the
crown in the heirs of the late princess Sophia being pro-
testants and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretend-
ed prince of Wales and his open and secret abettors as
also that you make and subscribe the declaration men-
tioned in an act of parliament made in the twenty-fifth
year of the reign of king Charles the second intituled
an act for preventing dangers which may happen from
popish recusants and likewise that you take the usual
oath for the due execution of the office and trust of our
captain general and governour in chief in and over our
said province of New-York and the territories depend-
ing thereon foi the due and impartial administration of
justice and further that you take the oath required to
be taken by governours of plantations to do their ut-
most that the several laws relating to trade and the
plantations be observed which said oaths and declarati )H
our council in our said province or any three of the

History of New-York. 353

members thereof have hereby full power and authority
and are required to tender and administer unto you and
in your absence to our lieutenant governour if there be
any upon the place all which being duly performed y^n
shall administer unto each of the members of our said
council as also to our lieutenant governour if there be
any upon the place the oaths mentioned in the said act
entituled an act for the further security of his majesty's
person and government and the succession of the crown
in the heirs of the late princess Sophia being protestants
and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince
of Wales and his open and secret abettors as also to
cause them to make and subscribe the aforementioned
declaration and to* administer to them the oath for the
due execution of their places and trusts. And we do
hereby give and grant unto you full power and autho-
rity to suspend any of the members of our said council
from sitting voting and assisting therein if you shall find
just cause for so doing and if there shall be any lieute-
nant governour him likewise to suspend from the execu-
tion of his command and to appoint another in his stead
until our pleasure be known and if it shall at any time
happen that- by the death departure out of oiir said pro-
vince or suspension of any of our said councillors or
otherwise there shall be a vacancy in our said council
(any three whereof we do hereby appoint to be a quo-
rum) our will and pleasure is that you signify the same
unto us by the first opportunity that we may under our
signet and sign manual constitute an i appoint others in
their stead but that our affairs may not suffer at that
distance for want of a due number of councillors if ever
it should happen that there be less than seven of them
residing in our said province we do hereby give and

45

354 History of New- York.

grant unto you the said sir Danvers Osborn full power
and authority to chuse as many persons out of the prin-
cipal freeholders inhabitants thereof as will make up the
full number of our said council to be seven and no more
which persons so chosen and appointed by you shall be
to all intents and purposes councillors in our said pro-
vince until either they shall be confirmed by us or that
by the nomination of others by us under our sign ma-
nual and signet our said council shall have seven or more
persons in it. And we do hereby give and grant unto
you full power and authority with the advice and con-
sent of our said council from time to time as need
shall require to summon and call general assemblies of
the said freeholders and planters within your govern-
ment according to the usage of our province of New-
York. And our will and pleasure is that the persons
thereupon duly elected by the major pad of the free-
holders of the respective counties and places and so re-
turned shall before their sitting take the oaths mention-
ed in the said act entitled (an act for the further securi-
ty of his majesty's person and government and the suc-
cession to the crown in the heirs of the late princess
Sophia being protestants and for extinguishing the hopes
of the pretended prince of Wales and his open and se-
cret abettors) as also make and subscribe the aforemen-
tioned, declaration (which oaths and declarations you
shall coimnissionate fit persons under our seal of New-
York to tender and administer unto them) and until
the same shall be so taken and subscribed no person
shall be capable of sitting though elected and we do
hereby declare that the persons so elected and qualified
shall be called and deemed the general assembly of that
our province a.nd the territories depending thereon and

History of New-York.

you the said sir Danvers Osborn by and with the con-
sent of our *ai;l council and assembly or the major part
of them respectively shall have full power and au-
thority to make constitute and ordain laws statutes
and ordinances for the publick peace welfare and
goorl government of our said province and of the
people and inhabitants thereof and such others as
shall resort thereto an 1 for the benefit of us our
heirs and successors which said laws statutes and ordi-
nances are not to he repugnant but as near as may be
agreeable to the laws and statutes of this our kingdom
of Great Britain provided that all such laws statutes
and ordinances of .what nature or duration soever be
within three months or sooner after the making thereof
transmitted unto us under our seal of New- York for our
approbation or disallowance of the same as also dupli-
cates thereof by the next conveyance and in case any
or all of the said laws statutes and ordinances being not
before confirmed by us shall at any time be disallowed
and not approved and so signified by us our heirs or
successors under our or their sign manual and signet or
by order of our or their privy council unto you the said
sir Danvers Osborn or to the commander in chief of our
said province for the time being then such and so many
of the said laws statutes and ordinances as shall b so
disallowed and not approved shall from thenceforth
cease determine and become utterly void and of none
effect any thing to the contrary thereof notwithstand-
ing And to the end that nothing may be passed or
done by our said council or assembly to the prejudice
of us our heirs or successors we will and ordain that
you the said sir Danvers Osborn shall have and enj >y
a negative voice in the making and passing of all laws

356 History of New-York.

statutes and ordinances as aforesaid and you shall and
nr.iy likewise from time to time as you shall judge it
necessary adjourn prorogue and dissolve all general
assemblies as aforesaid. And our further will and plea-
sure is that you shall and may use and keep the pub-
lick seal of our said province of New-York for sealing
all things whatsoever that pass the great seal of our said
province under your government And we do further
give and grant unto you the" said sir Danvers Osborn
full power and authority from time to time and at any
time hereafter by yourself or by any other to be au-
thorized by you in that behalf to administer and give
the afore me ntio nt d oaths to all and every such person
and persons as you shall think fit who shall at any time
or times pass into our said province or shall be resident
or abiding there. And we do further by these presents
give and grant unto you the said sir Danvers Osborn
full power and authority with the advice and consent
of our said council to erect constitute and establish
such and so many courts of judicature and publick jus-
tice within our said province under your government
as you and they shall think fit and necessary for the
hearing and determining of all causes as well criminal
as civil according to law and equity and for awarding
execution thereupon with all reasonable and necessary
powers authorities fees and privileges belonging there-
unto as also to appoint and eommissionate fit persons
in the several parts of your government to administer
the oaths mentioned in the aforesaid act entitled an act
for the further security of his majesty's person and go-
vernment and the succession of the crown in the heirs
of the late princess Sophia being protestants and for
extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince of

History of New-York. So?

Wales and his open and secret abettors as also to ten-
der and administer the aforesaid declaration unto such
persons belonging to the said courts as shall be obliged
to take the same And we do hereby authorize and em-
power you to constitute and appoint judges and in cases
requisite commissioners ofoyer and terminer justices
of the peace and other necessary officers and ministers
in our said province for the better administration of
justice and putting the laws in execution, and to ad-
minister or cause to be administered unto them such
oath or oaths as are usually given for the due exeeu-
tion and performance of offices and places and for the
clearing of truth in judicial causes Arid we do hereby
give and grant unto you full power and authority
where you shall see cause or shall judge any offender
or offenders in criminal matters or for any fines or for-
feitures due unto us fit. objects of our mercy to pardon
all such offenders and to remit all such offences fines and
forfeitures (treason and wilful murder only excepted)
in which cases you shall likewise have power upon ex-
traordinary occasions to grant reprieves to the offend-
ers until and to the intent our royal pleasure may be
known therein. And we do by these presents authorize
and empower you to collate any person or persons to
any churches chapels or other ecclesiastical benefices
within our said province and territories aforesaid as
often as any of them shall happen to be void. And we
do hereby give and grant unto you the said sir Danvers
Osborn by yourself or by your captains and command-
ers by you to be authorized full power and authority to
levy arm muster command and employ all persons
whatsoever resi ling within our said province of New-
k arid other the territories under your government

358 History of New- York.

and as occasion shall serve to march from one place to
another or to embark them for the resisting and with-
standing of all enemies pirates and rebels both at sea
and land and to transport such forces to any of our
plantations in America if necessity shall require for the
defence of the same against the invasions or attempts
of any of our enemies and such enemies pirates and re-
bels if there shall be occasion to pursue and prosecute
in or out of the limits of our said province and planta-
tions or any of them and if it shall so please God, them
to vanquish, apprehend and take and being taken either
according to law to put to death or keep and preserve
alive at your discretion and to execute martial law in
time of invasion or other times when by law it may be
executed and to do and execute all and every other
thing and things which to our captain general and go-
vernour in chief doth or ought of right to belong and
we do hereby give and grant unto you full power and
authority by and with the advice and consent of our
said council to erect raise and build in our said province
of New-York and the territories depending thereon such
and so many forts and platforms, castles, cities, bo-
roughs, towns and fortifications as you by the advice
aforesaid shall judge necessary and the same or any of
them to fortify and furnish with ordnance, ammunition
and all sorts of arms fit and necessary for the security
and defence of our said province and by the advice
aforesaid the same again or any of them to demolish or
dismantle as may be most convenient and forasmuch as
divers mutinies and disorders may happen by persons
shipped and employed at sea during the time of war and
to the end that such as shall be shipped and employed at
sea during the time of war may be better governed and

History of New-York. 359

ordered we do hereby give and grant unto you the said sir
Danvers Osborn full power and authority to constitute
and appoint captains lieutenants masters of ships and
other commanders and officers and to grant to such
captains lieutenants masters of ships and other com-
manders and officers commissions to execute the law
martial during the time of war according to the direc-
tions of the two acts the one passed in the thirteenth
year of the reign of king Charles the second entituled
an act for the establishing articles and orders for the
regulating and better government of his majesty's na-
vies ships of war and forces by sea and the other passed
in the eighteenth year of our reign entituled an act for
the further regulating and better government of his
majesty's navies ships of war and forces by sea and
for regulating proceedings upon courts martial in the
sea service and to use such proceedings authorities
punishments corrections and executions upon any
offender or offenders who shall be mutinous seditious
disorderly or any way unruly either at sea or during
the tiiiie of their abode or residence in any of the ports
harbours or bays of our said province and territories
as the case shall be found to require according to the
martial law and the said direction during the time of
war as aforesaid provided that nothing herein contained
shall be construed to the enabling you or any by your
authority to hold plea or have any jurisdiction of any
offences cause matter or thing committed or done upon
the high sea or within any of the havens rivers or creeks
of our said province and territories under your govern-
ment by any captain commander lieutenant master offi-
cer seaman soldier or other person whatsoever who shall
be in our actual service and pay in or on board any of

360 History of Ntw-YorR.

our ships of war or other vessels acting by immediate
commission or warrant from our commissioners for ex-
ecuting the office of our high admiral or from our high
admiral of Great Britain for the time being under the
seal of our admiralty but that such captain commander
lieutenant master officer seaman soldier or other per-
son so offending shall be left to be proceeded against
and tried as their offences shall require either by com-
mission under our great seal of Great Britain as the
statute of the twenty-eighth of Henry the eighth directs
or by commission from our said commissioners for ex-
ecuting the office of our high admiral or from our high
admiral of Great Britain for the time being according
to the aforementioned acts. Provided nevertheless that
all disorders and misdemeanors committed on shore by
any captain commander lieutenant master officer sea-
man soldier or other person whatsoever belonging to
any of our ships of war or other vessels acting by im-
mediate commission or warrant from our said commis-
sioners for executing the office of our high admiral or
from our high admiral of Great Britain for the time be-
ing under the seal of our admiralty may be tried and
punished according to the laws of the place where any
such disorders offences and misdemeanors shall be com it-
ted on shore notwithstanding such offenders be in our
actual service and born in our pay on board any such
our ships of war or other vessels acting by immediate
commission or warrant from our said commissioners for
executing the office of our high admiral or from our
high admiral of Great Britain for the time being as
aforesaid so as he shall not receive any protection for
the avoiding of justice for such offences committed on
shore from any pretence of his being employed in our

History of Nerv-YorL 361

service at sea. And our further will and pleasure is
that all publick monies raised or which shall be
raised by any act to be hereafter made within our
said province and olher the territories depending
thereon be issued out by warrant from you by and
with the advice and consent of our council and dis-
posed of by you for the support of the government and
not otherwise and we do hereby likewise give and grant
unto you full power and authority by and with the ad-
vice and consent of our said council to settle and agree
with the inhabitants of our province and territories
aforesaid for such lands tenements and hereditaments as
now are or hereafter shall be in our power to dispose of
and them to grant to any person or persons upon such
terms and under such moderate quitrents services and
acknowledgments to be thereupon reserved unto us as
you by and with the advice aforesaid shall think fit
which said grants are to pass and be sealed by our seal
of New- York and b?eing entered upon record by such
officer or officers as are or shall be appointed thereunto
shall be good and effectual in the law against us ouiir>s
heirs and successors and we do hereby give you the
said sir Danvers Osborn full power to order and ap~
point fairs marts and markets as also such and so many
ports harbours bays havens and other places for the con-
venience and security of 'shipping and for the better
loading and unloading of goods and merchandizes as by
you with the advice and consent of our said council
shall be thought (it and necessary and we do hereby re-
quire and command all officers and ministers civil mil-
itary and all other inhabitants of our said province and
territories depending thereon to be obedient aiding and
assisting unto you the said sir Danvers Osborn in the

16

302 History of New-York.

execution of this our commission and the powers and
authorities herein contained and in case of your death
or ahsence out of our said province and territories de-
pending thereon to be obedient aiding and assisting un-
to such person as shall be appointed by us to be our
lieutenant governour or commander in chief of our said
pr vince to whom we do therefore by these presents
give and grart all and singular the powers and authori-
ties herein granted to be by him executed and enjoyed
during our pleasure or until your arrival within our
said province and territories and if upon your death or
absence out of our said province and territories depend-
ing thereon there be no person upon the place comiuis-
sionated or appointed by us to be our lieutenant gover-
nour or commander in chief of our said province our
will and pleasure is that the eldest counsellor whose
name is first placed in our said instructions to you and
who shall at the time of your death or absence be resid-
ing within our said province of New- York shall take
upon him the administration of the government and ex-
ecute our said commission and instructions and the se-
veral powers and authorities therein contained in the
same manner and to all intents and purposes as other
our governour and commander in chief of our said pro-
vince should or ought to do in case of your absence un-
til your return or in all cases' until our further pleasure
be known therein and we do hereby declare ordain and
appoint that you the said sir Danvers Osborn shall and
may hold execute and enjoy the office and place of our
captain general and governour in chief in and over our
province of New-York and the territories depending
thereon together with all and singular the powers and
authorities hereby granted unto you for and during our

History of New- York. 363

will and pleasure, And whereas there are divers colo-
nies adjoining to our province of New- York for the de-
fence and security whereof it is requisite that due care
be taken in time of war we have therefore thought it
necessary for our service and for the better protection
and security of our subjects inhabiting those parts to
constitute and appoint and we do by these presents
constitute and appoint you the said sir Danvers Osborn
to be our captain general and commander in chi >f of
the militia and of all the forces by sea and land within
our colony of Connecticut and of all our forts and
places of strength within the same and for the better or-
dering governing and ruling our said militia and all our
forces forts and places of strength within our said colo-
ny of Connecticut we do hereby give and grant unto
you the said sir Danvers Osborn and in your absence
to our commander in chief of our province of New-
York all and every the like powers as in these presents
are before granted and recited for the ruling governing
and ordering our militia and all our forces forts and
places of strength within our province of New- York to
be exercised by you the said sir Danvers Osborn and in
your absence from our territories and dominion of
New- York by our commander in chief of our province
of New-York within our said colony of Connecticut
for and during our pleasure In witness whereof we have
caused these our letters to be made patent witness our-
self at Westminster the first day of August in the twen-
ty-seventh year of our reign,

By writ of privy scaly

YORKE and YORKE,

364 History of New-York.

The instructions received with the commission, are
explanatory of the patent, and regulate the governour's
conduct on almost every common contingency.*

The salary, generally granted to the governour by
the instructions, is 1,2007. sterling out of the revenue
here ; but that being an insufficient fund, the assembly,
in lieu of it, give him annually 1,560/. currency. The
perquisites perhaps amount to as much more.

This office was formerly very lucrative, but becomes
daily less considerable, because almost all the valuable
tracts of land are already taken up.

The council, when full, consists of twelve members,
appointed by the king's mandamus and sign manual.
All their privileges and powers are contained in the
instructions. They are a privy council to the gover-
nour in acts of civil government ; and take the same
oath administered to the king's council in England.
The tenure of their places is extremely precarious, and
yet their influence upon the publick measures very con-
siderable. In the grant of all patents the governour is
bound to consult them, and regularly they cannot pass
the seal without their advice.

They enjoy a legislative power, as the lords do in
parliament ; and exercise also judicial authority upon
writs of error and appeals. They are convened by the
governour ; and he is always present when they sit as
a court or privy council, which is ordinarily at the fort.
In their legislative capacity, they meet without the go-
vernour, and always at the city hall. They sit accord-
ing to their seniority, and the eldest member present is

* The instructions are, in number, above a hundred, and never re-
corded. They are changeable at the king's pleasure, but rarely un-
dergo auy very considerable alteration.

History of New-York. 365

speaker of their house. In a committee the chairman
has no voice. They cannot vote by proxy, but have
the privilege of entering their dissent, and the reasons
at large, on their minutes. Their proceedings are very
formal, and in many respects they imitate the example
of the lords. Their messages to the assembly are car-
ried by one of their own members, and the house always
rises at his entrance and receives them standing. The
council never publish their legislative minutes ; but
the assembly always print their own votes ; nor do
either of these houses permit strangers to be present at
their conventions.

A counsellor's title is ( the honourable.' They serve
his majesty without salaries. The business of the pri-
vy council board is of late very much increased, and
never had so great weight in the colony as at present ;
which is much owing to the king's calling lawyers of
reputation to the assistance of his governours. The
present members are the honourable

Cadwallader Golden, Joseph Murray,
Archibald Kennedy, John Rutherford,
James De Lancey,* lieu- Edward Holland,

tenant governour, Sir Win. Johnson, bart.
Daniel Horsmanden, John Chambers,
George Clarke, jun. William Smith.
The business in council daily increases, and is now
become very burdensome, being entirely transacted by
a few members. Mr. Golden resides in the country ;
Mr. Clarke in England ; Mr. Rutherford, being an of-

* The office of lieutenant governour requires no service, except on
the death or in the absence of the governour in chief. It gives no
yank in council, nor is there any salary annexed to it.

366 History of New-York.

ficer, moves with the army, and sir William Johnson
lias his residence in the western part of the county of
Albany.

The general assembly consists of twenty-seven re-
presentatives, chosen by the people, in pursuance of a
writ of summons issued by the governour.

At the day appointed for their appearance, such as
are elected, convene themselves at the assembly cham-
ber, in the city of New- York ; and, by the clerk of
the house, inform the governour of their meeting.
If they are above thirteen in number, some persons,
(generally the judges of the supreme court) are
sent to the assembly chamber, empowered by a com-
mission to take their oaths and subscriptions. They
are then called before his excellency, who recommends
their choice of a speaker. For that purpose they again
retire, and conduct the person they elect into the chair,
which is seated at the upper end of a long table. After
that he is presented to his excellency in the council
chamber ; and upon his approbation of their choice,
which is of course, the speaker addresses himself to the
governour, and, in behalf of the house, prays, " that
their words and actions may have a favourable con-
struction, that the members may have free access to
him, arid they and their servants be privileged with a
freedom from arrests." The governour, after promis-
ing these things on his part, reads his speech to both
houses ; and, at the request of the speaker, delivers a
copy for the use of the assembly.

I need not enlarge upon the customs of the general
assembly, for they take the practice of the British house
of commons for their model, and vary from them in but
very few instances. Money bills are not returned to

History of New- York. 367

them by the council board, as the lords do to the com-
mons ; and yet the reasons for this practice are much
stronger here than at home. When the governour pass-
es the bills sent up to him, both houses are present in
the council chamber. It is then customary for him to
ask the advice of his council with respect to every bill
and he signs them at the foot after these words, " I as-
sent to this bill, enacting the same, and order it to be en-
rolled." After that the acts are published in the open
street, near the city hall ; his excellency and the two
houses being present.

The daily wages of the representatives, as regulated
by sundry acts of Assembly, are annexed to the follow-
ing list of the present members of the house,

For the city and county of NEW- YORK.
Paul Kichard, Henry Cruger, William Walton, John
Watts, esqrs. each 65. per diem.

City and County of ALBANY.
Peter Winne, Peter Douw, esqrs. 105. per diem,

W^ESTCHESTER County.
John Thomas, Frederick Philispe, esqrs. 65. per dieni.

SUFFOLK County,
Eleazer Miller, William Nicoll, esqrs. 95. per diem,

QUEEN'S County.
David Jones, Thomas Cornel, esqrs. 65. per diem.

KING'S County.

Johannes Lott, Dominicus Yanderveer, esqrs. 65. per
diem.

ULSTER County.

Johannes Jansen, Moses De Pew, jun. esqrs. 65. per
diem.

RICHMOND County.
William Walton, Benj. Seaman3 esqrs. 6s. per diem.

368 History of Wen-York.

DUTCHESS County.
Henry Beekman, Henry Filkin, esqrs. (3s. per diem.

ORANGE County.
Theodorus Snediker, Samuel Gale, esqrs. 6s. per diem,

Borough of WESTCHESTER.
Peter De Lancey, esq. 10s. per diem.

Township of SCHENECTADY.
Jacobus Mynderse, esq. 10s. per diem.
Manor of RENSLAERWYCK.
John B. Y. Renslaer, esq. 105. per diem.

Manor of LIVINGSTON.
Robert Livingston, jun. esq. 105. per diem.

Manor of COURTLANDT.
Philip Yer Plank, esq. 65. per diem.
The continuance of our assemblies was unlimited, till
the political struggles, which took rise in Mr. Cosby's
administration, forced Mr. Clarke, who succeeded him,
to pass the act restricting them to three years ; but this
was repealed by the king, and a septennial law enacted
soon after the arrival of governour Clinton, which is still
in full force.

No colony, upon the continent, has formerly suffered
more than ours, in the opinion of the king's ministers.
This has been owing to the ill impressions made by our
governours, who are scarce ever disengaged from dis-
putes with the lower house. Our representatives,
agreeable to the general sense of their constituents, are
tenacious in their opinion that the inhabitants of this
colony are entitled to all the privileges of Englishmen;
that they have a right to participate in the legislative
power, and that the session of assemblies here, is wisely
substituted instead of a representation in parliament,
which, all things considered, would, at this remote dis-

History of Nerv-York. 369

tance, he extremely inconvenient and dangerous. The
governours, on tlie other hand, in general, entertain po-
litical sentiments of a quite different nature* All the
immunities we enjoy, according to them, not only flow
from, hut absolutely depend upon, the mere grace and
vviil of the crown.* It is easy to conceive that conten-
tions must naturally attend such a. contradiction of sen-
timents. Most of our disputes, however, relate to the
support of government. Before lord Cornbury's em-
bezzlements, the revenue was established for a long pe-
riod, but afterwards reduced to a few years. The vio-
lent measures, in Mr. Cosby's time, led the assembly to
the scheme of an annual provision* These are the
words of that much famed address of the house, to lieu-
tenant go vernour Clarke, on the 8th of September, 1737,
previous to the change.

" The true causes of the deficiency of the revenue,
we believe, are too well known to your honour, to make
it necessary for us to say much on that head. Had the

* " We are no more than a little corporation. I would advise these
gentlemen [assemblies] for the future, to drop those parliamentary airs
and style about liberty and property, and keep within their sphere,
and make the best use they can of his majesty's instructions and com-
mission ; because it would be high treason to sit and act without it. This
is our charter. If we abuse or make a wicked use of his majesty's fa-
vours, we are, of them, but tenants at will : we only hold them during
pleasure and good behaviour." These are the accurate and bright
thoughts of the gentleman who published a pamphlet, entitled " an es-
say on the government of the colonies," in 1 752. Sir William Jones,
attorney general to James II. was of a very different opinion. For he
told the king, " that he could no more grant a commission to levy mo-
ney on his subjects in the plantations, without their eons* n< by an
assembly, than they could discharge themselves from their allegiance."
Life of sir William Phips, p. 23.

47

370 History of Ntii-YarJc.

conspicuous loyalty of the inhabitants of this proving
met with a suitable treatment in return : it is not unlike-
ly, but we should now be weak enough to act like oth-
ers before us, in being lavish beyond our abilities, and
raising sums unnecessary to be given ; and continued
the donation, like them, for a longer time than what
was convenient for the safety of the inhabitants : but ex-
perience has shown the imprudence of such a conuuct,
and the miserable condition to which the provin; e is
reduced, renders the raising of large sums very difficult,
if not impracticable. We therefore beg leave to be
plain with your honour, and hope you will not take it
amiss, when we tell you, that you are not to expect
that we either will raise sums unfit to be raised ; or put
what we shall raise into the power of a governour to'inis-
apply, if we can prevent it ; nor shall we make up any
other defk iencies, than what we conceive are fit and
just to be paid ; or continue what support or revenue
we shall raise for any longer time than one year. Nor
do we think it convenient to do even that, until such
laws are passed, as we conceive necessary for the safety
of the iiihabitants of this colony, who have reposed a
trust in us for that only purpose ; and \\hich we are
sure you will think it reasonable we should act agree-
able to, and by the grace of God we will endeavour not
to deceive them."

The sentiments of this address still prevail among the
people, and therefore the success of the present solici-
tations, for a permanent, indefinite, support, will pro-
bably be in vain.

The matter has been oft* n litigated with great fer-
vency on both sides, and the example of the British par-
liament urged as a precedent for our imitation. To

History of New- York. 371

this it is answered, that the particular state of this pro-
vince differs so widely from that of their mother coun-
try, that we ought not in this respect to follow the
custom of the commons. Our constitution, as some ob-
serve, is so imperfect, in numberless instances, that the
rights of the people lie, even now, at the mare mercy of
their governours ; and granting a perpetual support, it
is thought, would be in reality little less than the loss?
of every tiling dear to them.

It must be confessed that many plausible arguments
may be assigned, in support of the jealousy of the house.
A governour has numberless opportunities, not proper
to be mentioned, for invading the rights of the people,
and insuperable difficulties would necessarily attend
all tlie means of redress.

By gradual advances, at seasonable junctures, we
might have introduced such amendments, as would, at
this day, have established a sound and well fortified po-
litical frame ; but through our utter neglect of educa-
tion, the ancient assemblies consisted of plain, illiterate
husbandmen, whose views seldom extended farther than
to the regulation of highways, the destruction of wolves,
wild cats, and foxes, and the advancement of the other
little interests of the particular counties waich they
were chosen to represent.

CHAPTER VI,

Of our Laws and Courts.

THE state of our laws opens a door^to much contro-
versy. The uncertainty, with respect to them, renders
property precarious, and greatly exposes us to the ar-

372 History of New- York.

bitrary decisions of bad judges. The common law of
England is generally received, together with such sta-
tutes as were enacted before we had a legislature of our
own. But our courts exercise a sovereign authority
in determining what parts of the common and statute
law ought to be extended ; for, it must be admitted,
that the difference of circumstances necessarily requires
us, in some 'cases, to reject the determinations of hot h.
In many instances they have also extended, as I have
elsewhere observed, even acts of parliament, passed
since we have had a distinct legislation, which is adding
greatly to our confusion. The practice of our courts
is not less uncertain than the law. Some of the Englibh
rules are adopted and others rejected. Two things,
therefore, seem to be absolutely necessary for the pub-
lick security :

First, The passing an act for settling the extent of
English laws. And,

Secondly, That the courts ordain a general set of
rules for the regulation of the practice.

To give a particular account of our laws, civil and
criminal, cannot be expected in this work. All lands
are held of the crown by soccage tenure, as those of
East Greenwich, at home, in the county of Kent ; and
the manner of obtaining a title to such as are vacant, or
in possession of the Indians, is this :

Foimerly the custom was to apply to the governour
in council, for a license to purchase lands of the natives
in his majesty's name. A deed was then privately ob-
tained from the Indian proprietors to the king, and an-
nexed to a second petition to the governour, for a war-
rar t t«> the surveyor general, to make a survey of the
quantity purchased. Another warrant, upon the re-
turn of the survey, was then issued to the attorney

History of New- York. 373

neral, to prepare a draught of the patent ; which being
transmitted to the secretary's office, was then engrossed
upon parchment, and the great seal affixed to it by the
governour.

In these surveys and deeds, more lands were often
included than the Indians intended to sell ; and these
frauds being frequently complained of, an order was
made by the governour and council, in 1736, that
thenceforth no Indian deed should be taken until tae
land proposed to be granted was actually surveyed by
the surveyor general, or one of his deputies, in the pre-
sence of the Indian proprietors ; that the bounds of the
tract should be then entered in the deed, and a certifi-
cate endorsed that they are agreeable to the survey,
and that he saw the consideration money or goods, bo-
na jide, delivered to the vendors.

The patenting of lands, has long been, and still con-
tinues to be, very expensive.

Our law judicatories are numerous; I begin with
the lowest.

OF THE JUSTICES' COURT. Justices of the peace are
appointed by commission from the governours, who, to
serve their purposes in elections, sometimes grant, as it
is called, the administration to particular favourites in
each county, which is the nomination of officers civil
and military ; and, by these means, the justices have
been astonishingly multiplied. There are instances of
some who can neither write nor read.* These genii,

* Lord Bacon's observation, that there are many who count it a
credit to be burdened with the office of a justice of the peace, is very
applicable to us. Bacon's works, fol. vol. ii. p. 151. The statute oi*
$8 Hen. V11I. limited the number of justices to eight in a couuty.

374 History of New- York.

besides their ordinary powers, are by acts of assembly
enabled to hold courts for the determination of small
caiises of five pounds and under ; but the parties are
privileged, if they choose it, with a jury of six men. The
proceedings are in a summary way, and the conduct of
the justices has given just cause to in numerable com-
plaints. The justices have also a jurisdiction with re-
spect to crimes under the degree of grand larceny.
For any three of them (one being of the quoru n) may
try the criminal, without a jury, and inflict punishments
not extending to life or limb.

THE SESSIONS AND COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. The
court of common pleas takes cognizance of all caus-
es where the matter in demand is in value above
five pounds. It is established by an ordinance of the
governour in council. The judges are ordinarily three,
and hold their offices during pleasure. Through the
infancy of the country, few, if any of them, are acquaint-
ed with the law. The practice of these courts is simi-
lar to that of the common bench at Westminster. They
have each a clerk commissioned by the governour, who
issues their writs, enters their minutes, and keeps the
records of the county. They are held twice every
year. These judges, together with some of the justices,
hold, at the same time, a court of general sessions of the
peace.

THE SUPREME COURT. The jurisdiction of this court
extends through the whole province, and its powers are
very great. For it takes cognizance of all causes civil
and criminal, as fully as the king's bench and common
pleas at Westminster. In civil controversies, the value
of the sum demanded must exceed twenty pounds. This
court has four terms in a year, and always sits at

History of New-York. 375

The judges, for many years past, have been
but three. The chief justice has ten shillings, as a per-
quisite, upon the first motion in every cause, together
with, an annual allowance of 300/. The second and
third justices have also yearly appointments, too in-
considerable to be worth mentioning. They hold their
offices by separate commissions under the great seal of
the province, which were formerly during pleasure, but
of late quam din se bene gesserint.'f

The supreme court was, at first, established by seve-
ral laws of the province ; but the terms were, afterwards,
directed by an ordinance of the governour and council,
which is alterable at pleasure.

Whether this court has a right to determine causes
in a course of equity, was a question much litigated,
during the troubles in the several administrations of
Mr. Cosby and Mr. Clarke. Colonel Morris, after war Is
governour of JNew-Jersey, sat then as chief justice upon
the bench, and delivered a long, argumentative, opinion
in the negative.t The people were, in general, on that

* The terms commence on the third Tuesdays in January, April and
October, and on the last in July, The first and last continue five
days, and the two other terms ten.

I Prosecutions, by information, are often commenced in the supreme
court by order of the governour and council, and criminals sometimes
committed by their warrants ; for which reason some are of opinion
that the judges ought not to be members of that board, which is fre-
quently the case.

J See the printed opinion, and the arguments of messieurs Alexan-
der and Smith, for the defendant, Van Dam, adversus the attorney
general ; ir support of a plea to the jurisdiction of the supreme court,
on a bil' filed there for governour Cos-by in a course of equity. JNew-
TZork printed by John P. Zenger, 1733.

376 History of New- York.

si'le, and the exchequer court bell scarce ever rung, but
the city was all in confusion. Petitions against the
court, from several parts of the province, came up to
the assembly, who desired to hear counsel ; and ac-
cordingly Mr. Smith and Mr. Murray, delivered their
opinions at their request, both which were afterwards
printed by their order. The former, who spoke first,
urged numerous authorities, to prove that no court of
equity could be legally established except by prescrip-
tion or an act of the legislature, and concluded with
these words — " 'Tis with the greatest submission that I
tender my opinion upon these points. — I have said no-
thing with a design to offend any man, nor have I omit-
ted saying any tiling that I thought might tend to the
publick good. Liberavi animam meam. I have endea-
voured to discharge the trust, and support the character,
with which this house has honoured me. You have my
si cere and real sentiments. If I have erred in any
thing, it has been unwillingly. I am heartily a friend
to this colony, and earnestly wish its prosperity. I have
no interest in the points in question, but what are com-
mon to all the freemen of this province. I profess the
greatest veneration for the laws of my country, and am
glad of every opportunity to do them publick honour.
They place our liberties upon the firmest basis, and put
our properties under the surest protection. I rejoice
in the security that we have of a long enjoyment of
them by the settlement of the succession in the house
of Hanover. — 'Tis the excellency of our constitution,
and the glory of our princes, that they are sovereign
over freemen, and not slaves. 'Tis the misery of an
arbitrary government that a man can enjoy nothing
under it, that he can call his own. Life, liberty, and

History of New-Y6r&.- 37?

property, are not his, but all at the will and disposal of
bis tyrannical owner. I don't wonder that our ances-
tors have been always so jealous of their liberties : how
oft have they bravely fought, and nobly died, in the de-
fence of them ? we have received our liberties and our
laws, as an inheritance transmitted to us in the btaod of
our fathers. How highly therefore should we prize and
value them ! and what care should we take, that we and
our posterity may enjoy them in their full extent ? If
this be our happy case, we shall sit under our own
vines and our own fig trees, and none will make us
afraid. We shall see our country flourish, and our-
selves a happy people. But if an arbitrary power over
our liberties and properties be let in upon us, but at a
back door, it will certainly drive many of us out of our
habitations ; and 'tis to be feared, will once more re-
duce our country to a wilderness, and a land without
inhabitant : which we doubt not but this honourable
house will take care to prevent."

Mr. Murray laboured to show that the chancery,
king's bench, common pleas and exchequer, were of
original jurisdiction by the constitution of England;
and was fearful that our establishment of these courts
here by an act of assembly, would draw into question
our equal rights to all the liberties arid privileges of
Englishmen. He closed his opinion in this manner :

" And now, Mr. speaker, I have in the best manner
that I was capable of, performed what this honourable
house desired of me, in giving truly my sentiments up-
on the subject matter of these petitions.

" Mr. Smith, in delivering his sentiments last Friday,
did, in so handsome and elegant a manner, fully prove
that the people of this colony ^are undoubtedly entitled

48

1*78 History oj New- York.

to the customs, laws, liberties, and privileges of Eng-
lishmen, that it was needless for me to attempt the
proof thereof, which otherwise I should have done. But
I do entirely agree with him, in all that he said on thai
head ; and I hope I have proved that the fundamental
courts, by the laws of England, are as much part of
those liberties and privileges, and as much by the cus-
toms and laws of England, as any other of their liber-
tit s and privileges are ; and of consequence, the people
here as much entitled to those fundamental courts, as
to their other privileges ; and have endeavoured to an-
swer all the objections that I had heard were, or thought
could be, made against our being entitled to the same
courts. And upon the whole thereof, as there has been
much talked about the liberties and privileges of the
people, I would beg leave only to propound this one
question, who is he that argues most in favour of the
liberties of the people ? he who affirms and proves
that they are entitled to those liberties and privileges,
laws and customs of England, and the good old original
courts, that are by those laws, without an act? or,
be who argues and says we are not entitled to them,
until an act is passed to establish them ? I suppose
the answer would be given, without hesitation, HI favour
of the former.

" But, Mr. speaker, if it yet should be said, that there
is a necessity for making acts relating to those courts,
I would beg leave to offer to this honourable house the
imitation of such laws relating to those courts, as the
\vise legislature of England have thought fit to make.
I presume it will not be said there can be a better pat-
tern offered for the assembly to go by. And it is riot
to be supposed but that the parliament at home has

Ifistory of New- York. 379-

all the regulations therein that can be thought
necessary ; whereas going into new schemes and new
inventions, may be attended with many inconveniences;,
which, when they happen, may not be so easily reme-
died.

" Anr3 I beg leave to conclude, by praying that God
Almighty may guide, direct, and influence this honour*
able house in their debates and consultations upon this
momentous affair, and that the end thereof may be for
the good of all the inhabitants of this colony."

The opposition to the exchequer became now strong-
er than before the counsel were heard. And, therefore,
under these discouragements, the court has taken cog-
nizance of no cause since Van Dam's, nor has that in-
deed ever been determined.^

* Sir John Randolph wrote his sentiments concerning these disputes
to captain Pearse. And as he was an eminent lawyer, in Virginia, I
doubt not his letter will be acceptable to the reader.
" SIR,

" By your request I have perused and considered the arguments of
Mr. Smith and Mr. Murray, before the general assembly of New York,
in relation to the court of equity established there in a new court of
exchequer ; which, I perceive, was done principally, for determining a
dispute betwt-en the governour and the president of the council, about
their right to the salary annexed to the office of the commander in
chief, whether he be the governour or president ; and it seems strange
to me, that upon such an occasion, so extraordinary a step should be
taken as the erecting of a new court, exempted from the rules of the
proceeding at the common law, when the matter might hare been de-
cided IH an action of the case upon an indebitatus assumpsit, which is
the settled method and most expeditious remedy in cases of that ua,-
ture.

" Both these gentlemen seem to have agreed in one point, that it was
necessary to trace the court of chancery and the equity court in the
eiichequer back to their original institution, in order to show w

380 History of New-York.

The judges of this court, according to an act of as-
sembly, are judges of Nisi Prius of course ; aftid, agree-

the governour of a new plantation, hath a power or not, to erect courts,
in imitation of these high and ancient courts in England. And from
their researches, they seem to have made very different conclusions.
Mr. Smith rightly concludes against the legality of this court ; but
Mr. Murray is afraid all must be lost, if the four fundamental courts,
as he calls them, cannot be obtained in New -York. I own I do not
understand the force of this sort of reasoning ; nor can I conceive how
any enquiry into the original of the high court of chancery, which must,
after all, end in a mere conjecture, can afford the least assistance in
forming a right judgment upon this question, which must depend upon
Ihe particular constitution of these foreign colonies.

" The court of chancery, in England, has its being from custom and
usage, to which it owes its legality. If it were to be erected now by
the king's power, it could not stand ; therefore it is undoubtedly a great
absurdity to suppose, that upon the planting every new colony by the
subjects of England, new courts must spring up, as it were, from the
roots of the ancient courts, and be established without the consent of
the legislature ; because we can imitate their methods of proceeding,
though we are very imperfect in comparison to their reason and judg-
ment. Then I think there is another impropriety in the debate of this
question : they would argue from the power and prerogative of the
king, to entitle a governour to act in the same manner. I think, be-
fore they turn a goveruour into a king, they should take care to pro-
vide for him the same sufficiency of wisdom, and as able a council :
therefore I must suppose a mighty difference between the power of a
liing and the governours abroad. — Their instructions, as to the erect-
ing of courts, or the authorities granted in their patents for that purpose,
are not now, as they were in the beginning, when there were no courts :
but proper judicatures being long since established, there is an en ' of
their power in that respect ; and if any alteration is found necessary, it
naust certainly be done by the consent of the legislature. The kings of
England have always, so far as I am acquainted with the history of the
plantations, used a particular tenderness in the business of erecting their
courts of judicature, by directing their governours to take the advice of
the general assemblies iu that matter, and I dare say, that if the patents

History of New-York. 381

able to an ordinance of the governour and council, per-
form a circuit through the counties once every yeaj.

and instructions of the governour of New- York were to be inspected, no
sufficient warrant will be found in them to exercise thr high power of
setting up new courts. But be that as it will, this is most mani est,
that setting up one or more men with power to judge men's properties,
by' other rules than those of the common law, by which alone we ol the
plantations must be governed, must subjeci the estates of that people to
an arbitrary rule, so far as they are restrained from appealing to an high-
er jurisdiction, and mny enslave them to the weak, if not corrupt, judg-
ments of thnse men. It really seems to be a siagular misfortune to the
people of New-York, that a question of this nature should be so far
countenanced as to become a subject of argument, when, I believe, ia
any other colony, it would not have been thought a matter of any doubt
or the least difficulty. But above all, it is most extravagant, that a
court of equity should be erected for the trial of a cause, of which,
without doing violence to its nature, it cannot have any jurisdiction ; and
I have wondered, in so warm a debate, that this point has been passed
over. I think nothing couM entitle the court of equity to proceed iu
the cause between the goveruour and Van Dam, unices there was a want
of proof of Van i )am's receiving the money in dispute, which I suppose
is impossible, since it must have issued out of the puhiick treasury of the
province. If I had been to have argued this point, I should have taken
a very different method from those gentlemen. Instead of taking so
much pains, in running through so many book cases, to settle what the
constitution of England is, I would have stated the constitution of this par-
ticular government, as it is grounded either upon treaties or grants trom
the crown of England ; for as New- York was a conquered country, it is
very probable something may have been stipulated between the States
General and the crown of England, iu behalf of the subjects of Holland,
which were left there in possession of their estates, and so became sub-
jects to England. If there was any such treaty, that must be looked
upon as the fundamental law of the province ; and next to that the king's
charters must take place. I do not at all doubt, but «eme way or
other, the common law was established there, and if not, as there is a
legislature, I suppose it is adopted by the country : for there is, un-
doubtedly, a great difference between the people of a conquered country

382 History of New-York.

They carry with them, at the same time, a commis-
sion of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery, in
which some of the county justices are joined.

The judges and piactisers in the supreme, and
all other courts, wear no peculiar habits, as they do at
Westminster hall, and in some of the West India isl*-
ands ; nor is there, as yet, any distinction or degrees
among the lawyers.

The door of admission into the practice is too open*
The usual preparatories are a college or university
education, and three years apprenticeship ; or, without
the former, seven years service under an attorney. In
either of these cases, the chief justice recommends the
candidate to the governour, who thereupon grants a li-
cense to practise under his hand and seal at arms. This
being produced to the court, the usual state oaths and
subscriptions are taken, together with an oath for his
upright demeanour, and he is then qualified to practise

and colonies established by the king'* consent by the subjects of E'i^-
land. The common law follows them wherever they go ; but as to the
other, it must arise either from treaties or grants ; therefore it is a pity,
every thing in relation to this matter has been omitted, which would have
been of great use to those who are unacquainted with the facts, in forn-
ing a judgment in this case. I cannot forbear observing a mighty weak-
ness in ihe lawyers of iN"ew-Y >rk, in blindly following a common errour
in relation to the statutes of England being in force there ; whereas there
is no foundation in sense or reason for such an opinion. The common
law must be the only rule ; and if we wade into the statutes, no man can
tel what the law is. It is certain all of them cannot bind, and to know
which do, was always above my capacity. Those that are declarative
of he common law, serve us rather as evidences, than by any binding
quality, as statutes.

" I am, sir, your most obedient servant, &c.

"JOHN RANDOLPHS

Uistofy of New-York.

in every court in the province. Into the county courts
•atterriies are introduced with still less ceremony. For
our governours have formerly licensed all persons, how
Indifferently soever recommended ; and the profession
has been shamefully disgraced, by the admission of men
not only of the meanest abilities, but of the lowest em-
ployments. The present judges of the supreme court
are the honourable (for that is their title)

James De Lancey, esq. chief justice,
John Chambers, esq. second justice.
Daniel Horsmanden, esq, third justice*

They have but two clerks ; one attendant upon the
supreme court at New-York, and the other on the cir-
cuits. The former seals all their process and is keeper
of the records.

THE COURT OF ADMIRALTY. The only officers of
this court are the judge, or commissary, the register
and marshal. The present judge, Lewis Morris, esq.
has, by his commission,^ a jurisdiction in all maritime
affairs, not only here, but in the colonies of New-Jer-
sey and Connecticut. The proceedings before him are
in English, and according to the course of the civil law.

THE PREROGATIVE COURT, The business of this court
relates to the probate of last wills and testaments, and
the grants of letters of administration on intestates' es-
tates. The powers, relative to these matters, are commit-
ted to the governour, who acts ordinarily by a delegate,

THE COURT OF THE GOVERNOUR AND COUNCIL. The
authority of this court is best seen in the instruction on
which it depends.

" Our will and pleasure is, that you, or the command-
er in chief of our said province, for the time being, do

* It is under the seal of the admhalty, and dated Jamiary 16, 1738.

384 History of JSew-York*

in all civil causes, on application being made to you, or
\\\ commander in chief for the time being, for that
purpose, permit and allow appeals, from any of the
courts of common law in our said province, unto you
or the commander in chief, and the council of our said
province ; and you are, for that purpose, to issue a writ,
in the manner which has been usually accustomed, re-
turnable before yourself and the council of our said
province, who are to proceed to hear and determine
such appeal ; wherein such of our said council, as shall
beat that time judges of the court from whence such
appeal shall be so made, to you our captain general, or
to the commander in chief for the time being, and to
our said council, as aforesaid, shall not be admitted to
vote upon the said appeal ; but they may, nevertheless,
be present at the hearing thereof, to give the reasons
of the judgment given by them in the causes wherein
sut'b appeals shall be made,

" Provided nevertheless, that in all such appeals, the
sum or value appealed for, do exceed the sum of* three
hundred pounds sterling ; and that security be first du-
ly given by the appellant, to answer such charges, as1
shall be awarded in case the first sentence be affirmed ;
and if either party shall not rest satisfied with the judge-
ment of you, or the commander in chief for the time be-

* Before the arrivel of sir Danvers Osborn, appeals were given to
the ^overnour and council, in all causes above 1001. sterling, and
to the king in council in all those above 3001. sterling. By this
instruction the power of the supreme court and the governour and
council is prodigiously augmented. In this infant country few
contracts are equal to the sums mentioned in the instruction, and
therefore an uncontrolable authority in our courts may be dangerous*
to the property and liberties of the people. Proper checks upon judg-
es preserve them both from indolence and corruption.

History of New-York. 385

irlg, and council as aforesaid, our will and pleasure is,
that they may then appeal unto us in our privy council.
Provided the sum or value so appealed for unto us, ex-
ceed five hundred pounds sterling, and that such appeal
be made within fourteen days after sentence, and good
security given by the appellant, that he will effectually
prosecute the same and answer the condemnation, and
also pay such costs and damages, as shall be awarded by
us, in case the sentence of you, or the commander in
chief for the time being, and council, be affirmed. Pro-
vided nevertheless, where the matter in question relates
to the taking or demanding any duty payable to us, or
to any fee of office,% or annual rent, or other such like
matter or thing, where the rights in future may be bound,
in all such cases, you are to admit an appeal to us in
our privy council, though the immediate sum or value
appealed for, be of a less value. And it is our further
will and pleasure, that in all cases, where, by your in-
structions, yotl are to admit appeals to us in our privy
council, execution be suspended, until the final deter-
mination of such appeals, unless good and sufficient se-
curity be given by the appellee, to make ample restitu-
tion of all that the appellant shall have lost, by means
of such judgment or decree, in case upon the determi-
nation of such appeal, such decree or judgment should
be reversed, and restitution awarded to the appellant."
THE COURT OF CHANCERY. Of all our courts, none
has been more obnoxious to the people than this.
There have been (as I have already shown) few admin-
istrations since its first erection, in which our assemblies
have not expressed their disapprobation of its constitu-
tion by ordinance, and the exercise of the chancellor's
power by the governour. During the administration

49

386 History of Ncrv-YorJc.

of governour Cosby, a bill was filed by sir Joseph
Eyles and others, to vacate the oblong patent granted
by his immediate predecessor to Hauley and company.
The defendants excepted to the governour's jurisdiction
but being overruled, they resorted to the assembly
with a complaint, and the house, on the 6th of Novem-
ber, 1735, resolved,

" That a court of chancery, in this province, in the
hands or under the exercise of a governour, without
consent in general assembly, is contrary to law, unwar-
rantable, and of dangerous consequence to the liberties
and properties of the people."

The same sentiments obtained among the people in
Mr. Clarke's time, as is very evident in the memorable
address of the assembly, in 1737, a part of which, rela-
tive to the court of chancery, is too singular to be sup-
pressed.

" The settling and establishing of courts of general
jurisdiction, for the due administration of justice, is ne-
cessary in every country, and we conceive they ought
to be settled and established, by the acts of the whole
legislature, and their several jurisdictions and powers
by that authority limited and appointed, especially
courts that are to take cognizance of matters in a course
of equity. — This has been the constant practice in Eng-
land, when new courts were to be erected, or old ones
to be abolished or altered ; and the several kings of
England, in whose reigns those acts were made, never
conceived, that the settling, erecting, or abolishing
courts, by acts of the legislature, had any tendency to
destroy or in the least to diminish their just and legal
prerogatives. — It was the method in use here, both be-
fore and since the revolution, and particularly recoin-

History of New-York. 307

mended to the assembly to be done in that manner, by
a message from governour Sloughter and council, on the
15th day of April, 1691. He was the first governour
since the revolution ; and the governours that since that
time assented to those acts, we suppose, never in the
least imagined, they were giving up the prerogative of
their masters when they gave that assent ; nor did we
ever learn that they were censured for doing so. — On
the contrary, the constant instructions, that have from
time to time been given to the governours of this pro-
vince, seem clearly to point out the doing of it, by acts
of the legislature, and not otherwise, as may be gather-
ed from the instruction, for the erecting of a court for
the determining of small causes, by which there are po-
sitive directions given to the governours to recommend
it to the assembly, that a law should be passed for that
purpose ; but notwithstanding these directions, given in
direct and express terms, the governours never would
apply for such an act, but erected that court by an or-
dinance of themselves and council, as they did the
court of chancery, which had before that time been
erected by acts of the legislature in another manner.-^
They could not be ignorant, what dissatisfaction the
erecting of a court of chancery, in that manner, gave the
generality of the people. — This was very manifest by
the resolves of the general assembly, at the time of its
first being so erected, and often since, declaring the il*
legality of such a proceeding. And though these re-
solves have been, as often as made, treated by the go-
vernours with an unreasonable disregard and contempt
of them, yet to men of prudence, they might have been
effectual, to have made them decline persisting in a
procedure so illegal, and so generally dissatisfactory ^

388 History of Nen^Yorfa

and which (as they managed it) proved of no use to the
publick or benefit to themselves. For as few of them
had talents equal to the task of a chancellor, which they
had undertaken to perform, so it was executed accord-
ingly. Some of them being willing to hold such a
court, others not, according as they happened to be in-
fluenced by those about them. So that were it really
established in the most legal manner (as it was not) yet
being in the hands of a person not compellable to do his
duty, it was so managed, that the extraordinary delays
and fruitless expense attending it, rendered it not only
useless, but a grievance to the inhabitants, especially
those who were so unfortunate as to be concerned in it :
which we hope you think with us, that it is high time
should be redressed.

" Your honour well knows, that the establishing that
court, in the manner it has been done, has been a sub-
ject of contention, between the governours and the as?
sembly : and since it is confessed by all, that the esta-
blishing both of that, and other courts, by act of the
legislature, is indisputably legal, and gives them the
piostuncontrovertible authority ; and if unquestionably
legal, what is so, cannot be destructive of his majesty's
prerogative. — We therefore hope, you will make no
scruple of assenting to this bill, to put an end to a con-*-
tention, that has not been, nor will be, while it contin-
ues, beneficial to his majesty's service."

From this time, the chancery has been unattacked by
the assembly, but the business transacted in it is very
inconsiderable. A court of equity is absolutely neces-
sary, for the due administration of justice ; but whether
private property ought to be in the hands of the gover-

History of Nerv-YorJc. 389

riours, I leave others to determine.* As the publick
business of the colony increases, few of them, I believe
will be ambitious of the chancellor's office, as they have
not the assistance of a master of the rolls. The pre-
sent officers of this court (which is always held in the
council chamber at the fort) are, his excellency sir
Charles Hardy, kn*. chancellor, two masters, two clerks,
one examiner, a register, and a serjeant at anus, and
n >t one of them has a salary. In our proceedings we
copy after the chancery in England, and indeed in all
our courts, the practice at home is more nearly imita-
ted in this and New-Jersey, than in any other province
upon the continent. Few of our assemblies have been
capable to concert any new regulations of this kind ;
and hence the lawyers have had recourse to the English
customs and forms, which they have generally adopted,
While the New-England colonies, through the superior
education of their representatives, have introduced num-
berless innovations, peculiar to themselves ; the laws
of our mother country have gradually obtained here,
a ul, in this respect, the publick has perhaps received
advantages, even from the ignorance of our ancestors.

* Some are of opinion that the governour's jurisdiction in this, and
the spiritual, or prerogative court, are incompatible.

CONTINUATION

OF THE

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK

OF THE

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK, -

PART VII.

From the year 1732 to the year 1736, including the
whole period of Governour Cosby* s Administration.

§ I. Cosby's popularity. § II. Meeting of the assembly. § III. Wig
tax, and garrison at Oswego. § IV. Other taxes voted, and pro-
ceedings of the assembly. § V. Adjournment, and second meeting.
§ VI. Court of equity. § VII. Quakers. § VIII. Agent at the
court of Great Britain. § IX. Zenger's papers censured. § X.
Jealousy of Great Britain on account of the colonial trade. § XL
Further taxes voted. § XII. Assembly pray to be dissolved.
$ XIII. Measures of the governour become odious. § XIV. Rip
V n Dam suspended from the council. § XV. Death and character
of Cosby.

Jt HE administration of governour Cosby commenced
under very favourable auspices. The attempts which
had been made in the British parliament the preceding
year for the encouragement of the sugar colonies,* and
the consequent depression of the American trade, had
excited general apprehension in the colony of New-
York for the safety of her commerce. Governour
Cosby, while in England, had been very active in his
opposition to these measures. The bill after a violent

* See notes,

50

394 History of New-York.

struggle had passed the house of commons, but was re-
jected in the house of lords. No j erson could have
been selected, therefore, for the government of New-
York, who would have been more popular than go-
re rnottr Cosby, On his arrival he issued his proclama-
tion adjourning the assembly to the 19th of August,
37:i2. The members of the council consisted, at this
time, of Mr. Van Dam, (the former president of the
colony) Messrs. Clarke, Harrison, Alexander, Van
Home, Horsmanden, Kennedy, De Lancey, Courtlandt,
and Lane.

$ II. The assembly having met, according to the gover-
nour's proclamation, immediately voted that an address
should be presented to his excellency, congratulating
him on his safe arrival, and to return him the thanks of
the house for his opposition, while in England, to the
attempts in favour of the sugar islands. This vote was
in accordance with the measures which had been adopt-
ed by the assembly at its session in the September pre-
ceding. At that time they had unanimously declared
their repugnance to this injurious project. They had
pronounced the bill, then pending in parliament, " for
the better securing and encouraging the trade of his
majesty's sugar islands in America," to be highly de-
trimental to all the British northern colonies in general,
and in particular to New- York : that it would deprive
them of the means of vending the produce of the colo-
ny, diminish its navigation, subject it to unreasonable
hardships, and, in the end, disable it from consuming
such large quantities of British manufactures as were
annually imported into it. The president, Van Darn,
bad been earnestly requested to remonstrate to his ma^
jesty, his ministers of state, and the lords for trade and

History of Neiv-YorL 395

plantations, against the proposed measure, Its failure,
therefore, was extremely agreeable to the colony. G ><•
vernour Cosby was flattered with the vote of the as*-
gembly, and in his answer took no little credit up >n
himself for having contributed towards the defeat of
the bill before parliament. He likewise plainly inti-
mated to the house his confidence in receiving from it.
a revenue in as full and ample a manner as had been
granted by former assemblies, and requested its atten-
tion to the garrison at Oswego, representing the place
to be in a ruinous condition, and its importance in se-
curing and maintaining the Indian trade. The assem-
bly, in its answer to the governour, was, as usual, pro-
fuse in terms of respect, but cautious in committing it-
self as to revenue or money matters. It assured the
governour of its disposition to concur in the measures
recommended, so far as the circumstances of the colony
would reasonably allow ; that it would concur in any
new law for the encouragement of trade, the protection
of religion, and the preservation of the just rights and
liberties of the colony. The governour expected some-
thing more explicit. He took occasion in his reply to
inform the assembly that he expected that it would
comply with what he had demanded for the support of
his government. This language from the govern') tirs
of the colony was not uncommon. Representing the
majesty of England, their speeches were usually mark-
ed with the same spirit that characterized addresses
from the throne. The house of assembly was vie we 1
by them in the same light as the humse of com nous was
viewed by the crown in England. Demands for supplies
were frequently answered by murmurs and complaints.
This colony, however, had much reason to complain of

396 History of New-York

its heavy burthens. The wars between France a^d
England had almost drained its resources, and subject-
ed it to a heavy debt.

} III. The first measure adopted by the assembly was
to order bills to be brought in to regulate the excise,
to settle a revenue on the governour, and to regulate
the militia. The treasurer of the colony having been
directed to make a report to the house of certain ac-
counts, stated the following receipts into the treasury
since his last report, to wit : nine pounds seventeen
shillings and five pence, on account of the tax on wigs ;
one thousand and twelve pounds six shillings and six
pence on account of the excise, twenty-five pounds on
account of licenses to hawkers and pedlars. The tax
on wigs was undoubtedly a wise and prudent measure.
A custom had about this ti ne been introduced for
young men, and even boys, to conceal their own hair
under large and spacious wigs. To repress a custom
so absurd or to make it a subject of revenue, had been
the object of the legislature. The house next directed
enquiries to be made as to the state of the garrison at
Oswego, The result was that that fort had formerly
been victualled by Harmanus Wendell, who had been
employed for the purpose, and that captain Jacob Glen,
had, by direction and in behalf of captains John De
Peyster, John Schuyler, and John Jurriancast under-
taken to victual his majesty's troops at Osvvego*
and to perform certain other services there, for three
years, at the rate of 456/. per annum. The next
subject which came before the house claimed an
unusual share of its attention. It was represented that
many of the fees exacted from the people by publick
officers, and by the practitioners of the law, were very

History of New-York. 397

exorbitant and unwarrantable : That under colour of
law the greatest abuses had been committed ; and a
numb T of cases were mentioned in which parties had
been ruined by the heavy expenses of litigation ; and
likewise some gross instances of fraud and corruption
were stated to the house. The assembly appointed a
committee to settle and regulate the fees, and, unwilling
to offend the governour, it soon directed its attention
to the ways and means necessary for raising a revenue.

§ 1 Y.The house voted a tax or duty upon negro slaves,
wines, shrub, spirits, molasses, cocoa, and dry goods im-
ported into the colony ; but ordered that the monies be
paid directly to the treasurer of the colony. It voted
large supplies for the support of the garrison at Oswego,
and imposed a tax upon persons trading with the Indians.
Having thus satisfied the demands of the governour, the
house proceeded to other subjects connected with the
prosperity of the colony, the promotion of trade and
agriculture, and the cultivation of literature. Bills
were brought in, and passed, for regulating and laying
out roads in Kings, Orange, Ulster, West Chester, and
some other counties ; for preventing the destruction of
sheep by dogs and wolves ; for the relief of imprisoned
debtors, and punishment of felons ; for building court
houses and gaols ; for preventing desertion in the ar-
my ; for encouraging a publick school to teach Latin,
Greek, and the mathematicks ; for discharging the seve-
ral demands upon the trading house at Oswego, and for
confirming to the city of New- York its rights and pri-
vileges. The house likewise fixed the salary of the
governour at 1560/. per annum ; of the chief justice at
300/. and the second justice at 1 50/. Tt voted 60 )/.
for the garrison at New- York ; 230/. for the garrison

398 History of New- York.

and commissioners of Indian affairs at Albany ; and
certain other sums for the support of some of the offi-*
cers of government. It declared also that a fort ought to
be built at Albany ; that some fortifications were neces-
sary in Suffolk county, and that the city of New- York
ought to be better fortified. It requested the gover-
nour, when he should go to Albany, to cause a plan to
be made of the fort necessary there to be built, and an
estimate of the expense to be laid before the house.
Samuel Baker, George Straatfield, Samuel Starke,
Richard Janeway, Joseph Low, and Hodrigo Pacheco,
reputable merchants, in London, were authorized by
the house to appoint an agent for the colony at the
court of Great Britain, with a salary of 20dL and hav-
ing directed WOOL to be paid to the governour in
grateful acknowledgment of the vigilant and generous
assistance which he and his relations and friends had
afforded in resisting the bill in parliament relative to
the sugar colonies, it expressed a wish to the governour
to be dissolved. The governour, after giving his as-
sent to twenty-two bills, recommended an adjournment.
} V. The assembly accordingly adjourned itself to the
second Tuesday of April, 1733 ; and the governour,
by several proclamations, adjourned it farther to the
15th October, in the same year. On that day the house
again met, and the governour, 111 a short address, told
it that the barracks at New- York were in want of
repair, and recommended the house to provide for the
expense. The assembly, however, was not disposed
to subject the colony to any additional burthens ; and
it resolved that the consideration of repairing the bar-
racks in fort George, at New-York, be postponed to
the next see&ion. During this part of the session but

History of New- York. 399

few matters were laid before, or acted upon, by the
house. Only eight bills were passed into laws. The
most important subject which claimed the attention of
the house, was a petition of forty-eight Indian traders,
complaining of some irregularities at Oswego, and pray-
ing legislative interference. The house, upon investi-
gation, found the complaints to be true, and requested
the governour to appoint David A. Schuyler, or in
case of his death, or refusal to act, such other person;
as should understand the Indian trade arid language, to
be commissary at Oswego. The assembly now adjourn-
ed, and did not again meet till April 25, 1734, The
governour then opened the session by a formal
speech. He complained in it, of the decay of trade,
ascribing it principally to the inhabitants of the island
of Bermuda, who had become the common carriers of
the colony, and thereby discouraged ship building. He
stated that flour, our staple commodity, had lost
its reputation for the want of proper and strict inspec-
tion laws. He recommended the laying a duty of tan-
nage on foreign bottoms, and the passage of inspection
laws. He urged the house to provide for the further de-
fence of the cities of New- York and Albany,and of the
town of Schenectady. He suggested the expediency of
imposing a duty on legal proceedings and papers, and
of discouraging the importation of negroes. He re-
commended the sending of smiths and artificers among
the Indians to mend their arms. He stated the insi-
dious efforts which had been making by the French to
alienate the affections of the Indians from the British,
and the importance of preserving the friendship of the
Six Nations. The house returned a very civil answer
to the governour^ filled with assurances of loyalty and

400 History of New- York.

zeal for the king and country ; and immediately after*
took into consideration the subjects submitted to it. A
duty of tonnage on vessels not built within the colony,
or wholly owned by any of its inhabitants, or by sub-
jects of Great Britain, wras voted, and a bill directed to
be prepared for the purpose ; as also a bill to prevent
the exportation of unmerchantable flour. Colonel Phi-
lip Schuyler, a very influential gentleman, and well ac-
quainted with the affairs of the colony, was employed
to be sent among the Seneca Indians to secure their
friendship ; and the sum of four hundred and ten pounds
was voted for this service. A bill for fortifying Alba-
ny and Schenectady was brought in and passed. Esti-
mates were submitted to the house of the expenses of
the proposed fortifications at New-York, Albany and
Schenectady, amounting to 17,551/. 13s. Id. The trea-
surer was directed to report a state of the treasury, by
which it appeared that but 174 1/. 165. 5d. £, W7ere in
his hands ; arising principally from the wig tax, the
excise, and duty imposed on licenses of hawkers and
pedlers. Complaints were again made of the exhorbi-
tant fees received by the lawyers and officers of go-
vernment. The bakers in New- York, likewise, com-
plained of the quantities of bread imported into the
province from the neighbouring colonies, and prayed
that a duty be laid on such imported bread.

$ VI. But the most important question which was
agitated, and which, for many years before, had excit-
ed great sensation throughout the colony, was the esta-
blishment of a court of equity. The court party had
insisted that the governour was, ex qfficio> chancellor of
the colony ; while the popular party had warmly op-
posed this position, and denied that such a court could

History of New-York. 401

exist, unless by prescription or by act of parliament.
The house directed counsel to be heard on this inter-
esting subject. Mr. Smith, a lawyer of great reputa-
tion, spoke three hours before the house, against the
claims of the court party. lie denied that the crown
could by any grant, commission or letters patent, erect
a court of chancery : that he had examined the subject
with attention, and that the conclusion he had drawn
was founded upon precedent and principle. Mr. Mur-
ray, a lawyer of undoubted talents, debated tjje ques-
tion on the other side. He maintained, with great abil-
ity and ingenuity, that the courts of chancery, the
king's bench, common pleas, and exchequer, were, by
the laws of England, of original jurisdiction, and as an-
cient as the kingdom itself. He insisted that this colo-
ny was entitled to the same privileges and rights, and
consequently, to the same courts. The discussion was so
ably supported on each side, that the house did not come
to any resolution on the question. The governour him-
self had no doubt of his right to act as chancellor, for he
had two years before (March, 1732) taken the oaths, as
such, before the council. At the same time, James De
Lancey was sworn in as chief justice, in place of Lewis
Morris, and Frederick Philipse was sworn in as second
justice. The arguments of Messrs. Smith and Murray
were afterwards published at the expense of the
colony.

$ V7II. At this session the quakers received an in-
dulgence, for which they had been struggling for some
years. Some of them had been refused their votes by
the sheriff of Westchester, at an election for represen-
tatives, because the} would not take the oaths required

402 History of Ntn-York.

by law. They complained to the govemour ami coun-
cil, who referred the question to the attorney general.
The house took up the subject, and passed an act,
granting to the people called quakers, residing in the
colony, the same rights and privileges as were enjojed
in England by people of that denomination.

The accounts from Europe having favoured the
opinion of an approaching rupture between France and
England, the assembly, with a zeal which was highly
agreeable to the governour, determined to place the
colony in a better posture of defence. 6000/. were
Voted towards fortifying New- York ; 4000/. for build-
ing a stone fort, &c. in Albany ; 800/. for erecting a
fort of beams, on a stone foundation, &e. in Schenecta-
dy ; 500/, for messengers and presents &c. to the Sene-
ca Indians ; and 200Z, for the security of Suffolk coun-
ty. Mr. De Lancey, a member from New-York,
Tvhose wealth and influence were extensive, brought in a
bill for the frequent meeting and calling of the general
assembly. The bill, which was very popular, was pass-
ed, and sent to the governour and council for concur-
rence ; but it there received amendments, which were
calculated to defeat the objects of the bill, and was not
returned to the assembly till some time after. The
governour saw in it the same spirit which prevailed in
the time of the unfortunate Charles I. and that it was
an encroachment upon that prerogative, with which
kings and governours never parted, but wilh reluc-
tance. The assembly, however, took no notice of this
treatment of one of their favourite measures;, and, the
harvest approaching, resolved upon an adjournment.
Luring the two preceding years of governour

History of New-York. 40$

administration, several measures were adopted in coun-
cil, which marked the character of the times. Reports
having been circulated that the governour intended to
take the Dutch church, in New- York, for the use of the
government, induced the council to offer a reward of
100/. for the discovery of the slanderer. A singular
complaint was also made against the corporation of Al-
bany, for having attempted a fraud upon the In iians.*
An anonymous letter having been sent to James Alex-
ander, esq. one of the governour's council, threatening
him and his family with destruction, produced a
proclamation, offering a reward of 501. for the ap-
prehension of the offender. In November, 1732, the
council had directed Rip Van Dam, esq. the former
president of the colony, to be prosecuted for certain
monies he had received while president.

6 VIII. The appointment of an agent at the court of
Great Britain, had always been a subject deeply inter-
esting to the assembly, but the governour and council,
as the executive branch, conceiving themselves entitled
to instruct such agent, from time to time, as to his pro-
ceedings in England, created a jealousy on the part of
the assembly, that its conduct and views were not fairly
represented to his majesty. Mr. Morris moved for
leave to bring in a bill for appointing an agent at the
court of Great Britain, independent of the governour.
He urged the necessity of the measure to the colony, as
tending to maintain a good correspondence between it
and the mother country : that frequently bills of the
last importance had received the royal veto, without be-
ing correctly understood, or duly appreciated: that

* See note A.

404 History of New- York.

the commercial and agricultural concerns of the colony
Tvere not properly or sufficiently represented to his
majesty or his ministers : that insinuations had gone
abroad unfavourable to the loyalty of the assembly,
and it was the duty of the house to remove the impres-
sion. The bill, however, was not brought in by Mr.
Morris till the October session following,

$ IX. During the recess of the legislature, certain
publications had appeared in a paper, called Zenger's
New-York Weekly Journal, which contained severe
animadversions on the government. This paper was
supposed to be published under the patronage of Mr.
Van Dam, and was, of course, decidedly hostile to the
court. The New- York Gazette, printed by William
Bradford, was in the interest of the court ; and these
two were the only papers printed in the colony at this
time. Several printed ballads had likewise appeared,
which placed some of the members of the legislature,
and others, in a ludicrous point of view, insomuch
that the governour and council considered the sub-
ject worthy of notice. They voted, that Zenger's
papers Nos. 7, 47, 48, 49, and two printed bal-
lads, were derogatory to the dignity of his majes-
ty's government ; that they contained reflections up-
on the 1 gislature, and the most distinguished persons in
the colony, and tended to raise sedition and tumult.
They likewise voted that the said papers and ballads
should be burnt by the common hangman ; and at the
opening of the next meeting of the assembly, in Octo-
ber, 1734, requested the house to join in addressing the
governour to otfer a reward for the discovery of the
authors or writers of these seditious libels. The as-

History of New-York.. 105

semfaly passed over the application in silence. Some
of its most active members were supposed to have fa-
v ;ured these attacks, if not to have written the papers
in question. The governour and council took um-
brage at this unwillingness of the house ; and shortly
after requested it to return to the council the papers
containing the offensive publications. The house, with
much sangfroid, ordered the clerk to produce the pa-
pers, and the speaker returned them to the council.
The attorney general afterwards filed an information
against Zenger for these libels, upon which he was ac-
quitted, after having laid in prison eight months. His
acquittal was generally satisfactory. The common
council of New-York, for " his learned and generous
defence of the rights of mankind and the libeity
of the press," presented Mr. Andrew Hamilton,
one of Zenger's counsel, with the freedom of the
city, and their thanks for his distinguished services on
this occasion. The freedom of the city was presented
in a gold box weighing five and an half ounces. On
the lid of the box was engraved the arms of the city,
with this motto, " Demcrsce leges-tiniefacta libtrtas-hcec
tandem emergunt" On the lid within, " Non nummis —
virtute paratur" Round the box, a part of Tully's
wish, " Ita cuique eveniat, ut dt respublica meruit"*

$ X. The British ministry had long foreseen the im-
portance of the colonies to the empire, in furnishing
stores for the support of its navy. Nevertheless they
did not wish to encourage a colonial trade, which might
prejudice the extensive commerce of the English mer-
chants. The lords commissioners for trade and planta-

* For some interesting matter in relation to Zenger, see note B.

406 History of New-York.

tions, not sufficiently acquainted with the nature of the
colonial trade, requested the governour, by letter, dat-
ed May 30, 1734, to transmit his opinion what further
encouragement might be given to induce the colonists
to apply their attention to the cultivation of navi.l
stores of all kinds ; but cautiously added, so as not
61 to interfere with the trade or product of Great Bri-
tain." The jealousy of the British government, even
at this early day, was apparent. They could not brook
a rivalship in commerce, and however important the
trade of the colonies was to the mother country, it
was to be merely tributary to her prosperity and splen-
dour. The governour laid the letter before the house
at its October session, which, after gravely resolving to
take the subject into consideration, returned the origin-
al letter to the governour, and took no further order
upon it,

$ XL The assembly now resolved itself into a com-
mittee of ways and means, towards fortifying the colo-
ny. A duty of a shilling on every pound of tea, and
every barrel of cider ; three shillings on every barrel
of pork ; two shillings on every barrel of beef, import-
ed into the colony, was voted by the house. An annual
tax of one shilling was also imposed on every slave
throughout the colony. Twelve thousand pounds, in.
bills of credit, were ordered to be issued, redeemable
out of the before mentioned duties, when collected, and
which fund was made chargeable therewith. A bill, for
further regulating the militia, was brought in and pass-
ed. A bill for the frequent electing and calling the
general assembly, was passed by the house, but the .
governour and council having clogged it with amend-
ments unfriendly to the principle of the bill, and refus-

History of New-York 407

hig to recede, the bill was lost. The bill, brought in
by Mr. Morris, to appoint an agent at the court of
Great Britain, independent of the governour, shared
the same fate. Notwithstanding the hostility of the
court party to any measure which appeared to be cal-
culated for the public good, yet the house, with a zeal
and patriotism highly honourable to it, adopted every
measure suggested for the defence of the colony, and
willingly imposed heavy burthens on its constituents to
promote this object.

$ XII. Nor c<>uld it be justly chargeable with a de-
sire to continue its authority. It earnestly prayed the
governour to be dissolved so as to enable its const itu-
ents to signify, by the elective franchise, their opinion
of the measures it had pursued. But the governour
too well knew the value of the present assembly. He
had seen that that body had not refused, under any cir-
cumstances, however mortifying, to give its aid to the
desires of the British ministry, in providing for the de-
fence of the colony. He feared, likewise, that the peo-
ple were not disposed to increase their burthens to grat-
ify the ambition of kings and ministers, nor were even
willingto submit, with patience, to the present system of
taxation, which they apprehended was becoming daily
more gigantic and oppressive. He told the house,
that it was the undoubted prerogative of the crown to
adjourn, prorogue, or dissolve the assembly. That be,
being entrusted by his majesty with that power, would
exercise it only as he should find it conducive to his
majesty's service, and the benefit of ttie colony, and
added, " which I cannot apprehend it to be at this-
time." The assembly, therefore, by the consent of tbf>
governour, a(f/ourmd itself.

408 History of New- York.

$ XIII. The measures of the governour were daily
becoming more odious. A strong party was form-
ing to excite the people to opposition. Lampoons
and ballads were published, shewing the evil ten-
dency of preserving, for so many years, the same body
of men in the assembly, without permitting the people
to express their opinions by an election. That the
heavy burthens laid upon the colony were to pamper
the great and wealthy, at the expense of the agricultu-
ral and commercial part of the community. That
trade was languishing, and in proportion as commerce
decreased, taxes were increasing. Meanwhile, the
governour and council were content in being censured
by the people, provided they could influence the assem-
bly to be subservient to the views of government. The
liberal supplies that had been granted, were sufficient
to gratify the wishes of the governour, and he suffer-
ed the assembly to remain without being again called
for near a twelve month. But the difficulties in Europe
and the Indian affairs at home, became too urgent for
further delay. The governour was importuned to con-
vene the legislature. He had, during the last twelve
month, been personally present at conferences with the
Six Nations of Indians, at Albany, to renew the cove-
nant chain. He had likewise caused the garrison at
Oswego to be well supplied, and he laid before the
house, which met in October, 1735, the information
he had received, and requested the assembly to take
these matters into consideration, and to provide for the
further encouragement of trade. A complaint was
made to the house, by the proprietors of land taken out
of Connecticut, that a bill had been preferred to the
governour, as chancellor, to vacate a patent issued un-

History oj Nen-Yorlc. 409

der the seal of the colony, for fifty thousand acres of land.
This complaint was referred to the committee of grie-
Tances. Mr. darretson, a member from King's coun-
ty, and chairman of that committee, reported, that a
court of chancery, within this colony, in the hands or
under the exercise of a governour, without consent in
general assembly, was contrary to law, unwarrantable
and of dangerous consequence to the liberties and pro-
perty of the people. An animated discussion again ensu-
ed. The printed arguments of Messrs. Smith and Murray,
on the same subject, were resorted to ; but the house at
length concurred with the committee in their report.
Mr. Van Home, a inember from New-York, presented
a petition from a great number of the inhabitants of the
city of New-York, praying that the house might re-
quest the governour to cause it to be dissolved. The peti-
tioners remonstrated against the long continuance of the
same members in power. That this was a serious grie-
vance to the colony : That frequent elections were
valuable to a free people, and that this privilege ought
not to be yielded. The house unanimously voted that
it wras their desire to be dissolved, and sent a copy of
the vote and of the petition to the governour. A simi-
lar petition from some of the inhabitants of Queen's
county, ascribing the decay of trade, and the lessening
of the value of lands, to the long continuance of the
assembly, was voted to be an unjust and audacious
charge, highly reflecting on the house. The governour
refused to dissolve the assembly, and told the house
that it ought to make provision for the deficiency which
appeared in the treasurer's report, and that this was due
to the honour of the house. The assembly, notwithstand-
ing this demand oi the governour, deemed the present

52

410 History of

time unfit to make the necessary provision, and, by the
governour's assent, adjourned to the last Tuesday of
March, 1736.

$ XIV. Among the last acts of governour Cosby,
was his declaring Rip Van Dam, esq. suspended from
his seat as counsellor of the province. Van Dam was
senior counsellor, and as such, upon the governour's
demise, would again have succeeded to the government
as president of the colony. To prevent this, Cosby
convened the council in his bed chamber, and declared
Van Dam to be suspended. No reason was given for
this act at the time. It is probable that Cosby's partial-
itv to George Clarke, the counsellor next in seniority to
Van Dam, and the controversy between the council
and Van Dam, in respect to certain monies he had be-
fore received, while president, produced this violent and
extraordinary measure, the effects of which were expe-
rienced even in the succeeding administration.

tf XV. Governour Cosby died on the 7th March,
1735-6.

Thus ended an administration in which there was
something to admire and much to condemn. In re-
viewing the character of Cosby, we cannot but perceive
his decided hostility to the elective franchise, arid his
utter contempt for the opinions of the people. No
governour commenced an administration with better
prospects, and greater popularity. Yet none endea-
voured less to retain the confidence and respect of the
people than himself. He continued an assembly for six
years; resisting every effort which was made for another
election, and refusing to assent to a bill for the frequent
electing and calling of the legislature, without such
amendments as would defeat the object intended. With

History of New- York, 411

high opinions of prerogative and decided hostility to free
and equal legislation, he became at length odious to the
colony, and even many of his best friends had deserted
him. Yet at the same time, it must be acknowledged,
he possessed many good and amiable qualities. He
was affable and courteous in his deportment; honest and
sincere in all his private transactions. Though not pos-
sessed of talents, either splendid or great, yet he was
attentive to the concerns of the colony, and to the fair
and impartial administration of justice within it.

HISTORY OF HEW-YGHK.

PART VIIL

•From the year 1736 to the year 1738, inclusive.. ..Includ-
ing part of Lieut. Governour Clarke's Administration*

I George Clarke declared president, and Rip Van Dam's opposition,
§ II. Van Oam declares himself president ; the assembly convened;
Clarke appointed lieutenant governour. § III. Proceedings of the
assembly, and its dissolution. § IV. New elections for members.
§ V. Session opened. § VI. Assembly address the lieutenant go-
vernour. § VII. Features of the address. VIII. Contested elec-
tions ; vote relating to the Jews. § IX. Taxes voted. § X. Ad-
journment, prorogation, and second meeting. § XI. Rupture betweeo
the legislature and the lieutenant governour ; dissolution of the
house.

UPON the death of governour Cosby, the council
were immediately convened. The question was pro-
pped whether George Clarke, the senior counsellor,
next after Rip Van Dam, should be considered presi-
dent of the colony. Every member, with the excep-
tion of James Alexander, esq. voted in the affirmative,
Mr. Clarke was accordingly declared president, and took
upon himself the administration of the government.
A powerful party, however, had been formed in favour
of Mr. Van Dam. His suspension from the council,
by governour Cosby, was declared to be arbitrary and
illegal : That the instructions from the crown did n >t
authorize such a violent proceeding: That Mr. Van

414 History of Ne-w-York.

Dam should have been summoned, previous to his sus-
pension, in order to defend himself against any charges
that might have been preferred against him. There
was undoubtedly much weight in the reasoning adopted
by the friends and adherents of Mr. Van Dam. Justice
required that the charges against him should have been
fairly investigated before he was dismissed. Mr. Clarke
directed the council to be convened. He laid before
it a part of his majesty's instructions, which related to
the power of suspension. By these it appeared that
the governour possessed the power to suspend any
counsellor who had wilfully and unreasonably absented
himself from its meetings, and should persist therein, af-
ter being admonished to the contrary. But yet it did
not appear that the late governour had proceeded on that
ground. He had declared to the council that the rea-
sons which induced him to suspend Mr. Van Dam,
would in due season be laid before his majesty, but Mr*
Van Dam's absence from the council was not even sug-
gested to be one of them. Indeed, so long as Mr.
Van Dam remained in the colony he could hardly b$
adjudged guilty of wilfully and unreasonably absenting
himself from the council, till he was requested to shew
cause for such absence, and was heard in his defence,
Nor was a suspension merely to be considered as a to-
tal exclusion, until the king's approbation was obtained.
But the council were opposed to the views of Mr. Van
Dam. They voted that provision should be made
against any riots or disturbance that might ensue. Or-
ders were issued, forbidding any person recognizing the
pretensions of Mr. Van Dam. A .large quantity of
gunpowder was directed to be procured and to be plac-
ed in the fort for its defence,

History of New-York. 415

: J IT. Mr. Van 13am, however, was not deterred
by the menacing attilude of aflairs ; he proceeded
to call the council, and assumed the title of command-
er hi chief and president of the colony. He appoint-
ed several of the charter officers of the city of New-
York,* and was about to exercise other powers,
incident to the office he assumed. Mr. Clarke, by the
advice of the council, all of whom, except Mr. Alex-
ander, had adhered to his authority, thought proper to
convene the assembly. That body accordingly met on
the 13th October, 1736. Mr. Clarke opened the session
by a speech. He told the house that unhappy divisions
had arisen in the colony, and strongly recommended
the legislature to provide for the defence, the safety and
prosperity of the colony. He directed its attention to
the deficiencies in the revenue, and to the importance
of promoting ship building. He wished the house to
provide for the finishing of the fortifications already set
on foot, and particularly Fort Hunter, which he repre-
sented to be in a ruinous condition, and the house at
Oswego, which was in want of repairs. He stated that
persons ought to be sent to the Seneca Indians, to se-
cure their fidelity, and to make them suitable presents*
He entreated the house to be moderate in its debates,
arid to make things of a private or inferiour nature to
yield to those of a publick and important description.
The house, without any difficulty, recognized Mr,
Clarke as president of the colony. It is probable that
this acquiescence was produced by accounts from Eng-
land, stating that Mr. Clarke would be appointed
lieutenant governour; for, on the 30th of the

* See note B,

416 History of Ntiv-York.

month of October, his commission, dated on the 30th
of July preceding, was received and published with the
solemnities common to the occasion. This event put
an end to the claims of Mr. Vail Dam to the adminis-
tration of the government.

} III. Few matters of moment were acted upon by
the house at this session. A complimentary address
was voted to the king, on the marriage of the prince of
Wales, with the princess of Saxe-Gotha. Col/ Morris
again introduced a bill for the better regulating the elec^
tk>ns of members to serve in the general assembly, with
the additional clause of preventing any member from
accepting any office of profit after his election. This
bill met with violent opposition. The disabling clause
\vas particularly obnoxious to some of the members who
held offices under the crown, and to others who were
expectants of office. Upon a motion made to commit
the bill, a majority voted in the negative, and the biil
was rejected. Colonel Morris, with a perseverance
highly honourable to his character and views, immedi*
ately moved for leave to bring in another bill for regu-
lating the election of members to serve in the general
assembly. The house then proceeded to examine the
state of the treasury. By the treasurer's accounts it
appeared that warrants on the treasury for the su n of
8697/. 135. 8d. remained unpaid. The house voted that
it would raise ways and means for supplying 60227. 12s.
7±d. only, but expressly limited the revenue so to be
raised to the specifick deficiencies reported to the house,
so as to prevent any misapplication of it by the lieute-
nant governour and council. This vote was so offensive
to the lieutenant governour, that he immediately dis-
solved the hou.se. He told the assembly that it had

History of New- York. 4 1 7

violated its solemn promises to make good the deficien-
cy in the revenue : That it had passed resolves highly
derogatory to his majesty's honour and prerogative, and
that he would suffer the people to make another elec-
tion. Thus an assembly, which had continued its ses-
sions for nearly nine years, without any intermediate
election, became dissolved. Its continuance so long is
a strong evidence that a majority of that body had been
devoted to the views and interests of the court. Taxa-
tion had been lavishly imposed, laws for supporting the
revenue, for building fortifications, and for making
treaties with the Indians, had been almost constantly the
subjects of their deliberation. Yet, during this period,
many laws, for encouraging trade, promoting literature,
establishing courts of justice, £c. were likewise passed.
$ IV. The dissolution of this assembly was generally
satisfactory to the colony. Few of its members were re-
elected, arid of those few, the greater number belonged
to the popular party. The new elections for represen-
tatives now commenced. Great exertions were made,
by the contending parties, for success. In the city of
New-York, and which, indeed, gave a tone to all the oth-
er elections in the colony, the popular party was tri-
umphant. James Alexander, esq. who had so firmly
adhered to Rip Van Dam, in his struggle for the presi-
dency after the death of governour Cosby, was elected
a member for that city. Colonel Lewis Morris, junior,
so well known for his decided opposition to the court,
was again sent a member from Weslchester.

} V. The lieutenant governour determined to conr
ceal his chagrin and regret at the result of tiiis elec-
tion, and to endeavour to gain of the assembly by com-
plaisance and persuasion, what he knew could not be

53

418 History of Acw-Yoriv

accomplished by menaces or coercion. He opened the
new session, on the 15th June, 1737, by complimenting
the choice of members which the people hail made, and
telling the house that he was persuaded it came " with
resolutions to answer the great ends of their election."
He stated that the approaching harvest forbade him
from expecting much business now to be done, and that
he would avail himself of that opportunity to meet the
Six Nations of Indians at Albany, to renew the cove-
nant chain, and to endeavour to prevail with the Seneca
tribe to revoke the consent they had unadvisedly given
to one John Coeur, a Frenchman, from Canada, to
build a house in their territory, at TierondequaL* He
represented that place to be very important, as it re-
garded the fur trade, and that, if it were possessed by
the French, it would enable them to intercept all the
western fur in its way to Oswego. The house, in it*
answer, assured the governour that in its opinion the
dissolution of the Jate assembly was necessary to his
majesty's honour, and to the interest and prosperity of
the colony ; and that the present assembly would so
conduct itself as to give the people " no reason to re-
pent of their choice." Colonel Morris immediately af-
ter moved for, and obtained, leave to bring in bills to
regulate the elections of the assembly, and providing
likewise for frequent elections ; for settling and estab-
li*hing courts of justice ; for appointing an agent at the
court of Great Britain, independent of the governour ;
for lowering the interest of money, and for regulating
and establishing fees. Mr. Alexander obtained like

* Now in the county of Ontario, situated on the lake of that name,
and about sixty miles ironi Cswe&o.

History of New-York. 419

leave to bring in bills to encourage the importation of
white people and servants into the colony ; for encour-
aging the making of iron, and raising of hemp ; and for
guarding against abuses in the making and exportation
of flour. The assembly then adjourned, in order to
enable the lieutenant governour to go to Albany for
the purposes he had mentioned. On the 2d September
ensuing, the house again met. The lieutenant gover-
nour, in his speech, informed the assembly that he had
been at Albany, and had sent an interpreter, a smith,
and three other persons, to reside among the Senecas
the ensuing year, to keep the Indians steady to their
promise, not to suffer any Frenchman to build on their
territory. He recommended the assembly to place the
hi »use at Oswego, the barracks at Fort George and Fort
Hunter, in a better state of repair; and concluded by
assuring the house that he would concur in any mea-
sures necessary for the safety and prosperity of thecolo*
in .

$ VI. The house, departing from its accustomed
mode of proceeding, instead of voting to take the lieu-
tenant, governour's speech into consideration, voted
'*' that his honour the lieutenant governour be address-
ed." The members from New- York, Westchester, and
Queens, were directed to prepare such address, Mr.
Alexander then moved to bring in a bill vacating the
geats of such members of the assembly as should accept
of any office, gift, or grant from the governour or com-
mander in chief. Five days after the commencement
of the session, the address to the lieutenant governour
was reported, and adopted without amendment. This
address is worthy of particular notice. It for ns an era
in the history of our legislation, which is highly Jaipur-*

420 History of New-York.

taut. Hitherto the crown and its ministers had been
ignorant of the true sentiments of the people, and the
firm and independent conduct of their representatives.
The governours of the colony had not unfrequently led
the ministry to believe that the assembly was a body of
men ignorant of legislation, boisterous on some occa-
sions, but easily soothed or fatigued into compliance.
The government had yet to learn that there were men
in this colony, whose firmness and patriotism would
have done honour to the best days of Greece and
Rome.

§ VII. The address is as remarkable for its style as
for its matter. It commences with recognizing some of
the vital principles of a good government. It affirms
that none ought to represent the people but those who
are freely and fairly chosen by them. That elections
ought to be frequent, that experience had shewn the
clanger of trusting the same men too long with power:
That the history of England proved that intrigues and
corruption would inevitably destroy any government ;
and in fine, that proper checks and balances were neces-
sary for the preservation of the liberty and happiness
of any country. One sentence in the address de-
serves to be quoted. In speaking on the subject of
the revenue, the house adopt this bold and energetic
language.*

" The true causes of the deficiency in the revenue,
we believe, are too well known to your honour, to
make it necessary for us to say much on that head ;
had the conspicuous loyalty of the inhabitants of this

* Smith, see page 369, gives the same extract. It could not, how-
ever, in the order of time, be properly omitted here,

History of New- York. 421

province, met with a suitable treatment in return, it is
not unlikely, that we should now be weak enough to act
like others before us, in being lavish beyond our abili-
ties, and raising sums unnecessary to be given, and con-
tinued the donation, like them, for a longer time, than
what was convenient for the safety of the inhabitants ;
but experience has shewn the imprudence of such a
conduct, and the miserable condition to which tiie pro-
vince is reduced, renders the raising of large sums very
difficult, if not impracticable ; we therefore beg leave to
be plain with your honour, and hope you will not take it
amiss, when we tell you, that you are not to expect, that wt
either will raise sums unfit to be raised, or put what we
shall raise, into the9 power of a governour to misapply, if
we can prevent it ; nor shall we make up any other defi-
ciencies, than what we conceive are Jit and just to be paid,
or continue what support or revenue we shall raise for any
longer time than one year, nor do we think it convenient to
do even that, until such laws are passed, as we conceive ne-
cessary for the safety of the inhabitants of this colony,
who have reposed a trust in us, for that only purpose, and
which we are sure you will think, it reasonable, we should
act agreeable to, and by the grace of God, we shall en-
deavour not to deceive them."

The assembly, in the address, took a general view of
the colonial affairs. It adverted to the importance of
having an agent at the court of Great Britain, to be ap-
pointed and paid by the house. It complained of the
court of chancery not being regulated by law; that
under governour Sloughter, in 1691, that court was es-
tablished by an act of the general assembly, yet that
since that time governours had " erected that court by
an ordinance of themselves and council." " That, thev

422 History of New-York.

could not be ignorant what dissatisfaction the erection
of a court of chancery, in that manner, gave to the
generality of the people." That the governours had
treated the assembly with " unreasonable disregard and
contempt." That some of the governours were wholly
unfit for the duties of chancellor, or any other station,-
though " buoyed up and bloated with the fulsome ad-
dresses and servile flatteries of the instruments of their
rrisrule and oppression." In fine, the whole address is
a production honourable to the times in which it was
formed, and evinces the pr»ud, unbroken spirit of the
colonists, incapable of being soothed or awed into sub-
mission, by the arts or power of their rulers. The
lieutenant governour was not disposed to resist such a
formidable combination. He thanked the house for its
address, and assured it of his cordial co-operation in
whatever was necessary for the good of the colony.

§ VIII. The assembly were now engaged in the dis-
cussion of contested elections, and undue returns made
by the sheriffs. Mr. Cornelius Van Home prayed to
be heard before the house as to his claim to a seat there-
in, against Adolph Philipse, the member returned as
elected. The house voted that neither Mr. Philipse
nor Mr. Van Home should be entitled to a seat, until
their respective claims were investigated. A scrutiny
was demanded arid obtained, and upon this question a
division was called and the house stood sixteen to eight*
L A it be here remarked that this is the first division, in
which the names of the members voting on each side,
were entered on the journals of the house. After this
period the practice became more common. It was like-
wise resolved, in the case of Mr. Alexander, that if tie
should act as a counsellor, during the continuance of

ITistory of Ncru-Tort. 423

the assembly, that it would be a sufficient reason for
expelling him from the house. The elections of colo-
nel Frederick Philipse, a member from Westchester>
and colonel Gaasbeeck Chambers, a member from Ul-
ster, were also contested, but without success. The
Ji use came to a remarkable decision relative to the
Jews. It resolved that none of the Jewish profession
could either vote for representatives, nor could be ad-
mitted as witnesses touching any contested elections.
The Catholicks and the Jews, had long been peculiarly
obnoxious to the colonists. The first settlers being
Dutch, and mostly of the Reformed Protestant R« li-
gion, and the migrations from England, since the colony
had belonged to the crown, being principally Episcopal,
both united in their aversion to the Catholicks and Jews,
ftlr. Adolph Philipse at length succeeded, and retain-
ed his seat in the house. A bill to appoint an agent at
the court of Great Britain, and to be paid by the as-
sembly, was brought in and speedily passed through the
house. This bill, as usual, was resisted by the coun-
cil, and the amendments proposed by that body, not
being agreeable to the assembly, it was lost. The
assembly, in consequence of what it deemed the unpar-
liamentary conduct of the council, refused to receive
any messages by the clerk of that body, insisting that
they ought to be delivered by the hands of one of the
council. The house ordered colonel Philipse, Mr. Ver-
plank, and Mr. Johnson, to " deliver a message to the
council signifying that the house desires satisfaction
from the council, concerning the said innovation, which
the house conceives is to the prejudice and derogation
of the liberty of the general assembly of this colony.'*
This vote indicates the bold and determined attitude of

424 History of New- York.

the assembly ; its consciousness of the power with which
it was vested, and its resolution to resist the least in-
fringement of its rights. The governour and council
were not disposed to provoke this spirit of the house,
and prudently forebore from a repetition of the irregu-
larity complained of, and so the affair dropped.

$ IX. The house, in committee of ways and means,
voted a tax on the following articles imported into the
colony during the preceding year : Forty shillings on
each slave imported direct from Africa, and four pounds
if imported from any other place ; thirty shillings on
every pipe of wine ; two pence on every gallon of
spirits, rum or other distilled liquors; five pounds on
every hundred pounds prime cost on British West In-
dia goods ; four shillings on every hundred weight of
cocoa, and three per cent on all sales at auction. The
house resolved that if any part of the said money should
be paid by the treasurer before the passage of proper
laws for the purpose, it should be deemed a misapplica-
tion, and the treasurer should be held accountable. So
jealous was the assembly of the power of the gover-
nour and council, that riot content With limiting all taxes
to the term of one year, it would not even permit the
monies so raised to be paid out or applied without its
express authority. The interest of money was now re-
duced to seven per cent. The bill for the frequent elec-
tion of representatives at length obtained the assent of
the governour and council. This assent was not, how-
ever, cordially given. The lieutenant governour knew
that the bill would not obtain the royal assent, as its
character and views were too democratick, and as it
gave the people too great a share in the government of
the colony. In 1739, the crown repealed this law, and

History of New-York. 425

it Was surmised, at the time, that the lieutenant gover-
nour had been instrumental in procuring this repeal.

$ X. The lieutenant governour, after giving his as-
sent to twenty-nine bills, adjourned the house to the
April following. Before it reassembled, the lieute-
nant governour thought proper further to prorogue it to
the 29th of August, 1738. When it met on that day,
the interesting question, how far a prorogation operated
as a dissolution, was discussed. This discussion con-
tinued during three days. Precedents were searched
into, authorities were quoted, and parliamentary cus-
toms were fully examined. The house decided, unani-
mously y that it was. not dissolved, and that it did then
lawfully and rightfully exist. This discussion being re-
ported to the lieutenant governour, he addressed the
house. He informed it of the afflicting death of her
majesty, queen Caroline; he repeated his complaints
that the house ought to settle a revenue for as long a
time as former assemblies had done, and that unless this
was granted, his duty to his majesty forbade him from
assenting to any act to continue the excise and for sink-
ing the colonial bills of credit. The house, after a long
discussion, unanimously resolved that it would not pass
any bill for the grant of monies, but with assurance
that the bills of credit struck and issued in the years
1714 and 1717, should be redeemed, and also the
excise act should be continued from November 1,
1739, for a sufficient number of years to cancel
and destroy the said bills. This resolution was Com-
municated to the lieutenant governour by Messrs.
Schuyler and Johnson. These gentlemen having wait-
ed on the lieutenant governour, reported that his hon-
our was pleased to answer, " that he could not give his

54

426 History of New-York.

assent to such a bill unless the house would settle a
support for as long time and in as ample a manner as
had been given to former governours ; neither could
be consent to the appropriation of the money." A
rupture between the executive and legislature was ra-
pidly approaching. All good men saw, with regret, that
pertinacious adherence to prerogative, on the part, <<f
the lieutenant governour, which tended to frustrate the
wholesome measures of the assembly. The lieutenant
governour had little reason to complain of the legisla-
ture. It had voted him a salary of 1560/. and had been
lavish in its disbursements for the support of govern-
irent. By limiting the duration of taxes to one year,
it had shewed to the people the benefits arising from an
am ual meeting of the legislature, and it possessed no
other means of coercing the crown to a due sense of
its dependence on the affections and loyalty of the
colony. But the lieutenant governour was not to be
moved by considerations of this nature. He ordered
the house to attend him, and in an angry strain of ia-
vt-ctive and abuse, told the assembly that its proceed-
ings were " presumptuous, daring and unprecedented."
That he could " not look upon them without astonish-
ment, nor with honour suffer the house to sit any longer."
He accordingly dissolved it. No bills were passed into
laws at this session. Many were originated, but, by the
dissolution, were lost. The character of the assembly,
for firmness, in what it deemed the essential interests of
tie colony, cannot be disputed. The legislature began
to perceive its importance in the scale of government.
It possessed the germ of that independence and free-
dom which afierw ards ripened and displayed itself in

History of New-York. 427

securing the liberties of our country. It felt the digni-
ty due to its own character, and neither ministerial
smiles nor frowns., could sway it from the path of
duty.

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.

PART IX.

Including from the year 1738 to 17 '41... .Being a continu-
ation of the Government under JLieutenant Governour
Clarice.

§ I. State of Europe, and of the colony ; war between Great Britain
and Spain. § II. Impressment of seamen resisted by the mayor of
New- York; spotted fever and small pox. § III. New elections of
the assembly ; lieutenant governour's speech and proceedings of the
house. § IV. Revenue ; prorogation. § V. Negro plot. § VI.
Number executed, &c. and remarks. § VII. Meeting of the assem-
bly ; progress of Christianity among the Indians. § VIII. Sugges-
tions that the colony wished to be independent of the crown, consi.
dered.

JL HE state of Europe had been, for some time, un-
propitious to the settlement of the colonies, or the in-
crease of their commerce. Spain had sought occasion
to embroil herself in the war with Great Britain. The
convention made at Paris, in January, 1738, by which
Spain had engaged to pay England 95,000/. for depre-
dations committed by the subjects of the former on
those of the latter, had been violated. Hostile prepa-
rations against Spain, seemed to be the constant theme
of the English people. The ministry, unable to resist
the clamour, granted letters of marqe and reprisal.

430 History of Neiv-YorJc.

The troops were augmented ; a fleet was assembled at
Spithead ; a reinforcement sent out to admiral Had-
dock, and an embargo laid on all outward bound mer-
chant ships. Every movement threatened an immedi-
ate rupture. Admiral Vernon was sent to the West
Indies, to annoy the Spanish trade and settlements.
The king of Spain, on his part, ordered all British ships,
in his waters, to be seized and detained. In the end,
war was declared by England against Spain, on the 23d
of October, 1739. As early as February, 1736, gover-
nour Broughton, of South Carolina, had apprized the
lieutenant governour of New- York, that a Spanish arma-
ment was preparing at Havanna, 1o attack Georgia and
South Carolina. The lieutenant governour and council
had, thereupon, forbidden supplies or arms to be ship-
ped to the Spaniards, and an embargo was also laid on
all vessels bound to St. Augustine.

$ II. A remarkable application was made by captain
Norris, of the ship Tartar, then lying in the harbour of
New-York, for liberty to impress thirty seamen, whom,
he said, were much wanted by him to man his vessel.
The lieutenant governour and council ordered the may-
or of New-York to cause the impressment to be made.
The mayor, with a firmness which did him much ho-
nour, peremptorily refused to obey the order, and the
lieutenant governour and council prudently declined,
though solicited, to take any further measures to com-
ply with captain Norris' requisition. The colonists
were yet ignorant of the practical operation of the
doctrine of impressment. The spark of liberty, en-
kindled in their bosoms, could not be extinguished by
the arts or arms of their rulers. The purple or spotted
fever was said to be making great ravages in South

History of New-York. 131

Carolina, and the small pox, another terrible enemy of
man, was stated to prevail at Barbadoes and Antigua.
The lieutenant governour and council ordered all ves-
sels from South Carolina, Barbadoes and Antigua to
perform quarantine.

$ III. The former assembly having been dissolved, a
new election for representatives became necessery. In
the city of New- York an entire change of members
was produced. IN one of those who served in the last
assembly were returned. Though great exertions had
been made by the lieutenant governour to procure a
house, less rigid and unbending than the former, he
was equally unsuccessful in the attainment of his pur-
pose. Whatever differences existed between the new
members, on minor subjects of legislation, yet on those
leading and important questions, of granting supplies
£»r only one year, and of supporting the credit of the
paper money of the colony, there was but one opinion.

The lieutenant governour opened the session, on the
27th of March, 1739. He told the house to imitate the
British parliament, by granting liberal supplies. Fie
reminded it of the gratitude it owed to his majesty, for
Lis constant protection and support of the colonial trade,
and of the rights and liberties of the colony. He ear-
nestly recommended the house to provide for the long
arrears due for the support of government. He again
called its attention to the ruinous state of the fort
among the Seneca Indians, and the barracks at Fort
George. The complaint of the French endeavour-
ing to alienate the affections of the Indians, was, as
usual, a prominent subject of his speech. He also in-
formed the house that the crown had repealed the law
regulating elections of representatives, and concluded

432 History of New-York.

by promising to give his assent to any bills the assem-
bly should pass, provided it would do its duty in re-
spect to the revenue. The house seetned to be ev^n
less courteous than the former assembly. On a division
to take the speech immediately into consideration, only
five members voted in the affirmative, and seventeen in
the negative. The consideration of the speech was
postponed for a week. The house likewise reduced
the salary of the lieutenant governour, from 1560/. to
]300/. alledging the present embarrassments of the
colony as the cause for this reduction. Little business
was done, and the small pox being then prevalent in
New-York, the house took a recess to August 29, 1739.
When it reassembled, the lieutenant governour remind-
ed it of the subjects contained in his former speech.
He added that ship building was much neglected in the
colony, and suggested the propriety of increasing it by
a law to be passed for the purpose. He communicated
to the house a letter from the governour of Massachu-
setts, and a vote of its assembly, signifying a desire to
have the boundaries between the two colonies settled
by commissioners. The small pox still continuing in
New-York, the house, with the approbation of the
lieutenant governour, changed its place of meeting to
the house of Harmanus Rutgers, near the fresh water
pond. No report having been made to the house
of the expenditures of the sums voted in 1734,
amounting to nearly 12,OOOZ. for the purposes of erect-
ing fortifications in New-York, Suffolk, Albany and
Schenectady, the commissioners appointed for applying
those monies, were directed to make report of the man-
ner in which they had been applied. The treasurer
was likewise directed to report the receipts into the

History of New-York. 433

treasury, under the acts laying a duty of tonnage, for
emitting certain bills of credit, for laying duties on
sales at auction, and for collecting the excise duties
The house voted that it was the duty of the crown to
supply the garrisons of the colony with bedding, ket-
tles, bowls and platters, and that no tax ought to be im-
posed on the inhabitants for the purpose. About this
time seventy families of Highlanders had arrived, and
intended to make a settlement at Wood Creek. To
enable them to do so, the government had allowed them
a liberal compensation. The assembly were now pro-
ceeding to the subject of fortifications, always having
in view* however, that all supplies should continue but
for one year; that they should be limited in their ap-
plication to the specitick purposes directed by the house*
and that the credit of the paper currency of the colony
should remain unimpaired.

} IV. The lieutenant governour pressed the house to
raise a revenue in gross, and to leave its application
to the lieutenant governour and council. This, as
usual, was opposed by the house, and the opposition
was highly offensive to his honour. As a prelude
to what he intended, the lieutenant governour sent for
the house and prorogued them for a few days only^
with a view, as he said, " that the members might seri-
ously reflect upon these matters." This prorogation
.produced no change in the temper or disposition of the
.assembly, but rather served to increase its hostility to
the court. The lieutenant governour seeing this spirit
of the house, was fearful of proceeding to extremities.
He gave his assent to the bill for supporting the credit
of the paper currency, and the house voted the usual
•supplies for the support of government, and for victual

55

434 History of New-York.

ing five hundred men, to be employed in an expedition
against the Spaniards. On the 17th November, 17,39,
the house was adjourned until the April following.

$ V. Subsequent to the next meeting of the assembly,
certain events occurred, which, though they were not
completely developed until sometime afterwards, it will
not be amiss to notice here in connection. These events
were calculated to awaken the feelings, and rouse tl.e
1 resentment of the colonists against the unfortunate
Africans, who were devoted to a state of slavery. A rob-
bery, which had been committed at the house of Robert
Hogg, a merchant in New-York, on the 28th of Febru-
ary, 1740*1, seemed to have led to the discovery of a
plot, which was afterwards called the negro plot. One
IVIary Burton, an indented servant to John Hughson,
(a man of infamous character, and to whose house
slaves were in the practice of resorting t*> drink and
gamble, and of secreting the goods they had st< len)
was the inslrument, in the hands of the magistrates, for
the detection and punishment of the offenders. On the
18th of March after the robbery, a fire broke out in
the roof of his majesty's house at Fort George, near the
cl apel, consuming the house, the chapel and some other
buildings adjacent. Most of the publick records in the
secretary's office, over the fort gate, were fortunately
rescued from the flames. A week after, another fire
broke out at the house belonging to a captain Warren,
war the long bridge, at the southwest end of the city.
Both these fires were, at first, supposed to be accident-
al. But about a week after tht List fire, another broke
out at tlie store house of a Mr. Van Zandt, towards the
east end of the town. Three days after a fourth alarm
was given, at*d it was found that some hay was on tire

History of New-York. 435

in a cow stable near the house of a Mr. Quick, or a
Mr. Vergereciu. The fire was soon suppressed. The
people in returning from that fire, were alarmed by a
fifth cry, at the house of one Ben Thompson, next door
west of a captain Sarly's house. It appeared that fire
had been placed between two beds, in the loft of a
kitchen, where a negro usually slept. The next morn-,
ing coals were discovered under a hay stack, near the
coach house and stables of Joseph Murray, esq. in
Broadway. All these circumstances having occurred
in quick succession, the people were induced to be-
lieve that some designing persons intended to destroy
the city by fire. What strengthened this belief, was,
a seventh alarm of fire the next day, at the house of a
sergeant Burns, opposite the f ••it garden, an eighth
alarm occasioned by a fire breaking out the same day,
in the roof of a Mr. Hilton's house, near the fly mar-
ket; and again, the same afternoon, and within a
few hours after, a ninth fire occurring, at colonel
Philipse's store house. This strange coincidence of
events, leaves indeed little room for doubt, that some one
or more of the fires occurred through design. It was soon
rumoured that the negroes were the perpetrators. One
Quacko, a negro, belonging to a Mr. Walter, was said
to have made use of some mysterious language and
threats, indicating his knowledge of a plot. A procla-
mation was issued, offering rewards for the discovery
of the offenders. Quacko, and several other negroes
were apprehended and closely interrogated, but with-
out effect. The supreme court, at its April term,
strictly enjoined the grand jury to make diligent enqui-
ries as to the late robberies and fires within the city.
Mary Burton, who had been apprehended as a witness*

43G History of New-York.

relative to the robbery at Mr. Hogg's, gave the grand
jury reason to believe that she was also privy to the de-
sign to set fire to the city. After some difficulty, she
made a disclosure, which, in all probability, was greatly
exaggerated, though some of its parts might have been
true. She stated that meetings of negroes were held
at her master's [Hughson.] That their plan was to
burn the fort and city. That one Caesar, [a black] was
to be governour, and Hughson, her master, king ! That
they were to destroy the whites. That she had known
seven or eight guns, and some swords, in her master's
house ! That the meetings at her master's house, con-
sisted of twenty or thirty negroes at a time ! Upon this
evidence, warrants were issued, and many negroes
committed to prison. One Arthur Price, a servant,
charged with stealing goods, belonging to the lieutenant
governour, likewise became informer. Being in prison
himself, and having access to the negroes there commit-
ted, he received, or pretended to have received, much
information from them. He was afterwards employed
by the magistrates, to hold private conferences with the
negroes in prison, and to use persuasion and other
means to gain confessions from them. In this business
lie was peculiarly expert, and received the most un-
qualified approbation of the magistrates. Yet many of
his stories are of such a chivalrous and romantic de-
scription as to excite suspicion of their truth. But
every thing he related was implicitly believed. The
more extravagant the tale, the more readily was it re-
ceived and credited. A white woman, who was a com-
mon prostitute, and familiar even with negroes, of the
name of Margaret or Peggy Salinburgh, alias Kerry,
alias Sorubiero, likewise declared she could make

History of Ntw- YorJc. 437

great discoveries. The magistrates eagerly hastened to
take her examination, and the consequence was, that
fresh warrants were issued for the apprehension of ma-
ny other negroes, not before implicated. Informers
were now rapidly increasing. Arthur Price, while in
prison, was making great discoveries. Operating on
the fears and hopes of the negroes, many declared
themselves accomplices. The magistrates were unceas-
ingly engaged. The grand jury were daily presenting
bills of indictment against the parties accused. To be
jnculpated by Mary Burton, Arthur Price, or Peggy
Salingburgh, was sufficient to authorize the indictment
and conviction of any person. It is to be regretted
that on proof of snch suspicious characters, so many
lives were placed in the hands of the executioner. Not
that we dispute the fact that some of the fires were
designedly set, but that we mean to be understood
as doubting the extent and nature of the plot ascribed,
to the negroes. It is evident that Mary Burton was
wholly unworthy of credit. Independent of the ab-
surdity and improbability of many of her stories, she
had, on the 22d April, in her first examination and dis-
closure under oath, declared, " that she never saw any
white person in company when they talked of burning
the town, but her master, her mistress and Peggy;" yet,
on the 25th of June following, she deposed that one
John Ury, a Catholick priest, (a white person) wras of-
ten at her master's, and " that when he came to Hugh-
son's, he [Ury] always went up stairs in the company
of Hughson, his wife, and daughter, and Peggy, with
whom the negroes used to be, at the same time, consult-
ing about the plot ;" and that " the negroes talked in
the presence of the said Ury about setting fire to the

43B History of New-York.

houses, and killing the white people." She afterwards,
on the 14th July following, declared, on oath, that one
Cony, a dancing master, (also a white person) used to
come to Hughson's, and talk with the negroes about the
plot. Yet on evidence of this kind, Ury, who had
previously been committed under the act against
Jesuits and popish priests, was indicted, tried, convicted
and executed. At the place of execution, he solemnly
denied the charge, and called on God to witness its falsi-
ty. But Ury was a Catholick, and the publick prejudice
was so strong, that it required very little more to en-
sure his condemnation. Had not Ury been obnoxious,
on account of his religion, the accusation against him
would perhaps have never been made, or, if made,
would have been little regarded. Mary Burton, re-
ceived the hundred pounds which had been promised as
a reward for discovering the persons concerned in set-
ting fire to the city. We shall now dismiss this article,
after giving the number who were accused, tried, and
suffered on this occasion, with some remarks, which
grow out of this subject.

$ VI. One hundred and fifty-four negroes were com-
iYiHted to prison, of whom fourteen were burnt at the
stake, eighteen hanged, seventy-one transported, and
the rest pardoned, or discharged for want of proof.
Twenty white persons were committed, of whom two
only, John Hughson and John Ury, were executed. At
this time, the city of New- York contained a population
of about twelve thousand souls, of whom one sixth
\vere slaves. If a plot, in fact, existed for the destruc-
tion of the city and the massacre of its inhabitants ; and
if that plot was conducted by Ury, it certainly betray-
ed greater imbecility of intellect, and want of caution

History of New-York. 439

and arrangement, together with less union of action,
than could have been expected from one who was evi-
dently, if we believe his own account, a man of classi-
cal education, and profound erudition. It is worthy of
re nark, that Cony, the dancing master, accused by
Mary Burton, was discharged tor wad of proof! It
seems that Mary's testimony began, at length, to be
doubted. Indeed, it well might ; for had the prosecu-
tions continued much longer, she would, more than
probable, have accused a great portion of the white
citizens of New-York, as being concerned in this plot.
Daniel Horsmanden,esq. published, at tbe time, a history
of this conspiracy a/id laboured hard to prove its exist-
ence and extent. But it is evident that that hostility to
Catholicism, which the British government so industri-
ously inculcated, tinctured his mind, and gave it a bias
unfriendly to the fair developement of truth, or to the
full and impartial examination of facts and circumstan-
ces. The negroes were without defence. All the
counsel in the city were arrayed against them, and vol-
unteered their services on behalf of the crown, on the
trial of those unfortunate slaves. The want of educa-
tion, and utter ignorance of those iriiatuated wretches
easily made them the victims of craft, and impositi n.
The hopes of life, and the promise of pardon, influenc-
ed some of them to make confessions* Yet falsehood
was so ingeniously, and artfully blended with truth, that it
was not an easy task to separate the one from the other.
It must, however, be admitted, that many circumstances
aided the opinion that the plot, in fact, existed, and if
the people were mistaken in this, it was an errour into
which they might naturally fall at the moment of confu-
sion and distress, arid under the attending circumstance?*

440 History of New- York.

A day of publick thanksgiving for the deliverance
of his majesty's subjects, from the alledged con-
spiracy, was appointed by the lieutenant governour,
and was devoutly and reverently observed by the inha-
bitants.

'} VII. The assembly met in April, but immediately
after adjourned. In September, 1740, it was again
convened. The speech of the lieutenant governour
strongly recommended war measures for the defence of
the colony. He urged the house to grant further sup-
plies for the support and maintenance of troops and
forts, especially the fort, at Oswego. He stated the ra-
pid progress of Christianity among the Six Nations of In-
dians* where the reverend Mr. Barclay was successful-
ly combating the delusions of infidelity and paganism.
He solicited the house to raise a revenue for a term of
years, as former assemblies had done, and not to limit
its duration to one year. It was in vain, however, for
the lieutenant governour to press this latter topick on
the house. Their resolution was fixed, and so highly
indignant were some of the members at this at-
tempt, that a motion made by Mr. Nicol, to re-
duce the lieutenant governors salary to 780/. was
lost, on a division, by a majority of five voices on-
ly. The sum of 1,300Z. which had before been allow-
ed, was then proposed, and carried by a small majority.
The house likewise voted that it would not subject the
colony to any additional taxes, to aid the contemplated
expedition against the Spanish settlements ; plainly in-
timating that it was the province of the crown to sup-
port its own wars. Captain Johan .Tost Herkimer, Mr.
Henry Van Rensselaer, Mr. John H. Wendell, and
Mr. Gerrit A. Lansing, were directed to victual thr

History of New- York. 441

garrison at Oswego. Thirteen acts were passed at this
session. The militia act was amended, and the tax on
cider, pork and beef was repealed, but the duties on
sales at auction were increased, to make good the de-
ficiency in 1he revenue. The house did not meet
again till the 15th April, 1741.

9 VIII. It requires but little discernment to perceive
the growing importance of the legislature of the colo-
ny. In almost every struggle with its governours, it
was successful. In fact, the purse and the sword were
in the hands of the assembly. Publick monies could no
longer be misapplied. The revenue was limited to one
year, and the lieutenant governour was compelled, from
that circumstance alone, to call the legislature together
annually. This unyielding spirit of the assembly, as it
was termed by the lieutenant governour, induced him
to believe that the colony wished to throw off her de-
pendence on Great Britain. In his speech to the house
in April, 1741, he alludes to "a jealousy, which, for
some years, had obtained in England, that the planta-
tions were not without thoughts of throwing off their
dependence on the crown of England." That such a
jealously, even at that early day, had prevailed in some
of the cabinet circles in England, was strictly true, but
it was impolitick and unwise in the lieutenant governour
to touch upon so delicate a subject. An allusion of the
kind, rather served to enkindle than extinguish such a
sentiment. The colony of New- York was the most
loyal of all his Britanriick majesty's possessions in Ame-
rica. From duty and inclination, she was sincerely at-
tached to the British government and nation. What-
ever speculations or theories might have been indulged
in, by some of its inhabitants, a vast majority of them

56

442 History of New-York.

entertained no wish for a separation from the mo
ther country. The speech, therefore, was illy calcu-
lated to sooth the feelings of the people. Distrust and
TV ant of confidence naturally beget each other. The
people perceived that no sacrifices on their part could
procure the respect or command the confidence of their
rulers. After the colony had exhausted every effort to
support the rights and honour of the British crown, and
expended much of her best blood and treasure for the
purpose, it was cruel to tell her that she was a way-
ward, disobedient child, who was struggling for emanci-
pation from paternal authority. The answer of the
house was dignified, loyal and respectful. In style and
matter, it is a state paper of no little value. Nor was
the speech of the lieutenant governour deficient in
either. Both were superior to the speeches and an-
swers which had usually been iiia4e.

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.

PART X.

Including from the Year 1741, to the Year 1743, when
Governour Clinton arrived, and terminated the Admin*
istralion of Lieutenant Governour Clarke.

§ I. The speech of the Jieutenant goveraour in April, 1711. § If.
Remarks thereupon. § III. Answer of the assembly. §• IV. Its
proceedings. § V. Cuba taken by the British ; speech and answer
in September, 1741 ; proceedings of the house. § VI. Arrival of
governour Clinton. § VII. Character of the lieutenant governour.

IN the preceding chapter we briefly noticed the
speech of the lieutenant governour, and the answer of
the assembly, at the April session, in 1741. These pa-
pers shall now be more particularly considered. As
evidence of the temper of the times, they may justly
be deemed valuable. On the part of the lieutenant go-
vernour every effort had been made to produce an
effect on the house. He commences his speech with
referring to the revolution which placed William and
Mary on the throne, and secured a protestant succes-
sion to the nation : That that revolution had protected
the colony in the enjoyment of its civil and religious
rights and privileges : That the colony had been more
highly favoured than any other of his majesty's pro-

444 History of New-York.

vinces ; and that, in grateful return for this protection,
its former assemblies had, for many years, supported
the government conformable -to the practice of the par-
liament of England : That, like parliament, these as-
semblies had never questioned the king's royal prero-
gative, and undoubted right to appoint officers for the
management of the revenue. But late assemblies, hav-
ing grown wanton by prosperity, had abused the cle-
mency of the crown, and had demanded the nomination
of their own treasurer : That this demand having been
granted, so far as related to the management of monies
raised for extraordinary uses, the legislature were em-
boldened, after the year 1709, further to insist on the
particular appointment of the salaries of the officers of
government, and absolutely refused to raise any reve-
nue unless this demand was likewise granted : That
consequently his majesty's auditor general was left
without any salary ; " thus fixing on themselves the de-
pendence of the officers for whom they provided, (for
men are naturally servants to those who pay them) and,
in effect, subverting the constitution, by assuming to
themselves one undoubted and essential branch of his
majesty's royal prerogative." That he now hoped the
house was returning to a sense of duty to his majesty,
and would make parliament the model of its proceed-
ing : That this conduct alone would remove the jealou-
sy prevailing in Great Britain, that the colony wished
to be emancipated from the crown, and would enable
" his majesty to pay his own officers and servants, where-
by they will be reclaimed to their proper dependence :"
That a speedy rupture with France was to be appre-
hended, and that timely provision should be made
against the consequences of that event : That his ma-

History of View-York. 44/>

jesty had ordered large quantities of military stores
and ordnance to be sent to the colony to aid in its de-
fence : That the garrison at Oswego ought to be aug-
mented, and the militia of the colony placed under
better regulation : That an agent, of known integrity
and ability, was necessary at the court of Great Bri-
tain. He then adverted to the Lite fires in the city of
New- York, and concluded by recommending the house
to provide for the rebuilding of the chapel, &c. in Fort
George, which had been destroyed, and for placing the
slaves under greater restrictions.

9 II. The speech is replete with useful political
matter. It will be seen that the democratick branch of
the colonial government had placed the governotir, and
almost every other officer, in a state of dependence on
its votes and measures. Not a single shilling could be
withdrawn from the treasury, but by legislative consent.
This was peculiarly galling to the lieutenant governour.
It had stripped him of that executive patronage and in-
fluence, which was deemed by him so essential to the
stfpport of his administration. In truth, it was a great
step towards that independence which was afterwards
obtained. Thus, at an early day, the colonists had suc-
cessfully contended with the crown for a due participa-
tion of power. Revolutions seldom go backwards. The
mind that has been long accustomed to think with free-
dom and decision is not readily induced to yield, or to
recede from the course it has once adopted. The as-
sembly knew its power, and was determined to retain
it. It placed little dependence on the faith of kings or
governours, when unrestrained by some equiponderat-
ing influence. It was a just remark of the lieutenant
governour, that men are naturally servants to those who

446 History of New-York,

pay them ; but he was not equally fortunate in his allu-
sion to the practice of the British parliament. He had
forgotten the annual subsidy bills, so often insisted upon
by the house of commons, as a check upon the inordi-
nate ambition and power of the crown. Nor was it cor-
rect to say that the crown had protected the colony in
the enjoyment of its civil and religious rights and pri-
vileges. On the contrary, the ruinous wars, wfiich the
British government had frequently waged, so destruc-
tive to the commercial and agricultural prosperity of its
colonies, and the heavy expenses which were defrayed
by this colony, as well towards the support of those
wars, as to its defence against the incursions of the In-
dians, had shewn that it owed little to the crown on the
score of gratitude, or protection. The expense of the
arms and military stores, which had been sent over
by the British government, to aid in our defence,
amounted only to the paltry sum of 8563/. 12s. 3d.
which was not one fourth of the amount of the taxes
we had raised, within a fer/ years past, for the like
purpose. In what particular, therefore, the colony
had been " more highly favoured than any other of his
majesty's provinces," it was difficult to discover. A
reference to its history will shew that New-York had
borne greater hardships, expended more monies for the
support of government, and had exhibited more loyalty
and patient endurance, under all its difficulties, than
any other of his majesty's colonies.

$ III. The assembly in its answer (which was said t#
be the production of colonel Morris) assured the lieu-
tenant governom* of its intention to provide for the
support of government, and the defence of the colony,
in the best manne t its ability and circumstances wo-uld

History of New-York. 447

allow : That the house viewed the revolution as a
blessing to the country, and admitted the protection it
had received from the crown, yet that " it must be
owned, on the other hand, that, in grateful return, the
assemblies did, from time to time, cheerfully support
the government, and made ample provision for all ex-
peditions, as well as for all other exigencies, for the se-
curity of the colony, and the service of the crown :"
That while publick monies were at the disposal of the
governour and council, they were misapplied, and that
the assembly, to correct the evil, directed such monies
as were raised for the forces intended for the security
of the colony, to pass through the hands of a person
appointed by the le'gislature : That queen Ann had
sanctioned this procedure, and allowed the colony to
have a treasurer of its own : That to discharge the
heavy debts it had incurred, the excise duties had
been, and still were, pledged for its redemption : That
formerly the rents reserved to his majesty, on lands
granted in the colony, all seizures, forfeitures and
dues, that arose in it to the crown were applied
for the support and incidental expenses of the
government : That though this application was
now discontinued, yet the legislature had granted
a more ample support than any of the neighbouring
colonies : That it had provided largely for firewood
and candles for his majesty's troops ; that it had grant-
ed considerable presents to the Six Nations of Indians ;
that it had erected, at a vast expense, a battery of fifty
guns, at the entrance of the harbour of New- York ;
and also new forts at Albany, Schenectady, and among
the iVlohawk Indians ; besides victualling five hundred
troops on an expedition to the West Indies : That

448 -Hulury oj New-York.

though deficiencies in Ihe revenue, to the amount of
several thousand pounds, had arisen, while publick
monies were under the controul of the governour and
council, yet the house had never failed in granting the
necessary supplies for the support of government :
That the house disavowed any intention of throwing off
their dependence on the British crown, affirming its
loyalty and attachment to his majesty : That the audi-
tor general (Horatio AValpole, esq.) would, no doubt,
receive a compensation from the king ; yet that consi-
derable sums had passed through the lieutenant gover-
nour for his use : That trade and commerce had dimin-
ished : That this was to be ascribed to the heavy bur-
thens laid upon commerce, from which many evils were
to be apprehended, <and that " many instances might
be given where the channel of trade has been di-
verted, it has rarely (if ever) been retrieved :" That
an agent at the court of Great Britain would be
of essential benefit to the colony, " if depending
on, and payable by, the general assembly :" and that
the house indulged the hope that if a bill for the
purpose was presented to the lieutenant governour,
it would receive his assent : That the house would
make provision for repairing the loss, by the late fires,
in Fort George : That it regretted that among the
military stores which had been sent over for the de-
fence of the colony, a sufficient quantity of gunpowder
liad not been provided, a duty which the crown had
ever observed in regard to this country : That the ex-
pense of transporting the military stores, mounting the
guns, and other necessary expenses, would be duly at-
tended to : That the better regulating the negroes, and
the other subject? recommended by the lieutenant go-

History of New- York. 449

vernour would be duly considered and acted upon by
the house. In this paper warfare between the lieutenant
governour and the assembly, the latter had evidently
the advantage. In the speech we observe those ef-
forts of a high toned ambition to place the government
out of the reach of the people ; while in the answer a
firm, yet moderate, adherence to truth, is its distinguish-
ing trait.

$ IV. Notwithstanding the decided attitude of the
house, it voted liberal supplies for the support of the
war. 3,2817. 13s. lid. were voted for military works
and preparations in and about New- York. 2007. were
voted for fitting out two sloops to go in search of some
Spanish privateers which were hovering about the har-
bour. 50/. were promised by the house to each volun-
teer who should be maimed or disabled in that service.
Meanwhile provision was made against the irruptions of
the Indians on the frontiers, and for securing the friend-
ship of such as were considered in the British interest*
The commissioners of Indian affairs at Albany (Myndert
Schuyler, Abraham Cuyler, Dirck Ten Broeck, Ryer
Geiritse, Johannis Lansing, junior, Hendrick Ten
Eyck, John Schuyler, junior, and John De Peyster)
informed the house of the scarcity of provisions
among the Seneca Indians, and of the design of the
French to effect a settlement at Tierondequat. The
bouse voted monies to purchase provisions. The grand
jury, which had presented indictments against such as
Were concerned in the negro plot, were called in, and
publickly thanked, by the speaker, on behalf of the as-
sembly, for their vigilance and attention, in bringing
the offenders to justice. After a few bill* were

57

450 History of New-York.

relating principally to fortifications, the house was ad-
journed to the September following. In giving the de-
tails of the executive and legislative proceedings of the
colony, we are ready to remark the same dull monoto-
nous course on the part of the governours, at almost
every session. The topics which occupy their speech-
es, are revenue, fortifications, the decay of trade, and
the condition of the Indians. Seldom diversified with
other matter, their addresses are barren as to state af-
fairs, of more general importance. If, therefore, the
historian should be charged with a repetition of the
same subjects, let it be remembered, that the same sub-
jects were constantly presented to the consideration of
the legislature : That the circumscribed sphere, to
which we are limited, forbids a detail of facts, not
immediately connected with our history ; and that we are
treating of a colony, not of a kingdom. A colonyr too,
containing a population even less than that of the city
of New- York, at the present day.

$ Y. Before the next session, the British forces had
succeeded in effecting a landing on the island of Cuba,
and general Wentworth had urged the lieutenant go-
vernour to send him additional forces. It was also un-
derstood, that a governour [Clinton] had been appoint-
ed to supersede Mr. Clarke, in the government of the
colony* Mr. Clarke urged this circumstance to the
house, at its September session, as an evidence of his
being disinterested in the subjects he pressed upon the
consideration of the assembly. He likewise called its
attention to the importance of passing laws for the in-
spection of flour, the staple commodity of the colony.
He again urged the house to provide for the rebuilding*

History of New- York. 45 i

of the edifices in fort George, which had been destroyed
by fire, not. forgetting the stale and often repeated sub-
ject of raising a revenue for a term of years. It was won-
derful that the bold and inflexible spirit of the house
had not taught him the vanity of hoping for success on
this last, but, to him, most interesting topic. The house
voted an address to his honour. The intrepid colonel
Morris was one of the committee appointed to prepare
it. It is an address of great length and uncommon
ability. It will be unnecessary to review it in detail,
as most of the subjects it embraces have already been
anticipated. Several petitions were presented from
persons who had been confined for debt for several
years, praying legislative aid for their discharge. Bills
for their relief were ordered to be brought in. The
quakers, being by the laws of the colony exempt from
serving as jurors, an attempt was made to take away
iheir privilege by bill ; but the house rejected it, by
fifteen votes to three. 500/. were voted for trans-
porting one hundred effective men to the West
Indies. Daniel Horsmanden, esquire,* was request-
ed by the house to collect and revise the laws in
force, with suitable notes and references. It does not
appear, however, that this work was ever completed.
The house, in a humble address to his majesty, prayed
that the crown might grant a sufficient sum to rebuild
the edifices, which had been destroyed by fire, in fort

* Mr. Horsmanden was a judge of the supreme court. To his age,
•and growing infirmities, may be ascribed the introduction of that ar-
ticle in our state constitution which limits the duration of the office of
judge.

£52 History of New-York.

George. After the lieutenant governour bar! given bis
assent to eleven laws, the house adjourned till the 16th
March, 1741-2. Among the number of laws passed,
we do not find any which afforded relief to unfortunate
imprisoned debtors ; so much was the government
wedded to that sanguinary policy which stains the an-
nals of English jurisprudence, and permits an exaspe-
rated creditor to incarcerate his unfortunate debtor
for life. The house in its next session, (and which was
continued to October) was principally occupied in
making appropriations for the defence of the colony,
and raising a revenue sufficient to meet the expense. It
again met in April, 1743. Several of the magistrates
of the colony having been proceeded against by infor-
mation, (a powerful instrument in the hands of the
crown lawyers) for not repairing the court houses and
gaols in their counties, a bill was directed to be
brought in to prevent such vexatious proceedings in
future, but it did not pass into a law.

$ VI. On the 23d of September, 1743, his excellency
George Clinton, who had been constituted governour
of the colony, arrived, and his appointment was duly
proclaimed ; thus superseding Mr. Clarke in the go-
vernment of the colony.

$ VII. When we consider the administration of lieu-
tenant governour Clarke, we shall find little to dis-
tinguish it from that of his predecessor ; at least in
one important particular, namely, that of a strict
and pertinacious adherence to prerogative. It cannot
be denied that he possessed a greater share of pru-
dence, and certainly more talents for government.

History of New- York. 453

than Cosby. During a period of more than seven
years he evinced, with but one or two exceptions,
a strong desire to conciliate the affections of the
people. Apart from his notions of monarchy, he con-
tributed much to the prosperity of the colony. His
constant attention to the promotion of trade and com-
merce, entitle him to applause. Though he did not
possess the suavity of manners which distinguished
his predecessor, he was his equal in integrity, and far
his superiour in acquired knowledge and vigour of
intellect. His speeches do credit to him as a scho-
lar, and his arguments required the combined talents
of the assembly to weaken or destroy.

George Clarke was descended from an ancient and
respectable family, of that name, in Somersetshire, whose
family residence and estate was at Svvainswick, near Bath,
and in whose possession, as tradition goes, is a sword, said
to have belonged to King Bladud, who first discovered
the virtues of the Bath waters. Mr. Clarke, in early life,
pursued the study of the law, and was married to Miss
Ann Hyde, an heiress of the elder branch of the house
of Hyde, in the county Palatine of Chester, about the
year 1703 or 1704. He came over to this country, and
continued in the service of the crown and colony till af-
ter the breaking out of the war in 1 743, when he was su-
perseded by Mr. Clinton. In the year 1745, on his re-
turn to Great Britain, he was captured by the French,
but soon after being released, he retired, for the re-
mainder of his days, to the city of Chester, where he
died in 1763, and bequeathed his property to his
only surviving male issue, George and Edward, who,
with four other of his children, were bom in the

454 History of New-Yorlc.

state of New- York. George was many years SB*
cretary to the province, which he resigned about,
the year 1772, and died at Hyde, in the year 1776,
having never been married. Edward was in the army,
and commanded a company of Albany provincials,
at the taking of the Havanna, under lord Albermarle ;
and for his services was made a major on the field. He
afterwards went over to Jamaica, having retired from
the service, and again returned, in 1772, to this coun-
try ; from whence he went over to England and died in
1774. He left only one son, George Hyde Clarke,
whose eldest son George, is the present possessor of the
estates of his ancestors in this state, and has two sons,
in this country, viz. George Hyde, and Edward Hyde,
who, on the 5th of August, 1811, declared their inten-
tion of becoming citizens, in conformity to the act
of congress to establish an uniform rule of naturaliza-
tion. We have been led into this lineal detail, be-
cause, in reverting to our history, we find this family
among the few that were high in office, who have re-
tained their possessions through the convulsions of the
revolution.

At the close of the administration of Clarke, the
finances of the colony were not in the most prosperous
condition. The duties on negro slaves, wine, rum,
brandy, cocoa, and dry goods, from September, 1741,
to September, 1742, amounted to 2197/. Is. l%d. only ;
while the expenses of government, for about the
aame period, amounted to upwards of 4600/. This de-
ficit is to be ascribed to the enormous salaries allowed
to the lieutenant governour, and other officers, and
to the large sums of money expended for military pur-

History of New-York. 455

poses, and for securing and retaining the friendship of
the Six Nations of Indians. Whenever the governoure
of the colony required heavy requisitions to be made
upon the purses of the people, they had only to inform
the assembly of the evils to be apprehended from
the intrigues of the French among the Indians, of their
attempts to alienate their affection from the British,
and of the danger to the religion and liberties of the
people, from the efforts of popery, like true protestants
and Englishmen, they immediately voted large sup-
plies.

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.

PART XI.

Including from the Year 1743 to the Year 1745, being
tuo lears of Governour Clinton's Administration.

§ I. Arrival of governour Clinton. §11. The pretender obtains the
French interest in his favour for the invasion of England ; war be-
tween France and England. § III. Meeting of the assembly.
§ IV. Its continuance regulated ; measures of defence and other pro-
ceedings. § V. April session, 1744; assembly unite with the gover-
nour in war measures. § VI. Remarkable claim of lieutenant gover-
nour Clarke. § VII. July session. § VIII. Bill requiring test
oaths ; British fur trade ; defence of Oswego. § IX. Cannon sent
to Georgia ; complaint by Virginia against the Indians. § X. In-
vasion of Canada ; paper currency. § XI. Assembly disinclined to
attack Canada ; rupture between it and the lieutenant governour;
dissolution of the house.

A HE arrival of Mr. Clinton diffused no little joy
throughout the colony. Very favourable accounts of
that gentleman's talents and liberality had reached the
inhabitants, and they were induced to believe that his
whole attention and services would be devoted to the
prosperity of the country. His address to the legisla-
ture, on his arrival, tended to confirm these favourable
impressions. His assurances that the welfare of the
colony should be his "chief care and study," were re-

58

458 History of New-York.

eeived with unbounded confidence. Mr. Clinton, ac-
cording to the practice of former governours, on the
first publication of their commission, dissolved the
general assembly, and issued writs for a new election ;
a practice highly agreeable to the people, and especial-
ly at the present juncture of affairs in England.

J II. The chevalier de St. George, (the pretender,) ow-
ing to the dissentions in the British parliament, had been
encouraged to believe that a powerful party in England
and Ireland were ripe for a revolt in his favour. He
had given the French court to understand that if he, or
his eldest son, Charles Edward, a youth of promising
talents, could appear at the head of a French army in
England, a revolution in his favour would be the imme-
diate consequence of his enterprise. Little argument
was wanting to engage the French ministry in his
interest. An invasion was soon meditated, and the
expedition was placed under the direction of count
Saxe, who was to command fifteen thousand men.
A great number of vessels was assembled for their
embarkation at Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne, with
a view of effecting a landing in Kent, in England,
under convoy of a strong squadron, which was
preparing at Brest. In January, M. de Roquefeuille,
sailed from that port with twenty ships of war.
The English government was not unapprized of these
hostile preparations, and every exertion was made to
guard the coast against the threatened invasion. The
French king declared war against England on the 20th
day of March, 1744, and on the 31st of the same
month, England made a similar declaration against
France.

History of New- York. 459

$ TIT. To alarm the colonists, to call their loyalty
into action, and to induce them, like true Englishmen,
to direct all their energies to one object, it was only ne-
cessary to tell them that their religion and their liber-
ties were in danger from the pretender and the pope ;
an association of characters which was the constant
representation of rebellion, treason and destruction.
Colonel Morris, who has already been mentioned, re-
ported an address to his excellency, at the Novem-
ber session, in 1743. This gentleman, although hos-
tile to the court, could not resist the powerful
influence which these threatened multiplied evils
liad produced on the minds of the people. He was, as
usual, returned a member from Westchester, and the
address, which he reported to the assembly, was an ef-
fusion of loyalty to the British king, and exhibited a
zealous adherence to the religion of his ancestors. The
speech of the governour was mild and unassuming.
The answer was complimentary, and passed over in si-
lence all the former subjects of difference between th£
executive and the assembly.

$ IV. Yet soon after the opening of the session,
the house recurred to a discussion which had hith-
erto frequently occupied its attention. It voted,
ncmine contradiccnte, that a bill be brought in to as-
certain the continuance of this and all succeeding
general assemblies in the colony. It will be seen,
from the history of the colony, that the frequent
adjournments, prorogations, and dissolutions of the
assembly, on account of their attachment to the in-
terests of the people, were particularly obnoxious.
Besides, the great expense incurred by these

460 History of New- York.

erful instruments of monarchical power, the people
were often required to make an election when, but a
few months before, their representatives had been
discharged from service on the charge of obstinacy and
disloyalty ; and the whole force of executive influence
was directed against their re-election. It is true that
these efforts were generally unavailing ; but feuds and
quarrels were created thereby unfriendly to the peace
and comfort of the colony. The bill for limiting the
continuance of the general assembly was passed, and
received the assent of the governour. At this session
likewise a bill for the relief of imprisoned debtors was
passed into a law. The militia of the colony was plac-
ed under better regulation, after some difference of
opinion between the house, and the governour and
council. The credit of the paper currency was sup-
ported by a law ; legacies were made recoverable in
the courts of common laVv, and the annual supply bill
was, as usual, discussed, and, after some restrictions, re-
ceived the assent of the governour and council. The
small pox prevailing in some of the West India islands,
occasioned the introduction of strict quarantine regula-
tions. Although the bill for regulating prosecutions
by information passed the house, it was not acted upon
by the council. The attorney general, it seems, had too
much influence with that body, to permit so lucrative a
branch of his business to be sacrificed. The governour,
after communicating to the house the European intelli-
gence he had received in relation to hostilities with the
French, and exhorting the house to unite in resisting
the encroachments of the enemy, adjourned the house
to April, 1744. All local subjects of dispute among

History of New-York. 461

the colonists, seemed now to be absorbed in the more
important considerations of warfare and defence.

$ V. Ardent in the support of the British crown against
the power and influence of the French and the pretender,
the people were not inclined to examine too closely the
conduct of their rulers. So zealous was the assembly
in the cause of their king, that at its April session, in
1744, it united in addressing the governour to thank
him for his speech, and to express the abhorrence of
the base designs of his majesty's enemies of invading
his kingdom in favour of a popish pretender ; declaring
how sensible they were of the happiness they enjoyed
under his majesty's .reign ; and that their civil and reli-
gious rights, next under God, depended on the protest-
ant succession in his illustrious house : That they would
cheerfully concur in every measure for the security
and welfare of the colony, which they were well as-
sured his excellency had sincerely at heart. The sin-
cerity of the assembly, in this address, is evident from
the earnestness with which they pursued the system of
defensive measures. Upwards of four thousand pounds
were voted for fortifications, and other military opera-
tions ; a tax upon all the estate, real and persoal, of the
inhabitants, was likewise voted to defray the expense.
The house requested the governour to send a detach-
ment of troops to Oswego, which post, it was said, was
in danger from the enemy, and voted to pay the charge
of transporting and victualling those troops.
<) VI. The former lieutenant governour, Clarke, present-
ed a memorial to the house, setting forth that the sum of
13,203/. 175. l\d. was due to him from the colony, as
well under several of its Jaws, as by virtue of several

462 History of Nerv-Tork,

warrants signed in council, and praying that the trea*
surer of the colony might be directed to pay it. The
treasurer having been* served with a copy of this me-
morial, repelled the charge made by Mr. Clarke, insist-
ing that not more than one thousand and sixty-two
pounds was due to Mr. Clarke, and that he would long
since have endeavoured to pay the arrears, could he, the
treasurer, have obtained from Mr. Clarke any account
of the several bills or drafts on him, payable to other
persons, in order to compare and examine the same
with his own accounts : That Mr. Clarke had, during
bis whole administration, been as duly paid, if not bet-
ter, than any governour or commander in chief. This
altercation only proved that Mr. Clarke was willing to
indulge his spleen against a faithful officer, who could
•not be made subservient to his political views. The
subject did not again appear before the house, although
Mr. Clarke was served with a copy of the treasurer's
denial of the facts charged in his memorial.

$VII. The assembly, having taken a short recess,
was reassembled in July. The governour, in his
speech, informed the house of the war in Europe,
and of the causes which produced it. He stated,
that the several fortifications in New- York, Albany,
Oswego, and the garrisons throughout the colony,
required augmentation and support: That some can-
non and ammunition had been sent to Oswego, to-
gether with a reinforcement of men: That a detach-
ment had been sent to Saratoga : That an interpreter
had been sent to the Indians; and that six of them had
likewise been employed as scouts, and to watch the mo-
tions of the enemy : That at the interview which his ex-
cellency had witii the Six iNdtions of Indians, at Al-

History of New-York. 463

bany, they appeared disinclined to take a part in the
war, unless the French attempted to invade the pro-
vince: That commissioners from Massachusetts and
Connecticut had likewise attended that interview, in or-
der to revive the ancient amity and alliance, which
subsisted between those provinces and the Indians,
and his excellency had given encouragement to that
object as a measure which would strengthen his majes-
ty's interest in America. He also exhorted the house
to provide against attacks upon the coast, and to take
measures to guard the colonial commerce from the de-
predations of the enemy. He regretted the heavy ex-
pense to which the people would be subject, but he
trusted that the important objects in view, viz. the
protection of their civil and religious rights would be a
sufficient compensation for the expense. The assembly
directed its clerk to write circular letters to all the*
members of the house, requiring their punctual attend-'
ance. It afterwards voted, unanimously, that as his ma-
jesty was engaged in a war with Prance and Spain, the
house would provide ways and means for putting the
colony into such a posture of defence as w7ould on the
one hand discourage the enemy from making an attack,
and on the other, would excite the inhabitants to make
a vigorous defence, in case such attack should be made,.
The assembly were industriously employed in prepar-
ing for the war. Supplies were liberally voted.

$ VIII. A bill was brought in, requiring all per-
sons in the colony, to take the oaths appointed by
parliament for the security of the government and the
protestant religion. Mr. Jones, from Queens county,
opposed the bill. He stated that there was not one pa-
pist or Jacobite in a hundred in the colony, and that the

464 History of New- York.

provisions in the bill were unreasonable, and placed the
inhabitants under restrictions, which were improper and
unnecessary : That the loyalty of the colony was never
doubted, and that the bill seemed to imply that there
were reasons to question their allegiance to the British
crown, which was a reflection highly unjust and injuri-
ous. In support of the bill, it was urged that in Dutch-
ess county, a number of Moravians were unfriendly to
the government, and secretly exciting the Indians to
revolt. The bill was carried by fourteen votes to se-
Ten. Quakers were indulged in affirming instead of
swearing. Meanwhile the war had occasioned consid-
erable alarm along the frontiers. Their exposed situa-
tion, as it regarded the French government, in Canada,
and the Indians in the interest of that crown, had seri-
ously injured the British fur trade, from which great
profit had been derived. The Indian traders, at Oswe-
go, had abandoned the place upon the first notice of the
war. This gave great encouragement to the French,
who improved it much to the disadvantage of the En-
glish. The Indians began to look to the enemy for
protection, believing the English were too weak or too
pusillanimous to defend their rights. An attack upon
Oswego was likewise designed by the enemy. The as-
sembly ordered that a detachment should be sent from
Albany to increase the garrison at Oswego, and voted,
that in case that place should be attacked, further rein-
forcements should be sent, at the expense of the colo-
ny. Vigorous measures were, every where, adopted
to give the enemy a warm reception. Stephen Van
Rensselaer, esquire, had engaged to furnish fire wood
and candles for all the garrisons in Albany county, and
the house voted the necessary supplies. 9Q/. were vot-

Histtory of New-York

ed to Mr. Jacobus Bleecker, for his services, as inter-
preter for the Indians. 220/. were appropriated for
presents to the Indians, and for the expenses of the
commissioners for Indian affairs at Albany. Large
sums were voted for other purposes, and nothing was
wanting to evince the loyalty and zeal of the assembly.
Several French prisoners having been brought into the
colony, the governour requested the house to make
provision for their support. The assembly, in its an-
swer, proposed that the prisoners should, without delay,
be sent out of the colony, as the charges of the war
were already sufficiently severe upon the people* The
governour assented. to the reasonableness of this propo-
sal, and gave assurance that speedy measures should be
adopted to carry it into effect. The prisoners were af-
terwards sent to St. Domingo, under a flag of truce.

$ IX. The proceedings of the governour and counr
cil were alike decided with those of the assembly.
Fourteen twelve pounders were sent by that body to
general Oglethorpe, the governour of Georgia, to aid
in the defence of that colony. Supplies were prohibit-
ed to be sent to Cape Breton, and the exportation of
gunpowder was interdicted. A complaint was made
to the council by the governour of Virginia. He
stated that some of the Six Nations of Indians had ap-
peared on the frontiers of that province, and had killed
some of the white people, and carried off their proper-
ty. The commissioners of Indian affairs addressed the
governour on the subject, who sent an interpreter to
Onondaga, to make enquiries from the Indians. The
interpreter returned with an answer from them, denying
the complaint in part, and adding that the Virginia
people first fired upon the Indians,

£9

466 History of New-York.

$ X. The English government now gave express or-
ders to the governour, to carry hostilities into the ene-
my's territory. The Canadas were always viewed as
an object of the greatest importance to the British
crown. The present war afforded an opportunity of
obtaining this prize, and the governour was known to
be devoted to the interest of the ministry, and that he
would leave no expedient untried to prevail on the as-
sembly to second the crown in this enterprise. Ac-
cordingly, at the March session, in 1744-5, he informed
the house, that the attempts made by the French, the
preceding summer, upon Annapolis, had induced the
province of Massachusetts to form a plan for invading
the French settlements in Canada ; and that governour
Shirley wished the colony of New- York to co-operate
with Massachusetts in this design: That. he, Mr. Clin-
ton, had sent ten pieces of ordnance to Boston, and he
urged the house to adopt measures for carrying on an
offensive war against the French. Before the house
proceeded to consider the speech of the governour, the
intelligence, received from England, relative to the paper
currency of the colony, became highly alarming. The
speaker declared, from the chair, that there was a bill
pending before parliament, to prevent the issuing of
colonial bills of credit, and the making them a legal
tender in payment of money : That this bill, if passed,
would be injurious to the colony. The house appoint-
ed a committee to consider the subject. This commit-
tee made a long report, clearly evincing the utility of
this species of paper money ; and that, without it, the
colony would not have been able to support the go-
vernment, especially in raising forces ; and that the
credit of those bills had never been impaired. The

History of New-York. 467

Louse voted thai agents should be employed in Eng-
land to oppose the hill before parliament.

$ XI. The house now entered upon the subjects re^
commended in the governour's speech. Contrary to
parliamentary usage, it neither voted an address
to the governour, nor any answer to his speech. A
strong party was forming to oppose those gigantiek
views of conquest, which the British entertained as it
regarded the Canadas. The house was resolved upon
defending the colony and securing the friendship of
the Indians ; but it deemed the conquest of Canada a
business of the crown, and not appertaining to the colo-
nial affairs. This Centime nt of the house was offensive
to the governour, who had sent assurances to England
of the willingness of the colony to support the war,
and that it was here a very popular measure. On the
14th of May, 1745, he sent for the assembly; he charg-
ed the house with rudeness and incivility in omitting
to answer his speech : That sufficient provision had not
been made for enabling the governour to have the ne-
cessary interviews with the Six Nations of Indians, and
for making them suitable presents : That by thus neg-
lecting the means of securing the fidelity of the In-
dians, the enemy were enabled to seduce them from
their allegiance, and to gain an ascendency over them :
That the erecting of blockhouses and forts, and the
maintenance of scouts, to watch the motions of the ene-
my, had not received due attention from the house.
The governour, after complaining of some other mat-
ters, dissolved the house. This was the first open dis-
agreement between the assembly and Mr. Clinton. Its
causes were easily traced. The taxes imposed upon
the colony were already very great, and the house felt

History of New-York.

no disposition to increase them, unless for the purposes
of defence only. On the other hand, the Canadas were
too valuable an acquisition to the crown to be aban-
doned. Yet the charge of supporting a war against a
kingdom so powerful as France, was burdensome to
the nation ; and it was natural to suppose that the min-
istry wished the colony to participate in the expense.

Other subjects of irritation likewise existed between
the governour and the house. Richard Bradley, esq,
his majesty's attorney general, had made himself
obnoxious on account of the enormous exactions he
had imposed upon the people. The assembly had de-
termined to restrain the exercise of this officer in re-
gard to informations. The governour and council were
resolved to support the attorney general. Besides, the
governour thought himself ill treated in other respects.
Intelligence had been received that seven French ships
of war, viz. two of seventy-four guns, two of sixty-four
guns, two of fifty-six guns, and one of thirty-six guns,
with upwards of twenty sail of transports, and three
thousand six hundred troops, had arrived at Martinique,
for the American station. This fact had been com-
municated to the house, as well as certain letters from
the duke of Newcastle, signifying his majesty's orders
as to the mode of carrying on the war, and as to an at-
tack upon the French settlements in Canada. Com-
modore Warren likewise had received instructions
from the crown to demand assistance from the colonies,
either in men, provisions, or vessels. All these sub-
jects, though pressed upon the house, were not regard-
ed in any particular manner, nor called from them any
further measures or support, It may be added., that

History of New- York. 469

the governour had laid before the assembly a petition
from some of the settlers on the northern frontiers,
setting forth their exposed situation as it regarded the
Indians, and praying for protection, and that the house
had taken no order upon it. All these circumstances
tended to widen the breach between the governour and
the legislature ; and what at length, in addition to
other causes, created an open rupture, was the omis-
sion of the house in providing for repairs done to the
fortifications at Oswego at the commencement of the
French war, and in furnishing lieutenant Butler with
necessaries for his passage to Oswego the preceding fall.
The governour's pride was likewise sensibly affected
by the high and decided tone assumed by the house as
it related to the government in general. He made use
of the following language to the house : " You have
adventured to take upon you the assignments of the
plans for erecting batteries within this city ; to direct
the number of guns to be placed upon them, and to or-
der the issuing out of gunpowder provided for the use
of the publick, without consulting me in either respect ;
which, in effect, is assuming the administration of the
government, and wresting his majesty's authority out
of the hands of the governour. Thus from an invinci-
ble untowardness on the one hand, and an inordinate
thirst of power on the other, you have become, as it
were, a dead weight against the other branches of the
legislature.5*

Yet if we consider the proceedings of the house in
their true light, we cannot concur in the severe censure
which was cast upon it by the governour. All its pro-
ceedings are strongly marked with attachment to the

470 History of New-York.

crown and resolution to defend the rights of the colony.
It had been lavish of its resources, and had imposed
heavy burthens upon the people to assist in the prose-
cution of the war. It had voted premiums to such pri-
vateers as should take or destroy any of the armed
vessels of the enemy between certain places on the
coast, It had resolved to place the city of New-York
in a posture of defence, and had directed estimates of
the expense to be laid before the house ; and by which
it appeared that nearly 8,000/. would be necessary for
the purpose. The punctilio insisted upon by the go-
vernour, that it was his exclusive right to assign places
for erecting fortifications, was hardly worthy of notice
at this crisis, unless the exercise of it by the assembly
had been abused or neglected ; this indeed was not
pretended. Although the assembly had not, at this
session, co-operated with the neighbouring colonies in
the proposed attack upon the French settlements in
Canada, yet this omission had not proceeded from a
want of loyalty, nor was it just to make it a subject of
complaint.

The forwarding of cannon to Boston, and also to the
province of Georgia, (the very freight of which had
been paid by the assembly) was surely an act which de-
served some credit from the governour on the score of
liberality and patriotism. No " inordinate thirst of
power" had influenced the legislature in its delibera-
tions, unless that may be so termed which tended to
check the misapplication and waste of publick monies.
If the house could be charged with " invincible unto-
wardness," it was only in resisting the overgrown influ-
ence of the crown and of its ministers. If the assem-
bly " assumed the administration of the government,"

History of New-York. 471

it was to protect the subject from oppressive taxation,
and to secure the liberties of the people from tyranny
and despotism. Posterity will always remember, with
gratitude, the men, who, in the worst of times, and
without shrinking, could meet the frowns of a govern-
ment, whose lust of power and culpable ambition' could
involve in misery and ruin the very people it was bound
by every sacred tie to foster and protect

HISTORY OF NEW-YORK*

PART XII.

Including from the Year 1745 to the Fear 1746.

§ I. Massachusetts requests the aid of New-York in an expedition
against Louisburgh; Warren arrives with a fleet; success before
Louisburgh ; its capitulation. § II. Military operations on the fron-
tiers of New- York ; inhabitants of Albany alarmed ; Hosick desert-
ed, and Saratoga destroyed ; incursions of the enemy. § III. Fron-
tiers of New-England invaded ; Stockbridge attacked, and Wood-
stock destroyed. § IV. Grand conference with the Indians at Al*
bany ; commissioners from four colonies attend ; conference termi-
nates in partial success ; Massachusetts dissatisfied with IN ew- York.
§ V. Meeting of the assembly, and preparations for defence. § VI.
The governour demands the assistance of the Six Nations of Indians;
reward for scalps voted. § VII. General Fuller's regiment arrives
and sent to Albany ; forty thousand pounds voted to be raised by
tax. § VIII. Day of fasting and prayer ordered ; a Lutheran priest
forbidden to preach, and doctor Magraw suspected. § IX. State of
the frontiers in 1 746 ; murders, &c. by the Indians. § X. Disagree-
ment between New-York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut as to sup-
plying the Indians with provisions, &c. § XI. Meeting of the assem-
bly in April ; governour's message. § XII. Expedition againsf
Canada ; proceedings of the assembly ; mortality in Albany.

Jc RANGE and England were now preparing to pro-
secute the war with vigour. Their respective colonies,
on the American coatinent, were inflamed with the

60

474 History of New- Yorft.

same zeal ; and their hostilities, though less Important
in their consequences or extent, were carried on with
equal resolution. At an early day, governour Shir-
ley, of Massachusetts, had communicated to the gover-
nour of New- York, his desire of forming an expedition
against Louisburgh,* and requesting the co-operation
of New- York. Governour Shirley represented that
such an expedition could not fail of success, if aided by
a British naval force, which was hourly expected. He
3d the raising of troops- and munitions of war for
the purpose, and the necessity of despatch. He stated
that the colony of Massachusetts had, at great expense,
furnished even more than her quota of men. The as-
sembly of New- York, which was then sitting, voted
five thousand pounds towards the expedition. The fleet
which had been destined for the American station, un-
der commodore Warren, had,- shortly before, arrived,

* JLouisbttrgh, the capital of Sydney or Gape Breton island, is situ-
ated in N. lat. 45, 54, W. long. 59, 55. Its harbour is one of the finest
in .North America ; being almost four leagues in circuit, and having
six or seven fathoms water in every part of it. Louisburgh stands on a>
point of land on the S. E. side of the island. Its streets are very re-
gular and broad, consisting mostly of stone houses, with a large parade,
at a little distance from the citadel, the inside of which is a fine square^
Tiear two hundred feet every way. On the north side, while possessed
by the French, stood the governour's house and chureh ; the other
sides were taken up with barracks, bomb proof. Gape Breton remain-
ed in possession of the French till 1745, when it was captured by the
New-England militia. It was afterwards restored to the French, and
again taken in 1 753. It was ceded to Great Britain by the peace of
1763. Cape Breton may be considered as the key to Ganada. It is
separated from Nova Scotia by a narrow strait, called the Gut of Can-
so, which is the communication between the Atlantick ocean and the
gnlf of St. Lawrence,

History of New-York* 47 &

and proceeded to the attack on Louisburgh • while the
[New-England troops, upon landing, took possession of
one of the principal batteries, which was precipitately
abandoned by the enemy. This success enabled the Bri-
tish forces to command the harbour ; and all communi-
cation with the place, both by land and water, was
cut ofE The French made an unsuccessful attempt to
relieve the place, and one of their sixty-four gun ships,
corning with succours, was taken by the English. War-
ren, at this time, laid before the town with five ships of
war, of considerable force, and expected speedily an
addition to his squadron of a sixty-four arid a forty-
four gun ship, In June, 1745, Louisburgh capitulated*
and was taken possession of by the English forces.

$ IT. While these events were passing, the colony of
New- York was busily engaged with matters which
more immediately concerned her welfare and protec-
tion. Intelligence had been received that 1500 of the
French and 100 of the Indians intended to surprise the
English settlements near the mouth of the St. Law-
rence, and on their return, to attack Oswego. Colonel
Schuyler and major Collins, who had been directed to
build six block houses at Saratoga, were obliged to de-
sist, on account of the great numbers of the enemy's
Indians, who were constantly on the watch, and cutting
off supplies and troops, Nor were the inhabitants of
the city of Albany and of the adjacent country, less
alarmed for their safety. Murders and robberies, by
the Indians, were constantly occurring, and but within
a few miles of the city. A draft of two hundred men
was made for the relief of Albany and Schenectady.
This detachment was taken from the militia of Ulster,
Dutchess, Orange, Westchester, Queens, and Suffolk,,

476 History of New-York.

The town of Hosick was deserted by its inhabitant?,
and towards the close of the year [November 16, 1715]
the country or settlements, called Saratoga, was
almost literally depopulated. The Indians had burnt
the houses and fort, and committed many murders,
pursuing their ancient mode of warfare of scalping
those unfortunate men, women and children, whom
they captured. The alarm had even spread into
Ulster and Orange, and had reached the frontiers of
New- Jersey and Pennsylvania. Colonel De Kay was
sent into Orange county to appease the Indians residing
in that quarter, as they had exhibited great uneasiness.
The people of Esopus* arid Minisink had learnt that a
plan was to be set on foot by the Indians the ensuing
winter, for destroying those places, and that large quan-
tities of snowshoes had been provided for the expedi-
tion. Many families made arrangements for quitting
the country. Every where Indian barbarities were
committed ; while the English government, too much en-
gaged in foreign conquest, had left the colony to its
own protection against the irruptions of a savage ene--
my.

$ III. The frontiers of the New-England colonies
were likewise exposed to attack. Governour Law, of
Connecticut, had communicated the intelligence that
Stockbridge was beset by six hundred French and In-
dians, while but a short time before, AYoodstock, a
flourishing village, in Connecticut, had been destroyed,
and one hundred and fifty or two hundred of its mili-
tia cut off. To add to this catalogue of misfortunes,
the Six Nations of Indians, who had long been in the

* Now called Kingston, situate in Ulster county.

History of . New-York. 477

English interest, were unwilling to engage in the war
against the French or their Indians.

$ IV. In October, 1745, upwards of five hundred of
the Six Nations had assembled at Albany, to hold a
grand conference with commissioners from New-York,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. On
this occasion, the governour, Daniel Horsmanden, and
Joseph Murray, of the council, attended on the part of
the colony of New-York ; John Stoddard, Jacob Wen-
dell, Wells, and Hutchinson, on behalf of

Massachusetts ; Roger Wolcott, and — — Stanley, of
Connecticut ; and Thomas Lawrence, John Kinsey, and
Isaac Morris, of Pennsylvania. It is proper here to
notice, that about a month before this conference took
place, Massachusetts had declared war against the
Canada and eastern Indians, on account of the barbari-
ties which had been committed by them on the frontiers,
and that the Mohawks had been invited by the govern-
ment of Massachusetts to join in the war against the
others. This conference, therefore, at Albany, was
principally with a view to conciliate the Six Nations of
Indians, and to induce them to take up the hatchet
against the French. It was not, however, attended by
those advantages which had been anticipated. Al-
though this conference was held in a style of dignity
and solemnity, which had seldom, if ever before, been
witnessed ; although men of the first talents and respect-
ability, from four different colonies, had united their
influence and exerted their eloquence in persuading
these savages to take a part in the war, yet the charac-
teristick cunning of that people was proof against all
these arts. Whether it was a deficiency in the presents
which were made them ; or, an aversion to enter into a

478 History of New- York.

war against the French Indians, with whom they had
heretofore been on terms of friendship ; or whether,
as they pretended, they must first consult the Indians
living more northerly, before they could give their con-
sent, cannot now be ascertained. Certain, however, it
is, that the answers they gave at the conference were
evasive and unsatisfactory to the commissioners. At
one time they said that they would first send to the
Canada Indians, and demand satisfaction from them for
the murders they had committed, and if not given, then
that they would enter into the war. Again, they would
pretend that rumours had been spread abroad, that the
English and the goveniour of Canada were in a secret
understanding to destroy the Indians, and take away
their lands : That it had likewise been reported that the
Albany people intended to kill the Mohawks, and to
take possession of their land. The commissioners en-
tered into long discussions with them on these various
subjects, and shewed their entire falsity and absurdity.
No argument, however, could serve to convince them
of the propriety or necessity of immediately joining in
the war. All that could be effected was a treaty with
the Indians, by which they stipulated that in case they
could not within two months procure satisfaction from
the French Indians for their hostilities upon the bor-
ders of New-England, or in case any further hostilities
should be committed, then they would, upon receiving
orders from the governour of New- York, join in the
war. After the making of the treaty, an express arriv-
ed with intelligence that another attack had been made
on the New-England frontiers. The commissioners
from Massachusetts thereupon demanded that the go-
vernour of New- York should issue orders to the In-

History of Netv-York.. 479

diaus for immediate hostilities. The governour did not
concur in this demand inasmuch as the two months al-
lowed to the Indians had not yet expired. The com-
missioners from Massachusetts testified much dissatis-
faction at this conduct, arid intimated that they expect-
ed that the governour of New- York would, in this
emergency, have immediately taken decisive measures.
The governour, however, was unwilling to commit him-
self in this affair. He told the commissioners- from
Massachusetts that he would lay the subject before the
general assembly and council, and take their opinion
upon it. The commissioners from Massachusetts
threatened to represent to the king the conduct of the
governour of New- York, and how reluctant he had
been in supporting the war or in securing the attach-
ment of the Indians. Much altercation ensued. The
governour of New- York sneeringly enquired what the
colony of Massachusetts had heretofore done to conci-
liate the affection of the Indians, unless when some pri-
vate object was to be gained exclusively by that
colony? Whether, in times of peace, that colony
had not wholly neglected taking any measures in
relation to them, while New-York, at a great ex-
pense, had annually made them presents, and taxed
her inhabitants to defray it ? In the end the con-
ference failed in answering the expectations which had
been raised, and the commissioners separated from each
other with sentiments of jealousy and disgust.

$ V. The assembly, which met on the 25th of June,
1745, were addressed by the governour on the state of
the war, and the necessity of pursuing vigorous mea-
sures to support it. The house were inclined to con-
cur with the governour, and seemed disposed to be lib-

480 f&story of Nen-YorJc.

era! in granting supplies. Henry Beekman, of Alba1*
ny, was authorized to provision the garrison at Oswe-
go, which was ordered to be doubled in number. Col,
Philip Schuyler was directed to purchase gunpowder
for the use of the fortifications at Albany. Col. Elijah
Hutchinson was authorized to perform the same services
in Suffolk county, while John De Peyster and Philip
Livingston, jun. esquires, were directed to provision the
detachment of militia to be used in defence of the fron-
tiers, and particularly Oswego. A large sum of mo-
ney was voted to the commissioners of Indian allairr
for scouts and other purposes of protection and de-
fence. Anthony Bleecker, John Abeel, and Gerardus
Lansing, who had resided among the Onondaga Indians
the winter before, were compensated for that service,
and Jacobus Bleecker, the Indian interpreter, was re-
tained in that appointment. Nearly four thousand
pounds in addition were voted for fortifications and
repairs in and about New- York, and for raising troops
to be sent to Oswego. The fortifications at Schenect-
ady were also put in a better state of defence.

$ VI. The destruction of Saratoga authorized the go-
vernour of New-York to demand assistance from the
Six Nations, according to their treaty at the last confer-
ence. Accordingly he informed the assembly that
their aid should be required. At this session a vote was
taken which can only be justified on the ground of re-
taliation. The house voted a reward of ten pounds for
the scalp of every male of the enemy above the age of
sixteen years, but if such male were taken prisoner
alive, then the reward was doubled. This last was a
humane provision, which took away the temptation to

History of New-York. 481

commit murder. The house ordered the bill to be
brought in at the next meeting, and, when it passed, it
contained some other provisions which softened its
more obnoxious features. The enemy's Indians had,
in many instances, been guilty of the most shocking
murders, and had usually destroyed and scalped the
prisoners they had taken. The retaliatory system adopt-
ed by the assembly, was productive of good effects,
and checked this barbarous warfare, so repugnant to
the principles of humanity.

§ VII. The house, when it met, in December, 1745,
was informed, by the governour, of the fears which
had been entertained for the safety of Albany, arid that
some of his majesty's troops had been sent up for its
defence. General Fuller's regiment had arrived at New-
York, the preceding February, and had been placed in
the fort till captain Peter Winne, one of the representa-
tives from Albany, could employ sloops to carry them
to Albany. The governour laid before the house 1 tt< rs
from colonel Philip Schuyler, major Jacobus Swart-
vvout, Cadwallader Golden, esquire, and lieutenant go-
vernour Phipps. All but the last, related to the active
operations of the enemy, the defenceless state of the
country, and the necessity of further measures of de-
fence. Lieutenant governour Phipps's letter contained
a proposition for concerting measures to annoy the ene*
my, in unison with the colonies of New- York, Con-
necticut, New-Hampshire, anJ Rhode Island. The as-
sembly did not immediately act upon these subjects,
owing to the shortness of the session. Nor indeed was
it practicable to proceed with any prospect of success,
until the necessary funds were raised. Accordingly,
in July, a bill for raising 40,(X)0/, by tax,

£82 History of New-York.

the assembly, and received the assent of the gover-
nour.

$ VIII. Notwithstanding the colony was engaged in
a very ruinous war, which called for all her fortitude
and resources, yet she was not inattentive to her reli-
gious concerns. On the 26th of February, a day of fast-
ing and prayer was directed to be observed throughout
the colony, in order to implore the divine goodness, to
crown his majesty's arms with success, and to protect
the inhabitants from the barbarous incursions of the In-
dians, and the still more detestable plots of the French,
and the pretender. Nor was the government disposed to
permit schismatical preachers to disseminate their doc*
trines among the people. A Mr. John Lodowyck
Hoflgood, a Lutheran priest, was forbidden to preach
until he had obtained the governour's license ; and a
doctor Magraw, suspected of being a pensioner to the
French, was restrained by the council in the liberty he
had formerly enjoyed.

$ IX. In the beginning of the year 1746, the enemy
and their Indians had become so elated by success, that
marauding parties had frequently been seen within a
very short distance of the city of Albany, and some of
them, when protected by the night, had even ventured
into the suburbs of the city, and there laid in wait to
take prisoners. One of the enemy's Indians was pe-
culiarly expert in enterprises of this kind, and had sel-
dom failed of securing and carrying off his prey, with-
out hindrance or Detection, even within the confines of
the city of Albany. Many singular stories are related
of this Indian, who was called Tomonwilemon. In
May, two negroes had been carried oft' by a party
of French Indians, about eight miles from Albany.

History of New- York. 483

Major Collins, with about seventy men, went in pur-
suit of the enemy. One hundred and six men like-
wise were detached from the city of Schenectady.
The track of the Indians was discovered by the
fires they had made, and they were pursued above
Schenectady, but without success. At the house of
one Simon Groat they had murdered and scalped a
boy, taken one man prisoner, plundered and set fire to
the house, and shot a man in attempting to escape by
swimming over the river. Hostilities of this descrip-
tion were so common, arid so difficult to guard against,
that the whole country was in a state of alarm, and
many of the inhabitants, with their families and valua-
bles, were seeking shelter in the nearest block house
or fortification they could find* Abraham Glen,
esquire, of Sehenectady, applied for permission to raise
a company of one hundred volunteers, for the defence
of the frontiers, which the governour and council
thought proper to grant. The inhabitants of Clave-
rack and Kinderhook solicited protection from the ene-
my, and urged the necessity of having garrisons in two
block houses, to the northward and eastward of Kinder-
hook. The province of New- Jersey began now to be
also seriously alarmed. Her government directed five
hundred men to be raised, and that a bounty of 6L
should be allowed to each man. The sum of 2000/.
for other charges, incident to that service, was likewise
ordered to be raised.

$ X. A disagreement between the colonies of New-
York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, as to supply-
ing the Six Nations of Indians with the provisions
of war, was productive of ill consequences to the
'Common cause, and seemed to keep alive the jealousy

484 History of New- York.

which had, for some lime before, existed. The general
assembly of New- York, at its June session, had voted
that the colony would, in common with the neighbour-
ing governments, bear a proportionate part of the ex-
pense of furnishing provisions for such of the Six Na-
tions, and of those in alliance with them, as would pro-
ceed on the expedition against Canada. The legisla-
ture of Connecticut, to whom this vote had been com-
municated, declared that it was unreasonable for New-
York to expect from them the assistance desired, inas-
much as those Indians were within the territory and
government of New-York. The legislature of Penn-
sylvania made for answer, that it did not appear that
the king had directed any application to be made to
that colony ; but, on the contrary, had recommended
that matter to the government of New-York; be-
sides, the religious principles of the Pennsylvanians
would not permit them to be concerned in the business
of conquest or invasion. It will thus be perceived,
that though the Biitish colonies were each of them
eager in the prosecution of the war, yet that the main
object of the English government in uniting their ef-
forts against the common enemy, was, in part, unattain-
ed.

$ XI. In April, 1746, the governour informed the as-
gpmUy that admiral Warren requested a reinforcement
of troops to be sent to Louisburgh, and that the king
had directed to be sent to the colony, a skilful engineer,
to assist in repairing our fortifications, erecting batte-
ries, and building forts upon the frontiers, under the di-
rection of the governour, for the time being; and that
the said engineer should be allowed twenty shillings
per diem, for his services: That captain Collins, from

History of New-York.

Tirginia, was making the best of his way for Cape Bre-
ton, with the transports under his convoy, and that he
could not lose time io stop at New- York to take the
Ruby under his care ; but that this ship might remain
till she could sail under convoy, or until further orders,,
The governour urged the house to employ a privateer
to convey forces to Louisburgh, as there was reason to
apprehend an attack from the French. The assembly
having maturely considered the message of his excel-
lency, were of opinion, that as the colony was very
much exposed, and most liable to the attempts of
the enemy, no troops could at present be sent out of the
colony without greatly endangering her safety.

$ XII. The fears of 'the assembly were not without
foundation. It was soon found, [in June] that unless a
large force was sent to the frontiers, the French and
Indjans would be completely masters of the country.
Captain Livingston moved that provision should be
made for sending four hundred and fifty men, and fifty
Indians to the northern frontiers ; and the motion be-
ing carried, it was sent to the governour for concur-
rence. On the 6th June, the governour sent a message
to the house, the subject of which, for many months
after, almost exclusively occupied its attention, and
was deeply interesting to the colony. It was no less
than an expedition against Canada, which had been de-
termined on by the British ministry, and was to be car-
ried into effect by the strength of the English colonies,
aided by a naval force from Great Britain. The mes-
sage stated that the governour had received a letter
from the duke of Newcastle, bearing date the 9th of
April preceding, (and which letter had been transmit-
ted to him by express from Governour Shirley) by

48t> ffistofy of New-York,

which his majesty had thought proper to order an ex>
pedition against the French settlements in Canada, and
that the governours of his majesty's colonies should
raise as many men within their respective governments
as the shortness of the time would permit. That each
company should consist of one hundred men : That the
troops so to be raised in N. York, New-Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland and Virginia, should be placed under
the command of Mr. Gooch, the governour of Virginia,
who had been promoted to the rank of a brigadier gene-
ral. The governour, in his message, urged the happy con-
sequences which would result to his majesty's colonies,
and the British interest in general, from the success of
such an enterprise, and that he was well assured that
the house would co-operate with its usual ardour in
support of his majesty's honour and service, and for
the advancement of the common cause. The house,
with an unanimity seldom before known, addressed the
governour in the most loyal manner, evincing the great
pleasure with which the message was received. The
members, in their answer, assured the governour that
their hearts and hands should be unceasingly employ-
ed in the great work set before them, and that they
would come to such resolutions as should immediately
forward the important design : That the whole of their
proceedings should be conducted with such unanimity
and despatch as would add to the pleasing hopes of a
happy success, and prove them fully sensible of their
duty, loyalty and gratitude to his majesty ; of the due
regard to the ease, welfare and security of those they
represented ; and of that just resentment which should
animate them in opposing the perfidy and cruelty of
their mo^t dangerous enemy. Tiiis answer, as may well

History of Ncw-Yorh 487

be supposed, was very agreeable to the governour. In
his reply he returned the house his most hearty thanks
for its becoming loyalty and gratitude to his majesty,,
and the great satisfaction he had received in witnessing
the zeal and resolution of the assembly, Although the
heavy debts which had been coatracted by the colony,
for its defence, were severely felt by the inhabitants,
yet the house immediately voted a bounty of six pounds>
over and above the king's pay, to each able bodied
man who should voluntarily enlist in his majesty's ser-
vice on the intended expedition. 6000Z. were likewise
yoted for the immediate purchase of five hundred and
seventy-five barrels of pork, three hundred and thirty-
seven barrels of beef, one hundred and eighty thousand
weight of brown biscuit, six thousand gallons rum,
fourteen hundred and six bushels of Indian corn, the
like quantity of peas, twenty thousand weight of ba-
con, and twenty-four barrels of rice, for victualling the
forces that were, or might be raised, in the colony, for
the said expedition. Major Van Home, captain Rich-
ards, Dirck Ten Broek, and Mr. John J. Cuyler, were
appointed commissioners for procuring the provisions
30 voted. A bill to prevent the exportation of provi-
sions, gunpowder, arms, and all kinds of ammunition
and warlike stores, was brought in and passed. A joint
committee, of the council and assembly, was appointed
to consider of the most speedy and effectual means to
be adopted by the colony in forwarding the intended
expedition. The governour directed the commission-
ers of Indian affairs at Albany, to invite the Indians to
a conference on the 20th June, in order to engage them
in the war, and recommended them to provide for some
additional presents to be made to them at the time*

488 History of New- York.

He also iold the house that he had written to the
governours of the neighbouring colonies, to pre-
vail with them, to join in the expense of engaging the
Indians in the war. The house resolved, that in their
opinion, the neighbouring colonies should bear a pro-
portionate part of the expense of provisioning the In-
dians employed in the contemplated enterprise. It
also declared, that every person who should voluntari-
ly enlist into his majesty's service, should be exempt
from all arrests for any debt due to any one person,
under 20/. and from being impressed or detached upon
any future service, for the term of two years after such
enlistment. An additional bounty of 40$. and a blan-
ket, was voted to be allowed to each of the first thou-
sand men who should enlist into the service. A bill for
impressing ship carpenters, house carpenters, joiners,
sawyers, and their servants, and all other artificers and
labourers, for the building of battoes, and also for
impressing horses, waggons, and all other things neces-
sary for carrying on the expedition against Canada,
with the utmost despatch, was proposed and speedily
passed into a law. Three hundred men were likewise
ordered to be detached from the city and county of
Albany, to serve on the expedition against Canada.
Nothing could damp the zeal and ardour of the assem-
bly in advancing the proposed conquest, and in adding
lustre to the British character on this side the Atlantick,
Although the inhabitants of the colony groaned under
this accumulated weight of glory, which was to immor-
talize the valor and extend the dominions of his Britan-
nick majesty in America ; still, every measure was
cheerfully adopted to give full effect to the intended
enterprise. The session, which had been protracted by

History of New-York. 489

frequent adjournments, was again closed, by adjourn-
ment, on the 29th of July, not, however, without an ad-
dress, on the part of the assembly, to his majesty, con-
gratulating him on the successes of his troops in Eu-
rope over the forces of the French, and the pretender,
assuring him of the loyalty and affection of his du-
tiful subjects in the colony of New- York. In the sum-
mer of the year 1746, the city of Albany was visited
by a contagious disease, which proved mortal to a great
number of its inhabitants. In its appearance and effects
it resembled the disease which has been since denom-
inated the yellow fever. The Indians then encamped
near the city, experienced the ill effects of this com-
plaint, and many of them became its victims. The
governour, who was in Albany, dismissed them from any
further attendance, on account of the ravages of the
contagion. The disease subsided as the cold weather
advanced., and by winter it had wholly disappeared.

62

HISTORY OF

PART XIII.

Including the remainder of the Year 1746, and part of
the Year 1747.

§ I. Indians pledged to join in the war. § II. Legislature refuse fur-
ther supplies ; provisions seized at Albany by order of the gover-
nour. § III. Resolutions of the house thereupon. § IV. Gover-
nour's answer ; further resolutions of the house 5 prorogation. § V.
Failure of the campaign. § VI. Difference between the governour
and assembly ; governour's address ; disposition of the forces ; re-
flection on the people of Albany. § VII. Assembly resent the in-
sult ; insinuate fraud in the governour in regard to the Indians ; house
adjourned. § VIII. Reassembled ; refuse to provide for the pay
of the troops, insisting that furnishing their provisions was sufficient;
governour resorts to frequent adjournments in order to fatigue the
bouse ; the attempt ineffectual. § IX. Assembly importuned to join
Massachusetts and Connecticut ; its resolutions thereupon ; proceed-
ings of the house. § X. Dispute with regard to the four companies
at Albany, &c. assembly refuse to supply them ; garrisons at Oswe-
go and Saratoga.

ON the 14th clay of October, 1746, the general as-
sembly was again convened. Owing to the indisposi-
tion of the governour, he could not attend the house in
person to open the session. He requested the speak-
er to lay before the house the speech he had prepared ;

492 History of New- York.

which, after a declaration on the part of the house that
the proceeding was unparliamentary, he was permitted
to do. In this speech the governour informed the
house that the Six Nations, and the neighbouring In-
dians, wThom he had met at Albany, in the preceding
July, had, in the most solemn manner, pledged them-
selves to take a part in the war against the enemy :
That Mr. Gooch, the governour of Virginia, had declin-
ed accepting the command of the proposed expedition
against Canada : That a fleet had been seen off' Nova
Scotia, which was suspected to be the enemy's Brest
squadron : He recommended the raising of further
supplies for the management of the Indian affairs, and
concluded by exhorting the house to unanimity and des-
patch. Before the house took the governour's speech
into consideration, its attention was called to the disor-
dered state of the publick finances. Mr. Clarkson, accord-
ing to leave, brought in a bill for appointing commis-
sioners to examine, and state the publick accounts of
the colony from the year 1713. After which 6500/.
were voted for victualling the troops destined for the
expedition against Canada, during the time they should
remain in winter quarters at Albany, and 2001. more
were allowed for the expense of transporting provisions
to that place.

} II. The house also resolved that no further provi-
sion should be made for the detachments of militia sent
from the several counties to Albany, in May and June,
than what had already been allowed for that, purpose.
It was now evident, from the temper of the house, that
the governour was not at present to expect any further
extraordinary supplies for carrying on the war. Besides,
a controversy arose, during this session, which widened

History of New-York. 493

che breach between the governour and the legislature,
and was productive of serious inconvenience to the war-
like operations then about to be continued. A com-
plaint was made to the house by Cornelius Van Home
and Paul Richards, esquires, the commissioners appoint-
ed to purchase provisions for the forces raised by the
colony on the expedition against Canada, relative to
certain provisions which had been forcibly seized and
taken under authority from his excellency. Upon the
investigation, it appeared that the houses of John I.
Cuyler and Dirck Ten Broeck, esquires, (the commis-
sioners at Albany) had been broken open by Henry
Holland, esq. and a large quantity of provisions taken
away. That this act of violence had been committed
in consequence of a refusal, by the last named commis-
sioners, to supply four independent companies of fusi-
leers from the publick stores, as the commissioners
deemed the demand irregular and not warranted by the
act under which they were appointed : That the gover-
nour had thereupon ordered the said provisions to be
seized for the use of the four companies.

} III. This conduct on the part of the governour, in-
flamed the house to such a degree, that it came to the
following resolutions :

" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this house, that
his excellency was ill advised in granting the warrant
for issuing provisions, for the four independent compa-
nies of fusileers.

" Resolved, That the commissioners for issuing the
provisions at Albany, to the troops levied in this colo-
ny, on the expedition against Canada, in refusing to de-
liver any of the said provisions, for the said four inde-

494 History of New-York.

pendent companies, did their duty, and acted agreeable
to the law, which intrusted them with the issuing thereof.

" Resolved, That the order issued by colonel John
Roberts, to Henry Holland, esquire, for impressing
provisions from the commissioners at Albany, appoint-
ed by an act of this colony, for issuing the said provi-
sions, is arbitrary and illegal.

" Resolved, That colonel John Roberts, having issued
an order to Henry Holland, esquire, for impressing
provisions from the commissioners at Albany, appoint-
ed by an act of this colony, has therein acted arbitrari-
ly and illegally, and is guilty of a high misdemea-
nour.

" Resolved, That the breaking open the store-house
at Albany, where part of the provisions designed for
tie forces, raised by this colony, on the expedition
against Canada, were lodged, and forcibly seizing and
taking away the said provisions, is arbitrary, illegal,
and a manifest violation of the rights and liberties of
the subject.

" Resolved, That Henry Holland, esquire, having
broke open the said store at Albany, where the pro-
visions intended for the forces, raised by this colony,
on the expedition against Canada, were lodged, and
forcibly seizing and taking away the same contrary to
law, is guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour.

" Resolved, That any person in authority, using
threats to influence any officer appointed by law, to act
contrary to their duty, is illegal and a high misdemea-
nour.

" Resolved, That Cadwallader Colden, esquire, one
of his majesty's council, having threatened the aforesaid
commissioners for issuing the provisions at Albany, that

History of New-York. 495

if they would not undertake to transport the said pro-
visions along with the army, the provisions should be
taken from them, and other commissioners appointed in
their stead ; has acted illegally, and L guilty of a high
misdemeanour.

" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this house, that
it will be in vain for this house to furnish pro visions for
subsisting the forces, raised by this colony, on the ex-
pedition against Canada, until proper assurances be
given, that an effectual stop shall be put to such pro-
ceedings.

" Ordered, That Mr. Cruger and Mr. Nicoll, wait up-
on his excellency with these resolutions, and desire that
he will be pleased to order his majesty's attorney-gene-
ral to prosecute the aforesaid delinquents."

These resolutions are given to shew the firmness and
undaunted spirit of the assembly, rather than to jus-
tify the conduct of the commissioners or of the house.
The dispute seemed more to involve a point of eti-
quette, relative to official rights, than a question which
concerned the essential interests of the colony. The
four companies were undoubtedly a part of the troops
necessary to carry on the war, and though the act of
the governour might have been precipitate, yet it was
certainly well intended and calculated to promote the
publick service. But the truth was, the governour had
taken into confidence Mr. Golden, and some others,
who were particularly obnoxious to the assembly. Any
measure which could have a bearing upon either of
them, was agreeable to the house, and was adopted
with eagerness and vigour.

$ IV. The governour's answer was moderate and re-
spectful. He stated the causes which had induced him

496 History of New- York.

to direct the seizure of the provisions in question : He
explained the difficulties which had arisen during the
campaign, and that a council of war had been called,
who advised the proceedings complained of. The assem-
bly, however, was not yet appeased. It resolved, " That
the answer returned by his excellency, to the resolu-
tions of this house, of the 8th inst. is m no respect sa-
tisfactory ; and that this house cannot, in faithfulness
to the people they represent, pass any bill for a fur-
ther allowance for provisions, for the forces raised on
the expedition against Canada, whilst the notorious
abuses committed in such as have been already provid-
ed, are openly avowed and encouraged. That whoever
advised his excellency to return such an answer, have
endeavoured to create jealousies and dissensions among
the several branches of the legislature ; have encour-
aged a manifest breach of the laws of this colony, and
are enemies to the constitution thereof — That as soon
as proper assurances shall be given, that the abuses
committed in respect to the provisions already furnished
for the subsistence of the forces, raised on the expedi-
against Canada, shall be effectually prevented, this house
will cheerfully pass a bill for a further ample allow?
ance for the subsistence of the said forces ; and that un*
til such assurances be given, this house cannot, in jus-?
tice to the people they represent, proceed upon any
business whatsoever."

The governour again endeavoured to satisfy the
Louse. In his message, he regretted that his answer to
the resolutions of the house was not satisfactory. He
assured the house that all possible care should be taken
of the provisions which had been seized ; that an exact
account thereof should be laid before the assembly.

History of New-York. 497

TbaUbody seemed, at length, to be pacified. The
bill for making further provision for victualling his
majesty's troops, and for other publick services, was
passed, and received the assent of the governour. The
house was shortly after prorogued to the 24th March,
1747. The expedition against Canada, it will be per-
ceived, had not yet met with the success that had been
anticipated. Many causes had united in obstructing
the attainment of this object. Much time had been
consumed in gaining over the Indians, and raising sup-
plies and men. The colonies had not combined their
forces ; the British fleet had not arrived in season ;
and much jealousy, prevailed between the provincial
governments in relation to the mariner of conducting
the enterprise, and of defraying its expense. The gg-
vernour was so sensible of these difficulties, that in his
address to the assembly, in March, 1747, he complain-
ed of the loss of the campaign, and ascribed it princi-
pally to the above mentioned causes ; yet that he en-
tertained hopes from the arrangements that had beeij
made, that the ensuing campaign would prove more
successful. He stated that two forts were to be built
at the carrying place,* near Crownpoint, for the secu-
rity of the magazines and stores, and of the fron-
tiers ; and transmitted to the house a computation of
the expense for making an attack on Crownpoint.

$ VI. The assembly and the governour again differed
on some subordinate questions concerning the new
levies, and the employment of troops to scour and
range the woods in the county of Albany. This differ-
ence produced a long and animated discussion, and a
minute detail of the operations of the government for

* From the N. end of lake George to the W. end of lake Champlain,

63

498 History ®f New-York,

the preceding year. The governour stated that tiie al-
lowance of one shilling a day, for such of the new le-
vies in Albany county as were to scour the wood;, was
not a sufficient compensation for that service ; and that
the assertion that those levies had been unemployed,
though paid by the colony, tvas incorrect. That, in
fact, parties of Indians had been sent as far as Crown-
point and Sacrament lake,* for intelligence ; and part
of the new levies, under captains Langdon and Tiebout,
had been sent out to intercept the enemy : That an-
other portion of the new levies had been employed in
ranging the woods- •; and a third had been stationed in
such positions as were best calculated for the security
of the frontiers : That orders had been given to fortify
a^camp of five hundred men at or near the carrying
place, and a company of the new levies had been plac-
ed at the Mohawks' veastle ;f and another between that
and- Schenectady ; two companies at Schenectady ;
three companies at Cannestagayune ;J four atHalfmoon ;
two • afcSchaghiicoke ; and three companies, besides de-
tachments, at Saratoga. So that there were garrisons,
of the new levies, in a line, from east to west, across
the northern frontiers; while the rest of the forces were
kept in and round the city of Albany, on both sides of
the river : That ho was sensible that some other place?
ought to have been secured, by erecting small forts.,
but that the refusal of the assembly to provide for the
expense, besides furnishing provisions for the new le-
vies, prevented it : That he had kept the Mohawk In-
dians from going out to hunt, and had likewise sent, to
the other Indians of the Five Nations, directions to be
in readiness to join in the war : That he had ajso

* Lake George. { Fart Hunter, J Now N iekayuua.

History of New-York. 490

sent colonel Roberts to governour Shirley, to cortsulf.
and concert measures for the defence of the colonies,
and the expedition against Canada ; and that some of
the neighbouring colonies had appeared willing to con-
tribute a share towards the expense : That the assem-
bly had shewn him personal disrespect, thereby con-
temning the power from which his authority had flow-
ed : That it was well known that the richest and prin-
cipal men in Albany did not wish well to the success
of any expedition against Canada, on account of the
advantage they gained by a trade with that country, and
especially during a state of war : That the principal
difficulty in gaining over the Indians, arose from the
great influence those men possessed over that people :
That they were like popish emissaries in the colony,
who were secretly spreading discontent and discord
among the inhabitants, of which the late negro plot was
a sufficient proof. He exhorted the house to make
every preparation for opposing the enemy, who, it was
said, had a powerful fleet at sea, destined for America,
He concluded with assurances of uniting in every mea-
sure for the public!; good, and the defence of the colony^
9 YIL The assembly were in a great ferment at re-
ceiving a speech which charged the inhabitants of one
of its principal cities with disaffection, and the house it-
self with a most Culpable neglect IR providing for the
defence of the colony. The members from Albany
were violent in their declamations, and unreservedly
denounced the governour as being under an influence
unworthy of himself and of ti>e colony. An answer war
speedily voted ; the style of which was sarcastick and
severe. It was couched in language apparently respect
fill, but was, ifc truth, highly bitter and reproachful

600 History of New-YorJc,

In the conclusion, it insinuated that the governour had
been guilty of gross and palpable frauds and pecula-
tions in respect to Indian affairs. This part of the an-
swer ought not to be omitted, as it is a specimen of
the boldest language ever addressed to the executive of
a country wholly independent of, and superiour to
the legislature. It is as follows :

" Though common reports not founded in truth, and
innuendos and insinuations, that men of this "complex-
ion deal out so liberally, to answer their mischievous
purposes, are little to be regarded with men of sense ;
yet we were in hopes it had reached your excellency's
ear ere now, that it has been currently reported, ever
since your excellency's return from the Indian treaty
at Albany, in the year 1745, that the goods given by
your excellency as presents to the Six Nations that year,
did not amount, in value, to one third part of the sum,
allowed by the assembly, and that this computation was
formed by persons present, from the quantity of goods
given them at the same time, on behalf of a neighbour-
ing government, which appeared larger than what was
given by your excellency, yet the cost of the former did
not amount to three hundred pounds ; that it has also
been rumoured, that the French and Spanish prisoners
imported in prizes, brought to this city, have, by some
persons, under colour of your excellency's authority,
been disposed of, from time to time, to the owners or
commanders of flags of truce, at the rate of several
pistoles a head ; these are reports which reflect so much
upon your excellency's administration, that we should
have remained uneasy, without giving your excellency
the occasion of vindicating your own honour ; either by
bringing the delinquents to justice, if any there be, that

History of New-York. 501

have so perfidiously abused your excellency's trust, or
punishing the authors of so shameful a scandal.

" And now we hope we have evinced, that we are not only
careful of our own honour and interest, but your excellen-
cy's too ; at a season, when, with real concern, we find
the colony in great danger of being involved in the ut-
most difficulties from the common enemy without, and
divisions within, from the present posture and conduct
of its affairs ; when the seeds of dissention are, as it
were, authentically scattered and industriously propa-
gated, through the artifices of a designing man* who has
private views ; for though they have hitherto been pro-
videntially blasted, we fear they may at length spring
up, and bear a great increase, which God forbid."

We shall not pursue this answer any further, it being
sufficient to remark, that it denied the charge made by
the governour, that the assembly had not provided for
the defence of .the colony ; and to support this denial, it
recapitulated the various supplies which had, from time
to time, been granted. It sneered at the charge that
had been made against the inhabitants of the city of
Albany, and roundly asserted that the governour
was under the influence of a person who was ob-
noxious to the colony, and who had, by his misman-
agement, occasioned difficulties with the Indians, and
disturbed the harmony between the different brandies
of the government. The governour was so highly in-
censed that he immediately adjourned the assembly*
declaring that he would lay before his majesty and min-
isters this proceeding of the house. The state of the
colony, however, and the necessity of raising supplies,
would not permit of a long adjournment,

302 History of New-York.

$ VIII. The house was reassembled in a few days,
when the governour informed it that he had already
engaged his own private fortune for his majesty's ser-
vice, and that nine thousand pounds, which he had re-
ceived on bills which he had drawn on England, had
been expended in the payment of the new levies. He
insisted that the house should indemnify him against
these advances. The assembly resolved that it did not
appear to be his majesty's intention that the colony
should contribute any monies toward the pay of the
forces raised for the expedition against Canada ; and
that it was the duty of the colony to supply those for-
ces with provisions only ; and concluding, nemine con*
tradicente, " That if the safety of the people of this col-
ony, in their lives and estates, should be endangered by
the forces not being paid ; his excellency will only be
to blame, as it is altogether in his power to provide
against the evils which are threatened, and which may
be so easily prevented, by his excellency's discharging
the duty which he owes to his majesty." The gover-
nour was now determined to fatigue the house into
compliance by frequent adjournments ; an expedient
which seldom failed of producing effects directly the
reverse from what was intended, His excellency ad-
journed the house from the 5th of June to the 15th ;
from that day to the 7th of July ; then to the 14th ;
then to the 21st; then to the 30th ; then to August 4th.

$ IX. On that day he informed the house that he had
received a letter from governour Shirley, by express,
informing him that it was thought necessary to deter-
mine upon some plan for forming a junction between
the forces now in the province of New- York, with those
of Massachusetts and Connecticut ; that the whole ex*

History of New-York. 503

ellet!, fcxclusire of provisions, for carrying (bis plan in-
to etFeet, was computed at fourteen thousand pounds ;
and recommending the assembly to provide for a por-
tion of the expense. The house was not satisfied with
this recommendation, without first being informed what
Massachusetts and Connecticut intended to contribute
towards this burden. It resolved, " That it would
come to any well concerted scheme, in conjunction
with the neighbouring colonies, for annoying the com-
mon enemy ; and cheerfully contribute its just propor-
tion of any sums of money (consistent with the circum-
stances of the colony) which it should judge necessary
for carrying such, scheme into execution : That it did
not appear what sums of money had been already ad-
vanced by the governments of the Massachusetts Bay,
and Connecticut, to engage the Six Nations of Indians
in their zeal for continuing their incursions, and joining
in any enterprise against the enemy ; but that the
house were fully persuaded, that this colony had alrea-
dy contributed much larger sums of money, for secur-
ing those nations in his majesty's interest, than both ttm
provinces of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut put
together ; and that his excellency best knew how those
sums had been applied : That whatever expense the
government of the Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut and
New- York, should find necessary to take upon them-
selves, for carrying any well concerted scheme into ex*
ecution, for annoying the common enemy, this colony
ought not to pay more than one third part thereof -
which it would always cheerfully contribute : And fur-

ler, that the governments to the westward, ought to
a share of all such expense ; and that it should b£j
tben a lessening of the coatributipn of the colonies of

504 History of New-York.

the Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, ani New- York,
according to the aforesaid proportion."

$ X. The governour, a few days after, sent a mes
sage to the assembly, declaring that he could no long-
er continue the expense, at the charge of the crown, for
supplying the four companies of fusileers, at Albany,
and the levies made in the other colonies, for the inva-
sion of Canada, nor the expense of preserving the friend-
ship of the Indians, and sending out parties of that peo-
ple to annoy the enemy, and to gain intelligence of
their movements. He urged the house to make provi-
sion for those expenses, and for relieving the garrisons
at Oswego and Saratoga. He informed it also that a
considerable body of the French, and their Indians,
had been seen between Saratoga and Crownpoint, and
that troops had been despatched in pursuit of them.
The assembly refused to furnish provisions for the four
companies at Albany, alledging that their pay was suf-
ficient for the purpose, and that they had always sub-
sisted thereon, unless when placed in remote garrisons.
It likewise refused to furnish the troops of the other
colonies with provisions, as being highly unreasonable
and unjust : That the crown ought to be at the ex-
pense of securing the friendship of the Indians, espe-
cially at this juncture, when the burdens imposed on
the colony, by reason of the war, were almost intole-
rable. It voted further, that as the crown had hitherto
defrayed the expense of the garrison at Saratoga, it saw
no reason for transferring that duty to the colony ; and
that the allowance already made to the garrison at Os-
wego was sufficient. It resolved, " That provision
be made for the pay and subsistence of one hun-
dred and fifty effective men, officers included, to

History of New- York. 505

range and scour the woods, in the county of Albany,
for the space of fifty days, for the protection of the in-
habitants of the said county, against the skulking parties
of the enemy ; that they be divided into three compa-
nies of fifty men each, viz. for the city of Albany, one
company ; for the township of Schenectady, one com-
pany ; and for the township of Kinderhook, one com-
pany ; and that their pay be at the following rates, viz.
for three captains, six shillings per diem, each ; for
three lieutenants, four shillings per diem, each ; and
for one hundred and forty-four private meu, two shil-
lings and six pence per diem, each."

506 History of New- York.

CONCLUSION.

J HE limits of this volume will not permit a continua-
tion of our history to the present time, upon the plan
which has been adopted. At some future day the
chasm will be supplied in a manner worthy of the sub-
ject, Upwards of one hundred pages have been occu-
pied in giving a view of the most prominent fads
which have occurred during the short space of fifteen
years, (from 1732 to 1747.) The subsequent period
becomes still more interesting, the history of which
will require another volume to complete. To do jus-
lice to the period of which we have treated, less could
hardly have been said, and more, perhaps, may have
been expected.

The following presents the names of Ihe governours
and lieutenant governours of the colony and state of
New- York, to the year 1814.

Colonial Governours and Lieutenant Governours.

George Clinton, governour, October 10, 1753.

Danvers Osborn, 1753; took his seat at the council
board, October 10, and died on the 12th.

James De Lancey, lieutenant governour, 1753.

Sir Charles Hardy, September 20, 1755.

James De Lancey, lieutenant governour, June 3d,
1757.

Cadwallader Colden, president of the council, 1760;
appointed lieutenant governour, August 19, 1761.

Robert Monckton, governour, June 25, 1762.

Cadwallader Colden, lieutenant governour, Septem-
ber 14, 1763.

History of New-York. 50?

Henry Moore, governour, November 29, 1765.

Cadwallader Golden, lieutenant governour, Septem-
ber 29, 1769.

John Earl of Dunmore, governour, October 31, 1 770.

William Tryon, governour, August 7, 1771.

Cadwallader Golden, lieutenant governour, (acted)
April 16, 1774,

William Tryon, governour, June 28, 1?75,
State Governours.

George Clinton, 1777,.

John^Jay, 1795.

George Clinton, 1801.

Morgan Lewis, 1804.

Daniel D. Tompkins, 1807.

Ibid, 1814.

In the following table the first column of figures
represents the pages of the quarto edition of Smith's
history, referred to in the Revised Laws of New- York,
and the second the corresponding pages in this edition.

Quarto edit. p. 22, see octavo edtition page 48.
31 .... 60.
31 . in notis, . 61.

34 .... 64.
75 127.

76 . in notis, 127.

98 .... 161.

103 .... 169,

245 .... 374.

253 .. . , . 385.

308 NOTES.

SUGAR COLONIES. The act brought into parliament relating
to the sugar colonies proposed restrictions upon the American colonial
trade, and encouragements to the West India commerce. We intend-
ed to have given a detail of its particular provisions, but more impor^
tant matter being crouded upon our attention, we have thought proper
to omit it.

NOTE A,

This complaint of the Indians charged the corporation of Albany
with having obtained from them a deed, by fraud, of certain lands at
Fort Hunter. This charge appeared to be ill founded. The lands
•were already included in the charter of Albany, and rendered any
further conveyance unnecessary.

NOTE B?

The following particulars, relative to Zenger, are extracted from
Thomas' History of Printing s

At the next term of the supreme court, the grand jury found the pre-
sentment against Zenger ignoramus. The attorney general was then di-
rected to file an Information against him for printing the said libels, and
he remained in prison till another term. His counsel offered exceptions
to the commissions of the judges, and prayed to have them filed. The
judges would not allow, or even hear the exceptions, and they excluded
Zenger's counsel, Mr. Alexander and Mr. Smith, from the b&r. Zei ger
obtained other counsel, viz. John Chambers, of New York, and Andrew
Hamilton, of Philadelphia. Mr. Hamilton made the journey from Phi-
ladelphia to New-York for the sole purpose of defending Zenger. Zen-
ger being put to trial pleaded " not guilty." The printing and publish-
ing the papers were acknowledged by Zenger's counsel, who offered to
give the truth in evidence. This the court would not admit. Mr. Ham-
ilton argued the cause in a most able manner, before the court and a
numerous and respectable assemblage of people. The judges observed
that the jury might find that Zenger printed and published the papers in
question, and leave it to the court to determine whether they were libel-
lous. Mr. Hamilton remarked, that they might do so, but they had a
right, beyond all dispute, to judge of the law as well as the/etc/, &c. The
jury having retired a short time, returned with a verdict, " Not Guilty,*'
to the great mortification of the court, and of all Zenger's prosecutors ;
but which was received by the audience with loud bursts of applause,
concluding with three cheers. The next day Zt-nger was released from
prison, after having been confined eight months.

Zenger published the [New- York] Journal on Mondays, till he died,
in the summer of 1 746.

It was continued by his widow, Catharine Zenger, till December, 1 748,
when she resigned the publication to her son, John Zenger. Her im-
prjnt was— •" ^New-York : Printed by the widow Cathrine Zenger, at

NOTES?. 509

tlie printing office iu Stone-street. Wlicve advertisements are taken in,
and all persons may be supplied with this paper."

John Zenger, in January, 1743-9, new modelled the title of the Jour-
nal, and added a cut, coarsely executed, of a section of the royal arms,
containing three lions gardant, encircled with the usual motto, »* Honi
soit qve mat y pensc ;" surmounted by a crown. The imprint — " New-
York : Printed by John Zenger, iu Stone-street, near Fort George ;
Where advertisements are taken in at a moderate rate."

John Zenger published this paper until about 1752, when it was dis-
continued, but iu 1766, the title was revived by John Holt.

In the New- York Journal, of February 25, 1751, is the following ad-
vertisement.

" My country subscribers are earnestly desired to pay their arrear-
ages for this journal, which if they don't speedily, I shall leave off send-
ing, and seek my money another way. Some of these kind customers
are in arrears upwards of seven years ! Now as I have served them so
long, I think it is time, ay, high time too, that they give me my outset ;
for they may verily believe that my very cloathes are almost worn out.
N. B. Gentlmen, If you have not ready money with you, still think of
the printer, and when y«u have read this advertisement, and considered
it, you cannot but say, Come Dame, (especially you inquisitive wedded
men, let the bachelors take it to themselves) let us send the poor printer
a few gammons or some meal, some butter, cheese, poultry, &c. In the
mean time I am yours, &c. J. Zenger"

New- York, September 29, 1 736.

His majesty's council of the province of New- York being duly
summoned to attend me in council, as commander in chief of the pro-
vince, and James Alexander appearing, and the rest neglecting to ap-
pear according to the said summons, so that a quorum could not be
made to give me their advice concerning the appointment of the fol-
lowing magistrates of this city ; I have, in their default, appointed Cor-
nelius Van Home, mayor ; William Smith, recorder ; Richard Ash-
field, sheriff; and Richard Nicolls, coroner, for the ensuing year.

RIP VAN 'DAM.

The following trial is given for the amusement of the reader. It is,
perhaps, not generally known that any solemn judicial investigation of
a charge of Witchcraft ever occurred iu this state while a colony. It
is pleasing to observe, that in its conclusion, it was not stained with
those characters of blood, which disgrace the history of a sister state.

At the court of assizes, held in New- York, the 2d day of October,
1665, &c.

The tryall of Ralph Hall, and Mary his wife, upon suspicion of
witchcraft.

The names of the persons who served on the grand jury :
Thomas Baker, fforeman of the jury, of Easthampton ; capt« John

IVOTES.

Symomls, of Hempsieed ; Mr. Hallett, of Jamaica ; Anthony Wa-
ters, Thomas Wandall, of Marshpathkili ; Mr. Nicolis, of Stamford ;
Baltha'zer Be Haart, Jolm Garland, Jacob Leister, Anthonio De
Mill, Alexander Munro, Thomas Searle, of New-York.

The prisoner being brought to the barr by Allafd Anthony, she-
riff of Ne\v-York : This following indictment was read, first against
-Ralph Hal!, arid then against Mary, his wife, viz.

The constable and overseers of the towne of Seatalcott, in the
east riding of Yorkshire, npon Long Island, do present, for our sove-
raigne lord the king, that Ralph Hall, of Seatalcott aforesaid, upon
the 25th day of December, being Christmas day last was twelve
months, in the 15th year of the raigue of our soveraigne lord Charles
the second, by the grace of God king of England, Scotland, F trance
and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. and severall other days and
times since that day, by some detestable and wicked arts, commonly
called witchcraft and sorcery, did (as is suspected) maliciously and
„ feloniously practise and exercise, at the said town of Seatalcott, in
the east riding of Yorkshire, on Long Island aforesaid, on the per-
son of George Wood, late of the same place, by which wicked and
detestable arts, the said George Wood (as is suspected) most danger-
ously and mortally sickened and languished, and not loag after, by
the aforesaid wicked and detestable arts, the said George Wood (as
is likewise suspected) died.

Moreover the constable and overseers of the said towne of Seatal-
cott, in the east riding of Yorkshire, upon Long Island aforesaid, do
further present, for our soveraign lord the king, that some while af-
ter the death of the aforesaid George Wood, the said Ralph Hall,
did (as is suspected) divers times, by the like wicked and detestable
arts, commonly called Witchcraft and Sorcery, maliciously and felo-
niously practise and exercise, at the said town of Seatalcott, in the
east riding of Yorkshire, upon Long Island aforesaid, on the person
of an infant child of Ann Rogers, widow of the aforesaid George
Wood, deceased, by which wicked and detestable arts, the said infant
child (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally sickened and
languished, and not long after, by the said wicked and detestable
arts (as is likewise suspected) died : and so the said constable and
overseers do present, that the said George Wood, and the said infant
childe, by the ways and means aforesaid, most wickedly, maliciously
and feloniously were (as is suspected) murdered by the said Ralph
Hall, and the times and places aforesaid, against the peace of our
soveraign lord the king, and against the laws of this government in
such cases provided. The like indictment was read against Mary,
the wife of Ralph Hall : Thereupon several depositions accusing the
prisoners of the fact for which they were indicted, were read ; but no
witnesses appeared to give testimony in court, viva voce, then the
clerk calling upon Ralph Hall, bade him hold up his hand and read
as follows : Ralph Hall, thou standest here indicted for that having
not the fear of God before thine eyes, thou didst, upon the 25th day of
December, being Christmas day last was twelve months, and at se-

NOTES. 511

veral other times since (as is suspected) by some wicked and detest-
able art?, commonly culled witchcraft and sorcery, maliciously and
feloniously practise and exercise upon the bodies. of George Wood
and an infant child of Ann Rogers ; by which said arts the said
George Wood, and the infant child (as is suspected) most danger-
ously and mortally fell eiek and languished unto death. Ralph Hall,
what dost thou say for thyself— art thou guilty or not. guilty ? Mary,
the wife of Ralph Hal!, was called upon hi like manner. They both
pleaded not guilty, and threw Ihcn^eh rs to be tried by God and the
country. Whereupon their case was referred to the jury, who
brought into (he court this following verdict, viz.

We having ^everdly considered the ease, committed to our charge
against the prisoners at the bar, and having well weighed the evi-
dence, we find that thciv. are some suspicious by the evidence of
what the woman is charged with, but nothing considerable of value
to take away her life ; but in reference to the man we find nothing
considerable to charge him wish.

The court, thereupon, gave this sentence : Tiiat the man should
be hound, body and goods, lor his wife's appearance at the next ses-
sions, and so on from sessions to sessions, as long as they stay within
this government. In the mean while to be of good behaviour. So
they were returned to the sheriff's custody ; and upon entering into
a recognizance according to the sentence of the court, they were re-
leased.

Appeals, actions, presentments, &c. entered for hearing and tryall
at the generall court of assizes, to be held in New-York, beginning
on the first Wednesday of October, 1 670 :

In the case of Katharine Harry son, widow, who was bound to the
good behaviour, upon complaint of some of the inhabitants of West-
Chester, until the holding of this court. It ordered, that in regard
there is nothing appears against her deserving the continuance of
that obligation, she is to be released from it, and hath liberty to re-
main in the towne of Westchester, where she now resides, or any
where else in the government, during her pleasure.

A release to Ralph Hall, and Mary, his wife, from the recognizance
they entered into at the assizes :

These are to certify to all whom it may concerne, that Ralph Hall,
and Mary, his wife, (at present living upon the great Minifords isl-
and) are hereby released and acquitted from any and all recognizan-
ces, bonds of appearance or other obligations entered into by them or
either of them, for the peace or good behaviour, upon account of any
accusation or indictment upon suspicion of witchcraft, brought into
the court of assizes against them* in the year 1665 ; there having
been no direct proofs nor further prosecution of them since. Given
under my hand at Fort Jamee, in New-York, this 21st clay of An*
gust, 1068. R. NICOLLS.

CONTENTS.

FAGE.
PART I. From the discovery 'of the colony to the surrender in 1 664, 1 7

PART II. From the surrender ia 1664, to the settlement at

the revolution, 51

PART III. From the revolution to the second expedition

against Canada, 121

PART IV. From the Canada expedition, in 1709, to the ar-
rival of Goveruour Burnet, 193
PART V. From the year 1 720, to the commencement of the

administration of colonel Cosby, 239

PART VI. Chap. I. A geographical description of the country, 283

CHAP. II. Of the inhabitants, 318

CHAP. III. Of our trade, 326

CHAP IV. Of our religious state, 334

CHAP. V. The political state, 350

CHAP. VI. Of our laws and courts, 371

Of the justices court, 373

The sessions and court of common pleas, 374

The supreme court, ib.

The court of admiralty, 383

The prerogative court, ib.

The court of the governour and council, ib.

The court of chancery, 385

PART VII. From the year 1 732 to the year 1 736, including

the whole period of governour Cosby's administration, 393

PART VIII. From the year 1736 to the year 1738, inclusive
...Including part of lieutenant governour Clarke's adminis-
tration, 413
PART IX. Including from the year 1738 to 1741. ..Being a
continuation of the government under lieutenant governour
Clarke, 420
PART X. Including from the year 1741 to the year 1743,
when governour Clinton arrived, and terminated the ad-
ministration of lieutenant governour Clarke, 443
£ART XL Including from the year 1743 to the year 1745,

being two years of governour Clinton's administration, 457

PART XII. Including from the year 1745 to the year 174G, 473
PART XIII. Including the remainder of the year 1746, aod

part of the year 1747, 491

Conclusion, 606

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

F

122

S638

181M

C.I

ROBA