USA > New Hampshire > History of New Hampshire, Volume III > Part 9
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Chapter VII
A MINIATURE REPUBLIC
Chapter VII
A MINIATURE REPUBLIC.
Boundaries of Indian Stream-First Explorers-Land Bought of Chief Philip-First Settlers-Government by the Proprietors-Rival Claims to the Territory-Formation of an Independent Republic-Nature of Their Constitution-Government Vested in a Council of Five and an Assembly of All the Citizens-The Constitution Might Be Changed Annually- Poor Debtors Protected from Starvation-Difficulty of Enforcing Laws -The Inhabitants Divided into Three Parties-Broils Controlled by New Hampshire Militia-Commissioners Induce People to Return to Allegiance to New Hampshire-Incorporation of Pittsburg and Set- tlement of the Boundary Line.
T HE boundary line between northern New Hampshire and Canada was in dispute from 1783, the Treaty of Paris, to the time of the Ashburton Treaty, in 1842. The dispute was concerning the determining of the westernmost branch of the Connecticut River. Three principal streams unite to form that river. The eastern branch is now known as the Connecticut, flowing through a series of three lakes. The western branch has long been called Hall's Stream, and the branch between these two bears the name of Indian Stream. The whole country drained by these streams embraces about one hundred and sixty thousand acres. The district is almost identical with the present town of Pittsburg. It is a land of mountains, water- falls, forests, some meadow lands along the streams, and bold and beautiful scenery.
The lure of land invited some hardy and adventurous hunters and settlers into this region before the end of the eigh- teenth century. After the revolutionary war no danger was feared from the St. Francis tribe of Indians, who claimed owner- ship of all lands in this vicinity. Luther Fuller hunted here in 1785. Colonel Jeremiah Eames surveyed the region for the government of the United States in 1789, in an attempt to fix the boundary line, and the same year David Gibbs of Haverhill and Nathaniel Wales of Lisbon came here as hunters and pros-
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pectors. They found good hunting and fishing and were so pleased with the fertile intervals that they induced a small com- pany to go with them the following year and locate claims, or make "pitches," to the number of twelve or fifteen. They did not, however, remain through a winter.
In 1796 Chief Philip of the St. Francis tribe gave to David Gibbs, Nathaniel Wales and Moody Bedel a deed of all this region, reserving to the St. Francis Indians the right to hunt and fish therein forever, security having been given him to furnish him and his squaw with suitable provisions and clothing. Also the Indians were to have liberty to plant four bushels of corn and beans. Under this deed transfers of land were made till 1824, when the legislature of New Hampshire decided, in harmony with ancient law, that Chief Philip's conveyance was invalid. Nathaniel Wales sold a part of his share, sixteen thou- sand acres, in 1802, to Hobart Spencer for three thousand dollars ; so that it must be inferred that the Indian chief got a very small price for land conveyed. However, he lost nothing, had the usual privileges of hunting, fishing and planting, and had a com- fortable support besides. The same Nathaniel Wales sold to Thomas Cutts of York county thirty thousand acres in 1804 for $4,074, and he had more land left. The purchasers of large tracts of land were only speculators and never settled here. Some tracts changed ownership quickly, and it is not easy to tell from deeds who the actual settlers were. Among the first may be named Samuel Osborn, David Tyler, James Ladd, Jonathan Kimball, Jesse Tyler, John Haynes, Nathaniel Perkins, Ebenezer Fletcher, James Heath, and Nathan Judd. The settlement slowly increased till in 1820 there were about fifty families at Indian Stream, the name most frequently given to the entire region between the headwaters of the Connecticut river and Hall's Stream. Most of the settlers were located along the lower course of Indian Stream and on both sides of the Connecticut river, near where the two waters unite. Here are some of the richest intervale farms in the State. In 1824 there were reported, by a State commission, fifty-eight families and a population of two hundred and eighty- five. There were then under cultivation eight hundred and forty- seven acres. After 1820 settlement extended more along the Connecticut river and the political center of the country became
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near the mouth of Back Lake Brook, where the present village of Pittsburg is.
Proprietors' meetings were held and records were kept as early as 1811, showing some degree of mutual agreement among the settlers. They were far into the wilderness and were a law unto themselves. It has been conjectured and written that some settled here to escape law, but there is no evidence that the first settlers of Indian Stream were law-breakers more than the in- habitants of other towns, except that in 1812 some smugglers were located here, tempted, as all frontier towns were, to such viola- tion of law. In every frontier settlement each man is expected to defend his own rights and oftentimes to determine what law is for him. The proprietors did what lawless communities can not do; they made assessments on cultivated lands and collected money for public uses. Itinerant preachers visited them and soon a church and a school were established.
A State commission visited the place in 1824 and quieted the actual settlers in the possession of two hundred acres each, except Nathaniel Perkins and Jeremiah Tabor, who were allowed to hold seven hundred acres each. It was then decided that the so- called deed of Chief Philip established no valid claim to the land, and all of Indian Stream territory that was not then allotted to settlers was held to be the property of the State of New Hamp- shire
There were rival claims to this territory, and all the settlers knew it. While most of them wished to be under the jurisdiction of New Hampshire, a few thought it to their advantage to be ranked as Canadians, and some preferred to be independent, be- longing to the United States, but not to New Hampshire. Their marriages were solemnized under New Hampshire laws, and they were not averse to receiving from the State bounties for the killing of wild beasts, but there was uncertainty as to what would be the end of the dispute between the United States and Great Britain concerning the national ownership of the land. In 1827 the King of the Netherlands as arbitrator recognized the Eng- lish claim, but the United States did not accept his decision. In 1831 United States authorities acted inconsistently with their claims and collected duties on goods sent from Indian Stream into the States. This quenched to some extent the desire of some to be considered Canadians. About the same time authorities in
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Canada, a short distance over the line, began to assert the right of government and even of exacting military service. They located a township, called Drayton, east of Hall's Stream, and built a road to Indian Stream. Thus the settlers knew not which master to serve and so decided to set up a government of their own.
On the eleventh of June, 1832, a committee, consisting of David Mitchell, Luther Parker, Phinehas Willard, Herman Batchelder and Nathan Judd, were appointed to draft a constitu- tion, and on the ninth of July following their report was adopted by a vote of fifty-six to three. It is a remarkable production, con- sisting of preamble, bill of rights, and form of government. Much of the phraseology reminds the reader of the Constitution of the United States and that of New Hampshire. The principles of natural right on which it is founded have long been asserted by the ablest philosophic minds. The local government hereby established was but the fixing of the thoughts and customs of the community, the formal assertion of what the people already held and practiced. Laws are not made to order, nor as the result of caprice. Wise legislators aim to find out what is right in the nature of things, what are the eternal, underlying laws of human society, and then to formulate what commends itself to the com- mon sense of mankind. Thus all constitutions must be grounded in universally admitted truth, such as the equality of men, liberty of conscience, right to protection of life and property, and mutual concessions for the highest good of the greatest number. Des- potisms publish no constitutions and bills of right; might is the only foundation of such rule. The settlers at Indian Stream had all been educated in republican principles and wanted protection with the largest possible measure of liberty. Their accepted rule was conscience acting under the guidance of enlightened reason, and the outward expression of law was the will of the people as made known by a majority vote of duly assembled and qualified voters. They sought not to establish a permanent republic, but only a provisional one, till it should be determined whether their territory belonged to Great Britain or to the United States. The object in view as their preamble says was "to preserve union among ourselves, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for our common security and defense, and secure the important blessings of civilized society." They claimed the right
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"to exercise all the powers of a free, sovereign and independent State," till the boundary dispute was settled. In fact, they did precisely what Dover and Exeter did when those towns were first settled, for they acted as though they were independent, democratic republics. There is nothing else for free, enlightened people to do, when they find themselves without government and in need of one. They then learn how to govern themselves. To submit to one of their own number as king is possible only where the many are very ignorant and one towers above the rest in intelligence and power.
It is cause of admiration that a few farmers and lumbermen could frame such a constitution as they did, even with the aid of similar formulated principles and rules. They must have been men of some degree of education and of intellectual capacity. None of them became famous in the political annals of any State, but they were and should always be considered the great men of Indian Stream, as great as the leaders in any other and better known town. They were frontiersmen, hardy, strong, courage- ous, hard-headed, warm-hearted, independent and conscientious. There was no outlawry among them like that reported, or fan- cied, in a western mining camp. They had respect for human rights and the decencies of civilization. Their laws were founded in common sense, justice and necessity. They resorted to force only in defense of each other against aggressions from the Canadian side.
The supreme legislative power of this infant republic was vested in a council of five and an assembly. The first five coun- cilors chosen were Phinehas Willard, Luther Parker, David Mitchell, Nathaniel Perkins and John Haynes, elected for one year. They had not only legislative, but also executive and judi- cial power. All bills, acts and resolves for making laws and regulations had to originate in the council and be discussed and accepted by the assembly. The council had command of the militia with authority to repel invaders and put down insurrec- tion even at the cost of life. They could pardon criminals at their discretion. A majority of the five was sufficient for action. They were constituted "a high court of error," or a supreme law court, to stop proceedings of other courts and decide what was legal and constitutional, commanding justices to reverse or correct their judgments.
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The assembly was made up of all male inhabitants of Indian Stream who were twenty-one years of age, had lived there three months, and took the oath of fidelity to its constitution and laws. They had power to approve laws and acts presented by the council or to reject the same. They appointed all civil officers required by the constitution and laws. They assessed taxes for the maintenance of roads, bridges and public schools, and the members of the council acted and voted in the assembly. The councilors and clerk were paid for their services. All previous laws and regulations of Indian Stream Territory were to remain in force till repealed by the assembly.
One provision of the constitution deserves special notice. At each annual meeting the speaker of the assembly put the question to vote, whether any change was desired in the constitution. The vote was taken by yeas and nays in response to a roll-call. If a majority of a quorum present voted in favor of amendment or alteration of the constitution, then the assembly chose a commit- tee to prepare such amendments and alterations as were desired, and if at a special meeting of the assembly two-thirds voted for the proposed changes, then they became a part of the constitu- tion. Thus the fundamental law of the land could be changed every year. Why not? Why should one generation assume to make almost unchangeable law for generations to come? Is it reasonable to suppose that in the progress of mankind they will be less wise than we? Why should not wise and good men do what they want to, when they want to and as they want to? Laws that are good will not be changed by the good. Laws that are bad ought to be changed as speedily as possible. Why try to bind and hold the future with the dead hand? Constitutional conventions are now getting to be more frequent than they once were. Human thought is expanding rapidly. Let every consti- tution be abreast of the times, the present expression of the con- victions and desires of the whole people, so far as the same may be learned.
Provision was made for trial by jury before some justice of the peace who acted in civil and criminal cases. The fee of the justice for each trial and each adjourned case was fixed at one dollar, and every writ must be paid for in advance at cost of twenty-five cents. The sheriff's fees were also very small. It is
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evident that the people of Indian Stream did not mean to put themselves at the mercy of lawyers and law courts. Property could be attached for debt at double the value of the debt, but the exceptions were sufficient to protect the poor from distress. They were "One cow, one hog, one swine not over six months old, the meat of one hog, seven sheep and the wool of seven sheep, three tons of hay, one bed and bedding for every two persons, all wearing apparel and all their books, and, if a farmer or mechanic, twenty dollars worth of tools, one gun and equip- ments, household furniture to the amount of twenty dollars, one bushel of grain, meal, or flour to each person, twenty-five bushels of potatoes, and two bushels of salt." The poor debtor and his family could not be starved or turned out of doors.
All between the ages of twenty-one and fifty were enrolled in the militia and were required to meet for training one day in the year, each militiaman furnishing his own arms and equip- ment.
From the beginning of the settlement laws had been treated too much as recommendations or requests. The transgressor had not the fear of penalty before his eyes. There was no jail, and the sheriff finally was allowed to confine arrested persons in his own house or out-buildings. It was too easy to escape punish- ment by crossing the boundary line of the settlement. It was difficult to compel obedience to law, and some lawless ones fled to this settlement from Canada. New Hampshire, not recog- nizing the independence of Indian Stream, served writs upon some of its inhabitants. Application for relief was addressed to the attorney-general of the United States, claiming that they were under the jurisdiction of the United States, but not under that of New Hampshire. His reply was, "If you are within the limits of the United States, as has always been maintained by this government, it is because you are within the limits of the State of New Hampshire." This led to the sending of a petition, signed by sixty out of seventy-five voters, to the Gov- ernor of Lower Canada, asking for relief and protection against invasions from New Hampshire. The inhabitants were divided into "New Hampshire Boys" and Canadian sympathizers and a few who were gloriously independent of both governments.
It is too long a story to tell of arrests made on both sides of the assumed boundary line and of rescues of the men arrested.
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There was a good deal of violent talk, and on one occasion stones were thrown, a pistol was fired, a sabre was swung, and several were wounded. Captain James Mooney was sent with about fifty New Hampshire militiamen to preserve order. Parker, who had been prominent as a leader among the settlers, got discouraged, took his family and settled in Wisconsin.
Lord Gosford, Governor of the province of Lower Canada, made complaints of irregularities on the part of some inhabitants of Indian Stream. A commission, consisting of Joseph Low, Ralph Metcalf and John P. Hale, visited the settlement in 1836. They and the militia soon convinced the settlers that they be- longed to New Hampshire and that it would be for their own interests to publicly acknowledge that fact, which they did by a series of resolutions, published in the two newspapers of Concord. The troops were removed at once. The independent republic ceased to exist. It died unlamented, and the inhabitants of Indian Stream became law-abiding citizens of New Hamp- shire. The town of Pittsburg was incorporated, December 10, 1840. The settlement of the boundary line was made in 1842 by the Ashburton Treaty, as beginning at the head of Hall's Stream. Since that time development has been steady. Rail- roads have brought business and summer tourists, and the little republic of 1832-6 is now a flourishing and beautiful town.1
1 The historical facts concerning Indian Stream have been gathered by Grant Showerman, Ph.D., Professor in the University of Wisconsin, and published as the eleventh volume of the Collections of the N. H. Historical Society, under the editorship of Otis Grant Hammond, M.A. The Hist. of Coos County, published by W. A. Ferguson & Co., of Syracuse, in 1888, contains well written chapters on Pittsburg, by David Blanchard, Esq., pp. 696-720. Special attention is called to an article in the second 'volume of the Proceedings of the N. H. Historical Society, by Judge Edgar Aldrich, with maps, portraits, etc., pp. 366-400. Judge Aldrich adds to his article an extended bibliography of the subject. See also Potter's Military Hist. of N. H., pp. 269-288.
Chapter VIII STATE POLITICS AND THE MEXICAN WAR
Chapter VIII
STATE POLITICS AND THE MEXICAN WAR.
Need of at least Two Political Parties-Democrats and Whigs-Van Buren and Harrison-James Wilson-Gov. John Page-New Hampshire Banks Independent United States Treasury-Corporations versus the People- Education of the Blind Commenced-Extent of the Militia-Relief of Poor Debtors-War with England Averted by Settlement of the North- ern Boundary-Gov. Henry Hubbard-Opposition to the Tariff- Responsibility of Stockholders-Defense of the Unjustly Accused- One of the Rights of Women-Gov. John H. Steele-Corporations should be Servants, not Masters-The Tariff Made Responsible for too Much-Strife over the Annexation of Texas-Condemnation of the Policy of England-Dr. Jackson's Geologic Survey of the State-Min- erals Discovered-Gov. Anthony Colby-Cause of the Mexican War- Part of New Hampshire in the War-Administration of the only Whig Governor.
A REPUBLIC can not long continue under the dominance of a single party. Issues continually arise that express differ- ences of opinion and desire. Where there is something to con- tend for, there must be something to contend against. Two almost evenly balanced parties are the historic rule and the safe- guard of a republic, and there is sometimes need of a third and a fourth party, but these are either short-lived, or they take the place of one of the old parties, that then passes away. At about the time to which we have arrived the old Republican-Demo- cratic party was splitting into Democrats and Whigs. The name of the latter party was not new in this country and had been previously known in Great Britain as the party opposed to the Tories. The latter supported the government in power; while the Whigs sought changes and innovations. In the United States President Van Buren had many opponents, who in 1840 gathered around the standard of William Henry Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe. The political struggle for the mastery be- came fiercer than ever before. In 1839 the standard bearers of the two parties were, for the Whigs, James Wilson of Keene, and, for the Democrats, John Page of Haverhill.
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Although James Wilson was defeated, his prominence as a public speaker and his influence was so great that he deserves special mention. He was son of Hon. James Wilson, who was a graduate of Harvard College, representative to congress, 1809- II, an able lawyer and a firm Federalist. James Wilson, his son, inherited the talents and the legal practice of his father. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Middlebury College. He took great interest in military affairs and rose from captain of the Keene light infantry to be major-general of militia. It is suspected that men of political aspirations then made use of the militia, just as now they use the Grangers and other organizations to make acquaintances, gain popularity and secure votes. James Wilson represented Keene in the legislature from 1825 to 1840, excepting the years 1833, 1838 and 1839. In the last two years he was the Whig candidate for governor, receiving 25,244 votes in 1838 and 23,028 in .1839. His reputation as an ora- tor extended far and wide. He was six feet four inches in height, well built, of stentorian voice, ready in wit, able to tell a story without sobering his audience, quick to cry or laugh and make others do the same, possessing great facility in the use of lan- guage, sincere and sympathetic, upright and honorable. People of all shades of political belief flocked to hear him. The title, "Long Jim," shows better than any other words can what the people thought of him. His oratory helped enlistments in the Civil War, and he was an honored citizen of Keene till his death, in 1881.
His political opponent in 1839 was John Page, born at Haver- hill, May 21, 1787, whose father, of the same name, was one of the first settlers in that town. All his schooling was obtained in the common schools of his native town before he was fifteen years of age. Then his help was needed on the farm. In the War of 1812 he served as lieutenant in the frontier guard at Stewartstown. At different times he held the offices of selectman, representative and register of deeds of Grafton county. In 1835 he was elected United States senator and served till 1837, filling out the unexpired term of Isaac Hill. After filling the governor's chair three years he returned to farming. He was influential in securing the building of the Boston, Concord and Montreal Rail- road, and while governor he promoted agriculture by recommend- ing and securing the Geologic Survey of the State under the direc-
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tion of Dr. Charles T. Jackson of Boston. He died at Haverhill September 3, 1865.
In all the messages of Governor Page emphasis is laid on banking. At this time there were twenty-eight banks in New Hampshire, too many, as the governor thought, and more in- tent upon making money by speculation and overissue of bank notes than in ministering to the needs of the people. Many had suspended specie payment. The banks sustained themselves "by collecting bills of other banks and depositing them in Boston for the redemption of their own notes." At this time there was no State debt, since the State had entered into no plans for in- ternal improvement. The ordinary expenses of the State gov- ernment were forty-five thousand dollars annually, raised by direct taxation. Individuals and corporations were supposed to be better able to build railroads and canals, although the idea was vanishing that the public roads for carriages should also be constructed by private companies that collected toll often. It is remarkable that the same notion has prevailed till the present day, in spite of increasing argument and conviction to the con- trary.
For some time there had been agitation and efforts made to establish an Independent United States Treasury, and this was effected during the governorship of John Page. He con- gratulates the State on this fact in his message of November, 1840. There was a general and growing distrust of all private banks, and State banks were but little in favor. The desire was to separate the fiscal concerns of the general government from all connection with the banking corporations of the entire coun- try. This was effected on a basis of redemption in gold and silver. A committee reporting to the legislature of 1839 stated, that since the year 1814 the government had lost nearly $13,000,- 000 by banks and the depreciation of bank notes received in pay- ment of the public revenues. From 1817 to 1834 there were deposited in banks three hundred and fifty million dollars, on which there was a loss of a million and a quarter of dollars ; while from the organization of the government down to 1837 ten billions and fifty-three millions of dollars had passed through the hands of government officials, with a loss of a little over one million dollars, and eighty millions had been coined at the gov-
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