USA > New Jersey > A civil and political history of New Jersey: embracing a compendious history of the state, from its early discover and settlement by Europeans, brought down to the present time > Part 21
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" Perth, McKensie, and Drummond.
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who had declared that he was far from intending to do any thing in opposition to what he had formerly granted.
Governor Dongan replied to the proprietors, and endeavored to exculpate himself from the charge of having done any thing contrary to the good of the province, or the honor of his master. He was, he said, "mightily surprised" to find that he was ac- cused of doing any thing to the disadvantage of the province ; on the contrary, he had advised the settlers to what he considered the best, both for the proprietors and themselves. He had written to his Royal Highness and his Commisioners, as he was obliged to do, and had given his opinion as to what was for the interest of his province and had represented to them the great inconveniences of having two distinct governments in the same River, and especially as East Jersey had the advantage of being some Icagues nearer the sea than New York. 44 But to show that he had donc nothing amiss in representing "how convenient it would be to re- gain East Jersey;" he asserted that some of the proprictors them- selves were of the same opinion, and had told him so. And as an evidence of his own justice and leniency, he also mentioned that though under former Governors, vessels going to Amboy had entered at New York, that he had done nothing to prevent them from passing freely, and should not, without express orders from his Royal Highness.45
In a subsequent communication to the Secretary of the Duke, Governor Dongan suggests that "it would be well to look into the last patent of East Jersey, to see whether shipping be obliged, if they come into Sandy Hook, to make entry at New York." Under this specious mode of expression a desire is apparent, that some authority might be found or created, to arrest the trade to East Jersey, and divert it to New York. Tile desires of Dongan were soon to be gratified in part, though not in the man- ner he might have preferred.
It has been seen that the proprietors of East Jersey had given
" Chalmers, p. 661. Whitchead, p. 214.
" It was a singular proof of favorable intentions that he had refrained from an outrage upon the rights of a neighboring colony. But as his predecessor had not refrained, the merit of comparative justice, at least, may be allowed.
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directions to Governor Lawrie for the observance of the acts of navigation, and that nothing should be done in opposition thereto. In obedience to this direction, an officer was admitted into the province as Collector of the Customs. This officer was William Dyre, the same person who had formerly been appointed to a similar service under the authority of the Duke of York.46 No obstruction was offered to his entering upon the business of his office. But his authority was exercised in a manner that inflicted an additional injury upon the province, beside that which resulted from the nature of the laws under which he was acting. Orders were given that vessels belonging to East Jersey should be en- tered at New York, and that the duties on their cargoes should be paid to the Collector at that place. These regulations were ex- tremely inconvenient and injurious, and excited much dissatisfac- tion. Dyre, who was more desirous to ensure his authority, than to exercise it aright, transmitted complaints to the Commissioners of Customs, that resistance was made to his authority; he stated that when he attempted to prosecute vessels for avoiding the laws, the juries gave verdicts against him, contrary to obvious facts ; and that he was thus prevented from enforcing the payment of dues. His statements and complaints, without any explana- tion of circumstances, were laid before the Ministers. A pretext was thus afforded for a more active prosecution of schemes, which had already been considered, and perhaps resolved upon.
The representations of Dongan and others, had not passed un- heeded, and an union, with a general subjection of the colonies, was in contemplation. Positive assurances had been given by the Duke of York to the proprietors of East Jersey, that he would do nothing that should be contrary to his previous engagements ; but his Royal Highness was now in a situation in which he seems to have conceived that he was free from all obligations on account of his former agreements. On the death of King Charles, which occurred in February, 1685, James, the Duke of York had
" He had been appointed by the Commissioners of Customs, to be Collector both for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, receiving his commission on the 4th of January, 1682. He entered upon office in East Jersey in April, 1685.
Whitehead, p. 109.
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been raised to the throne, and in his high elevation as King, the grants and engagements he had made in a lower situation, were but little regarded. Three different times had he granted to the proprietors of East Jersey all the rights of ownership and govern- ment which he himself had possessed, and the grants had been made in as full and forcible a manner as the most studied forms of expression would allow, and they had also been confirmed in a formal manner, by the King, his predecessor. But it was found or asserted that there was not a perfect acquiescence on the part of some of the colonists in a demand for customs ; a demand which was unjust in itself, and which was also unjust in the mode of its enforcement; yet the want of compliance was made an offence, and if the course that was resolved upon was lacking in justice, there was that which might serve in its stead. The King had power.
In April, 1686, the Attorney General was directed to issue a writ of Quo Warranto against the proprietors. The reason for such a procedure was stated to be "the great prejudice in the plantations and the customs here, if such abuses should be any longer suffered, in a country which ought to be more dependent on his Majesty."
During the pendency of these proceedings, the General Assem- bly of the province was convened, being the first since the coming of Governor Lawrie. Agreeably to the orders of the proprietors, the Assembly met at Amboy Perth, in the county of Middlesex, on the 6th of April, 1686. Several enactments were made, but relating entirely to the internal affairs of the province. The compensation of the members of the Assembly was settled. 47 The place of holding the Courts of Common Right was changed in accordance with the orders of the proprietors, from Elizabeth- town to Perth Amboy. The prevailing spirit in the proprietary body was yielded to in an enactment which provided, that persons summoned as jurors, and who were scrupulous of taking an oath,
" By the former Assembly the compensation was settled at four shillings a day, it was now reduced to three shillings, the Assembly "being desirous to ease the charges of the country in paying great salaries." The payment might be made in money, pork or corn, equivalent, a reasonable allowance being made for the time expended in going and coming.
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should be received, upon taking an "engagement" according to a form prescribed. Under the same influence a law was passed prohibiting the wearing of arms, or sending a challenge to any person to fight, and the person who should receive such challenge and not discover it to the Governor, or some public officer, should forfeit the sum of ten pounds. At an adjourned session held in October of the same year, acts were passed regulating the times and places of holding the county courts; and another determining the fees of public officers, it being said that "the inhabitants had sustained a great burden by reason of unlawful fees."
At this period a change was made in the administration of government. The proprietors had not derived the expected ad- vantages from their connexion with the province; the quit rents had been but reluctantly and tardily paid, and in many instances had remained unpaid, and the government that had been devised and recommended, had not been accepted by the people. It may be that these failures were considered as attributable in some de- gree, to a want of interest or energy in the Deputy Governor, in the discharge of his duties.45 Such a view, however, can hardly be considered as just. Lawrie had probably exercised his office according to his best discretion, and with a sincere desire to pro- mote the prosperity and welfare of the province. But his situa- tion had been one of no little difficulty; dissensions had continued to exist, particularly in relation to the titles of land; and the multiplication of claims seemed only to increase the confusion. Some of the regulations of the proprietors too, though properly designed, were hardly capable of being carried into practice. It must be admitted, however, that in certain cases, Lawrie proceeded rather according to his own judgement, than in compliance with the instructions that had been given him, a course which, whether profitable or not, may not have been the best to give satisfaction. Besides this, he had fallen into the same error as his predecessor Rudyard, in taking up lands in a manner which, if not forbidden
" It has been suggested by some writers that the interest of Lawrie in West Jersey had rendered him less attentive to the discharges of his duties in the other province. For this, however, there seems little foundation.
Oldmixon and Wynne.
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by any regulation, was yet supposed to be injurious to the general proprietary interest.49 These several reasons led to a new ap- pointment. In the selection of a successor, there is reason to believe that Governor Barclay and some of his associates, were governed rather by the character and views of the colonists, than by their own particular preferences. A considerable number of Scottish emigrants were now in the province; they were mostly a quiet and industrious people, and the increase of such a popula- tion was to be in every way encouraged, and the appointment of one of their own countrymen as Deputy Governor might further the object in view. The religious opinions of the colonists were also to be considered. Quakerism had never taken a deep root in the province; a large proportion both of the old and of the new settlers were of other persuasions. The settlers from New England retained their Puritan faith, and most of the Scotch were adherents to their own Kirk. The new Deputy who was ap- pointed on the 4th of June, 1686, was a Scottish Lord, and a stanch Presbyterian. This was Lord Neill Campbell, a brother of the Duke of Argyle. The two brothers had been concerned in transactions in their own country, which, however they may be considered in view of their objects, were still such as to subject the actors to punishment as public offenders.50 Lord Campbell
" Rudyard and Lawrie had taken up lands which were supposed to be of especial value, and with a particular regard to their own advantage. Hence, in 1685, instructions were given that "wherever there is an extraordinary choice spot of land, so esteemed by the Surveyor General, or any two of the Commis- sioners, either for the excellency of soil or advantage in situation, it shall be reserved for the joint interest of all the proprietors, and cast in equal division, or if it be such as for the smallness of it, or any other reason, cannot be so or- dered, it shall not be meddled with until the plurality of the proprietors are advised thereof, that by them it may be determined whether after a value be put upon it as one acre, esteemed with four or more, it shall go to such as will allow most to the rest for it; or where they will not do so after the value set, it shall be determined by lot, as this should have been done in the notable case of Changoroza, by Gawen Lawrie and Thomas Rudyard, so it is hereby declared by the Governor and proprietors, that they will not let that land there which they have taken to themselves, and caused to be set out to them, go otherwise.
Grants and Concessions, p. 212.
" The Earl of Argyle entered Scotland in 1685, for the avowed purpose of
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apprehending the necessity of leaving his country, had purchased a portion of a proprietary right in East Jersey, which had been held by Viscount Tarbet, and sent over a large number of settlers. He was appointed to serve as Deputy Governor for two years, and directly departed for the province.
Whatever may have been the aims of the proprietors in the appointment of Campbell, it seems clear that the principal object with him in coming to the country, was to secure a retirement from the difficulties and dangers in which he had been previously involved. Hence he only remained until such an alteration oc- curred as was supposed to admit of his safe return. The only official act of his upon record is the confirmation of the laws which had been passed by the late Assembly.51 On the 10th of December he surrendered his office, and not long afterwards de- parted from the country, stating that "by the urgent necessity of some weighty affairs, he was about to take a voyage to Britain." Whether his commission allowed him the same privilege that had been given to Lawrie, that "in case of urgent necessity" he might appoint a deputy under him, is not determined, but this privilege was used. He placed Andrew Hamilton, a Scotchman who had lately arrived in the country, in office as his substi- tute. The commission of Hamilton was published in March, 1687, and he entered at once upon the duties of his place.
On the 14th of May of the following year, the General Assembly convened. At this session several laws were enacted, by one of these the county of Middlesex was divided into two counties, one retaining the former name, the other to be called the county of Somerset. An act was also passed " for a tax to withstand in- vasion." It directed that a tax should be levied of a penny in the pound on all estates, and ten pence per head on all males over
avenging the wrongs of countrymen, but the undertaking terminated in failure and the death of the Duke. Whether there was any sympathy with Arglye and his brother, among the proprietors of East Jersey, is unknown, but one of the principal of them, the Earl of Perth, had been an active opposer of Arglye's proceedings. This circumstance renders it probable that the appointment of Campbell was made merely with a view to the supposed interests of the province. " Grants and Concessions, p. 301.
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sixteen years of age. The amount thus raised was to be held subject to the directions of the Governor of New York, who had been authorized by the King, in case of an invasion by the French, to call upon the neighboring provinces for aid and assistance.
During this period, the writ of Quo Warranto that had been issued by orders from the King continued to hang over the pro- vince. The proprietors exerted themselves to avert the danger. They presented a remonstrance to the King, in which they re- minded him, that the province had not been conferred upon them as a favor, but had been acquired by the expenditure of a large sum; that they had received a confirmation of their title and assur- ances of protection from himself, as well as from his late Majesty King Charles II, and that relying upon these they had sent thither several hundreds of people. But they were desirous to avoid a controversy with his Majesty, and were willing to correct what- ever might be found amiss in the conduct of affairs, and hence they proposed that the same taxes which were levied in New York, should be raised in their own province by act of Assembly. They besought that if a change in the administration of the pro- vince should be resolved upon, that the King himself would ap- point a Governor out of their own body, who might have charge both of East and of West New Jersey as one jurisdiction. 52 They also asked that an appeal from the courts of the province should be had to England only; and in order that no further difficulty might arise in the enforcement of the navigation acts, they sug- gested, that an officer might be appointed to collect the customs at Perth Amboy, so that a port might be fully established in the province for entering and clearing vessels without molestation. In the last mentioned particular only was the application of the proprietors at all successful. In August, 1687, a direction was transmitted to the Governor of New York, instructing him to per-
" West New Jersey does not seem to have been involved in the Quo War- ranto process. Yet it was included with the other province in the provision for the collection of customs, and therefore could hardly fail to share the same fate with it; this, together with the interest which many of the proprietors of East Jersey had on the western portion, may be supposed to have led to the proposal above mentioned.
See note in Whitehead, p. 113.
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mit vessels to pass to Amboy without interruption, and a Collector for that place was appointed. But in this particular concession, it was not intended to give any favorable assurance in regard to the general course of proceeding ; it was rather designed to secure an increase of revenue.
The King was not to be moved from his main design. The time had arrived when the true value of Royal engagements was to be fully exhibited. The charters of most of the New England colonies which had formerly been granted with all the formalities of the most binding agreements, were now to be annulled. The hand of unscrupulous authority was to sweep the land "from St. Croix to Maryland." The country must be "more dependent upon his Majesty." Andross, the former convenient instrument of arbitrary power, was commissioned anew and despatched to New England with authority to assume the entire direction of affairs. Massachusetts had been forced to yield, and the governments of Rhode Island and Connecticut were dissolved, and the work of destruction was still advancing. It was hardly to be expected that the petition of the proprietors of East New Jersey, although they had received their grant from James himself, would now be respected. The final reply to their application declared, that the King had determined to unite the Jerseys with New York and New England under one government, to be administered by Andross.53 Finding that no hope could be entertained of preserv- ing their rights, the proprietors finally resolved to surrender the government, in order to avoid a fruitless and irritating contest. This was done upon the condition that the ownership of the soil should continue undisturbed, and thus the property of the province be retained as before. The terms were accepted by the King, and in consequence, the proceedings under the Quo Warranto were suspended. West New Jersey acceded to this arrangement. The surrender of the government of both provinces was made in April, 1688.
A new and enlarged commission was issued to Andross, annex- ing to his government both New Jersey and New York. Francis
" Grahame, vol. 2, p. 299.
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Nicholson was appointed his Lieutenant. Not long after the reception of his commission, Andross arrived in New York and received the government from Dongan, the former Governor, and presently afterwards paid a visit both to East and West New Jersey.54.
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In the present situation of the country there was but little oc- casion for the exercise of power, and it may be that on his new and more extended theatre of action, Andross Was less ambitions of particular display; he at any rate, exhibited at this time a degree of moderation that had not been witnessed in his previous course. He continued most of the officers of the province in their places, and made but little alteration in the conduct of business. This forbearance indeed was in no wise greater than the state of affairs demanded; as yet the agreement between the proprietors and the King had not been brought to completion. The yielding up of the government was connected with a condition, that assurance should be given of the right to the soil, and until this should be done, the proprietors might claim that rightful authority was still in their hands. The stipulated confirmation was not made by the King, and the period quickly arrived in which, if an in- tention to fulfil his engagements existed, the power was finally and forever lost. In the revolution which occurred soon after- wards, James the Second was driven from his throne, and ever afterwards continued in exile.
" In a letter from New York, dated October 4th, 1688, Andross states that he arrived on the 11th of August, and that his Majesty's letters patent being published, he immediately received that place, and East New Jersey on the 15th, and West New Jersey on the 18th following. See note in Whitehead, p. 112. 30
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CHAPTER XIII.
WEST NEW JERSEY .- GOVERNMENT AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE DUKE OF YORK .- CONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF GOVERNMENT.
THE release of West New Jersey by the Duke of York, and the manner in which the conveyance was made, have already been noticed. It would seem somewhat extraordinary that notwithstand- ing the opposition that had been made to the pretensions and claims of the Duke, that the grant which was executed by him was after- wards taken, in part, as the foundation of government. But the conveyance of authority to Byllinge had given to that individual a semblance of right, which there is reason to believe he was unwill- ing to resign, and which the proprietors were then reluctant to con- test. But a course was pursued which was calculated to secure to the people the rights and privileges which they had formerly en- joyed. The first step was the election of Byllinge by the proprietors, to be Governor of the province.1 . The particular conditions of his
. The election of Byllinge as Governor could only have been made in de- ference to his claim to authority under the grant from the Duke, unless some new conditions had been made, and none such appear. The former conces- sions provided for no such office as Governor. There was an apparent design to effect an union of different plans by conceding, to an extent, the pretensions of Byllinge, and yet preserving the rights of the settlers. An election was not a direct denial of the claim to superior authority, yet it implied that a right of choice existed in the party electing. It is singular that no apprehension in re- gard to the effect of the grant to Byllinge was expressed at the time ; Samuel Jenings wrote, that he had received an account of a new grant obtained, where- in the customs were taken off, a free port confirmed, and the government settled on Edward Byllinge, "which I doubt not will be very acceptable to every honest man." (Smith's New Jersey, p. 125.) But although the release from customs was a most important advantage obtained by the province, the grant in relation to government was somewhat doubtful, and did not prove in the end to be entirely "acceptable."
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GOVERNMENT AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE DUKE OF YORK. 235
election are no where given; but he presently proceeded to the 'appointment of a deputy. This office was given to Samuel Jen- ings, a man of some distinction already in the province. At an early period the Deputy Governor summoned an Assembly, which met at Burlington on the 21st of November, 1681, being the first Assembly that convened in West New Jersey.2 The body entered at once upon the consideration of the state of affairs and adopted such measures as the altered condition of things ap- peared to demand; reasserting the rights that had formerly been held, and laying down positive limitations upon the action of the new authorities. A deep sense of the importance of their work appears to have been felt by the members. "Forasmuch," they say, "as it hath pleased God to bring us into this province of West New Jersey, and settle us here in safety, that we may be a people to the praise and honor of his name who hath so dealt with us, and for the good and welfare of our posterity to come: We the Governor and Proprietors, frecholders and inhabitants of West New Jersey, by mutual consent and agreement, for the prevention of innovation and oppression either upon us or our posterity, and for the preservation of the peace and tranquility of the same, and that all may be encouraged to go on cheerfully in their several places ; do make and constitute these our agreements, to be as fundamentals to us and our posterity, to be held inviola- ble, and that no person or persons whatever, shall or may make void or disannul the same, upon any pretence whatever."
It was provided that there should be a General Free Assem- bly, yearly and every year, to be chosen by the free people of the province, to consider of the affairs of the province, and to make and ordain such acts and laws as might be required, and the Governor, with the consent of his Council, might, if neces- sary, convene the Assembly at intermediate times.3 That the General Free Assembly chosen as aforesaid should not be pro-
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