USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 23
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In the latter part of August, Governor Wright issued the following proclamation, declaring the county in a state of insur- rection. This document, both for its decided language and intrinsic worth, as having emanated from the pen of that cele- brated statesman, as well as for the recital of the disturbance, its rise, progress and results, characterizes it as an indispensa- ble link in the history of that period. And although its great length might have induced us to pass it by, yet we trust its careful perusal may avail us as a timely warning to shape our course in future.
The following is the proclamation :
" The Sheriff, District Attorney, Judges of the County Courts, and other officers of the peace, and citizens of the County of Delaware, have laid before me a body of evidence,
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to satisfy me that the execution of civil and criminal process in that county, has been forcibly resisted by bodies of men ; that combinations to resist the execution of such processes by force, exist in that county, and that the power of the county has been exerted, and is not sufficient to enable the sheriff and his deputies, having such process, to execute the same ; and have applied to me to exert the authority, with which I am clothed by the 19th section of the act, entitled ' An act to enforce the laws and preserve order,' passed April 15, 1845. .
"The evidence presented to me, establishes satisfactorily, the following among other facts :
"That the execution of civil and criminal process, began to be resisted by bodies of men, in the county of Delaware, as early as March last.
" That combinations to resist the execution of such process, by force, under the denomination of anti-rent, or equal rights associations, commenced being formed in that county, more than one year ago.
" That these associations have engrafted upon the organiza- tion, a force of disguised, masked, and armed men, subject to the orders and directions of the officers of the associations, and by and through which force, under the protection of its dis- guises and masks, the resistance to the execution of legal pro- cess is to be made, and is made.
"That the members of this armed force are denominated Indians, or Natives ; are organized in bands called tribes, and have their leaders and commanders, called chiefs, having names. in imitation of Indian chiefs.
" That the officers of the associations, and all the members of the armed force, are sworn to observe and support the con- stitution of the association, and to keep secret all things com- municated, or known, to them, which require to be kept secret, and in the case of the disguised and armed men, the further
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clause is added, that they will stand by each other as long as life shall last.
" That the avowed and declared object of the associations is to prevent by force, the collections of rent, and that the express duty of the armed force, is to resist the execution of process issued for that object ; but that the cases of resistance by force against the execution of legal process, and the discharge of their duties by the officers of the law, have not been entirely confined to proceedings for the collection of rents, but have been extended, in some instances, to other legal process.
"That these associations, and organizations of a disguised, masked, and armed force, are not confined to the county of Delaware, but exist to a great, if not to an equal extent in several adjoining counties, and that the organizations, armed and unarmed, wherever they exist, have and avow a common object, make common cause, and act in entire concert and co- operation.
"That in all the prominent and flagrant cases of resistance to the process and officers of the law, in 'Delaware and other counties, the members of these armed bands of disguised and masked men, have been prominent actors; and that, in the county of Delaware, before the passage of the law above referred to, this resistance had been carried to such an extent, as to re- quire the utmost exertion of the power of the county to pre- serve peace and order, and execute criminal process only.
" That early in the month of May, after the passage of the law of the 15th of April last, above referred to, the sheriff of the county of Delaware, applied to the Governor, under the 2d section of that law, and received authority to organize an armed guard of 400 men, to aid him in the preservation of order, and the execution of civil and criminal process, within the county.
"That a strong feeling has existed in the county against that provision of the law which charges upon the county, the expense of such an organized and armed force, the citizens
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contending that it was unequal and unjust, to require of them to encounter, in their persons, the labor and peril of enforcing the law against these armed combinations, of their own and the adjoining counties, and thereby subject the property of Dela- ware county only, to the taxation necessary to meet the ex- penses thus incurred ; and that the sheriff has been unable to organize a guard, under the second section of the act, of suffi- cient strength and permanency to enable him to execute the civil process placed in his hands, or calling for execution.
"That the consequence of this state of things has been a substantial suspension, in the county of Delaware, of all pro- cess for the collection of rents, from the close of the serious disturbances there, in March last, until a very recent and very signal instance, to be hereafter particularly noticed; the sheriff having undertaken, within that time, to execute and carry out such process in but one instance, and in that, a voluntary settlement between the parties relieved him before the point was reached, at which resistance has been usually met ; and he having, in numerous other instances, declined to receive and attempt to execute such process.
"That some time during the last month, pursuant to pro- ceedings by way of distress for rent, against a man by the name of Moses Earle, of the town of Andes, in the county of Delaware, the sheriff had appointed a day for the sale, upon the premises, of the property distrained, and upon the day of sale, attended at the place, and met a large collection of per- sons, whose appearance and conduct satisfied him that their ob- ject was to prevent his sale ; not one of whom would make a bid upon any part of the property offered for sale, and from whom he learned that a disguised and armed force of some sixty men was secreted in the woods adjoining the field, where he was trying to sell the property; whereupon he adjourned the sale to the 7th day of the present month, at the same place.
"That on the 7th day of the present month, the sheriff
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attended at the place of sale, accompanied by his under sheriff Osman N. Steele, Erastus S. Edgerton, a constable of the county, and Peter P. Wright, the agent of the landlord, who attended to bid upon the property. The persons found upon the premises a force of disguised, masked and armed men, about 220 strong, by which they were surrounded as soon as move- ments were made indicating a preparation to enter upon the sale of the property, and by a portion of whom, in obedience to the order of one acting as their chief, the horses upon which Steele and Edgerton were mounted, were shot and killed, and Steele was mortally wounded, and survived but six hours, three balls taking effect in his person, and from twelve to twenty guns being fired. The execution of civil process was thus re- sisted, the enforcement of the law prevented, and the order and peace of society deeply and irreparably disturbed and broken, in this instance.
"That this cold and cruel murder of a most estimable and valuable citizen, and brave and faithful public officer, for no other cause or provocation, than the discharge of his official duty, as he had solemnly sworn to discharge it, has so aroused the energies of the patriotic and law-abiding citizens of the county of Delaware, as to enable the sheriff, for the purpose of the arrest and punishment of the murderers, their aiders and abettors, to organize a guard, or posse, under the 2nd sec- tion of the law referred to, in conformity to the authority obtained from the Governor, in Delaware for that purpose ; but only for a very short period, which has already expired, or is just about expiring, and without the hope or expectation on the part of the sheriff, of being able to avail himself of the aid of that guard, or posse, for any other purpose than the execution of the criminal processes, to which this startling murder may give rise.
" That it has been subsequently ascertained that, in addi- tion to the disguised and armed force of 220 men, which
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actually surrounded the sheriff and his assistants, and shot down the under sheriff, an additional similar force of forty picked riflemen was stationed in the bushes by the side of the road, and near to the place of sale, with directions to watch the posse, which it was apprehended would follow the sheriff, and come to his aid; to order it to halt, if it should attempt to pass ; and to shoot down the men who composed it, if they should not obey the order to halt; thus making the whole disguised and armed force, assembled upon this occasion, to resist the execution of the law, and of civil process, 260 men, or more than that number.
"That considerable portions of this disguised and armed force were drawn from two of the adjoining counties,, and were not citizens of the county of Delaware.
"That these organizations to resist the law and the execu- tion of its process, have extended themselves to the magis- tracy of the county of Delaware, and that justices of the peace of some of the towns in that county are found enrolled as members and officers of the associations, if not under the Indian dis- guises, bearing arms to resist the law by force; forgetting the oath of office they have taken, and taking themselves, and administering to others, oaths to conceal violations of the law ;- to the ministerial officers of the county, and that constables are also found members of one, or both, of these combinations ;- to the officers of the towns, and that supervisors, the members of the local legislature of the county, are members of the anti-rent associations, swearing to support their constitution and pledge, if not Indians, swearing to bear arms against the law.
"That one of the obligations, which every person takes upon himself, on becoming a member of an anti-rent asso- ciation, is to make fixed and regular contributions to the funds of the association ; that a stipulated rent of two cents upon the acre of all the land held by the members of these associa-
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tions is levied and paid to the treasurers, to meet the expenses of the organizations ; that the moneys thus collected are paid out, under the direction of a committee, to purchase materials for dresses, masks, arms and ammunition for the Indians, and to pay the expenses of their subsistence and entertainment, when called out, as well as to meet the expenses of law suits, and litigations ; and, where there is a surplus in the treasury, to pay the Indians for their time spent in the service to which they are devoted.
"That 1000 or more persons have enrolled themselves and taken the prescribed oath, as Indians, within the single county of Delaware, while a much larger number have become members of the anti-rent associations, and that the obligations assumed "toward each other, certainly by the Indians, if not by the members of the associations also, strongly imply, if they do not expressly enjoin, efforts on the part of those at liberty, to rescue those under arrest, and in the custody of the law, for acts performed as Indians, or as members of an asso- ciation, and in furtherance of the objects of those organizations.
" That, since the murder of the under sheriff Steele, in the manner before related, the proceedings of the authorities and citizens of the county of Delaware have been marked by a most praiseworthy vigilance and energy, to arrest and bring to justice these resisters of the law and disturbers of the peace of the county ; that many arrests have been made, and fifty or more prisoners are now confined in the county jail, either awaiting examinations, or committed to answer to charges of crime, some twenty or more of whom are charged as principals or accessories in this murder.
"It may be added, too, that individuals, and assemblages of men, have, within the period mentioned, frequently appeared in the public highways; in the fields, woods, and other places in the county, and sometimes in the face of the sheriff and his officers, both disguised and armed, in open violation of
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the provisions of the act entitled ' An act to prevent persons appearing disguised and armed,' passed 28th January, 1845 ; and that such persons, so committing offences subjecting them to punishment in the State Prison, have not been arrested; thus affording evidence that the power of the county, as faith- fully exerted as the sheriff and his officers could exert it, has been insufficient for the execution of criminal process and the preservation of the criminal law within the county, in cases where the violations of that law have not been attended with consequences calculated to shock the feelings of the citizens, by the imminent danger to, or the wanton destruction of, human life.
"The fact that the law makes no provision for mounting the men to be employed by the sheriff as a posse, or guard, or for the payment for the service, or for the subsistence of horses for their use, is stated by him as one prominent cause of his inability to enlist and organize an efficient body of men for the service required. The nature of that service palpably required that a large share, at least, of the sheriff's guard should be mounted, and it is scarcely possible that any mode- rate number of men could have made him an efficient posse, all serving on foot.
"In the face of these facts, I cannot entertain a doubt that the testimony presented brings the case fully within the pro- visions of the 19th section of the act of the 15th of April last; that the execution of civil or criminal process has been forcibly resisted in the county of Delaware : that combinations to resist the execution of such process by force do exist in that county ; that the power of the county has been exerted within the true intent and meaning of the act, and that it is not sufficient to enable the officers of the county having such process to execute the same.
"I do therefore, hereby, in conformity with the provisions of the said 19th section of the said act, proclaim and declare the
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county of Delaware to be in a state of insurrection, according to the provisions, and true intent and meaning of the act of the legislature of this State, entitled ' An act to enforce the laws and preserve order,' passed 15th April, 1845.
"In making this declaration, it becomes my duty to draw the particular attention of all the citizens of the State, and espe- cially the citizens of Delaware and the adjoining counties, to the provisions of the 20th section of the act referred to.
""' Any person who shall, after the publication of this pro- clamation, resist, or assist in resisting, the execution of legal process ; or who shall aid, or attempt, the rescue or escape of any prisoner from lawful custody or confinement, or who shall resist, or aid or assist in resisting, any force ordered out by the Governor, in the county of Delaware, is, by this section of the law, upon conviction of either of these offences, to be adjudged guilty of a felony, and punished by imprisonment in the State Prison for a term not less than two years.'
"It becomes my further duty to invoke the especial and earnest attention of all civil and military officers of the State to this. proclamation, to the provisions of the two acts of the legislature particularly referred to in it, and of the responsible duties it devolves upon them. They are the guardians of the law for the people of the State, whom they have been appointed to represent and serve. They have been selected to expound, administer and execute the law, and they have solemnly sworn that they will faithfully discharge the duties of their respective offices, according to the best of their abilities.
" To such officers within the county of Delaware, and the surrounding counties, this appeal comes with peculiar force. It is to enforce the law in their immediate neighborhoods that the aid of the State is invoked. Around and among them the spirit of insurrection, of combined and organized resistance to the law, prevails and shows itself. The discharge of their whole duties, and the faithful redemption of their official oaths,
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are demanded alike by patriotic feeling, moral duty, and a plain sense of personal justice; and especially, if any one among their number, holding a public trust, and resting under the obligations of that oath, shall become lost to a just sense of his duty to himself and his State, and shall yield to the insurrectionary influences around him, it is incumbent upon them, while they boldly detect and expose and bring to justice the delinquent, to show by their better conduct and example, that our free institutions are not to be surrendered for a state of disorder, and violence, and crime, and murder, even though some few of their constituted guardians should not be proof against such delusion.
" To the freemen of the State I can make no stronger appeal than is presented in the simple narration of facts I have set forth. These facts show the regular progress to its result in crime and blood of every attempt to set aside the regularly constituted tribunals of civil society, organized for the protec- tion of personal rights and the redress of personal wrongs,-to make might the measure of right between citizen and citizen. Masks and disguises are never assumed to protect men in the performance of acts toward their neighbors, which the judg- ment and the conscience approve ; and no other acts will pro- mote the peace, order or prosperity of society, or the happiness, or true interest of him who performs the action. Secret oaths are only administered to add to the protection of the masks, when the conscience proclaims that he who is trusted to look behind the mask may be as dangerous as he who looks upon it; that the danger is in the truth, and is to be apprehended from all who can tell it. When the mind becomes so deluded as to rely upon protections like these, and to act from the prompt- ings which a sense of security of this character, if indulged, will never fail to engender, high crimes are the certain fruit, and the charm of the protection vanishes only when the guilt is incurred. The intelligent freemen of our State will not
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seek to change their peaceful and happy and prosperous insti- tutions, the fruit of the toil and blood of our Revolutionary fathers, for a government resting upon such a basis and pro- ducing such fruits. Justice is the emblem of their govern- ment, and her light is truth.
"To the tenants who disapprove of this disguised and armed force, and have refused to give their aid or countenance to its organization and action,-and they are believed to constitute a numerous and influential body of men,-the present presents a peculiarly appropriate occasion to mark more distinctly their separation from proceedings which cannot fail to be fatal to a good cause, and to prejudice good men. If they feel that the tenures by which they hold their farms are onerous; not in accordance with the genius of our institutions, or the spirit of our people ; and that they ought to be changed to freeholds ; let them see, and feel also, that the natural sympathies of the great body of our freeholders must be with them in these im- pressions, and that the sure way to avert these sympathies is to attempt to accomplish a worthy end by unworthy means. Let them remember that their present tenures have resulted from voluntary contracts, freely entered into between them- selves, or their worthy ancestors, and the landlords from whom they hold; and that the readiest, if not the only way, to make the change they desire, is by a contract equally voluntary between themselves and those same landlords. Let them be assured that, if they fulfil their contracts hitherto, and offer terms of commutation of their titles, which are just, and which appear to be so to fair and impartial minds, an enlightened public opinion will bring about the acceptance of such terms by the landlords.
"To the proprietors of these leasehold estates, the landlords of these tenants, the present crisis should not be without its lessons of wisdom. Indefensible as have been the attempts to repudiate their solemn contracts, and to wrest from them by
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force the remedies secured to them by the constitution and the laws for breaches of those contracts, they should not fail to see, at the foundation of these lawless proceedings, a rapidly growing dissatisfaction at the perpetuation of tenures, not in accordance with those by which the great body of the lands of our country are held, and not consonant with the feelings of our people .- And, while the power of the State must and will be exerted to enforce the law, protect private rights, preserve the peace and order of society, give security to the life of the citizen, and pre- vent the prevalence of anarchy and violence, so far as it rests in their power they should be ready to remove the causes of like troubles for the future, by a prompt and liberal arrangement of arrears of rent, whenever an opportunity shall offer; and, by tendering generous terms to the tenants, upon which they will change the tenures to fee simple titles, put an end for ever to this perpetual relation of landlord and tenant,-a relation already so fruitful of anything but peace and prosperity to either of the par- ties. Even if it shall become necessary to employ the military power of the State to enforce the law, as connected with their peculiar interests, they should be prepared, upon all occasions and under all circumstances, to show to the public that it is no part of their object to be benefited in their pecuniary interests, by the misfortunes or the faults of their ill-advised and mis- guided tenants ; but that they are ready to consider, generously, the ability and the means of each tenant to pay, and, even if a coerced sale of his property must be the only rule of settle- ment, that they are prepared to become liberal purchasers at such sales.
" To the disguised men themselves, and to those less worthy than they, who press them forward into the danger from which they themselves shrink, I have only to say that wrong acts never serve even a good cause; that persistence in crime can- not mitigate the heavy weight upon the mind and conscience of the first crime ; and that no disguises are perfect enough to
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protect the heart from the eye of Him who sees its thoughts and intents.
" For the sake of the character of our State and of our people, as well as for the peace and prosperity and harmony of so- ciety, I earnestly hope the day may not be distant, when I may be called upon to discharge another and a far more pleas- ant duty, under a provision of the same law under which I now act, by revoking this proclamation.
" Yet the law must be enforced. Our institutions must be preserved. Anarchy and violence must be prevented. The lives of our citizens must be protected, and murder must be punished. And when that portion of our citizens who, now transported by passion and led away by singular delusions, are ready to strike down the law and its ministers, shall become convinced that a different course is alike the part of wisdom and of duty, and shall again submit themselves to the laws of the State, then, and not before, can I expect to be permitted to perform that more pleasing duty.
" In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed the Privy Seal of the State. Witness my hand, at the city of [L. s.] Albany, this twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
" SILAS WRIGHT."
The same day the proclamation of Gov. Wright, was re- ceived by mail in Delhi, Adjutant General Farrington, with instructions to superintend the organization of an armed force, also arrived from his residence in Oswego. The same evening two companies of volunteers were formed, elected their offi- cers, reported themselves to the Adjutant General, and were formed into a separate battalion of light infantry. Benjamin T. Cook of Franklin, was elected captain of the first company,
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William Buckingham, of Harpersfield, lieutenant, and Angus McDonald, Jr., of Stamford, ensign.
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