USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 15
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tions were treated with marked respect by his employers, and in course of time met with a favorable response.
The colony of Rensselaerswick had become, in the natural course of events, an independent power; and all efforts on the part of the company to induce the patron to cede to them any of his rights had failed. Such a power was looked upon as very injuri- ous to the interests of the province; and, since it could not be bought off, Governor Stuyvesant was instructed to circumscribe its jurisdiction as far as possible. The pa- troon, understanding what immunities were claimed for manors and municipalities in Europe, would hold no fellowship with a man who arrogated to himself supreme rul- IANBAPTIST VAN RENSS ELAER DIRECTEUR DERCOLONY RENSSELAER Wyck 1656 ership in New Netherland, without proper regard for the feudal privileges granted by the charter of the company. Brant Van Van Rensselaer Arms on Window. Slechtenhorst was the champion of the views of the late Van Rensselaer, as well as of the rights of the infant lord, and, being of a resolute temper, paid no attention to the governor's orders in any respect.
Stuyvesant finally resolved to visit the colony in person, and with a mil- July 21. itary escort proceeded up the river. The fort itself and the land immediately about it were the property of the company. Van Slechtenhorst was summoned to answer for his contempt of authority. . He did answer, and it was by protest to protest. He charged the governor with having interfered with him, contrary to ancient order and usage; as if he, Stuyvesant, and not Van Rensselaer, were lord of the patroon's colony. Stuyvesant ordered that no buildings should be erected within a prescribed distance from Fort Orange, and Van Slechtenhorst declared such an order an aggression which could not be justified. He said the
soil belonged to the patroon. Stuyvesant replied, that "the objectionable buildings endangered the fort." Slechtenhorst hotly pronounced the governor's argument a mere pretext. No definite results were obtained ; and, after Stuyvesant's departure, Slechtenhorst continued his improve- ments precisely as before. We can hardly realize, at this late day, that our republican State of New York once harbored within its borders something so nearly akin to a principality ; but such is the fact. Stuy- vesant wrote to Van Slechtenhorst that force would be used if he did not desist from erecting buildings ; but it only provoked a characteristically
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THE GOVERNOR'S FAILURE.
impudent retort, and a criticism upon the technical formality of the gov- ernor's legal proceedings. Van Slechtenhorst followed up his reply to Stuyvesant by forbidding the company's commissary at Fort Orange to quarry stone or cut timber within the boundaries of the colony, while he himself was actively putting up houses for the patroon within pistol-shot of the fort.
Stuyvesant, having been informed of this fact, dispatched a military force to arrest Van Slechtenhorst and demolish the buildings.
Their mission was not performed to the letter, however. Van Sept 21. Slechtenhorst, who was himself a shrewd lawyer, refused to appear at Fort Amsterdam with his papers and commissions until a summons should be legally served ; and he demanded a copy in writing of the governor's claims and complaints. The Rensselaerswick colonists were angered at Stuyves- ant's hostile movements, and the Mohawk savages were with difficulty re- strained from attacking the soldiers. After much confusion, the military company was withdrawn, the houses were left standing, and matters con- tinued unsettled.
Dominie Megapolensis asked his dismission from the church at Rens- selaerswick during the summer, as did also Dominie Backerus from the church at New Amsterdam, both gentlemen wishing to return Aug. 15. to Europe. The Classis of Amsterdam was then petitioned for "old, experienced, and godly ministers"; but although every effort was made, and there were many consultations held in Holland with Sept. 2. the Directors of the company and the heirs of Van Rensselaer, it was difficult to find " experienced " ministers willing to undertake such " a far distant voyage." 1
The Dutch could not fail to see that the colonies of their English neigh- bors, where neither patroons nor lords nor princes were known, were much more flourishing than their own ; and they complained bitterly to the gov- ernor. He had made the same observations, but could not remedy the evils that were retarding the progress of New Netherland ; and he was unreasonably jealous of any attempt on the part of others to institute reforms. Again a long correspondence about boundaries ensued with the New England authorities, and the tone of it was exceedingly bitter.
Retaliation was threatened. Then Stuyvesant was accused of trying to instigate the Indians to rise up against the English. He promptly vindicated himself and demanded an investigation. In the mean 1649. time he had written to the West India Company, praying that the boundary between the Dutch and English provinces might be settled in Europe. But, at this time, the distracted condition of affairs there in-
1 Cor. Classis Amst.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
duced the company to instruct their governor "to live with his neighbors on the best terms possible."
Every great European event affected the prospects of the American colonies. Civil war was now raging in England. Charles I. was a prisoner in the hands of his subjects. He might perhaps have reigned to the end of a peaceful life, if he had been content to rule as a constitutional sovereign. At the same time, the Parliament party went beyond the limits of the constitution in their desire to preserve the constitution. The unfortunate king was tried, condemned, and executed in front of his own banqueting-hall. As he stood upon the scaffold, Gregory Brandon, his executioner, fell on his knees before him and asked his forgiveness. " No!" said the king; " I forgive no subject of mine who comes delib- erately to shed my blood." The king spoke as became the chief magistrate and the source of the laws which were violated in his mur- der. He took off the medallion of the order of the Garter, and gave it to Juxon, saying with emphasis, " Remember!" Beneath the medallion of St. George was a secret spring which removed a plate ornamented with lilies, under which was a beautiful miniature of his beloved Henrietta. The warning word which has caused so many historical surmises evidently referred to the fact that he had parted with the portrait of his wife only at the last moment of his existence. Queen Henrietta had escaped to the Louvre ; and her second son, James, was with her at the time she received the terrible news. Her eldest daughter, Mary, was the wife of William II., Prince of Orange; and thither Charles, Prince of Wales, and his brother James repaired for safety, while the broken-hearted queen retired, with one or two of her ladies, to St. Jacques, the Convent of the Carmelites.
But though England was declared a republic, the monarchical principle survived. There could be no republic ; and there was no republic. Polit- ical knowledge was not sufficiently advanced. It is as impossible to jump from monarchy to democratic equality, as to lay out new streets in a day through a city that is already crowded with massive structures. Cromwell saw the impossibility of a representative government, and wished to become king; but the army, which was composed of republi- cans who acted conscientiously, would not allow it. He would have ruled constitutionally if he could; but by him the English would not be so ruled. He, however, managed England's affairs far more wisely than they had ever been managed by a Stuart, though with an iron hand which he did not condescend to cover with a velvet glove.
It was not, therefore, a favorable moment for the Dutch to quarrel with England or her colonies about mere boundary lines. But the "pride
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VAN CORTLANDT.
and obstinacy " of Stuyvesant (for so his fierce energy was called) was increasing the number of his opponents at an alarming rate. At the second yearly election of the "Nine Men," Adriaen Van der Donck and the able and respected Oloff S. Van Cortlandt were chosen members of the board. Van Cortlandt was a thriving merchant and one of the richest men in New Amsterdam. His estate, or a portion of it, lay on the west side of Broadway, near the street which perpetuates his name. The "Nine Men," at one of their subsequent meetings, deter- mined upon sending a delegation to Hol- land to demand certain reforms and regu- lations which had been promised by the company, and waited for patiently in vain. They asked permission to convene the peo- ple, to confer on the subject " how expenses VIRTUS SIBI should be defrayed," etc. Stuyesant de- clined granting their request, and told them in writing "that communications MUNUS must be made with the company through Van Cortlandt Arms. the governor, and his instructions followed."
The " Nine Men " thought differently. They promised Stuyvesant to send no document to Holland without giving him a copy, but pronounced his last demand "unreasonable and antagonistical to the welfare of the country." As he would not allow the people to be convened, a committee from the "Nine Men " went from house to house to learn their opinions. This excited the governor's extreme displeasure, and various intrigues were resorted to, on his part, to counteract the influence of the popular tribunes. Among other things, he and his council summoned a meeting of delegates from the militia and towns-people, to consider the question of sending agents to the Fatherland on some important matters, not named.
The "Nine Men " were, nevertheless, determined to carry out their plans. Van der Donck was appointed secretary, and was expected to keep a careful journal of the proceedings. He lodged in the house of Jan Jansen Dam. One day, in his absence, Stuyvesant sent to his cham- ber and seized all his papers, and the next morning ordered him to be arrested and thrown into prison.
This high-handed measure was followed by a public meeting at the fort, consisting of the governor, council, officers of the militia, and depu- tations from the citizens. Van Dincklagen, the Vice-Director, had March 4. a keen sense of justice ; and, as his superior had acted without his knowl-
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edge or approval in the matter of Van der Donck, he demanded that the prisoner be admitted on bail, and heard in his own defense. Stuyvesant refused. Angry words followed, on both sides. It soon became evident that the majority of the council were inclined to treat Van der Donck harshly. Van der Donck himself, seeing the turn events were taking, asked for his journal, that he might correct some errors in it; but the March 15. request was refused. He was examined a few days later, and his conduct condemned "as tending to bring sovereign authority into contempt "; and he was thereupon excluded from the executive council, and also from all legislative authority in connection with the "Nine Men." Van Dincklagen publicly disclaimed, and with great vehemence, his co- operation in this war against the free exercise of the right of petition.
In the midst of the excitement, Cornelis Melyn, so recently banished in disgrace, suddenly appeared in Manhattan, restored to the full rights of a colonist,1 and armed with a summons for Stuyvesant to answer for his conduct before the States-General and Prince of Orange without
delay, either in person or by attorney. Determined to make his March 8. triumph as public as his former dishonor had been, he took ad- vantage of a meeting in the church in the fort, and demanded that the paper he held, containing the acts of their High Mightinesses, should be read then and there by one of the " Nine Men." After a noisy debate, he carried his point, and the mandamus and summons were read to the assemblage by Arnoldus Van Hardenburg.
Stuyvesant was stung and humiliated beyond expression, but replied : "I shall honor the States-General by obeying their commands ; yet, until I am discharged by the company, an attorney must answer for me in Holland." He refused any conversation or communication with Melyn, and required an apology from each of his subordinates for their share in the transactions at the church. He appointed Van Tienhoven and Jan Jansen Dam, whose daughter Van Tienhoven had married, as his repre- sentatives to the Hague. Van Tienhoven was admirably fitted for this mission. He was crafty, cautious, and sharp-witted. When he at- tempted to defend any plot or scheme, his eloquence had all the charm of sincerity. He is known to have been dishonest in a multitude of ways, and for that reason, as well as others, he had become generally disliked in the colony. He had been so long a servant of the company that he was intelligent as to its concerns ; and he knew the people and the con- dition of affairs as well as any one else, and perhaps better. Having
1 Mass. Hist. Col., IX. 277. John Winthrop, Jr., received a letter from Roger Williams, saying, "Skipper Isaac and Melyn are come with a Dutch ship, bringing letters from the States-General calling home this Dutch governor to answer to many complaints."
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VAN DER DONCK.
quarreled personally with several of the "Nine Men," he was, from mo- tives of policy, a warm advocate for the governor. It is said that his curious tact and strength of will enabled him to maintain extraordinary influence over Stuyvesant for a series of years. He lived on an estate of his own, west of Pearl Street and above Maiden Lane, his land ex- tending towards Broadway.
The favor shown by the States-General to Melyn encouraged the "Nine Men" to persist in their efforts for a hearing. Van der Donck was regarded as a political martyr, and Melyn was just in time to throw fire- brands adroitly in every direction. He was engaged, during his stay, as has since been supposed, in preparing Breeden Raedt, a quarto tract of forty-five pages, bearing date 1649, which was afterwards published in Antwerp, his native place. Some writers deny that he was the author of the work, alleging that it must have been written by a lawyer. So far as the dramatic character of various portions of it is concerned, it is one of the best executed and most effective of dialogues. It certainly could have been produced only by a genius.1 But although very little is known of Melyn, we are not prepared to discredit his claim to its authorship, particularly as the information contained in it must have been founded upon his experience.
It happened, about that time, that Stuyvesant received a case of fire- arms which he had ordered from Holland, agreeably to a suggestion from the company that the best policy was "to furnish them to the Indians with a sparing hand, lest their discontent lead them into April 21. open war." They were landed at the fort, much to the astonishment and disapprobation of the people, who began to accuse the governor of doing the business of the whole country on his own responsibility. Finding how strongly public opinion was setting against him, he was obliged to produce the communication of his superiors and explain the whole matter.
Meanwhile, the " Nine Men " had prepared a memorial, in which all the desired reforms were distinctly stated, and a Vertoogh, or remon- strance, annexed, giving the reasons and detailing the grievances of the people. Both documents were drafted by Van der Donck, and signed by each of the " Nine Men." The " Vertoogh Van Nieuw Nederlandt " was printed at the Hague in 1650, in the form of a quarto tract of July 26 forty-nine pages. Three of the signers, Van der Donck, Couwen- hoven, and Bout, were sent as delegates to the Hague, and Van Dinck- lagen wrote a letter of credence by them to the States-General. They
1 Historical Essay. By G. M. Asher.
10
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
sailed August 15. Dominie Backerus, who had been waited upon by the
Aug. 15.
governor and forbidden to read from the pulpit any papers not
previously sanctioned by the administration, and Melyn, were passengers in the same vessel. Through the earnest entreaties of Stuy- vesant, Dominie Megapolensis remained at Manhattan, although his wife had sailed a short time before.
Van Tienhoven had already been gone fourteen days when the dele- gates left New Netherland ; but he missed the straight course, and was the last to arrive in Holland. He had with him a mass of exculpatory docu- ments, and letters from Stuyvesant to the States-General, telling them that many of the papers necessary for his justification in the case of Kuyter and Melyn had been lost with the Princess, etc. Also that Melyn " had abused their safe-conduct and behaved mutinously," and that he " would rather never have received the commission of their High
Mightinesses than have his authority lowered in the eyes of both
Oct. 2. neighbors and subjects."
Both parties appeared before the States-General, and a tedious exami- nation, occupying the whole winter, followed. It had a beneficial effect upon New Netherland, in so far as it brought the distant and almost unknown province squarely before the public. It put the idea of migrat- ing hither into the heads of hundreds of persons. The West India Com- pany were wedded to the existing order of things, and sustained their governor. They said those who took umbrage at his haughtiness " were such as sought to live without either magistrates or law." They were not in favor of investing the "Nine Men " with the administration of justice, in any degree. Melyn, having placed his cause in the hands of an attorney, exerted himself to promote the settlement of Staten Island. He interested one of the influential noblemen of the States-General, Baron Van der Capellen,1 who, in company with some wealthy mer- chants, bought and equipped a vessel, New Netherland's Fortune, and sent her freighted with farmers and their families to the picturesque island. The States-General embodied a list of reforms as to the manage- ment of New Netherland affairs, in a "Report " which was submitted to the Amsterdam Chamber, accompanied by the draft of a Provisional Order, providing for a better system of government. It provoked deter- mined opposition from the members of that body, and a renewal of accu- sations against those who had risen up to injure the company and their servants. A copy of it, however, was forwarded to Stuyvesant by Cou- wenhoven and Bout on their return, who brought also letters from the
1 Yonkheer Hendrick Van der Capellen, of Ryssel, was Baron of Essels and Hasselt, and represented the principality of Gebre and the earldom of Zutphen in the States-General.
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VAN DER DONCK IN HOLLAND.
States-General, forbidding the governor to molest them. Van der Donck remained in Holland, to watch the interests of the New Netherland peo- ple, and did not return to America for several years. During that period, he contributed greatly towards bringing this country into notice and im- proving its institutions. In 1652, he was made Doctor of Laws at Leyden. He died in New Amsterdam in 1655, leaving the colony of Colon Donck, or Yonkers (his baronial estate), to his wife, who subsequently married Hugh O'Neal. The property, after changing owners two or three times, became a part of the celebrated Philipse manor.
In the same vessel with the delegates came Dirck Van Schelluyne, a Hague lawyer, who was licensed to practice his profession in New Am- sterdam. He opened an office in one corner of a grocery-store, 1650. and hung out a sign of " Notary Public." His commissioned duty April. was " to serve process and levy executions." He eventually removed to Rensselaerswick, and ten years later was secretary of that colony. In the upper part of the same grocery, a small school was opened during the month of April by Jan Cornelissen.
Early in the spring, men were employed to repair Fort Amsterdam ; but the work progressed slowly. The governor issued another proclamation forbidding the running at large of cows, hogs, and goats, without a herds- man, between the fort and the company's farm, and the pasture-ground occupied by Thomas Hall and the house of Mr. Isaac Allerton. Mr. Allerton was an Englishman who came over in the Mayflower to Plym- outh, and had now taken up his residence at Manhattan.1 He lived in a stone house on the hill, near Beekman Street ; and he also owned a large warehouse or store. He was in partnership with Govert Loockermans. The merchants of those days dealt in every class of merchandise, and raised their own poultry and pork, as well as made their own butter. A general law was passed that year, to the effect that "inasmuch as the hogs spoil the roads and make them difficult of passage for wagons and carts, every man must stick rings through the noses of such animals as be- long to him."
1 Isaac Allerton is said to have had the best head for business, and to have been one of the most stirring persons, among the first settlers of Massachusetts. He made five voyages to England in the interests of the colony before 1631. He finally quarreled with Plymouth and removed to Marblehead, where he built a large fishing-house and several vessels. It was he who sent to Ipswich for Parson Avery ; and it was his ill-fated shallop which was dashed against the rock, since known as " Avery's Rock," - a disaster, the story of which has been retold in one of Whittier's rarest poems. Allerton soon quarreled with Winthrop's General Court, which gave him "leave to depart from Marblehead." The impulse which he gave to trade was never wholly lost ; and, at this moment, the finest building in that ancient town, for business purposes, is " Allerton Block," a name the history of which is almost un- known.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Brewing seems to have been a favorite occupation, and was a source of much profit. Pieter and Jacob Couwenhoven, brothers, who came to New Amsterdam in 1633, made quite a fortune in that way, and car-
ried on at the same time a brisk trade in flour, which was bolted Apr. 14. in windmills. A law, in the early part of 1650, required bakers to make their bread of the standard weight, and to use nothing but pure wheat and rye flour, as it came from the mill. This precaution was to silence the complaints about the "poverty and leanness " of the common bread. The crops were not good this year, in consideration of which a law was made, in the autumn, forbidding any one to malt or brew wheat, and also decreeing that no wheat, rye, or baked bread should be sold out of the province.
The winter of 1650 was one of great severity. It was so cold that "ink froze in the pen." There was much distress, as food was scarce and prices necessarily high. When the governor, in the face of it, vic- tualed the company's vessels on their way to Curacoa, the " Nine Men " were surprised and indignant, and not only remonstrated but accused him openly of " wanton imprudence " in thus diminishing supplies which were already too scanty. It was about the time that the delegates arrived from Holland. They brought with them arms and a stand of colors for the burgher guard; an act which infuriated Stuyvesant, who refused to have them delivered. A great commotion ensued in consequence. The "Nine Men " pronounced it a tyrannical outrage, and for their persistent interference with his prerogative Stuyvesant publicly deprived them of their pew in church. Both parties wrote letters of accusation to the au- thorities in Holland; and, what is remarkable, the English residents in the province defended the governor, and endorsed his sentiments, charging all the " schisms " upon the returned delegates.
In September, the long-contemplated and repeatedly postponed meeting of the Dutch and New England worthies took place at Hartford. It was
hoped to settle beyond any further question the boundary line Sept. 17. between the two territories. Stuyvesant traveled in state, with quite a train of attendants. The voyage occupied four days. He was re- ceived with much ceremony, and courteously entertained by the governor of Hartford. When the commission assembled, Stuyvesant proposed to carry on the negotiations in writing. He gave two reasons for this which had sufficient weight to prevent any objections from his opponents : that it would give greater accuracy to the proceedings, and that it would save time, as he could not speak the English language with fluency. But his first paper provoked sharp argument on account of its date, "New Netherland," and the New England gentlemen declined to go on with
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ISAAC ALLERTON.
the business until " Connecticut " was substituted instead. Stuyvesant apologized. He said the draft of the paper had been substantially agreed upon by himself and council before he left New Amsterdam, and translated and copied by his English secretary, George Baxter, on the voyage ; as for the date, he supposed it was proper, but was entirely willing to com- ply with their wishes. After that, the discussion of national and ter- ritorial and individual rights proceeded slowly, but with considerable tact and discretion as well as earnestness. Over a week had been consumed, when they finally agreed to submit the issue to arbitrators. Simon Brad- street and Thomas Prince were chosen for New England, and Thomas Willett and George Baxter for New Netherland. Their decision was accepted. It was, however, never ratified in England; and the fact that Stuyvesant had confided the interests of the Dutch to two Sept. 29. Englishmen raised a storm of discontent in his own province.
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