USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 32
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1 Brodhead, II. 384, Appendix, Note E. New York Revised Laws, 1813, II. Appendix, iii., vi. Munsell's Annals, IV. 32-39. Chalmers, I. 584. Bancroft, II. 414. Dunlap, II. Appendix, xlii. Smith, I. 115. Journals of Legislative Council, Col. Doc., III. 341, 357 - 359.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
prophecy, ordained, that all actual inhabitants of the province, except slaves, of what foreign nation soever, who professed Christianity, and who had taken or should take the oath of allegiance to the govern- ment, were citizens; and that all Christian foreigners who should after- wards come and settle in the province could in like manner become subjects of the king.
The acts of the Assembly were sent to England by Governor Dongan for the Duke's approval. The king objected to the words, "THE PEOPLE," in the expression, "the people met in a General Assembly," as being too democratic, and not in use in any other colonial constitution. But New York clung to them. Her first State Constitution, in 1777, de- clared that the style of all her laws should read thus : " Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly." And under her second Constitution, of 1821, she adopted the more direct formula : " The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact," etc. The Duke's secretary wrote to Dongan of several amendments which were proposed in the revenue part of the charter, advising that they be acted upon at the next meeting of the Assembly ; and it was accordingly done. The Duke finally signed and sealed the instrument. Owing, however, to serious events in England, it was not perfected by delivery.
New York had a brief season of apparent content. Addresses of gratitude were sent to the Duke; the "integrity, justice, equity, and prudence " of Dongan were emphasized; and loyalty was expressed in the strongest terms. New trading regulations were established, and the merchants of the city subscribed two thousand guineas in a stock com- pany to manage the fisheries and the Indian trade at Pemaquid. Taxes were paid cheerfully, and city improvements began anew. Quite a number of houses and stores were projected, and there was a healthful increase of business of all kinds.
Dominie Selyns wrote to the classis of Amsterdam that his congre- gation were building him a parsonage "wholly of stone, three stories high, and raised on the foundation of unmerited love." He said Gov- ernor Dongan was a gentleman " of knowledge, politeness, and friend- liness "; that he had received a visit from his Excellency, and could call upon him whenever he chose. As for himself, he said, he had too much work for one person, as he could not neglect the surrounding villages, but preached in them on Mondays and Thursdays, adminis- tering the communion and attending other services. He spoke of a French colleague, Dominie Petrus Daillé, late professor at Salmurs, and described him as "full of fire, godliness, and learning"; he conducted
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THE IROQUOIS A WALL OF DEFENSE.
French worship in the old Dutch church in the fort between the hours of the Dutch service in the morning and the Episcopal in the afternoon. Rev. Dr. John Gordon was the English chaplain. Dominie Dellius had just come out from Holland, and been installed as the colleague of Dominie Schaats, at Albany.1
The records of the transactions between Dongan and the Indians are among the most valuable and interesting documents of the times. The frontiers of New York had no protection against encroachments from the French, except the valor of the Iroquois. Their fighting men num- bered ten times as many then as they did a century later. They were subtle, restless, treacherous allies; and yet their importance, as a wall of separation between an unprotected colony and an always possible foe, was so apparent to the leading minds both in New York and England, that every effort which ingenuity could devise was put forth to win the favor of these renowned warriors. Dongan made the subject a care- ful study. Schuyler and Livingston, at Albany, were of great assistance to him, being familiar with the language and character of the various tribes. The Five Nations were a sovereign republic in themselves, and all their general business was performed by a congress of sachems, at Onondaga. As subsequent events proved, New York was indebted to them for her present northern boundary; for, had it not been for them, Canada would have embraced the entire basin of the St. Lawrence.
Connecticut had been surly ever since Philipse began to improve his property at Sleepy Hollow. "Castle Philipse," a stone house, was erected, and fortified with great care against the Indians, in 1683 (the same year that the new mill first began to grind the grain from all the country round). This building still survives, and the port-holes and loop-holes for cannon and musketry may yet be seen in its cellar-walls. A few years later (1699) Philipse built at his own expense, op- Dutch Church : Sleepy Hollow. posite " Castle Philipse," a substantial church, which is now the oldest church edifice in the State of New York. But it was when Dongan notified the towns of Rye, Greenwich, and Stamford to " make present- ment " at the New York Assizes that Connecticut groaned aloud, and
1 Corr. Cl. Amst. Murphy's Anth., 104, 105. Doc. Hist., III. 265, 535, 536.
20
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
once more stirred the much-agitated boundary question. She said all
those places " indubitably " belonged to herself. Dongan responded, Oct. 5. that advantage had been taken in 1664 of Nicolls's want of geo- graphical knowledge by running the line ten miles instead of twenty miles east of the Hudson River, according to agreement; and that, if the territory was not yielded, he should proceed to claim the whole of the Duke's patent to the Connecticut River. It was a perilous time for Nov. 14. English charters, and wisdom clearly seemed the better part of
valor. Governor Treat, in great tribulation, summoned a special court at Hartford ; and commissioners were appointed to visit and confer with Dongan. Governor Treat, Nathan Gold, Secretary Nov. 25. Allyn, and William Pitkin were the appointees, and journeyed on horseback to the metropolis. Dongan, attended by Counselors Fred- erick Philipse, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Anthony Brockholls, and John Younge, met them, fortified with the testimony of several gentlemen who knew personally all the details of the boundary settlement of Nov. 28.
1664. The agents finally appealed to Dongan's magnanimity, asking to be allowed to retain some of their settlements on the Sound in exchange for equivalent property inland. After much discussion, it was amicably arranged, that the boundary line should be removed a few miles east from Mamaroneck to Byram River, between Rye and Greenwich, and run thence as it now remains; and that this new line should be properly surveyed the next October. The Connecticut agents, after their return, notified the people of Rye that they " could not help " giving up that town, but that Dongan was a noble gentleman, and would do for their welfare whatever they should "desire in a regular manner."
At that very moment England was in a political convulsion. A plot to murder the king and the Duke had been discovered. The details of the proposed butchery had all been arranged at a small farm near Lon- don, from which it was called the " Rye House Plot." There were, in reality, two plots, one within the other. The greater was a Whig plot, to raise the nation in arms against the government, and the leaders knew nothing of the lesser, or " Rye House, Plot," in which only a few desperate men were concerned, under the delusion that to kill the scions of royalty was the shortest and surest way to vindicate the Protestant religion and the liberties of England. There were traitors among them, who divulged all and more than all, and the two plots were confounded together. The whole Whig party were implicated, to a certain extent. Men of high rank were condemned and executed ; among them, Lord William Russell and Algernon Sidney. Politicians, in great numbers, were sent to the gallows. Convictions were obtained without difficulty from Tory juries,
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CONFUSION IN ENGLAND.
and rigorous punishments were inflicted by courtly judges. The Court of King's Bench declared the franchise of the city of London forfeited to the crown. Flushed with victory, Charles proceeded to deprive of its charter almost every corporation in his realm. Then he granted new ones, which gave power into the hands of the Tories. These proceedings were accompanied by an act, intended as a sort of pledge to his subjects for the security of their Protestantism; for he was himself nominally the head of the Episcopal Church. Anne, the youngest daughter of James, who, like her sister Mary, had been nurtured a Protestant, he gave in marriage to George, a prince of the orthodox house of Denmark, whose chief recommendations were his dullness and his Lutheranism. This was in opposition to the wishes of James ; but Charles said, " Brother, we must mollify England." And England, to a certain degree, was mollified ; for James being near the age of the king, even if he should outlive and succeed his brother, his reign would probably be short, and there was the gratifying prospect of a long line of Protestant sovereigns.
Still further emboldened, Charles violated the plain letter of the law, and rewarded James for his acquiescence in the marriage of Anne by dispensing with the Test Act in his favor and restoring him to his old office of Lord High Admiral of England. Soon after, he took him into his Privy Council. It appeared by these successive trials that the nation would endure almost anything which the government had the courage to inflict. The hour of revolution was not quite yet.
The king's acts were not approved by his ministers. Halifax, in par- ticular, objected to the long intermission of Parliaments, regretted the severity with which the vanquished Whigs were treated, and dreaded the reaction of public feeling. He urged the king to send the Duke to Scot- land, and the Duke pressed his brother to dismiss Halifax. At one of the last councils which Charles held, the Massachusetts charter was discussed. The king had made void his father's patent to that corporation, on the ground that the rulers there had abused their privileges by excluding from the freedom of their corporation those who did not agree with them in matters of religion. He had no sympathy with Puritanism. But how should Massachusetts be governed ? James suggested that the whole power, legislative as well as executive, should abide in the crown. Several of the lords were of the same opinion. Halifax argued with
energy in favor of· representative government. " Remember," he said, " that a population sprung from English stock and animated by English feelings will not long submit to be deprived of English institutions." James, in great heat, maintained the right of the king to govern his dis- tant countries in the way which should seem to him most convenient.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
" Life would not be worth having," exclaimed the unintimidated Halifax, " where liberty and property were at the mercy of one despotic master."
Charles hesitated. He was not altogether pleased with his brother's excessive zeal, and he was too indolent to act independently. But, in the end, it was settled that the king's sovereignty was to be resumed. Sir Edmund Andros was suggested as the royal governor for Massachusetts ; but he was at present occupied with private affairs in the Channel Islands, and Colonel Kirke, a dangerous, unprincipled despot, was chosen in his stead. He was commissioned with power to make laws and perform all acts of government, under the king, in New England; in- cluding Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and New Plymouth : Rhode Island and Connecticut were excepted from his authority. In his instructions, no mention whatever was made of a legislative assembly.
James privately hoped to obtain from his brother (now more than ever indulgent) a special grant of Rhode Island and Connecticut. And all at once came a petition from Dongan and his council, and the mayor and aldermen of the city of New York, that the Duke would, either by pur- chase or otherwise, if possible, reannex East New Jersey to his province. The reason given was, that, " by reason of the separation, the trade of New York was diverted, to the injury of his Majesty's revenue."
One of Dongan's special instructions from the Duke was, to grant the city of New York " immunities and privileges " beyond what any
Nov. other parts of his possessions enjoyed. As soon as the Assembly adjourned, the mayor and common council petitioned for a confirmation of the " immunities " granted the corporation by Nicolls, with certain addi- tions, including the division of the city into six wards ; the annual elec- tion of aldermen and other officers by the freemen in each ward (the local government of the city to be intrusted to them, and to a mayor and recorder, to be annually appointed by the governor and council), with provisions that a sheriff, coroner, and town clerk be appointed in the same way ; that the corporation appoint their own treasurer ; and, finally, that whatever else was necessary for the welfare of the metropolis should be accorded as fully as to similar corporations in England.
Objections were raised by Dongan to some of the proposed additional articles, but, after explanation and discussion, they were agreed to in almost every particular. The existing officers were reappointed : John West was commissioned city clerk ; and John Tudor, a London lawyer, was made city sheriff. James Graham was commissioned the first re- corder of the city of New York, and took his place upon the bench at the right hand of the mayor, Cornelis Steenwyck.
The board proceeded to divide the city into six wards ; assigning
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THE SABBATH QUESTION IN 1684.
Nicholas Bayard as alderman for the South Ward, John Inians for the Dock Ward, William Pinhorne for the East Ward, Gulian Verplanck for the North Ward, John Robinson for the West Ward, and William Cox for the Out Ward. They adopted various by-laws for the better govern- ment of the city. Among them was one, which said, " no youths, maydes, or other persons may meet together on the Lord's day for sporte or play, under penalty of a fine of one shilling." No public houses were allowed to keep open doors, or give entertainment on the Sabbath, except to stran- gers, under a fine of ten shillings. No manner of work was to be done on the Lord's day, under the same penalty, and double for each repeti- tion. No children were allowed to play in the streets on the Sabbath day ; and not more than four Indian or negro slaves might assemble together in any place, under a penalty of six shillings to their owners.
The Sabbath question was, with the men of that day, one of morals and religion. They believed that the roads which led to Sunday amuse- ments were in a contrary direction from that pointed out by the Christian Church. Their experience, as well as their education, had taught them that the only way to build up and purify a community was to legislate for the proper observance of the Sabbath. Before we welcome that Euro- pean Sunday of amusements which now seems about to invade our shores, let us well consider the effect of the Dutch and English and American Sabbath upon the character of the people that have been brought under its influence, and what it has contributed to the progress and the glory of three great nations.
It was also enacted, that the proprietors of hotels should report all strangers who arrived, and never entertain any person, man or woman, suspected of a bad character, under penalty of a fine of ten shillings. Flour bolted in the city was to be inspected. Bolting was performed by horse-power, as water and steam had not yet been utilized. Indians were allowed, by a special license, to sell firewood; also, to vend gutters for houses, - long strips of bark, so curved at the sides as to conduct water. All horses ranging loose were to be branded and enrolled. A re- ward was offered to all who should destroy wolves.
A committee was appointed to collect ancient records of the city and its laws, for preservation. Surveyors were chosen, to regulate the manner of building, and preserve uniformity in the streets. A constable was appointed, to walk up and down, armed, and see that the laws were obeyed ; a haven-master, also, to look after the shipping and collect the bills. There was a public chimney-sweep, whose duty it was to announce his approach by crying through the streets, and to cleanse the metropoli- tan chimneys at a compensation of one shilling or eighteen pence apiece, according to the height of the house.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
An Inviter to Funerals was licensed by the mayor. The first man who served the public in that capacity was Conradus Vanderbeck ; his assist- ant was Robert Chapman. They were required to serve the poor gratis. The customs of the period in respect to funerals were peculiar. No one, of any caste, thought of attending a funeral without invitation. The bearers were presented with mourning rings, silk scarfs, and handker- chiefs. In some cases, all the invited guests were presented with gloves. After the ceremonies of burial, they returned to the house to partake of a banquet, at which, if the means of the family allowed, the best of wines were furnished.
A portion of the slaughter-house at Smits Vly, being at a safe distance from the city, was, this year, converted into a powder magazine, and Garret Johnson was intrusted with its custody.
By advice of the mayor and common council, Dongan issued a proclama- tion, prohibiting the packing or bolting of flour, or the making of bread for exportation to any place within the government, except the city of New York. This was in addition to the former bolting monopoly, and was approved by the Duke, who was anxious to encourage the metropolis above all other cities. There were twenty-four bakers, who were divided into six classes, one for each working-day in the week. The price estab- lished by law for a white loaf of bread, weighing twelve ounces, was six stuyvers in wampum.
In the summer of 1684, Lord Effingham, governor of Virginia, visited
New York, accompanied by two of his counselors, for the purpose 1684. of inducing Dongan to join him in a war against the Five Nations, who had been committing outrages all along the borders of his territory. He was the first British peer upon whom was conferred the distinction of the " freedom of the city." He was the guest of Dongan, and the recipient of all manner of courtesies from the leading families. Sundry dinner-parties were given in his honor, which brought together the Philipses, Van Cortlandts, Bayards, Stuyvesants, De Peysters, Kips, Beekmans, and others.
But serious work was before the government. Dongan and Lord Effingham went to Albany, where they were cordially welcomed by Schuyler and Livingston. Deputies from the Five Nations had been summoned to meet them, and were already on the spot. Counselor Van Cortlandt, who had been appointed agent for Massachusetts, to ratify with gifts and pledges the ancient friendship of New England and the savages, was also present. Lord Effingham opened the stately conference by an address to the sachems, recapitulating the promises broken and the outrages recently committed by them, and proposing to make "a new
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THE GREAT INDIAN CONFERENCE.
chain " between them and Virginia and Maryland, "to endure even to the world's end." Dongan followed in a similar strain of oratory. Taking advantage of the good feeling produced, a written sub- July 30. mission to "the Great Sachem, Charles, that lives on the other side of the Great Lake," was obtained from the Iroquois. It was traced in legi- ble characters upon two white dressed deer-skins, which were to be sent to the " Sachem Charles," to put his name and red seal upon. By this instrument, all the Susquehanna River above the " Washuta," and all the rest of the land of the Iroquois, was confirmed to the Duke, as within the limits of New York.1
The Indians requested that the Duke's arms should be put upon their castles, supposing that this would protect them from the French. Dongan notified the French commander of Canada that the Duke's territory must not be invaded; but this did not prevent the most persistent and vexa- tious intermeddling, and a protracted series of annoyances and alarms.
The next day, the sachems promised "to plant a tree of peace, whose tops will reach the sun and its branches spread far abroad, to cover Vir- ginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts." Axes were buried in the south- east end of the Albany court-house yard, and the Indians threw earth upon them.
The inconvenience of having two distinct governments upon one river grew more and more apparent. East New Jersey revived her old claim to Staten Island, which Lady Carteret had tried in vain to establish in 1681 ; printed circulars, freely distributed, so agitated the landholders that many of them deemed it a matter of prudence to secure their titles by obtaining additional patents from the East New Jersey proprietors. Judge Palmer, and Dongan himself, having purchased valuable estates on Staten Island, are said to have done likewise. The Duke's secretary, who had witnessed the transfer of the Jersey lands, wrote to Dongan that there was no manner of color for such pretensions. The Surveyor-General of New York, Philip Wells, was accordingly ordered to lay out Staten Island in such a way as to regard each owner's patent ; and Thomas Lovelace, the sheriff of Staten Island, was directed to summon all persons without proper land titles before the governor and council for examination.
The new year opened auspiciously. New York was in a fair and promising condition. In gorgeous halls across the water, her sov- ereign, a man of fifty well-rounded years, healthy, robust, and gay" 1085. almost to frivolity, surrounded by ladies whose charms were the beast and whose vices were the disgrace of the age, and by gambling courtier
1 Col .. Doc., III. 347-518. Golden (first ed.), 84, 85 ; e1 1755, 1. 55, 58. Poam. Arch . I. 121-125. Brodhead, II. 825-327. De. Hist. N. Y., I. 201 -29%.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
winning and losing mountains of gold in a night, was looking forward to a long life of ease and pleasure.
A month rolled round. Scarcely had Charles risen from his bed on
the morning of February 2d, than the gentlemen of rank, who Feb. 2. had assembled as usual to chat with him while he was being shaved, noticed a strange look upon his face. An instant later, he uttered a loud cry and fell insensible into the arms of Lord Bruce. A physician, who happened to be present, quickly opened a vein, and he was laid upon a bed. The alarm was given, and all the medical men of note in London were summoned to the palace. One prescription was signed by fourteen names. He recovered his senses after a time, yet lay in a condition of extreme danger. The queen hung over him, and the Duke scarcely left his bedside. The news filled London with dismay, for those who most disliked him preferred his unprincipled levity to his brother's stern bigotry. The prelates who were present exhorted him to prepare for death, which was imminent; but he listened to them in silence. The service for the visitation of the sick was read; he said he was sorry for what he had done amiss, and absolution was pronounced, according to the forms of the Church of England ; but when the faithful divines urged that he should declare that he died in the communion of the Episcopal Church, he was apparently unconscious, and made no movement to take the eucharist from the hands of the bishop. A table with bread and wine was brought to his bedside; but he said there was no hurry, and that he was too weak; and it was supposed that he was overcome with the stupor which precedes death.
A few persons in his household knew that he had never been a sincere member of the Established Church. In his rarely serious moments, he was at heart a Roman Catholic. The Duke was so much occupied look- ing after his own interests, the posting of guards through the city, and the preparation for his proclamation as soon as the king should expire, that he was oblivious to the danger of the loss of his brother's soul for the want of the last sacraments. This was the more extraordinary as the Duchess of York had, at the request of the queen, suggested spiritual assistance. The Duchess of Portsmouth finally sent the French ambassa- dor to remind James of his sacred duty. The message was whispered in his ear, and he started, scarcely able to repress tears at the thought of his negligence, and hastily looked about him to see how it might be repaired. The room was filled with Protestant clergymen. Catholicism was the powder magazine of the kingdom. There was not a moment to waste in preliminaries. He commanded every one to stand back, and bending over the dying king said something in a whisper to which Charles answered
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