USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 35
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333
WILLIAM'S EXPEDITION TO ENGLAND.
tunity of showing her magnanimity and her attachment, and sent Burnet at once in quest of William, and sweetly assured the latter with her own lips that he should always bear rule, only asking him in return to observe the precept which enjoins husbands to love their wives. Her generosity melted the ice of so many years' formation, and the warmest affection took the place of painful indifference. Bishop Burnet thereby rendered to his country a service of the gravest moment, for it was not long before the public safety depended upon the mutual confidence and perfect concord of William and Mary.
The difficulties in the way of their accession to the throne of England were very many, and appeared insurmountable. But they were all com- prehended in the grasp of one capacious mind which planned their solu- tion with consummate skill. Mary sympathized in her husband's every movement, and regarded the contemplated undertaking as just and holy. William's objects seemed incompatible with each other, - to lead enthu- siastic Protestants on a crusade against Popery with the good wishes of almost every Popish government, and even of the Pope himself. But whether he rightly estimated the meaning and the direction of the great movements of the time, and was conscious that all through Europe there was the stirring of a new intellectual power and an irresistible tendency towards democratic conditions of society, or was prompted purely by a desire to resist the power of France and the progress of tyranny and per- secution, and to rescue Protestantism and constitutional liberty in Eng- land, he certainly accomplished all, and more than all he contemplated. The history of ancient and modern times records no other such triumph in statesmanship.
His future course once decided upon, William urged his preparations with indefatigable activity. A military and naval expedition was quietly and skillfully organized in the Netherlands. For a time, neither James nor Louis was aware of its object. Rumors, however, reached the ears of the former which caused him great anxiety. At last, a dispatch told the whole story : the blood left the cheeks of the now thoroughly awakened king, and he remained for some time speechless. The first easterly wind would bring a hostile army to the shores of England. All Europe, one power only excepted, was impatiently waiting for his downfall. He was overcome by absolute fear. He tried to conciliate the Tories, forgetting that concessions had always been the ruin of kings. But the Tories stood aloof.
All at once, William's expedition landed at Torbay. It produced less excitement than had been anticipated. A full week elapsed before any man of note joined the invaders. If James had acted Nov. 5.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
with ordinary efficiency, even then his cause might not have been lost. William, who had hazarded everything, was excessively mortified at the coolness of his reception. He became so indignant, that he threatened to return to Holland. Several parties of consequence were, however, on their way to join his standard. One example stimulated another. His forces swelled rapidly. John, Lord Lovelace, of Hurley, the brother of the former governor of New York, with his command, and Edward, Lord Cornbury, who was in command of three regiments of cavalry, went quietly to William's quarters, and their troops were pressed into the new service through the offer of a bounty equal to a month's pay. The tidings of Cornbury's defection reached the king just as he was sitting down to dinner. He turned quickly away, swallowed a crust of bread and a glass of wine, and retired to his closet. Meanwhile, several gentle- men in whom he had implicit confidence were rejoicing over the occur- rence in the next room, and laughing heartily. When the queen heard the news she broke out in screams of agonizing sorrow.
The quarters of William at Exeter soon presented the appearance of a court. More than sixty noblemen and gentlemen were there assembled, and the display of rich liveries, and of coaches each drawn by six horses, gave to the Cathedral Close something of the splendor of Whitehall. Bishop Burnet drew up a paper, which was approved and eagerly signed by the English adherents, by which they promised to stand by William until the liberties and the religion of the nation should be effectually secured.
James bustled, and prepared to maintain his honor by force of arms. All at once, Churchill went over to the Protestants. Confusion reigned in the royal camp. News came that Kirke had followed Churchill. No one knew whom to trust or whom to obey. James was in despair. At the supper-table, in Andover, he had the company of his son-in-law, Prince George, and the Duke of Ormond. Both were intending to join Churchill at the earliest possible moment, and were silent and taciturn. Prince George was always stupid. It was his habit, when he heard a piece of news, to exclaim in French, " Est-il possible ?" So, when he was told that Churchill was missing, his first and only response was, " Est-il possible ?" And at every fresh report of ill-tidings, he uttered in the same tone, " Est-il possible ?" They finished their supper, and the king retired to rest. Prince George and the Duke of Ormond left the table, mounted their horses, and rode to the Protestant camp. When James was informed of this new defection, on the following morning, " What !" he exclaimed, "is est-il possible gone too? After all, a good trooper would have been a greater loss."
335
WILLIAM'S RECEPTION IN LONDON.
On the morning of the 26th, the apartments of the Princess Anne, at Whitehall, were found empty. She had abandoned her father, to follow her husband and William. This affliction forced a cry Nov. 26. of agony from the king's lips. "God help me," he said, "my own chil- dren have forsaken me !"
He instituted negotiations with William, in order to gain time to send the queen and the Prince of Wales into France. He then made imme- diate preparations to abdicate the throne. At three o'clock in the morn- ing of the 11th of December, he rose from his bed, ordered the lord of his bedchamber not to open the door until the usual hour, and, passing down the back stairway, set out in the disguise of a servant, accompanied by Sir Edward Hales, on a fishing-boat to France. He threw the Great Seal into the Thames, where it was found by a fisherman some months after- ward. He was arrested by some sailors, who were watching for priests and other delinquents, and taken to Feversham. Having told his captors who he was, a great crowd came together to see the proud king in such mean hands. It was a trifling incident, and yet it proved to be the origin of the Jacobites. Until now, the king had scarcely had a party ; but from this moment one budded into existence which was long active for his interests.
William regretted most keenly that James failed in his attempt to escape. It was a tender point, how to dispose of his person. With the desertion of the sovereign, the nation was free, and at liberty to secure itself. William would not consent to make the father of his wife a pris- oner. It was necessary to send him out of London, and a guard was or- dered to attend him, not to hamper his movements, but for his protection and defense. It had the appearance of forcible expulsion and elicited sympathy in his behalf in various quarters, creating much mischief for those who came after him. He left finally on the last day of the year and reached France in safety.
Even before he arrived in London, William ordered that the papists should be secured from all violence. He was warmly welcomed by the different bodies ; such as, first the bishops, then the clergy, the city offi- cials, and others, in the order of their importance. When the lawyers came, William took notice of one who was nearly ninety years of age, and said to him, "You must have outlived all the men of the law of your time." "Yes," he replied, "and I should have outlived the law itself, if your Highness had not come over."
The government once assumed, William published a proclamation, con- tinuing in office all magistrates, and another, ordering the collection of the revenue. He remodeled the army, reappointing many of the officers
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
whom James had removed. The Common Council of London raised in forty-eight hours the sum of two hundred thousand pounds, to extricate him from his financial difficulties. The disturbances which had been occasioned by the suspension of all regular government were soon at an
end, and a sense of security was implanted throughout the kingdom. 1689. The Catholics were treated with the utmost kindness, and the Span- ish minister reported to the Pope, that no one of that faith need feel any scruple of conscience on account of the late Revolution in England.
William called a Convention Parliament, which declared that the English throne was vacant by the abdication of the king. It then Jan. 22. cordially offered the crown to William and Mary, by whom it was accepted. The very night before this was to be done, Mary arrived in Feb. 12. safety from Holland. On the 13th of February the whole affair Feb. 13. was consummated and William and Mary were proclaimed king and queen of England.
Louis took the part of James. He spoke of the Revolution as a fright- ful domestic tragedy. The politics of a long and glorious line of kings had been confounded in a day. William's conquest was admired even in France, but he was personally abhorred. The conduct of the unnatural daughters of James was execrated; the queen and her infant son were objects of pity and romantic interest. Louis set an example of royal munificence in providing for the hapless king and his family, and lav- ished upon them every courtly attention.
E BORAC:
. SIGILL :
CIVITAT
AON
1686
Second Seal of the City of New York. (For description see page 318.)
337
THE REVOLUTION.
CHAPTER XIX.
1689.
THE REVOLUTION.
THE REVOLUTION. - SIR WILLIAM PHIPPS. - REV. DR. INCREASE MATHER. - THE BILL AND ITS FATE. - THE NEWS IN NEW YORK. - THE NEWS IN BOSTON. - REVOLUTION IN BOSTON. - REVOLUTION THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND. - NEW YORK ALARMED. - THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR AND HIS COUNCIL. - THE PUBLIC MONEY. - ANXIETY AND PRE- CAUTIONARY MEASURES. - THE MILITIA OF NEW YORK. - JACOB LEISLER. - THE CARGO OF WINE. - THE CLOUD ON LONG ISLAND. - WILD RUMORS. - PLOT TO DESTROY NEW YORK. - LIEUTENANT HENRY CUYLER. - REVOLUTION IN NEW YORK. - CON- FUSION. - LEISLER'S DECLARATION. - THE BLACK SATURDAY. - EVENTS OF MONDAY. -THE FALSE ALARM AND ITS RESULTS. - THE DISABLED GOVERNMENT. - PHILIP FRENCH. - LEISLER'S CORRESPONDENCE. - NICHOLSON SAILS FOR ENGLAND. - LEISLER'S INFATUATION. - CAPTAINS DE PEYSTER AND STUYVESANT. - PROCLAMATION OF WIL- LIAM AND MARY. - DRINKING THE NEW KING'S HEALTH. - RIOTOUS CONDUCT. - THE FIGHT AT THE CUSTOM-HOUSE. - COLONEL BAYARD'S ESCAPE. - LEISLER'S CONVEN- TION. - THE "COMMITTEE OF SAFETY." - THE MAYOR'S COURT.
rTWO days after the coronation, a new privy council was chosen. It was composed chiefly of Whigs; but the names of a few 1689. eminent Tories appeared on the list. It was thereby understood Feb. 16. that William did not intend to proscribe any class of men who were will- ing to support his throne. Even the new Committee for Foreign Planta- tions were noblemen from both political parties. This committee met at once, and prepared drafts of Proclamations, to send to the Ameri- can colonies. They also wrote letters to the colonial governors, Feb. 18. signifying the pleasure of William that all men in office under the late king should be so continued until further notice.
The irregular convention which had conferred the monarchy of Eng- land upon the new sovereigns was transformed into a Parliament, and went on making laws, as if it had unimpeachable authority. Feb. 20. It did not extend the Test Act to the colonies, but it required every per- son holding office to take an oath of allegiance to William and Mary ; and it simply abjured the Pope's authority, ecclesiastical and spiritual, throughout the realm of England. While not a single new right was
22
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
given to the people, order was preserved. The nation supported the throne, and thus the revolution- of all revolutions in history the least violent - proved a peace revolution. The executive power and the legislative power no longer impeded each other in the passage of such laws as were found necessary for the public weal.
The agents of Massachusetts in England, Sir William Phipps and Rev. Dr. Increase Mather, watched events with keen interest. Sir William was the son of a Pemaquid farmer and one of a family of twenty-six children. In his boyhood he had tended sheep, and at the age of eighteen had learned the trade of a ship-carpenter. He grew up illiterate and ill- mannered, and having adopted a seafaring life, chanced, through a series of fortuitous circumstances, to come under the notice of King James, who was pleased with his bustling energy and made him commander of one of his frigates. Soon afterward, in consideration of some valiant service, James knighted him, and presently offered him the government of Massa- chusetts ; but, as the offer was made just prior to the abdication, no further action was ever taken in the matter.
Rev. Dr. Increase Mather, the son of Rev. Richard Mather, was born in Massachusetts in 1639. After graduating at Harvard College in 1656, he went to Europe, and in 1658 was made Master of Arts in the Dublin University. He married the daughter of the celebrated Rev. John Cotton, of Boston, and had ten children.1 He was pastor of the North Church in Boston from 1664 to 1723, a period of fifty-nine years, and was the author of ninety-two publications, besides many short fugitive articles. He was a gentleman, as well as one of the profoundest scholars of his time, - a Puritan, whose whole anxiety was for the future of the New England colonies.
Sir Henry Ashurst was a steadfast friend of Massachusetts and influen-
tial in the House of Commons. He was a personal friend of Dr. March 16 .- Mather, and together with the latter, and Sir William Phipps, was chiefly instrumental in pushing through the House a bill to restore the corporations both at home and abroad to their original condition in 1660. When this act was shown to William, he was seriously annoyed. Such a law could not but imperil his prerogative. It was consequently delayed in the House of Lords until the Convention Parliament was dissolved.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mather had been for some time in correspondence with Abraham Kick, an eminent Hollander. The latter had contrived to sur- prise Mary, before she left the Hague, into a promise that she would favor New England. Upon the strength of her unguarded words, Dr.
1 The distinguished Rev. Cotton Mather was the son of Dr. Increase Mather, and was the author of three hundred and eighty-two distinct publications.
339
THE NEWS IN BOSTON.
Mather and Sir William appeared before the king with a petition that Governor Andros should be removed, and that Massachusetts, Plymouth, Rhode Island, and Connecticut should be restored to their former privi- leges and the rule of their former governors.
William was confounded. He had no intention of disuniting his royal dominion of New England. But he was too cautious a statesman to speak his whole mind in such a crisis. He listened graciously, and, knowing that Sir William and Sir Edmund were sworn foes, signified in general terms his willingness to remove the latter. To Dr. Mather he intimated the possibility of a new charter and a colonial assembly. Yet, notwithstanding this apparent compliance with their requests, he was so coldly non-committal that neither of the gentlemen was satisfied, and they learned shortly after, to their dismay, that he was being urged by his Whig advisers to carry into vigorous execution some of the most rigid colonial measures of his predecessor, in order to bring those remote do- minions into a nearer dependence upon the crown.
There were no deep-sea cables in those days and news crossed the Atlantic tardily and uncertainly. It was in January that the first inti- mation of the hostile movements of the Prince of Orange reached the American shores. Even then, the report was not well authenticated. A Virginia coasting-vessel brought it to New York. Captain Greveraet called upon Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson, and repeated the story, which had come verbally and at second hand to him, and which sounded altogether incredible. "Nonsense !" exclaimed Nicholson, laughing con- temptuously, " if the report is true the very 'prentice boys of London will drive him out again. He will have no better success than Monmouth."
In the latter part of February, Jacob Leisler, while in Maryland on business, heard a rumor to the same effect, and, on his return to New York, put it into general circulation. The first day of March, Nicholson received, through a Quaker traveler, a letter from Governor Blackwell of Pennsylvania, saying that he had examined one Zagharia Whitepaine, a sailor recently arrived, who declared upon oath that the Prince of Orange had invaded England. Seventeen other letters to different persons in New York were brought from Pennsylvania by the same traveler. These were placed for distribution in the hands of Nicholson and his council, who formally resolved to open them, "for the prevention of tumult and the divulging of such strange news." The substance of each letter was a confirmation of what had been already learned. They immediately sent two expresses, one by water and the other by land, to Governor Andros, who was in Maine bravely defending the frontier against the savages. He returned promptly to Boston, accompanied by March 16. three members of his council, Graham West, and Palmer.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Nothing further was learned either definitely or otherwise, until the
4th of April, when there entered Boston harbor a ship from Nevis April 4. in the West Indies, and John Winslow, one of her passengers, had copies of the Prince's declaration of the previous October. He also had in his possession some printed accounts of William's entrance into Eng- land. He exhibited the papers to several persons, but did not take them to the governor. Finally Andros sent for him and questioned him close- ly ; but he refused to give any information or to produce the documents, and, in consequence of his contumacy, was committed to prison.
Dr. Mather had written private letters, which reached Boston by the same vessel; but they were dated a long time prior to the coronation of William and Mary. They were addressed to members of his own family. It was whispered, however, that in them he had expressed his belief that a charter with large powers for Massachusetts would immediately follow William's accession to the English throne. The Puritan prayer was henceforth, " success to the Dutch prince over the popish king."
It was not many days before Andros became convinced that something unusual was going on in and around Boston. He was a thoroughly loyal officer, and did not suspect the extent of the slanderous misrepresenta- tions of his own conduct, which were inflaming the public mind. He wrote to Brockholls, whom he had left in command at Pemaquid, that he had good reason to believe that some of the Indians had been traitor- ously supplied with ammunition by Boston merchants, and ordered him to keep a strict guard to prevent surprise. He would have been surprised, himself, had he known what all the " buzzing and commotion " signified The people said he was about to oppose the lawful commands of the new sovereigns ; that he was in league with the French ; that he had hired the New York Mohawks to destroy Boston ; that he had poisoned the soldiers in Maine; with a great many other equally absurd and inconsistent things, which found credence in a community which could see no escape from the evils of Popery save in the restoration of the Puritan oligarchy.
On the evening of April 17, Andros entertained the gentlemen
April 17. of his council at dinner. He retired at his usual hour and his sleep was undisturbed until late the next morning, when, while at break- fast, he was informed that people were coming into town in great April 18. numbers from the rural districts. The street soon had the ap- pearance of an annual fair-day, only there were fewer women to be seen. Finally, the militia companies marched rapidly through one of the prin- cipal thoroughfares.
While Andros was investigating the nature of the disturbance, the prominent citizens were assembling in the Town House. Rev. Cotton
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REVOLUTION THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND.
Mather read to them a " Declaration " which he had prepared, giving reasons for revolting against the present government. A summons was quickly signed for the arrest of the governor and his council. Andros was taken wholly unawares, and, of course, resistance was out of the question. He was escorted to prison, together with Graham, West, Palmer, and the other officers of the crown. A "Council of Safety " was chosen, to man- age public affairs, whose purpose was said to be, " to preserve the govern- ment until directions should arrive from England." The old magistrates were reinstated in office, and quiet and good order soon prevailed through- out Boston.1
This proceeding had a singular tinge of secession; it was, as viewed from our present stand-point, uncalled for, and unjustifiable. But the stern New-Englander was unwilling to await the result of the political agitation in the mother country, and feared that the officers under James would attempt to re-establish their fallen monarch. The danger was im- aginary to a great extent. And the dread of absolute power in a spiritual order blinded the eyes of the wise men of Massachusetts to the fact that the vigorous but narrow creed of Puritanism was only another form of religious despotism.
The idea of insurrection traveled with rapidity. Plymouth, April 22. sheltered under the wings of her more sanctified neighbor, Boston, proceeded to place her former governor, Hinckley, in the chair of state, and adopted her old style of administration. Rhode Island did likewise. That is, she reinstated her old magistrates. It was accomplished May 1. quietly on the first day of May. Connecticut was reconstructed, May 9. nine days later, on the skeleton of the copy of the famous charter, which was exhumed from the hollow oak at Hartford. Thus, without the knowl- edge and against the purpose of William, his dominion of New England was disunited forever.
Imperial New York rejoiced over the disseverment of the bond, freeing her from political connection with New England. Dutch New York es- chewed all manner of religious fanaticism. The English families of New York were attached to the Church of England and had no symyathy with the meddling spirit of Puritanism. New York was intolerant of both Popery and Puritanism, and ready to plunge headlong into intense devotion to a Dutch prince who was so suddenly transformed into an English king.
New York was intrenched in prejudice, but prejudice as unlike that
1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll. Palmer's Impartial Account. Hutch. Mass. Chalmers' Annals. Barry. Arnold. Brodhead. Palfrey. Bancroft. Rhode Island Records. Force Tracts. Grahame. Hildreth. New York Col. Doc.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
which moved the people of Boston into rebellion as the Temperance Reform from Mahometanism, - the total abstinence from wine being the only like article in the two creeds. Popery was the horrible ogre. Protestants were everywhere united in their abhorrence and fear of it. There had been no complaint or even suggestion of misrule as far as Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson was concerned. He was a straightfor- ward English official, obeying orders to the letter. He was a devout and consistent Episcopalian, never omitting his public Sunday devotions. All at once, however, he was suspected of intrigue and double dealing. Why might not he be a tool of Catholic James and secretly at work in the lat- ter's interests ? Some one told how he knelt to say mass in the king's tent on Hounslow Heath, three years before! It was retold again and again, and men's faces paled while they listened. Nobody stopped to consider that any courtly gentleman would have done the same thing if accidentally present on such an occasion.
The resident members of the Governor's council were Frederick Phil- ipse, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, and Nicholas Bayard. They were all members of the Dutch Reformed Church, and the last two were deacons in good and regular standing. They were men of wealth and of aristo- cratic tastes. Philipse was sixty-three years of age, dignified, elegant, and conservative. He could balance himself between two fires with more tact and less danger than any other man in our history. Van Cortlandt was forty-six years of age, and, besides holding a commission from the crown as counselor to the governor, was the mayor of the city. He had been a popular public man for more than twenty years, but at this critical mo- ment a whisper was started that he was a secret Catholic, and it seemed to be verified from the fact that he took part a few months before in the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Wales, and became so hilarious that he threw his periwig with its long flowing ringlets into the air. Bayard was the younger of the three and occupied a distinguished posi- tion as counselor to the governor and commander-in-chief of the New York'militia. He was fond of display and conspicuously imperious. He was bright, genial, witty, quick-tempered and vindictive. He had many warm personal friends among his equals socially and politically, but he was feared and disliked by his inferiors.
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