USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 48
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Weaver, as collector of the customs, made himself offensive to men of all classes and opinions. He collided with the merchants concerning the Acts of Trade so perpetually, that he was more cordially hated than any other man who had ever filled the position. When he meddled with poli- tics his dogmatic assertions and shallow understanding were brought so conspicuously into the foreground, that even his best friends said he was enough to ruin any cause.
During this autumn Madame Sarah Knight journeyed from Boston to New York on horseback, and wrote some very pleasant notes about her trip. She was obliged to ford some rivers, and cross others in a frail scow, and as for taverns, there were no such conveniences as yet along the route. She was a woman of culture as well as courage, and deeply interested in the progress and development of the country. As she approached Mamaroneck she was surprised to find so much of the land under successful cultiva- tion, and good buildings erected. Presently she came to the manor-house of Colonel Caleb Heathcote, with its broad lawns, handsome gardens, ele- gant shade-trees, and great deer-park after the most approved English fashion. As for New Rochelle, she pronounced it a " clean, pretty place, where many French gentlemen of learning resided, and where were pass- able roads, and a bridge broad enough for a cart."
The city of New York was so very unlike Boston, that she regarded it with special interest. The half-blending of Dutch and English customs, the confusion of tongues, the variety of fashions, and the different styles of equipage attracted and amused her. She said, "the prevailing style of architecture was plain," the brick buildings were chiefly " in divers colors laid in checks and glazed." The inside, as far as she had an opportunity of judging, was more elaborate than the outside, and neat to a fault. The hearthstones usually extended far into the room and were laid with tiles ; the staircases were highly ornamented. The streets of the city were' gen- erally paved to the width of ten feet from the fronts of the houses on each side of the way, while the center was constructed to serve the double pur- pose of gutter and sewer. A few " brick pathways " were the only side- walks. Broadway was shaded with beautiful trees on either side.
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NEW YORK IN 1704.
The judicial jurisdiction of Chief Justice Atwood extended over New England, but he was not well received in the courts. He was many times affronted in the most premeditated manner. While attempting to sup- press illegal trade in Boston he had a sharp conflict with the son of Rob- ert Livingston, who had a vessel wrecked off the coast, filled with wines, brandies, and other European commodities. And he was instrumental in seizing the cargo of a vessel belonging to Samuel Vetch, afterwards gov- ernor of Nova Scotia, whose wife was Margaret, the daughter of Robert Livingston.
View of New York, 1704.
As for Robert Livingston himself, he was vilified, accused, and threatened on every side. Party ingenuity was constantly at work devising new ways for blackening his character. There were grounds for complaint against him, but insufficient to warrant the wholesale defamation to which he was subjected. And equally virulent were the attacks upon Colonel Nicholas Bayard, whose power as a political leader was well understood. The passage of the Leisler Bill, as it was called, was a fore- gone conclusion with the Leislerians, hence a proclamation was issued, ordering every person concerned to bring in claims and losses for settle- ment. The inventory that followed was a most extraordinary mathe- matical production, as might have been predicted. One old gun, and a small rusty sword, seized by Governor Sloughter, were together valued at £40; and hundreds of similar items might be cited.
The proceeding created intense excitement. The aggrieved appealed to the king, asking for a governor - one who understood the principles
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
of government, and whose sentiments were in unison with those of Par- liament. An address of congratulation was also prepared to forward to Lord Cornbury, who, it was reported, had been chosen to succeed Bello- mont. These papers were burdened with over six hundred signatures, among which were those of the leading men of the aristocratic party. The movement was conducted with great secrecy ; but it was discovered by Nanfan and the members of his council, who styled it "A CONSPIRACY." They said it was done to intimidate them from the performance of duty. Notwithstanding petitions had been the acknowledged right of English- men for ages, Chief Justice Atwood claimed that the present was a case of "sedition and rebellion." The most persistent effort was made by the government to secure the papers or their copies. Several persons were arrested and brought before the council, and by means of threats and promises the information was at last obtained, that the documents had been signed at a coffee-house kept by Captain Hutchings, one of the city aldermen. It also appeared that Colonel Bayard and his son Samuel were concerned. Hutchings and the two Bayards were accordingly summoned before Nanfan and the council, and examined. The result was unsatisfactory, since no new facts were elicited; Hutchings was committed to jail for not producing the papers, and Colonel Bayard and his son were compelled to enter into bonds to the amount of £ 1,500 each, to answer to an indictment to be filed against them in the Supreme Court.
A consultation took place the next day among the signers of the papers. It was unanimously decided that there was nothing whatever in the transaction contrary to the plain English law. Consequently Colonel Bayard, Rip Van Dam, Philip French, and Thomas Wenham signed an appeal, addressed to the governor and council, asking for the release of Hutchings, who could not produce the papers, because they were not in his possession. The petitioners frankly admitted that they held the documents, but denied any disloyalty. Chief Justice Atwood denounced . the haughtiness in the tone of the communication. Dr. Staats and Robert Walters read and re-read and weighed the language of the peti- tioners, sentence by sentence. What could this passage mean ? - "and another address to my Lord Cornbury, whom we understand by certain advice we have received from England to be nominated by his Majesty to succeed the late Earl of Bellomont." Was not such an expression literally disowning and casting off the authority of Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan ? Nanfan himself did not so interpret it. But then, he was only the figure-head of the administration. Weaver saw more clearly through the film, and detected what he styled " an infernal plot."
Before noon of the same day Colonel Nicholas Bayard was arrested for
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TRIAL OF NICHOLAS BAYARD FOR TREASON.
" High Treason," and committed to prison. The city militia were placed on guard above his cell, to prevent his being rescued by enraged friends.
Philip French and Thomas Wenham were given six days in 1702. which to produce the "treasonable addresses." They declined, Jan. and, not relishing the prospect of imprisonment, quietly left the province. Attorney-General Broughton saw no sufficient ground for the commitment of any of the petitioners ; he was ordered with considerable asperity to give his reasons in writing for such an opinion. He did so, and Chief Justice Atwood was highly indignant, and ordered the grand jury of the Supreme Court to bring a presentment against him for neglect of duty ; Weaver, as solicitor-general, put it into a formal indictment.
Bayard and Hutchings were arraigned, indicted, and tried for Feb. high treason. They petitioned for a postponement of the trial until the usual sitting of the Supreme Court, but, instead, a special court was ordered for February 19. Samuel Bayard prayed earnestly that his father might have a jury composed of Englishmen. This, too, was with- out avail. Chief Justice Atwood was on the bench, and the associate judges were Colonel Abraham De Peyster and Robert Walters. Weaver was the prosecuting attorney, and insisted upon sitting with the jury. When the gentlemen of the jury differed from him materially in opinion, he threatened "to have them trounced." William Nicolls and James Emott appeared for the defense. They were both remarkable lawyers for the times in which they lived, but their sound reasoning and elo- quence were wasted on this occasion, the prisoners having been con- demned in advance by both judge and jurors.
Bayard pleaded "NOT GUILTY" to the charge of having conspired to produce mutiny among the king's soldiers by persuading them to sign "libels " against the government, and to the other treasonable acts specified. The defense attempted to show that the addresses were the opposite of treasonable, their design being simply to prove to the Lords of Trade that the signers were neither "Jacobites " nor " pirates," as had been rep- resented, but good and loyal subjects ready to give up lives and fortunes at any moment in the king's service.
Weaver, in a violent speech, charged the Englishmen of New York with trying to introduce popery and slavery into the province, and pro- nounced Bayard the leader. He said they were a band of pirates, and had offered the late Lord Bellomont £ 10,000 to connive at their infamy. At one stage of the trial Nicolls moved for an adjournment until the next morning. "No," responded the chief justice, " we do not propose to give Mr. Vesey a chance for another sermon against us." The foreman of the jury was the brother of one of the judges upon the bench. When 29
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
the case was turned over to them, they were absent from the room but a few minutes before returning with a verdict of GUILTY.
Chief Justice Atwood immediately proceeded to pronounce the hor- rible English sentence upon traitors then in full force.
Bayard applied to Nanfan for a reprieve until his Majesty's pleasure should be known. This was denied unless he should acknowledge himself guilty of the crime of treason. Six several petitions were in like manner rejected by the lieutenant-governor. The governor and prominent gen- tlemen of the neighboring provinces interceded, but to no purpose. The day of execution was fixed. Of this he was duly notified and placed in irons. He was forbidden to see his wife, children, or other relatives. Finally friends drew up a petition worded so as to express his sincere sorrow for the offense of signing the addresses and encouraging others to sign, and begging pardon for the same. This, at the last moment, ob- tained a reprieve, but it did not liberate him from prison. Hutchings, however, was released on bail.
On the very day that Colonel Bayard was being denounced as a
March 7. traitor, William III. of England was finishing his brilliant career. He had reigned a few days over thirteen years. His death would have been a great stroke to the nation at any time, but at this particular epoch nothing could have been more unfortunate. The insult of Louis XIV., who, upon the death of James II., a few months before, had proclaimed that ex-monarch's doubtful son king of England, rendered another war inevitable. William had formed a great alliance, and was about to con- summate a critical scheme of warfare. He desired to live a little longer ; and yet he met death with calmness and without fear. He expressed his firm faith in the Christian religion, and received the sacrament. His last act was to take the hand of one of his earliest friends and press it to his heart. When his remains were prepared for the coffin it was found that he wore next to his skin a small piece of black silk ribbon. The lords in waiting ordered it to be taken off. It contained a gold ring and a lock of the hair of Mary.
The crown, pursuant to previous Act of Parliament, devolved on Anne, the youngest daughter of King James by his first marriage. She was then in the thirty-eighth year of her age. The Privy Council waited upon her in a body, and she received them in a well-considered speech, which she pronounced with great distinctness and effect. The coronation took place on the 23d of April (St. George's Day); and Dr. Sharp, the Archbishop of York, preached an appropriate sermon on the occasion. The Queen immediately gave orders for naming the electress of Bruns- wick, in the collect for the royal family, as the next heir to the crown, and she formed a ministry.
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LORD CORNBURY.
Meanwhile the New York Assembly met in March and hastened to pass the celebrated Leisler Act. A bill was also worried through the House, in spite of determined opposition, to outlaw Philip French and Thomas Wenham. The other business consisted of the passage of an Act to increase the number of assemblymen by five; of an Act to continue the revenue two years longer ; and of several Acts of minor importance. The House continued its sessions both night and day in order to accom- plish all that was desired before the possible arrival of a new governor. A jury of inquiry returned estimates concerning Livingston's property, and under the conditions of an Act passed in September, the whole of his estate, real and personal, was confiscated, and he was deprived of his seat in the council and of all his other offices.
An arrival of importance created another sensation while the city was astir with these remarkable proceedings. It was Lord Vis- count Cornbury, and he landed with much fuss and ceremony. All May 3. the prominent men gave him an eager if not a cordial welcome. The city corporation entertained him with a grand banquet. His commission as governor of New York was duly published, and his counselors sworn into office. His first business was to issue two proclamations ; one for continuing all civil and military officers in their present positions until further notice, and the second for dissolving the Assembly.
Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, was the grandson of the Earl of Clar- endon - the Lord Chancellor and Prime Minister of Charles II. - and the son of the present Earl of Clarendon, who was the brother-in-law of James II. Thus the new governor of New York was the first cousin of Queen Anne, and heir to an earldom. He had been one of the fore- most in setting an example of defection in King James's army by leading a large body of cavalry, of which he was in command, to the camp of William. He had ever since held important commissions under the latter monarch. He had been appointed, and even set sail for his new government before the death of William. Queen Anne confirmed his commission immediately upon her accession to the throne. She also for- warded him additional instructions relative to necessary and vigorous preparations for the defense of the New York frontier against the French.
Cornbury had been a military chieftain for nearly twenty years, but of political power he had very little conception, except as it emanated from the self-will of a superior. He had genius for exacting obedience, and order and method were to him literally "Heaven's first law." But he was unfortunately destitute of tact and discretion. He stood among the mixed people of New York and New Jersey like an ogre come to
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
crush one party and raise another. He had no sympathy with the pri- mary notion of popular rights, he was without true nobleness of heart, and he was addicted to many private vices. He, in short, illustrated the most exaggerated feature of aristocratic arrogance. Yet his coming was fortunate just at this junc- ture, else the excesses of the Leislerian party would have sowed discord beyond all hope of future reconciliation. Many merchants and property-own- ers had already removed into New Jersey. They came back, however, to watch the effects of the new administration.
Portrait of Lord Cornbury.
Colonel Bayard's case was upon every person's lips, and Cornbury gave it his first at- tention. He found that Chief Justice Atwood had forbid- den any one from taking notes in the court, not excepting
the lawyers themselves. The whole trial seemed to have been con- ducted in an irregular manner. Prisoners had been convicted and sentenced to die for signing treasonable papers, when the papers them- selves at the time of conviction had never been seen by the lieutenant- governor, by any member of his council, by Weaver, who filed the pros- ecution, by the grand jury who found the bill, nor by the petty jury who brought in the verdict of guilty. They were to be executed for supposed written treason, which was never produced in evidence nor proved to be treason.
Atwood and Weaver found themselves standing in a very odious light, and both suddenly absconded, notwithstanding the latter was under heavy bonds to render a true account of his Custom-House collections. The two were concealed in Virginia until they could sail for England ; Atwood assuming the name of Jones, and Weaver that of Jackson. Cornbury formally suspended them from all their offices, and appointed Colonel Caleb Heathcote and Dr. John Bridges to succeed them in the council.
About the same time Cornbury was petitioned so earnestly by certain parties that he proceeded to suspend De Peyster, Dr. Staats, and Robert Walters from the council, on the ground of their alleged activity in pro- moting disorders in the province. Dr. Gerardus Beekman, Rip Van Dam,
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BAYARD'S SENTENCE REVERSED.
Killian Van Rensselaer, and Thomas Wenham were sworn in their stead, the latter having returned from exile.
Cornbury was fully aware of the feeling the various accounts of the crime and trial of Bayard had awakened among the Lords of Trade. The prisoner was known personally to them, and party spirit was thoroughly understood. They had resolved, even before he sailed for New York, that Bayard and Hutchings should have a hearing before the queen in council. A letter to this effect was written to the Earl of Manchester on the first day of May. A royal order subsequently reached Cornbury for the re- lease of Bayard on bail, and a few months later the queen by advice of her council reversed the sentences which had been pronounced upon both Bayard and Hutchings, and reinstated them in their property and honor " as if no such trial had been."
It was about the 17th of June that Cornbury received orders to pro- claim Queen Anne in New York and in East and West New Jersey, and the duty was performed in the metropolis on the following day. The people of all stations in life manifested the most undoubted loyalty.
On Friday, June 19, Cornbury started for Burlington, the chief June 19. town in West New Jersey ; but, owing to rough roads, or, in many
instances, to the want of roads altogether, he did not reach his destination until late on Sunday night. He was received and entertained by Gov- ernor Hamilton, and on Monday at eleven o'clock the magistrates and people were gathered together and the new queen proclaimed "in the same happy manner as in New York." Cornbury's plan was to proceed to Amboy, the chief town in East New Jersey, but recent rains had flooded the lowlands, and he was obliged to defer his visit until a later day.
He had scarcely reached New York on his return than he was appalled by the amount of sickness which prevailed. The small-pox had raged all the spring, and now the yellow fever was sweeping over the city. Few persons who were attacked recovered. He made great haste to remove his family to a place of safety. Lady Cornbury 1 was an invalid, and they had three young children. Jamaica, Long Island, was where they finally took up their quarters for the summer. There were but few good houses in that little village, and the Presbyterian minister, Rev. Mr. Hubbard, offered his new parsonage to the governor, and with a large family sought more humble and less convenient accommodations.
1 Lady Cornbury was Katharine, daughter of Lord O'Brien, who was himself the son of the Earl of Richmond in Ireland. She was married to Lord Cornbury in 1688. Upon the death of her mother, Lady O'Brien, she became Baroness Clifton, of Leighton Bromswold, Warwickshire, England.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Cornbury was an Episcopalian, and loved the church as a religion of state subordinate to executive power. In common with many others of his time he believed that its establishment in the colonies would be a safe- guard against popery. There were a few Episcopalians in Jamaica, but they had no place of worship. The town had been settled chiefly by New England Puritans, although there was an occasional Dutch planter in the neighborhood. The little church edifice had been built by vote of the town, and the minister's salary was raised in the same manner. As soon as it was practicable a substantial dwelling for a parsonage had been added to the church property. When the famous Ministry Act was passed, in 1693, the few Episcopalians, who as townsmen contributed their yearly dues for the support of the gospel, made investigations to learn whether the Presbyterians had really any better claim to the church property than any other sect, and came to the conclusion that it was held simply by virtue of priority of possession. As soon as Lord Cornbury came among them, a consultation took place which resulted in a determination to wrest the sacred edifice, parsonage, etc., from the Presbyterians altogether. Consequently, one Sabbath afternoon, between the morning and the even- ing service, a few zealous churchmen obtained the key, and took the sanc- tuary captive. The next day the outraged Presbyterians gathered round the building, and forcibly entered it, tearing up the seats and otherwise mutilating the interior. The Episcopalians rallied in as large a force as possible, countenanced by Cornbury, and, rushing into the church, turned out the enemy in a violent manner. The battle was a serious one, several persons being wounded. But, as the governor was within a stone's-throw of the belligerents, and, his own servants taking an active part in the fray, it is no matter of wonder that the Episcopalians were left masters of the field. Long and tedious litigations followed; many of the Presbyterians were prosecuted for damages to the building, and several men among them were heavily fined, and imprisoned. It was not until 1728, that the colonial courts finally decided that the church edifice belonged to the Presbyterians ; and it was restored to that denomination.
Cornbury presented the parsonage to the Episcopacy, when the summer was over and he about to return to the city. The glebe he turned over to the sheriff, who laid it out in building-lots, and farmed it for the benefit of the church.
The fatal sickness of this summer deprived New York of more than five hundred of her citizens. Meanwhile Cornbury was not neglectful of the Indians, but for whom New York would have been at the mercy of the French. He went to Albany on the 5th of July, and five days later the sachems of the Five Nations and delegations from the river tribes
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LADY BELLOMONT.
met him in solemn conference. The chain of friendship was polished anew with the customary gifts from the government, such as guns, ket- tles, blankets, knives, beer, bread, powder, and rum. One of the sachems rose and requested that the rum might be put in some secure place until after the business of the meeting was all transacted, lest his people fall to drinking. It was accordingly lodged in Robert Livingston's cellar. Peter Schuyler and Robert Livingston were Cornbury's efficient aids, as indeed they had been the interpreters and tutors of every royal governor, as far as Indian affairs were concerned, for a long series of years. The sachems promised to report any hostile movement on the part of the enemy which should come within their knowledge, and to be subject at all times to the advice of their white leaders. Cornbury saw indications, however, of defection on the part of some of the northern tribes, and it was believed that they would eventually go over to the French. He consequently wrote to the Lords of Trade that, in his opinion, the only way to protect New York was to drive the French out of Canada.
As for Livingston, Cornbury was cordially determined to see him justi- fied before the world. An application was made to Lady Bellomont for such accounts and vouchers as her late husband had transferred from the hands of his clerk to his own possession, shortly before his death; they were obtained and proved effectual in removing the aspersions from Liv- ingston's character. His estates were restored in February, 1703, and two years later a commission from Queen Anne reinstated him in all his former appointments and honors.
Lady Bellomont left the city upon the first appearance of the fatal epidemic. She obtained quarters at a little farm-house on Long Island until she could make arrangements to sail for Europe. All at once she was accused of having in her possession money belonging to the govern- ment, which had not been accounted for by the late governor. She was not allowed to start on her voyage until she had given bonds to the amount of £10,000 for her appearance in New York in the following April to answer to the charges against her. She immediately upon her arrival in England petitioned the queen for an investigation of her affairs. She emphatically denied all the charges which had been " manufactured," and asked for an order to collect large arrears in Lord Bellomont's salary.
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