USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 57
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1 Journals of the Legislative Councils of New York, Vol. I. pp. 614, 615.
539
THE SCHOOL BILL.
and the higher mathematics should be taught, was drafted by Adolphe Philipse, the speaker, and offered by Stephen De Lancey. It created an outburst of merriment, because of this curious preamble : "Whereas the youth of this colony are found by manifold experience to be not inferior in their natural geniuses to the youth of any other country in the world, therefore be it enacted," etc. It passed into a law, and Mr. Alexander Malcom, of Aberdeen, the author of a treatise upon book-keeping, was appointed teacher. The school was patronized by James Alexander, the Morris family, and many others, and became quite popular for a time.
Lewis Morris Mansion. (Morrisania.)
540
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
CHAPTER £ XXV.
1732-1737.
GOVERNOR COSBY.
GOVERNOR COSBY. - RIP VAN DAM. - EXCITING LAW-SUIT. - OPINION OF CHIEF JUS- TICE MORRIS. - THE COUNCIL. - THE JUDGES. - THE REMOVAL OF CHIEF JUSTICE MORRIS. - JAMES DE LANCEY APPOINTED CHIEF JUSTICE. - COURTESY TO FOREIGN VISITORS. - LORD FITZROY. - A LITTLE ROMANCE. - MARRIAGE OF GRACE COSBY. - TAXES. - FASHIONS. - MORRIS AT THE COURT OF ENGLAND. - WILLIAM BRADFORD. - THE NEW NEWSPAPER IN NEW YORK. - JOHN PETER ZENGER. - ARREST AND IMPRIS- ONMENT OF ZENGER. - THE FAMOUS TRIAL. - CHIEF JUSTICE DE LANCEY. - ANDREW HAMILTON. - DEFINITION OF LIBEL. - CHAMBERS'S ADDRESS. - HAMILTON'S ARGU- MENTS. - ACQUITTAL OF ZENGER. - EXCITING SCENES. - PAUL RICHARDS. - THE CITY WATCH. - CORTLANDT STREET. - THE POOR-HOUSE. - RIP VAN DAM. - COSBY'S SICKNESS AND DEATH. - CONTEST BETWEEN RIP VAN DAM AND GEORGE CLARKE. - GEORGE CLARKE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK. - MRS. CLARKE. - LEWIS MORRIS GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY. - SOCIAL LIFE IN NEW YORK. - THE ELECTION OF 1737.
G OVERNOR COSBY and President Van Dam were arrayed squarely T against each other, and neither seemed disposed to abate in the slightest particular from his position. The governor proceeded to insti- tute legal proceedings against Van Dam. As the matter was one of ac- count, and cognizable only in a court of equity, an action could not be brought in the Supreme Court, which was one of law. The governor was shut out from the Chancery because he was Chancellor ex officio, and of course could not hear his own cause. He therefore proceeded before the justices of the Supreme Court as Barons of the Exchequer. This court, as well as the Chancery, was extremely unpopular.
As soon as the bill was filed against Van Dam, he determined to institute a suit at common law against the governor. This was overruled in such a manner that Van Dam found himself compelled to a defense before the judges in equity. The occurrences were of such an exciting character that the whole community was interested. Van Dam was a.
popular man, and his singular situation elicited warm sympathy. 1733. His counsel were William Smith (the father of the historian) and James Alexander, both eminent lawyers. They excepted to the
541
EXCITING LAW-SUIT.
jurisdiction of the court to which the governor resorted. Chief Justice Morris supported the exception. The two associate judges, James De Lancey (commissioned in 1731) and Adolphe Philipse, voted against the plea. The case was subsequently dropped without settlement, and Cosby never recovered any of the money. But the proceedings created two violent parties, and the most bitter feelings.
Chief Justice Morris delivered an opinion in favor of Van Dam, which irritated Cosby beyond measure, and the latter demanded a copy. Morris, to prevent any misrepresentation, caused it to be printed, and then sent it to the governor, accompanied by a letter, from which the following is an extract : -
"This, sir, is a copy of the paper I read in court. .... I have no reason to expect that this or anything else I can say will be at all grateful, or have any weight with your Excellency, after the answer I received to a message I did myself the honor to send to you concerning an ordinance you were about to make for establishing a court of equity in the Supreme Court, as being, in my opinion, contrary to law, and which I desired might be delayed till I could be heard on that head. I thought myself within the duty of my office in sending this message, and hope I do not flatter myself in thinking I shall be justified in it by your superiors, as well as mine. The answer your Excellency was pleased to send me, was, that I need not give myself any trouble about that affair ; that you would neither receive a visit or any message from me ; that you could neither rely upon my integrity nor depend upon my judgment ; that you thought me a person not at all fit to be trusted with any concerns relating to the king ; that ever since your coming to the government I had treated you, both as to your own person and as the king's representative, with slight, rudeness, and impertinence ; that you did not desire to see or hear any further of or from me.
" I am heartily sorry, sir, for your own sake, as well as that of the public, that the king's representative should be moved to so great a degree of warmth, as appears by your answer, which I think would proceed from no other reason but by giving my opinion, in a court of which I was a judge, upon a point of law that came before me, and in which I might be innocently enough mistaken (though I think I am not), for judges are no more infallible than their superiors are impec- cable. But if judges are to be intimidated so as not to dare to give any opinion but what is pleasing to a governor, and agreeable to his private views, the people of this province, who are very much concerned both with respect to their lives and fortunes in the freedom and independency of those who are to judge of them, may possibly not think themselves so secure in either of them as the laws of his Majesty intend they should be.
" I never had the honor to be above six times in your company in my life : one of those times was when I delivered the public seals of the province of New Jersey to you on your coming to that government ; another, on one of the public
542
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
days, to drink the king's health ; a third, at your desire, to wait on my Lord Augustus Fitz Roy, with the lawyers, to tell him we were glad to see him in New York ; and, except the first time, I never was a quarter of an hour together in your company at any one time; and all the words I ever spoke to you, ex- cept at the first time, may be contained on a quarto side of paper. I might pos- sibly have been impertinent, for old men are too often so; but as to treating you with rudeness and disrespect, either in your public or private capacity, it is what I cannot accuse myself of doing or intending to do at any of the times I was with you. If a bow, awkwardly made, or anything of that kind, or some defect in the ceremonial of addressing you, has occasioned that remark, I beg it may be attributed to the want of a courtly and polite education, or to anything else, rather than the want of respect to his Majesty's representative. As to my integrity, I have given you no occasion to call it in question. I have been in this office almost twenty years. My hands were never soiled with a bribe ; nor am I conscious to myself, that power or poverty hath been able to induce me to be partial in the favor of either of them ; and as I have no reason to ex- pect any favor from you, so I am neither afraid nor ashamed to stand the test of the strictest inquiry you can make concerning my conduct. I have served the public faithfully and honestly according to the best of my knowledge, and I dare, and do, appeal to it for my justification.
" I am, sir, your Excellency's most humble servant, " LEWIS MORRIS." 1
Cosby was highly exasperated, the more so when the opinion and the letter both appeared in the New York Gazette. Such an independ- 1733. ent course could not be tolerated in the highest judicial officer in the colony, and Morris was almost immediately removed from the chief- justiceship.2 In August of the same year James De Lancey was Aug. 21. appointed in his stead. This appointment was made under the usual clause in governors' commissions which authorized them to " consti- tute and appoint judges "; a power which they exercised independently of the council, and not with its advice and consent, as in the erection of courts and the exercise of a few other powers. Morris henceforth be- came the active leader of the party in opposition to the administration, and De Lancey was the acknowledged chief of the governor's or court party. Morris, in spite of his peculiarities, was a popular man, and now,
1 It will be seen by reference to the Resolutions of the General Assembly of New York in 1708 (page 476), that the doctrine had already been established that the erecting of courts of equity, without the consent of the legislature, was contrary to law.
2 Cadwallader Colden to the Earl of Hillsborough. James Alexander to Governor Hun- ter, February 3, 1730. New Jersey Hist. Coll., IV. 19 - 21. Memoir of Hon. James De Lancey. Doc. Hist. N. Y., IV. 1041. Bolton's History of Westchester, II. 307 ; Governor Cosby to the Duke of Newcastle, May 3, 1733. N. Y. Col. MSS., V. 942-952.
543
A LITTLE ROMANCE.
in the season of discontent, he became more than ever an object of regard by the class of people who esteemed themselves oppressed. In the autumn he was chosen to the Assembly to represent the county of Westchester, in the place of a de- ceased member. When non were fired from the harbor, and a large and escorted him with ners to an elegant en- last day of the session, of the Assembly, his took his seat among the notwith- most vigor- James So Lancey had been feat his elec- The social he entered the city, can- merchant-ships in the number of citizens met cheers and flying ban- tertainment. It was the but at the next meeting son, Lewis Morris, Jr., members, standing the ous efforts made to de- tion.
world of New Seal and Autograph of James De Lancey. York had during all these public excitements been variously agitated. Governor Cosby had brought his wife and young lady daughters to this country with him, and they commanded no little attention. A series of brilliant entertainments were given during the winter and spring, which brought together the beauty, wit, and culture of the capital. Lord Augustus Fitz- roy, son of the Duke of Grafton, who was lord chamberlain to the king, spent some weeks in Governor Cosby's family. It was customary for the city authorities to extend courtesies to distinguished strangers ; hence, upon the arrival of the young nobleman, the mayor, recorder, aldermen, assistants, and other officials, waited upon him in a body, with a well- prepared speech, thanking him for the honor of his presence, and pre- sented him with the freedom of the city in a gold box.1 The following day the lawyers went in a body, with Chief Justice Morris at their head (it was just prior to his suspension from office), to show respect and wel- come the traveler to our shores.
There was quite a romance connected with this visit of Lord Fitzroy. He was in love with one of the governor's daughters. According to the standard of society in England the match was beneath him, and neither the governor nor Mrs. Cosby dared give consent to the marriage. Through the intrigues of Mrs. Cosby, however, the young people were allowed to settle the matter for themselves. A clergyman was clandes- tinely assisted to scale the rear wall of the fort, and they were married in secret and without license. To secure Cosby from the wrath of the
The gold box presented to Lord Fitzroy cost £ 14 8s. New York City Records.
544
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Duke of Grafton, who was a great favorite of the king, a mock prosecu- tion was instituted against Dominie Campbell, who had solemnized the nuptials without the usual form.
Another wedding shortly occurred in the governor's household. Miss Grace Cosby was married to Thomas Freeman. Three days later the mayor, recorder, aldermen, assistants, and other city dignitaries, marched in solemn procession to the governor's residence in the fort, and after congratulating the lovely Grace upon her good fortune, made the follow- ing speech : -
" This corporation being desirous upon all occasions to demonstrate the great deference they have and justly entertain for his Excellency, William Cosby, and for his noble family, have ordered that the honorable Major Alexander Cosby, brother to his Excellency, and lieutenant-governor of his Majesty's gar- rison of Annapolis Royal, recently arrived, and Thomas Freeman, the governor's son-in-law, be presented with the freedom of the city in gold boxes."
The style of dress at this time was very showy and conspicuous. Gay pendants were worn in the ears, costly crosses were suspended about the neck, and diamonds and rich brocades were esteemed essential to respect- ability among the wealthier families. Tight-lacing and wide skirts pre- vailed, though not as extensively as a few years later. The hair was frizzled and curled and arranged in a great variety of fantastic ways. The gentlemen outdid the ladies. They concealed their hair altogether by enormous wigs, which were supposed to greatly beautify the countenance. An advertisement in the New York Gazette (in 1733) throws a glimmer of light upon the prevailing fashion : -
" Morrison, peruke-maker from London, dresses ladies and gentlemen's hair in the politest taste ; he has a choice parcel of human, horse, and goat hairs to dispose of."
And another : -
"Tyes, bobs, majors, spencers, fox-tails, and twists, together with curls or tates [tetes] for the ladies."
Bright colors everywhere prevailed. The most gorgeous combina- tions appeared in the fabrics for a lady's wardrobe, and gentlemen wore coats and other garments containing all the hues of the rainbow. Large silver buttons adorned coats and vests, often with the initial of the wearer's name engraved upon each button. Occasionally an entire suit would be decorated with conch-shell buttons silver-mounted. Even coaches were painted and gilded in an extraordinary manner. A writer of the day, seeing the equipage of Lewis Morris rolling down "the Broad
545
STYLE OF DRESS AND EQUIPAGE.
Way " towards the fort, speaks of its silver mountings glittering in the sunshine, and of the family arms emblazoned upon it in many places. The crest was a spacious stone castle, with little turrets and battlements, the motto being Tandem vincitur, which was supposed to declare the vir- tue, perseverance, magnanimity, and success of the Morris family against oppression of whatever character.
The newspapers were crowded with advertisements and descriptions of runaway slaves, and since servants proverbially ape their masters, they furnish a grotesque view of the costumes of that decade.
" Ran away, a negro servant clothed with damask breeches, black broadcloth vest, a broadcloth coat of copper color, lined and trimmed with black, and black stockings." October 3, 1731.
" Ran away, a negro barber ; wore a light wig, a gray kersey jacket lined with blue, a light pair of drugget breeches with glass buttons, black roll-up stockings, square-toed shoes, a white vest with yellow buttons, and red linings." Octo- ber 28, 1734.
After the death of General Montgomery his effects were sold at public auction : the advertisements specify four negro men, and four negro women, "the times of two men and one woman servant," a variety of fashionable wrought plate, a collection of valuable books, several fine saddle, coach, and other horses; and particularize somewhat in making mention of the household articles, as, for instance, -" A fine new yallow Camblet Bed, lined with silk and laced, which came from London with Captain Downing; also the Bedding. One fine Field Bedstead and cur- tains ; some blue Cloth lately come from London for Liveries ; some white drap Cloth, with proper trimming; and some broad gold Lace. Twelve Knives and twelve forks with silver handles gilded. A large lined Fire skreen. Two Demi Peak saddles, one with blue cloth laced with gold,' etc., etc. It will thus be seen that furniture and decorations partook of the same tendency towards fanciful display as dress and equipage.
As months rolled on, the proceedings of Cosby so irritated his opponents that they resolved to lay their grievances before the 1734.
king. It was decided that Morris should himself be the messenger, as his private wrongs would incite him to special exertion, and his intimate acquaintance with all that related to the interests of the province would render him an intelligent adviser concerning future measures for its prosperity. The chief purpose in view was to obtain the removal of Cosby. The utmost secrecy was deemed advisable in regard to the con- templated movements of Morris. He asked for and obtained leave of absence to visit his New Jersey plantation, so wording his application that
35
546
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
it might be interpreted to cover his voyage to England. He embarked at Sandy Hook, accompanied by his son, Robert Hunter Morris. Suspicion was not excited among the " court party " until he had actually sailed.
Morris communicated his opinion of the British Ministry to James
Portrait of Rip Van Dam
Alexander, in a letter written shortly after his arrival in England, of which the following is an extract :-
"We talk in America of applications to Parliaments! Alas ! my friend, parliaments are parliaments everywhere ; here, as well as with us, though more numerous. We admire the heavenly bodies which glitter at a distance ; but should we be removed into Jupiter or Saturn, perhaps we should find it com- posed of as dark materials as our own earth. .... We have a Parliament and Ministry, some of whom, I am apt to believe, know that there are plantations and governors, - but not quite so well as we do; .... and seem less concerned in our contests than we are at those between crows and kingbirds ..... And who is there that is equal to the task of procuring redress ? Changing the man is far from an adequate remedy, if the thing remains the same ; and we had as well keep an ill, artless governor we know, as to change him for one equally ill with more art that we do not know. One of my neighbors used to say that he always rested better in a bed abounding with fleas after they had
547
MORRIS AT THE COURT OF ENGLAND.
filled their bellies, than to change it for a new one equally full of hungry ones ; the fleas having no business there but to eat. The inference is easy."
Again he writes (March 31, 1735) :-
"You have very imperfect notions of the world on this side of the water, -
Portrait of Mrs. Van Dam.
I mean the world with which I have to do. They are unconcerned at the sufferings of the people in America. .... It is not the injustice of the thing [referring to Cosby's acts] that affects those concerned in recommending of him, provided it can be kept a secret and the people not clamor ; and when they do, if they meet with relief, it is not so much in pity to them, as in fear of the re- flection it will be upon themselves for advising the sending of such a man, the sole intent of which was the making of a purse. .... Everybody here agrees in a contemptible opinion of Cosby, and nobody knows him better or has a worse opinion of him, than the friends he relies on ; and it may be you will be surprised to hear that the most nefarious crime a governor can commit is not by some counted so bad as the crime of complaining of it, -the last is an arraigning of the Ministry that advised the sending of him."
It is evident that Morris was treated with deference by the British Lords, but the affair was subjected to disheartening delays. The question of a separate governor for New Jersey was discussed ; and a direct pro-
548
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
posal was made to him, that, if he would withdraw the complaints against Cosby, he should receive the appointment, which he declined.
The Assembly of 1834 passed an important bill by which the Quakers were restored to the rights and privileges which that denomination en- joyed in England, - henceforth they could vote without taking the oaths prescribed by law. This and several other popular acts, countenanced by Cosby, propitiated the people, and the clamor and complaint in a measure subsided. But erelong an event happened which stirred New York from center to circumference. John Peter Zenger started a new paper, calling it the Weekly Journal. It was filled with witticisms on the govern- ment officials, low satire, lampoons, squibs, and ballads. The public rel- ished it exceedingly. Now and then some well-written articles appeared, criticising the governor, council, assembly, the permanent revenue, and everything generally. Zenger had learned the printer's trade of Brad- ford.1 He served at a later date as collector of sundry public taxes, and, through mismanagement, found himself in arrears, for which he was prose- cuted ; having no means to liquidate the debt, he left the city. He after- wards applied to the Assembly for leave to do public printing enough to discharge the debt, and was refused.2
He was a man of much persistence, and some native talent, but of very limited opportunities. He was encouraged, assisted, and very ably sup- ported in this newspaper enterprise by James Alexander, William Smith, Lewis Morris and his son, Rip Van Dam, and others.
Bradford was the government printer, and the editor and publisher of the New York Gazette. He replied to many of the remarkable state- ments which appeared in the Weekly Journal, but he was not equal to the adversary in sarcasm. Cosby and his counselors were driven almost to madness.
Mingled with this singular controversy was a charge brought against Francis Harrison, one of the counselors, of having written a letter threat- ening Alexander and his family, unless money was deposited in a certain designated spot for the writer. This letter was found in the entrance-hall, shoved under the outer door of Alexander's residence. Harrison denied the imputation, and his associate counselors pronounced him incapable of such an act. Suspicion, however, still rested upon him, which was in- dustriously fomented by the new newspaper. Out of this, in part, grew the imprisonment and trial of Zenger.
1 John Peter Zenger was born in Germany in 1697. He came to New York with his wid- owed mother, and a brother and sister in 1710, being one of the party brought over by Gover- nor Hunter at the expense of the Crown of England. The following year he was apprenticed to William Bradford for eight years.
2 Doc. Hist. N. Y., IV. 1042. N. Y. Assembly Journal, I. 627, 636.
549
JOHN PETER ZENGER.
Chief Justice De Lancey, in order to procure an indictment against Zenger, called the attention of the grand jury in October to certain low ballads in the Weekly Journal, which he designated as "libels." He said : " Sometimes heavy, half-witted men get a knack of rhyming, but it is time to break them of it when they grow abusive, insolent, and mis- chievous with it." The ballads being examined were ordered to be burned by the common whipper. The council shortly after made an effort to dis- cover the author of certain other "libels." They addressed the gov- ernor, requesting that the printer should be prosecuted. The governor sent this document to the Assembly, where it was laid upon the table.
There came a moment, finally, when affairs assumed a serious Nov. 2. aspect. The council pronounced four of Peter Zenger's Weekly
Journals, " as containing many things tending to sedition and faction, and to bring his Majesty's government into contempt, and to disturb the peace thereof," and ordered them to be burned by the common hangman, or whip- per, near the pillory, on Wednesday the 6th instant, between the hours of eleven and twelve in the forenoon; it was also ordered that the mayor, Rob- ert Lurting, and the rest of the city magistrates should attend the burning.
When this order was offered by the sheriff, the court would not suffer it to be entered, and the aldermen protested against it, as an arbitrary and illegal injunction. Harrison was the recorder, and made a lame effort to justify the council by citing the example of the Lords in the Sacheverel case, and their proceedings against Bishop Burnet's pastoral letter, but it was of no avail and he withdrew. The corporation declined, emphati- cally, to attend the ceremony, and forbade their hangman from obeying the order. The burning of the papers was performed by a negro slave of the sheriff; the recorder and a few dependants of the governor were the only spectators.
A few days subsequently, Zenger, in pursuance of a proclamation, was arrested and thrown into prison, where he was denied pen, ink, Nov. 17. and paper. In his paper of November 25, the editor apologizes Nov. 25. for not issuing the last Weekly Journal, " as the governor had put him in jail," but adds, "that he now has the liberty of speaking through a hole in the door to his assistants, and shall supply his customers as hereto- fore." His dictations, however, were carefully watched.
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