USA > New York > History of the state of New York, for the use of common schools, academies, normal and high schools, and other seminaries of instruction > Part 6
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2. In November, Milborne, the son-in-law and private seere- tary of the new commander, was despatched to Albany with an armed force, to secure the recognition of his authority in the northern provinces, as well as to protect them, in the event of such recognition, from the threatened assaults of the Indians in their neighborhood. This enterprise was, however, fruitless, as these provinces declined to sanction his usurpation of power.
3. A despatch from the Prince of Orange was received in December, at the fort, directed to the late Governor, or, in his absence, to such person as might be in charge of the government, empowering him to take the chief command of the province.
Jacob Leisler. - The fort and battery. - Committee of Safety. - Op- position in the northern portion of the province. - Recognition of the Leisker government by William and Mary.
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THIRD PERIOD.
. Under this authority Leisler proceeded to the formal organiza- tion of the executive department, dissolved the Committee of Safety, appointed a council of advisers, and assumed the entire civil and military command of the city and province.
1690. 4. In February, 1690, during the war between the English and the French, known in history as "King William's War," a party of some three hundred French and Indians attacked and burned the city of Schenectady on the Mohawk, killed sixty of the inhabitants, who were aroused at midnight from their slumbers, and took thirty prisoners. The imminence of the peril from these deadly onslaughts of their savage enemies induced the speedy recognition, by the northern provinces, of the authority of Leisler, who with their assistance engaged with great vigor in the expeditions against the French and Indians. He organized and fitted out the first man-of-war fleet ever despatched from the port of New York, and actively co-operated with the authorities of Massachusetts and Connecti- cut in an unsuccessful effort for the reduction of Montreal and Quebec.
5. At the commencement of the ensuing year Rich- 1691. ard Ingoldsby arrived from England with intelligence of the appointment of Colonel HENRY SLOUGHTER as Governor, and, without producing any credentials of authority, demanded the surrender of the fort, which was refused by Leisler, who, how- ever, expressed his readiness to yield the government to Sloughter on his arrival. This event occurred 'in March, and Leisler im- mediately sent messengers to him for orders. These messengers were detained, and Ingoldsby was despatched to the fort with verbal directions for its surrender, which at first were disre- garded, but on the succeeding day complied with by Leisler, who, with Milborne and others, were immediately arrested, and imprisoned, and the two former tried, convicted, and condemned to suffer death under a charge of treason.
6. Governor Sloughter long hesitated to enforce this sentence by issuing his warrant for its execution, chiefly on the ground
Formal assumption of the administration. - Burning of Schenectady. - Naval expedition against Quebec and Montreal. - Arrival of Ingoldsby. - Governor Sloughter. - Refusal of Leisler to surrender the government. - Arrest of Leisler and Milborne.
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LEISLER, SLOUGHTER, AND FLETCHIER.
of its manifest injustice, and the absence of a fair and impartial trial. When, however, all attempts to procure his signature had proved fruitless, the enemies of Leisler and Milborne took advantage of a feast to which the Governor was invited in May, to obtain his consent when under the influence of wine, and before his recovery from intoxication the prisoners were exc- cuted.
7. In June the treaties between the Iroquois and the inhabi- tants of the province were renewed at a council held with the chiefs of the confederated tribes at Albany ; a popular Assembly was convened by the Governor, and a liberal constitution formed under his sanction and approval. On the 2d of August, the life and administration of Sloughter were ignominiously brought to a sudden close by a severe attack of illness induced by in- temperance.
8. He was succeeded by BENJAMIN FLETCHER, a man 1692. of moderate abilities, strong passions, and. aristocratic tendencies, averse to religious toleration, and opposed to all popular concessions. He, however, prudently listened to the counsels of Major Schuyler, of Albany, in reference to his treat- ment of the Indian difficulties ; and under the leadership of that gallant and intrepid officer the English and their faithful allies of the Five Nations signally defeated the French in the vicinity of Lake Champlain and drove them beyond the St. Lawrence.
9. In 1693 the first printing-press was established in 1633. the city by William Bradford of Philadelphia, who was employed by the city government to print the corporation laws. A few years subsequently, as will hereafter be seen, he estab- lished the pioncer newspaper of the city, an enterprise which proved eminently successful.
10. Governor Fletcher next addressed himself to a vigorous effort for the introduction into the province and city of the Eng- lish Church and the English language. Strange as it may seem, the majority of the inhabitants still spoke the Dutch language,
Trial and execution. - Treaties with the Iroquois. - Formation of a lib- eral constitution. - Death of Sloughter. - Accession of Benjamin Fletcher. -- Defeat of the French. - William Bradford establishes the first printing. press.
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and regarded the Dutch Church as the established Church of the province. They were accordingly naturally averse to any change in these respects.
11. The Governor, however, succeeded in procuring from the Assembly, in September, 1693, an act, the provisions of which, though admitting of a more liberal construction, were inter- preted by him as authority for the recognition of the Protestant Episcopal instead of the Dutch Church as the establishment. Under this act Trinity Church was erected and organized in 1696, and opened for worship in February of the ensuing year.
1696. 12. In June, 1696, Count Frontenac, then Governor- General of Canada, assembled an army near Montreal for an expedition against the Iroquois, whose animosity against the French had been uniformly displayed since the earliest settlement of the province. His army was composed of the regular troops and such of the Indian tribes as were allies of the French and hereditary enemies of the Iroquois. With these forces he as- cended the St. Lawrence, coasted the eastern waters of Lake Ontario, ascended the Oswego River, and encamped upon the borders of Onondaga Lake, whence he penetrated into the wil- derness in search of his enemies.
13. Finding their principal village deserted, and discovering no trace of their footsteps, he retraced his march, only to find that his path had been waylaid by his subtle foes, who continued to harass his progress until he had finally crossed their 1697. territories. In the following year the war between Eng- land and France was terminated by the peace of Ryswick.
14. At about this period an organized system of privateering on the high seas between Europe and America prevailed exten- sively, and was even believed to be connived at and encouraged by the European governments for the annoyance of the com- merce of their enemies. The American coasts suffered severely from these depredations, which soon assumed the form of piracy with all its attendant horrors. The merchant-vessels of New York were destroyed within sight of the harbor itself, and ships were boldly seized while lying at anchor near the wharves.
Church controversy. - Trinity Church. - Invasion of Frontenac. - Termination of King William's War. - Piratical depredations.
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ENGLISH GOVERNMENT.
15. Repeated and pressing complaints were made to the pro- vincial and municipal authorities, and the suppression of this iniquitous traffic was loudly demanded. But the provincial and municipal authorities were themselves suspected of participating directly or indirectly in the profits of these buccaneering expedi- tions ; and among others the Governor himself was seriously implicated. The English Government found itself compelled to resort to vigorous measures for the suppression of these flagrant abuses ; and in 1695 Fletcher was recalled, and Earl Bella- mont, an Irish peer, appointed in his stead, with instructions to rid the seas of their piratical occupants.
CHAPTER IV.
EARL OF BELLAMONT, LORD CORNBURY, AND LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR IXGOLDSBY.
1. IT was not until 1698, that the Earl of Bellamont, 1698. who was also subsequently commissioned as Governor of Massachusetts, and was distinguished for capacity and integrity, assumed his position as the successor of Fletcher. A stock company for the suppression of piracy was organized in Eng- land under the direct patronage of the King and many of the nobility, and an armed vessel fitted out for this purpose and placed under the command of the celebrated Captain WILLIAM KIDD, one of the boldest and most successful ship-masters of New York.
2. This vessel, in April, 1696, sailed from Plymouth, England, and, after recruiting at New York, proceeded on its course to the East Indies and Africa. The commander, however, finding his crew favorable to such an enterprise, abandoning his origi- nal undertaking, entered upon a bold and daring career of piracy along the coasts of Malabar and Madagascar, returning to New York in 1698 with an immense booty, large portions of which were concealed on the eastern shores of Long Island.
3. He then proceeded openly to Boston, where he was
Fletcher recalled. - Appointment of Earl Bellamont. - Earl of Bella- mont. - Captain Kidd.
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THIRD PERIOD.
arrested, by the orders of the Governor, on a charge of piracy and murder, and transported to England for trial, convicted and executed in 1701. His treasures, so far as discovered, were secured by Bellamont, who was himself suspected, although with- out apparent cause, of a secret participation in his nefarious enterprises.
4. Lord Bellamont on his arrival attached himself at 1699. once to the democratic or Leislerian party, with whom he was a great favorite, having interested himself in England in the reversal of the attainder against Leisler .. On the 18th of May, 1699, a new Assembly was convened, strongly democratic in its composition, which, after receiving assurances of his fa- vorable disposition, voted him a revenue for six years, and passed vigorre: DI the suppression of pira , and for a general indemnity to State offenders. Under the latter act the fami- lies of Leisler and Milborne were reinstated in their possessions. Their remains were also disinterred with great ceremony and deposited in the Dutch church in Garden Street, attended by an immense concourse of people, including the Governor himself.
5. On the death of Bellamont, which occurred soon after, Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan temporarily succeeded to his au- thority. Colonel Bayard, the inveterate enemy and persecutor of Leisler, and the author of the act under which he was con- demned and executed, was himself arrested, tried, and convicted for a similar offence in vilifying the administration of Nanfan, inciting the soldiers to rebellion, and other treasonable acts. He, with John Hutchins, another offender, was sentenced to death, but reprieved by the Governor until the King's pleasure should be known. On the arrival of Cornbury, however, the newly appointed Governor, he was released, the Leislerian party dis- countenanced, and their opponents taken into favor.
6. EDWARD HYDE, subsequently created Lord CORN- 1702. BURY, assumed in May, 1702, the duties of Governor of the combined provinces of New York and New Jersey, the lat- ter having been added to his jurisdiction by surrender of the
Political views of Bellamont. - Proceedings of the Assembly. - Reversal of attainders of Leisler and Mitborne. - Reinterment of their remains. - Death of Bellamont. - Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan. - Trial and conviction of Bayard. - Arrival of Cornbury.
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BELLAMONT, CORNBURY, AND INGOLDSBY.
patent of the proprietors. A revenue of seven years was voted him, his salary doubled, and the expenses of his voyage re- imbursed by the Assembly, which was devoted to his interests. A public dinner was given him, and the freedom of the city formally bestowed in a gold box. The members of his suite, the soldiers of the garrison, and all citizens unable to purchase their freedom, were also made freemen, with the rights of suffrage, of trade, and of holding office.
7. The corporation of the city, having resolved upon the es- tablishment of a grammar-school, in the absence of any snit- ably qualified teacher in New York directed a petition to be forwarded to the Bishop of London, entreating him to for- ward them a native-born English teacher, of good learning, plots lie and conversation, and good temper. Loni tomdrugs influence in the matter was urgently but ineffectually requested. It was not until 1705 that the school was finally established and Andrew Clarke appointed. master.
8. The administration of Lord Cornbury was chiefly distin- guished for its intolerance, licentiousness, dishonesty, and mis- rule. He engaged, in direct opposition to his instructions from the Queen, in a systematic persecution of all religious denomi- nations dissenting from the Church of England, plundered the public treasury, involved himself in private debts, and opposed every effort on the part of the representatives of the people for the security of their rights and the growth of free institutions. He was finally, in 1708, recalled, through
1708.
the pressure of popular sentiment, and cast into prison by
his creditors, where he remained until released by the accession of his peerage, on the death of his father. John Lord Lovelace was appointed his successor, but retained the office a little more than a year, when he died, leaving the government in the hands of Lieutenant-Governor Ingoldshy.
9. In 1709, daring Queen Anne's War, a military and naval force of eighteen hundred men was fitted out in 1:00. the combined colonies of New York and New Jersey, to proceed against Montreal by way of Lake Champlain. The expedition
Honor to Lord Cornbury. - Establishment of a grammar-school. - Char. acter of Cornbury. - Lord Lovelace. - Richard Ingoldaby. - Queen Anne's War.
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THIRD PERIOD.
was, however, after proceeding as far as Wood Creek, aban- doned, in consequence of the absence of effective co-operation on the part of England, and mismanagement on that of In- goldsby, who was accordingly removed. In 1711 an- 1711. other expedition of four thousand men was organized in these two provinces, in conjunction with Connecticut, to co- operate with an English fleet under the command of Sir Hoven- den Walker in an attack upon Canada, which also proved a failure, entailing upon the provinces, however, a heavy burden of debt, and seriously embarrassing their resources for several years.
CHAPTER V.
ROBERT HUNTER, WILLIAM BURNET, AND JOHN MONTGOMERIE.
1. EARLY in the summer of 1710 ROBERT HUNTER arrived 1710. in the province with a commission as Governor, bringing over with him three thousand Germans, natives of the Palatinate, driven from their homes by the persecution of Louis XIV. of France. Several of their number took up their abode in New York City, where they erected a Lutheran church ; others settled upon Livingston's Manor on the Hudson, on the tract now known as the German Flatts ; but the greater part found permanent homes in Pennsylvania, where their descend- ants still reside.
2. The new Governor was a man of superior abilities and ex- cellent character ; but, conceiving himself bound by his instruc- tions to support the claims of the Crown, and repress the growing spirit of insubordination in the province, he at once attached himself to the aristocratic party, and strengthened its influence by every means in his power. His Council was selected from the ablest, wealthiest, and most influential men of the colony. He secured the warm support of Lewis Morris, one of the greatest landholders in the combined provinces of Nev York and New Jersey, the son of Richard Morris, an officer in
Expeditions against Canada. - Arrival of Governor Hunter. - German immigrants. - Character of Hunter. - Ilis energetic administration. - Lewis Morris.
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ENGLISH GOVERNMENT.
Croniwell's army, who had cmigrated to America and pur- chased a manor ten miles square, in the neighborhood of Har- lem, to which he gave the name of Morrisania, and where his son now resided.
3. The unsuccessful expedition for the conquest of 1711 - 12. Canada, in which the Governor, with the sanction of
his Council and the Provincial Assemblies, entered with great zeal and enthusiasm, produced a discouraging effect upon his sub- sequent measures, and seriously impaired his influence with the people. His request for a permanent appropriation for the sup- port of the government was met by a decided and persistent refusal of the Assembly, which could only be prevailed upon to furnish supplies for a single year. The Indian tribes had be- come distrustful and unreliable ; and a rumored insurrection of the negroes had created a riotous panic in the city, resulting in the firing of several buildings, the death of many white citizens, and the arrest and execution of nineteen of the negroes.
4. The war between England and France having been 1715. terminated by the treaty of Utrecht, the contest be- tween the Governor and the Assembly on the question of sup- plies was again renewed, and after a protracted struggle a gov- ernment revenue was secured. independent of the people, for the term of three years. A Court of Chancery was established and confirmed. Lewis Morris was appointed Chief-Justice of the province, and taxes on British imports and tonnage duties on for- eign vessels were imposed. In 1719 failing health com- 1719. pelled the Governor to return to England, leaving the government in the hands of Peter Schuyler, the eldest mem- ber of the Council.
5. During the brief period which elapsed before the 1:20. arrival of Governor Hunter's successor the affairs of the province were successfully administered by Schuyler, whose long familiarity with public affairs, and especially the high regard in which he was held by the Indian tribes, enabled him to carry on the government to the general acceptation of the people.
Expedition against Canada. - Effect of its failure. - Contest between the Governor and the Assembly. - Court of Chancery. - Chief Justice - Taxes on imports and tonnage duties. - Return of Governor Hunter to England. - Peter Schuyler.
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THIRD PERIOD.
He succeeded in completely restoring the relations of amity and concord between the Iroquois and the English, which had pre- viously been seriously interrupted.
6. William Burnet, son of the celebrated Bishop Burnet of England, arrived on the 17th of September, 1720, as Governor of the two provinces, and immediately entered upon his duties. He was a man of fine talents, popular in his manners, and frank and upright in all his dealings. The Assembly convened five years previously was retained in office, and signalized his ac- cession and complaisance by voting him a revenue for the ensu- ing five years. He took into his counsels, such men as Lewis Morris, Cadwallader Colden, Peter Schuyler, Gerardus Beekman, Abraham De Peyster, and William Smith, through whose influ- ence he succeeded in gaining, and for a considerable period re- taining, the public confidence.
1722. 7. To counteract the efforts which the French were secretly making through their agents - the Jesuits, mis- sionaries, and others-to secure a monopoly of the Indian trade along the northern and western frontiers, Governor Burnet, in 1722, with the sanction of the Assembly, commenced the erec- tion of a trading-post at Oswego, with the design of following it up with a line of similar posts extending from the great north- ern lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi. A convention of deputies from the several provinces assembled at Albany, and forwarded to the King a memorial strongly urging the adoption of this policy, which, however, failed to receive the royal assent, and was reluctantly abandoned.
8. A powerful opposition had in the mean time sprung 1724. up against his administration, originating in the disaf- fection of a large party of merchants and others interested in the French trading policy ; and the Assembly, imbued with this spirit, had withdrawn its confidence from its former favorite, and refused the renewal of supplies except for a period of 1727. three years. The Governor in 1727 dissolved this body ;
Renewal of friendly relations with the Indian tribes. - Arrival of Gov- ernor Burnet. - Ilis character and popularity. - French missionaries and traders. - Trading-post at Oswego. - Convention of delegates at Albany. - Memorial to the King. - Abandonment of the undertaking. - Opposi- tion to the Governor in the Assembly.
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HUNTER, BURNET, MONTGOMERIE.
but its successor proved still more unyielding and refrac- tory, and was in its turn dissolved. Through the influence of his persevering enemies Burnet was transferred, on the accession of George II., to the government of Massachusetts, and the law prohibiting the French trade repealed.
9. During this administration the first public newspa- 1729. per was established in the city of New York, by William Bradford, the government printer, under the title of the New York Gazette. It was published-weekly, at first on a half-sheet, increased during the following year to four pages.
10. The successor of Governor Burnet, John Mont- 1728-31. gomerie, entered upon his duties on the 15th of April,
1728, as Governor and Chancellor of New York and New Jersey. He was cordially welcomed by the citizens, presented with the freedom of the city in a gold box, and by the Assembly with a revenue for five years. The principal event of his brief ad- ministration was the grant, in 1730, of a new city charter. He died on the Ist of July, 1731, and was succeeded by Rip Van Dam, the eldest member of the Council, who discharged the duties of the office for thirteen months, when Colonel Wil- liam Cosby, the new Governor, arrived.
CHAPTER VI.
ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR COSBY. - TRIAL OF ZENGER.
1. COSBY's administration was tumultuous, despotic, 1732. und exceedingly obnoxious to the people. His arbitrary and avaricious disposition kept him in continual collision with the various factions into which the city and province were divided ; and his arrival at a period when liberal principles were rapidly attaining a decided ascendency, through the agency of the press and public discussion, plunged him at once into the vortex of popular dissension, and prepared the way for those decisive events which culminated in the American Revolution.
Transfer of Burnet to Massachusetts. - Repeal of the Prohibitory Act. -- Establishment of the first newspaper. - Governor Montgomerie. - Rip Van Dam. -- William Cosby.
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THIRD PERIOD.
1733. 2. His first act was the production of a royal order directing an equal division with himself of the salary of his immediate predecessor, Van Dam, during the brief period of his temporary administration. The latter expressed his assent to this arrangement, on condition that Cosby should reciprocate by an equal participation of the perquisites received by him since his appointment and previous to his assumption of office. In this demand he was supported by the popular voice, which refused to recognize the justice of heaping pecu- niary emoluments- upon favored foreigners, while depriving native-born officers of their vested rights.
3. Legal proceedings were accordingly instituted in the Su- preme Court of the province by Cosby against Van Dam for the recovery of the amount claimed. As the Governor himself was, by virtue of his office, chancellor, and two of the other judges, De Lancey and Philipse, his personal friends, exceptions were taken by the counsel for the defence against the jurisdic- tion of the court. A majority of the judges, however, against Chief-Justice Morris, overruled the exceptions, and directed the payment to Cosby of half of Van Dam's salary. Morris was promptly removed from office, and De Lancey appointed in his place, without even the formality of consulting the Council.
1734. 4. These high-handed and arbitrary proceedings of the Governor roused the public indignation to a high pitch. The popular discontent at first vented itself in squibs, lam- poons, and satirical ballads, levelled against the aristocracy, which speedily culminated in systematic attacks, through the · columns of the New York Weekly Journal, edited by John Peter Zenger - against the Governor, Council, Assembly, and Court, arraigning them in the strongest terms for a violation of the liberties, rights, and privileges of the people, for the tyran- nical assumption of arbitrary and despotie power, and for the perversion of their official stations to purposes of personal re- sentment and private emolument.
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