USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 14
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On the 4th of August, 1747, the governor informed the Assembly that Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, proposed a junction of the forces of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts for offensive operations. The whole expense, exclusive of provisions, was esti- mated at fourteen thousand pounds. The Assembly refused to act until it knew how much Connecticut and Massachusetts would contribute, but informed the governor that it would cheerfully contribute one third part of whatever expense was found necessary to carry out any well-concerted scheme for annoying the common enemy, but would not do any more.
Commissioners appointed. by the three several colonies agreed upon a plan for the combination of their forces and a division of the expenses.
On the 25th of November, 1747, the governor dissolved the As- sembly, and issued writs for a new election, the Assembly to con- vene on the 12th of February, 1748.
The new Assembly convened on that day, and Abraham Hasbrouck and Johannis Janse appeared as delegates from Ulster County.
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The agreement made for a union of the forces of the three col- onies against the enemy was not carried out, by reason of the gov- ernment of Massachusetts not approving it.
In October of that year a treaty of peace was concluded between England and France. England, by one of the articles in that treaty, restored to the French Cape Breton, the key to Canada, which had been taken by the colonists. Thus that valuable acqui- sition, won by colonial blood and treasure, was thrown away.
We have thus reached the conclusion of the war tainted with , savage murder, cruelty, and bloodshed, and the inauguration of peace with the whilom outside enemies of the colonies. Now with peace without, it becomes our duty to record a bitter but bloodless contest within upon an important question of principle between the royal executive and the representatives of the people.
The Assembly convened on the 28th of June, 1749, and the gov- ernor in his opening address, after congratulating the Assembly upon the establishment of peace, referred to the manner in which appropriations were made annually, and were not subject to the warrant of the executive. He then proceeded as follows :
"I must demand of you, Gentlemen of the Assembly, to give me an answer in direct and positive terms, previously to your going on any other business, whether you will grant his Majesty a rev- enue for support of his Government conformable to his commission and instructions to me, the copies of which I now deliver to you." The instructions referred to directed that "all moneys raised by any act " should "be issued out by warrant from you" (the gov- ernor), and that all " laws made for the supply and support of the Government should be indefinite and without limitation." "You (the governor) are not to suffer any public money whatsoever to be issued or disposed of otherwise than by warrant under your hand, by and with the advice and consent of the said council."
The Assembly replied to the governor's message, and in conclu- sion say, "that the faithful Representatives of the People could never recede from the method of an annual support."
On the 12th of July the governor delivered another message, in which he reiterated his demand, and asked a categorical answer. The Assembly on the 14th of July replied, and in conclusion say, " We must declare to your Excellency that we cannot answer it to our constituents, to pass any bill for raising money on them, and leave it to be disposed of at the will and pleasure of a Gov- ernor. And we now declare to your Excellency, that we are heartily willing to provide an honorable support for his Majesty's government in this colony, in the manner wherein it has been done ever since your Excellency came to the administra- tion (this was by annual enactments). We take leave to
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assure your Excellency, that no inconvenience, how great soever, to which our own persons or private affairs may be exposed, by means of our being kept here, shall ever prevail upon us to aban- don the true interests of our country." After considerable further discussion between the governor and the Assembly, and adjourn- ment from day to day without the transaction of any business, the governor on the 4th day of August prorogued the Assembly until the 12th day of September, 1749. It was thereafter prorogued from time to time by the governor, until his dissolution thereof on the 21st of July, 1750.
The new Assembly met on the 4th day of September, 1750, and John Hardenbergh and Johannis Janse appeared as delegates from Ulster County. The personnel of the Assembly was substantially the same as the last. There were only five changes of members, and David Jones was unanimously re-elected Speaker.
The governor and the Assembly apparently met in a much better and more conciliatory spirit than they parted at the dissolution. They exhibited a determination not to permit their differences to interfere with the proper administration of the government.
The governor in his message called the attention of the Assembly to various matters requiring immediate attention. In reference to the question at issue at the last session, he simply in substance stated that in reference to matters relating to the support of the government, and the manner of raising and issuing the public moneys, it could adopt no better rule than that contained in the governor's commission, and the royal instructions accompanying it. In the closing paragraph, he said : "I choose to shew my inclinations, to do everything in my power for the peace and pros- perity of the People of the Province, by my actions rather than my words."
The Assembly met the conciliatory course of the governor in a becoming spirit, and as its address is as brief as conciliatory, it is given entire :
" We, his Majesty's most dutiful and Loyal subjects, the Gen- eral Assembly of the Colony of New York, return your Excellency our thanks for your declaration, that you will shew by your actions rather than by words your inclination to do everything in your power for the peace and prosperity of the People of this Province ; a resolution truly worthy the Representative of our most gracious Sovereign, who has ever demonstrated, through the whole course of his glorious reign, that the good of his People is his cheerful study, and their happiness his greatest glory.
" We assure your Excellency, that we shall immediately pro- ceed to the consideration of the several particulars recommended in your Excellency's speech, and shall do therein what we conceive
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will be necessary for his Majesty's service, and the security, peace, and prosperity of this his loyal Colony."
Thus ended the unpleasant episode between Governor Clinton and the people's representatives-a contest in which both parties contended for what each believed to be its legitimate rights. The governor, following the royal instructions, demanded that the ap- propriations for the support of the government should be perma- nent in their character, so as to place the executive, in that partic- ular, independent of the people. The Assembly, on the other hand, was determined to hold and control the purse-strings, aware of the great advantage it gave to the people in the case of an arbitrary or dishonest executive.
The Assembly, on the second day of its session, passed and transmitted to the council for concurrence the requisite appropria- tion bill for the support of the government, but limited to one year in its operation. Thus at the same time that it supplied the ex- ecutive with necessary funds for the government, it adhered to the position maintained in the controversy, and in which it had been sustained by the people.
On the 25th of September, 1750, the governor transmitted to the Assembly a letter from Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, stat- ing that New York was expected to bear part of the expense of securing the fidelity of the Indians on the Ohio River. In re- sponse to which the Assembly, in its address to the governor, stated substantially that it had incurred a debt of many thousand pounds during the late war, which was unpaid ; it was not, therefore, in a condition to make the expected contribution. And as New York in the late war had defended her own frontiers, which lay between the Indians and Pennsylvania, without any assistance from that colony, she would leave Pennsylvania to attend to the Indians on the Ohio River at her own expense.
At this session one thousand pounds was appropriated to enable the governor to meet the Six Nations of Indians at Albany, and make them the usual presents. It also passed a law authorizing the justices of the peace of the county of Ulster to expend one hundred pounds repairing the jail in that county.
The Assembly was prorogued, and did not convene until the 30th of May, 1751. The governor then asked for an increased al- lowance for the Indians. The Assembly considered the amount allowed sufficient, and declined to grant any more.
The house was then prorogued until the 6th of August, but was not convened until the 8th of October, 1751.
At this session there was a renewal of the controversy between the house and the legislative council, in regard to their respective powers. The Assembly passed a bill to pay and discharge several
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demands made against the colony. The council demanded of the Assembly to be furnished with the vouchers relating to the ac- counts. The Assembly refused, considering the demand "as ex- traordinary and unprecedented." It took the ground that it was "a money bill" over which it had exclusive jurisdiction. The council refused to act without their production.
The council, at the same session, originated and passed a bill entitled " an act to apply £500 for management of Indian affairs and for repairing the garrison at Oswego." Immediately upon its receipt by the house, it was rejected, on the ground that "it in- trenches on the great essential and undoubted right of the Repre- sentatives of the People of this Colony, to begin all bills for raising and disposing of money."
Thus it will be seen that the representatives of the people, no matter in what form the question was raised, never lost sight of the great fundamental principle underlying the question of tax- ation.
The governor in his opening address to the Assembly, having asked for an additional appropriation for the Indians, it adopted an address to him informing him of the differences existing be- tween it and the council. It further stated that it " had not passed any law in regard to Indian affairs, as it had only a short time previous appropriated £1000, and was not satisfied that it had been properly expended. That while it is apprehensive that what it is desired to give will not be usefully employed in the service in which it is required, it has concluded to give nothing at all."
It then asked permission for the members to return to their families for the winter.
On the 25th of November, 1751, the Assembly was dissolved. Writs were then issued for the election of a new Assembly, to con- vene on the 15th of February, 1752.
Johannis Janse and Moses De Pui, Jr., were returned as mem- bers from Ulster County. The house was not convened until the 21th of October, 1752. After passing such acts as were necessary for carrying on the government, it was on account of the preva- lence of the small-pox prorogued. Its first meeting after that was on the 30th of May, 1753, at Jamaica, L. I. After passing a few laws in reference to financial matters, it was prorogued until the 9th of October, 1753.
Governor Clinton was recalled and appointed governor of the Greenwich Hospital, and Sir Danvers Osborne was commissioned. as Governor of New York to succeed him, and Sir James De Lancey was appointed lieutenant-governor.
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CHAPTER IX.
FROM THE ARRIVAL OF GOVERNOR OSBORNE IN 1753 TO THE CLOSE OF THE FRENCH WAR IN 1700.
S'
YIR DANVERS OSBORNE, the newly-appointed governor, ar- rived on the 7th day of September, 1753, and assumed the duties of his office. He appeared very melancholy on his arrival, and on the 12th of September committed suicide by hanging. He had then very recently met with a great domestic affliction in the loss of his wife, and thereafter had been very much depressed in spirits. He was sent to New York with the hope, on the part of his friends, that employment and change of scene would restore him, but it proved otherwise.
There is very little doubt, if any, that the prospective trials of the gubernatorial office, sure to arise under his rigid and peremp- tory instructions from the king, on the subject of the great ques- tions in difference between the king and the colony drove him to madness and self-murder.
The bold and independent stand taken by the legislative assem- blies of New York, in refusing to grant permanent salaries and appropriations for the governor and other officials, and also in withholding the keys of the treasury from the executive, and re- fusing to have the public funds therein subject to the governor's warrant, was extremely annoying to the king and his counsellors, and they determined to crush the opposition.
For that purpose they included in their instructions to Sir Danvers Osborne as governor, a peremptory order to call the coun- cil and Assembly together, and declare to them the king's high displeasure in the strongest and most solemn manner, and to en- join upon them at once to recede from all encroachments, and con- sider without delay a " proper law for a permanent revenue solid indefinite and without limitation, giving salaries to all Governors, Judges, Justices and other necessary officers, etc., .
. . and for all such other charges of government as may be fixed or ascer- tained."
The instructions further ordered that "money, raised for the supply and support of the Government, or for temporary emer- gencies, be applied, to the services for which it was raised, no other-
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wise than by the Governor's warrant." And they further ex- pressly prohibited the governor from assenting to any law based upon any other principle.
Thus was a positive issue created by royal order between the executive and legislative branch of the government, and of such character that one side or the other must yield, or the wheels of government be effectually blocked.
It is not surprising that a morbidly sensitive mind, burdened also with a great domestic affliction, should revolt at entering upon such a troublesome and unpopular contest, and lead the gov- ernor to prefer death to life.
The administration of the executive branch of the government then devolved upon Sir James De Lancey as lieutenant-governor. Upon the important questions at issue between the king and the colonial Assembly, the sympathy of Governor De Lancey was with the people. His position was therefore a trying and peculiar one. He obeyed the royal instructions to the letter, communicated them to the Legislature, and enjoined obedience, not only in the first, but in all his subsequent messages.
The Assembly continued firm in their adherence to the position it had assumed. It passed appropriation bills limited to a year, and made no change in the mode of drawing money out of the treasury. The legislative council, of course, under the peremptory instructions of the king, refused its assent. Thus matters con- tinued, neither party yielding, and, consequently, the governor received no salary.
The Assembly adopted resolutions and an address to the crown, couched in very firm and strong language, adhering to its position and giving its reasons. Governor De Lancey forwarded the address and resolutions, accompanied with a recommendation to the min- istry to recede.
This condition of things continued until the spring of 1756, nearly three years, when the English ministry yielded the point, and consented to annual appropriation bills.
Thus did the people eventually triumph, and it was, indeed, a great victory, which might not have been accomplished under a stubborn, unfriendly executive .. Governor De Lancey was a man of talents, shrewdness, and good executive ability. Notwithstand- ing the positive and peremptory instructions under which he was governed, so directly opposite to the views of the Assembly, the executive and legislative branches of the government progressed in perfect harmony and good feeling.
During his administration, and on the 14th of June, 1754, a congress of deputies from all the colonies was held in Albany to devise a union for defence against the French and Indians, who,
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notwithstanding the treaty of peace between France and England, were constantly committing depredations upon the border settle- ments. A plan of union was drawn up by Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the deputies. It was submitted to and approved by a committee, and upon its favorable report was adopted by the convention.
The plan contemplated an act of Parliament to sanction a gen- eral government over the colonies, each to retain its present consti- tution. The general government to be administered by a president- general and council to be appointed by the crown, and a grand council or house of representatives elected by the people of the colonies, convened in their assemblies respectively. The propor- tion of members for each respective province to such grand council was also prescribed. They were to meet once a year, but might be convened at any intermediate time upon emergencies.
England, through fear of the union, rejected the plan. The colonial governments disapproved of it as placing too much power in the crown. This was clearly the germ from which evolved the confederation, and subsequently the Constitution of the United States.
The action of this provincial convention toward a governmental union without doubt served to arouse the British Government from its Rip Van Winkle sleep, and convince it of the necessity of decisive and affirmative action against the Canadian-French and Indians. It perceived that the legitimate and necessary result of the continuance of its former policy to leave the battles to be fought, and conquest, if any, achieved by colonial action alone, would teach the colonies their warlike strength, and lead to a con- federate union, which might in the end result disastrously to the British rule. Thus aroused, the British ministry inaugurated an entire change of policy, and determined to assume themselves the conquest of Canada, and furnish the principal force for that pur- pose, to be aided by the colonies. Thus at the same time that they would put an end to the cruel border wars, they would themselves, and not their colonies, make, or rather, perhaps, assume the credit of making an addition of great value to their colonial possessions.
The English Government also became aware of the necessity of decisive action on their part from the energetic manner in which the French were carrying out their plans for subjecting the entire Western country to their government. They were. industriously engaged in exploring the Western country from the Canadas on the North to the Gulf of Mexico on the South, and at the same time burying possessory and discovery plates at certain distances from each other, establishing a line of fortifications extending from Canada and along the Ohio River and down to the Mississippi,
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and were also, through their agents, exerting every possible influ- ence by flattery, presents, and otherwise, to gain the affections and confidence of the natives, and excite their feelings and prejudices against the English. The ministry could not be blind to the fact that the successful accomplishment of their schemes by the French would necessarily most seriously affect the peace and safety of the entire western border of the British provinces.
It is not within the province of this work to detail at any length the events of the war resulting in the conquest of Canada by the English ; but as the avowed subject of our history was a part and parcel of the province, and many of her sons formed part of the provincial forces contributing to the successful result, some gen- eral statement may reasonably be expected.
The historical records of that date furnish so little information in regard to local troops and forces engaged, that very little infor- mation has been gathered in regard to the movements of the Kings- ton or Ulster County military connected with the invading armies.
On the 6th of. December, 1754, Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey adjourned the Assembly until the second Tuesday of March, 1755. But early in January he received advices from England which ren- dered an earlier meeting necessary, by reason of the measures determined on by his Majesty's government, in reference to the defence of the colonies. The lieutenant-governor, therefore, issued a proclamation for the reassembling of the Legislature on the 4th of February, 1755. The Assembly convened on that day, and was at once addressed by the governor and requested to make immedi- ate provision for the raising of men and money for the defence of the colonies, and aggressive action against the French and their Indian allies.
The Assembly at once proceeded to action, and on the 19th of the same month a law was perfected and enacted, the purport of which is fully explained in its title as " an act for raising a supply of £45,000 by a tax on estates, real and personal, for putting this Colony in a proper posture of defence, for furthering his Majesty's designs against his enemies in North America, and other the pur- poses thereinmentioned, for emitting bills of credit for the like sum, and for sinking and cancelling the bills in short periods."
On the 3d day of May, 1755, a further act was passed, entitled "an act for paying and subsisting eight complete companies of 100 effective men each, officers included, to assist, in conjunction with the neighboring Colonies, in erecting one or more forts nigh Crown Point within his Majesty's dominions, and for raising the sum of £10,000. for and towards said service."
And on the 11th day of September, 1755, the Legislature, for the furtherance of the same object, passed a further act, entitled
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"an act for raising £8000 to be contributed to the Colony of Con- necticut, towards the expense of reinforcement of 2000 effective men, now levying in said Colony, for the army destined against Crown Point under Major General Johnson and for emitting bills of credit," etc. So that it will be seen that this province was in no way backward in forwarding the designs of the English ministry.
The British Government, while expressing their anxiety and desire to have the benefit of the colonial money and troops in their warlike operations, could not avoid an exhibition of their feelings and inbred conviction of superiority. Their Parliament, in mak- ing provision for the conquest of Canada, passed an act declaring that all troops raised by the colonial governments, whenever acting in conjunction with British soldiers, should be governed by Eng- lish martial law. That was a fitting accompaniment to their previ- ous orders, that all officers commissioned by his Majesty or com- mander-in-chief should take precedence of those commissioned by the provinces ; and that the generals. and field officers of the pro- vincial troops should have no rank when serving with the generals and field officers commissioned by the crown. The effect of all this was to encourage and increase the insolence and contempt with which the British officers viewed and treated the provincials, and aroused feelings of disgust and hatred on the part of the pro- vincials. The Americans, of course, submitted, but before the war closed, and, indeed, at its very commencement, the British were forced to acknowledge in a number of instances their indebtedness to the superior skill of American provincial troops in border war- fare for the rescue of their forces from destruction.
It was also about this time, it is said, that " Yankee Doodle" had its origin among the wits of the British army. The army lay on the east side of the Hudson, not far from Albany, when the pro- vincial troops joined them. So odd was the appearance and accoutrements of the militia that they were the subject of ridicule to the whole British army. Dr. Shackburgh of the British forces composed a tune, which he recommended to the officers as one of the most celebrated airs of martial music. It was enthusiastically received, and in a few days nothing was heard in the provincial camp but " Yankee Doodle." In less than a quarter of a century from that time English armies laid down their arms and marched. into the American camp to the same tune, and not far from the same locality.
In 1755 General Braddock was sent with English troops to take the supreme military command in this country, and in due time. arrived in Virginia. He at once called a convention ofj the provin- cial governors at Annapolis. The plan of campaign was then.
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