USA > New York > Westchester County > Westchester county in history; manual and civil list, past and present. County history: towns, hamlets, villages and cities, Volume II > Part 5
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The following is the report of Zenger :
October 29, 1733.
"On this day, Lewis Morris, Esq., late Chief Justice of this Province, was by a majority of voices elected a Representative from the County of Westchester. It was an Election of great Expectation; the Court and the Country's interest was exerted (as is said) to the utmost. I shall give my readers a particular account of it. Nicholas Cooper, Esq., High Sheriff of the said County, having by papers affixed to the Church of Eastchester and other public places, given notice of the Day and Place of Election, without mentioning any time of the Day when it was to be done, which made the Electors on the side of the late Judge very suspicious that some Fraud was intended-to prevent which about fifty of them kept watch upon and about the Green at Eastchester (the Place of Election) from 12 o'clock the night before till the Morning of the Day. The other Electors, begin-
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ning to move on Sunday afternoon and evening, so as to be at New Rochelle by Midnight, their way lay through Harrison's Purchase, the Inhabitants of which provided for their Enter- tainment as they passed each house in their way, having a table plentifully covered for that Purpose. About midnight they all met at the house of William LeCount at New Rochelle, whose house not being large enough to entertain so great a number, a large fire was made in the Street by which they sat till daylight, at which time they began to move. They were joined on the hill at the East end of the Town by about seventy horse of the Electors of the lower part of the County; and then proceeded toward the place of Election in the following order, viz .: First rode two trumpeters and three violins; next, four of the prin- cipal Freeholders, one of which carried a banner, on one side of which was affixed in gold capitals, 'King George,' and on the other in golden capitals, 'Liberty and Law;' next followed the Candidate, Lewis Morris, Esq., then two Colours; and at sun rising they entered upon the Green at Eastchester, followed by about three hundred horse of the principal Freeholders of the County, a greater number than had ever appeared for one man since the settlement of that County.
"After having rode three times round the Green, they went to the houses of Joseph Fowler and Mr. Child, who were well prepared for their reception; the late Chief Justice was met on his alighting by several Gentleman who came there to give their votes for him. About 11 o'clock appeared the Candidate of the other side, William Forster, Esq., schoolmaster, appointed by the Society of Propagation of the Gosple, and lately made, by commission from his Excellency the present Governor, Clerk of the Peace and Common Pleas in that County; which commis- sion it is said he purchased for the valuable consideration of one hundred pistories given the Governor. Next him came two en- signs borne by two of the Freeholders; then followed the Hon- ourable James DeLancey, Esq., Chief Justice of the Province of New York, and the Honourable Frederick Phillipse, Esq., Second Judge of the said Province and Baron of the Exchequer, at- tended by about a hundred and seventy horse of the Freeholders and friends of the said Forster and the two Judges; they en- tered the Green on the East side, and riding twice round it, their word was 'No Land Tax.'
"As they passed, the second Judge civilly saluted the late Chief Justice by taking off his hat, which the late Judge re-
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turned in the same manner, some of the late Judge's party crying out 'No Excise,' and one of them was heard to say (though not by the Judge), 'No Pretender !' Upon which Fors- ter, the Candidate, replied : 'I will take notice of you!' They after that retired to the house of Mr. Baker, which was pre- pared to receive and entertain them. About an hour after, the High-Sheriff came to town, finely mounted; the housings and hostler-caps being scarlet, richly laced with silver. Upon his approach, the Electors on both sides went into the Green, where they were to elect, and, after having read his Majesty's writ, bid the Electors proceed to the choice, which they did, and a great majority appeared for Mr. Morris, the late Judge; upon which a poll was demanded, but by whom it is not known to the relator, though it was said by many to be done by the Sheriff himself.
"Morris, the Candidate, several times asked the Sheriff upon whose side the majority appeared, but could get no other reply but that a poll must be had; and, accordingly, after about two hours' delay in getting benches, chairs and tables, they began to poll. Soon after, one of those called Quakers, a man of known worth and estate, came to give his vote for the late Judge. Upon this Forster and the two Fowlers, Moses and William, chosen by him to be inspectors, questioned his having an estate, and required of the Sheriff to tender him the book to swear in due form of law, which he refused to do, but offered to take his solemn affirmation, which both by the laws of England and of this Province was indulged to the people called Quakers, and had always been practised from the first election of represen- tatives in this Province to this time, and never refused; but the Sheriff was deaf to all that could be alleged on that side ; and, notwithstanding that he was told by the late Chief Justice and James Alexander, Esq., one of his Majesty's Council and Councillor-at-Law, and by William Smith, Esq., Councillor-at- Law, that such a procedure was contrary to law, and a violent attempt of the liberties of the people, he still persisted in refus- ing the said Quaker to vote, and in like manner did refuse seven- and-thirty Quakers more-men of known and visible estates.
"This Cooper, now High-Sheriff of the said County, is said not only to be a stranger, in that County, but not having a foot of land or other visible estate in it, unless very lately granted, and it is believed that he has not where-with-all to purchase any. The polling had not long been continued before Mr. Edward Stephens, a man of a very considerable estate in the said County,
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did openly, in the hearing of all the Freeholders, there assem- bled, charge William Forster, Esq., the Candidate on the other side, with being a Jacobite and in the interest of the Pretender, and that he should say to Mr. William Willet (a person of good estate and known integrity, who was at that time present and ready to make oath to the truth of what was said), that true it was that he had not taken the oaths to his Majesty King George, and enjoyed a place in the Government under him which gave him bread; yet notwithstanding that should King James come into England he should think himself obliged to go there and fight for him. This was loudly and strongly urged to Forster's face, who denied it to be true; and no more was said of it at that time.
"About 11 o'clock that night the poll was closed, and it stood thus :
For the late Chief Justice.
231
The Quakers 38
Total.
269
For William Forster, Esq.
151
The Difference.
118
Total 269
"So that the late Chief Justice carried it by a great majority without the Quakers. Upon closing the poll the other Candidate, Forster, and the Sheriff wished the late Chief Justice much joy. Forster said he hoped the late Judge would not think the worst of him for setting up against him, to which the Judge replied he believed he was put upon it against his inclinations, but that he was highly blamable, and who did or should know better for putting the Sheriff, who was a stranger and ignorant upon such matters, upon making so violent an attempt upon the liberty of the people, which would expose him to ruin if he were worth 10,000 pounds, if the people aggrieved should commence suit against him. The people made a loud huzza, which the late Chief Judge blamed very much, as what he thought not right. Forster replied he took no notice of what the common people did, since Mr. Morris did not put them upon the doing of it. The inden- tures being sealed the whole body of Electors waited on their new Representative to his lodgings with trumpets sounding and
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violins playing, and in a little time took their leave of him, and thus ended the election to the general satisfaction."
The election of Mr. Morris caused great rejoicing in New York city, and when, on the 31st of October, he landed in that place he was saluted by a general fire of the guns from the merchant vessels lying in the harbor, and was "received by great numbers of the most considerable merchants and inhabitants of the city, and by them with loud acclamations of the people as he walked the streets, conducted to the Black Horse Tavern (northwest corner of Smith, now William street, and Garden street, now Exchange place), where a handsome entertainment was prepared for him at the charge of the Gentlemen who received him, and in the middle of one side of the room was fixed a tablet with golden Capitals, "King George, Liberty and Law."
Another notable election was that held in 1775, of the two Manors of Westchester County. The actors of the former scene had passed away, but their descendants were still arrayed in opposition, battling for important issues. In the third genera- tion the heirs of the former lords led their respective tenantry and partisans, Col. Lewis Morris on the one side and Col. Fred- erick Phillipse on the other. The question was whether the colony should be represented in full in the Second Continental Congress, about to assemble in Philadelphia. The people of Westchester County were therefore called to meet on April 11 at White Plains, to select delegates to the New York Provincial Congress, or else refuse to do so. The Royalists, or "Friends of the Government," under Phillipse, were defeated. The news of the result of the election in Westchester County was received with rejoicing all over the country, and when news was brought of the action of the White Plains convention the church bells of New York city rang out peals of joy. The White Plains convention was held a week before the battle of White Plains. The next year Col. Lewis Morris signed the Declaration of Independence.
It was Col. Lewis Morris who presided over the people's mass meeting held in the Court House, White Plains, imme- diately after news had been received of the battles of Lexing- ton and Concord. He urged the patriotic citizens of West- chester County to declare themselves on the side of those who denounced the course Parliament had pursued in opposing Eng- lish subjects in America, and to come out boldly in favor of immediate separation and armed revolution. The meeting acted
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in accordance with Col. Morris' suggestions, and decided for all time where Westchester County would stand during the com- ing struggle-committed to the patriotic cause. The meeting further elected Col. Morris as a delegate to the first Continental Congress to convene in Philadelphia, and thus he became one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The New York city subway railroad system was completed and put in operation October 31, 1906.
The recent act authorizing the condemnation of lands in pro- ceedings to enable New York city to increase its water supply, was passed in 1905.
Westchester County, or a considerable portion of it, is to be used for storage of the vast quantities of water necessary for the use of residents of the city of New York. Reservoirs of great capacity will be found in many sections in the northern and middle sections of the County, and even as far south as Yonkers. Here is where the Croton water is stored, and here will be stored the water brought down from the Catskills. New and extensive reservoirs are being constructed in readiness to receive the new supply.
A huge aqueduct, like a railroad tunnel, is to be built under- neath the city of New York, the first to be constructed under a large city, to run seventeen and a half miles through the heart of the big city. It will run far below the levels of any, subway. It is estimated that the cost will be no less than $25,000,000. It is necessary to bore through solid rock, as the walls must resist a tremendous volume of water which will come down from the Catskills, ninety-six miles away, with the force of a Niagara.
On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, was assassinated, in Ford's Theater, Wash- ington, D. C. The forty-sixth anniversary of this sad event occurred on Good Friday in 1911; a similar anniversary had not fallen upon a Good Friday sinte 1876, and it will not again until 1922.
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Reference is made of the remarkable coincidences in the lives of Abraham Lincoln, who became President of the United States, and Jefferson Davis, who became President of the so-called Confederate States, and opponents during the Civil War. Both were born in Kentucky. Lincoln in 1809, Davis in 1808, mak- ing them nearly of the same age. Both removed from their native State in their childhood. Lincoln to the Northwest, Davis to the Southwest. Lincoln was a captain of volunteers and Davis a second lieutenant of regulars in the Black Hawk War of 1832. They began their political careers the same year, 1844, Lincoln being a Presidential Elector for Clay and Davis for Polk. They were elected to Congress about the same time, 1845 and 1846. They were called to preside over their respec- tive governments the same year and within a few days; Davis over the Confederate States, February 8, 1861, and Lincoln as President of the United States, on March 4, 1861.
Davis, previous to the organization of the Confederacy, was Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Pierce, and served his State as a United States Senator. Lincoln also aspired to be a United States Senator, but was defeated by Douglas, after an heroic fight.
Congress, in the year 1885, passed an act fixing the Presi- dential succession. In case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice-President, then the Secretary of State shall act as President until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed or a President is elected. If there be no Secretary of State, then the Secretary of the Treasury will act; and the remainder of the order of succession is as follows: The Secretary of War, Attorney-Gen- eral, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Navy, and Secre- tary of the Interior. The acting President must, upon taking office, convene Congress, if not at the time in session, in extra- ordinary session, giving twenty days' notice. This act applies only to such Cabinet officers as shall have been confirmed by the Senate and are eligible under the Constitution to the Presidency.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR ORIGIN.
In dealing with the biographical annals of the County, with men of affairs, this publication has entered the political life of Nation, State and Community.
Politics is here spoken of in its broadest sense, meaning the science of government. Politics as it deals with the question of statecraft and the regulation of the public affairs of the Nation, the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity, the defense of its rights and territory from foreign control and conquest, and the increase of its own strength and resources. One who is well versed in this science is a politician in the highest sense of the word. The term politician, as just defined, is synonymous with that of statesman.
The existence of at least two political parties is believed to be required under our form of government; as it is, apparently, necessary that citizens range themselves on one side or the other in discussion of political questions that generally develop differences of opinion, even upon the simplest governmental propositions.
A good citizen will familiarize himself with politics concern- ing his country. To become conversant with politics does not require making politics a business to the exclusion of other vocations, and becoming classified as a " Practical Politician," a title much abused.
It has been urged, and properly too, that the man endowed with the elective franchise who does not exercise the same, should have the privilege of voting taken from him. There are some of this sort, we regret to say, who will not vote at a political election, because they are fearful that asso- ciation with politics might prove contaminating. Should not the franchise be taken from them that they be freed from temptation ?
The right of voting is one of the most valuable prerogatives of citizenship, and the duty of voting and taking part in public affairs should never be neglected by patriotic citizens.
Such, who might be voters and take part in the civic life, if they desire to be good citizens, are often the loudest in lament-
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ing over what they term a fact that " the best men are not elected to public office." In this connection the question might be asked, what have they done to bring about a better state of affairs? Are they willing to accept a public trust, to devote valuable time to the service of their fellow citizens, that better conditions may be inaugurated ? Does not the unjust criticism of public officials furnish cause for " the higher grade " of citizens being reluctant about accepting public positions, and subjecting themselves to the too common suspicion that an official becomes such owing to a desire for private gain or to commit some flagrant wrong ?
As has been wisely said, an official cannot be expected to be superior in tone to the community which has elected him as its representative.
Would not the way to better conditions be found in stopping fault finding and in the enlistment of every good citizen in the work of securing faithful discharge of public trusts? Let not your excuse be, " other people's business is not my business." That laws be observed and good citizenship prevail, that the protection of your family and the peace of your neighbor be maintained, should prove incentive enough for the average man taking interest in public affairs.
President Butler of Columbia College, in a recent address, said: " If the decent people of America would begin to-morrow to do things which their private beliefs and their public pro- fessions require, the sum total of the world's comfort and happiness would be marvelously increased before sunset. Let us put a bounty on good citizenship by giving to it great influence, by rendering it high honor, and by holding it in incomparable esteem. Let these standards be set early in the home and in the school. Before all else, keep the inspiring maxim, liberty under law, before every American child, and as he grows in power of appreciation see that he understands what it means and involves.
" The perpetuation of democracy depends upon the existence in the people of that habit of will which is justice. Liberty under law is the process for attaining justice which has thus far been most successful among civilized men. The call to citizenship is a call to the exercise of liberty under law, a call to the limitation of liberty by law, and a call to the pursuit of justice, not only for one's self, but for others."
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A good, law-abiding citizen will take interest in public affairs that he may aid in upholding law, and secure liberty and justice, not only for himself, but for others.
Governor Hadley, of Missouri, in an address recently deliv- ered before the Missouri University Alumni Association, recom- mended the establishment of a school of politics.
" When I was in school I was taught not to run for office," said he. " That is the reason I moved to Missouri, for I thought I would be immune here. The university should be kept out of partisan politics. I should add another school to your great university, a school of politics. I would put at the head of it the most experienced and most proficient politician in the State. I would choose a high-minded and an honest man, one who places principle above party and righteousness above success. Politics is an honorable and can be an honest calling."
Citizens living under a popular form of government should be interested in politics and public questions, that an enlightened public opinion may be created and maintained which will correct the faults of government, guide the acts of public officials and counteract the evils which are likely to result from dishonest or incompetent management of public affairs.
Differences of opinion on political questions create divisions in the large body of electors. From the formation of a union of those, whose opinions are similar, is born what we know as political parties. The mission of the political party, as gen- erally understood, is to secure the ascendency of their party ideas and the election to public office of candidates who will carry out a particular political policy. Political party man- agement is directed by leaders, or what is familiarly known as " the organization," in every State, county, city and munici- pality throughout the country.
As a general rule, each of the political parties endeavor to nominate for public office men of recognized worth and integ- rity; men with unblemished reputations in the community where they have been long known, and, in many instances, where they have resided for a life time. Against whom it is believed not one word detrimental to his private or public char- acter could be uttered. Yet, after the nomination most scan- dalous stories are put in circulation picturing nominees of all parties as the most disreputable and undesirable citizens that could be found. That these circulated stories are proven to be the basest kind of falsehoods, manufactured for political
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effect, does not make it more gratifying to the candidate who finds he has little redress against moral assassins. Perhaps the utterance of untruths is expected to be excused on the score of " campaign hysteria." There is no excuse to be accepted for it. Those who instigate criminal libel, who mistake freedom of expression for license, are striking at the very basis of our political system, and drastic means of punishment should be provided.
EARLY ORGANIZATION OF PARTIES.
The formation of political parties commenced with the first session of Congress held after the adoption of the Constitution, and the discussion of questions of taxation developed the issue upon which citizens divided. We have seen that the failure of government under the Articles of Confederation was due largely to the fact that the general government had no power to raise money by taxation. Accordingly, one of the first problems which presented itself to the new government was to devise a system of taxation which would secure sufficient revenue to meet the expense of government, and at the same time would not prove too burdensome to an impoverished people.
Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, and upon him devolved the duty of solving the problem. The task was a delicate one, owing to the fact that many citizens had seriously opposed the adoption of the Constitution, because they feared that taxation under the Federal Government would be excessive and ruinous to citizens already overburdened with local taxes.
The methods of taxation introduced by Hamilton were sub- stantially the same as the system now in vogue, viz., duties on imported goods and internal revenue taxes upon a few articles of domestic production, such as whiskey and tobacco. The system of direct taxation, by levying a duty on imported goods, excited no opposition on the part of the citizen, because it is a tax which is paid in the form of an enhanced price placed upon the imported goods. This method of taxation has been constantly in use as a means of raising a national revenue, solely because the people who pay the taxes do not realize that they are doing so, and consequently make no complaint of the burdens of taxation.
The individual, when he considers his tax relations with the government, may realize that the government taxes the blanket
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he is wrapped up in when he is born. It taxes the lumber in the roof that covers his head. It taxes the food that he eats, the clothes that he wears, the coffin in which he is buried and the humble gravestone that bids him rest in peace with the hope of a glorious resurrection.
The system of internal revenue taxation devised by Hamilton provoked serious opposition from the outset, which culminated in the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania. This insur- rection was quelled by the Federal Army, and thereafter the opposition adopted the more reasonable methods of discussion to accomplish its objects.
The measures recommended to Congress by Alexander Ham- ilton covered a variety of subjects bearing upon the policy to be pursued by the new government, such as the raising and collection of revenue, estimates of the income and expenditures of the government, the regulation of the currency, navigation laws, the Post Office Department and the public lands. Dealing more particularly with the financial policy of the government, he devised the system of taxation already mentioned, made an exhaustive report upon the public credit, wherein he prepared a plan for refunding and finally paying the entire indebtedness of the United States, as well as the debts contracted by the different States during the Revolutionary War.
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