USA > Rhode Island > History of Rhode Island > Part 24
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The body was landed from the John Adams, where it had been removed from the schooner, under a salute of minute guns from that ship. When it reached the shore, the Fort of St. Andrews continued the ceremony, until the long procession, ac- companied by the band of the 3d West India regiment, playing the dead march in Saul, reached the burial place. After the funeral, the following card was published by the American offi- cers :
" The officers of the United States vessels, John Adams and
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VIOLENT GALE.
Nonsuch, tender their grateful acknowledgments to the inhabi- tants of Port Spain, for their kind and respectful attention to the funeral rites bestowed on the body of their late Commander, Commodore Perry."
The disposition manifested by all classes, was highly in uni- son with their feelings, and merited their warmest thanks.
Commodore Perry, at the time of his death, was engaged in executing the duties of a " highly flattering command, involv- ing diplomatic and naval functions of critical nicety and impor- tance." President Monroe, in his message to Congress in De- cember following, referring to several acts and orders for the protection of our commerce, and the suppression of the slave trade, says, " In the execution of the duty imposed by these acts, and of high trust connected with it, it is with deep regret I have to state the loss which has been sustained by the death of Commodore Perry. His gallantry in a brilliant exploit in the late war, added to the renown of his country; his death is deplored as a national misfortune."
The remains of Commodore Perry arrived at Newport from Trinidad, in the sloop of war Lexington, and were landed on Overing's Wharf, on Monday, Nov. 27, 1826, and on the follow- ing Monday, Dec. 4th, were interred in the common burial place, with the honors due to his rank and character. The mil- itary companies of Providence, Pawtucket, and Bristol, attend- ed the procession with the companies of Newport. The Gov- ernor, and other officers of the State, with several distinguished naval and military officers, were present, and the vast assem- blage of citizens testified their respect to the character of their fellow-townsman. The State of Rhode Island has since erect- ed a monument in honor of the memory of this lamented and gallant officer.
The 23d of September, 1815, was rendered memorable by a most awful and destructive gale, which swept away and laid prostrate almost everything in its course. The Newport Mer- cury says : "The gale commenced early in the morning, at north- east, and continued increasing in violence, the wind varying from northeast to southcast, and southwest, until about eleven o'clock, when it began to abate, and about one o'clock the danger from the wind and tide was over." At Newport, the tide rose three feet and a half higher than it had ever been known before
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
Two dwelling houses, and nine stores and workshops, on the Long Wharf, were swept away by the violence of the wind and tumult of the waves; and those that withstood the power of this desolating scourge, were rendered almost untenable, by vessels, lumber, &c., driving against them. Several of the stores carried away, contained a considerable amount of pro- perty, nearly the whole of which was lost.
In one of the buildings carried away on the Long Wharf, five persons perished. The wharves on the Point, and most of the stores with them, were swept away. The wharves in other parts of the town, also, with the stores on them, sustained con- siderable injury, and everything moveable on the wharves was swept away. In some of the stores, the water was four feet deep.
A large three-story store, containing hemp, flour, &c., was lifted from its foundation, and floated into the harbor. The steeples of the 1st and 2nd Congregational churches were par- tially blown down, and the roofs of the Episcopal and First Con- gregational churches were partly carried away. At the Beach, the storm was sublimely awful ; the sea broke sixty feet, extend- ing to Easton's pond. Mr. John Irish, who had repaired to the beach to secure his boats and seines, was swept away and per- ished.
The stone bridge, connecting the Island with Tiverton on the main, was damaged to the amount of $20,000, and rendered wholly impassable. The draw and toll-house were carried away; a new channel, about three hundred feet wide, was made at the West end of the bridge, and where the toll-house had stood, the water was thirty feet deep at low tide. The light-house on Point Judith was swept away, with several other houses in its vicinity. The Rhode Island Republican says : " So great and general has been the devastation of property, that it is found impossible to give a correct account of the ex- tent of the damage."
After the storm, it was found that the outside of windows were covered with a fine salt, conveyed from the ocean through the air. This was also noticed for many miles inland, after the gale. The shipping in the harbor were driven from their an- chorage, and went ashore. Some lying at the wharves, were lifted on them by the violence of the wind and tide, and left
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INSTITUTIONS CREDITABLE TO THE TOWN.
there. Four sloops were thrown on the Long Wharf, and a sloop loaded with wood went over the wharf into the cove. No one, unless they had been a spectator of the scene, could form an adequate conception of its wide spread desolations. If the tide had not turned as it did, it would have swept everything before it.
INSTITUTIONS HIGHLY CREDITABLE TO THE TOWN.
There have been many improvements made in and about Newport, of late years, and there are several flourishing insti- tutions, highly creditable to the town. Among them the Sav- ings' Bank, the Asylum for the Poor, and the Public Schools stand the most prominent. The Savings' Bank of Newport was incorporated by Charter granted by the General Assembly at the June session, 1819, and went into operation soon after. It is a singular circumstance that the success of similar estab- lishments in other places, induced a philanthropic citizen to pro- cure every information necessary for the establishment of a Savings' Bank in Newport ; when, by an article published in one of the newspapers of the town, he invited those who were inclined to favor the undertaking, to meet at the State House, and take the subject into consideration. At this meeting, ten or twelve persons only assembled; they chose a chairman and secretary, and the information that had been received was com- municated. A committee of correspondence was appointed to obtain further information from similar establishments, and the meeting adjourned. There were several subsequent meetings, at which not more than six or seven persons, including the chairman and clerk, attended. At these meetings, the commit- tee of correspondence reported progress, and the meeting was adjourned from time to time, until the charters, by-laws, &c., of several institutions of the kind had been received, and every necessary information obtained and reported by the committee of correspondence. A committee of three was then appointed to draft a charter for the Savings' Bank of Newport, and a pe- tition to the General Assembly to pass an act granting it, and a committee was appointed to obtain signatures to the petition,
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. and present it to General Assembly. Notice was given in the papers when the next meeting would be held, and the object of . it ; and all who were favorable to the project were invited to attend. This caused a meeting of a considerable number of citizens who were favorable to the undertaking, but who had not before attended the meetings. They were pleased with the plan, and the progress made in the establishment, and joined heartily in its support. At this period, a number of the Directors of the Banks in Newport came forward, and used every argument in their power to persuade those who origina- - ted the project, and those who had united with them, to aban- don it -- assigning as a reason, that there would not be sufficient deposited to render it profitable. The charter was granted, and at the first meeting of the Corporation, twenty-four Direc- tors were chosen, all of whom, except one, accepted the appoint- ment. At a subsequent meeting of the Directors, they elected a President, and appointed a Treasurer and Secretary, and the Savings' Bank of Newport went into operation. At the first meeting of the Board, more than $1,000 had been deposited. Since its establishment, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been deposited, and occasionally withdrawn with interest, by depositors. At this time, September, 1850, the number of de- posits are near one thousand (nine hundred and eighty-six), and the amount in deposits is $163,395. The depositors are chiefly minors, girls out at service, laborers, seamen, and operatives in the manufactories, saved from their earnings. The money de- posited is invested in bonds and mortgage on real estate, and in bank stock. The interest on the sum now in deposit amounts, at 6 per cent., to over $0,800 per year. The institution, since its establishment, has never paid less than 5 per cent. interest per annum, to the depositors. At this time, and for some time past, a semi-annual dividend is declared, of 3 per cent on all sums that have been in three months after a dividend has been declared; that which is not called for is, at the end of three months, added to the sum deposited by each depositor. The institution is well managed, and has attained a high reputation The philanthropic citizen who first proposed its establishment, is a descendant from one of the ancient families of Newport, born before the Revolution, being now near eighty years of age.
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ASYLUM FOR THE POOR.
He was chosen as one of the first Directors of the Bank, and has been annually reelected from that time to the present.
THE ASYLUM FOR THE POOR.
This is an establishment worthy of commendation and praise, as a humane institution, highly creditable to the town. The former Poor establishment was, for many years, an alms- house and work-house connected. It was located on the west side of the common burying ground, where the abject poor, the lame, the blind, and the insane were sent by the overseers of the poor. Those who were able to do something towards their support, were employed (by the keeper appointed by the town) in the work-house, in spinning, picking oakum, &c. To those whose feelings of humanity induced them occasionally to visit the establishment, the inmates always complained of ill fare, and of not having sufficient food. Be this as it may, they were meanly clad, and all who were sent there went stricken with the idea that their next removal would be to the adjacent burial ground. A part of those who were able to hobble out, were allowed daily, except Sundays, to roam the streets in their rags, and the town was constantly, to its disgrace, infested with beg- gars, to the great annoyance of the citizens and visiting stran- gers. Those poor who could partly support themselves by their labor, were allowed pensions by the town, of from fifty cents to a dollar a week, to aid them in their support, which, together with the alms-house expenses, occasioned a heavy tax on the people, of which they complained, but knew not how to remedy. It was for many years in contemplation to alter and improve the plan of the establishment for the poor, and the mode of their support. Many plans were suggested from time to time, but none that met with general approbation ; they were generally objected to, as being more expensive in their erection and support than the town could afford. At length, the same philanthropic and humane citizen who first proposed the establishment of the Savings' Bank, and who by his perse- verance had got it into successful operation, encouraged by the favor with which it had been received by the public, after ob-
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
taining information in regard to the establishments for the poor, and the manner and expense of their support, in various places, communicated the information obtained to those acquaintances who were favorable to an improvement in the condition of the poor, and proposed a plan which was approved. It was pro- posed that a new house should be built for the accommodation of the poor, in a suitable location, with land attached, on which those who were able to work might be profitably employed ; to do away with the odious idea of an alms-house; to call it " The Newport Asylum for the Poor"; to abolish the pension system, and oblige all who required aid from the town to go to the Asylum for their support.
This plan being arranged, a Town Meeting was called, at which it was submitted for the consideration of the freemen ; the meeting was numerously attended, and the plan was gene- rally approved, and a committee appointed to visit several lots belonging to the town, and also Coaster's Harbor Island, and to recommend such a location as they should think most suitable for the establishment.
The committee, at the suggestion of the projector of the plan, first visited Coaster's Harbor Island, and after considering the advantages and disadvantages of the place, unanimously recom- mended it, on every account, as the most suitable place for its location.
At a subsequent Town Meeting, the report of the committee was received and approved, and a building committee appointed to draw a plan of said building, and estimate the expense. The edifice was to be built of stone, of which there was abundance on the spot. The projector of the plan was one of that com- mittee, and drew the plan and elevation of the Asylum, which the Town adopted, and according to which it was erected, with the exception of the cupola, which was objected to as an un- necessary expense, but has since been added. The plan of the building is considered admirably calculated for the purpose for which it was intended, containing every necessary apartment for the accommodation of the poor, as well as the family of the keeper, and ample room for the whole.
Coaster's Harbor Island, on which the Newport Asylum is erected, belonged to the Town ; it contains about ninety acres of upland, and the shore affords an abundance of sea manure.
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ASYLUM FOR THE POOR.
Those who are able to labor are employed upon the farm, which is in a good state of cultivation, and the products go far towards the support of the establishment.
The island is situated about one mile north of the compact part of the town, and separated from it by water, which is not fordable, about ten rods wide, which prevents the inmates of the Asylum from visiting the town without permission.
The Asylum was completed, and ready for the reception of the poor in 1822 ; before their removal to their new habitation, they were well cleaned, and clad, and left their dirt at the old establishment. The pension system was abolished, and all those pensioners, who chose to avail themselves of the support offered them, were removed to the new establishment. The citizens of Newport have the pleasure to enjoy the complete ยท success of the new system, as an amelioration of the condition of the poor, as well as a great saving of expense in their sup- port; and to see them well supplied with wholesome food, comfortably lodged and clothed, and the town relieved from the disgrace of having the streets infested with beggars, as formerly, to the great scandal of the citizens and annoyance to strangers.
No spot can be more charmingly situated than the one selected ; it rather resembles the country-seat of a gentleman, than an Asylum for the poor. Let the interior resemble the exterior.
As this Asylum was established expressly for the improve- ment of the condition of the virtuous poor, the vicious and the unprincipled should be kept separate, and not suffered to asso- ciate with them, or to eat at the same table. Let the Com- missioners labor to make this institution a model, worthy of imitation by every city and town in the country.
The whole establishment, including land, is worth about $15,000. The Overseer of the Poor distributes the rent of a lot of land, containing about seven acres, left by Mr. Freebody, and also the interest of the " Derby Fund," to such persons as he may think proper. And, the Commissioners of the Asylum distribute, in the same way, the dividends of one share in the New England Commercial Bank, left by the late Mrs. Sarah Redwood.
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
We have already alluded to the interest which was taken by the town of Newport, in the promotion of education, as early as 1640 ; and private schools have ranked as high in this place as that of any section of the country.
The Newport Academy, Col. Levi Tower, Principal, had a very extensive popularity. Students from the South, as well as the New England States, were to be found under his instruc: tion and guidance. The higher, as well as the common branches of education were taught. In penmanship the pupils excelled. Many of them are occupying places in counting- houses, banks, &c., in the various cities in the Union. Once a week, the older male scholars engaged in declamation, at which their parents, and other spectators were present, and who were both highly amused and gratified. It is no flattery to say of Col. Tower, that the school under his supervision, has never been excelled, if equalled, by any other in the State. It was the ne plus ultra !
In March, 1825, the freemen of Newport decided, by vote, to establish free schools in the town; and a Committee, in May following, recommended to erect two school houses, to obtain the Church school house, and thus establish three free schools in the town.
In 1820, a Committee of the town reported on a resolu- tion of the General Assembly of this State, calling on the several towns for information on the subject of free schools, and recommended that the town instruct their representatives in General Assembly, to unite their efforts, to procure an act for such a general system of public schools, as in their wisdom they may devise.
On the 14th of July, 1826, the corner stone of the town school house, No. 1, was laid by Lieutenant-Governor Charles Collins. The Rev. Mr. Gammell offered an appropriate prayer on the occasion.
A Committee was appointed in April, 1826, to investigate and enquire into money, said to be due from the town, for or on account of school lands. In their report they say, " The undersigned, a Committee of said town, appointed on the 3d of
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REPORT ON SCHOOL LANDS.
September, 1825, to inquire into the evidence of the title of the town of Newport to the Newtown, or school lands, on the sub- ject of which lands a former Committee reported on the 16th of May last, from which report, and other representations then made, some of the freemen were induced to believe that the town received the aforesaid land as a gift, on condition to apply the whole income to the education of the youth of said town, and that the town was, in law and equity, bound for the faith- ful performance of the same ; and as the town had sold most of the lands in question soon after the Revolutionary War, to pay the debts of the town, they must now make good by taxation the trust committed to them by the donor. It was also reported by that Committee, that the town was indebted to said education fund, in the sum of $51,283 34." The Com- mittee, after detailing sundry acts and resolutions of the town, relative to said Newtown or school lands, gleaned from the old mutilated records of the town, among which is a report of a Committee made to the town in 1763, which Committee say, " Upon examining the town records, we found that the said land was purchased by the town of one Bartholomew Hunt, the 17th day of December, 1661, for which they gave him in exchange a lot of one hundred acres, now lying in Middletown." They say, " Thus it appears that the town, in the year 1661, exchanged one hundred acres for the tract since called New- town, or school land, being the property in question. If your Committee were allowed in any conjecture respecting the hundred acres exchanged, they submit the subjoined extract, from 'Callender's Centenary Sermon,' acknowledging at the same time, that it is but a connection of remote and detached circumstances, resting as much on possibilities as probabilities." The extract from Callender's Sermon has been already noticed, in a former part of this work, showing that the town appro- priated one hundred acres of land, for a school, for the encou- ragement of the poorer sort to train up their youth in learning, &c., at an early period of the settlement.
In March, 1827, the town passed an act to establish a School Fund, and appointed three Commissioners of said fund ; one to go out every year, and a new one to be chosen in his place, who are to receive all donations and bequests thereafter given for public schools, as also the bequest of the late Constant
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
Taber ; likewise all moneys received for licenses, auction tax, and estates taken by the town for want of known heirs ; and directed that the remainder of the said Newtown lot be sold, and the proceeds placed in the fund.
During the January session of 1829, theGeneral Assembly of Rhode Island, appropriated $10,000 per ann., for the support of public schools, to be paid over to the several towns, according to their respective population, under the age of sixteen years ; and authorizing the several towns to raise by tax, in each year, as the majority of the freemen in Town Meeting shall judge proper, a sum not exceeding double the amount to be received out of the general Treasury. The number of schools have since been increased.
On July 4th, 1826, Major John Handy read the Declaration of Independence, from the steps of the State House, in New- port, that being the place where, fifty years before, it was read to the people by the same gentleman. The steps were deco- rated with an arch of flowers. Major Handy addressed the multitude as follows : " My respected fellow-citizens,-at your united request, I appear before you in this public station, at an age when it would seem advisable that I should remain a silent spectator of the performances of this day, a day which, half 2 century past, secured to us our independence and prosperity ; and no nation more prosperous ! My own feelings on this occasion I have sacrificed, to gratify your wishes. The recol- lection of past scenes of the last fifty years, rushes in succession on my mind, with a hope and belief that the mantle of charity will be thrown over my imperfections ; and under that impres- sion I shall proceed to the performance of the part required of me." After the Declaration was read, a hymn was sung in the tune of " Old Hundred," the whole multitude uniting their voices, with a fervency and zeal which gave it a most sublime and happy effect.
It is a most painful truth, and one from which the heart recoils with horror, that the course which has been pursued for a few years by a certain class, calling themselves Philanthro- pists, has had an indirect tendency to nearly, or quite, oblite- rate from the mind of the rising generation, all remembrance of the glorious events connected with American Independence. Such profess to have the entire monopoly of all the benevolence,
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OUR NATIONAL JUBILEE.
but which is rather the product of ambition, a desire of self- aggrandizement even at the expense of the liberties of the Union. The roar of cannon, accompanied with the soul-stirring sound of martial music, animating the heart of every true patriot, who loves liberty in preference to slavery, and the free exercise of his mind to all the vain honors and distinctions which wealth confers, if purchased by the relinquishment of his inalienable rights, dearer by far to him than even life itself-has no charms for such stoical minds.
We have no hesitation in saying that the abolition of the Christian Sabbath, would not more effectively efface from the heart all regard to the precepts of Jesus Christ, and render the land a waste howling wilderness, and the people mere heathens, . than the forgetfulness and neglect of observing the national jubilee, would go to the overthrow of the liberties of this coun- try. It is by a recurrence to the event that the flame of liberty is fanned and made to burn more brightly on the altar of the heart. Auspicious day ! let the mind of every American ascend to heaven in triumphant songs of praise ! Let the bugle sound loud and long, through the vallies and reverberate over the hills of our dear native Isle : " Independence now ! and Independ- ence forever !"
No day in the calendar ever gave us such intense delight, as the Fourth of July, when party spirit becomes merged in the one glorious event. It was the social meeting of the American brotherhood on the broad platform of universal liberty and the rights of man. But in some sections how changed the scene ! Shall the political horizon continue to be dimmed by one cloud to mar the festivities of the day ? Rather let us regard the views entertained by the elder Adams, the Colossus of Ameri- can liberty, and not suffer his prophetic language to fail of its accomplishment :
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