USA > Rhode Island > History of Rhode Island > Part 26
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Oppression is contrary to the very nature of man's being." God created the mind originally free ; and it is an act of usurpation which should be frowned down most indignantly, whenever our natural rights are invaded.
The original settlers of the Island possessed, in a very high degree, the principles of civil and religious liberty, and to their precept and example we may trace some of the same spirit which exists among the people at the present day. Our fore- fathers had not only felt the hand of oppression in the mother country ; but they had also experienced it from their lordly breth- ren in Massachusetts, and hence they felt constrained to flee to
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
a spot where the standard of liberty could be unfurled, and under its broad shelter an asylum found for the persecuted and the oppressed of every clime. We trust that we shall not be chargeable with vanity or prejudice, in reasserting that the peo- ple of the Island were the most truly republican in their man- ners, of any portion of the maritime towns of New England. In this, we have the concurrence of enlightened minds, whose extensive observation of the world has given weight to their opinions.
Among the earliest records of legislation in Rhode Island, we find an act guarding the right of private opinion, and free discussion. In the preamble, they say, "That to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his power into the field of opinions, and restrain the profession or propagation of principles, on the supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty ; because he, being judge of that tendency, will make his own opinions the rule of judg- ment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others, only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break forth into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail, if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist of error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human power disarmed of her natural weap- ons, free argument and debate."
Such sentiments are worthy to be inscribed, in letters of gold, on our halls of legislation, showing the principles of liberty which were ingrained in the hearts of the early settlers of this Island. God grant that we, their descendants, may cherish and perpetuate the same glorious principles, and never prove recre- ant to the sacred trust committed to our care.
Nor were these rights, nor any part of them, relinquished by our venerable predecessors, when they entered the confederacy. They surrendered no inalienable rights ; they made no compro- mise of the liberty " to know, utter, and argue freely," any of the great principles of civil and religious freedom on which the colony was founded. And when Rhode Island subscribed to and adopted the Constitution of the United States, the voice of freedom echoed from the halls of her convention, proclaiming,
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ASSENT TO THE CONSTITUTION.
with trumpet tongue, "that there are certain natural righrs of which men, when they form a social compact, cannot deprive their posterity, among which are the enjoyment of life and lib- erty, with the means of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. That all men have an equal, natural, and inalienable right to the exercise of religion according to the dictates of their own consciences. That the people have a right to freedom of speech and of writing, and publishing their sentiments; that freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and ought not to be violated.
" Under these impressions," say they, "and declaring that the rights aforesaid cannot be abridged, and that these declara- tions are consistent with the Constitution, we, the said dele- gates, in the name and in the behalf of the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, do by these pres- ents assent to and ratify the said Constitution."
Such sentiments as these are democratic in the highest sense of the term, and should admonish those who would seek to cur- tail in the least the liberties of the people, that they have for- gotten their sires, and the sacred principles which they promul- gated. Their names should be inscribed high on the roll of fame, to be admired and esteemed by their descendants. As so little has been said of Clark and Coddington, by writers who have undertaken to dwell on the history of Rhode Island, we have indulged more at length on their characters, in order to place their names in the front rank instead of in the rear.
It is a most singular fact that the grave of Roger Williams, the founder of the Plantations, is unknown to this day.
In reviewing the past mercies of God towards our fathers, we have abundant cause of gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise. They came to this Island to rear the temple of civil and reli- gious liberty. No selfish purpose actuated them in leaving the fatherland ; it was not to increase their worldly honors that they sacrificed home, with all its endearments. Higher and no- bler considerations influenced them. It was to establish an asylum where liberty, the birth-right of man, might be more fully enjoyed than it was in the land of their birth.
And the principles which they cherished in their own bosoms, and which they scattered broadcast among the people, have
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
been transmitted down to the present generation. Reflections, however, have been cast on the want of intelligence among the peo- ple, as well as the looseness of ourreligious principles, by a class of bigots and sectarians. But the moral virtues which guided the inhabitants of the Island were as pure and as unmixed as those of any section of the country.
Dr. Mather, a little more than a century ago, said, " Rhode Island was occupied by Antinomians, Anabaptists, Quakers, Ranters, and everything else, but Roman Catholics and Chris- tians; and if any man has lost his religion, he may find it in this general muster of opinions-in this Gawzzim of New Eng- land, this receptacle of the convicts of Jerusalem, and the out- casts of the land."
Now, to us of the present day, such intolerant and abusive language, from a professed believer in Christ, sounds strangely in our ears ; yet the age in which he lived is some apology for his singular and unaccountable conduct. But no apology can now be offered for the sensorious remarks which have often been made in relation to our civil and religious institutions, by a class of unprincipled bigots, who view everything through a distorted medium.
Considering her geographical extent, with the number of her inhabitants, Rhode Island can justly lay claim to having pro- duced as many distinguished minds as that of any section of the Union. Call it arrogance, if you please to indulge such a thought. We feel called upon to frown down with the most sovereign con- tempt, the interlopers who dare cast aspersions on her fair fame, whether they be agents of religious bodies, or school teachers whose pride has been elated by receiving the patronage of the people.
Ignorance at home, where they are best known, is profound knowledge when the soil of Rhode Island is pressed ; and it is owing to this cause alone, of strangers having been preferred to enlighten the dark minds of Rhode Islanders, that the false im- pression has been given.
We trust, for the honor of the State, this disgrace will soon be remedied, and the stigma of reproach wiped from our escut- cheon. We have no wish to deny that we had our birth and education on the Island of Rhode Island, where the glorious principles of liberty were first taught, and where none is ac- 'counted a delinquent in matters of religion. Happy, thrice
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SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE.
· happy spot ! we will cherish in fond remembrance those sainted patriots, whose mouldering ashes now repose in the fairest gem of the ocean. The hallowed influence of their principles has leavened this mighty nation, and neutralized, if not subdued, the dark malignant spirit of bigotry and superstition, religious intolerance and persecution.
Our fathers understood the true principles of government- they acknowledged the sovereignty of the people. This is the basis of a republican form of government, and should be guard- ed with the most scrupulous care, as on this hinge turns our political freedom. Abandon this vital principle, and our glorious temple of liberty, reared by the hands and cemented by the blood of our patriot fathers, would crumble to pieces, and its funeral dirge be chanted throughout the world.
This is an admirable feature in our Constitution, that a re- dress of grievances lays with the people. Deny this position, and you at once hurl us back to the dark period, when the land was governed by a sovereign tyrant, at whose dictation the people must bow and do fealty; and the conclusion to which we unavoidably arrive by admitting this political dogma, is, that our Revolutionary forefathers were a body of insurgents, and throughout every step in the great moral and physical enter- prise of attempting to break the fetters which bound us to Great Britain, were wholly unauthorized by every principle of justice and equity-and as an act of atonement for past wrongs, should lead the nation at once to recognize the supremacy of Queen Victoria, as the legitimate and rightful sovereign of the land, and thereby wipe from our escutcheon the infinite wrongs of which we have been guilty.
In the view of enlightened and liberal minds, they can never tolerate the idea, that absolute power should be vested in any one man, or body of men, to be exercised according to their discre- tion, over the rights and liberties of others. It is an assumption of power, which the light of science wherever enjoyed, will not for a moment sanction. It must, however, be admitted that there is a want of moral courage prevalent at this day, more especially in the New England States, which often gives to minorities the complete ascendency. We feel called upon to enter our solemn protest against such imbecility and weakness, derogatory to the character of man, which threatens the over-
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
throw of our social, political, and religious liberties, which have been purchased at the expense of the blood of our fathers.
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It is far better to suffer nobly the " pangs of outrageous for- tune," with a mind free and untrammelled, than to bask in the sunshine of worldly prosperity, a mere slave ; for slavery of the mind is far more to be deprecated than that of the body. We are legally and constitutionally bound to respect our rulers, whenever their acts are in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Constitution. But when the principles embodied in the Magna Charta, are not complied with, that moment they tran- scend the power lodged in their hands, and disregard the wishes of their constituents, and render their acts obnoxious to the people, and vox populi should be raised that their places may be filled with better men, who will labor to promote the interest of the whole people, and not legislate merely for the few.
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DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC LANDS.
This age is distinguished in some measure by endeavoring to grant facilities to the poorer classes, to enable them to subsist more comfortably than they do at present ; hence the distribu- tion of the public lands to actual settlers is now strongly advo- cated by many whose patriotism extends beyond their own sel- fish interest. And it behoves the Legislatures of each of the respective States of the Confederacy to authorize their repre- sentatives in Congress to use their influence in bringing about this highly important and meritorious object, and not permit the waste land to be monopolized by speculators. Many of the States, to their praise be it said, have also passed the Homestead Exemption Law, where the value does not exceed from five hundred to a thousand dollars. This is a humane and chari- table act, and should be followed by every state in the Union. It is for the people to straighten what is now crooked, and to right what is at present wrong. These should be made the test questions in our future elections, as being of infinitely more im- portance to the interest of the people, than the tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee. Let not a craven spirit continue to influence the minds of the people of Rhode Island, for it is too humiliating to
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SALUBRITY OF THE CLIMATE.
witness man, elevated as he is above all the works of God, fear- ful of acting out the sentiments of his heart, for fear of the opinion which some worm of the dust may entertain of him, which may possibly endanger his temporary interest. Let the language of David to his son Solomon, be regarded and prac- tised, " show thyself a man !"
In bringing this work to a close, let me urge on the minds of the inhabitants of the island, the value and importance of culti- vating a spirit of enlarged liberality. Suffer not the mind to be influenced by merely selfish considerations, which are opposed in their nature to the principles advocated by the early settlers. Keep their example in full view, which will act as a stimulus in urging you forward in the sacred cause of justice. The spot which you occupy has been properly called the " Paradise of America," in a physical point of view, and in the past it was so in a moral and intellectual point of view. But, alas ! " the gold has become dim, and the most find gold changed." The vener- able Dr. Waterhouse has remarked : " Newport will be-must be-the Bath of the United States, to which rich invalids will retire for lost health. I often wish that I had some pleasant spot or farm on my native Island, to which, if not myself, my in- valid posterity might resort to enjoy peace, health, and liberty."
Such were the views entertained by the venerable Doctor, and which have subsequently been realized in the vast crowds which now resort to Newport, to spend a few weeks during the sultry heat of summer. Here the gentleman of leisure can find exemption from the evils which exist in crowded cities, while a rich treat is furnished the lovers of pleasure which can no where else be enjoyed in the same degree.
This has turned the attention of the inhabitants to the build- ing of large and spacious hotels, for the accommodation of the numerous strangers who resort here, until it has in a very great degree excluded every other kind of business from the place. Such precarious business should not, however, be the sole re- liance of the inhabitants, but secondary in importance. New- port, with her spacious and commodious harbor, should enjoy an extensive commerce. Her situation is admirably adapted to the whaling and fishery business, and it should be remembered that commerce was the means of her former pros- perity and glory, and its decay her downfall.
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
We are aware that great and important changes have been wrought in the country-places. Those once insignificant have sprung into being, as by magic ; still it does not necessarily fol- low, that Newport must remain forever in statu quo, satisfied with having the town a mere resort of strangers for a few weeks. If this be the manifest destiny, why of course, the people must passively submit.
It must, however, appear obvious to the mind that has given the least attention to the subject, that the great depth of water at Easton's Point, the northern extremity of the town, presents facilities which are not enjoyed elsewhere. In many of the mari- time cities, they often meet with obstacles which cause delay, owing to the want of sufficient water to float the larger class of ships, while here, at low tide, from eighteen to twenty feet of water is found.
In this age of progress there appears to be a demand for a still larger class of steamships, and it has been suggested that in the lapse of time Newport may become one of the principal depóts for steam navigation. But this view of the subject is highly improbable, as there is no market to be found here, and merchants would not be at the expense of freighting their mer- chandize to New-York, Boston, &c. The idea is too preposterous to be indulged in for a moment. If these natural advantages, which are possessed in so high a degree, are to be made sub- servient to the prosperity of the place, it must be effected by the enterprise of the inhabitants alone, and all Quixotic schemes abandoned forever.
We have not, in this work, attempted to draw comparisons between the past and the present, but have rather preferred to let the intelligent reader draw his own inferences ; for it must be confessed that the moral, intellectual, and physical condition of the place is so wholly and entirely changed, as to render it painful to contemplate. We can hardly realize that it is the same place; and many, who after years of absence have re- turned, have found so sad a deterioration, that they have pre- ferred a residence elsewhere. In fact, it is only in the past that Newport appears interesting to a reflective mind.
The houseless, wandering descendant looks at the mansion of his fathers and exclaims :
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303
LIST OF PRESIDENTS OF THE COLONY.
--- " Now thou standest In faded majesty, as if to mourn The desolation of an ancient race.'
We flatter ourselves that the work will be read with interest, more especially by the inhabitants of the Island, as well as those who are in the habit of resorting there to admire the romantic and picturesque scenery, which is the great attraction of the place. It will assist the reader to while away his leisure hours in its perusal, and carry the mind back to the interesting period, when the highly eminent characters which we have presented figured on life's busy stage, who have long since retired to make room for others.
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A List of the Presidents of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, under the first Patent ; and the Governors under the second Charter. Collected from the State Records.
PRESIDENTS UNDER THE FIRST PATENT.
From the year 1647 to 1648, John Coggeshall,
" " 1648 to 1649, Jeremiah Clarke,
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" " 1649 to 1650, John Smith,
" 1650 to 1652, Nicholas Easton.
GOVERNORS UNDER THE FIRST CHARTER.
From the year 1654 to 1657, Roger Williams,
" " 1657 to 1660, Benedict Arnold,
" " 1660 to 1662, William Brenton,
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" 1662 to 1663, Benedict Arnold.
GOVERNORS UNDER THE SECOND CHARTER.
From the year 1663 to 1666, Benedict Arnold,
" " 1666 to 1669, William Brenton,
" 1669 to 1672, Benedict Arnold
" " 1672 to 1674, Nicholas Easton,
" " 1674 to 1676, William Coddington.
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
From the year 1676 to 1677, Walter Clarke,
"
"
1677 to 1679, Benedict Arnold,
" " 1670 to 1680, John Cranston,
" " 1680 to 1683, Peleg Sanford,
"
1683 to 1685, William Coddington,
" " 1685 to 1686, Henry Bull,
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" 1686 to -, Walter Clarke.
The Charter was at this period superseded by Sir Edmund Andross, but it was again restored in 1689.
GOVERNORS AFTER THE RESTORATION.
From the year 1689 to 1690, Henry Bull,
"
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1690 to 1695, John Easton,
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" 1695 to 1696, Caleb Carr,
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" 1696 to 1698, Walter Clarke,
1698 to 1727, Samuel Cranston,
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" 1732 to 1734, William Wanton, 1 1734 to 1741, John Wanton,
" "
" 1741 to 1743, Richard Ward,
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" 1745 to 1746, Gideon Wanton,
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" 1747 to 1748, Gideon Wanton,
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1762 to 1763, Samuel Ward,
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" 1765 to 1767, Samuel Ward,
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" 176S to 1769, Josias Lyndon,
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1769 to 1775, Joseph Wanton.
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APPENDIX
TO THE
HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES
RHODE ISLAND.
APPENDIX. ,
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TRINITY CHURCH NEWPORT.
The following account is compiled from the Records of Henry Bull, Esq., with Notes by the Rev. Francis Vinton, and ad- ditional remarks.
Until nearly the close of the seventeenth century, there were but two orders of Christians in the town of Newport, who were organized, and regularly met together for the purpose of worship, and those were of the denomination of Baptists and Friends, or Quakers.
The original founder, and first principal patron of Trinity Church, in Newport, was Sir Francis Nicholson. He was by profession a soldier ; was Lieutenant-Governor of New- York, under Sir Edmund Andros, and at the head of the Adminis- tration of that Colony from 1687 to 1690, at which time he was appointed Governor of Virginia, and so continued for two years.
From 1694 to 1699, he was Governor of Maryland, after which time he was again Governor of Virginia. He com. manded the British forces sent to Canada, in 1710, and took the important fortress of Port Royal. In 1713 he became Governor of Nova Scotia, and in 1720, Governor of Carolina. He returned to England in June, 1725, and died in London in 1728.
Mr. Lockyer, an Episcopal clergyman, commenced preaching in Newport about the close of 1698; and by that means a Church was gathered. He was doubtless procured by the
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
instrumentality of Sir Francis Nicholson, who was then Gover- nor of Maryland ; for the Records of Trinity Church fully sustain the fact, that Sir Francis was its founder. The people, and more especially the leading gentlemen of the town, were well disposed towards this new undertaking, and a considerable society was soon established, with sufficient strength and zeal, aided by their generous patron, to build a handsome Church, which was completed in or before 1702. " Handsomely," as they say, " finished all on the outside, and the inside pewed well, but not beautiful."
Thus far the Church had made its way without any aid from the mother country. In the year 1702, when the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, was established and incorporated in England, the Wardens of Trinity Church applied to the Bishop of London, soliciting the aid of the Society ; on which application the Rev. James Honyman was appointed Missionary, in 1704, and sent over to this station. The Society, as a further encouragement, sent also as a present to the Church, a valuable library of the best theological works of that day, consisting of seventy-five volumes, mostly folio. Many of these books are still in the possession of the Church.
Queen Anne presented the Church with the bell, which was received here in 1709; about which time the Minister, War- dens, and Vestry, wrote to the Governor of Massachusetts, and to the Rev. Samuel Miles, Minister of Boston, requesting each of them to forward money, left in their hands for the Church, by Sir Francis Nicholson, stating their present want of money, to enable them to prepare for and hang the bell but recently received.
Mr. Honeyman was a gentleman well calculated to unite his own society, which grew and flourished exceedingly under his charge, as well as to conciliate those of other religious denomi- nations, all of whom he " embraced with the arms of charity."
In the year 1713, the Minister, Churchwardens, and Vestry, petitioned the Queen for the establishment of Bishops in America, setting forth the great benefit that would result to the church from such a measure. Mr. Nathaniel Kay, the Collector of the Queen's revenues in Rhode Island, who after- wards liberally endowed the school connected with this Church, was among the signers of this petition.
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ERECTION OF A NEW CHURCH,
In the year 1724, Mr. Honyman writes to the Society in England, as follows : " That there was properly belonging to his church in Newport, above fifty communicants, who live in that place, exclusive of strangers. The church people grow now too numerous to be accommodated with seats in the old church, and many more offered to join themselves to the church communion." Mr. Honyman proposed to the church members, the building of a new church, and subscribed £30 himself for that purpose. The people heartily concurred, and he soon after obtained subscriptions amounting to £1000 of the currency of the country ; but it was estimated the building would cost twice that amount. However, a sufficient sum was raised, and, in the year 1726, the church was completed, and Mr. Honyman held the service in it. The body of the building was seventy feet long, and forty-six wide. It had two,tiers of windows, was full of pews, and had galleries all round to the east end. It was acknowledged by the people of that day to be the most beautiful timber structure in America. The old building was given to the people of Warwick, who had no church of their own.
We have every reason for believing that the new building was erected on the site of the old one, for the old one appears to have been disposed of by gift, to make room for the new, which would not otherwise have been done in a town rapidly increasing in population, and in want of more buildings. At the time of which we are writing, 1724 to 1726, there were Quakers and two sorts of Anabaptists in Newport, yet the members of the Church of England increased daily; and although there was not to be found alive at that time, four of the original promoters of church worship in this place, yet there was then above four times the number of all the first. Mr. Honyman had under his care at this time, the towns of New- port, Freetown, Tiverton, and Little Compton.
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