USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence plantations, Vol. I > Part 19
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1 The Indian tradition is that he was greater than any prince in the coun- try, and having two children, a son and daughter, whom he could not match in dignity, he married them to each other. Their issue was four sons, of whom Canonicus was the eldest. Hutchinson's Mass., i. 458, note. The Pe- ruvian Incas have a similar tradition respecting the origin of the founder of thicir dynasty.
2 Roger Williams' Key, p. 18.
213
NEWPORT AND PORTSMOUTH DISAGREE.
his first treaty to the day of his death, they could never CHAP. charge him with violated faith. Yet he could name ten VII. different instances in which their solemn pledge to him and his tribe had been broken. " I have never suffered any wrong to be offered to the English since they landed, nor never will ;- if the Englishman speak true, if he mean truly, then shall I go to my grave in peace, and hope that the English and my posterity shall live in love and peace together." These were the truthful and half- desponding words once spoken by him to the Founder of Rhode Island, "in a solemn Assembly." There were reasons, and he recounted ten, for the doubting spirit that oppressed him, and which imparted to his language the saddening force of an omen. With the settlers of Rhode Island, whom he had received in their weakness, he ever maintained the most intimate and friendly relations ; and it should be said in justice to our ancestors that, from them, he never had cause to repent or to withhold his kindness. That he suffered from the jealousy of the other colonies, who were hostile alike to him and to them, is no fault of theirs ; while the fact that his unwavering fidel- ity to the founders of Rhode Island was the principal cause of his disasters, affords ample reason why their descendants should revere his virtues and embalm his memory.
The union of the towns under one government did not serve to heal the disputes with which each one was more or less disturbed. Their distinet powers were in no de- gree abridged by the compact they had formed. Their local affairs were as much under their own control as be- fore, and we shall soon see that even the burden of a gen- eral union, so essential to their strength, was more than they could bear. Between Newport and Portsmouth a difficulty arose as to their relative positions under the new government. For the past seven years they had, for the most part, acted together as one colony. Whether to
1647. June.
214
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. continue thus, or to act as separate towns, which was the VII.
reasonable construction of the charter, appears to have 1647. been the question. The loss of the Newport records of July this period leaves us only the fragmentary notices of meet- ings at Portsmouth, from which to conjecture the real na- ture and extent of this difference. By these it appears 6. that certain messengers, sent by Newport to Portsmouth, were informed "that if they will joyn with us to act ac- cording to the General Corte order for this year we are redie thereto, if not we must go bye ourselff by the corte order." It also appears that forty-one votes were given in Newport to act jointly, and twenty-four to act alone. Aug. 26. It was proposed to call a special meeting of the General Assembly, but the grounds for so doing were deemed in- 1647-8. sufficient. A few months later it was " voted unani-
Jan. 27. mously by the freemen of Portsmouth that they would act apart by themselves, and not jointly with Newport, and be as free in their transactions as anie of the other towns in the colonie." Providence was more distracted than either of the others by domestic difficulties, and many were the expedients proposed by her citizens to se- cure tranquillity. But they were too general in their na- ture, not bearing directly upon the specific causes of con- Dec. tention, to effect their object. One of these agreements adopted at Providence is transcribed by Judge Staples,1 who justly says that little good could come of such instru- ments, since those who signed them did not need them, and those who required them would not agree to them, and that every one was left as before to decide whether his own or other's acts were in accordance with their letter or spirit, and hence they would afford new causes of dis- pute, thereby endangering the peace they were intended to promote. The democratic element was too strongly infused, and the conservative principles that underlie it were as yet too little understood by a portion of the peo- 1 Annals of Providence, p. 70.
215
GORTON AND WINSLOW IN ENGLAND.
ple, to admit of that perfect harmony in civil concerns which the successful application of the same doctrine of individual responsibility had already produced among them in religious matters. It is an easier thing to apply the principle of personal liberty in religion than in poli- tics, in the affairs that relate solely to man and his Maker, than in those that pertain to human intercourse. Both applications of the great idea were equally novel. The one had already met with triumphant success, for eleven years of trial among men of various and earnest faith, had established its practicability, while the other was still an experiment of which the result as yet appeared doubtful.
Gorton still remained in England, where his presence was required to counteract the designs of the Massachu- setts agent. Winslow attempted to justify the conduct of his government towards the men of Shawomet, by de- nouncing their heresies, but could not satisfy the Admi- ralty that the Massachusetts had any jurisdiction beyond the bounds of their patent, although he pleaded that, " Ist, they were within the jurisdiction of Plymouth or Connecticut, and so the order of the Commissioners of the United Colonies had left them to those of the Massachu- setts ; and 2d, the Indians, upon whose land they dwelt, had subjected themselves and their land to their govern- ment." ' Upon this the committee of Parliament again wrote to Massachusetts, referring to their letter of the previous year, and declaring that " we intended not there- by to encourage any appeals from your justice, nor to re- strain the bounds of your jurisdiction to a narrower com- pass than is held forth by your Letters Patent, but to leave you with all that freedom and latitude that may, in any respect, be duly claimed by you," and adding that if it proves, as claimed, that Narraganset Bay falls within the limits of Plymouth patent, it " will much alter the state of the question." Soon afterwards the committee
1 Hubbard's New England, 507. Winthrop ii. 317.
CHAP. VII. 1647. Dec.
May 25.
216
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. 1647. July 22.
wrote another letter, saying that they could not decide whether Shawomet was covered by any of the New Eng- land patents, without an examination on the spot, but if it should so prove they " commend it to the government, within whose jurisdiction they shall appear to be, not only not to remove them from their plantations, but also to encourage them with protection and assistance, in all fit ways ; provided that they demean themselves peacea- bly, &c." Letters to the same effect were sent to the other New England governments.'
It is difficult to see what encouragement could be drawn from these letters, by the parties to whom they are addressed, yet the Puritan chroniclers are jubilant over the prospect of having their illegal and outrageous pro- ceedings sanctioned by Parliament, and their agent at once "proceeded to have the charter, which they had lately granted to those of Rhode Island and Providence, to be called in, as lying within the patent of Plymouth or Connecticut." In this we know he signally failed.
Aug. 8.
The town of Warwick being received into the corpo- ration on equal terms with those mentioned in the char- ter, conformed to the orders of Assembly by electing a town council, and commenced keeping records. They made a compact, instigated by their position in regard to Massachusetts, and by the troubles resulting at Pawtuxet from the same source, binding themselves not to convey their property by sale, gift, or otherwise to any but those who should sign this agreement, and prohibiting such conveyance to any other jurisdiction on pain of disfran- chisement and of forfeiture of the whole estate to the town. This article formed the fundamental law of the town. Every inhabitant was required to sign his name to it. It was confirmed a few months later,2 and was always known as " the grand law."
1 Both of these letters are given in Winthrop, ii. 318-20, and are copied by Hubbard, chap. Iv.
2 23d January, 1648. See Warwick records.
217
RETURN OF GORTON.
But the Massachusetts were careful not to lose their CHAP VII. hold upon Warwick through any lapse of watchfulness. Some of their subjects had settled there, and the Indians 1647. of Shawomet were under their protection. Complaints were made by both of these of injuries received from in- truders. The corn of the natives had been destroyed, and an English house had been forcibly entered and its occu- pant threatened. The General Court sent three messen- 1647-8. gers to warn off the depredators, and to compel restitu- March. tion. In case they did not obtain satisfaction at War- wick, they were to proceed to Aquedneck and Providence, and demand of the authorities there whether they sanc- tioned these acts.1
Gorton, no doubt satisfied that Winslow could effect 1648. nothing, returned to America in the spring. As in the May. case of Holden, the Court, upon his arrival at Boston, or- dered his arrest. A letter which he brought from the Earl of Warwick saved him from imprisonment, although so many favored violent proceedings, that the most urgent considerations of State policy alone prevented the Earle's request from being disregarded ; and Gorton was allowed to pass safely to his home only by the casting vote of the Governor.
The General Assembly was then in session at Provi- dence. Two messengers 2 were sent to Boston with a let- ter " concerning the Warwick business," but on reaching Dedham they heard that the General Court was adjourned, and one of them, Barton, a resident of Warwick, wrote to Gov. Winthrop to ascertain how he would be received by him if he continued his journey. What reply, if any, was made to this letter, does not appear. The terms in which it is expressed are almost servile in their extreme courtesy. The narrow escape that Gorton had just had, although protected by the powerful Earl of Warwick,
18.
22.
1 Their instructions are found in M. C. R., ii. 228.
" Captain Clarke and Rufus Barton.
218
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. might well teach caution to the humble envoy of Rhode Island, and the more so as he was one of the outlawed 1648. company, perhaps himself involved in the recent com- May. plaints. His letter would not here be noticed but for the use made of it by Hubbard, the absurdity of which is too palpable to be passed over. He says : "By the style of this letter it appears how this company were crest-fallen, who but a little before had a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies ; but thanks be unto God, they had not power to continue very long ; for being now reduced to a little more sobriety in their language and behavior, they were permitted quietly to enjoy their possessions at Shaw- omet. This was the issue of the address made by these Gortonists to the Commissioners, who after the great clamor and noise they had made could make nothing ap- pear of that which they had affirmed." That the man- date of the Lord High Admiral of England, and of the Commissioners of Plantations should depend for its fulfil- ment upon the courtly expressions of a letter from an humble inhabitant of Warwick to the magnates of Mas- sachusetts, will excite a smile. That after this the Gor- tonists "were permitted quietly to enjoy their posses- sions," should have caused them to feel ever grateful to their courteous messenger, who had so softened the hearts of their magnanimous oppressors.1 Notwithstanding the concluding assertion of the Ipswich divine, the event proved that they made enough to appear not only to pre- vent the Parliament from revoking their first decision in
1 Taking Hubbard's absurd comment as correct, no more palpable instance can be found in history of the truth of the maxim that " nothing is lost by civility." Winthrop inserts Barton's letter, addressed to himself, but does not say what he did about it, nor does he make any comments upon it. The bigotry of Hubbard must have been of the most Pharisaical and self-satisfy- ing kind to enable him to draw, from a private letter of the Warwick mes- senger, any solace for the wound inflicted upon ecclesiastical pretension by triumphant heresy. To attribute, as he does, to the accidental phraseology of such a letter the subsequent compulsory forbearance of the Puritans, is simply ridiculous.
219
ORGANIZATION OF THE COURT OF COMMISSIONERS.
favor of the Gortonists, but also to have it confirmed, a few years later, by Royal charter, to the final discomfiture of their implacable enemies.
An amendment of the law organizing the General Court was now made. This Court, composed of six men chosen from cach town, soon came to be in fact the Gen- eral Assembly, although if any others chose to remain, those whose help was desired were allowed to do so. In case any town refused to elect members, the Court, by this amendment, was required to choose for them. The General Court, as now constituted, was often called the Court of Commissioners, or the " Committee " -- a name still preserved in styling the two branches of Assembly, when united for the choice of officers, " the Grand Com- mittee." The act making this body a General Court of trials was continued. In their judicial capacity they were to hear causes in the place where the action arose or the criminal was arrested, and at such times as were appointed by law. Hence, we presume, arose the custom, existing until a recent date, of the General Assembly's meeting in the different chief towns of the State.
The first business of the Assembly, or " General Court of Election," as it was termed, when opened for the choice of general officers, was to go into the election. A Moderator and Clerk were chosen ; the State officers were then elected. The Clerk of Assembly was required to send a copy of the proceedings to each town.
The changes made at this time were remarkable, when we consider that it was the first election since the gov- ernment was organized. They indicate already the exist- ence of opposing parties. William Coddington was elect- ed President, Roger Williams of Providence, William Balston of Portsmouth, John Smith of Warwick, and Jeremy Clarke of Newport, Assistants. The latter was also continued in his office of Treasurer. Philip Sher- man was chosen General Recorder, and Alexander Par-
CHIAP. VII. 1648. May.
220
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. tridge, General Sergeant. By the list of the twenty-four members of this Assembly, it appears that one might be 1648. a member from any town, and at the same time a general May. officer. The towns were ordered to meet within ten days to choose their town officers. The " Act made and agreed upon for the well-ordering of this Assembly," correspond- ing to our modern " Rules and Orders," is worthy of at- tention for the conciseness and simplicity with which it regulates the business and decorum of the legislative body.
" It is ordered, That ye Moderator shall cause y& Clark of ye Assembly to call over the names of the Assembly.
" That the Moderator shall appoint every man to take his place.
" That all matters presented to the Assembly's con- sideration, shall be presented in writing by bill.
" That each bill be fairly discust, and if by ye major vote of the Assembly it shall be putt to a committee to draw up an order, which being concluded by ye vote, shall stand for an order threwout ye whole colony.
" That the Moderator shall putt all matters to vote.
" That every man shall have liberty to speak freely to any matter propounded yett but once, unless it be by lease from ye Moderator.
" That he that stands up first uncovered, shall speake first to the cause.
" That the Moderator by ye vote of y" Assembly shall rejourne or dissolve ye Court, and not without, at his great perile.
" That he that shall returne not to his place at yo time appointed, shall forfeitt sixpence.
" That they that whisper or disturb ye Court, or useth nipping terms, shall forfeitt sixpence for every fault.1
"WM. DYRE, Clerk of the Assembly."
1 Were the latter rule, especially the last clause of it, now in force, it would aid the revenue of the State ; although it might be difficult to define with the precision of a statute what should be held as " nipping terms."
221
CONTINUED DISAGREEMENT AT AQUEDNECK.
Complaints were made at this Assembly against the CHAP. VII. President elect. He was not present at the election, nor did he appear to repel the charges, whatever they were. 1648. That he was chosen to that high office under such circum- May. stances seems strange. As he continued to absent him- self Jeremy Clark, Assistant, of Newport, was chosen to fill his place temporarily, with the title of President Re- gent ; and provision was made that in case of vacancy by the death, or absence from the colony, of the President, then the Assistant of that town from which the President was chosen should supply his place.
May 9. The dissensions on the Island were not healed by this Assembly. Just before it met, the Town Clerk of Ports- mouth was ordered to inform Newport of their decision to act separately The proceedings of the Assembly seem to have widened the breach. It appears that even "the legality of the Corte and orders thereof" was questioned by Portsmouth. There was evidently some serious trou- ble on the Island, threatening the existence of the colo- ny .! Portsmouth was disaffected, and the conduct of Coddington favored the alienation. His subsequent acts may furnish a clue to his motives at this time. Roger Williams, who appears as a peacemaker in all the troubles of the colony, wrote a letter to the town of Providence, Aug. wherein he represents the State as distracted by two par- ties, Portsmouth and its partisans being one, and the re- maining three towns the other, and suggested a plan of reference by which the dispute might be settled, viz., that Portsmouth and its friends should select three men, and the other towns three, one from each, whose decision
1 It is probable that this difference between Portsmonth and Newport re- ferred to the Courts of trials which up to this time had been held jointly by the two towns, but were now appointed by the General Assembly to be held separately in each town. This view is strengthened by the passage of an aet at the first meeting of the Assembly after the reunion, giving these towns leave to hold their Courts jointly or apart as they pleased. See Aet No. 13, Sept. session, 1654.
July 10.
222
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII.
1648.
should be final. Unfortunately Mr. Williams does not mention the causes of disagreement. That affairs in England, now approaching a crisis, had some influence in these contentions is more than probable. Coddington was a royalist, and was about attempting to withdraw the island from the other towns and unite it to Plymouth. Clarke and Easton were republicans, and leaders of the dominant party on the island.
The hostile attitude of the Indians, occasioned by the determination of the United Colonies to protect Uncas at every hazard, from the punishment due to his crime at the hand of the Narragansets, caused more serious alarm than ever before. The dissensions prevailing among them, those of Shawomet and Pawtuxet owning allegiance to Massachusetts, and viewing as enemies all Englishmen whom she denounced, while the Niantics and Nipmucks remained true to their proper princes, made the situation of Rhode Island, surrounded as she was by these dis- tracted and exasperated tribes, extremely perilous. The inhabitants of Warwick suffered severely from this cause. A letter written by Mr. John Smith, Assistant, in behalf of the town, was carried by Randal Holden and John Warner to Plymouth, where the New England Commis- sioners were convened. They complained that the In- dians had killed their cattle, abused their servants, en- tered their houses by force, maltreating the occupants, and stealing their goods ; and desired advice on. the sub- ject. This was a proper course to adopt, since those In- dians were under their protection. But the island of Rhode Island went still further. Mr. Coddington, who had been chosen President of the colony, but had never taken his engagement, with Captain Partridge, the Gen- eral Sergeant, presented, at the same time, a written re- quest, signed by themselves in behalf of Rhode Island, " That wee the Ilanders of Roode Iland may be recaived into combination with all the united colonyes of New
Sept. 4.
7.
223
AQUEDNECK ASKS TO JOIN THE N. ENGLAND LEAGUE.
England in a prime and perpetuall league of friendship and amity : of ofence and defence, Mutuall advice and succor upon all just occasions for our mutuall safety and wellfaire, and for preserving of peace amongst ourselves, and preventing as much as may bee all occasions of warr and Diference, and to this our motion we have the consent of the major part of our Iland." 1
This appears almost like an act of treason against the colony ; much more so than those acts which a few years later gave rise to the famous trials for that crime. But the imminent danger to which they were exposed might excuse a greater sacrifice than they proposed, while it makes the refusal they received appear absolutely inhu- man. That the islanders intended nothing more than a defensive alliance which would not compromise their posi- tion as members of the colony under the charter, may be inferred from their refusal of the offered terms of safety. It is unfortunate that any expression occurs in the petition that could be construed as an allusion to their internal difficulties, for it strengthens the evidence that Codding- ton, and many whom he represented, inclined to accede to the terms imposed. The Commissioners, in their reply, commiscrate the petitioners upon their domestic strifes, and the dangers of their position, but, claiming the island to be within Plymouth patent, they refuse the request un- less this claim should be recognized. This answer might have been expected from the treatment Rhode Island had before received .? It is said that Coddington and the town of Portsmouth were willing to accept the condition, but were prevented by the other towns. Had they submitted the charter would have been virtually annulled by the act of its holders, and the schemes of the surrounding colo- nies to appropriate the rest of the State might have
1 Hazard's State Papers, ii. 99.
2 In Oct., 1640, when a league was first proposed, and in May, 164" when it was formed.
CHAP. VII. 1648. Sept. 7.
224
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. proved successful.' Rhode Island would soon have been absorbed by Massachusetts and Connecticut.
VII. 1648. Sept. 10.
12.
The notice taken of the Warwick complaint was rather remarkable. The Commissioners wrote a letter to the sachems, advising them to abstain from such conduct in future, and telling them that, if they received any injury from the English, satisfaction should be given them, as the like would be expected from them .? The mildness of this rebuke to their offending subjects, contrasts with the se- verity of the terms dictated to the islanders. Scarcely had this missive been sent when letters were received from Roger Williams and others, warning the United Colonies of preparations making by the Narragansets to renew the war on Uncas. Messengers were sent to Pessacus requir- ing him to desist, and demanding anew the arrears of tribute. Acts of violence were becoming daily more fre- quent. The United Colonies, as they were in no small degree the cause of these outrages, were looked to for re- dress by the sufferers. Henry Bull, of Newport, soon af- terward complained that he had been beaten by some Narraganset Indians, and asked aid in obtaining satisfac- tion. He was referred to Rhode Island for relief, and further referred to the advice lately given to the islanders how they might secure protection. A copy of the letter to the sachems, that was given to the Warwick men, was also furnished to him, " for his future security." This paper, in the opinion of the Commissioners, possessed the virtue of a passport.
Oct. 7.
1 Hutchinson, i. p. 150, note, says : " Plymouth would soon have been swallowed up in Rhode Island from the great superiority of the latter. Be- sides, the principles of the people of the two colonies were so different that a junction must have rendered both miserable." But as Plymouth was herself annexed to Massachusetts in 1692, when the provincial government was formed under Sir William Phipps, the whole of Rhode Island, under this sup- position, except the King's province, claimed by Connecticut, would then have belonged to Massachusetts.
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