USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence plantations, Vol. I > Part 20
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2 Hazard, ii. 100-1.
225
CODDINGTON SAILS FOR ENGLAND.
Coddington, having failed in his attempt to detach the island from the other towns, soon after sailed for England to procure for it a separate charter. His design was not known at the time. His daughter accompanied him, and Captain Partridge was left to manage his affairs, includ- ing, no doubt, his political interests.
The discovery of what was supposed to be gold and silver ore upon the island, caused great excitement in the colony. A special meeting of the General Assembly was held at Warwick. No record of it remains, but by the letter of Roger Williams, and from other sources, we are informed of its proceedings. The distracted state of the towns, and the importance attached to this discovery of precious metals, probably led to the meeting. The vio- lence of party spirit had so compromised many of the leading men in the colony that, to the sagacious mind of Williams, the only mode of escape from increasing dan- ger was by the passage of a general " act of oblivion." At his suggestion such an act was passed. Mr. Williams was not present at that session, but was elected Deputy President of the Colony, probably owing to his constant efforts to promote peace. He declined the honor, and in a letter to Mr. John Winthrop 1 says, " I hope they have chosen a better," but they did not, and Mr. Williams acted as President till the election in May.
1 The son of Gov. Winthrop of Massachusetts, himself afterwards Gover- nor of Connecticut. The father died at this time, March, 1649, so that we have no longer his reliable journal, the last entry in which is on Jan. 11th, as a guide. This book, with its full and admirable notes by the editor, Hon. James Savage, is worth all the other authorities on this period of New Eng- land history put together. The lines of Milton, quoted by the translator of the Decameron, will apply with greater force to Savage's Winthrop's Jour- nal :-
" Hither, as to their fountains, other stars Repairing, in their golden urns draw light."
In fact they all draw from him, while Hubbard, whose General History of New England was more esteemed when it was less known, in the only reliable portions of his work, copies verbatim from the MS. of Winthrop, which was not then (1680) printed, and earefully conceals the source of his information.
VOL. 1-15
CHAP. VII. 1648-9. Jan. 29.
March.
226
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. 1649. March.
The Assembly passed an act taking possession of the mines in the name of the State of England, and forbade all persons from interfering with the ore. The Clerk pub- lished the proclamation, and the arms of England and of the Earl of Warwick were set up at the mine. Closer examination dispelled the illusion. A more certain and less demoralizing source of wealth has, within a few years, been developed in the discovery of coal mines on the island, now in profitable operation.1
14.
Special charters of incorporation were granted at this session to the several towns. That of Providence, granted on petition of the town, is given by Judge Staples, and follows closely the terms of the colonial charter. War- wick had one of the same date. The Portsmouth records of their next town meeting held for the election of officers,2 refer to " the particular charter granted unto them for choosing their town officers." A similar one must have been given to Newport at the same time.
The intolerance of the General Court of Massachu- setts was again shown towards Randal Holden, who peti- tioned that his sentence of banishment might be revoked, to enable him to give his personal attention to some bus- iness that required his presence in Boston. The favor was refused, and he was informed that his affairs could be as well conducted by an attorney as by himself.3
The regular session of the Court of Commissioners was held at Warwick and lasted four days. John Smith of Warwick was chosen President ; Thomas Olney of Providence, John Sandford of Portsmouth, John Clarke
1 An account of these mines with the causes of their failure when first opened, and the reasons for their subsequent success, is given by Dr. Jackson in his Report on the Geological Survey of Rhode Island, made in 1840, p. 95-104. Since the date of this Report the business has been revived, and is now conducted with profitable results.
2 On first Monday of June, 1649.
3 M. C. R., ii. 275.
May 2. 22.
227
FRAUDULENT VOTING .- SALE OF SPIRITS FORBIDDEN.
of Newport, and Samuel Gorton of Warwick, Assistants ; CHAP. John Clarke Treasurer, and Richard Knight, Sergeant. VII.
Already had fraudulent voting, the bane of all free 1649. governments, appeared in the colony. The system of May 22. proxies afforded facilities for this, which it was attempted to prevent by requiring that no one should bring any votes that he did not receive from the voters' own hands, and that all votes should be filed by the Recorder in pres- ence of the Assembly. The fall in the price of beaver in England, and the increased manufacture of peage by the Indians, had reduced the value of that currency nearly one-half. The depreciation was not so great in Rhode Island, where this medium continued to be used much longer than in the other colonies, but a law was passed lowering the standard of black peage, which was double the value of the white, one-third. Four, instead of three, for a penny was now made the legal rate. Prisons were ordered to be built in each town ; meanwhile the one at Newport was used for the whole colony, and the General Sergeant was appointed to keep it. The organization of the Court of Trials, heretofore composed of the members of Assembly alone, was amended by adding to it the mag- istrates of the town where the Court might be held. The sale of ardent spirits to the natives was forbidden, except that Mr. Williams was allowed to dispense it, in cases of sickness, at his discretion. This law displays a commend- able regard for the welfare of the Indians, and an honora- ble confidence in the Founder of the State.
There was a strong feeling in Rhode Island in favor of Mr. John Winthrop, son of the late Governor of Massa- chusetts, who before the Pequot war had made a purchase near Thames river, which the government of Connecticut had recently refused to recognize. It was thought that he might move further east, perhaps to Pawcatuck, in which case many desired to make him President of the colony, and his name was used for that purpose in this
228
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII.
1649. May 22.
election. He had been suggested as one of the referees in the difficulty with Portsmouth the previous summer. The liberality of the Winthrops, often displayed by the father in his trying position as Governor of Massachu- setts, and inherited by the son, their close friendship with the Founder of Rhode Island, and the sympathy they manifested with the struggling colony on more than one occasion, all go to account for this partiality.
The desire for public service was so little felt by our ancestors, that heavy fines were imposed upon any who should refuse to accept an office. Any one elected Presi- dent, and declining to act, was to be fined ten pounds ; or an Assistant five pounds, and his place was to be filled by the person having the next highest number of votes. A similar law was enacted in the towns to compel the ac- ceptance of town offices. In Portsmouth, whoever was chosen to be a magistrate and refused was fined six pounds, and for an inferior office the fine was fifty shillings. The reciprocal engagement of the State and its officers was also administered to the town councils in the following form : " You, A. B., being called and chosen by the free vote of the inhabitants of Portsmouth unto the office of a town magistrate, in his Majesty's name, do in this pres- ent assembly engage yourself faithfully to execute the of- fice of a justice of the peace, in the due execution of jus- tice in this town, according to the laws established unto us by our particular charter, according to the best of your understanding. The town reciprocally engage themselves in his Majesty's name, to maintain you in the just execu- tion of your office, according to the best of their under- standing." The use of the words "in his Majesty's name," in a formula adopted just at this time is peculiar. The King was beheaded on the 30th of January. News of his death had reached the colony either while the As- sembly was in session, or shortly before it met, yet no no- tice was taken of it by that body-possibly because it yet
June 4.
229
FOURTH GENERAL ELECTION.
needed confirmation. And this might be the reason why CHAP. VII. the freemen of Portsmouth, as a matter of precaution, retained the old form of expression ; or perhaps that they 1649. did so was owing to the fact of the predominance of the June 11. royalist or Coddington party in that town. The news was confirmed by an arrival from England the following week.
The Warwick men again wrote to the Commissioners of the United Colonies, sitting at Boston, to complain of the Indians, and to remind them of the order of Parlia- ment that they should be protected.1 The Commission- ers, in their reply, deny having received any such com- mand, or that the petitioners could reasonably expect aid in their position, but say they are ready to obey the order requiring them to ascertain under what patent the lands of Warwick are included.2
July 26.
31.
The next General Court of election was held at New- port at the same time with that at Boston. At both bus- iness of great importance, affecting the relations of the two colonies, was transacted. That there was some diffi- culty in this election is evident from the record of a vote that it should " be authentic notwithstanding all obstruc- tions against it."
1650.
May 22.
Nicholas Easton was chosen President ; William Field of Providence, John Porter of Portsmouth, John Clarke of Newport, and John Wicks of Warwick, Assist- ants ; Philip Sherman, Recorder ; Richard Knight, Ser- geant, and John Clarke, Treasurer. An Attorney Gen- eral and Solicitor General were also appointed, for the first time, and their duties defined. William Dyre was chosen to the first-named office, and Hugh Bewett to the latter. The committee of each town, which should con- sist of six men, were empowered to fill any vacancy in their number. It was also ordered that in case any mem- ber, upon complaint and trial, should prove to be unfit to hold his seat, the Assembly might suspend him, and
1 In the'letter of July 22, 1647, ante. 2 Hazard, ii, 135.
230
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. 1650. May 22.
choose another in his place. Heretofore the Assembly had been usually styled "the Court of Commissioners," the term General Assembly applying only to a meeting of all the people ; but we have seen that gradually the legisla- tive power had centred in this Court, and they now, for the first time, style themselves the General Assembly, and fix their salaries at two and sixpence a day.
The order apportioning the amount of military stores to be kept by each town, gives an idea of their relative strength at this period. Providence and Warwick were each to have one barrel of powder, five hundred pounds of lead, six pikes and six muskets in their magazines, fit for service. Portsmouth was to have twice this amount, or as much as both of these towns, and Newport was to have three barrels of powder, a thousand pounds of lead, twelve pikes and twenty-four muskets. Each town was to regulate its own militia.
By an order of the previous Assembly letters had been sent to the Pawtuxet men, respecting their allegiance to the colony, and a summons issued to the sachems of Paw- tuxet and Shawomet to attend upon the Court. This procedure led the parties to petition the General Court of Massachusetts, complaining, as usual, of injuries received, and asking redress. Upon this the General Court ad- dressed a letter to Rhode Island, advising all whom it concerned, not to prosecute any suits against the subjects of Massachusetts, nor to do them any harm till they should hear again from the Court, which would not be long. A committee was appointed to treat with Plymouth about the title to the land of Shawomet and Pawtuxet, and protection to the English and Indian subjects of Mas- sachusetts at those places. The Court adjourned for a few days to await the issue of the negotiation. The General Court of Plymouth was then in session. By a formal in- strument they resigned all claim to the territory in ques- tion, yielding in every thing to the proposals of Massachu-
30.
June 1.
231
PLYMOUTH CEDES DISPUTED LANDS TO MASSACHUSETTS.
setts, but with one proviso, that does honor to their sense CHAP. of justice, and to their clearness of perception, viz., that VII. the lands of Providence should not be included in the relin- 1650. quishment, but should remain as before to be freely enjoyed June 7. by the inhabitants. That Providence should be named at all in the deed of cession, since it was not referred to in the instructions of the Committee, is proof that Ply- mouth suspected, and not without reason, that the design of Massachusetts embraced more than she professed, and by making this exception she declared her own opinion of the rights of the people in Providence, and barred any claim that Massachusetts might afterward set up to that territory, based upon the action of Plymouth in this case.1 The Court having reassembled at Boston, received the re- port of their committee, and proceeded to annex their 18. newly-acquired possessions to the county of Suffolk. They also, in gratitude to Captain Atherton, for his ser- 20. vices in this and in the brutal affair with Pessacus,2 voted him a farm of five hundred acres. The officers of the County Court were authorized to treat with any of the Warwick associates who might appear to complain of this outside disposition of themselves and their property.
There is one question that the high contracting par- ties to this remarkable transfer of land and power, to which neither had any right, quite overlooked. Admit- ting that the claim of either one of them under their pa- tents was valid, how could that one lawfully divest itself of, or invest another government with, a portion of its power ; or how could the recipient, simply on the ground that the cession was voluntary, enlarge the limits of its own patent ? The illegality on both sides is apparent. The injustice to the rightful owners need not be consid- ered after the outrages they had suffered seven years be- fore.
These acts called for decisive action on the part of 1 M. C. R., iv. Part I. 14-20.
2 Close of chap. vi., ante.
232
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. Rhode Island. The President of the colony called a con- vention, composed of a special committee of three from each 1650. town, to meet at Portsmouth, to deliberate on the con- July 20. duct of Massachusetts in the premises. No report of their proceedings can be found. But these convenient inter- changes of jurisdiction were not yet ended. The Com- missioners of the United Colonies advised, for many co- Sept. 13. Oct. 16. gent reasons, that Warwick and Pawtuxet should be re- stored to Plymouth.1 The General Court yielded the point, and re-assigned the territory to Plymouth.2 Pres- ident Easton had written to Massachusetts that Rhode Island and Warwick now formed one colony, and would defend her rights. Letters were sent to Rhode Island, 18. forbidding her to exercise jurisdiction over Shawomet, to the Pawtuxet men to transfer their allegiance to Ply- mouth, and to Gov. Bradford that he should protect them and the subject Indians.
26.
The General Assembly met at Portsmouth. The or- der prescribing the mode of passing general laws was re- pealed and a new one made. The Assembly, or " Repre- sentative Committee," as it is here termed, having enacted any laws, these were to be sent to the towns within six days after the adjournment, and then, within three days, to be read in town meeting. Any freeman who disliked the laws or any one of them, was to send his vote, with his name upon it, within ten days after the reading, to the General Recorder. If a majority were found to op- pose it the Recorder should signify the fact to the Presi- dent, and the President to the towns, that such law was annulled. Silence as to the rest was considered assent. Banishment, as a punishment, was abolished. Divorce was prohibited except, at the suit of the party aggrieved, for adultery.
Roger Williams was urged once more to go to Eng- land. The active measures taken by the other colonies
1 Hazard ii. 153-'4. 2 M. C. R. iii. 216.
233
FRESH TROUBLES THREATEN THE COLONY.
in regard to Warwick and Pawtuxet, required that Rhode CHAP. VII. n Island should be represented before the Committee of Plantations. The sum of one hundred pounds voted 1650. three years before, in remuneration of his services in ob- Oct. 26. taining the charter, had never been paid, although at- tempts had been made to raise the money by taxation. The Assembly now voted to pay the arrears, and one hundred pounds more, if he would go a second time, but if he would not, Mr. Balston, John Clarke and John War- ner were named, any two of them to go.
This was the last session of the General Assembly, as at first constituted, under the charter. A more serious calamity than any that the malice or the ambition of her neighbors could inflict, was about to overwhelm the State, and for a time to palsy the arm of the sons of Rhode Island.
In the following spring there was no meeting of the Assembly. News of Coddington's design had been re- ceived, although his success was not yet known. Con- sternation pervaded the colony. Within and without, at home and abroad, enemies to the peace and liberty of the State appeared on every side. The Pawtuxet men com- plained to Massachusetts that Providence had assessed them to the amount of twelve pounds ten shillings, and on their refusal to pay the tax had threatened them with distraint. Upon this the General Court sent a letter to Roger Williams, warning him that if this levy was made they would seek satisfaction "in such manner as God shall put into their hands."! Amid these complicated
1 M. C. R. iii. 228, and iv. part. i. 46. There could be no mistaking the meaning of this. The Puritans in their dealings with their weaker neigh- bors, English or Indians, evidently believed with the Great Frederick, that " Providence favors the strong battalions." Their reliance upon Divine aid in all their forays, attempted or threatened, into Rhode Island, was of that commendably precautionary character displayed by Cromwell in the order to his troops at " the crowning mercy of Worcester," which was fought on a rainy day-" Trust in God but keep your powder dry !"
1651. May
22.
234
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. difficulties, an outrage was committed upon some of the best men of Rhode Island, which is without a parallel 1651. save in the treatment of the Gortonists. Rev. John Clarke, pastor of the first Baptist church in Newport, Obadiah Holmes, who shortly before had aided to estab- lish a church of that order in Seekonk, and, being pre- sented for it by the grand jury at the General Court of July 16. Plymouth, had fled to Newport,1 and John Crandall, a member of the same church, were deputed by the church to visit an aged member, residing near Lynn, who had re- quested an interview with some of his brethren. Arriv- 19. ing at the place on Saturday, Mr. Clarke preached the next day to those who were in the house. While thus 20. engaged two constables served on them a warrant for the arrest of the " erroneous persons, being strangers." In the afternoon they were carried to church by the officer, where, after service, Clarke addressed the congregation till silenced by a magistrate. Next day, although being under arrest, he administered the communion to the aged 22. member of his church and to two others. The party were examined and ordered to be sent to Boston, where they 25. 31. were imprisoned to await their trial the following week. At the trial Gov. Endicott charged them with being ana- baptists. Clarke denied that he was either an anabaptist, a pedobaptist, or a catabaptist, and affirmed, that al- though he had baptized many he had never re-baptized any, for that infant baptism was a nullity. The others agreed in this, and the Court sentenced them upon their own declarations, " without producing either accuser, wit- ness, jury, law of God, or man." Clarke was fined twenty pounds, Holmes thirty pounds, and Crandall five pounds, and in default of payment each was "to be well whipped." They refused to pay the fine, as that would be to admit their guilt when they felt they were innocent, and were
1 After the death of Dr. Clarke he succeeded him as pastor of the New- port church. Knowles', 239, note.
235
PERSECUTION OF THE BAPTISTS.
committed to prison. On the following day Clarke, by a letter to the Court, challenged the members to a discus- sion of the doctrinal views for which he had been con- demned. The magistrates appointed a time for the de- bate. Clarke prepared the heads of discussion, but be- fore the day arrived an order of Court was sent to the jail for his discharge, the fine having been paid by some one without his knowledge. Anxious to hold the debate, and seeing how this ill-timed kindness might be represented as being caused by his desire to avoid it, Clarke, on the same day, renewed the challenge, offering to come to Boston at any time they might name. In their reply the Court seemed to accept the invitation, but fixed no time. Cotton was to be the chosen champion of Puritan theology-the man of all others, as the leader of their church, with whom Clarke most desired to meet, and to discuss the two great principles of Baptist faith, voluntary baptism and individual responsibility. These were the two grand points upon which Church and State in Massachusetts were antagonist to the sentiment of Rhode Island. But although Mr. Clarke a third time notified the Court of his readiness, they failed to appoint a day, so that the debate was never held. Crandall was allowed to go home on bail, the jailer being his surety. Holmes was so cruelly whipped, receiving thirty lashes with a three-corded whip from the public executioner, that for many days he could take no rest except by supporting himself on his elbows and knees. Two of the spectators, one an old man named Hazel, who had come from Seekonk, fifty miles, to visit him in prison, were arrested for shaking hands with him after the punishment was over, and were sentenced to pay a fine or to be whipped. The fine was paid by their friends, but Hazel died before reaching home.1
1 See Ill Newes from New England, by John Clarke, London, 1632, 4to., 76 pp. The writer consulted the copy in the British Museum. This very scarce work by one of the ablest men of the seventeenth century, and a
CHAP. VII. 1651. Aug. 1.
11.
14.
Sept. 5.
236
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VII. Thus severely was the savage law of 1644, against the anabaptists, carried out by magistrates and ministers, 1651. who shunned a discussion of the doctrines which they ig- norantly denounced.
founder of Rhode Island, has lately been reprinted by the Mass. Hist. Soc., in the 2d vol. of the 4th series of their Collections.
237
ARRIVAL OF CODDINGTON IN ENGLAND.
CHAPTER VIII.
1651-1663.
FROM THE USURPATION OF CODDINGTON, AUGUST, 1651, TO THE ADOPTION OF THE ROYAL CHARTER, NOVEMBER, 1663.
WHEN Coddington arrived in England the King was CHAP. VIII. already beheaded, the House of Lords had been voted useless, the Commonwealth was declared, and the supreme 1649. power vested in the hands of forty persons as a Coun- cil of State. A revolution as complete had taken place in ecclesiastical affairs. Episcopacy had been abolished three years before ; the Directory had supplanted the 1646. Liturgy ; a greater part of the livings were distributed among the Presbyterian clergy, and finally Presbyterian- ism was established by act of Parliament as the national faith. The new church were as tenacious of their "di- vine right," as ever the old one had been. The rights of conscience were as little understood or respected by Pres- byterians as by Prelatists. Toleration was denied to the Independents by both alike. Humanity gained nothing by the change till the master-spirit of Cromwell curbed the persecuting will of these Protestant Papists. For two years the efforts of Coddington were without result. 1649 More momentous concerns than any that related to distant plantations employed the Council. At length he obtained a hearing. By what representations, or through what in- 1651.
238
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.
CHAP. VIII. 1651. April 3.
Aug.
fluence he succeeded in virtually undoing the acts of the Long Parliament in favor of Rhode Island, we can never know. He obtained from the Council of State a com- mission, signed by John Bradshaw, to govern the islands of Rhode Island and Connanicut during his life, with a council of six men, to be named by the people and ap- proved by himself. With this authoritative document he returned home to sever the islands from the main land towns, and to be in effect the autocrat of the fairest and wealthiest portion of the State. Great was the alarm felt throughout the colony, more especially by the large party in the now subjected islands who, being opposed to Coddington, found themselves, as they thought, at the mercy of a dictator. This party at once prepared to send John Clarke to England, to obtain a revocation of Cod- dington's powers. Providence and Warwick recognized the peril to which their charter was exposed, and has- tened the departure of Roger Williams to secure to them again the rights he had first obtained. William Arnold, one of the Massachusetts subjects at Pawtuxet, wrote to the Commissioners of the United Colonies to inform them of this movement, that Warwick had already raised one hundred pounds, and men in Providence were giving ten or twenty pounds apiece to speed the object of Williams' mission. John Greene, in behalf of Warwick, the same day officially notified the Commissioners, that as the United Colonies had failed to conform to the order of Parliament to protect them, but as they " were bought and sold from one patent and jurisdiction to another," had been threatened with expulsion since the above order was received, summoned to attend Courts in Massachusetts, deprived of trade, and exposed to violence from both Eng- lish and Indians, therefore they should send a messenger to England to obtain redress, and the United Colonies might instruct their agents accordingly to prepare their answers. This official notice was a gratuitous act of
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