USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island tercentenary, 1636-1936. A report by the Rhode Island Tercentenary commission of the celebration of the three-hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations > Part 4
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OLD RHODE ISLAND SHIPS.
By Jeff Davis, Yachting Editor, Providence Journal. Tri-weekly in Providence Evening Bulletin, July 6 through September 14, 1936. Illustrated by George Gale.
JUDGE SEWALL'S GIFTS IN THE NARRAGANSETT COUNTRY.
By Caroline Hazard of Peace Dale. Rhode Island Tercentenary Edition, 1936.
THREE CENTURIES OF POOR LAW ADMINISTRATION IN RHODE ISLAND.
By Margaret Creech. University of Chicago Press, 1936.
OLD "WESTERLE," RHODE ISLAND.
Now Constituting the Towns of Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond and Westerly. Rhode Island's Jubilee Year, 1636-1936. 66 pp., cloth, The Utter Company, Westerly. Text by George B. Utter, drawings by Milo R. Clarke- with two maps. Westerly Chamber of Commerce and Western Washington County Tercentenary Committee. 50 cents.
TOWNS AND CITIES OF RHODE ISLAND.
Short historical sketches, in monthly issues of A Readers Guide to Books, by Providence Public Library, January 1936, through March, 1937.
EARLY LAND HOLDERS OF WATCH HILL.
Reginald Peck, Watch Hill, author and publisher. $1.00.
LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDAH TOURO.
By David C. Adelman. A tercentenary address, delivered May 13, 1936.
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
TRINITY CHURCH IN NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND: A HISTORY OF THE FABRIC. By Norman M. Isham, A.M., F. A. I.A. pp. 111. B. B. Updike, The Merrymount Press, Boston, $5.00.
GLIMPSES OF EAST GREENWICH, RHODE ISLAND.
A folder, Illustrated. 24 pp., with map. East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce.
YOU'LL LIKE RHODE ISLAND.
A folder, Illustrated. Rhode Island Hotel Association.
TERCENTENARY GUIDE TO HISTORICAL POINTS OF INTEREST AND AMUSEMENT IN RHODE ISLAND.
Providence, 1936: 84 pp.
THE LOWER BLACKSTONE VALLEY.
History of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln and Cumberland, R. I. By John W. Haley, Roscoe M. Dexter, Mrs. Agnes N. Beede. With an Appendix con- taining a History of the Old Slater Mill, the Blackstone Canal, a Chronology of Events in these localities and a Bibliography. 210 pp., lavishly illustrated with reproductions of old prints and photographs. Two editions , 1000 copies each: cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 Cents. Tercentenary Committee of the Lower Blackstone Valley, of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Tercentenary Committee, Inc.
COMMEMORATING THREE HUNDRED YEARS.
An account of the Proceedings of the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Tercentenary Committee, Inc., the Rhode Island Tercentenary Commission and the Providence Tercentenary Committee. 88 pp., Two editions: Leather and cloth bound, for distribution to subscribers and workers, to fund and work of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Tercentenary Committee, Inc.
THE BEGINNINGS OF PROVIDENCE.
By Howard M. Chapin, Librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society. Pub- lished in 19 parts in the Providence Evening Bulletin, January 2-March 5, 1936. Illustrated.
YOUR PLANTATIONS.
By Dr. Charles Carroll, Late State Director of Vocational Education. A con- densation in 90 articles, of Dr. Carroll's four-volume work "Rhode Island --- Three Centuries of Democracy." Printed with permission of the copyright owners, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, by the Providence News-Tribune, April 15-July 29, 1936.
HANDBOOK OF HISTORICAL SITES IN RHODE ISLAND.
Published in Connection with the Tercentenary Celebration of the Founding of Providence. By the Department of Public Schools, Providence, Rhode Island, 1936. Stiff paper, 96 pp. with Index and Tercentenary Pictorial Map of Rhode Island. Illustrated: 35 cents.
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
THE STORY OF THE JEWS OF NEWPORT, 1658-1908.
By Morris A. Gutstein, Rabbi of Touro Synagogue, Newport. 392 pp. Block Publishing Co., New York.
ITALO-AMERICANS OF RHODE ISLAND.
By Ubaldo U. M. Pesaturo. Providence: Privately printed by Mr. Pesaturo. 172 pp. $3.00.
THE STORY OF PETTAQUAMSCUTT.
By Mary Kenyon Huling, of Lafayette, R. I. Providence: The Reynolds Press. 27 pp. and Map.
A SHORT HISTORY OF BEAVER TAIL LIGHT.
By William Gilman Low. Jamestown Historical Society Bulletin No. 7.
THE SPIRIT OF ROGER WILLIAMS.
School leaflets Nos I-XLIII for the Rhode Island Tercentenary. (Elementary, Junior and Senior High Schools.)
RHODE ISLAND POPULATION TRENDS.
By John Hutchins Cady, Secretary, Rhode Island State Planning Board, 1936. RHODE ISLAND COMMERCIAL FISHERIES.
Rhode Island State Planning Board, 1936.
RHODE ISLAND WATER RESOURCES.
By O. P. Sarle, Engineer, State Planning Board. Rhode Island State Planning Board, 1936.
A CATALOG OF AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS BY GILBERT STUART, FURNITURE BY THE GODDARDS AND TOWNSENDS, SILVER BY RHODE ISLAND SILVERSMITHS. Rhode Island School of Design Art Museum, 1936.
RECORDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE AS SOURCE MATERIAL (RHODE ISLAND).
Appeared in alternate months of Pencil Points during 1935 and 1936.
HISTORY OF GREENE AND VICINITY, 1845-1929. By Squire G. Wood, Providence, 1936.
A CATALOG OF A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF THE WORK OF ARTISTS IDEN- TIFIED WITH NEWPORT. RHODE ISLAND TERCENTENARY. JULY 25-AUGUST 16.
The Art Association of Newport, 1936.
EARLY HOMES IN RHODE ISLAND.
By Antoinette F. Downing, with drawings by Helen Mason Grose and photo- graphs by Arthur LeBoeuf. Cloth, 180 pp. text, with 300 illustrations, $5.00. Garrett & Massie, Richmond, Va.
THE JOHN BROWN HOUSE.
Description of the house, interior and furnishings as arranged for Tercentenary exhibition, including pieces of the original furniture loaned for this first public showing of what President John Adams termed the finest private mansion in America. Printed by John Nicholas Brown for distribution to visitors. 8 pp.
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
TERCENTENARY MAPS
PRINTED OR REPRINTED FOR THE 1936 ANNIVERSARY
RHODE ISLAND 1636-1936 TERCENTENARY HISTORICAL AND HIGHWAY MAP.
Issued by the Department of Public Roads, Division of Roads and Bridges, in
Cooperation with the Rhode Island Tercentenary Commission, in an edition of 150,000.
HISTORICAL MAP OF RHODE ISLAND: IN COMMEMORATION OF THE THREE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING.
Reprint of a part of the Rhode Island Tercentenary Road Map, by the Rhode Island Tercentenary Commission. Printed in buff. Edition of 2000.
RHODE ISLAND.
A Pictorial and Historical Map by Phillips D. Booth. Issued by the Rhode Island Tercentenary Commission and the Rhode Island Department of Education for Distribution to Rhode Island public, Catholic and private schools in an edition of 5000 of which 1000 were framed by the Tercentenary Commis- sion. Printed in six colors.
"SOUTH COUNTY" IN RHODE ISLAND, 1935 A. D.
A Pictorial and Historical Map 7 x 101/2. Designed by Phillips D. Booth. Pub- lished by The Utter Company, Westerly. Distributed by Westerly Chamber of Commerce.
"SOUTH COUNTY" IN RHODE ISLAND, 1936 A. D.
A pictorial and Historical Map 7 x 101/2, with descriptive foot, note. Designed by Phillips D. Booth. Published by The Utter Company, Westerly. Distrib- uted by Westerly Chamber of Commerce and the Westerly Tercentenary Committee.
WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND.
A pictorial map, 10 x 15, forming a part of a Westerly folder. Reprint, 1936, by the Westerly Chamber of Commerce.
NEWPORT AND THE HISTORIC ISLAND OF RHODE ISLAND.
Pictorial and Historic Map in Color, arranged by John W. Haley and designed by H. W. Hetherington. With a Pictorial Map in color, of Newport's Ten Mile Drive. Issued by Mount Hope Bridge Corporation, Bristol.
A TERCENTENARY MAP OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS, 1636-1936.
Drawn by the State Planning Board for the R. I. Tercentenary Committee. Issued by Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Tercentenary Committee, Inc. Copyright, 1935. A Pictorial and Historical Map by William A. Perry.
TERCENTENARY MAP OF EARLY HOPE VALLEY AND WYOMING.
Published by Hopkinton Tercentenary Committee.
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
WESTERN WARWICK: THE PAWTUXET VALLEY OF RHODE ISLAND.
An historical map, drawn by Charles A. Keller. Published for the Pawtuxet Valley Tercentenary Committee by Pawtuxet Valley Daily Times, Copy- right, 1936.
EAST GREENWICH.
An historical map drawn by Nancy Allen of Cowesett and published by the Rhode Island Pendulum, East Greenwich.
PICTORIAL MAP OF THE CITY OF WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND.
Drawn by Hugo Haeseler. Prepared and compiled by Ernest L. Lockwood. Published by the Warwick Tercentenary Committee.
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
THE THREE TERCENTENARY ORGANIZATIONS
THE STATE COMMISSION
RHODE ISLAND TERCENTENARY COMMISSION
VERY REVEREND LORENZO C. MCCARTHY, O. P. Chairman
REPRESENTATIVE FRANK E. BALLOU, of Providence Vice Chairman
MR. JOHN NICHOLAS BROWN, Newport MR. IRA LLOYD LETTS, Providence
SENATOR ALFRED G. CHAFFEE, Scituate
SENATOR JOSEPH P. DUNN, Portsmouth
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES H. KIERNAN, Providence HORACE G. BELCHER, Executive Secretary
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
THE JUBILEE COMMITTEE
RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS TERCENTENARY COMMITTEE, INC.
Executive Board
IRA LLOYD LETTS, Chairman Providence
ADDISON P. MUNROE, Honorary Chairman Providence
ARTHUR L. PHILBRICK, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer Providence
MRS. FRANK M. ADAMS, Recording Secretary
HOWARD V. ALLEN East Greenwich
HON. J. JEROME HAHN Providence
MONSIGNOR PETER E. BLESSING Providence
MRS. EDWARD S. MOULTON Providence
MISS SALLIE E. COY Westerly
ANTONIO PRINCE Providence
EDWARD L. COMAN Wakefield
LUIGI SCALA Providence
JOHN WINTHROP DEWOLF Bristol
HON. MORTIMER A. SULLIVAN Newport
HON. ROSCOE M. DEXTER Pawtucket
G. BENJAMIN UTTER Westerly
HON. JOSEPH H. GAINER Providence
MISS EDITH K. WETMORE Newport
Trustees
HENRY D. SHARPE
WALTER F. FARRELL MORTIMER L. BURBANK
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
District Chairmen
Bristol District
G. ANDREWS MORIARTY 596 Hope St. Bristol, R. I.
Burrillville-Glocester District
AUSTIN T. LEVY Stillwater Worsted Mills Harrisville, R. I.
Eastern Washington District
EDWARD L. COMAN 830 Industrial Trust Bldg. Providence, R. I. or 26 Lake St. Wakefield
Kent County District
HARRY R. LEWIS 106 Union Trust Bldg. Providence, R. I. or Frenchtown, R. I.
Newport District DR. A. HAMILTON RICE Bellevue Avenue Newport, R. I.
Pawtucket District
HON. ROSCOE M. DEXTER 255 Main St. Pawtucket, R. I.
Providence District
WILLIAM B. SPENCER 24 Exchange Place, Room 413 Providence, R. I.
Watch Hill District
HARRY PARSONS CROSS 1130 Hospital Trust Bldg. Providence, R. I.
Western Washington District
ARTHUR L. PERRY Washington Trust Co. Broad St., Westerly
Woonsocket EUGENE L. JALBERT 1 Social St. Woonsocket, R. I.
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
THE PROVIDENCE COMMITTEE
PROVIDENCE CITY COUNCIL TERCENTENARY COMMITTEE
COUNCILMAN DAVID A. DORGAN, Fifth Ward, Chairman ALDERMAN RUSH STURGES, First Ward ALDERMAN WALTER S. GRANT, Second Ward ALDERMAN FRANK RAO, Fourth Ward ALDERMAN FRANK J. DUFFY, Seventh Ward ALDERMAN JOHN F. CASHMAN, Eighth Ward COUNCILMAN EDWARD F. MORAN, Third Ward COUNCILMAN PETER F. REILLY, Sixth Ward COUNCILMAN JOSEPH SCHLOSSBERG, Ninth Ward COUNCILMAN JOSEPH V. WEST, Tenth Ward
COUNCILMAN FRANK SCOLLARD, Eleventh Ward COUNCILMAN WILLIAM A. CAHIR, Twelfth Ward COUNCILMAN FREDERICK B. JOOST, Thirteenth Ward WILLIAM C. WAUGH, Executive Secretary
Sub-Committees
Ball, House and Coin COUNCILMAN EDWARD F. MORAN
Pageant, Bands Reception ALDERMAN JOHN F. CASHMAN
Mardi Gras, Exhibits, Chronicle. COUNCILMAN WILLIAM A. CAHIR
Girl Popularity Contest COUNCILMAN FREDERICK B. JOOST
Fireworks, Sports, Drum and Bugle Corps ALDERMAN FRANK RAO
Marathon, Football Game, Firemen's Muster. ALDERMAN FRANK DUFFY American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military and Religious Organizations COUNCILMAN JOSEPH V. WEST
Choral, Transportation, Decorations COUNCILMAN JOSEPH SCHLOSSBERG Historical ALDERMAN RUSH STURGES Floats, Speakers. COUNCILMAN FRANK SCOLLARD
Regatta, Army and Navy COUNCILMAN PETER F. REILLY
Educational, Mayor Doyle Memorial. ALDERMAN WALTER S. GRANT
PROVIDENCE TERCENTENARY CORPORATION
Incorporated December 24, 1935 COL. JOSEPH SAMUELS PERCIVAL O. DE ST. AUBIN MICHAEL F. DOOLEY CARL B. MARSHALL DR. ANGELO M. PARENTE
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
REMARKABLE EVENT OPENS TERCENTENARY
N OCTOBER 9, 1635, Mr. Roger Williams of Salem stood before the General Court of the Bay Colony, now the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to receive sentence.
He had been ordered by the Clergy, the magistrates and the elders to appear at Newtown, now Cambridge, October 6 for a second trial, the first having proved inconclusive. He had with- drawn from the Salem church and renounced communion with all the New England churches, disagreeing with their tenets, as he denied the justice of the form of civil government. At that time in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies attendance at the established church-Congregational-of the colony was compul- sory, the ministers of the churches had magisterial power to enforce and make laws, and church membership, which was not given to everyone, was a requisite for voting or otherwise participating in government.
Two days were spent in trying to get Williams to recant, before the trial opened on Thursday, October 8, in the church of Rev. Thomas Hooker, later founder of Hartford, Conn. No spe- cific charges were entered into the Court records against him, nor were any specific charges made, other than the beliefs he had ex- pressed.
There were present the Governor, magistrates, deputies, all the ministers of Massachusetts Bay, 14 in number, representing 10 churches. In all, 50 persons took official part in the trial, repre- senting fewer than 500 freemen out of the 12,000 settlers who had come to New England and settled on the Massachusetts coast. Gov. Haynes presided, acted as chief prosecuting attorney and judge.
After the trial, Gov. Haynes summed up:
"Mr. Williams," he said, "holds forth these four particulars:
"First, that we have not our land by Patent from the King, but that the Natives are the true owners of it and that we ought to repent of such a receiving it by Patent.
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
"Secondly, that it is not lawful to call a wicked person to swear, to pray, as being actions of God's worship.
"Thirdly, that it is not lawful to hear any of the ministers of the parish assemblies in England.
"Fourthly, that the civil magistrate's power extends only to the bodies and goods and outward state of man, etc."
To all of this, Williams made acknowledgment.
He was sentenced, October 9, all the ministers except John Cotton approving, the Court record reading:
"Mr. Roger Williams, one of the elders of the church at Salem, hath broached and dyvulged divers newe dangerous opinions, against the authorities of magistrates, as also writ Ires (letters) of defamacn, both of the magistrates and churches here, & that before any conviccon & yet maintaineth the same without retrac- con, it is therefore ordered that the said Mr. Williams shall depte out of this juristiccon within six weekes next ensueing. Which, if he neglect to perform, it shall be lawful for the Governor and two of the magistrates to send him to some place out of their juris- diccon, not to return any more without license from the Court."
Williams and his friends petitioned the General Court to per- mit him to remain at Salem until spring because of his ill health and the fact that Mrs. Williams was soon to become a mother. This permission was granted with an injunction "not to go about to draw others to his opinions."
In that same month his second daughter, Freeborne, was born to Roger and Mary Williams.
Williams continued to hold private religious meetings in his own home, attended by many friends and followers. During the winter he planned, with Gov. John Winthrop who remained his friend and young Henry Vane, Jr., who had arrived from England shortly after his sentence, to begin a settlement in the Narragansett country based on his two cardinal principles, the rights of man and liberty of conscience with separation of church and state. He had made, during 1634 and 1635, verbal treaties with the Narragansetts and the Wampanoags for land beyond the Bay territory.
January 11, 1636, Gov. Haynes and the assistants met at Boston to consider his case and agreed to send him to England on a
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
ship then in the harbor, ready to sail. A warrant was issued against him, but he received warning of this and fled into the wilderness, eventually after more than three months, to be heard from again at his first settlement at Phillipsdale, in what now is East Provi- dence, then claimed by Plymouth Colony.
His banishment was temporarily lifted in 1676, following the burning of Providence by the Indians in King Philip's War, but not by the General Court.
In the Massachusetts State archives, volume 10, page 233, is the following:
"Whereas, Mr. Roger Williams stands at present under a sen- tence of Restraint from coming into this colony, yet considering hos readyly & freely at all tymes he hath served the English interest in this time of warre with the Indians & Manefested his particular respects to the Authority of this colony in several services desired of him, & further understanding how by the last assult of the Indians upon Providence his House is burned & himself in his old age reduced to an uncomfortable & disabled state: Out of com- passion to him in this condition the Council doe order & Declare that if the syd. Mr. Williams shall see cause & desire it he shall have liberty to repayre into any of our Townes for his security & com- fortable abode during these Publick Troubles. He behaving himself peaceably & inoffensibly & not disseminating & venting any of his different opinions in matters of Religion to the dissatisfaction of any. 1676 E. R .- s. Past by ye Council the 31th of March."
This is endorsed "Act of ye Council 31 March, 1676; as to Mr. Roger Wms. Banishment taken care of."
The signature "E. R-s" is meant for Edward Rawson, sec- retary, as he signed many of the original papers in that manner.
There is no reference to this act in the records of the Massa- chusetts Bay Colony, as it was an act of the Council and therefore had no place among the legislative doings of that year. The records of the Council for the period including the year 1676 are missing from the Secretary's files. Thus this action, which was nothing more than a temporary revocation of the sentence of banishment, is noted only in the original records of the Council.
The first action by the body which banished Williams, came three centuries after the original sentence, although several efforts
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
were made in the latter part of the last century and the years directly preceding the Tercentenary, to secure passage of an act revoking the decree of banishment.
Kendrick H. Washburn of Middleboro, Representative from the 7th Plymouth District, after unsuccessful efforts in 1935 and preceding years, introduced in the 1936 session a bill for revocation of the banishment decree. This bill, reported favorably by the Legislative Committee on Legal Affairs, without dissent, was on January 24 ordered to its third reading, ensuring success after five efforts to that end.
The official presentation of this act rescinding the decree of banishment, by Gov. James M. Curley accompanied by a delegation from both houses of the Great and General Court, was the feature of the official opening of the Tercentenary by the Rhode Island Tercentenary Commission, at the State House, Monday, May 4.
Engrossed and framed, with the quill pen tipped with a gold point by which it was signed, attached by a blue satin ribbon, the copy handed by Gov. Curley to Governor Theodore Francis Green, reads:
CHAPTER II
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty-six
RESOLVE providing for the Revocation of the Sentence of Expulsion of Roger Williams passed by the General Court of Mass- achusetts Bay Colony in Sixteen Hundred and Thirty-five.
RESOLVED That, in so far as it is constitutionally competent for the General Court to revoke the sentence of expulsion passed against Roger Williams by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony in the year sixteen hundred and thirty-five, the same is hereby revoked.
Passed
House of Representatives, February 28, 1936 LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Speaker In Senate, April 27, 1936 JAMES G. MORAN, President
Passed
April 30, 1936
Approved,
JAMES M. CURLEY, Governor
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Boston, May 1, 1936
A True Copy
Witness the Great Seal of the Commonwealth.
(Signed) F. W. Cook
Secretary of the Commonwealth
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
The Rhode Island Cercentenary Commission
REQUESTS THE HONOR OF YOUR PRESENCE AT EXERCISES
Inaugurating the Cercentenary Celebration
TO BE HELD ON THE
State House
MONDAY, MAY THE FOURTH NINETEEN HUNDRED THIRTY -SIX AT TWO-THIRTY O'CLOCK
The principal feature will be the presentation of the official revocation of the edict of banishment of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. His Excellency, Governor James M. Curley will speak for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His Excellency, Governor Theodore Francis Green will reply for the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
Inaugurating the
RHODE ISLAND TERCENTENARY
Celebrating three centuries of "a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand, and best be maintained, with a full liberty in religious concernments."
STATE HOUSE, PROVIDENCE MONDAY, MAY 4, 1936 2:30 o'clock
The 160th Anniversary of the Rhode Island Declaration of Independence
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
Patriotic Numbers Including Rhode Island State March by George Spink PROVIDENCE FESTIVAL BAND Robert Gray, Leader
"The Star Spangled Banner," Arranged by O'Hara PROVIDENCE FESTIVAL CHORUS, 300 Voices John B. Archer, Conductor
The Tercentenary VERY REV. LORENZO C. MCCARTHY, O. P. President of Providence College Chairman, Rhode Island Tercentenary Commission
Invocation REV. ARTHUR W. CLEAVES, D. D. Pastor, First Baptist Church, Providence Founded by Roger Williams and Associates
Rhode Island State Hymn
Verses by Sarah E. Taylor Tune, "Duke Street"
Presentation of Act of Massachusetts General Court rescinding the decree of banishment imposed by the Court October 9, 1635 upon "Mr. Roger Williams, of Salem."
HIS EXCELLENCY, JAMES MICHAEL CURLEY Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
"Song of the World Adventurers," Converse THE CHORUS Response for the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations HIS EXCELLENCY, THEODORE FRANCIS GREEN Governor Benediction RT. REV. G. GAYLORD BENNETT, D. D. Auxiliary Bishop of Rhode Island Singing, "America," by Everyone
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A Report of the Tercentenary Commission
THE TERCENTENARY EXERCISES, MAY 4
"MORE IDEAS WHICH HAVE BECOME NATIONAL," SAYS THE HISTORIAN BANCROFT, "HAVE EMANATED FROM THE LITTLE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND THAN FROM ANY OTHER."
On cover of May 4 program
AY 4, the 160th anniversary of the Rhode Island Decla- ration of Independence, was for the first time a legal holiday under the terms of a resolution sponsored by Gov. Green and passed by the May Session, 1935, of the General Assembly. The meeting of the General Assembly at which Rhode Island, first of all the American colonies replaced the authority of the King by that of the Colony, was reproduced with stirring pageantry during the morning, at the old State House on Benefit street where the bold stroke for independence originally was enacted.
There were present a distinguished gathering of State, city and Brown University officials, with members of the Rhode Island Society, Colonial Dames in America, Daughters of the Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution, many of the representatives of patriotic societies wearing costumes of their ancestors or repro- ductions of them. These exercises were arranged by the Providence Tercentenary Committee. Miss Margaret Stearns arranged the pageant, assisted by Royal B. Farnum, Mrs. Walter S. Ball and Mrs. G. Richmond Parsons. The script for the 30-minute session of the General Assembly was by Gerald L. Bronstein of the Brown Uni- versity Sock and Buskin Society.
The Speaker, Metcalfe Bowler, impersonated by a direct descendant, L. Metcalfe Walling, mounted the rostrum. The Representatives filed in and took their seats, in Colonial costume. The Speaker called "the House of Representatives of the Colony of Rhode Island" to order and recognized Col. Jonathan Arnold, a Deputy from Providence, represented by Governor Theodore Francis Green, a direct descendant of the writer of this immortal declaration.
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The Rhode Island Tercentenary 1636-1936
Declaring the opinions he was about to express were "the sentiments of the whole citizenry of Rhode Island", Col. Arnold said "The passage of the act which I hold in my hand will be called rebellion."
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