USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Westerly > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 32
USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Charlestown > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 32
USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Hopkinton > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 32
USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Richmond > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 32
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Benjamin York died near 1835, age 84; and his wife Desire York, died near 1855, age 85. James York, and his wife Martha York. One lettered stone reads, -
Isaac York, died Sept. 1, 1838, in his 35th year ..
CHAPTER XLIX.
REFORMS.
IT is a cheering truth that progress marks the affairs of men. Though the waves roll irregularly on the surface, and there are de- ceitful eddies, both great and small, in the grand stream along the hard and curving shores, yet careful observation reveals the fact that the tide is slowly but irresistibly rising. Truth is forever aggressive and invincible. Light gradually dissipates darkness. Man is led forward and lifted up and strengthened by a benignant Providence. The achievements and discoveries of one generation but prepare a way for the advances of another.
In Westerly, as in every other township in New England, the tide-marks of a steady and cheering progress are plainly discernible to the careful student. Notwithstanding the conservatism of some, and the obstinacy of others ; despite the ignorance, narrowness, and passions of many, - the great body of society has been happily urged forward to new positions, broader views, and nobler purposes. Great principles, like the trunks of deep-rooted trees, will throw out their strong arms and multiply their fruitful branches.
The progress of society has been apparent not only in things out- ward and visible, - the log-house supplanted by the ceiled mansion, the bridle-path by the graded highway, the hand-loom by the mas- sive factory, the post-rider by the steam-car and the electric tele- graph, - but great ideas and principles have gradually wrought their way into recognition and power. Toleration in things civil and religious, involving the natural and spiritual rights of men, has bloomed into perfect liberty, which has ripened its priceless fruits in the established statutes of the land. The inseparable relation of representation and taxation, warring triumphantly against the en- croachments of despotism and monarchy, has developed itself into independence, and created a new sovereignty for the people. The sacred right of private judgment has at last learned and adopted the great rule of brotherly charity. All inherited predilections for aris- tocracy and caste, whether based on name, wealth, talents, or fran- chises, have been conquered and put in subjection to the common weal by the broad and brotherly spirit of Christian republicanism.
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REFORMS.
By the workings of a beneficent Providence, the greatest men have become the greatest servants of the masses of the people. It would seem that all human calculations and plans, in this country, had been so bent and controlled as to put us, as a people, upon the great and inspiring task of demonstrating and illustrating the real brother- hood of mankind.
It was an important and radical reform in society that expelled slavery from New England. Religious principle assailed and slew the barbaric monster. Along these shores was inaugurated the "irrepressible conflict."
As a colony, Rhode Island was never deeply involved in this " relic of barbarism." She was involved mainly by the avarice of her traders, and the pressure of the practices of the neighboring colonies. Her principles naturally forbade the inhuman system.
Westerly had never many slaves within her borders. These all disappeared immediately after the Revolution. The religious por- tion of the people, particularly the ministers and churches, ever bore steadfast testimony against the idea of property in man. The most decided testimony was doubtless given by the Quakers. But long after slavery had disappeared from amongst us, there strangely lin- gered a strong prejudice against the people who had suffered, -a prejudice against their color, or condition, or capacity. A black man, even a mulatto, is still regarded as belonging to a class not enti- tled to all that is bestowed upon a white person. This prejudice often ' interwove itself with the philosophy and principles of political par- . ties. The " negro" became a bitter element in the chalice of politics. The term " abolitionist " became a stumbling-block to such as fol- lowed parties rather than great principles. The history of this class- feeling towards colored men is a strong illustration of the difficulty we find in conquering our prejudices.
It is well remembered that when the first public speakers, in the advocacy of abolition as a national duty, came to Westerly, not a few principal citizens received them with impolite phrases, and pro- posed to illustrate their hospitality by furnishing unmarketable eggs. The Union House was the theatre of strange and unmannerly scenes. The lecturer was seldom allowed to enter the pulpit, but stood upon the floor. Even then he needed the protection of some benevolent citizen. The lights were often suddenly extinguished. Once when Mr. Jonathan Maxson stood by the speaker with a candle, an object was thrown that smote the candle from his hand. Water was car- ried into the gallery in a pail, and thrown down upon the congrega- tion. The baser sort whistled, stamped, blew little pellets through quills, raised cries of " Order !" and sang odd lines in odd tunes, shouted their applause to each other and their anathemas upon the speaker. In one instance complaint was made to the authorities of these disturbers of the peace, and the culprits were duly arraigned.
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WESTERLY AND ITS WITNESSES.
The prominent citizens in favor of free discussion of the vexed ques- tion and the principle of abolition were the Perrys, the Smiths, and the Maxsons. To espouse the antislavery cause required no small degree of moral courage. Hence even some ministers were long intimidated from publicly avowing the covictions they cherished.
When Frederick Douglass first visited the place he came and went in the Jim Crow car on the railroad, lest he should stain the seats or the society in the regular passenger car. He was the guest here of the stanch Quaker, Charles Perry. . While walking by the side of his host through the street, a solid citizen was overheard to exclaim, " That is abominable ! "
But the abomination has lost is odor. The civil war has " let out the dark," and purified the atmosphere. Mr. Douglass revisited the town in 1868, putting up at the Dixon House very much like a member of the human family, and addressing, in Armory Hall, under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association, a crowded audience of the best and fairest of the people of the town.
A happy and radical reform has been achieved in public senti- timent and practice in reference to the use of strong drink as a beverage; though something remains to make the reform complete and permanent. This movement has been slow, on account of the vastness of the evil to be overcome. The custom which became a fashion and habit throughout society, of using stimulating drinks, in the firm belief that such beverages were useful and necessary, sup- plying even nutriment and strength, held undisputed sway till after the opening of the present century, although the numerous cases of the excessive use of such drinks had awakened in the minds of some , not a few fearful suspicions.
So seductive was the custom, men were slow to discover the delu- sion. The best men in the land habitually used these drinks. At every public and private meeting ; at elections, trainings, weddings, funerals, councils, ordinations, and when friend visited friend, the ardor of brotherhood and hospitality was invariably expressed and renewed by the cup. In every well-ordered house the sideboard or the cupboard held the Santa Cruz, the Holland, the New England, the Cogniac, the Madeira, the Port, and the enticing cordial. Min- isters and governors, no less than farmers and seamen, had faith in the liquid inspiration. Total abstinence was rare, being regarded as a weakness, if not an incivility or eccentricity. Custom was law. In- ebriacy, which would occur, was more pitied than censured. But experience at last became a decided schoolmaster. Painful and increasing facts began to open the eyes of the thoughtful. Diseases were multiplied and aggravated. Estates were drowned in the ever- flowing cup. Talents and characters were sacrificed to the insatiate appetites. The avarice of manufacturers and traders began to increase the evils by adulterating the articles. The veil of igno-
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ance began to fall from the eyes of men. The evils and pangs of the serpent began to be apparent. The best men in the community ;ook the alarm, and raised their voices against the hoary and dan- gerous custom.
Now came the struggle. Custom will fight. Facts are a farce. Principle is a warrior no less than passion. Some men are slaves to usage ; some, however, are bold enough to be iconoclasts.
The first pledge was a half-way measure, aimed against distilled liquors only. Though only a first step forward, it was sharply con- tested. Then followed the second step, that opened the war against intoxicating drinks as a beverage, whether distilled or brewed. The battle now commenced in earnest, and is still being waged. Truth will not surrender or retreat, and custom is obstinate. Religion stands on the side of total abstinence. Politics have thus far usually plead for licenses. Some believe in moral suasion alone; some in moral suasion reinforced by the civil statutes. Appetite asks to be " let alone," and boasts of "liberty." Thus the forces are in the field. But truth and sobriety are winning victories; they have as- saulted and carried the outworks, and even breached the strong- hold itself. Statistics and analytical science have come to the aid of biblical principle and experience.
Good service has been done by the old open temperance societies, by the Sons of Temperance, by the Temples of Honor, by the Good Templars, and by town, county, State, and national societies. Ex- periments have been made with licenses and editions of the Maine Law. Churches and denominations have maishaled themselves for the battle. It is a great war indeed, inaugurated against the greatest evil and danger of our times. Christianity must take the issue and fight out the battle to a glorious victory. The great refor- mation must go forward to a triumph. Time and truth will conquer.
The record of Westerly in the temperance reform has been in advance of the adjacent townships. After a hard struggle, the old groceries gave up the sale of drinks about forty years ago. The few "rum shops " that, in defiance of law, dared open their doors, were compelled to close them near 1840. Some chagrined traders left the town for the town's good. Public sentiment was in favor of prohibition. The town refused to grant licenses near 1830, and has maintained her prohibitory policy to the present time. Truth compels us to say that the ardent enemy has found too much of a foothold in later years in cellars and drug-stores, under the convenient, guise of medicine, and on first-class bills of fare. The veteran hotel-keeper of the town, a pattern in his calling, Charles Leonard, Esq., has ever held a high record in respect to the temper- ance reform, as in all other respects.
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As a happy result of the progressive enlightenment of the people, through the improvement of the public schools, the multiplication
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WESTERLY AND ITS WITNESSES.
and perusal of books, but above all, through the influence of the cardinal principles of Christianity, a more teachable and charitable spirit now prevails than once manifested itself. Prejudices, jealousies, envies, antipathies, and a fiery spirit of debate, once only too prevalent, have given way to quietness, kindness, brotherly love, and a due consideration of our frailties, ignorances, and educational biases. Passion has given place to brotherly argument. Physical force no longer usurps the place and office of moral suasion. A pleasing reform has, in these respects, come over the public mind.
Within a few years past a new measure or policy of reform has been agitated in different parts of our country, termed the " woman's rights movement." It is proposed to extend the elective franchise to women, on the sanie conditions prescribed for men. Both men and women speak upon the question, and claim the measure as a right. Westerly has kindly entertained this claim, listening calmly to its advocates. Petitions to the State and national legislatures have been circulated and numerously signed by strong men and fair women. Only a minority, however, are yet prepared to give the measure their support. Like other new ideas, it must pass through the crucible of discussion.
We have had happy occasion, in sketching the town's history, to mention a number of special seasons of religious awakening. We may here present some record of the revival of 1868.
Prior to the "week of prayer" in January, the six Protestant churches were in a very ordinary state. However, a few persons were burdened in spirit, and prayed much that the Lord would in- terpose by His Spirit. New symptoms of life appeared during the week of prayer. Shortly the minds of several persons were led to propose that the churches should invite the well-known evangelist, Rev. John D. Potter (Congregationalist), to labor in the town for one week. Mr. Potter decided to visit the town, on condition that the place and surrounding country should be divided into districts by the churches, and every family be visited by Christian committees praying where proper, and leaving a printed circular relative to the contemplated meetings. The whole region was thus canvassed. The churches united in hiring Armory Hall, the largest hall in the place, capable of holding a thousand persons.
On the day of Mr. Potter's coming, Jan. 19, the hall was packed; hundreds returned home without hearing the preacher. The public services consisted of preaching in the forenoon, conference in the afternoon, and preaching in the evening. During the hours of pub- lic service, the stores, shops, and mills were closed, save a few con- trolled by utterly irreligious meu. The preaching of Mr. Potter was plain, calm, clear, faithful, pungent. He appealed not to the feel- ings, but to the understanding, the judgment, and the conscience.
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REFORMS.
He drew every point from the simple language of the Bible, and then carried it home to the hearts of his hearers in firm logic, and with the aid of fair and forcible illustrations.
Before leaving, on the evening of Jan. 24, Mr. Potter addressed over two hundred converts and inquirers, most of them sincere in- quirers, as subsequent events have shown. After his departure, the work went steadily forward. The six churches remained as one band. The meetings were continued in the hall nearly every even- ing for three weeks ; and two mass union meetings each week were held. A daily prayer-meeting of the business men, in the morning from 9 to 10 o'clock, was instituted on the 27th of January, in the vestry of the Baptist church, and immediately became a mighty power. These means were supplemented by visiting from house to house, and by tract distribution. As an outgrowth of this work, there was organized, about the 1st of February, a large and strong Young Men's Christian Association, made up of members of the six Evangelical churches.
Rev. J. P. Hubbard (Episcopalian) proposed to Rev. F. Deni- son, pastor of the First Baptist Church in the town, an exchange of pulpits, on the basis of a generous courtesy, each minister to observe the order of services preferred by the respective congregations. The proposition was accepted in the honorable spirit that dictated it. At this juncture, however, the bishop of Rhode Island, Dr. T. M. Clark, sent to Mr. Hubbard an interdict of the proposed exchange. The important correspondence in this matter, between the diocesan and the rector, was published in the Providence Journal of Feb. 18. The rector replied to the diocesan, that in harmony with the Chris- tian scope of the church canons and the principles of the Gospel, he had ventured upon the step of liberty and brotherly love; in short, he was not a High-churchman, but a Low-churchman, and contended for a pure episcopacy. The rector's wardens, vestry, and the mem- bers of his church stood lovingly and firmly by his side, and all Chris- tians in this region of country sympathized with the rector. The exchange of pulpits occurred on the 16th of February. The steps taken in the case were more distinct and weighty than those of the famous case of Rev. S. H. Tyng, to which the notice of the country had been lately called.
For exchanging pulpits, Rev. J. P. Hubbard was presented to the ecclesiastical bar of the Episcopal diocese of Rhode Island, and the trial, engaging the best talent, both clerical and lay, occurred in September, 1868, in the city of Providence. Deep interest was taken in the affair, alike in the State and throughout the country. Canons and customs were thoroughly discussed, and able and eloquent were the pleas. After more than three months' delay, from the close of the trial, the court presented a fully argued verdict of "not guilty."
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CHAPTER L.
REVIEW AND OBSERVATIONS.
THUS have we gathered and arranged what material was accessible for presenting a sketch of the life of Westerly from its origin to the present time. We have traveled over more than two hundred and fifty years. No annalist had trod this particular ground before us. Time and labor might have added to the record. Though inevitable omissions and defects exist in what has been presented, it is hoped that at least the general current of the town's life has been truthfully delineated. Whether or not the mode of presentation has been happy and entertaining, the great facts, of themselves, -to every meditative mind, and every lover of the lessons of experience, the priceless legacies of time, - have certainly been engaging and valuable.
We first beheld this region as a wilderness, the home of tameless but declining pagan red men, and the alinost undisturbed haunt of ravenous wild beasts. Tangled trails and war-paths led along the shores and among the hills. Here and there, in a small burnt clearing, Indian women planted patches of corn and tobacco. On the hill-slopes stood a few low, smoky, bark huts. Through the swamps and along the beaches sauntered the red hunter with knotted club, massive bow, and stone-tipped spear. The Pawcatuck slowly wound its unchecked way through primeval woods to the unmeasured sea. Paganism, with its conflicting, blinding, deaden- ing ideas, was crushing its unhappy votaries. Barbarism held unchecked sway, and the tide of life steadily tended downward to more painful bewilderment and deeper intellectual darkness. No. institutions, no arts deserving name, no metal instruments, no let- tered page, no fruitful thoughts, were born amid the savage scenes. As a people, the Indians had wrought out their sad, instructive destiny.
Next we saw small ships, from another land, hovering on the coast. These bring civilized men, who seek to know the earth's bounds. They approach the shore to trade in furs and impart ideas of a higher, broader life. Soon the providentially banished apostle
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of conscience, Roger Williams, flies to the red men, and, winning their confidence, gains a permanent asylum among them. Wel- comed by King Ninigret, the whites purchase homes in the ancient forests. But the war-whoop yet rings through the woods. Few and bold are the pale faces that venture among the savages. John Babcock and his loving Mary pass the coast in their little shallop, enter the winding Paweatuck, and find a home among the awe- struck barbarians. Puritan settlers come within hail of their log cabin. The Newport band bargain with the old warrior Sosoa, for Misquamicut. The wolves, wild cats, and bears begin to retire before the flash of the English muskets.
The suspicious, revengful savages rise to exterminate the foreign- ers. The Misquamicut settlers seek refuge in Newport. The tomahawk falls before the sword; Philip sleeps with his fathers. The sons of Canonchet smoke the pipe of peace with the children of the Pilgrims. Again the ax resounds through the wilderness, and the pioneer's log-house rises on the hill-top. Bridle-paths are cut eastward and westward, and the music of the house-loom answers to the ring of the scythe.
The old French wars cloud the land and interrupt the flow of colonial life. Brave men die in defense of the crown of England, then the expounder and guardian of liberty. But England at last becomes arbitrary ; in her love of wealth and empire, she aims to . reduce the colonists to a state of vassalage. The tea of aristocratic monopolies is seized from under the lion's paw and thrown into Boston Harbor. Royal stamps are stamped under foot. A people, educated by a study of the Bible, and inheriting the rights of Magna Charta, cannot be bound by royal usurpations ; they must have the right of representation ; if their voices are not heard, their swords shall be. Liberty of conscience lifts its holy banner over the little colony of Rhode Island, and holds it fast in the face of a scorning world.
Meanwhile the Father of nations pours out his Spirit on the tried and periled colonists, and invests them with new intellectual and moral life. The Great Revival, breaking up the unhappy, unnatural coalition of church and state, infusing lofty religious principles and independence of thought, kindles the signal-fires of the approaching Revolution. Westerly is warmed by the new life. Strong, ardent men, such as Stephen Babcock, become standard- bearers of the new ideas. The call is sent over the land; the struggle is opened ; state churches are rent ; prisons are impotent to stay the reformation; persecuted sentiments steadily rise into the ascendant.
Then comes the decisive battle for freedom. A few scattered colonists, forbidden to manufacture paper or arms, are called to con- tend with a great and strong empire. An awful duty is laid upon
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them ; they are inspired to resist kingcraft and aristocratic presump- tions, and to inaugurate a new epoch in the world's history. Chris- tianity had made the people fit to be sovereigns, and the hour for their crowning had now come. Enraged kingcraft drew its sword against the innovation. Vain was the effort to thwart the designs of Providence. The forge gleamed in the forest ; the sound of the anvil echoed to the ax of the shipwright; keels were launched ; forts were erected ; cannon were cast; brave men in homespun shouldered their firelocks and pressed to the points of danger.
The soul-breathing resolutions of Samuel Ward, subscribed by the freemen of Westerly, went, like a trumpet-blast, from these hills far through the land, and were speedily answered by patriot applause. The sons of Westerly gave their lives for liberty. For seven long, struggling, stormy years the blood of freedom freely flowed. In all material interests the land was suffering and being exhausted ; but in principles and manhood - the true life of a country - it was being cultured and ripened to take its high place in the van of the nations. On a broad theatre, before the eyes of all the world, it was being demonstrated that Christianity is the mother of liberty, that pure knowledge is more than princely power; that character is superior to wealth, that principles are mightier than thrones. Providence, that had protected the colonists in their infancy, now strengthened them in their great struggle, so that in defense of their inalienable rights, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor .. Having been tried in the fire, they were found worthy, and crowned with victory. The shorn lion retired to his old transatlantic lair, and the fair flag of Freedom floated over a new Republic.
In the march of events, religious liberty was clearly the harbinger and ally of civil freedom ; it at first stood, as it still stands, like a guardian angel at the portal of our national independence. The once despised New Lights are now eulogized by the descendants of those who bitterly traduced and persecuted them. Ideas that once battled for an existence are now cherished as the only sure safeguards of society. What were once stigmatized as the heresies. that dishonored Rhode Island, are now boastfully framed into the very foundations of our government. Some of the peculiar swad- dling-clothes of those great principles, the best that could then be woven, have indeed been worn out and laid aside ; more perfect and ample raiment is now befitting them ; but the principles remain un- changed, save that they have increased in strength. The progress of ideas is necessarily accompanied by a steady improvement of methods, and new forms of application. Human nature is yet very far from the shining goal of consistency and full understanding. The light is increasing; truth is yet struggling for beneficent do- minion; new ideas will yet take hold of society; old wrongs shall
ساكيو عرب نحن - ٠٩
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gradually lose their grasp ; prejudices shall retire before the steady march of knowledge ; new virtures and new liberties, born of Chris- tianity, shall rise in the bosom of our nation, and lead us forth to an honored destiny.
Near the close of the last century, and especially at the beginning of the present, our country began to spring forward in its new career, self-reliant, independent, hopeful. The old losses were made up, and new strength was developed. Agricultural interests stretched back into the forests and valleys of our great interior; commerce spread her white sails in our harbors to go out to the remotest seas and countries ; manufactures took eager possession of our rivers and streams; roads were opened, bridges were built, schools and colleges were multiplied, banks were incorporated, the older cities grew marvelously in wealth and power; new cities, as by the touch of a magician's wand, sprung up over all the face of the land ; the young men of the nation grew to be inventors, scholars, captains on the great seas, merchant princes, and statesmen.
It was in this era that Westerly, after she had given colonies of emigrants to the new and rising States, began to put on her broader proportions of life at home, and multiply her numbers, her intelli- gence, and her wealth. Prior to this her sons and daughters had labored in laying foundations and in defending old rights. Their times and toils have been too little considered and too faintly recorded. All honor to these pioneers and authors of our liberties. They labored under numerous and peculiar difficulties : the stub- bornness of a wilderness; the unfriendliness of tameless, revenge- ful savages ; remoteness from markets and protection ; the derange- ments of an uncertain currency; and above all, the hatred of the aristocracies of all the world. We wonder not that their prog- ress was somewhat slow. Yet they reared their school-houses and their sanctuaries ; they maintained civil order and the earnest wor- ship of God, and so were prospered. With hard, patient, long- endured toils and sufferings, they carned for us our priceless heri- tage. If they had faults and weaknesses, it was only because they were human ; but all these were overshadowed by their heroic faith and their quenchless spirit of self-sacrifice.
As late as 1830 Westerly numbered but 1,904 inhabitants. Since that time the progress of the town has been quite marked, and the forces of its life have been greatly multiplied. As the agricultural interests of the West overshadowed those of New England, thought and capital were turned to manufactures, inventions, and trade. The tide of emigration westward was somewhat arrested, though it has never ceased to flow, and at a later period reached even the golden gate of California. But new interests arose in the bosom of the town. The old stage-coach gave way to the railroad train; canvas
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was furled before the power of steam ; the clumsy wheels of the few old mills yielded their places to swifter, stouter Yankee inven- tions, and new, larger mills occupied the old sites ; the river, at its every turn, was made to sing through a thousand spindles and looms. Wealth accumulated ; intelligence increased ; new churches lifted up their spires ; conscious strength braced itself for further advance- ment and new achievements.
The people learned that their strength lay in their intelligence and their virtues. The farmers of the East can no longer compete with those of the West. We must work with our ideas, our skill, our characters. We may build ships and machines, and manufac- ture cloths and all other articles of commerce; we may make our town a workshop; all this we must do, or our children will be drawn away to the prairies and cities of the exhaustless interior.
As in the trying hour of the Revolution, so in the hour of the slaveholders' rebellion, the sons of Westerly sprung to their arms for the defense of our country; for freedom and the right they " jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field." They gave their treasure, their tears, aud their blood.
The mother blessed her parting son, The father girt his armor on; The knapsack's corners sisters strove To fill with tokens of their love; The aged grandsire spoke his cheers, The cradle bore its jeweled tears.
From the original bounds of the town of Westerly, the number killed in battle and who died from wounds and disease while in the service, was sixty-two : no small price was this. But the struggle issued in the glorious redemption of the land, and the infusion of a higher life into the heart of the nation.
Yes, thus it is, that earth's best good Still comes through sacrificial blood.
The village of Westerly has doubled in population and trebled in wealth in the last twenty years. The rural portions of the town have not materially changed. More business is done at the railroad station here than at any other on the line of the road out of Provi-" dence. Besides this, a steamboat, sloops, and schooners are con- stantly bearing their freights in and out of the Pawcatuck.
The property valuation of Westerly in 1769 was $475,000, and that of the State was only 814,752,430.
The banks, though employing an aggregate capital of $1,000,000, are insufficient to meet the monetary calls of the town.
The total valuation of the taxable property of the town in No-
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vember, 1876, was $4,421,310; of which $3,102,900 was real estate, and $1,318,410 was personal estate. On this was levied a tax of $26,527.86.
The census of the town taken in 1875, gave the following results : number of inhabitants, 5,408 ; number of families, 1,136; number of houses, 834. This roll, particularly in reference to houses, has been enlarged within the past two years.
Within the original bounds of Westerly there are now twenty-two occupied meeting-houses : of these, seven are held by the regular Baptists ; seven by the Sabbatarians; two by Quakers; one by the Indians; one by Six Principle Baptists ; one by Free Will Baptists ; one by Christian Baptists ; one by Episcopalians; one by the Meth- odists. Members of the Congregational and Catholic churches reside within the town, while their churches are in Stonington. But in the village of Westerly the church sittings are now insufficient for the accommodation of the people.
What has been the secret, the spring, the one efficient cause of all these changes? Why, in the long centuries past, could not the ab- origines begin such changes? Why could they not draw out the wealth and boundless resources of this continent, that were lying be- fore them and inviting the hand of culture and combination ? Why were they unable to unfold a life similar to that which now exists here ? By what means have the children of Europeans been able so to transform this land, and raise themselves to such a height of thought, of feeling, of purpose, of wealth, and of power? The answer is found in two words - Religion and Learning ; more properly in one word - Christianity, - the mother of good char- acter and pure knowledge, the only royal powers on earth. Pure character, using pure knowledge, acquires wealth and power, and then so employs these as to add to the thought, and life, and weal, of the world. Our Bibles, our schools, our pulpits, our home altars, our sanctuaries, our presses, our shops, our farms, - all the product of Christian civilization ; these are the powers and agencies, under God the gracious giver, that we have employed, and thereby risen to our eminence of enlightenment, liberty, thrift, quietness, and confi- dent expectation of future success ; these have made the wilderness bud and blossom as the rose.
Of religious doctrines and ecclesiastical organizations and forms of worship, the historian, without assuming any theological side, may safely say, " By their fruits ye shall know them." This is the suffi- cient canon of criticism ; this is the true rule of judgment. That always is the best which, in its natural developments, achieves the best results. Time will at last so pronounce upon all our opinions and all our works. And this canon applies as well to polit- ical parties, and to all forms of human associations; only such as
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feel the heart-throbs of society, as are warmed by the pulse of love and liberty, and seek the weal of the great brotherhood of men, shall receive the approving verdict of the world. This quickening, kindling, expanding, diffusive life comes streaming down to us from the cross of Christ. Thus history, carefully studied, speaks to us in language not doubtful or unemphatic relative to the ends for which we should aim, and the means we should adopt in their pursuit.
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1626-1876.
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