USA > Vermont > Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, Vol. V > Part 60
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Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be requested to transmit to the executive of the United States all the information of which he is
'It has been stated that Collins and Valentine surveyed the line in 1771, '2 '3 and '4 .- See Vol. IV, p. 116.
2 In Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York, vols. VII and VIII, the papers on this subject will be found. Letters of Gov. Moore of New York show that Gen. Carleton, then recently ap- pointed Lieutenant Governor of Canada and afterward made Lord Dorchester, was present when the line was "fixed in the River Sorell about two miles and a half below [north of ] Windmill Point, so that no part of Lake Champlain is included in the Province of Quebec, except a small portion of the Missiscoui Bay."-Gov. Moore to the Earl of Shel- burne, Nov. 8 1766. The boundary then ascertained and agreed upon, by Gov. Moore of New York and Lieut. Gov. Carleton of Canada, was approved by an order of the King in Council Aug. 12 1768.
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or shall be availed, respecting the northern boundary of this state, and to solicit an ascertainment of said boundary.1
In the executive speech of 1805, Gov. Tichenor said that he had strictly attended to the business thus entrusted to him, and would make it the subject of a future message. Accordingly, on the 1st of Novem- ber he sent in a communication on the subject, which is not embraced in the journal, for the reason, as the Clerk stated, that it was by acci- dent mislaid and not returned to him. It was referred to Lewis R. Morris, Nathaniel Chipman, and Asa Lyon, who reported the following act, passed Nov. 8 1805:
AN ACT empowering the Governor of this state to ascertain the North- ern Boundary of this state.
SECTION 1. It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, That the Governor of this state for the time being be and he hereby is authorised and empowered to employ some person of com- petent knowledge, together with such assistants as he may deem neces- sary, to ascertain by celestial observation where the forty-fifth degree of north latitude crosses Lake Memphrimagog, and where the same inter- sects Connecticut-River, and how far a parallel of latitude extended east and west from said points will deviate from the present boundary line.
SEC. 2. And it is hereby further enacted, That, for the purposes afore- said, there be and there is hereby appropriated a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars; and the treasurer is hereby directed to pay the same, or any part thereof, to the order of the Governor.2
Under this act, Gov. Tichenor appointed Rev. SAMUEL WILLIAMS, LL.D. of Rutland, to perform the work assigned, whose report was com- municated to the Assembly in 1806, as follows:
RUTLAND, June 28th, 1806.
Sir,-In conformity to your excellency's commission and instructions of April 25th, I have examined the latitude of the northern line of this state, at the original monument on Connecticut River, and at Lake Memphramagog.
By a course of astronomical observations, which were carefully taken, I found the latitude of the monument on Connecticut River to be 44 deg. 47 min. 59 sec. Reduced to miles on the surface of the earth, the difference between this latitude and that of forty-five degrees, will amount to thirteen miles, three quarters, and fifty-four rods. So much further north, ought the northern boundary of this state to have been, at Connecticut River.
By a similar course of observations at Lake Memphramagog, I found the latitude of the monument at that place to be 44 deg. 53 min. 46 sec. Reduced to miles on the surface of the earth, this will amount to seven miles and seventy-one rods. So much further north ought our northern boundary line to have been at this place.
If it be admitted that the monument at Lake Champlain is fixed in the latitude of forty-five degrees, the quantity of land lost to this state, by the error in running this line, will amount to seventeen townships, and
'Printed Assembly Journal of 1804, pp. 42, 44, 363.
2 Printed Assembly Journal of 1805, pp. 13, 129, 133; and Acts of 1805, p. 242.
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forty-four hundredths of a township. The direction of Connecticut River, at the upper part of this state, is from the north east; on this ac- count one or two more townships would accrue to this state, if the north line of it was run on the line of forty-five degrees and continued till it intersected Connecticut River. A particular account of the observa- tions and calculations which I made at those places, with a map contain- ing the result, is enclosed for your excellency's more particular exam- ination.
The instrument which would have been proper to make such observ- ations, is an astronomical quadrant, or sector. I took much pains to procure an instrument of this kind, but could not find any such instru- ment in this state. There was no way but to construct one of the kind; and it was because I had been accustomed to such kind of instruments and observations, that I was able to complete the business.
I think it my duty respectfully to state to your excellency, that if in the prosecution of this business the event should be, that the divisional line between Vermont and the adjacent part of the province of Canada is to be marked and run out by agents from each government, it will be indispensably necessary that this state should be provided with an astro- nomical quadrant that will admit of the most minute accuracy in mak- ing the necessary observations.
I inclose an account of the expences attending the business.1 From the observations which have been mentioned it appears, either that our northern line is not run in a strait [straight] direction, or that the mon- ument at lake Champlain is not placed in the latitude of forty-five de- grees. I should have gone to the monument at that place and observed its situation, but neither my commission nor the act of the Assembly invested me with any discretionary power in that respect. With much respect, I am your excellency's most obedient and humble servant,
SAMUEL WILLIAMS.
His excellency Governor Tichenor.
The foregoing report was referred to Titus Hutchinson, Abel Spencer, Caleb Hendee jr., Arad Hunt, and Dudley Chase, and Nathaniel Niles and Samuel Shepardson were joined from Council, who reported the following resolution, which was adopted:
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Oct. 18, 1806.
Resolved, That the General Assembly do hereby request the Governor and Council to transmit to the President of the United States informa- tion of the measures directed and taken by this government to ascertain the northern boundary of this State, and the result of the observations made for that purpose; and request the General Government to take proper measures to ascertain and fix the northern line of this State. And also that they transmit to the Governor of New York the like in- formation, that the government of New York may co-operate with this State in the same object, if they should deem it worthy of their atten- tion.2
Discussion ensued between the governments of the United States and Great Britain, which was interrupted by the war of 1812-1814; but by the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, Dec. 24 1814, it was provided that two commissioners should be charged with fixing the boundaries
1The cost of the examination was $299.28.
? Printed Assembly Journal of 1806, pp. 26, 73, 96.
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from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia to the Iroquois or Cataraquy [St. Lawrence,] " particularizing the latitude and longitude of the north- west angle of Nova Scotia, of the northwesternmost head of Connecti- ent River, and of such other points of the said boundary as they may deem proper." Under that treaty three distinguished Vermonters were employed, to wit: William C. Bradley of Westminster as U. S. agent, Cornelius P. Van Ness of Burlington as U. S. Commissioner, and Alden Partridge of Norwich as Principal of the exploring survey.ª This at- tempt to settle the boundary failed. Oct. 14 1821, Mr. Bradley reported that the Commissioners of the two nations differed as to the northwest angle of Nova Scotia and the northwesternmost head of Connecticut River; and Nov. 21 1821, Mr. Van Ness reported that the Commission- ers disagreed upon the most important points. It was provided by the treaty of Ghent that in case of such disagreement, the matter should be referred to a friendly power for decision, but in the message of Decem- ber 1823, President Monroe stated that, in lieu of arbitration, the United States had proposed and Great Britain had agreed to attempt to settle the matter by amicable negotiation; and it was settled as to Vermont, in the treaty of Washington of Aug. 9 1842, by adopting the original Valentine and Collins line -- that is, the forty-fifth degree of latitude as agreed to by Governors Moore and Carleton in 1766. The commission- ers, who were appointed to ascertain and mark that line, reported that it " is generally about half a mile north of the true parallel of latitude 45°, from Hall's stream [Canaan, Vt.] to Rouse's Point ;" and Zadock Thompson stated that from observations made in 1818, under the treaty of Ghent, it appeared that " the 45th parallel lies a little to the south- ward of the line previously established, but it is not yet [1853] finally settled." The true line of latitude 45°, from the two latest surveys, seems to be a little south of the boundary line agreed upon by the treaty of Washington; but against these are the authority of Valentine and Collins in 1771-1774, and of Dr. Williams in 1806; so the question is still unsettled, and that fact is the reason for recording the history of the matter in this volume.2
1At the time of his assignment for this service, Capt. Partridge was Superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. Ferdi- nand Rudolph Hassler, formerly professor at West Point and afterward of the Coast Survey, was associated with Capt. Partridge and took the observations on the line 45° in 1818.
2 Public Treaties of the United States, edition of 1875, pp. 289, 316; Drake's Dictionary of American Biography; American State Papers, For- eign Relations, Vol. 5, p. 139; Annals of Congress, 18th Cong. 1st Ses- sion, p. 14; and Thompson's Vermont, edition of 1853, Part I, p. 2.
APPENDIX F.
ADDRESSES OF THE LEGISLATURE OF VERMONT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND REPLIES.
To PRESIDENT JEFFERSON .- 1806.
Nov. 1 1806, on motion of Charles Rich, Messrs. Rich, Dudley Chase, and James A. Potter were appointed "to draft an address from the Gen- eral Assembly to the President of the United States, expressive of the sense which the house entertain of his important services, and to assure him of their cordial support." The committee reported an address, which was evidently intended to urge Mr. Jefferson to stand as a candi- date for a third term, and it is therefore remarkable that the Federalists in the Assembly made no opposition to it.
To Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States.
Sir,-Permit the General Assembly of the State of Vermont to avail themselves of the opportunity, presented by their annual meeting, to express to you the satisfaction they derive from the encreasing prosper- ity of our common country.
Remote as we are placed from the seat of government, we have ob- served with anxious solicitude the measures adopted by the public func- tionaries to secure and promote the interests of the union. We have seen the diminution of taxes, the extension of territory, the increase of population, the due regulation of the judicial and military systems, the security of peace abroad and at home, with sentiments of sincere appro- bation. We learn that in these sentiments our sister States have al- most unanimously coincided, and that, despising the struggles of faction and the whispers of slander, the public opinion has ripened from the first grade of favorable expectation into bold and general applause. The eminent degree in which you have contributed, by the patriotic dis- charge of your official duties, to call forth these sentiments, has not es- caped us. Adulation is the language of slaves, but a just, a free and in- dependent people, who have seen and escaped the attempted subversion of their liberties, will never hesitate to anticipate the voice of history and posterity, when gratitude demands it.
We will not, Sir, conceal our regret, arising from rumors which have reached us, calculated to excite the belief that it is your wish to with-
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draw from the public service at the close of the period for which you were last elected chief magistrate of the Union. We venture to hope that the insinuation is unauthorized, and to express a wish, that in the full possession of faculty and talent, you will not refuse the citizens the benefits arising from long political experience, and deprive them of the full opportunity of exercising their choice and judgment in selecting their President from the whole number of the people.
In pursuing and completing the measures so happily begun, in en- couraging the industry and protecting the rights of the citizen, in pro- moting the happiness of the people, and supporting the dignity of the government, we with confidence assure you of our most cordial support. And relying on that divine being who holds in his hand the destiny of empires, we trust we shall be so directed as to long exist a peaceful, prosperous and happy nation.
AARON LELAND, Speaker of the House of Representatives.1
Reply of President Jefferson .?
DECEMBER 10, 1807.
To the Legislature of Vermont .- I received in due season the address of the Legislature of Vermont, bearing date the 5th of November 1806, in which, with their approbation of the general course of my adminis- tration, they were so good as to express their desire that I would con- sent to be proposed again, to the public voice, on the expiration of my present term of office. Entertaining, as I do, for the legislature of Vermont those sentiments of high respect which would have prompted an immediate answer, I was certain, nevertheless, they would approve a delay which had for its object to avoid a premature agitation of the pub- lic mind, on a subject so interesting as the election of a chief magis- trate.
That I should lay down my charge at a proper period, is as much a duty as to have borne it faithfully. If some termination to the services of a chief magistrate be not fixed by the constitution, or supplied by practice, his office, nominally for years, will, in fact, become for life; and history shows how easily that degenerates into an inheritance. Believ- ing that a representative government, responsible at short periods of election, is that which produces the greatest sum of happiness to man- kind, I feel it a duty to do no act which shall essentially impair that principle; and I should unwillingly be the person who, disregarding the sound precedent set by an illustrious predecessor, should furnish the first example of prolongation beyond the second term of office.
Truth, also, requires me to add, that I am sensible of that decline which advancing years brings on; and feeling their physical, I ought not to doubt their mental effect. Happy if I am the first to perceive and obey this admonition of nature, and to solicit a retreat from cares too great for the wearied faculties of age.
For the approbation which the legislature of Vermont has been pleased to express of the principles and measures pursued in the management of their affairs, I am sincerely thankful; and should I be so fortunate as to carry into retirement the equal approbation and good will of my fel- low-citizens generally, it will be the comfort of my future days, and will close a service of forty years with the only reward it ever wished.
1 Printed Assembly Journal of 1806, pp. 175, 198.
' Jefferson's Complete Works, Vol. 8, p. 121.
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The editor of Jefferson's works states that other state legislatures addressed Mr. Jefferson in approval, following Vermont, to all which answers like that sent to Vermont were returned. Vermont seems therefore to have taken the lead in this matter.
TO PRESIDENT JEFFERSON-1807.
Oct. 27 1807, William C. Bradley, on leave, introduced in the Assem- bly a resolution raising a committee to report resolutions, or an address to the President, expressive of the sentiments of both houses and of the people of the State respecting the conduct of British naval officers in searching American ships, impressing American seamen, and particu- larly in the attack on the American frigate Chesapeake. The resolution was adopted, and Messrs. Bradley, Abel Spencer, and Henry Olin were appointed the committee, to whom the Council joined Nathaniel. Niles. Nov. 4, this committee reported resolutions to the Assembly, which were read and adopted by yeas 169 to nay 1;1-and on the 6th of Nov. they were returned from Council coneurred in, though the concurrence was not entered on the journal of that body.
The resolutions were in an unusual form, and more emphatic for that reason, as follows:
WE, the Governor, Council, and House of Representatives, of the State of Vermont, viewing with indignation and abhorrence the violent and unjustifiable conduct of the cruizers of his Britannic Majesty, in the impressment and murder of American citizens, and the plunder of their property upon the high seas, and even in the very entrance of our harbors, and more especially in the late hostile attack, made with cir- eumstances of unparalleled malignity upon the American national Frig- ate Chesapeake by the British ship of war Leopard,
DO RESOLVE, That, at this awful crisis, when our national honor and independence are insulted by a nation with whom we, forgetful of former injuries, have not only endcavored to cultivate harmony by pre- serving a striet and perfect neutrality, but, to conciliate their friendship by every act of benevolence, humanity and assistance, compatible with the justice due to ourselves and others, it is the duty of every Ameri- can to rally around the constituted authorities of his country, and to support them with his life and fortune in resisting any encroachments on our national and individual rights by any foreign power whatever, and in procuring redress for the many injuries we have sustained, and which our patient and friendly forbearance has suffered too long; inju- ries committed in a manner unusually barbarous, and calculated to fix an indelible disgrace upon the British character.
And it is further Resolved, That we do accord our warmest admiration to the measures adopted by the President of the United States on this trying occasion, and that we have the most perfect confidence in his wisdom, integrity, and ability, to so direct the energies of the govern- ment as to preserve our honor as a nation free from taint or reproach, and our liberties as individuals secure from violation.
1 Stephen House of Enosburgh.
.
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And we do further for ourselves and our constituents declare that, fearless of the dangers to [which] we may be exposed as a frontier state, we shall be ever ready to obey the call of our common country, when- ever it shall be necessary either for the purposes of redress or ven- geance.
And Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing Resolutions be made and immediately transmitted to the President of the United States. 1
Reply of President Jefferson.2
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 1807.
Sir,-The Secretary of State has communicated to me your letter to him of the 14th of Nov. covering the resolutions of the general assembly of Vermont of the 4th of the same month.
The sentiments expressed by the general assembly of Vermont on the late hostile attack on the Chesapeake by the Leopard ship of war, as well as on other violations of our maritime and territorial rights, are worthy of their known patriotism; and their readiness to rally round the constituted authorities of their country, and to support its rights with their lives and fortunes, is the more honorable to them as exposed by their position in front of the contest. The issue of the present mis- understandings cannot now be foreseen, but the measures adopted for their settlement have been sincerely directed to maintain the rights, the honor, and the peace of our country: and the approbation of them ex- pressed by the general assembly of Vermont is to me a confirmation of their correctness.
The confidence they are pleased to declare in my personal care of the public interests, is highly gratifying to me, and gives a new claim to everything which zeal can effect for their service.
I beg leave to tender to the general assembly of Vermont, and to yourself the assurances of my high consideration and respect.
His Excellency Gov. Smith.
TH : JEFFERSON.
To PRESIDENT MADISON-1809.
Oct. 19 1809, James Fisk,2 then of Barre, introduced in the Assembly
1 Printed Assembly Journal of 1807, pp. 115, 228-230.
2 Jefferson's Complete Works, Vol. S, p. 120.
8 JAMES FISK, born about 1762, [probably in Worcester County, Mass.] was self-educated, chose the law for his profession, and distinguished himself both as a lawyer and democratic politician. He represented Barre in the General Assembly 1800 until 1805, 1809 and '10, and 1815, and as Delegate in the Constitutional Convention of 1814; was Judge of Orange County Court 1802 and 1809, and of the Supreme Court 1815 and '16; Representative in Congress March 1805 to March 1809, and 1811 to 1815, and United States Senator in 1817 and '18, resigning that post to accept the Collectorship for the district of Vermont, which he held eight years. President Madison appointed him Judge of the Ter- ritory of Indiana in 1812, but he declined the office. He died in Swan-
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a resolution for a committee to draft an address to the President of the United States " expressive of the sense of this house of the injuries and indignities offered to our neutral and national rights by foreign nations, and assuring him of the willingness and determination of the freemen of this State to support with their lives and fortunes the government of the United States in such measures as it may find necessary to adopt to redress our national injuries and maintain our rights." The resolution was adopted, and Messrs. Fisk, William A. Griswold, and Uriel C. Hatch were appointed the committee. Oct. 26, the address was reported, and on the 31st adopted, yeas 118, nays 71, as follows:
To James Madison, Esq., President of the United States.
Sir,-On your being invited to the highest office in the gift of a great and happy nation, by a large majority of the unbiassed suffrages of a free and independent people, the General Assembly of the State of Ver- mont avail themselves of the earliest opportunity to express their high satisfaction at your elevation, which results from a full confidence in your long tried wisdom and integrity, as well as for that uniform zeal and attachment which you have invariably manifested to promote the best interests of your country.
With peculiar gratification we reflect, that a person is advanced to the presidential chair, who has long been associated with the illustrious Jefferson and his copatriots, and whose useful labors have tended to ad- vance the honor, maintain the rights, and secure the peace and happi- ness of our common country. The wise, prudent and impartial meas- ures of your predecessor, aided by your faithful co-operation, have, under the blessing of Divine Providence, long preserved this highly favored nation from all those fatal evils which have for so many years spread misery, devastation and death throughout devoted Europe.
It is a truth, however melancholy the reflection, that a disgraceful spirit of opposition and insubordination to the laws of the general gov- ernment, has been excited and fomented in some parts of the Union, and by those who have long claimed the exclusive confidence of the peo- ple, but it is equally true that notwithstanding the inflammatory addres- ses, protests, and resolutions, presented to the public, together with the combined influence of foreign intrigue and domestic treachery,1 a spirit
ton Dec. 1 1844. A few years before his death he visited the late Hon. Timothy Merrill of Montpelier, and for an evening the editor of this volume was much interested in listening to Judge Fisk's reminiscences of public men and events of his time. On that occasion, or from some other source, the writer learned that the Postmaster Generalship was once tendered to him. In his form, the vigor of his intellect and the brilliancy of his eyes, he much resembled Aaron Burr at the same age.
' John Henry, the emissary of Sir James Craig, Governor-General of Canada, had visited Vermont and other New England States in the pre- ceding winter, but the authors of this address could have had no accu- rate knowledge of his business, as that was not publicly revealed until 1812. Henry was, however, well known in Vermont as a rampant Fed- eral politician, and was suspected as a British agent .- See Appendix H.
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