USA > Vermont > Vermont state papers; being a collection of records and documents, connected with the assumption and establishment of government by the people of Vermont; together with the first constitution, and the laws from the year 1779 to 1786, etc > Part 4
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Viscount Barrington,
Duke of Ancester,
Viscount Clarke,
Lord Chamberlain,
Bishop of London,
Earl of Litchfield,
Mr. Secretary Conway,
Earl of Bristol,
Hans Stanley, Esq.
* Allen's history of Vt .- + Williams history .~ } Allen's history,
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
His Majesty taking the.said report [a report of the board of trade] into consideration, was pleased, with the advice of his private council, to approve thereof, and doth hereby strictly charge, require and command, that the Governor or Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Province of New-York, for the time being, do not, upon pain of his Majesty's highest displeasure, presume to make any grant whatsoever, of any part of the lands described in the said report, until his Majesty's further pleasure shall be known, concerning the same.
A True Copy,
Attest,
WILLIAM SHARPE, GEO. BANYAR, DEP. SE'CRY,
Notwithstanding this explicit prohibition, the Governor of New-York com,pord to make granta; and writs of cjectment continued to be issued, Nbemabit to The Supreme Court at Albany. On trial_of these actions, k wat derided that duly authenticated copies of the royal orders to the Giustaor of. New-Hampshire, and of the grants made -in pursuance of bom, orders, should not be read in evidence."" Thus, compelled to abandon a legal , defence, the settlers were driven to the last resort. A convention of the people assembled at Bennington, and " Resolved, to support their rights and property under the New-Hamp- shire pants, against the usurpation and unjust claims of the Governor sod Council of New-York, by force, as law and justice were denied them."H
A spirited and determined resistance to the civil officers from New-York, followed the adoption of this resolution. Several of the in- habitants were indicted as rioters. The officers sent to apprehend them, " were seized by the people, and severely chastised with twigs of the wilderness.", " A military association was formed, of which Ethan Allen was appointed Colonel Commandant, and Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Robert Cockran, Gideon Warner and some others were appointed Captains. Committees of safety were, likewise, appointed in several towns west of the Green Mountains."||
On the other hand, the Sheriff of Albany County was directed to raise the posse commitatus to assist in the execution of his office ; and a "Pro- clamation was issued by the Governor of New-York, offering a reward of une hundred and fifty pounds for the apprehension of Ethan Allen, and fifty pounds each for Warner and five others. Allen and the other proscribed persons, in their turn, issued a Proclamation, offering five pounds for the apprehending, and delivering to any officer of the green mountain boys, the Attorney General of the Colony of New-York." !!
. Allen's history .- Il Allen's history.
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
In this state of the controversy, the Governor of New-York made the following communication to the Rev. Wm. Dewey and others.
NEW-YORK, MAY 19TH, 1772. ON HIS MAJESTY'S SERVICE,
To the Rev. Mr. DEWEY, and the inhabitants of Bennington, and the adjacent country, on the east side of Hudson's River. GENTLEMEN,
THE many violent and illegal acts you have lately committed against the peace and good order of this Province, of which I have had frequent proofs and informations, at the same time that they are not only a reproach to yourselves, but dangerous and injurious to your families and interests, cannot fail of being highly - offensive to your Sovereign. You may de- pend, a perseverance in your disobedience to, and violations of, the Laws of your country, must soon draw forth against you the exertions of the Powers of Government. However, being sincerely desirous on my part, to avoid compulsive measures, while lenient methods may prove success- ful; I esteem it my duty to invite you to lay before this government the causes of your illegal proceedings ; and it is with the concurrence and. advice of his Majesty's Council, that I send you this invitation, who, with me, are disposed to examine into the grounds of your behaviour and dis- content, with deliberation and candor, and as far as in us lies, to give such relief as the nature of your situation and circumstances will justify. That there may be no obstruction to your laying before me in council, as soon as possible, a fair representation of your conduct, I do hereby en- gage full security and protection to any persons whom you shall choose to send on this business to New-York, from the time they leave their homes to the time of their return, except Robert Cockrun, as also Allen, Baker and Sevil, mentioned in my Proclamation of the 9th of December last, and Seth Warner, whose audacious behaviour to a Civil Magistrate, has subjected 'him to the penalties of the laws of his country. I am told Mr. William Dewey, a Minister of the Gospel, James Breakenridge, and Mr. Fay, are persons in whose judgment you have much confidence ; I should, therefore, think they would be your proper messengers on a business, in which you are so deeply concerned ; especially Mr. Dewey, who has been favourably represented here since my appointment to this Government. His Majesty's Secretary of State has signified to me, that the King has finally fixed Connecticut River to be the established juris- diction between the Government of New-York and New Hampshire.
This circumstance I mention that you' may not be misled or deceived by 'a persuasion, that that part of the country you inhabit, will ever be annexed to the Government of New-Hampshire. I have this farther mo- tive for mentioning the King's final decision, that, by your receiving this authority, of your being in the government of New-York, I am hopeful your future conduct will justify me, in assuring his Majesty of your duti- ful obedience to his royal determination. I flatter myself you will cheer- fully improve this final offer of reconciling yourselves to this Govern- ment. I am your friend; W. TRYON.
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
To the foregoing letter the following answer was returned.
BENNINGTON, JUNE 5TH, 1772. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, WILLIAM TRYON, ESQUIRE, &C.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
WE, his Majesty's liege and loyal subjects of the Province of New York, having received your particular favour of the 19th day of May Last, requesting the inhabitants of Bennington, and the adjacent country on the east side of Hudson's River, to lay, before your Excellency and Council, the cause of our discontent and behaviour, do now express our satisfaction in having this very opportunity to acquaint your Excellency, " Fint, That we boll the fee and property of the lands we are settled on, and in possession of, by virtue of grants from their Majesties GEORGE the Second and Thint, de. which lands, at the time of thus being granted, w mpased to be within the jurisdiction of the Province of New-Hamp- shire, wiel the year. 1764, when some of your Excellency's now subjects hed, try some measures, obtained his Majesty's pleasure for alteration of Janelction line between the Provinces of New-Hampshire and New York. Since this, sundry grants have been made by those in the admin-' laration of government, in the said Province of New-York, on the very land before granted by their Majesties to us, as though the fee of the land and property was altered with jurisdiction, which, we suppose, was not The measures taken' to dispossess us of those lands, by repeated writs of ejectments, suits at Law, rejectment of proof from authentic re- cords, refusing a suitable time and opportunity for collection of evidence to support and vindicate our cause, contrary, (as we suppose) to the usual customs of the Law of the Province, seem to be the grounds of our discontent ; and that illegal and unconstitutional method of proceeding in Indicting sundry persons, who are bound by the Law of self and family preservation to maintain their liberty and properties-the usage of those intreaguers that would monopolize our interests to themselves by such irregular steps. ..
Their methods of breaking, by violence, houses for possession, and to" obtain those whom they are pleased to denominate riotous, tumultuous atd disorderly ; their firing on those people, and wounding innocent women and children, to compass their designs, may have occasioned some very disagreeable and unhappy disturbances among the friends of Mr. Remem- ber Baker, residing on the New-Hampshire grants, which, we suppose, your Excellency has been pleased to mention illegal. The foregoing is an exact account of our hitherto ideas of the state of the present case ; and on this footing we must closely adhere to the maintaining our property, with a due submission to your Excellency's jurisdiction ; and, if we should, through ignorance or inadvertency, have hitherto misunderstood either your Excellency, or the occasion of your Excellency's request, we beg the favour to be undeceived. The persons chosen to present these lines, we hope, may give your Excellency some further satisfaction.
We flatter ourselves, from the candor of your Excellency's favourable
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
letter, that you will be friendly disposed toward us ; and we most earnest- ly pray and beseech your Excellency would assist to quiet us in our pos. sessions, till his Majesty, in his royal wisdom, shall be graciously pleased to settle the controversy. Should your Excellency grant this our humble request, our satisfaction would be inexpressible.
Therefore, confidently trusting in your Excellency's wisdom and clemency, as Members of your Province, as loyal and submissive subjects to his Majesty, we beg leave to subscribe ourselves your Excellency's faithful, obedient, and very humble servants.
Signed by Mr. DEWEY and others.
In addition to the foregoing letter, the following special communi- cation was, at the same time, made to the Governor of New-York.
BENNINGTON, JUNE 5TH, 1774. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, WILLIAM TRYON, ESQUIRE, &C.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
WE, his Majesty's loyal subjects, whose names are to this piece affixed, inhabitants on that tract of land, your Excellency describes by the name of Bennington, and the adjacent country, &c. and who was, by your Ex- cellency's letter of the 19th of May last, prohibited the privilege of going to New-York, and personally vindicate either ourselves or country, before your Excellency, and being put to the extremity of informing your Excel- lency by writing, the reason of our discontent, and also of our behaviour, which we shall more largely set forth, than is in the foregoing general answer to your Excellency's letter ; and also exhibit more arguments de- duced from reason and the nature of things ; we hope your Excellency will be graciously pleased to view this our defence with that tenderness and candor, a gentleman in so elevated a station should do, and, therefore, beg leave to observe, that as, on the one hand, no consideration whatever, shall induce us to remit, in the least, of our loyalty and gratitude to our most gracious Sovereign, nor of a reasonable submission to your Excel- lency ; so on the other hand, no tyrannical exertions of the powers of the government, can deter us from asserting and vindicating our undoubted riglits and privileges as Englishmen. We expected an answer from your Excellency, to our humble petition to you delivered, soon after your Ex- cellency's accession to the administration of the government ; but for rea- sons to us unknown, your Excellency passed it by in silence. However, we cheerfully embrace this opportunity of laying before your Excellency in Council, the true state of our controversy, which, we can no otherwise · do, but by absorbing our personal distinction into the community, and general cause, to which we have obtained the character of faithful. We assure your Excellency that we assent to your authority of jurisdiction, in as much as his Majesty's Proclamation assures us, it is his will and pleas- ure, we be under the jurisdiction of New-York; and not only now assent to it, but have ever done the same, except in instances where such per- verse use has been made thereof, as would dispossess us of our property and country. We are truly desirous, and petitioning his Majesty to re-annex us to the Province of New-Hampshire. But this is not the ground of our
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
discontent, or at least, is far from being the principle ground of it, though it was done ex parte, and we apprehend there were more or less wrong representations made to his Majesty, to obtain the jurisdiction. However, it is the unreasonable and unconstitutional exercise of it, that is the present bone of contention-our properties are all at stake ; this we contend for, as the following known facts will demonstrate." A certain number of de- signing men in New-York (and elsewhere) procured patents under the great seal of that Province, and those grantees, being non-residents, brought sundry writs of ejectment against the New-Hampshire settlers on the same land, covered by both patents, as aforesaid, and obtained judgment against them, and proceeded further and took out writs of possession, and actual- ly dispossessed several of them by order of Law, of their houses and farms, leaving them to suffer the inclemency of the weather, bereaved of all the necessaries of life, 'their' new masters having monopolized their earthly ALL, to themselves. i. These indigent families having, in the first place, expended, their several fortunes, in bringing their farms out of a wilderness state, into that of fruitful fields, gardens and orchards ; the whole country, consisting of more than fifteen hundred families, was greatly alarmed at the event which had already began to take place, was in the greatest consternation ; each individual, from these instances, read- ing their own intolerable and universal destruction .- Still the writs of ejectment came thicker and faster, and universal slavery, poverty and horror, emblematically appeared in every countenance.
Thus, things having come to this pass, the oppression was too great for human nature, under English Constitution, to grope under, for those unparrallelled instances struck an infinitely more terrible idea, than that of the exertion of the Powers of Government.
Laws and society compacts were made to protect and secure the subjects, in their peaceable possessions and properties, and not to subvert them. No person or community of persons can be supposed to be under any particular compact or Law, except it- pre-supposeth, that that Law will protect such person or community of persons in his or their properties ; for otherways, the subject would, by Law, be bound to be accessary to his own ruin and destruction, which is inconsistant with the Law of self preservation ; but this Law being natural as well as eternal, can never be abrogated by the Law of men.
We would acquaint your Excellency, that since our misfortune of being annexed to the Province of New-York, Law has been rather used as a tool (than a rule of equity) to cheat us out of the country, we have made vastly valuable by labour and expence of our fortunes .- We con- clude, these things are yet unknown, or in a great measure so, to your Excellency, as your Excellency's commencement to the administration, hath not been long, and a set of artful, wicked men, concealing the truth from your Excellency, purposing to make a booty of us, characterizing us, (speaking of our inhabitants in general) as so many rioters, if not rebels ; and we being a poor people, at a great distance from your Ex- ceilency's place of residence, fatigued in settling a wilderness country, have little or no opportunity of acquainting you Excellency of our grie D
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
vances, except by one short petition delivered to your Excellency, soor after your first taking the administration-and as our cause is represented before his Majesty and Council, we did not expect your Excellency to determine the controversy, nor do we yet expect it. We are sensible, those men that seek our ruin, thereby, to enrich themselves, do, by stra- . tagems of every kind, represent us to your Excellency as breakers of the peace, and enemies to the government ; and under this pretence, they hope to catch a number of the boldest of our inhabitants, and punish them in the New-York Inquisition, with that" severity that the residue may be frightened out of both liberty and property ; for otherways, they would soon be indicted rioters, and thus, under colour of punishing rioters, and a zeal of loyalty and veneration for good government, rob the inha- bitants of their country. If we do not oppose the Sheriff and his Possy, he takes immediate possession of our houses and farms ; if we do, we are immediately indicted rioters ; and when others oppose officers, in taking such their friends, so indicted, they are also indicted, and so on, there being no end of indictment against us, so long as we act the bold and manly part, and stand by our liberty.
This is a short sketch of the disingenuous cunning of Messieurs Duane, and Kemp, and their associates; and it comes to this, at last, that we must tamely be dispossessed, or oppose officers in taking possession ; and as a next necessary step, oppose taking of rioters, so called, or run away like so many cowards, and quit our country to a number of cringing, polite gentlemen, who have, ideally, possessed themselves of it already.
As to sundry men, who have eloped lately from our grants, and fled to New-York for protection, self-preservation necessitated us to treat somne of them roughily ; and others, viz. Ebenezer Cowle, and Jonathan Wheat, of Shaftsbury, fled to New-York, on account of their own guilt, not being hurt or threatened. Would time permit, we could give a rational ac- count for most, or all of our late conduct towards these men .. 'The gen- eral reason is this, namely, they were a set of men that loved themselves, and not their country, they busied themselves in planning and assisting to take rioters, so called. In fine, they were the emissaries of that mer- cenary core of Yorkers, and did more, in oppressing the people, than their preposterous benefactors.
The assault, made upon Mr. Baker, at day break, of the night of the 22d of March last, by a number of ruffians, under the command of the infamous John Munro, Esq. was a notorious riot, and gave energy and motion, to the subsequent acts, your Excellency denominates illegal. This Munro, and his bloody party, by cutting, wounding and maiming, Mr. Baker, his wife and children, in such an inhuman and savage man- ner, was no less than proclaiming himself, in a most public manner, to be a malicious and bloody enemy, not only to Mr. Baker, but also to all those men, on our grants, who, manfully, adhere to maintaining liberty and property ; and inasmuch as the murderous villain is alive, he has no cause of complaint-for, after his assault upon Mr. Baker, he made an- other assault upon Mr. Seth Warner; but, not having so strong a party of ruffians with him, as in his other expedition, it was not attended with the like consequences, for Mr. Warner struck his head with a dull cut-
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CONTROVERSY WITH NEW-YORK.
lass, and levelled him to the ground ; but the blow proved not mortal ; and after this, for his satisfaction for the wound, threatened the lives of a number of the New Hampshire settlers .- Your Excellency will, undoub- tedly, consider, as our opponents have had the manufactory of the civil laws, so much under their power, that this merciless man could not be brought to Justice, nor could others, among us, , be safe, any other way, but by using him in lus own play ; he set the example, and enraged the people to mimick him from that natural principle of justice, in every man's own breast.
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«As to the perfidious and treacherous Bliss Willoghby, he always pre- tended to be a friend of the said Baker's, and Baker had ever been truly a friend of his-this hypocrite, two days before Baker was taken, made a frivolous excuse of business, went to said Baker's house, viewed the strength of it, perceived Baker was, somewhat, careless and secure, and made report to the said Munro. In fine, Willoghby was the planner and instigator of that savage cruelty, exercised to said Baker, which was per- petrated and brought into , action by the detestible said Munro. But to desist : as to the history of our late transactions, whether they be all right or not, we, on our part, have a few arguments and considerations more to lay before your Excellency, as to the cause of our discontent, as well as to the cause of our late actions your Excellency denominates illegal.
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The alteration of jurisdiction, in 1764, could not effect private proper- ty. Surely his Majesty, by this alteration, did not purpose to take away the personal property of a large number of his loyal subjects, and transfer it to other subjects ; the English Constitution will, by no means, admnit of this, for the transferring or alienation of property is a sacred preroga- tive of the true owner .- Kings and Governors cannot intermeddle there- with. Furthermore, your Excellency and Council must needs be ac- quainted that we have a petition lying before his Majesty and Council, for redress of our grievances. That is an impartial board; pray why may it not be determined there ? For the very indentical matters in dis- pute, are now, and for several years past, have been, lying before that Court, except the accusations of riotousness, disorderly, &c. which is im- proved as a handle to subvert property, and that only,
Furthermore, in the time of Sir Henry Moor's administration, his Ma- jesty was pleased to lay the Government of New-York, under absolute prohibition not to grant or patent any of the lands, antecedently granted under the great seal of the Province of New-Hampshire ; and further- more forbid the government to disturb or molest the settlers. This, rightly understood, amounts to a supercedeas over the authority of Com- mon Law, and absolutely controuls the cognizance thereof. As to the · particular matters, in the prohibition set forth, or matters lying before his Majesty, by petition, the import of the prohibition must needs be thus, namely, that his Majesty, by it, informs the Government of New-York, that,he has taken the controversy, to him made known by petition, under his royal consideration, and that, after due information and evidence of the state of the case, determines to settle the controversy ; consequently forbids the government taking cognizance thereof ; and common sense teaches us that under such prohibition, if a judgment, at Common Law,
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CONTROVERSY. WITH NEW-YORK.
be supposed to be valid, it would invalidate the authority of the crown,. and subvert and overthrow the authority of the kingdom, as it would render the prohibitions of the crown perfectly impertinent. ' Therefore, Common Law, in the case before us, is not cloathed with cognizance of .this case" much less with authority to dispossess us ; consequently, every party of men, that have, with officers or otherwise, come into these parts to dispossess us, came in open defiance, and direct opposition to his Ma- jesty's orders and authority : and, though they stile us rioters, for oppo- sing them, and seek to catch and punish us as such, yet, in reality, them- selves are the rioters, the tumultuous, disorderly; stimulating faction, or, in fine, the land-robbers ; `and every violent act they have done to com- pass their designs, though ever so much under pretence of law, is, in reali- ty a violation of law, and an insult on the constitution, and authority of the crown, as well as to many of us, in person, who have been great sufferers by such inhuman exertions of pretended legality of law .- Right, and wrong, are eternally the same, to all periods of time, places and na- tions ; and colouring a crime with a specious pretence of law, only adds to the criminality of it ; for, it subverts the very design of law, prostitut- ing it to the vilest purposes. Can any man, in the exercise of reason, make himself believe that a number of Attorneys and other gentlemen, with all their tackle of ornaments, and compliments, and French finesse, together with their boasted legality of law ; that these gentlemen have just right to the lands, labours and fortunes of the New-Hampshire set- tlers ? Certainly they cannot. Yet, this is the object in view, by that mercenary fraternity.
We do not suppose, may it please your Excellency, we are making op- position to a government, as such ; it is nothing more than a party, chiefly carried on by a number of gentlemen Attorneys, (if it be not an abuse to gentlemen of merit to call them so) who manifest a surpizing and enterprizing thirst of avarice,; after our country ; but, for a collection of such intreaguers, to plan matters of influence of a party, so as eventually. to become judges in their own case, and, thereby, cheat us out of our country, appears to us so audaciously unreasonable and tyrannical, that we view it with the utmost detestation and indignation, and our breasts glow with a martial fury to defend our persons and fortunes from the ra- vages of those that would destroy us ; but not against your Excellency's person or government.
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