The Life of George Washington, Vol. 1 (of 5)
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[Footnote 111: Smith.]
In 1674, lord Berkeley assigned his interest in the Jerseys to William
Penn and his associates. They afterwards acquired the title of sir
George Carteret also, and immediately conveyed one-half of their
interest to the earl of Perth and others, who, in 1683, obtained a
conveyance from the duke of York directly to themselves.
During these transactions, continual efforts were made to re-annex the
Jerseys to New York. Carteret had endeavoured to participate in the
advantages of commerce by establishing a port at Amboy; but Andros
seized and condemned the vessels trading thither, and was supported by
the duke in this exercise of power. The assembly of New York claimed
the right of taxing the people of Jersey; and the collector, continued
to exercise his former authority within their territory. On his
complaining, after the accession of the duke of York to the throne,
that every vessel he prosecuted was discharged by the verdict of the
jury, a writ of _quo warranto_ was directed. The English judges did
not then hold their offices during good behaviour; and the proprietors
of East Jersey, confident that the cause would be decided against
them, surrendered their patent to the crown, praying only a grant of
the soil. The Jerseys were, soon afterwards, annexed to New
England.[112]
[Footnote 112: Chalmer. Smith.]
Dongan, who, in 1683, had succeeded Andros in the government of New
York, took a deep interest in the affairs of the five nations, who had
been engaged in bloody wars with Canada. The French, by establishing a
settlement at Detroit, and a fort at Michilimackinack, had been
enabled to extend their commerce among the numerous tribes of Indians
who hunted on the banks of the great lakes, and the upper branches of
the Mississippi. They excluded the people of New York from any share
in this gainful commerce; in consequence of which Dongan solicited and
obtained permission to aid the five nations. This order, however, was
soon countermanded; and a treaty was concluded, stipulating that no
assistance should be given to the savages by the English colonists;
soon after which Dongan was recalled, and New York was annexed to New
England.
From the accession of James to the throne, he had discontinued the
assemblies of New York, and empowered the governor, with the consent
of his council, to make laws "as near as might be" to those of
England. The reinstatement of this arbitrary system gave general
disgust, and, together with the apprehension that the Roman Catholic
religion would be established, prepared the people of New York, as
well as those of the other colonies, for that revolution which wrested
power from hands accustomed to abuse it. On receiving intelligence of
the revolution at Boston, the militia were raised by a captain Jacob
Leisler, who took possession of the fort in the name of King William,
and drove Nicholson, the lieutenant governor, out of the country. This
event gave rise to two parties, who long divided New York, and whose
mutual animosities were the source of much uneasiness and mischief to
the province.[113]
[Footnote 113: Chalmer. Smith.]
[Sidenote: Pennsylvania granted to William Penn.]
William Penn having gained some knowledge of the country west of the
Delaware, formed the design of acquiring that territory as a separate
estate. On his petition, a charter was issued in 1681, granting to
him, in absolute property, by the name of Pennsylvania, that tract of
country bounded on the east by the river Delaware, extending westward
five degrees of longitude, stretching to the north from twelve miles
north of New Castle to the forty-third degree of latitude, and limited
on the south by a circle of twelve miles, drawn round New Castle to
the beginning of the fortieth degree of latitude.
In this charter, the acts of navigation were recognised, a local
legislature was created, and provision made that a duplicate of its
laws should be transmitted, within five years, to the King in council;
any of which that were repugnant to those of England, or inconsistent
with the authority of the crown, might be declared void in six months.
This charter conveyed nearly the same powers and privileges with that
of Maryland, but recognised the right of Parliament to tax the colony.
Penn soon commenced the settlement of the province, and immediately
asserted a claim to a part of the territory which had been supposed by
lord Baltimore to be within the bounds of Maryland. In this claim
originated a controversy between the two proprietors, productive of
considerable inconvenience and irritation to both.
He published a frame of government for Pennsylvania, the chief
intention of which was declared to be "for the support of power in
reverence with the people, and to secure the people from the abuse of
power; that they may be free by their just obedience, and the
magistrates honourable for their just administration; for liberty
without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is
slavery."
This scheme of fundamental law contains many provisions indicating
good sense and just notions of government, but was too complex for an
infant settlement; and, after many fruitless attempts to amend it, was
laid aside, and a more simple form was adopted, resembling in its
principal features, those established in the other colonies, which
remained until the proprietary government itself was dissolved.
[Sidenote: Foundation of Philadelphia.]
In August 1682, Penn obtained from the duke of York a conveyance of
the town of New Castle, with the territory twelve miles around it, and
that tract of land extending thence southward, on the Delaware, to
cape Henlopen. Soon after this grant was issued, he embarked for
America, accompanied by about two thousand emigrants; and, in the
October following, landed on the banks of the Delaware. In addition to
the colonists sent out by himself, he found, on his arrival several
small settlements of Swedes, Dutch, Finlanders, and English, amounting
to about three thousand persons. Penn cultivated the good will of the
natives, from whom he purchased such lands as were necessary for the
present use of the colonists. At this time the foundation of
Philadelphia was laid, which we are assured contained near one hundred
houses within twelve months from its commencement. An assembly was
convened which, instead of being composed of all the freemen,
according to the frame of government, was, at the request of the
people themselves, constituted of their representatives. Among the
laws which were enacted was one annexing the territories lately
purchased from the duke of York to the province, and extending to them
all its privileges. Universal freedom in religion was established; and
every foreigner who promised allegiance to the King, and obedience to
the proprietor was declared a freeman.[114]
[Footnote 114: History of Pennsylvania. Chalmer.]
In the hope of extending his limits to the Chesapeake, Penn, soon
after his arrival, met lord Baltimore for the purpose of adjusting
their boundaries. The patent of that nobleman calls for the fortieth
degree of north latitude, and he proposed to determine the
intersection of that degree with the Delaware by actual observation.
Penn, on the contrary, insisted on finding the fortieth degree by
mensuration from the capes of Virginia, the true situation of which
had been already ascertained. Each adhering firmly to his own
proposition, the controversy was referred to the committee of
plantations, who, after the crown had descended on James, decided that
the peninsula between the bays of Chesapeake and Delaware, should be
divided into two equal parts by a line drawn from the latitude of cape
Henlopen to the fortieth degree, and adjudged that the land lying from
that line towards the Delaware should belong to his majesty, and the
other moiety to Lord Baltimore. This adjudication was ordered to be
immediately executed.
Pennsylvania was slow in acknowledging the Prince and Princess of
Orange. The government continued to be administered in the name of
James for some time after his abdication was known. At length,
however, William and Mary were proclaimed; and Penn had the address to
efface the unfavourable impressions which this delay was calculated to
make on them.
CHAPTER VII.
New charter of Massachusetts.... Affairs of New York.... War
with France.... Schenectady destroyed.... Expedition against
Port Royal.... Against Quebec.... Acadie recovered by
France.... Pemaquid taken.... Attempt on St. Johns....
Peace.... Affairs of New York.... Of Virginia.... Disputes
between England and France respecting boundary in
America.... Recommencement of hostilities.... Quotas of the
respective colonies.... Treaty of neutrality between France
and the five nations.... Expedition against Port Royal....
Incursion into Massachusetts.... Plan for the invasion of
Canada.... Port Royal taken.... Expedition against
Quebec.... Treaty of Utrecht.... Affairs of New York.... Of
Carolina.... Expedition against St. Augustine.... Attempt to
establish the Episcopal church.... Invasion of the
colony.... Bills of credit issued.... Legislature continues
itself.... Massacre in North Carolina by the Indians....
Tuscaroras defeated.... Scheme of a Bank.
{1689}
The revolution which placed the Prince and Princess of Orange on the
throne, revived in Massachusetts, the hope of recovering the ancient
charter. Elections were held by authority of the temporary government,
and the representatives requested the council to exercise, until
orders should be received from England, the powers and authorities
vested in that body by the charter. The council acceded to this
proposition; and the ancient system was re-established. It was soon
perceived by the agents of Massachusetts that the old charter would
not be restored, and that the King was determined to retain the
appointment of the governor in his own hands. The colony, however, was
authorised to exercise the powers of government according to the
ancient system, until a new arrangement should be made. The vessel by
which these directions were transmitted, carried also orders that sir
Edmond Andros, and those imprisoned with him should be sent to
England.
{1691}
[Sidenote: New Charter.]
The general court deputed additional agents, with instructions to
solicit the confirmation of their beloved charter; but these
solicitations were ineffectual. The King was inflexible; and, at
length, a new charter was framed, introducing some changes which
affected radically the independence that had been long practically
possessed by the colony. The governor was to be appointed by the
crown, was enabled to call, adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve the
assembly at pleasure; he had the appointment solely, of all military
officers; and, with the consent of his council, of all officers
belonging to the courts of justice.
{1692}
Sir William Phipps, the first governor, arrived in May, and
immediately issued writs for a general assembly, which met in June,
and accepted the charter; though a considerable party had been formed
to oppose it. This instrument annexed Plymouth and Nova Scotia to
Massachusetts; but, contrary to the wishes of both colonies, omitted
New Hampshire, which became permanently a separate government.[115]
[Footnote 115: Hutchison.]
[Sidenote: Affairs of New York.]
In New York, Leisler, who had obtained the entire control of the lower
country, associated with himself in the government, a few trusty
partisans, denominated a committee of safety, over whom he presided.
Some of the principal inhabitants of the city, dissatisfied at seeing
a man of low birth, without education, in possession of supreme power,
retired to Albany, where a convention of the people was assembled, who
determined to hold the fort and country for the King and Queen, but
not to submit to the authority of Leisler. On receiving intelligence
of these transactions, Jacob Milbourne was detached with a small force
to reduce the place; but, finding that the people adhered to the
convention, and that his harangues against James and popery made no
impression on them, he returned to New York. The next spring he
appeared again before the fort; and, being favoured by an irruption of
the Indians, obtained possession of it. The principal members of the
convention absconded, upon which their effects were seized and
confiscated. This harsh measure produced resentments which were
transmitted from father to son.
Leisler retained the supreme power, without farther opposition, until
the arrival of sir Henry Slaughter, who had been appointed governor of
the province. Though informed of the commission which Slaughter bore,
this infatuated man refused to yield the government to him; and showed
a disposition, without the ability, to resist. This ill judged
obstinacy threw the governor, who soon obtained possession of the
fort, into the arms of the opposite party. Leisler and Milbourne were
arrested, tried for high treason, condemned, and executed. Their
estates were confiscated, but were afterwards restored to their
families.[116]
[Footnote 116: Smith.]
[Sidenote: War with France.]
While these things were passing in the interior, the colonies of New
England and New York were engaged in a bloody and desolating war with
the French of Canada, and with the Indians. The English people had
long viewed with apprehension, the advances of France towards
universal dominion; and with infinite disgust, the influence of Louis
XIV. in their cabinet. On the elevation of the Prince of Orange to the
throne, they entered with alacrity into all his views for opposing
barriers to the power, and restraints on the ambition, of that haughty
monarch. The war which was proclaimed between the two nations,
extended itself to their possessions in America. De Calliers, who
sailed from Canada to France in 1688, had formed a plan for the
conquest of New York, which was adopted by his government. Caffiniere
commanded the ships which sailed from Rochefort on this expedition,
subject however to the count de Frontignac, who was general of the
land forces destined to march from Canada by the route of the river
Sorel and of lake Champlain. The fleet and troops arrived at Chebucta,
whence the count proceeded to Quebec leaving orders with Caffiniere to
sail to New York.
On reaching Quebec, the count found all Canada in the utmost distress.
In the preceding summer, twelve hundred warriors of the Five nations
had suddenly landed on the island of Montreal, and put to death about
one thousand of the inhabitants whom they found in perfect security.
The place was again attacked in October, and the lower part of the
island entirely destroyed. In consequence of these calamitous events,
fort Frontignac, on lake Ontario, was evacuated, and two vessels which
had been constructed there were burnt.
[Sidenote: Schenectady destroyed.]
Count Frontignac, who, in his sixty-eighth year, possessed the
activity of youth, after remaining a few days on shore, re-embarked in
a canoe for Montreal. In the hope of conciliating the Five nations, he
held a great council with them at Onondago, where the Indians showed
some disposition towards a peace without concluding one. To influence
their deliberations, and raise the depressed spirits of the Canadians,
he sent out several parties against the English colonies. That against
New York, consisting of about two hundred French, and some Indians;
after marching twenty-two days with their provisions on their backs,
through a wilderness covered deep with snow, arrived, on 8th of
February 1690, about eleven at night, at Schenectady, a village a few
miles north-west of Albany. Finding the gates open and unguarded, they
immediately entered the town, the inhabitants of which were asleep;
and, dividing themselves into small parties, invested every house at
the same time. No alarm was given until the doors were broken open;
and then was commenced the perpetration of those barbarities which add
so much to the ordinary horrors of war. The whole village was
instantly in flames; pregnant women were ripped open and their infants
cast into the flames, or dashed against the posts of the doors. Sixty
persons were massacred, twenty-seven carried into captivity, and those
who escaped fled naked, through a deep snow and storm to Albany. In
the flight, twenty-five lost their limbs from the intensity of the
cold. The town was pillaged until about noon the next day, when the
enemy marched off with their plunder. Being pursued by a party of
young men from Albany, about twenty-five of them were killed and
captured.[117]
[Footnote 117: Smith.]
[Sidenote: Expedition against Port Royal.]
In the spring and summer of 1689, several settlements and forts in New
Hampshire and Maine, were successfully attacked by the Indians; who,
wherever they were victorious, perpetrated their usual cruelties.
Knowing that these depredations originated in Canada and Acadie, the
general court of Massachusetts planned an expedition against both Port
Royal and Quebec. Early in the spring, eight small vessels, carrying
seven or eight hundred men, sailed under the command of sir William
Phipps; and, almost without opposition, took possession of Port Royal,
and of the whole coast between that place and New England. The fleet
returned in May, having taken nearly plunder enough to discharge the
expense of the equipment. But two detachments made about the same time
by count Frontignac, attacked the Salmon falls, and fort Casco, where
they killed and took about one hundred and eighty persons.
[Illustration: Penn Seeking Freedom for Imprisoned Friends
_(C) by Violet Oakley; From a Copley print copyright by Curtis and
Cameron, Boston_
_The reference made in the panel inscription at the top of this
picture is to William Penn's imprisonment in the Tower of London for
publishing "The Sandy Foundation Shaken," in which he attacked the
doctrines of the Trinity. While in prison he wrote his most famous and
popular book, "No Cross, No Crown" and "Innocency With Her Open Face",
in vindication of his Quaker faith. In 1681 Penn obtained from the
British Crown, in lieu of a debt of L16,000 due him as heir to his
father, Admiral Penn, a grant of territory now comprising the State of
Pennsylvania. There he founded Philadelphia, as a Quaker colony, in
the following year._]
[Sidenote: Against Quebec.]
A vessel had been dispatched to England in April with letters urging
the importance of conquering Canada, and soliciting the aid of the
King to that enterprise. He was however too much occupied in Europe to
attend to America; and it was determined to prosecute the expedition
without his assistance. New York and Connecticut, engaged to furnish a
body of men, to march, by the way of lake Champlain, against Montreal,
while the troops of Massachusetts should proceed by sea to Quebec. The
fleet, consisting of between thirty and forty vessels, the largest of
which carried forty-four guns, sailed from Nantucket the ninth of
August, having on board two thousand men. This expedition also was
commanded by sir William Phipps, a brave man, but not qualified for so
difficult an enterprise. He did not arrive before Quebec until
October, when it was too late for a regular siege. Instead of availing
himself of the first impression, sir William is charged with having
wasted two or three days in sight of the place, after which he
summoned it to surrender. Having performed this ceremony, he landed
between twelve and thirteen hundred men, and marched until night,
under a scattering fire from an enemy concealed in the woods. At
night, a deserter gave such an account of the French force as entirely
discouraged him.
Connecticut and New York were disappointed in receiving the assistance
expected from the Five nations; who furnished neither the warriors
they had promised, nor canoes to transport their troops over the
lakes. The commissary too had neglected to lay up the necessary
supplies of provisions. These disappointments obliged the party
destined against Montreal to retreat without making an attempt on that
place; which enabled the French general to oppose the whole force of
Canada to Phipps.
The evening after the troops were landed, the ships were drawn up
before the place, but received more damage from the batteries than
they could do to the town. After wasting a few days in unavailing
parade, the army re-embarked with precipitation, and returned to
Boston.
The general court, so far from suspecting that the expedition might
possibly miscarry, seem to have counted, not only on success, but on
acquiring sufficient treasure from the enemy to pay their soldiers.
The army, finding the government totally unprepared to satisfy its
claims, was on the point of mutinying. In this state of difficulty,
bills of credit were issued, and were received in lieu of money. A tax
was imposed at the same time, payable in the paper notes of the colony
at five per centum above par. Notwithstanding the exertions to keep up
its credit, the paper depreciated to fourteen shillings in the pound,
which depreciation was, almost entirely, sustained by the army. As the
time for collecting the tax approached, the paper rose above par, but
this appreciation was gained by the holders.[118]
[Footnote 118: See note No. I, at the end of the volume.]
Colonel Phipps, soon after his return from Canada, embarked for
England, to renew the solicitations of the colony for aid in another
attempt on Quebec. Though unsuccessful in this application, the
government of the province was bestowed on him; and, in this
character, he returned to Boston. A desultory war continued to be
carried on, which, without furnishing any events that would now be
interesting, produced heavy expense, and much individual misery.
{1693}
Canada being considered as the source of all these evils, its conquest
continued to be the favourite object of Massachusetts. At length, King
William yielded to the solicitations of that colony and determined to
employ a force for the reduction of Quebec. Unfortunately the first
part of the plan was to be executed in the West Indies, where the
capture of Martinique was contemplated. While on that service a
contagious fever attacked both the land and sea forces; and, before
they reached Boston, thirteen hundred sailors, and eighteen hundred
soldiers, were buried. The survivors not being in a condition to
prosecute the enterprise, it was abandoned.[119]
[Footnote 119: Hutchison. Belknap.]
{1696}
On the conquest of Acadie by sir William Phipps, the government of
Massachusetts had been extended over that province; but, as the
prejudices and affections of the inhabitants were entirely on the side
of France, it was soon perceived that a military force alone could
preserve the acquisition; and Massachusetts was unable, at her own
expense, to support a sufficient body of troops for the defence of the
country. Port Royal was recovered by Villebonne, after which all
Acadie shook off the government of Massachusetts, and resumed its
allegiance to France. About the same time a fort at Pemaquid was
attacked and carried by Iberville.
[Sidenote: Peace.]
In December, the treaty of peace which had been concluded at Riswick
was proclaimed at Boston; and hostilities with the French in Canada
immediately ceased. The depredations of the Indians continued only a
short time after this event; and, in the course of the following year,
general tranquillity was restored.
{1697}
The frontiers of New Hampshire had been not less exposed during the
war, than those of Massachusetts. Perpetual and distressing incursions
had been made into the country, which were marked by the burning of
undefended habitations, and the massacre of men, women, and
children.[120]
[Footnote 120: Belknap.]
[Sidenote: Affairs of New York.]
The frontiers of New York were covered by the Five nations.
Hostilities were carried on between them and the French, but they were
not attended by any material circumstance.
During the war the English government meditated a union of the
colonies for the purpose of forming an army to defend New York; and
the governors were instructed to propose to the several provinces to
raise the quota of troops assigned to each[121] by the crown. Though
this plan never took effect, the fact is of some interest.
[Footnote 121: The quotas assigned by the crown are as follows:
To Massachusetts Bay 350
Rhode Island and Providence plantations 48
Connecticut 120
New York 200
Pennsylvania 80
Maryland 160
Virginia 240
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Total, 1,198]