Chapter XI (2)

The necessity for the cultivation of good feelings with the Province of New York was manifest. Having for its chief executive one whose arbitrary temper and disposition led him to disregard solemn engagements, the relations between the provinces were not likely to be made more harmonious because he was heir-apparent to the throne of England; and it was consequently in accordance both with the principles of the Friends and the promptings of sound judgment and discretion, that the Proprietors urged upon Lawrie the propriety of fostering a friendly correspondence with New York, and avoiding everything that might occasion misapprehension or cause aggressions upon their rights.

Lawrie conformed himself to the tenor of his instructions. He visited Governor Dongan and remained with him two or three days, discussing their mutual rights and privileges, and was treated by him with kindness and respect; and being of a less grasping disposition than his predecessor, there were no open acts of hostility to the proprietary government manifested by him.

Immigration and a transfer of rights soon brought into the Province a sufficient number of Proprietors to allow of the establishment of a board of commissioners within its limits, authorized to act with the deputy-governor in the temporary approval of laws passed by the Assembly, the purchasing and laying out of lands, and other matters,—thus avoiding the necessary and consequent unpleasant delay attendant upon the transmission of such business details to the Proprietors in England before putting them in operation. This body was formed August 1, 1684, and became known as the “Board of Proprietors.” To this board was intrusted the advancement of a new town to be called Perth,—in honor of the Earl of Perth, one of the Proprietors,—for the settlement of which proposals had been issued in 1682, immediately on their obtaining possession of the Province.

The advancement of this town was a favorite project, and at the time of Lawrie’s arrival several houses were already erected, and others in progress (Samuel Groom having surveyed and laid out the site); and attention was immediately given to the execution of the plans of the projectors, based upon the expectation that it would become the chief town and seaport of the Province. Lawrie was particularly cautious, in carrying out their views as regarded the seaport, not to infringe any of the navigation laws respecting the payment of duties, or otherwise,—going so far as to admit William Dyre, in April, 1685, to the discharge of his duties as collector of the customs in New Jersey, which naturally led to difficulties. Previously vessels had been permitted by Lawrie to proceed directly to and from the Province, and the inhabitants valued the privilege; but Dyre had not been in execution of his office more than two or three months before he complained to the commissioners of the customs of the opposition encountered in enforcing the regulations he had established for entering at New York the vessels destined to East Jersey, and receiving there the duties upon their cargoes. This state of affairs continued for some months; for, although the authorities in England took the subject into consideration, it was not until April, 1686, that a writ of _quo warranto_ was issued against the Proprietors,—it being thought of great prejudice to the country and His Majesty’s interest that such rights as they claimed should be longer exercised.

James, Duke of York, by the death of Charles II. in May, 1685, had been raised to the throne of England, and his assumption of royalty simplified considerably the powers for ignoring all measures conflicting with his private interests; and although he had thrice as Duke of York, by different patents and by numerous other documents, confirmed to others all the rights, powers, and privileges which he himself had obtained, the increased revenue which was promised him from the reacquisition of New Jersey could not admit of any hesitancy in adopting measures to effect it. The Proprietors, however, were firm in their expostulations, and made many suggestions calculated to remove the pending difficulties; but all were of no avail except one, looking to the appointment of a collector of the customs to reside at Perth,—or Perth Amboy as it began to be called, by the addition of Amboy, from _ambo_, an Indian appellation for point. The first session of the Assembly was held there as the seat of government, April 6, 1686.

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The establishment of a local government in West Jersey in 1677 has been noticed. The next step toward rendering it more perfect was the election, by the Proprietors in England, of Edward Byllynge as governor of the Province, and the appointment by him of Samuel Jenings as his deputy. These events took place in 1680 and 1681, and Jenings arrived in the Province to assume the government in September of the latter year, the first West Jersey Assembly meeting at Burlington in November. The representatives seem to have had a full sense of the responsibilities resting upon them, and at once adopted such measures as were deemed essential under the altered condition of affairs, acknowledging the authority of the deputy-governor on condition that he should accept certain proposals or fundamentals of government affixed to the laws they enacted. This Jenings did, putting his hand and seal thereto; as did also Thomas Olive, the Speaker, by order and in the name of the Assembly.

Burlington was made the chief town of the Province, and the method of settling and regulating the lands was relegated to the governor and eight individuals. For greater convenience the Province was divided into two districts, the courts of each to be held at Burlington and Salem. The second Assembly met May 2, 1682, and a four days’ session seems to have been sufficient to establish the affairs of the Province on a firm basis. Thomas Olive, Robert Stacy, Mahlon Stacy, William Biddle, Thomas Budd, John Chaffin, James Nevill, Daniel Wills, Mark Newbie, and Elias Farre being chosen as the council.

Subsequent meetings of the Assembly were held in September, and in May, 1683. At this last some important measures were enacted contributing to good government. For the despatch of business the governor and council were authorized to prepare bills for the consideration of the Assembly, which were to be promulgated twenty days before the meetings of that body. The governor, council, and assembly were to constitute the General Assembly, and have definite and decisive action upon all bills so prepared. As John Fenwicke was one of the representatives to this Assembly, it is evident that he recognized for his Tenth the general jurisdiction which had been established. It is understood that Byllynge at this time had resolved to relieve Jenings from his position, as his own independent authority was thought to be endangered by Jenings’s continuance in office.

At this Assembly the question was discussed whether the purchase at first made was of land only or of land and government combined, and the conclusion arrived at was that both were purchased; and also that an instrument should be prepared and sent to London, there to be signed by Byllynge, confirmatory of this view; and, carrying out a suggestion of William Penn, Samuel Jenings was by vote of the Assembly elected governor of the Province,—a proceeding which was satisfactory to the people, as they desired a continuance of his administration. Thus again did the representatives of the people assert their claim to entire freedom from all authority not instituted by themselves.

As Byllynge did not acquiesce as promptly as was desired with the views of the Assembly, it was determined at a session held in March, 1684, that, for the vindication of the people’s right to government, Governor Jenings and Thomas Budd (George Hutchinson subsequently acted with them) should go to England and discuss the matter with Byllynge in person,—Thomas Olive being appointed deputy-governor until the next Assembly should meet. This was in the May following, at which time Olive was elected governor, and his council made to consist of Robert Stacy, William Biddle, Robert Dusdale, John Gosling, Elias Farre, Daniel Wills, Richard Guy, Robert Turner, William Emley and Christopher White.

The mission of Jenings was only partially successful. The differences between Byllynge and the people were referred to the “judgment and determination” of George Fox, George Whitehead, and twelve other prominent Friends; whose award was to the effect that the government was rightfully in Byllynge, and that they could not find any authority for a governor chosen by the people. This award was made in October, 1684, but was signed by only eight of the fourteen referees, George Fox not being one of them. The document subsequently became the cause of much discussion. As late as 1699 it was printed with the addition of many severe reflections upon the action of Jenings and his friends, drawing from him equally harsh animadversions upon those from whom they emanated. In accordance with this award Byllynge asserted his claims to the chief authority over the Province, and no important concessions appear to have been made to the people.

In 1685 Byllynge appointed John Skene to be his deputy-governor; and on September 25 the Assembly, expressly reserving “their just rights and privileges,” recognized him as such, Olive continuing to act as chairman, or speaker, of the Assembly.

Harmony to a great extent prevailed for some time, Skene not attempting to exercise any authority not generally acknowledged by the people; but in 1687 Byllynge died, and Dr. Daniel Coxe of London, already a large proprietor, having purchased the whole of Byllynge’s interest from his heirs, after consultation with the principal Proprietors in England, decided to assume the government of the Province himself. But while he thus assumed, in his own person, rights which the people had claimed as theirs, he did not refrain from granting to them a liberal exercise of power, giving assurances that all reasonable expectations and requests would be complied with, and that the officers who had been chosen by the people should be continued in their several positions. It is somewhat more than doubtful if Coxe ever visited the Province at all, and indeed he probably did not; meanwhile Byllynge’s deputy, John Skene, acted for him till the death of the latter in December, 1687, when Coxe appointed Edward Hunloke in his stead.

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It was during Lawrie’s administration in East Jersey that the first steps were taken to settle the boundary line between that Province and New York. The subject was discussed by him and Governor Dongan at an early date; and on June 30, 1686, a council was held, composed of the two deputy-governors and several gentlemen of both New York and New Jersey, at which the course to be pursued in running the line was agreed upon. The points on the Hudson and Delaware rivers were subsequently determined; but nothing further was done for several years, and nearly a century elapsed before the line was definitely settled.

There are some allusions made to the fact that Lawrie was much interested in West Jersey, as accounting for his dismissal by the Proprietors from his position as their deputy-governor in East Jersey; but so far as the records of the period give an insight into the motives actuating him in the administration of the affairs of the Province, there is no evidence afforded of any want of interest in its prosperity. As the result of his administration did not meet their expectations of profit, it is not surprising that they should have regarded it as due to some mistaken policy on his part. In the appointment of a successor they were evidently led by the large influx of population from Scotland to look among the Proprietors residing there for a suitable person; and they therefore selected Lord Neill Campbell, a brother of the Earl of Argyle, who was obliged to flee from Scotland in consequence of his connection with that nobleman, who had been beheaded June 30, 1685, after the unfortunate termination of his invasion of that country. He left for East Jersey with a large number of emigrants not long after that event, and reached the Province in December of the same year.

Lord Neill was appointed deputy-governor June 2, 1686, for two years, but his commission did not reach him until October, on the 5th of which month it was published; and on the 18th he announced as his council Gawen Lawrie, John Berry of Bergen, Isaac Kingsland of New Barbadoes, Andrew Hamilton of Amboy, Richard Townley of Elizabethtown, Samuel Winder of Cheesequakes, David Mudie and John Johnstone of Amboy, and Thomas Codrington of Raritan.

It is a remarkable circumstance that the great diversity existing in the characters, religions, pursuits, and political relations of the Proprietors of East Jersey should have been overcome to such an extent as to allow of harmonious action in the appointment of Lord Neill Campbell. The Earl of Perth, a prominent member of the body, was one of the jury that found the Earl of Argyle guilty of high treason; and yet, stanch adherent as he was of James, he could consent to have his interests in East Jersey taken care of by that earl’s brother. Robert Barclay, with all the peculiarities of his peaceful sect, the advocate of gentleness and non-resistance, was willing to be associated with a stanch Scotch Presbyterian soldier, and join in commissioning him as his subordinate. It is evident that private prejudices and feelings were not allowed to interfere with whatever was thought likely to conduce to the advancement of their pecuniary interests in East Jersey.

Lord Neill’s administration, however, was very brief. On December 10 of the same year, “urgent necessity of some weighty matters” calling him to England, he appointed Andrew Hamilton to be his substitute, and sailed, it is presumed, the March following, Hamilton’s commission being published on the 12th of that month.

Andrew Hamilton had been a merchant in London, and came to the Province with his family in June, 1686, as an agent of the Proprietors in London. He at first declined accepting the position tendered him, and Lawrie, who was one of the council, openly protested against his appointment, because of his unpopularity with the planters; but his authority having been confirmed by a commission from Governor Barclay in August, 1687, all open opposition thereto seems to have ceased. Hamilton appears to have been a man of intelligence, and to have acted in a manner which he conceived to be calculated to advance the best interests of the Proprietors without involving them with the people, but it is doubtful if any great cordiality existed between the governor and the governed at that period.

Before his death Charles II. had been led to call for a surrender of the charter of Massachusetts Bay, and, meeting with a refusal from the General Assembly, a writ of _quo warranto_ was issued in 1684. The death of the King left the proceedings to be consummated by his successor, whose rapacity prompted him to subvert the liberties of all the colonies; and his pliant servant Andros, whom he had knighted, was sent over with a commission that covered all New England. Sir Edmund took up his residence in Boston, assumed the supreme authority of Massachusetts, and the following year dissolved in succession the governments of Rhode Island and Connecticut, taking to himself all power and dominion, even beyond the limits granted by his royal master.[712]

The Proprietors, finding it impossible to overcome the determination of James to unite New York and New Jersey to New England under the same government, deemed it advisable to abandon the unavailing contest, and by acceding to the King’s design to obtain from him an efficient guarantee that he would respect their rights to the soil. A surrender of their patent, so far as the government was concerned, was therefore made in April, 1688, James having agreed to accept it; and, the Proprietors of West Jersey having acceded also to the arrangement, a new commission was issued to Sir Edmund Andros, annexing both provinces and New York to his government, and Francis Nicholson was appointed his lieutenant-governor.

The course of Andros in accepting the simple acknowledgment of his authority as sufficient, without revolutionizing the government and dismissing the functionaries in office in New Jersey, was doubtless in a great measure owing to the fact that the surrender by the Proprietors of their right to govern rendered necessary the issuing of a new grant to them from the Crown, confirmatory of all the immunities of the soil; and until that could be perfected, it may have been considered expedient not to disturb the existing regulations. It is nevertheless remarkable that any considerations of the kind should have had so mollifying an effect upon one whose arrogance, disregard of the rights of others, and impetuosity of temper were so intrusively manifest as in Edmund Andros.

By the seizure of Andros in New England in April, 1689, in anticipation of the successful revolution in England in favor of William and Mary, which promised the subversion of his authority not only there but also in the other colonies that had been placed within his jurisdiction, an opportunity was afforded the Proprietors of New Jersey to resume all the rights and privileges of which they had been despoiled. But there were impediments in the way. They were not sure of the support of the people, and being separated,—some in England, some in Scotland, and some in New Jersey,—it was not possible that unanimity of action could be secured. Many of them, having been closely allied to King James, were probably disposed to cling to him in his misfortunes, and had the deputy-governor thrown off the responsibilities he had so recently resumed as the representative of the Crown, for the purpose of re-establishing the authority of the Proprietors, it would have been attended with great doubt and uncertainty as to his success, the people having so definitely manifested their preference for a royal government.

In April Hamilton received a summons from the mayor of New York, acting as lieutenant of Andros; and, attended by the justices of Bergen, repaired thither to consult upon the proper course to be pursued in the peculiar situation of affairs prevailing in the two colonies, but nothing of consequence resulted from the conference. The deputy-governor on subsequent occasions was invited to similar consultations in New York, but does not seem to have compromised himself in any way with any party; and, as so much doubt existed as to what was the proper course for him to pursue, he resolved in August to proceed to England in person to advise with the Proprietors there. On his way thither he was taken prisoner by the French, and appears to have been detained in France until the May following, when he, being then in England, resigned his position as the deputy-governor. From the time of Hamilton’s departure for England until 1692 the inhabitants of East Jersey were left to the guardianship of their county and town officers, who seemed to have possessed all necessary powers to preserve the peace. So also in West Jersey. The course of events caused but little alteration in the general condition of the Province after the surrender of the government to Andros in April, 1688, and the subsequent suspension of his authority.

In 1687 George Keith, surveyor-general of East Jersey, under orders from the Proprietors there, attempted to run the dividing line between the two provinces, in accordance with the terms of the Quintipartite deed of 1676; but the result was unsatisfactory to West Jersey, as it was thought too great a quantity of the best lands came thereby within the bounds of East Jersey. In September, 1688, however, a consultation took place in London, between Governor Coxe of West Jersey and Governor Barclay of East Jersey, with the view of perfecting a settlement of Keith’s line, resulting in a written agreement signed and sealed by the two parties; but nevertheless no satisfactory termination of the matter was arrived at for many years. It was in 1688 that the “Board of Proprietors of West Jersey” was regularly organized.

* * * * *

It would be very gratifying to be able to state clearly, upon good authority, the condition of New Jersey at this eventful period in its history, and note its progress since its surrender to the English in 1664, but from the imperfection of the details, the information obtainable is not sufficiently definite to give satisfactory results.

That the population of East Jersey had largely increased there can be no doubt. It was a constant cause of complaint by the government of New York that the freedom from taxation and various mercantile restrictions had tended greatly to increase emigration to East Jersey, much to the detriment of New York; and the first towns, Newark, Elizabethtown, and Middletown, drew large numbers from New England and Long Island, leading to their becoming centres for the development of other towns and villages. The new capital, Perth Amboy, became in a very few years an important settlement, and both from Scotland and England numerous families had already arrived and settled in various parts of the Province; so that it is probable the increase during the quarter of a century had been more than a hundred-fold, making the total number of souls in East Jersey nearly, if not quite, ten thousand. There are no figures upon which any correct estimate can be based of the increase in West Jersey, but it may be safely considered as coming far short of the eastern Province.

Of the five counties recognized in 1670 Monmouth was the most populous; and of its three towns, Shrewsbury, Middletown, and Freehold, the first was the most important. Essex County came next; Elizabethtown, Newark, Acquackanock, and New Barbadoes being its towns, ranking in the order in which they are named. Middlesex followed, with Woodbridge, Piscataway, and Perth Amboy as its towns. Bergen stood fourth, with its towns of Bergen and Hackensack; and Somerset came last, having no specific townships. There were, of course, in all the counties small settlements not yet of sufficient importance to be recognized as separate organizations. In 1683 Bergen County was third in importance, and Middlesex fourth.

One great hindrance to the development of the agricultural and mineral resources of the two provinces was the want of roads and conveniences to promote intercourse between the different sections. The only Indian path ran from Shrewsbury River to the northwest limits of the Province, and the only road opened by the Dutch appears to have been that by which intercourse was kept up with the settlements on the Delaware, in what is now Maryland. From New Amsterdam a direct water communication was had with Elizabethtown Point (now Elizabethport), and thence by land to the Raritan River which was crossed by fording at Inian’s Ferry, now New Brunswick. Thence the road ran in almost a straight course to the Delaware River, above the site of the present Trenton, where there was another ford. This was called the Upper Road; another, called the Lower Road, branched off from the first about five or six miles from the Raritan, and by a circuitous route reached the Delaware at the site of what is now Burlington; but the whole country was a wilderness between the towns in Monmouth County and the Delaware River as late as 1675.

The first public measures for the establishment of roads was in 1675; two men in each town being clothed with authority to lay out the common highways; and in March, 1683, boards were created in the different counties to lay out all necessary highways, bridges, landings, ferries, etc., and by these boards the first effective intercommunication was established. The present generation have in constant use many of the roads laid out by them. In July, 1683, instructions were given to Deputy-Governor Lawrie to open a road between the new capital, Perthtown, and Burlington; but, although his instructions were complied with, and the road opened in connection with water communication between Perth and New York, the route by way of New Brunswick was the most travelled.

The character of the legislation and laws for the punishment and suppression of crime was very different in the two provinces. The penal laws in East Jersey partook more of the severity of the Levitical law, originating as they did with the settlers coming from Puritan countries, while those in West Jersey were exceedingly humane and forbearing. In the one there were thirteen classes of offences made amenable to the death penalty, while in the other such a punishment was unknown to the laws.

As might reasonably be expected from its proximity to New Amsterdam, the first church erected in New Jersey soil, of which any mention is made, was at Bergen. This was in 1680, the congregation having been formed in 1662. The first clergyman heard of in Newark was in 1667, a Congregationalist, and the first meeting-house was built in 1669. Elizabethtown’s first congregation was formed in 1668. Woodbridge succeeded in getting one established in 1670, and its first church was built in 1681. The Quakers immediately after their arrival in West Jersey, in 1675, organized a meeting at Salem (probably the one which Edmondson says he attended), and in 1680 purchased a house and had it fitted up for their religious services. It is said that the first religious meetings of the Quakers in New Jersey were held at Shrewsbury as early as 1670, the settlers there, about 1667, being principally of that denomination. Edmondson mentions a meeting held at Middletown in 1675. The first General Yearly Meeting for regulating the affairs of the Society was held at Burlington in August, 1681. Local meetings were held there in tents before a house was erected. John Woolston’s was the first, and its walls were consecrated by having worship within them. The Friends at Cape May in 1676, Cohansey in 1683, and Lower Alloway Creek in 1685 secured religious services.

Middletown, in Monmouth County, had an organized Baptist congregation in 1688; and Piscataway in Middlesex County one in 1689.

To what extent education had been fostered up to this period it is difficult to determine. The first schoolmaster mentioned in Newark was there in 1676; but Bergen had a school established under the Dutch administration in 1661. The first general law providing for the establishment and support of school-masters in East Jersey was not passed until 1693.

The currency of both East and West Jersey during the whole period of their colonial existence, for reasons which are not very apparent, was more stable than that of the neighboring colonies. The coins of England and Holland, and their respective moneys of account, were used, and Indian wampum afforded the means of exchange with the Aborigines. Barter was naturally the mode of traffic most followed, and tables are now found showing the value set upon the different productions of the soil that were used in these business operations, marking the diminution in value from year to year as compared with “old England money.” In 1681 an act was passed in West Jersey for the enhancing, or raising, the value of coins, which was extended also to New England money. About that time an individual, named Mark Newbie, increased the circulating medium by putting into circulation a large number of Irish half-pence of less value than the standard coin, which he had brought with him from Ireland; and, as thought by some, continued the manufacture of them after his arrival. The act of 1681, however, was repealed the following year, and another passed making Newbie’s half-pence equal in value to the current money of the Province, provided he gave security to exchange them “for pay equivalent on demand,” and provided also that no person should be obliged to take more than five shillings on one payment.[713] No repeal of this act appears in the records. It became inoperative probably in 1684, when Newbie disappears from the documentary history of the period. This supposition is in some measure confirmed by the passage of an act in May of that year, making three farthings “of the King’s coin to go current for one penny,” in sums not exceeding five shillings.[714]

The only attempt to regulate the value of gold and silver in East Jersey was in 1686. Its object was to prevent the transportation of silver from the Province by raising it above its true value in all business transactions. Its evil tendencies, however, were soon developed, and before the end of the year, at a subsequent session of the same Assembly, it was repealed.

The first grist-mill is mentioned in 1671, and was followed by another in 1679, hand-mills being generally used. The first saw-mill was erected in 1682. In 1683 Deputy-Governor Rudyard, in a letter to a friend, says that at that time there were two saw-mills at work, and five or six more projected, abating “the price of boards half in half, and all other timber for building; for altho’ timber cost nothing, yet workmanship by hand was London price or near upon it, and sometimes more, which these mills abate.”

The cider produced at Newark was awarded the preference over that brought from New England, Rhode Island, or Long Island. Clams, oysters, and fish received well merited commendation for their plentifulness and good qualities.

In 1685 the iron-mills in Monmouth County, belonging to Lewis Morris, were in full operation; but it was not until some years had elapsed that “the hills up in the country,” which were “said to be stony,” were explored, and the mineral treasures of Morris County revealed. Gabriel Thomas, in 1698, mentions rice among the products of West Jersey, adding that large quantities of pitch, tar, and turpentine were secured from the pine forests, and that the number of whales caught yearly gave the settlers abundance of oil and whalebone.

CRITICAL ESSAY ON THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

THE relations existing between New York and New Jersey, during the era of discovery and settlement, necessarily led to their being jointly noticed by all the early writers, and as they have been referred to in what has preceded this chapter,[715] it is thought unnecessary to comment further upon their revelations. Attention will therefore be given to those whose object was the making known the peculiarities, the advantages, and attractions of New Jersey independent of New York.

The first of these was an issue by John Fenwicke of a single folio leaf, in 1675, containing his proposals for planting his colony of New Cæsarea, or New Jersey. A copy was for sale in London in 1853,—perhaps the same copy sold at the Brinley sale to the Pennsylvania Historical Society. It is printed in _Penn. Mag. of Hist._, vi.

In 1682 the Proprietors of East Jersey published a small quarto of eight pages, giving an account of their recently acquired province.[716] This publication is not now obtainable, and it is doubtful if any copies have been seen for several generations. It is the basis of all the information respecting East Jersey contained in _The Present State of His Majesty’s Isles and Territories in America_, etc., by Richard Blome (London, 1687), which is frequently quoted, though abounding in errors. Although the original edition may not now be met with, the _Brief Account_ may be found reprinted in Smith’s _History of New Jersey_, and in _East Jersey under the Proprietary Governments_. It gives a very fair and interesting account of the Province, and doubtless aided in inducing adventurers to embark for the new Eldorado.

In 1683 a small quarto of fifteen pages, including the titlepage, was published in Edinburgh for the Scotch Proprietors, of similar purport to the foregoing.[717] The only copy of the original, known, is in the possession of Samuel L. M. Barlow, Esq., of New York. This was used when the work was reproduced in the New York _Historical Magazine_, second series, vol. i.[718]

In 1684 a work of greater pretensions, comprising 73 pages, 12º, was published in London, entitled _The Planter’s Speech to his neighbours and countrymen of Pennsylvania, East and West Jersey; and to all such as have transported themselves into new Colonies for the sake of a quiet, retired life. To which is added the complaints of our Supra-interior inhabitants_. The title and introduction of this volume are all that have been met with. They will be found in Proud’s _History of Pennsylvania_.[719] The author’s name is not known, but it would seem that his object was more to impress upon his “dear friends and countrymen” their moral and religious duties as immigrants, than to portray the advantages of the section of country particularly referred to.

The purport of the treatise is thus summarized by Proud: “Divers particulars are proposed as fundamentals for future laws and customs, tending principally to establish a higher degree of temperance and original simplicity of manners,—more particularly against the use of spirituous liquors,—than had been usual before. Everything of a military nature, even the use of the instruments thereof, is not only disapproved, and the destruction of the human species thereby condemned in this _Speech_, but likewise all violence or cruelty towards, and the wanton killing of, the inferior living creatures, and the eating of animal food are also strongly advised against in those proposed regulations, customs, or laws, with the reasons given, etc., to the end that a higher degree of love, perfection, and happiness might more universally be introduced and preserved among mankind.”

In 1685 the most interesting and valuable of all the early publications was issued in Edinburgh,[720] reference to which has been made on a preceding page. The author, George Scot, of Pitlochie, was connected by descent and marriage with many distinguished families in Scotland, which connection probably led the Proprietors to confide the preparation of the work to him, as his extensive circle of friends and acquaintances would be likely to insure for it a more general acceptance, particularly as he was ready to add example to precept by embarking himself and family for East Jersey. Accompanied by nearly two hundred persons, he sailed from Scotland about Aug. 1, 1685, but before the vessel reached her destination Scot and his wife and many of their fellow-passengers were no longer living. One daughter, Eupham, became the wife of John Johnstone the ensuing year. Mr. Johnstone was one of her fellow-passengers. Their descendants became numerous, and for years before the war of Independence, and since that period, they filled high civil and military stations in East Jersey.

The author of _The Model_ begins his work with a learned disquisition upon the manner in which America was first peopled, and then proceeds to meet and overcome the various scruples that were presumed to operate against its further settlement from Scotland, by arguments drawn from sacred and profane history and from the consideration due their families and the country; concluding with a portrayal of the advantages to be secured by a residence in East Jersey, and the superiority of that colony over others in America and the West Indies. In this respect the value of the work to the historian is very great, as numerous letters are given from the early settlers, presenting minute descriptions of various localities and their individual experiences in a manner calculated to produce a correct and, at the same time, a favorable impression upon their readers. The original edition is exceedingly rare, only ten copies being known, but the New Jersey Historical Society has caused it to be reprinted as an appendix to the first volume of its _Collections_, thus placing it within the reach of all.[721]

The year 1685 gave also to the world the interesting book of Thomas Budd, entitled _Good Order established in Pennsilvania and New Jersey_.[722] Mr. Budd arrived at Burlington, in West Jersey, in 1678, and during his residence there held many important offices; was associated with Jenings on the committee appointed in 1684 to confer with Edward Byllynge, and it was while he was in England that his book was printed. He probably removed to Philadelphia after his return to New Jersey. He made another brief visit to England in 1689, but continued to consider Philadelphia as his residence until his death in 1698. Mr. Budd’s work exhibits the possession of intelligence and public spirit to a remarkable degree. Some of his suggestions as to the education which should be given to the young in various pursuits show him to have been an early advocate of what are now termed Technical Schools, and are deserving of consideration even at this late day. The original work is seldom seen, but in 1865 a reprint was given to the public by William Gowans, of New York, having an introduction and copious notes by Mr. Edward Armstrong, of Philadelphia.

In 1698 Gabriel Thomas published a small octavo of forty-six pages on West Jersey, in connection with a similar work on Pennsylvania, with a map of both colonies. He was then, it is thought, a resident of London, but he had resided in America about fifteen years, the information contained in the book being the result of his own experiences and observation.[723] The book was dedicated to the West Jersey Proprietors, and its intent was to induce emigration of all who wished to better their worldly condition, especially the poor, who might in West Jersey “subsist very well without either begging or stealing.” French refugees or Protestants would find it also to their interest to remove thither where they might live “far better than in Germany, Holland, Ireland, or England.” The modes of life among the Indians, and the prevailing intercourse between them and the settlers were fully discussed, as well as the natural productions of the country and the improvements already introduced or in progress.

In 1699 two pamphlets were published in Philadelphia, referring to the difficulties in West Jersey between the people of the Province and Edward Byllynge in 1684, which led to the despatch, by the Assembly, of Samuel Jenings and Thomas Budd to confer in person with Byllynge. The first of these publications was aimed at Jenings, who was accused of being the head of “some West Jersians” opposed to Byllynge, and emanated from John Tatham, Thomas Revell, and Nathaniel Westland, although published anonymously.[724] Jenings took exceptions to many of its statements and answered it under his own name in a small quarto, boldly asserting his innocence of the serious charges made against him.[725] These publications throw considerable light upon a portion of West Jersey history which is very obscure, and have been used in the preparation of the foregoing narrative. They are both exceedingly rare, and historians are indebted to Mr. Brinton Coxe, of Philadelphia, for having them reprinted in 1881.

The Journal of William Edmundson has been referred to as furnishing some interesting items respecting New Jersey during the period we have had under review.[726] He visited the Province in 1676, and his statements respecting the condition of the country and his interviews with prominent Friends are valuable.

In addition to these publications, there are in the Secretary of State’s office at Trenton the original records of both the East Jersey and West Jersey Proprietors, which were transferred from Perth Amboy and Burlington about the middle of the last century, copies only being left in the original places of deposit.

The foregoing references include all the works published, prior to the surrender of the government of New Jersey to the Crown in 1703, relating to the history of the Province, previous to its separation from New York; but others were published subsequently which throw much light upon that early period, although not written for that purpose exclusively. Thus in 1747 the renowned Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery was drawn and put in print by subscription the same year,[727] which will ever be acknowledged as a structure of valuable materials illustrative of the conflicts between the Proprietors and their government and the discontented settlers. The bill was principally drawn by James Alexander, who during a long period was a prominent lawyer in both provinces. A Scotchman by birth he came to America in 1715, and shortly after his arrival entered the Secretary’s office, New York, and was deputy-clerk of the Court in 1719. Throughout his life, which did not terminate until April 2, 1756, he held very highly important positions in both New York and New Jersey, and was the owner of large land tracts in both provinces.[728] This bill, notwithstanding its great length and complicated nature, is drawn with much ability and makes out a very strong case for the plaintiffs. The defendants’ claims would seem to be, beyond controversy, invalid; but other matters were introduced rendering the case one not easily disposed of.

The answer to the Bill in Chancery was filed in 1751 and printed in 1752,—the counsel for the defendants being William Livingston, afterward Governor of New Jersey, and William Smith, Jr., who became Chief-Justice of New York, and subsequently, after the war of Independence, Chief-Justice of Canada. The copies now extant are very rare.[729] Although not as voluminous it was fully as prolix as the document which prompted it. Notwithstanding the great amount of labor which this case required both in its preparation and argument, it was never brought to a conclusion. The Revolution of 1776 effectually interrupted the progress of the suit, and it was never afterward revived. Both bill and answer, however, and other smaller publications which resulted from the trial of the case, must ever be considered as valuable historical documents, emanating as they all did from parties more or less interested in the questions involved, and consequently earnestly desirous of eliciting every fact that could throw any light upon them.[730]

The first general history of New Jersey was that of Samuel Smith, published in 1765.[731] It is valuable to all examining the early history of the State, from the author’s having had access to, and judiciously used, information obtained from various sources not now accessible. He gives some interesting letters from early settlers, elucidating the events comprehended in the period we have had under review; and although, as might naturally be expected, errors are occasionally found in it, Smith’s _History of New Jersey_ has ever been deservedly considered a standard work.[732] Proud, whose _History of Pennsylvania_ contains much matter referring to West Jersey that is usefully arranged, acknowledges his indebtedness to Smith, and gives him the credit of being “the person who took the most pains to adjust and reduce these materials into nice order, as might be proper for the public view,” previous to his own undertaking; and the old historian, if cognizant of what is taking place in his native State at this late day, must be gratified to find how freely modern writers have transferred his pages to their books, even though no acknowledgment of indebtedness to him has been made.

In 1748 the acts of the General Assembly of New Jersey, from the time of the surrender of the government to the Crown in the second year of Queen Anne, were published under the supervision of Samuel Nevill, second Judge of the Supreme Court of the Province, and, in consequence, the popular party were aroused into having the early grants and concessions also arranged and published. About 1750 a committee was appointed to collate the early manuscripts connected with the proprietary grants, and subsequently Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer were empowered to have them printed, and to them does the credit belong of giving to their fellow-citizens the admirable compilation that is generally quoted under their names.[733] It contains all the agreements, deeds, concessions, and public acts from 1664 to 1702, and the object in view by their compilation and the estimate in which they were held are apparent from a remark of the compilers in their preface. “If our present system of government,” say they, “should not be judged so equal to the natural rights of a reasonable creature as the one that raised us to the dignity of a colony, let it serve as a caution to guard the cause of liberty.”

This volume has been of great value to members of the Bar and of the Legislature, as well as to the historian, as it has preserved many documents the original depository of which is not now to be found.[734] At the present time, however, the State of New Jersey is publishing, under the direction of a committee of the Historical Society, a series of volumes entitled the _New Jersey Archives_, which is intended to include all important documents referring to the colonial history of the State, however widely the originals may be scattered in other depositories,—including all of interest now preserved in the Public Record Office of England,—and will probably be the authoritative reference hereafter for documentary evidence relating to the whole colonial period.[735]

The first volume issued by the New Jersey Historical Society as their Collections was published in 1846, and contained “East Jersey under the Proprietary Governments.”[736] The author wrote his work fully sensible of the necessity for verifying much that had been allowed to pass as history, by seeking for and using original sources of information; and the volume elucidates many events that are alluded to in the preceding chapter.

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EDITORIAL NOTE.—The _New Jersey Archives_ will contain every essential document noted in _An Analytical Index to the Colonial Documents of New Jersey in the state-paper offices of England, compiled by Henry Stevens, edited with notes and references to printed works and manuscripts in other depositories_, by William A. Whitehead, New York, 1858.

In 1843 a movement was made in the State Legislature to emulate the action of New York in securing from the English Archives copies of its early historical documents; and in the next year the judiciary committee made a report on the subject, which is printed in the preface of this Index, p. vii. This, however, failed of effect, as did a movement in 1845; but it made manifest the necessity of an historical society, as a source of influence for such end; and the same year the New Jersey Historical Society was formed, of which Mr. Whitehead has been the corresponding secretary from the start. This society reinforced the movement in the State Legislature; but no result being reached, it undertook of its own action the desired work, and in 1849 gave a commission to Mr. Henry Stevens to make an analytical index of the documents relating to New Jersey to be found in England. This being furnished, the State legislature failing to respond in any co-operative measures for the enlargement of it from the domestic records of the State, Mr. Whitehead undertook the editing, as explained in the title, and appended to the volume a bibliography of all the principal printed works relating to New Jersey up to 1857. Mr. Stevens’s enumeration began with 1663-64, the editor adding two earlier ones of 1649 and 1651. But a small part of the list, however (13 pp. out of 470), refers to the period covered by the present chapter, and many of those mentioned had already been printed.

The _Sparks Catalogue_ shows “Papers relating to New Jersey, 1683-1775,” collected by George Chalmers, which are now in Harvard College Library.

Some of the later general histories of the State may be mentioned:—

_The History of New Jersey from its Discovery to the Adoption of the Federal Constitution_, by Thomas F. Gordon, Trenton, 1834. There is a companion volume, a Gazetteer.

_Civil and Political History of New Jersey_, by Isaac S. Mulford, Camden, 1848. The author says “no claim is advanced for originality or learning,” his object being to make accessible scattered information in a “simple and compendious narrative,” which is not altogether carefully set forth. A new edition was issued in 1851 in Philadelphia.

_The History of New Jersey_, by John O. Raum, 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1877, is simply, so far as the early chronicles are concerned, a repetition mostly of Smith and Gordon, though no credit is given to those authorities.

A few of the local histories also deserve some notice:—

_Contributions to the Early History of Perth Amboy and adjoining Country_, by William A. Whitehead, New York, 1856. The author says, “No attempt has been made to clothe with the importance of history these desultory gleanings.” It has a map of the original laying-out, following what is presumed to have been an original survey of 1684.

_An Historical Account of the First Settlement at Salem in West Jersey_, by John Fenwicke, Esq., chief proprietor of the same; with R. S. Johnson, Philadelphia, 1839, 24º. pp. 173. Mr. Johnson’s memoir of Fenwicke is in the New Jersey Hist. Soc. Proc. iv.

The Hon. John Clement, of Haddonfield, has prepared a _History of Fenwicke’s Colony_.

The two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Burlington was celebrated Dec. 6, 1877, when the late Henry Armitt Brown delivered an oration, presenting the early history in a rhetorical way.

_Reminiscences of Old Gloucester, ... New Jersey_, by Isaac Mickle, Philadelphia, 1845.

_History of Elizabeth, New Jersey, including the Early History of Union County_, by the Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, New York, 1868. The author differs from the writer of the present chapter with respect to the merits of the conflict between the Proprietors and the people. The foot-note references are ample.

_History of the County of Hudson from its Earliest Settlement_, by Charles H. Winfield, New York, 1874.

_Historical Sketch of the County of Passaic, especially of the First Settlements and Settlers._ Privately printed, by William Nelson, Paterson, 1877.

_The History of Newark, New Jersey, being a Narrative of its Rise and Progress from May, 1666_, by Joseph Atkinson, Newark, 1878; a book giving, however, only in a new garb, the older chronicles of the place. It gives a map of the town as laid out in 1666.

* * * * *

The annexed sketch-map is an extract from a map entitled, _Le Canada, ou Nouvelle France, etc., par N. Sanson d’Abbeville, geographe ordinaire du Roy_, Paris, 1656, and by its dotted lines shows the limits conceded by the French to the different colonies of the northern seaboard of the present United States, a few years before the establishment of New Caesaria. New England was defined on the east by the height of land between the waters of the Penobscot and the Kennebec, and on the northwest by a similar elevation that turned the rainfall to the St. Lawrence. New Netherland stretched from Cape Cod to the Delaware, where it met New Sweden, which lay between it and Virginia,—the Maryland charter not being recognized; nor was the absorption of the territory of the Swedes the year before (1655), by the Dutch, made note of. The map-maker, in defining these limits, pretends to have worked on English and Dutch authorities; but the Plymouth colonists would have hardly allowed the annihilation to which they were subjected, and the settlers of Massachusetts would scarcely have recognized the names attached to their headlands and harbors, and never having any existence but in Smith’s map, which the royal geographer seems to have fallen in with.

NOTE ON NEW ALBION.

BY GREGORY B. KEEN.

_Late Professor of Mathematics in the Theological Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo, Corresponding Secretary of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania._

THE English did not attain supreme dominion in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Delaware until the grant of King Charles II. to his royal brother, the Duke of York, in 1664; yet the history of these States and that of Maryland would not be complete without specific mention of the antecedent attempt to settle this part of America, made by the unsuccessful colonist Sir Edmund Plowden.