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American
Ijjistatg Ceaflets
COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.
EDITED BY
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART AND EDWARD CHANNINQ
Of Harvard University.

NO. 31,
JANUARY, 1901.
EXTRACTS FROM JOHN WINTHROP'i
HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND.

PARKER P, SIMMONS

TQT2

--/J

Bntaed at the New York Post Office as second tl-ut n-UCtr.
Copyright igoo w A. LOVELL ft COMPANY.

PUNCTUATION I
PEAOTIOALLY ILLUSTRATED ]
A Manual for Students and Correspondents.
By KATE O'NEILL,
Of the Richmond, Virginia, High School.

idmo.

Cloth.

tgz Pages. Price, jo Cents.

This manual on Punctuation contains all the rules and exceptions on
tilis important but much neglected subject. The proper use of each point
is practically illustrated by numerous examples in sentences so constructed
as to show clearly the correct application of these rules.
Proper study of this book will do much to counteract the tendency to
errors in the use of punctuation marks — error: that are so common, and
that spoil so much that would otherwise be good.
The treatment of the subject is condensed and thoroughly covered.
Ir will be found very helpful to all who write for the press, and especially
to the large number of correspondents and stenographers whose letters
•hould show a proper use of "points."

A FEW TESTIMONIALS.
" This Is one of the best helps to punctuation that has been prepared
for the class and tl ; Individual. It is clear, concise, well illustrated,
and every way helpful. ' — Journal of Education.
" A usefullittle manual for all who write for the press, for corre
spondents, stenographers and typewriters. It is especially commendable
for its clearness and simplicity of language and treatment. A little careful
sudv of these few concise pages will do much to put the whole subject
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" A compact and useful little book which docs not deal so much with
'the philosophy of punctuation as with its practical side." — The Daily
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|«»to jp£f0vg gpwtflcfa

COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.

No. 31. January, iqoi.

EXTRACTS FROM JOHN WINTHROP'S
HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND.

John Wintiihop was the first pwcrnor of tl
Company to reside in the colony. His History of
as it describes matters which came under his o\w
importance second only to the Rei una of the Masi.a,
Indeed Winthrup systematically supplements those
contains some of the lighter portions of Winlhrop'
the voyage to the colony and the settlement of the U
Hay. There are also a few passages dealing w ilh con
a page or two on the expulsion of Roger Williams
History of Ko.don and C. K Adams's V'/iree if:
History will serve to elucidate this narrative, lor
Channing and Hart's Guide to the Study of Ainei

ic Massachusetts Bay
Vr-o England, so fat
1 e; es, is a source of
'inlet's Bay Company.
lecrds. This number
s narrative describing
urns on Massachusetts
si.ilutiotial matters and
Winsor's Memorial
s,-,,'cs cf Afusiaolmsetts
other references, see
iL aii History, § 137,

Anno Domini, 1630, March 29, Monday.
Easter Monday.] RiniNo at the Cowcs, near the Isle of
Wiglii, in the Aibella, a ship of three hundred and fifty tons,
whereof Capt. Peter Milborne was master, being manned with
fifty-two seamen and twenty-eight pieces of ordnance, (the
wind coming to the N. and by \V. die evening before,) in the
morning there came aboard us Mr. 1 'radock. the late govenmnr,
and the masters of his two ships, C-ipl. |ohn Lowe, master of
the Ambrose, am! Mr. Nicholas llmb.lon, master of the jewel
and Mi. Thomas Beecher, master ol the Talbot, (which three

ships rode then by us — the Charles, the Mayflower, the Will
iam and Francis, the Hopewell, the Whale, the Success and
the Trial being still at Hampton and not ready,) when, upon
conference, it was agreed, that (in regard it was uncertain when
the rest of the fleet would be ready) these four ships should
consort together ; the Arbella to be Admiral, the Talbot Vice-
Admiral, the Ambrose Rear-Admiral, and the Jewel a Captain ;
and accordingly articles of consortship were drawn between the
said captains and masters; whereupon Mr. Cradock took leave
of us, and our captain gave him a farewell with four or five shot.
About ten of the clock we weighed anchor and set sail, with
the wind at N. and came to an anchor again over against
Yarmouth, and the Talbot weighed likewise, and came and
anchored by us. Here we met with a ship of Hampton, called
the Plantation, newly come from Virginia. Our captain saluted
her, and she us again ; and the master, one Mr. [blank] Graves,
came on board our ship, and stayed with us about two or three
hours, and in the mean time his ship came to an anchor by us.
Tuesday, 30.] In the morning, about ten of the clock, the
wind being come to the W. with fair weather, we weighed and
rode nearer Yarmouth. When we came before the town, the
castle put forth a flag ; our captain saluted them, and they
answered us again. The Talbot, which rode farther off, saluted
the castle also.
Here we saw, close by the shore of the Isle of Wight, a Dutch
ship of one thousand tons, which, being bound to the East
Indies, about two years since, in passing through the Needles,
struck upon a rock, and being forced to run ashore to save her
men, could never be weighed since, although she lies a great
height above the water, and yet she hath some men aboard her.
Wednesday, 31.] The wind continued W. and S. W. with
rain. Our captain and some of our company went to Yarmouth
for supply of wood and other provisions ; (our captain was still
careful to fill our empty casks with water.)
Thursday, April 1 .] The wind continued very strong at W.
and by S. with much rain.
Friday, 2.] We kept a fast aboard our ship and the Talbot.
The wind continued still very high at W. and S. and rainy. In
the time of our fast, two of our landmen pierced a rundlet of
strong water, and stole some of it, for which we laid them in
bolts all the night, and the next morning the principal was
openly whipped, and both kept with bread and water that day.

Saturday, 3.] The wind continued still at W. and with cod
tinual storms and rain.
Sunday, 4 ] Fair, dear weather. In the morning the wind
W and by N. but in the afternoon S. S. W. This evening the
lalbot weighed and went back to the Cowes, because her
anchor would not hold here, the tide set with so strong a race
Monday, 5.] The wind still W. and S. with fair weather
A maid of Sir Richard Saltonstall fell down at the grating bv
the cook room, but the carpenter's man, who occasioned her
foil unwittingly, caught hold of her with incredible nimbleness,
and saved her ; otherwise she had fallen into the hold
luesday, 6.1 Capt. Burleigh, captain of Yarmouth castle,
L^'JaT LgTleT\and 0f Sreat aSe> came aboard us
and stayed breakfast, and, offering us much courtesy, he departed
our captain gtving him four shot out of the forecastle for his
farewell. He was an old sea captain in Queen Elizabeth's
time, and, being taken prisoner at sea, was kept prisoner in
Spam three years. Himself and three of his sons we're captain
in Koe s voyage. L
T^rh?1^^8 now =°™e aI?0Ut t0 N' E' with very fair weather.
that tt T lirr°T ,' Cra,d°ck,came aboard us, and told us,
that the lalbot, Jewel and Ambrose, were fallen down into
Stoke s Lay, intending to take their way by St. Helen's Point
and that they desired we would come back to them. Hereupon
we came to council, and wrote unto them to take the firs
opportunity ot the wind to fall down to us, and Mr. Cradod
SrfiVS f to th,em' T' captahl *""« h™ three -ho
out ot the steerage for a farewell.
mtS^rfi'1 Cfed °Ver °"r 1,andmen' and ,ried them at their
muskets, and such as were good shot among them were enrolled
to serve in the ship, if occasion should be
I he lady Arbella and the gentlewomen, and Mr. Johnson and
some others went on shore to refresh themselves
Wednesday 7.3 Fair weather, the wind easterly in the
!> xiUi. I his afternoon our other consorts came up to us and
about ten or twelve Flemings, and all anchored by us and te
masters of the Jewel and of the Ambrose came aboard u and
our captain and they went on shore '
Towards night there came from the W. a Fleminc a small
man of war, w.th a Brazil man which he had take, prize and
came to anchor by us. * '

4
Thursday, 8.] About six in the morning (the wind being E.
and N. and fair weather) we weighed anchor and set sail, and
before ten we gat through the Needles, having so little wind as
we had much to do to stem the tide, so as the rest of our fleet
(we being nine in all, whereof some were small ships, which
were bound for Newfoundland) could not get out all then till
the ebb. In the afternoon the wind came S. and W. and we
were becalmed, so as being not able to get above three or four
leagues from the Needles, our captain tacked about, and put-
ling his fore-sheets aback stays, he stayed for the rest of the
fleet, and as they came by us we spake to them, and about
eight in the evening we let fall an anchor, intending to stop
till the ebb. But before ten at night the wind came about to
the N. a good gale ; so we put up a light in the poop, and
weighed and set sail, and by daylight, Friday, 9, we were come
to Portland; but the other ships being not able to hold up
with us, we were forced to spare our mainsail, and went on
with a merry gale. In the morning we descried from the top
eight sail astern of us, (whom Capt. Lowe told us lie had seen
at Dunnose in the evening.) We supposing they might be
1 lunkirkers, our captain caused the gun room and min deck to
be cleared; all the hammocks were taken down, o'n ordnance
loaded, and our powder chests and fireworks made ready, and
our landmen quartered among the seamen, and twenty-five of
them appointed for muskets, and every man written down for
his quarter.
The wind continued N. [blank] with fair weather, and after
noon it calmed, and we still saw those eight ships to stand
towards us ; having more wind than we, they came up apace,
so as our captain and the masters of our consorts were more
occasioned to think they might be Dunkirkers, (for we were
told at Yarmouth, that there were ten sail of them waiting for
us;) whereupon we all prcpau.d to fight with them, and took
down some cabins which were in the way of our ordnance, and
out of every ship were thrown such bed matters as were subject
to take fire, and we heaved out our long boats, and put up our
waste cloths, and drew forth our men, and armed them with
muskets and other weapons, and instruments for fireworks ;
and for an experiment our captain shot a ball of wild-fire
fastened to an arrow out of a crossbow, which burnt in the
water a good time. The lady Arbella and the other women
and children were removed into the lower deck, that they

might be out of danger. All things being thus fitted, we went
to prayer upon the upper deck. It was much to see how
cheerful and comfortable all the companv appeared; not a
woman or child that shewed fear, though all' did apprehend the
danger to have been great, if things had proved as might well
be expected, for there had been eight against four, and the
least of the enemy's ships were reported to carry thirty brass
pieces; but our trust was in the Lord of Hosts; and the
courage of our captain, and his care and diligence, did much
encourage us. It was now about one of the clock, and the
fleet seemed to be within a league of us ; therefore our captain,
because he would shew he was not afraid of them, and that he
might see the issue before night should overtake us, tacked
about and stood to meet them, and when we came near we
perceived them to be our friends — the Little Neptune, a ship
of some twenty pieces of ordnance, and her two consorts,
bound for the Straits; a ship of Mushing, and a Frenchman'
and three other Knglish ships bound f..r Canada and New
foundland. So when we drew near, every ship (as they met)
saluted each other, and the musketeers dix barged their .small
shot; and so (God be praised) our fear and danger was turned
into mirth and friendly entertainment. Our danger being thus
over, we espied two boats on fishing in the channel ; so every
of our four ships manned out a skiff, and we bought of them
great store of excellent fresh fish of divers sorts.
Saturday, 10.] The wind at E. and bv N. a handsome gale
with fair weather. By seven in the morning we were come
over against Plimouth.
About noon the wind slacked, and we were come within
sight of the Lizard, and towards night it grew very calm and a
great fog, so as our ships made no way.
This afternoon Mr. Hurlston, the master of the Jewel came
aboard our ship, and our captain went in his skiff 'aboard the
Ambrose and the Neptune, of which one Mr. Andrew Cole was
master. There he was told that the bark Warwick was taken
by the Dunkirkers, for she came single 'out of the Downes
about fourteen days since, intending to come to us to the
Wight, but was never heard of since. She was a prettv ship oi
about eighty tons and ten pieces of ordnance, and was set out
by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Cap. Mason and others, for dis-
coveiy of the great lake in New Kngland, so to have inter
cepted the trade of beaver. The master ,,f l,Cr was one Mr

Weatherell, whose father was master of one of the cattle ships,
which we left at 1 lampton.
This day two young men, falling at odds and fighting, con
trary to the orders which we had published and set up in the
ship, were adjudged to walk upon the deck till night with their
hands bound behind them, which accordingly was executed ;
and another man, for using contemptuous speeches in our
presence, was laid in bolts till he submitted himself and prom
ised open confession of his offence.
I should have noted before, that the day we set sail from the
Cowes, my son Henry Winthrop, went on shore with one of
my servants to fetch an ox and ten wethers, which he had pro
vided for our ship, and there went on shore with him Mr. Pel-
ham and one of his servants. They sent the cattle aboard, but
returned not themselves. About three days after my servant
and a servant of Mr. Pclham's came to us to Yarmouth, and
told us they were all coming to us in a boat the day before, but
the wind was so strong against them, as they were forced on
shore in the night, and the two servants cameto Yarmouth by
land, and so came ou ship-board, but my son and Mr. Pelham
(we heard) went back to the Cowes and so to Hampton. We
expected them three or four days after, but they came not to
us, so we have left them behind, and suppose they will come
after in Mr. Goffe's ships. We were very sorry they had put
themselves upon such inconvenience, when they were so well
accommodated in our ship. This was not noted before, be
cause we expected daily their return; and upon this occasion
I must add here one observation, that we have many young
gentlemen in our ship, who behave themselves well, and are
conformable to all good orders.
About ten at night it cleared up with a fresh gale at N. and
by W. so we stood on our course merrily.
Sunday, n.} The wind at N. and by W. a very stiff gale.
About eight in the morning, being gotten past Seilly, and
standing to the W. S. W. we met two small ships, which falling
in among us, and the Admiral coming under our lee, we let him
pass, but the Jewel and Ambrose, perceiving the other to be a
Brazil man, and to take the wind of us, shot at them and made
them stop and fall after us, and sent a skiff aboard them to
know what they were. Our captain, fearing lest some mistake
might arise, and lest they should take them for enemies which
were friends, and so, through the uiiruliness of the mariners

some wrong might be done them, caused his skiff to be heaved
out, and sent Mr. Graves, one of his mates and our pilot, (a
discreet man,) to see how things were, who returned soon after,
and brought with him the master of one of the ships and Mr.
Lowe and Mr. Hurlslon. When they were come aboard us,
they agreed to send for the captain, who came and showed his
commission from the Prince of Orange. In conclusion he
proved to be a Dutchman, and his a man of war of Flushing,
and the other ship was a prize he had taken laden with sugar
and tobacco ; so we sent them aboard their ships again, and
held on our course. In this time (which hindered us five or
six leagues) the Jewel and the Ambrose came foul of each
other, so as we much feared the issue, but, through God's
mercy, they came well off again, only the Jewel had her fore
sail torn, and one of her anchors broken. This occasion, and
the sickness of our minister and people, put us all out of order
this day, so as we could have no sermons.
Monday, 12.] The wind more large to the N. a stiff gale,
with fair weather. In the afternoon less wind, and our people
began to grow well again. Our children and others, that were
sick, and lay groaning in the cabins, we fetched out, and having
stretched a rope from the steerage to the mainmast, we made
them stand, some of one side and some of the other, and sway
it up and down till they were warm, and by this means they
soon grew well and merry 
Wednesday, 14.] The wind S. W. rainy weather, in the
morning 
This day the ship heaved and set more than before, yet we
had but few sick, and of these such as came up upon the deck,
and stirred themselves, were presently well again ; therefore
our captain set our children and young men to some harmless
exercises, which the seamen were very active in, and did our
people much good, though they would sometimes play the
wags with them. Towards night we were forced to take in
some sail to stay for the Vice-Admiral, which was near a
league astern of us 
Thursday, 15.] The wind still at N. N. W. fair weather. . .

All this forenoon our Vice-Admiral was much to leeward of
us ; so after dinner we bare up towards her, and having fetched
her up and spoken with her, the wind being come lo S. W. we
tacked about and steered our course N. N. W. lying as near the

8

wind as we could, and about four of the clock, with a stiff gale,
wc steered W. and by N. and at night the wind grew very
Strong, which put us on to the W. amain.
About ten. at night the wind grew so high, and rain withal,
that we were forced lo lake in our topsail, and having lowered
our mainsail and foresail, the storm was so great as it splil our
foresail and tore it in pieces, and a knot of the sea washed our
tub overboard, wherein our fish was a-watering. The storm
still grew, and it was dark with clouds, (though otherwise moon
light,) so as (though it was the Jewel's turn to carry the light
this night, yet) lest we should lose or go foul one of another,
we hanged out a light upon our mizzen shrouds, and before
midnight we lost sight of our Vice-Admiral.
Our captain, so soon as he had set the watch, at eight in the
evening, called his men, and told them he feared we should
have a storm, and therefore commanded them to be ready upon
the deck, if occasion should be; and himself was up ami down
the decks all times of the night.
Friday, r6.] About four in the. morning the wind slacked a
little, yet it continued a great storm still, and though in the
afternoon it blew not much wind, yet the sea was so high as it
tossed us more than before, and we carried no more but our
mainsail, yet our ship steered well with it, which few such ships
could have done.
About four in the afternoon, the wind still W. and by S. and
rainy, we put on a new foresail and hoisted it up, and stood
N. N. W. All this day our Rear Admiral and the Jewel held
up with us.
This night was very stormy.
All the lime of the storm few of our people were sick, (ex
cept the women, who kept under hatches,) and there appeared
no fear or dismayed ness among them 
Saturday, [April] 17.] The wind S. W. very stormy and
boisterous. All this time we bore no more sail but our main
sail and fore-sail, and we steered our course W. and by N. . . .

Lord's day, [June] 6.] The wind N. E. and after N. a
good gale, but still foggy at times, and cold. We slood W.
N. W. both to make Cape Sable, if. we might, and also because
of tlu' current, which, near the west shore, sets to the S. that
we might be the more clear from the southern shoals, viz. of
Cape Cod.

About two in the afternoon we sounded and had ground at
about eighty fathom, and the mist then L.-eaking up, we' saw
the shore to the N. about five or six leagues off, and were (as
we supposed) to the S. AV. of Cape Sable, and in forty-three
and a quarter. Towards night it calmed and was foggy again,
and the wind came S. and by E. We tacked and stood W. and
by N. intending to make land at Aquamenticus, being to the
N. of the Isles of Shoals.
Monday, 7.] The wind S. About four in the morning we
sounded and had ground at thirty fathom, and was somewhat
calm ; so we put our ship a-stays, and took, in less than two
hours, with a few hooks, sixty-seven codfish, most of them very
great fish, some a yard and a half long, and a yard in compass.
This came very seasonably, foi our salt fish was now spent,
and we were taking care for victuals this day (being a fish day.)
After this we filled our sails, and stood W. N.W. with a
small gale. We hoisted out a great boat to keep our sounding
the better. The weather was now very cold. We sounded at
eight, and had fifty fathom, and, being calm, we heaved out
our hooks again, and took twenty-six cods ; so we all feasted
with fish this day. ... At one of the clock we had a fresh
gale at N. W. and very fair weather all that afternoon, and
warm, but the wind failed soon.
All the night the wind was W. and by S. a stiff gale, which
made us stand to and again, with small advantage.
Tuesday, 8.] The wind still W. and by S. fair weather, but
close and cold. We stood N. N. W. with a stiff gale, and,
about three in the afternoon, we had sight of land to the N. W.
about ten leagues, which we supposed was the Isles of Mon-
hegan, but it proved Mount Mansell. Then we tacked and
stood W. S. AV. AVe had now fair sun-shine weather, and so
pleasant a sweet air as did much refresh us, and there came a
smell off the shore like the smell of a garden.
There came a wild pigeon into our ship, and another small
land bird.
AVednesday, 9.] In the morning the wind easterly, but grew
presently calm. Now we had very fair weather, and warm.
About noon the wind came to S. AV. ; so we stood AV. N. AAr.
AArilh a handsome gale, and had the main land upon our star
board all that day, about eight or ten leagues off. Il is very
high land, lying in many hills very unequal. At night wc saw
many small islands, being low land, between us and the main,

«<J

II

about five or six leagues off us ; and about three leagues from
us, towards the main, a small rock a little above water. At
night we sounded and had soft oozy ground at sixty fathom ; so,
the wind being now scant at AV. we tacked again and :stood
S. S. AV. AVe were now in forty-three and a half. — This
high land, which we saw, we judged to be at the AV. cape of
the great bay, which goeth towards Port Royal, called Mount
Desert or Mount Mansell, and no island, but part of the main.
In the night the wind shifted oft.
Thursday, 10.] In the morning the wind S. and by AV. till
five. In the morning a thick fog; then it cleared up with fair
weather, but somewhat close. ;. ." After we had run some ten
leagues AV. and by S. we lost sight of the former land, but made
other high land on our starboard, as far off as we could descry,
but we lost it again.
The wind continued all this day at S. a stiff steady gale, yet
we bare all our sails, and stood AV. S. AV. About four in the
afternoon we made land on our starboard bow, call the Three
Turks' I leads, being a ridge of three hills, upon the main,
whereof the southmost is the greatest. It lies near Aqua-
menticus. AVe descried also another hill, more northward, which
lies by Cape Porpus. AVe saw also, ahead' of us, some four
leagues from shore, a small rock, not above a flight shot over,
which hath a dangerous shoal to the E. and by S. of it, some
two leagues in length. AVe kept our luff and weathered it, and
left it on our starboard about two miles off. Towards night we
might see the trees in all places very plainly, and a small hill to
the southward of the Turks' Heads. All the rest of the land to
the S. was plain low land. Here we had a fine fresh smell
from shore. Then, lest we should not get clear of the ledge of
rocks, which lie under water from within a flight shot of the
said rock, (called Boone Isle,) which we had now brought
N. E. from us, towards Pascataquac, we tacked and stood S. E.
with a stiff gale at S. by W.
Friday, n.] The wind still S. W. close weather. AVe stood
to and again all this day within sight of Cape Ann. The Isles
of Shoals were now within two leagues of us, and we saw a ship
lie there at anchor, and five or six shallops under sail up and
down. AVe took many mackerels, and met a shallop, which stood
from Cape Ann tovvards the Isles of Shoals, which belonged to
some English fishermen.

t *

Saturday, 12.] About four in the morning we were neat' ouf
port. AVe shot off two pieces of ordnance, and sent bur skiff
to Mr. Peirce his ship (which lay in the harbour, and had been
there [blank] days before.) About an hour after, Mr. Allerton
came aboard us in a shallop as he was sailing to Pemaquid.
As we stood towards the harbour, we saw another shallop com
ing to us; so we stood in to meet her, and passed through the
narrow strait between Baker's Isle and Little Isle, and came to
an anchor a little within the islands.
After Mr. Peirce came aboard us, and returned to fetch
Mr. Endecott, who came to us about two of the clock, and
with him Mr. Skelton and Capt. Levett. We that were of the
assistants, and some other gentlemen, and some of the women,
and our captain1, returned with them to Nahumkeck, where we
supped with a good venison pasty and good beer, and at night
we returned to our ship, but some of the women stayed behind.
In the mean time most of our people went on shore upon the
land of Cape Ann, which lay very near us, and gathered store
of fine strawberries.
An Indian came aboard us and lay there all night.
Lord's day, 13.] In the morning, the sagamore of Agawam and
one of his men ca|ne aboard our ship and stayed with us all day.
About two in the afternoon we descried the Jewel ; so we
manned out our 'skiff and wafted them in, and they went as
near the harbour as the tide and wind would suffer.
Monday, 14.] In the morning early we weighed anchor,
and the wind being against us, and the channel so narrow as
we could not well turn in, we warped in our ship and came to
an anchor in the inward harbour.
In the afternoon we went with most of our company on shore,
and our captain gave us five pieces.
[Large blank in the manuscript.]
Thursday, 17.] AVe went to Mattachusetts, to find out a
place for our sitting down. AVe went up Mistick River about
six miles.
AVe lay at Mr. Maverick's, and returned home on Saturday.
As we came home, we came by Nataskott, and sent for Capt.
Squib ashore — (he had brought the west-country people, viz.
Mr. Ludlow, Mr. , Rossiter, Mr. Maverick, &c. to the bay, who
were set down at Mattapan,) — and ended a difference between

12

him and the passengers ; whereupon he sent his boat to his
ship, (the Mary and John,) and at our parting gave us five
pieces. At our return' we found the Ambrose in the harbour
at Saiem.
Thursday, July i.] The Mayflower and the Whale arrived
safe in Charlton harbour. Their passengers were all in health,
but most of their cattle' dead. ...
Friday, 2.] i The Talbot arrived there. She had lost four
teen passengers.
My son Henry AVinthrop was drowned at Salem.
Saturday, 3.] The Hopewell, and AVilliam and Francis
arrived. Monday, 5.] The Trial arrived at Charlton, ami the Charles
at Salem.
Tuesday, 6 J] The Success arrived. She had [blank] goats
and lost [blank] of them, ami many of her passengers were
near starved, &c.
AVednesday, 7.] The Lyon went back to Salem.
Thursday, 8.] AVe kept a day of thanksgiving in all the
plantations. ,
Thursday, August 18.] Capt. Endecott and  Gibson
were married by the governour and Mr. Wilson.
Saturday, 20.] The French ship called the Gift came into
the harbour at Charlton. She had been twelve weeks at sea,
and lost one passenger and twelve goats ; she delivered six.
Monday we kept a court.
Friday, 27.] We of the congregation kept a fast, and chose
Mr. Wilson Our teacher, and Mr. Nowell an elder, and Mr.
Gager and Mr. Aspinwall, deacons. AAre used imposition of
hands, but with this protestation by all, that it was only as a
sign of election and confirmation, not of any intent that Mr.
AVilson should renounce his ministry he received in England.
September 20.] Mr. Gager died.
30.] About two in the morning, Mr. Isaac Johnson died ;
his wife, the lady Arbella, of the house of Lincoln, being dead
about one month before. He was a holy man, and wise, and
died in sweet peace, leaving some part of his substance to the
colony. The wolves killed six calves. at Salem, and they killed one
wolf. Thomas Morton adjudged to be imprisoned, till he were
sent into England, and his house burnt down, for his many

*3
injuries offered; to the Indians, and other misdemeanours.
Capt. Brook,' master of the Gift, refused to carry him.
[Large blank iu tlic manuscript.]
Finch of Watertown had his wigwam burnt and all his goods.
Billington executed at Plimouth for murdering one.
Mr. Phillips, the minister of AVatertown, and others, had
their hay burnt.
The wolves killed some wine at Saugtis.
A cow died at Plimouth, and a goat al lioston, with eating
Indian corn.
October 23.] Mr. Rossiter, one of the assistants, died.
25.] Mr. Colburn (who was chosen deacon by the congre
gation a week before) was invested by imposition of hands of
the minister and elder.
The governour, upon consideration of the inconveniences
which had grown in England by drinking one lo another,
restrained it at his own table, and wished others to do the like,
so as il grew, by little and little, to disuse.
29.] The . Handmaid arrived at Plimouth, having been
twelve weeks at sea, and spent all her masts, and of twenty-
eight cows she lost ten. She had about sixty passengers, who
came all well ; John Grant, master.
Mr. Goffe wrote to me, that his shipping this year had
utterly undone him.
She brought out twenty-eight heifers, but brought but seven
teen alive.
November 11.] The master came to Boston with Capt.
Standish and two gentlemen passengers, who came to plant
here, but having no testimony, we would not receive them.
10.] [blank] Firmin of AVatertown had his wigwam burnt.
Divers had their hay-stacks burnt by burning the grass.
27.] Three of the governour's servants were from this day
to the 1 of December abroad in his skiff among the islands, in
bitter frost and snow, being kepi from home by the N. AV. wind,
and without victuals. At length they gat to Mount Wollaston,
and left their boat there, and came home by land. Laus Deo.
December 6.] The governour and most of the assistants,
and others, met at Roxbury, and there agreed to build a town
fortified upon the neck between that and lioston, and a com
mittee was appointed to consider of all tilings requisite, &c.

H

14.} The committee met at Roxbury, and upon further
consideration, for reasons, it was concluded, that we could not
have a town in the place aforesaid : 1 . Because men would be
forced to keep two families. 2. There was no running water ;
and if there were any springs, they would not suffice the town.
3. The most pari of the people had built already, and would
not be able to build again. So we agreed to meet at Water-
town that day sen'night, and in the mean time other places
should be viewed.
Capt. Neal and three other gentlemen came hither to us.
He came in the bark AVarwick this summer to Pascataqua,
sent as governour there for Sir Ferdinando Gorges and others.
21.] AA;e met again at AVaterlown, and there, upon view of
a place a mile beneath the town, all agreed it a fit place for a
fortified town, and we took time to consieier further about it.
24.] Till this time there was1 (for the most part) fair, open
weather, with gentle frosts in the night; but this day the wind
came N. AV. very strong, and some snow withal, but so cold as
some had their fingers frozen, and in danger to be lost. Three
of the governour's servants, coming in a shallop from Mistick,
were driven by the wind upon Noddle's Island, and forced to
stay there all that night, without fire or food ; yet, through
God's mercy, they came safe to Boston next day, but the
fingers of two of them were blistered with cold, and one
swooned when he came to the fire.
26.] The rivers were frozen up, and they of Charlton could
not come to the sermon at Boston till the afternoon at high water.
Many of our cows and goats were forced to be still abroad
for want of houses.
28.] Richard Garrett, a shoemaker of Boston, and one of
the congregation there, with one of his daughters, a young
maid, and four others, went towards Plimouth in a shallop,
against the advice of his friends ; and about the Gurnett's Nose
the wind overblew so much at N. AV. as they were forced to
come to a killock al twenty fathom, but their boat drave and
shakerl out the stone, and they were put to sea, and the boat
took in much water, which did freeze so hard as they could not
free her ; so they gave themselves for lost, and, commending
themselves to God, they disposed themselves lo die ; but one
of their company espying land near Cape Cod, they made shift
to hoist up part of their sail, and, by God's special providence,
were carried thioiigh the rocks to the shore, where some gat on

'5

land, but some had their legs frozen into the ice, so as they
were forced to be cut out. Being come on shore they kindled
a fire, but, having no hatchet, they could get little wood, and
were forced to lie in the open air all night, being extremely
cold. In the morning two of their company went towards
Plimouth, (supposing it had been within seven or eight miles,
whereas it was near fifty miles from them.) By the way they
met with two Indian squaws, who, coining home, told their
husbands that they had met two Englishmen. They thinking
(as it was) that they had been shipwrecked, made after them,
and brought them back to their wigwam, and entertained them
kindly ; and one of them went with them the next day to
Plimouth, and the other went to find out their boat and the
rest of their company, which were seven miles off, and having
found them, he holp them what he could, and returned to his
wigwam, and fetched a hatchet, and built them a wigwam and
covered it, and gat them wood (for they were so weak and
frozen, as they could not stir;) and Garrett died about two
days after his landing ; and the ground being so frozen as they
could not dig his grave, the Indian hewed a hole about half a
yard deep, with his hatchet, and having laid the corpse in it, he
laid over it a great heap of wood to keep it from the wolves.
By this time the governour of Plimouth had sent three men to
them with provisions, who being come, and not able to launch
their boat, (which with the strong N. W. wind was driven up to
the high water mark,) the Indian returned to Plimouth and
fetched three more ; but before they came, they had launched
their boat, and with a fair southerly wind were gotten to
Plimouth, where another of their company died, his flesh being
mortified with the frost ; and the two who went towards
Plimouth died also, one of them being not able to get thither,
and the other had his feet so frozen as he died of it after.
The girl escaped best, and one Ha'rwood, a godly man of the
congregation of Boston, lay long under the surgeon's hands ;
and it was above six weeks before they could get the boat from
Plimouth; and in their return they were much distressed; yet
their boat was very well manned, the want whereof before was
the cause of their loss.
January [1630/31.] A house at Dorchester was burnt down.
February 1 r .] Mr. Freeman's house at Watertown was burned
down, but, being in Ihc day time, his goods were saved 
The poorer soil of people (who lay long in tents, etc.) were

i6
much iafflictcd with the scurvy, and many died, especially at
Boston and Charlestown ; but when this ship came and brought
store of juice of lemons, many recovered speedily 
March 16.] About noon the chimney of Mr. Sharp's house
in Boston took lire, (the splinters being not clayed at the top,)
and taking the thatch burnt it down, and the wind being N. AV.
drove the fire to Mr. C.olburn's house, being [blank] rods off,
and burntdial down also, yet they saved most of their goods.
23.] Chick.itabot came with his sannops and squaws,' and
presented; the governour with a hogshead of Indian corn. After
they had all dined, and had each a small cup of sack and beer,
and the men tobacco, he sent away all his men and women,
(though the governour would have stayed them, in regard of
the rain and thunder.) Himself and one squaw and one san-
nop stayed all night, and, being in English clothes, the gov
ernour set him at his own table, where he behaved himself as
soberly, &c. as an Englishman. The next day after dinner he
returned home, the governour giving him cheese and peas and
a mug and some other small things.
26 [163 1.] John Sagamore and James his brother, with divers
sannops, came to the governour to desire his letter for recovery
of twenty beaver skins, which one AVatts in England had forced
him of. The governour entertained them kindly, and gave him
his letter with directions to Mr. Downing in England, ecc.
The night before, alarm was given in divers of the planta
tions. It arose through the shooting off some pieces at AVater-
town, by occasion of a calf, which Sir Richard Saltonstall had
lost ; and the soldiers were sent out with their pieces to try the
wilderness from thence till they might find it.
29.] Sir Richard Saltonstall and his two daughters, and
one of his younger sons, (his two eldest sons remained still in
the country,) came down to Boston, and stayed that night at
the governour's, and the next morning, by seven of the dock,
accompanied with Mr. Peirce and others in two shallops, they
departed to go lo the ship riding at Salem. The governour
gave them three drakes at their setting sail, the wind being
N. W. a stiff gale and full sea. Mr. Sharp went away at the
same lime in another shalloo 

\

17
bound to the north, and put in there by foul weather. She sold
her corn at ten shillings the bushel.
June 14.] At a court, John Sagamore and Chickatabot
being told at last court of some injuries that their men did to
our cattle, and giving consent to make satisfaction, ccc. now
one of their men was complained of for shooting a pig, &c. for
which Chickatabot was ordered to pay a small skin of beaver,
which he presently paid.
At this court one Philip Ratcliff, a servant of Mr. Cradock,
being convict, ore tonus, of most foul, scandalous invectives
against our churches and government, was censured to be
whipped, lose his ears, and be banished the plantation, which
was presently executed.
25.] There, came a shallop from Pascataqua, which brought
news of a small English ship come thither with provisions and
some Frenchmen to make salt. By this boat, Capt. Neal,
governour of Pascataqua, sent a packet of letters to the gov
ernour, directed to Sir Christopher Gardiner, which when the
governour had opened, he found it came from Sir Fcrdinando
Gorges, (who claims a great part of the Bay of Massachusetts.)
In the packet was one letter to Thomas Morton, (sent prisoner
before into England upon the lord chief justice's warrant :) by
both which letters it appeared, that he had some secret design
to recover his pretended right, and that he reposed much trust
in Sir Christopher Gardiner.
These letters we opened, because they were directed to one,
who was our prisoner, and had declared himself an ill wilier to
our government.
July 4.] The governour built a bark at Mistick, which was
launched this day, and called the Blessing of the Bay 

[April] 27.] There came from A'irginia into Salem a pin
nace of eighteen tons, laden with coin and tobacco. She was

September 6.] About this time last year the company here
set forth a pinnace to the parts about Cape Cod, to trade for
corn, and it brought here above eighty bushels. This year
again the Salem pinnace, being bound thither for corn, was,
by contrary winds, put into 1'limouth, where the governour,
eve. fell out with them, not only forbidding them to tr.de, but
also telling them they would oppose ihcm by force, even to
the spending of their lives, ecc. ; whereupon (hey returned,
and acquainting the governour of Massachusetts with it, he
wrote to the governour of Plimouth this letter, here inserted,
with their answer, which came about a month after.

18

19

The wolves did much hurt to calves and swine between
Charles River and Mistick.
At the last court . . . one Henry Linne was whipped and
banished, for writing letters into England full of slander against
our government and orders of our churches.
17.] Mr. Shurd of Pemaquid, sent home James Sagamore's
wife, who had been taken away at the surprise at Agawam, and
writ that the Indians demanded [blank] fathom of wampam-
peague and [blank] skins for her ransom.
27.] At a court, one Josias Plaistowe and two of his servants
were censured for stealing corn from Chickatabot and his men,
(who were present,) the master to restore two fold, and to be
degraded from the title of a gentleman, and fined five pounds,
and his men to be whipped. [Blank in the manuscript.]
October 4.] The Blessing went on a voyage to the eastward.
11.] The governour, being at his farm house at Mistick,
walked out after supper, and took a piece in his hand, suppos
ing he might see a wolf, (for they came daily about the house,
aid killed swine and calves, &c. ;) and, being about half a mile
off, it grew suddenly dark, so as, in coming home, he mistook
his path, and went till he came to a little house of Sagamore
John, which stood empty. There he stayed, and having a
piece of match in his pocket, (for he always carried about him
match and a compass, and in summer time snake-weed,) he
made a good fire near the house, and lay down upon some old
mats, which he found there, and so spent the night, sometimes
walking by the fire, sometimes singing psalms, and sometimes
getting wood, but could not sleep. It was (through God's
mercy) a warm night ; but a little before day it began to rain,
and, having no cloak, he made shift by a long pole to climb up
into the house. In the morning, there came thither an Indian
squaw, but perceiving her before she had opened the door, he
barred her out ; yet she stayed there a great while essaying lo
get in, and at last she went away, and he returned safe home,
his servants having been much perplexed for him, ami having
walked about, and shot off pieces, and hallooed in the night,
but he heard them not 

\

17.] The governour of Plimouth came to Boston, and
lodged in the ship.
23.] Mr. Peirce went down to his ship, which lay at Nan-
tascot. Divers went home with him into England by Virginia,
as Sir Richarrl Saltonstall his eldest son and others ; and they
were six weeks in going to Virginia;  -.

[November] 1 1.] AVe kept a day of thanksgiving at Boston.

January 27 [1631/2.] The governour, and some company
with him, went up by Charles River about eight miles above
VVatertown, and named the first brook, on the north side of
the river, (being a fair stream, and coming from a pond a mile
from the river,) Beaver Brook, because the beavers had shorn
down divers great trees there, and made divers dams across the
brook. Thence they went to a great rock, upon which stood a
high stone, cleft in sunder, that four men might go through,
which they called Adam's Chair, because the youngest of their
company was Adam AVinthrop. Thence they came to another
brook, greater than the former, which they called Masters'
Brook, because the eldest of their company was one John
Masters. Thence they came to another high pointed rock,
having a fair ascent on the west side, which they called Mount
Feake, from one Robert Feake, who had married the governour's
daughter-in-law. On the west side of Mount Feake, they went
up a very high rock, from whence they might see all over Neip-
nett, and a very high hill due west, about forty miles off, and
to the N.AV, the high hills by Merrimack, above sixty miles off.
February 7.] The governour, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Eliot, and
others, went over Mistick River at Medford, and going N. and
by E. among the rocks about two or three miles, they came to
a very great pond, having in the. midst an island of about one
acre, and very thick with trees of pine and beech ; and the pond
had divers small rocks, standing up here and there in it, which
they therefore called Spot Pond. They went all about it upon
the ice. From thence (towards the N. AV. about half a mile,)
they came to the top of a very high rock, beneath which,
(towards the N.) lies a goodly plain, part open land, and part
woody, from whence there is a fair prospect, but it being then
close and rainy, they could see but a small distance. This
place they called Cheese Rock, because, when they went to
eat somewhat, they had only cheese, (the governour's man
forgetting, for haste, to put up some biead.)
1 p] The governour and some other < ompany went to view
the country as far as Neponselt, and relumed that night.

20

21

[Large blank in the manuscript.]
17.] The governour ami assistants called before them, at
Boston, divers of AA'atertown ; the pastor ami elder by letter,
and the others by warrant. The occasion was, for that a war
rant being sent to AVatertown for levying of />>, part of a rate
ot ,£6°j ordered for the fortifying of the new town, the pastor
and elder, &c. assembled the people and delivered their opin
ions, that it was not safe to pay moneys after that sort, for fear
of bringing themselves and posterity into bondage. Being
come before the governour and council, after much debate,
they acknowledged their fault, confessing freely, that they were
in an errour, and made a retractation and submission under
their hands, and were enjoined to read it in the assembly the
next Lord's day. The ground of their errour was, for that they
look this government to be no other but as of a mayor and
aldermen, who have not power to make laws or raise taxations
without the people; but understanding that this government
was rather in the nature of a parliament, and that no assistant
could be chosen but by the freemen, who had power likewise
to remove the assistants and put in others, and therefore at
every general court (which was to be held once every year)
they had free liberty to consider and propound any thing con
cerning the same, and to declare their grievances, without
being subject to question, or, etc. they were fully satisfied;
and so their submission was accepted, and their offence par
doned 
[March] 19.] Mr. Maverick, one of the ministers of Dor
chester, in drying a little powder, (which took fire by the
heat of the fire pan,) fired a small barrel of two or three
pounds, yet did no other harm but singed his clothes. It was
in the new meeting-house, which was thatched, and the thatch
only blacked a little 
[1632.] At this court an act was made expressing the
governour's power, &c. and the office of the secretary and
treasurer, &c.
9.] The bark Warwick, and Mr. Maverick's pinnace, went
out towards Virginia.
12.] The governour received letters from Plimouth, signify
ing, that there had been a broil between their men at Sowamset
and Ihe Naraganset Indians, who set upon the English house
there to have taken Owsamequin, the sagamore of Packanocott,

.)

who was fled thither with all his people for refuge; and that
Capt. Standish, being gone thither to relieve the three English,
which were in the house, had sent home in all haste for more
men and other provisions, upon intelligence that Canonicus,
with a great army, was coming against them. Withal they writ
to our governour for some powder to be sent with all possible
speed, (for it seemed they were unfurnished.) Upon this the
governour presently despatched away the messenger with so
much powder as he could carry, viz. twenty-seven pounds.
16.] The messenger returned, and brought a letter from
the governour, signifying, that the Indians were retired from
Sowams to fight with the Pequins, which was probable, because
John Sagamore and Chickatabott were gone with all their men,
viz. John Sagamore with thirty, and Chickatabott with [blank]
to Canonicus, who had sent for them.
A wear was erected by AVatertown men upon Charles River,
three miles above the town, where they took great store of
shads. A Dutch ship brought from Virginia two thousand bushels
of corn, which was sold at four shillings sixpence the bushel.
May 1.] The governour and assistants met at Boston to
consider of the deputy his deserting his place. The points
discussed were two. The ist, upon what grounds he did it:
2d, whether it were good or void. For the ist, his main reason
was for publick peace; because he must needs discharge his
conscience in speaking freely; and he saw that bred disturb
ance, &c. For the 2d, it was maintained by all, that he could
not leave his place, except by the same power which put him
in; yet he would not be put from his contrary opinion, nor
would be persuaded to continue till the general court, which
was to be the 9th of this month.
Another question fell out with him, about some bargains he
had made with some poor men, members of the same congre
gation, to whom he had sold seven bushels and an half of corn
to receive ten for it after harvest, which the governour and
some others held to be oppressing usury, and within compass
of the statute ; but he persisted to maintain it to be lawful,
and there arose hot words about it, he telling the governour,
that, if he had thought he had sent for him to his house lo
give him such usage, he would not have come there ; and that
he never knew any man of understanding of other opinion ;
and that [if] the governour thought otherwise of it, it was his

22

2.3

weakness. The governour took notice of these speeches, and
bare them with more patience than he had done, upon a like
occasion, at another time. Upon this there arose another
question, about his house. The governour having formerly told
him, that he did not well to bestow such cost about wainscot
ing and adorning his house, in the beginning of a plantation,
both in regard of the necessity of publick charges, and for
example, eVc. his answer now was, that it was for the warmth
of his house, and the charge was little, being but clapboards
nailed to the wall in the form of wainscot. These and other
speeches passed before dinner. After dinner, the governour
told them, that he had heard, that the people intended, at
the next general court, to desire, that the assistants might be
chosen anew every year, and that the governour might be
chosen by the whole court, and not by the assistants only.
Upon this, Mr. Ludlow grew into passion, and said, that then
we should have no government, but there would be an interim,
wherein every man might do what he pleased, etc. This was
answered and cleared in the judgment of the rest of the assist
ants, but he continued stiff in his opinion, and protested he
would then return back into England.
Another business fell out, which was this. Mr. Clark of
AVatertown had complained to the governour, that Capt. Patrick,
being removed out of their town to Newtown, did compel them
to watch near Newtown, and desired the governour, that they
might have the ordering within their own town. The gov
ernour answered him, that the ordering of the watch did
properly belong to the constable ; but in those towns where the
captains dwelt, they had thought fit to leave it to them, and
since Capt. Patrick was removed, the constable might take
care of it ; but advised him withal to acquaint the deputy with
it, and at the court it should be ordered. Clark went right
home and told the captain, that the governour had ordered,
that the constable should set the watch, (which was false) ;
but the captain answered somewhat rashly, and like a soldier,
whirh being certified to the governour by three witnesses, he
sent a warrant to the constable to this effect, that whereas
some difficulty was fallen out, &c. about the watch, &c. he
should, according to his office, see due watch should be kept
till the court had taken order in it. This much displeased the
captain, who came to this meeting to have it redressed. The
governour told the rest what he had done, and upon what

t 4

t *

ground; whereupon they refused to do any thing in it till the
court. AVhile they were thus sitting together, an Indian brings a
letter. from Capt. Standish, then at Sowams, to this effect, that
the Dutchmen (which lay for trading at Anygansett or Nara-
gansett) had lately informed him, that many Petjuins (who were
professed enemies to the Anagansetts) had teen there divers
days, and advised us to be watchful, &:c. giving other reasons,
etc. Thus the day was spent and no good done, which was the
more uncomfortable to most of them, because they had com
mended this meeting to God in more earnest manner than
ordinary at other meetings.
May 8.] A general court at Boston. AA'hereas it was (at
our first coming) agreed, that the freemen should choose the
assistants, and they the governour, the whole court agreed
now, that the governour and assistants should all be new chosen
every year by the general court, (the governour to be always
chosen out of the assistants ;) and accordingly the old gover
nour, John AVinthrop, was chosen; accordingly all the rest as
before, and Mr. Humfrey and Mr. Coddington also, because
they were daily expected.
The deputy governour, Thomas Dudley, Esq. having sub
mitted the validity of his resignation to the vote of the court,
it was adjudged a nullity, and he accepted of his place again,
and the governour and he being reconciled the day before,
all things were carried very lovingly amongst all, &c. and the
people carried themselves with much silence and modesty.
John AVinthrop,1 the governour's son, was chosen an assistant.
A proposition was made by the people, that every company
of trained men might choose their own captain and officers ;
but the governour giving some reasons to the contrary, they
were satisfied without it.
Every town chose two men to be at the next court, to advise
with the governour and assistants about the raising of a publick
stock, so as what they should agree upon should bind all, &c.
This court was begun and ended with speeches for the, &c.
as formerly.
The governour, among other things, used this speech to the
people, after he had taken his oath : That he had received
gratuities from divers towns, which he received with much
comfort and content; he had also received many kindnesses

24
from particular persons, which he would not refuse, lest he
should be accounted uncourteous, &c. ; but he professed, that
he received them with a trembling heart, in regard of God's
rule, and the consciousness of his own infirmity ; and therefore
desired them, that hereafter they would not take it ill, if he did
refuse presents from particular persons, except they were from
the assistants, or from some special friends ; to which no answer
was made; but he was told after, that many good people were
much grieved at it. for that he never had any allowance towards
the charge of his place.
24.] The fortification upon the Corn Hill at Boston was
begun. 25.] Charlestown men came and wrought upon the fortifica
tion. Roxbury the next, and Dorchester the next.
26.] The AVhale arrived with Mr. AVilson, Mr. Dummer,
and about thirty passengers, all in health ; and of seventy cows
lost but two. She came from Hampton April 8th. Mr. Graves
was master 

[July 5.] At Watertown there was (in the view of divers wit
nesses) a great combat between a mouse and a snake ; and, after
a long fight, the mouse prevailed and killed the snake. The
pastor of Boston, Mr. AVilson, a very sincere, holy man, hearing
of it, gave this interpretation : That the snake was the devil ; the
mouse was a poor contemptible people, which God had brought
hither, which should overcome Satan here, and dispossess him
of his kingdom. Upon the same occasion, he told the gov
ernour, that, before he was resolved to come inlo this country, he
dreamed he was here, and that he saw a church arise out of the
earth, which grew up and became a marvellous goodly church.
After many imparlances and days of humiliation, by those of
Boston and Roxbury, to seek the Lord for Mr. AVelde his dis
posing, and the advice of those of Plimouth being taken, etc.
at length he resolved to sit down with them of Roxbury.
[Large blank in llie manuscript.]
August 3.] The deputy, Mr. Thomas Dudley, being still
discontented with the governour, partly for thai the govemoui
had removed the liame of his house, which he had set up at
Newtown, and pailly lor thai he took too much authority upon

25
him, (as he conceived), renewed his complaints to Mr. AVilson
and Mr. AVelde, who acquainting the governour therewith, a
meeting was agreed upon at Charlestown, where were present
the governour and deputy, Mr. Nowell, Mr. AVilson, Mr. AVelde,
Mr. Maverick, and Mr. AVarham. The conference being begun
with calling upon the Lord, the deputy began, that howsoever
he had some particular grievances &c. ; yet, seeing he was
advised by those present, and clivers of die assistants, to be
silent in them, he would let them pass, and so come first to
complain of the breach of promise, both in the governour and
others in not building at Newtown. The governour answered,
that he had performed the words of his promise ; for he had a
house up and seven or eight servants abiding in it by the day
appointed  : 

[November, 1633-] The scarcity of workmen had caused
them to raise their wages to an excessive rate, so as a carpen
ter would have three shillings the day, a labourer two shillings
and sixpence, &c. ; and accordingly those who had commodi
ties to sell advanced their prices sometime double to that they
cost in England, so as it grew to a general complaint, which
the court, taking knowledge of, as also of some lurther evils,
which were springing out of the excessive rates of wages, they
made an order, that carpenters, masons, eve. should take but
two shillings the day, and labourers but eighteen pence, anil
that no commodity should be sold at above four pence in the
shilling more than it cost for ready money in England; oil,
wine, &c. and cheese, in regard of the hazard of bringing, &C.
[excepted.] The evils which were springing, e\:c. were, 1. Many
spent much time idly, &c. because they could get as much in
four days as would keep them a week. 2. They spent much in
tobacco and strong waters, etc. which was a great waste to the
commonwealth, which, by reason of so many foreign commodi
ties expended, could not have subsisted to this time, but that it
was supplied by the cattle and corn, which were sold lo new
coiners at very dear rates, viz. corn at six shillings the bushel,
a cow at JJ20, — yea, some at ,£24, some ,/,2n, — a mare at
y..LS> :ln l'we fi(,:l'- :l1 3 or /.- '4 i nni' )cl nianv cattle were every
year brought out of England, and some IVoni Virginia. Soon
after order was taken for prices of commodities, viz. not to
exceed the rale of four pence in the shilling above1 the juice in
England, except cheese and liquors, eve 

26
[May 14, 1634.] At this court it was ordered, that four gen
eral courts should be kept every year, and that the whole body
of the freemen should be present only at the court of election
of magistrates, &c. and that, at the other three, every town
should send their deputies, who should assist in making laws,
disposing lands, &c. Many good orders were made this court.
It held three days, and all things were carried very peaceably,
notwithstanding that some of the assistants were questioned by
the freemen for some errours in their government, and some
fines imposed, but remitted again before the court brake up.
The court was kept in the meeting-house at Boston, and the
new governour and the assistants were together entertained at
the house of the old governour, as before 

November 5.] At the court of assistants complaint was made
by some of the country, (viz. Richard Brown of Watertown, in
the name of the rest,) that the ensign at Salem was defaced,
viz. one part of the red cross taken out. Upon this, an attach
ment was awarded against Richard Davenport, ensign-bearer, to
appear at the next court to answer. Much matter was made
of this, as fearing it would be taken as an act of rebellion, or of
like high nature, in defacing the king's colours ; 
What proceeding was hereupon, will appear after, at next
court, in the first month; (for, by reason of the great snows
and frosts, we used not to keep courts in the three winter
months.) 
27.] The assistants met at the governour's, to advise about
the defacing of the cross in the ensign at Salem, where (taking
advice with some of the ministers) we agreed to write to Mr.
Downing in. England, of the truth of the matter, under all our
hands, that, if occasion were, he might show it in our excuse ;
for therein we expressed our dislike of the thing, and our pur
pose to punish the offenders, yet with as much wariness as we
might, being doubtful of the lawful use of a cross in an ensign,
though we were clear that fact, as concerning the manner, was
very unlawful.
It was then informed us, how Mr. Eliot, the teacher of the
church of Roxbury, had taken occasion, in a sermon, to speak
of the peace made with the Pekods, and to lay some blame
upon the ministry for proceeding therein, without consent of
the people, and for other feelings (as he conceived) . AA'e took
order, that he should be dealt with by Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker,

27

and Mr. AVelde, to be brought to see his errour, and to heal it
by some publick explanation of his meaning; for the people
began to take occasion to murmur against us for it.
It was likewise informed, that Mr. Williams of Salem had
broken his promise to us, in teaching publickly against the
king's patent, and our great sin in claiming right thereby
to this country, &c. and for usual terming the churches of
England antichristian. AA'e granted summons to him for his
appearance at the next court.
The aforesaid three ministers, upon conference with the said
Mr. Eliot, brought him to acknowledge his errour in that he
had mistaken the ground of his doctrine, and that he did
acknowledge, that, for a peace only, (whereby the people were
not to be engaged in a war,) the magistrates might conclude,
plebe inconsullo, and so promised to express himself in publick
next Lord's day 
[Mo. 1. 4. 1634/5.] Mr. Endccott was called to answer for
defacing the cross in the'ensign ; but, bc< ause the court could
not agree about the thing, whether the ensigns should be laid
by, in regard that many refused lo follow them, the whole cause
was deferred till the next geneial court: and the commissioners
for military affairs gave Order, in the mean time, that all the
ensigns should be laid aside, &c.
At this court brass farthings were forbidden, and musket
bullets made to pass for farthings 
[Mo. 3. 6. 1635.] Mr. Endccott was .... called into
question about the defacing the cross in the ensign; and
a committee was chosen, viz. every town chose one, (which
yet were voted by all the people,) and the magistrates chose
four, who, taking the charge to consider of the offence, and
the censure due to it, and to certify the court, after one or two
hours time, made report to the court, that thev found his offence
to be great, viz. rash and without discretion,' taking upon him
more authority than he had, and not seeking advice of the
court, &c. ; uncharitable, in that he, judging the cross, &c. to
be a sin, did content himself to have reformed it at Salem, not
taking care that others might be brought out of it also ; laying
a blemish also upon the rest of the magistiates, as if they would
suffer idolatry, e\:c. and giving occasion to the .-tale of England
to think ill of us ; — for which they adjudged him worthy
admonition, and to be disabled for one year from bearing any
publick office; declining any heavier sentence, because they

23

29

were persuaded he did il out of tenderness of conscience, and
not of any evil intent 
The matter of altering the cross in the ensign was referred to
the next meeting, (the court being adjourned for three weeks),
it being propounded to turn it to the red and white rose, e\x.
and every man was to deal with his neighbours, to still their
minds, who stood so stiff for the cross, until we should fully
agree about it, which was expected, because the ministers had
promised to take pains about it, and to write into England to
have the judgments of the most wise and godly there 

Mo. 5. 8.] At the general court, Mr. AVilliams of Salem was
summoned, and did appear. It was laid to his charge, thai,
being under question before the magistracy and churches for
divers dangerous opinions, viz. 1, that the magistrate ought not
to punish the breach of the first table, otherwise than in such
cases as did disturb the civil peace; 2, that he ought not to
tender an oath to .in unregenerate man ; 3, that a man ought
not to pray with sin h, though wife, child, ive.; 4, that a man
ought not to give thanks after the sacrament nor alter meat,
eve ; and that the oilier churches were about to write lo the
church of Salem to admonish him of these errours; notwith
standing the church had since called him to [the] office of a
teacher. Much debate was about these things. The said opin
ions were adjudged by all, magistrates and ministers, (who
were desired to be present,) to be erroneous, and very danger
ous, and the calling of him to office, at that time, was judged a
great contempt of authority. So, in fine, time was given to him
ami the church of Salem to consider of these things till the next
general court, and then either to give satisfaction to the court,
or else to expect the sentence ; it being professedly declared by
the ministers, (at the request of the court to give their advice,)
that he who should obstinately maintain such opinions, (whereby
a church might run into heresy, aposlacy, or tyranny, and yet
the civil magistrate could not intermeddle,) were to be removed,
and that the other churches ought to request the magistrates so
to do  , 
Salem men had preferred a petition, at the last general court,
for iome land in Marblchcnd Neck, which thev did challenge
as belonging to Iheir town; but, because they had chosen Mr.
Williams their teai her, while he slood under question of author
ity, and so offered contempt lo the magistrates, eve. their pcli-

¦1

tion was refused till, &c. Upon this the church of Salem write
to other churches, to admonish the magistiates of this as a
heinous sin, and likewise the deputies j for which, at the next
general court, their deputies were not received until they should
give satisfaction about the letter 
[Mo. 6. Aug. 16.] Mr. AVilliams, pastor of Salem, being
sick and not able to speak, wrote to his church a protestation,
that he could not communicate with the churches in the bay ;
neither would he communicate with them, except they would
refuse communion with the rest; but the whole church was
grieved herewith  
October.] At this general court Mr. AVilliams, the teacher
of Salem, was again convented, and all the ministers in the bay
being desired to be present, he was charged with the said two
letters, — that to the churches, complaining of the magistrates
for injustice, extreme oppression, &c. and the other to his own
church, to persuade them to renounce communion with all the
churches in the bay, as full of antichristian pollution, &c. He
justified both these letters, and maintained all his opinions;
and, being offered further conference or disputation, and a
month's respite, he chose to dispute presently. So Mr. Hooker
was appointed to dispute with him, but could not reduce him
from any of his errours. So, the next morning, the court sen
tenced him to depart out of our jurisdiction within six weeks,
all the ministers, save one, approving the sentence; and his
own church had him under question also for the same cause ;
and he, at his return home, refused communion with his own
church,' who openly disclaimed his errours, and wrote an hum
ble submission to the magistrates, acknowledging their fault in
joining with Mr. AVilliams in that letter to the churches against
them, &c  '

11 mo. January [1635/6.] The governour and assistants
met at Boston to consider about Mr. AVilliams, for that they
were credibly informed, that, notwithstanding the injunction
laid upon him (upon the liberty granted him to stay till tiie
spring) not to go about to draw others to his opinions, he did
use to entertain company in his house, and to preach to them,
even of such points as he had been censured for ; and it was
agreed to send him into England by 1 ship then ready to
depart. The reason was, because he had diawn above twenty
persons to his opinion, and they weie intended to erect a

30
plantation about the Naragahsett Bay, from whence the in
fection would easily spread into these churches, (Ihe people
being, many of them, much taken with the apprehension of
his godliness.) AA^hereupon a warrant was sent to him to come
presently to Boston, to be shipped, &c. Lie returned answer,
(and divers of Salem came with it,) that he could not come
without hazard of his life, &c. Whereupon a pinnace was sent
with commission to Capt. Underbill, eV'c. to apprehend him,
and carry him aboard the ship, (which then rode at Natas-
cutt;) but, when they came at his house, they found he had
been gone three days before ; but whither they could not learn.
He had so far prevailed at Salem, as many there (especially
of devout women) did embrace his opinions, and separated
from the churches, for this cause, that some of their members,
going into England, did hear the ministers there, and when
they came home the churches here held communion with
them 
[Mo. 2.] 7. [1636.] At a general court it was ordered, that
a certain number of the magistrates shoulel be chosen for life ;
(the reason was, for that it was showed from the word of
God, &c. that the principal magistrates ought to be for life.)
Accordingly, the 25th of the 3d mo. John AVinthrop and
Thomas Dudley were chosen to this place, and Henry Vane,
by his place of governour, was president of this council for his
year. It was likewise ordered, that quarter courts should be
kept in several places for ease of the people, and, in regard of
the scarcity of victuals, the remote towns should send their
votes by proxy to the court of elections ; and that no church,
&c. should be allowed, &c. that was gathered without consent
of the churches and the magistrates 

[Mo. 3. 31.] One Miller, master's mate in the Hector,
spake to some of our people aboard his ship, that, because we
had not the king's colours at our fort, we were all traitors and
rebels, &c. The governour sent for the master, Mr. Feme,
and acquainted him with it, who promised to deliver him to us.
Whereupon we sent the marshal and four Serjeants to the ship
for him, but the master not being aboard, they would not
deliver him ; whereupon the master went himself and brought
him to the court, and, the words being proved against him by
two witnesses, he was committed. The next day the master,
to pacify his men, who were in a great tumult, requested he

3t
might be delivered to him, and did undertake to bring him
before us again the day after, which was granted him, and he
brought him to us at the time appointed. Then, in the presence
of all the rest of the masters, he acknowledged his offence, and
set his hand to a submission, and was discharged. Then the
governour desired the masters, that they would deal freely,
and tell us, if they did take any offence, and what they required
of us. They answered, that, in regard they should be ex
amined upon their return, what colours they saw here, they did
desire that the king's colours might be spread at our fort. It
was answered, that we had not the king's colours. Thereupon
two of them did offer them freely to us. AVe replied, that for
our part we were fully persuaded, that the cross in the ensign
was idolatrous, and therefore might not set it in our ensign;
but, because the fort was the king's, and maintained in his
name, we thought that his own colours might be spread there.
So the governour accepted the colours of Capt. Palmer, and
promised they should be set up at Castle Island. AA'e had
conferred over night with Mr. Cotton, &c. about the point.
The governour, and Mr. Dudley, and Mr. Cotton, were of opinion,
that they might be set up at the fort upon this distinction, that
it was maintained in the king's name. Others, not being so
persuaded, answered, that the governour and Mr. Dudley, being
two of the council, and being persuaded of the lawfulness, &c.
might use their power to set them up. Some others, being not
so persuaded, could not join in the act, yet would not oppose,
as being doubtful, &c.
John Winthrop, The History of New England from 1630 to 1649 (edited
by James Savage, Boston, 1825), I. passim.

-I

American History Leaflets.
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28.— Proposals to Amend the Articles of Confederation. 1780-1787.
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80.— Constitutional Doctrines of Webster, Hayne, and Calhoun. 1828-1838.
81.— Extracts from John Winthrop's History of New England.
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Of Harvard University.

3STO. 32.
¦A-rPHIiTj, 1901.
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO TERRITORIAL
ADMINISTRATION.
» v CHIEFLY FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS.
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COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL,

No. 32. — April, 1901.

DOCUMENTS RELATING
TO
TERRITORIAL ADMINISTRATION.
Chiefly from the Original Manuscripts.
1778-1790.

\!

CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.
Virginia's Private Instructions to Geo. Rogers Clark..
Virginia's Act for Illinois County.
Resolutions of Congress on Territories.
Bland's Draft Ordinance.
Jefferson's Draft Ordinance.
lirst Territorial Ordinance.
Kings Drajt Anti-Slavery Resolution.
Grayson's land Ordinance.
Monroe's Report on A'ezv States.
Monroe's Draft Territorial Ordinance.
Northwest Ordinance.
Confirmatory Act of Congress.
The attitude of the Congress of the Confederation toward the territories
of the United States is important, not only because it includes the founda
tions of our public-land policy, but also because in the propositions and ordi
nances of the time we have the germs of a system of colonial government.
The texts of these important documents have in part remained unpublished,
and in part are known only in careless transcriptions. This number of the
American History Leaflets contains the most important documents relative
Coi'YHIGHT, 1901, HY A. I.OVELL & COMPANY.

I.
2.

1778, Jan. 2.
Oct.

3-4-
5- 6.7-

1780, Oct. 10.
1783, Junes.
1784, April 23.
April 23.
1785, March 16

8.
9-
10II.
12.

May 20.
1786, March 24.
1787, May 10.
July 13.
1789, Aug. 7.

2 TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.
lo territorial government, and to the limitations on new states, between 1778
ami 1789. All the federal documents have been verified from the originals
in the State Department at Washington.
In Number 22 of the l.ca/kts have been printed the principal documents
relating to the controversy between the federal government and the states
for the Northwest Territory. Two documents closely related to that ques
tion are here inserted, — the Virginia Instructions lo George Rogers Clark,
and the Virginia Statute for creating the County of Illinois: they show the
expectation of Virginia as to a future government of the Northwest country.
The cessions by New York and Virginia in 1781 and 1783 made it certain
that there would be a broad area for which Congress must provide a gov
ernment; hence various propositions for territorial government, of which
three, — the Ordinance of 17S4, the Grayson Land Ordinance of 1785, and
the Northwest Ordinance, — were actually passed by Congress, and contain
the germs of the later territorial and colonial system.
Upon the territorial question during the Confederation there is abundant
material, of which a select bibliography will be found in Channing and
Hart, Guide lo the Study of American History, § 150 ; a more detailed
bibliography, in Justin Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America,
VII, 528-539. The best secondary discussions of the subject are George
Bancroft, History of the c onstitution, several chapters on territory ; Shosuke
Sato, History of the Land Question^ 22-120; Theodore Roosevelt, The
Winning of the West, III, chsl i-vi; John Fiske, Critical Period, ch. v ;
B. A. Hinsdale, The Old Northwest, chs. xiv-xvi.
On the Ordinance of 1787 there is a special literature: the Cutlers' I'fe
of Mauasseh Cutler; Edward Coles, History of the Ordinance; G.T.Curtis,
Constitutional History, I, chs. v, xiv; the general histories, — McMaster,
Schouler, and Pitkin.
The propositions which were adopted by Congress can be found in print
in Bioren and Duane, Land Laws of the United States; in Thomas
Donaldson, Public Domain (inaccurate transcripts); and in the Journals
of Congress. The reports of committees have not before been printed in
carefully verifier! form and in connection with each other. For historical
maps, see introduction to Leaflet, No. 22.

x — 1/,%, Jan. 2. Virginia's Private Instruc
tions to George Rogers Clark.
VIRGINIA SCt
In Council, Wmsbug, Jan. 2, 1778.
Lieut. Colonel George Rogers Clark:
You are to proceed with all convenient Speed to raise Seven
Companies of Soldiers to consist of fifty men each officered
in the usual manner & armed most properly for the Enterprise,
& with this Force attack the British post at Kttskasky.

- ; -

?¦ 1.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CLARK, 1778. 3
It is conjectured that there are many pieces of Cannon &
military Stores to considerable amount at that place, the taking
& preservation of which would be a valuable acquisition to the
Stale. If you are so fortunate therefore as to succeed inlyour
Expectation, you will take every possible Measure to secure
the artillery & stores & whatever may advantage the State.
For the Transportation of the Troops, provisions, &c, down
the Ohio, you are to apply to the Commanding Officer at Fort
Pitt for floats, &c. during the whole Transaction you are to
take especial Care to keep the true Destination of your Force
secret. Its success depends upon this. Orders are therefore
given to Capt" Smith to secure the two men from Kaskasky.
Similar conduct will be proper in similar cases.
Il is earnestly desired that you show Humanity to such Brit
ish Subjects and other persons as fall in your hands. If the
white Inhabitants at the post & the neighbourhood will give
undoubted Evidence of their attachment to this State (for it is
certain they live within its Limits) by taking the Test pre
scribed by Law and by every other way & means in their power,
Let them be treated as fellow Citizens & their persons & prop
erty duly secured. Assistance & protection against all Ene
mies whatever shall be afforded them, & the commonwealth of
Virginia is pledged to accomplish it. But if these people will
not accede to these reasonable Demands, they must feel the
Miseries of War, under the direction of that Humanity that
has hitherto distinguished Americans, & which it is expected
you will ever consider as the Rule of your Conduct, & from
which you are in no Instance to depart.
The Corps you are to command are to receive the pay &
allowance of Militia & to act under the Laws & Regulations of
this State now in Force as Militia. The Inhabitants at this
Post will be informed by you that in Case they accede to the
offers of becoming Citizens of this Commonwealth a proper
Garrison will be maintained among them &: every Attention
bestowed to render their Commerce beneficial, the fairest
prospects being opened to the Dominions of both France &
Spain. It is in Contemplation to establish a post near the Mouth of
Ohio. Cannon will be wanted to fortify it. Tart of those at
Kaskasky will be easily brought thither or otherwise secured
as circumstances will make necessary.
You are lo apply lo General I land for powder & Lead neces-

4 TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.
sary for this Expedition. If tie can't supply it the person who
has that which Cap' Lynn bro' from Oilcans can. Lead was
sent to I lampshhe by my orders & that may be delivered you.
Wishing you success, 1 am Sir, Your h'ble Serv.,
P. Henry.
George Rogers t'l.irk. Sketch of his Campaign in the Illinois in
•77^-9, pp. 05-117.

2  I778, Oct.

Virginia's Act for Illinois
County.

WHEREAS by a successful expedition carried on by the
Virginia militia, <>n the western side of the Ohio river, several
of the British po>is within the territory of this common
wealth, in the country adjacent to the river Mississippi, have
been reduced, and She inhabitants have acknowledged them
selves citizens thereof, and taken the oath of fidelity to the
same, and the good faith and safety of the commonwealth
require that the said citizens should be supported and protected
by speedy and el'lcc tnal reinforcements, which will be the best
means of preventing I he inroads and depredations of the Indians
upon the inhabitants to the westward of the Allegheny moun
tains; and whereas, from their remote situation, it may at this
time be difficult, if not impracticable, to govern them by the
present laws of this commonwealth, until proper information,
by intercourse with their fellow citizens, on the east side of the
( ffiio, shall have familiarised them to the same, and it is there
fore expedient that some temporary form of government,
adapted to their circumstances, should in the mean time be
established :
He Jt enacted by the General Assembly, That all the citizens
of this commonwealth who are already settled, or shall here
after settle, on the western side of the Ohio aforesaid, shall
be included in a distinct county, which shall be called Ilinois
county; and that the governour of this commonwealth, with
the advice of the council, may appoint a county lieutenant or
commandant in iliicf in that county, during pleasure, who
shall appoint and commission so many deputy commandants,
militia olliccis, and commissaries, as he shall think proper in

ACT FOR ILLINOIS COUNTY, 1778.

the different districts, during pleasure, all of whom, before
they enter into office, shall take the oath of fidelity to this
commonwealth and the oath of office, according to the foim
of their ow/i religion, which the inhabitants shall fully, and to
all intents and purposes enjoy, together with all their civil
rights and property. And all civil officers to which the said
inhabitants have been accustomed, necessary for the preserva
tion of peace and the administration of justice, shall be chosen
by a majoiityof the citizens in their respective districts, to be
convened for that purpose by the county lieutenant or com
mandant, or his deputy, and shall be commissioned by the said
county lieutenant or commandant in chief, and be paid for
their services in the same manner as such expenses have been
heretofore borne, levied, and paid in that county; which said
civil officers, after .taking the oath as before prescribed, shall
exercise their several jurisdictions, and conduct themselves
agreeable to the laws which the present settlers are now accus
tomed to. And on any criminal prosecution, where the
offender shall be adjudged guilty, it shall and may be lawful
for the county lieutenant or commandant in chief to pardon
his or her offence, except in cases of murder and treason; and
in such cases, he may respite execution from time to time,
until the sense of the governour in the first instance, and of
the general assembly in the case of treason, is obtained. But
where any officers, directed to be appointed by this act, are
such as the inhabitants have been unused to, it shall and may
be lawfuHor the governour, with the aib ice of the council, to
draw a warrant or warrants on the treasury of this common
wealth for the payment of the salaries of such officers, so as
the sum or sums drawn for do not exceed the sum of five hun
dred pounds, any thing herein to the contrary notwithstanding.
And for the protection and defence of the said county and
its inhabitants, 7>V it enacted, That it shall and may be lawful
for the governour, with the advice of the council, forthwith to
order, raise, and levy, either by voluntary enlistments, or.
detachments from the militia, five hundred men, with proper
officers, to march immediately into the said county of Ilinois,
to garrison such forts or stations already taken, or which il may
be proper lo take there or elsewhere, for protecting the said
county, and for keeping up our communication with them,
and also with the Spanish settlements, as he, with the advice
aforesaid, shall direct. And the said governour, with the

6

TERRP, ORIAI. DOCUMENTS.

advice of the council, shall from time to time, until farther
provision shall be made for the same by the general assembly,
continue to relie\e the said volunteers, or militia, by other
enlistments or detachments, as herein before directed, and
to issue warrants on the treasurer of this commonwealth for
all charges and expenses accruing thereon, which the said
treasurer is hereby rquired to pay accordingly.
And be it farther enacted, That it shall and may be lawful
for the governour, with the advice of the council, to take such
measures as they shall judge most expedient or the necessity
of the case requires, for supplying the said inhabitants as well
as our friendly Indians in those parts, with goods and other
necessaries, either by opening a communication and trade
with New Orleans, or otherwise, and to appoint proper persons
for managing and conducting the same on behalf of this
commonwealth. Provided, That any of the said inhabitants may likewise
carry on such trade, on their own accounts, notwithstanding.
This act shall continue and be in force, from and after the
passing of the same, for and during the term of twelvemonths,
and from thence to the end of the next session of assembly,
and no longer.
William Waller Hcninjr, The Statutes at Laige, being a Collection of
all the La;,s of Virginia, IX, 552-555.

3 — 1780, Oct. 10. Resolutions of Congress
on Territories.
Resolved That the unappropriated lands that may be ceded
or relinquished to the united states by any particular states
pursuant to the recommendation of Congress of the 6 day of
September last shall be disposed of for the common benefit of
the united states and be settled and formed into distinct
republican states which shall become members of the foederal
Union and have the same rights of sovereignty freedom and
independence as the other states. That each state which shall
be so formed, shall contain a suitable extent of territory not
less than one hundred nor more, than one hundred and fifty
miles square or as near thereto as circumstances will admit.
That the necessary and reasonable expenses, which any par-

RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1780. 7
ticular state shall have incurred since the commencement of
the present war in subduing any of thebritish posts or in
maintaining forts or garrisons within and for the defence,
or in acquiring any part, of the territory that may be ceded
or relinquished to the united states shall be reimbursed
That the said lands shall be granted and settled at such
times and under such regulations as shall hereafter be agreed
on by the United states in Congress assembled or any nine or
more of them.
Manuscript Journals of Congress.

4 — 1783, June 5. Bland's Draft Ordinance.
Motion of Mr Bland
seconded by Mr Hamilton
June 5, 1783
Referred to the Grand Com™
of 30 May 1783. Mr Holten.

Whereas it has pleased the Almighty disposer of Human
affairs, to put a period to a long and Bloody War which has
terminated in the Establishment of Independance to these
united slates — and whereas it is tlvj: duty as well as the wish
of Congress to remove as speedily as possible every cause
which , might disturb the tranquility and harmony of these
states, so happily united in one great Political interest — as
well as to reward the brave and vertuous who have by their
valor and perseverance established that independance and
strengthened that Union — and to provide for the future
government and prosperity of these states 
Resolved therefore that Congress will and do hereby accept
the Cession of Territory made to the U. S. by the Act of the
Assembly of Virginia bearing date the  day of 
178 , on the terms therein Stipulated — except so far as relates
to a specific guarantee of the remaining Territory reserved by
the said State — Resolved, that, if the aforesaid acceptance
shall be agreeable, to the Said State and they shall be willing
to withdraw the said stipulation, and if the consent and appro
bation of the Army of the United states shall be Signified to

8 TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.
the following act of the United States in Congress assembled
— then and in that case the following ordinance shall begin
to take effect and be in full force for all and every the purposes
therein Mentioned viz
It is hereby ordained by the United States in Congress
assembled — that in Lieu of the Commutation for the half 'Pay
of the Army, and in Lieu of the arrearages due to the Officers
and Sddiers of the Armies of the United states — and of all
other debts due to the sd officers and Soldiers who now Con
stitute the said army or who have served therein for a term
not less than three years during the War and for the repre
sentatives. of such officers & soldiers who shall have died in
the service — -that there shall be assignd and set apart, a tract
of Unloealed or Vacant Territory laying within the boundaries
of the United Slates as ceded by the Preliminary Articles
betwe.en great Britain </> America, and bounded as follows —
viz (here insert the boundaries) — that the said Territory shall
be laid off in districts not exceeding two degrees of Latitude
& three degrees of Longitude each — and each district in
Townships not exceeding  miles square That the lines
of the Said districts shall be run at the Expense of the United
States by surveyors appointed by the U. S. in Congress assem
bled and amenable to Congress for their Conduct. That each
of the Said districts shall when it contains 20,000 Male
Inhabitants, become and ever after be and constitute a seperate
independant free & sovereign state and be admitted into the
Union as such with all. the Privilidges and immunities of those
states which now compose the Union  That each officer &
soldier now in the Army of the U. S. shall be entitled, to and
shall have a grant for thirty acres of the Said Land for every
dollar which shall appear to be due to such officer or Soldier
from the United States —for his Services in the Army over and
above the Bounty promised by an act of Congress of the 
day  of  1776 — and moreover that every officer and
Soldier who shall make it appear that he has served three years
in the army of the United states — shall be entitled to receive
a grant of the S'1 lands equal to the bounties promised to
officers and soldiers serving during the War in Lieu of all
debts due for their said services, half pay, Si.c. or where the
said debts have been liquidated — they shall be entitled to
receive a grant of thiity acres for every dollar ascertained to
be due lo them in like manner as the officers and soldiers — ¦

BLAND'S ORDINANCE, 17S3. 9
whose commutation, and arrearages have been liquidated —
and be it further ordained — that- out of every Hundred thou
sand acres so granted — there shall be reserved as a domain
for the Use of the United States, ten thousand acres — each of
which ten thousand acres, shall remain for ever a common
property of the United states unalienable but by the consent of
 of the U. S. inCongress assembled — the rentsMesne (?)
profets and produce of which Lands when any such shall arise
to be appropriated to the Payment of the Civil List of the
United states the erecting frontier forts — -the founding Semi
naries of Learning and the Surplus after such purposes (if
any) to be appropriated to the Building and equiping a Navy
 and to no other use or purpose whatever  and be it
further ordaind that the Said Lands so granted to the officers
and soldiers, shall be free of all taxes and Quitrents for the
space of seven years from the passing this Ordinance
Papers of old Congress (Ms. in State Department).

5 — 1784, April 23. Jefferson's Draft
Ordinance.

The Committee appointed to prepare a plan for the tempo
rary government of the Western Territory have agreed to the
following resolutions — ¦
Resolved, That the territory ceded or to be ceded by Indi
vidual states to the United states, whensoever the same shall
have been purchased of the Indian Inhabitants & offered for
sale by the U.S., shall be formed into distinct states bounded
in the following manner as nearly as such cessions will admit,
that is to say; Northwardly & Southwardly by parallels of lati
tude so that each state shall comprehend from South to North
two degrees of latitude beginning to count from the comple
tion of thirty one degrees North of the Equator, but any ter
ritory Northwardly of the 47th degree shall make part of the
state next below, and Eastwardly & Westwardly they shall
be bounded, those on the Missistpi bv that river on one side
and the meridian of the lowest point of the rapids of Ohio on
the other; and those adjoining on the East by the same
meridian on their Western side, and on their Eastern by the
meridian of the Western cape of the mouth of the Great

>o TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.
Kanhaway. And the territory Eastward of this last meridian
between the Ohio, Lake Erie, & Pennsylvania shall be one
state. That the settlers within the Territory so to be purchased &
offered for Sale shall, either on their own petition, or on the
order of Congress, receive authority from them, with appoint
ments of time and place for their free males of full age to
meet together for the purpose of establishing a temporary gov
ernment to adopt the constitution & laws of any one of these
states, so that such laws nevertheless shall be subject to altera
tion by their ordinary legislature, and to erect, subject to a
like alteration, counties or townships for the election of
members for their legislature.
That such temporary government shall only continue in
force in any state until it shall have acquired 20,000 free
inhabitants; when giving due proof thereof to Congress, they
shall receive from them authority with appointments of time
and place to call a Convention of representatives to establish
a permanent constitution & government for themselves.
Provided That both the temporary & permanent govern
ments be established on these principles as their basis:
1. [that they shall forever remain a part of the United states
of America.] 2. that in their persons, property and territory
they shall be subject to the government of the United states
in Congress assembled, and to the Articles of confederation in
all those cases in which the original states shall be so subject.
3. that they shall be subject to pay a part of the federal
debts contracted or to be contracted to be apportioned on
them by Congress according lo the same common rule and
measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on
other states. 4. That their respective governments shall be
in republican forms, [and shall admit no person to be a citizen
who holds any hereditary title. 5. That after the year 1800
of the Christian ;era, there shall be neither slavery nor invol
untary servitude in any of the said states, otherwise than in
punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted to have been personally guilty].
That whensoever any of the sd states shall have, of free
inhabitants, as many as shall then be in any one the least
numerous of the thirteen original states, such state shall be
admitted by it's delegates into the Congress of the United
stales, on an equal footing with the said original states: after

JEFFERSON'S ORDINANCE, 1784. 11
which the assent of two thirds of the United states in Congress
assembled shall be requisite in all those cases, wherein by the
Confederation, the assent of nine states is now required, jjro-
vided the consent of nine states to such admission may be
obtained according to the eleventh of the articles of Confed
eration. Until such admission by their delegates into Con
gress, any of the said states, after the establishment of their
temporary government, shall have authority to keep a sitting
member in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of
voting. That the territory Northward of the 45"1 degree, that is to
say, of the completion of 450 from the Equator, & extending
to the Lake of the Woods, shall be called Sylvania: that of the
territory under the 45"' & 44"' degrees that which lies West
ward of Lake Michigan shall be called Michigania , and that
which is Eastward thereof within the peninsul, formed by the
iakes & waters of Michigan, Huron, SJ Clair and Erie, shall
be called Chcrronesus, and shall include any part of the penin
sul which may extend above the 45"1 degree, of the territory
under the 43d & 42d degrees, that to the Westward thro' which
the Assenisij)i or Rock river runs shall be called Assenisipia
and that to the Eastward in which are the fountains of the
Muskingum, the two Miamisof Ohio, the Wabash, the Illinois,
the Miami of the lake and Sandusky rivers, shall be called
Metropotamia. of the territory which lies under the 41st &
40"1 degrees, the Western, thro which the river Illinois runs,
shall be called Jllinoia ; that next adjoining to the Eastward
Saratoga. ' and that between this last & Pennsylvania and ex
tending from the Ohio to Lake Erie shall be called Washington.
of the territory which lies under the 39'.'1 & 38'.'' degrees to
which shall be added so much of the point of land within
the fork of the Ohio & Missisipi as lies under the 37th degree,
that to the Westward within & adjacent to which, are the con
fluences of the rivers Wabash, Shawanee, Tanissee, Ohio,
Illinois, Missisipi & Missouri, shall be called Polypotamia,
and that to the Eastward, farther up the Ohio, otherwise called
the Pelisipi shall be called Pelisipia.
That the preceding articles shall be formed into a Charter
of Compact shall be duly executed by the President of the
U.S. in Congress assembled under his hand & the seal of the
United States, shall be promulgated, and shall stand as funda
mental Constitutions between the thirteen original states, &

12 TERREEORIAL DOCUMENTS.
those now newly described, utvalterable but by the joint con
sent of the U.S. in Congress assembled and of the particular
state within which such alteration is proposed to be made.
Papers of old Congress (Ms. in State Department).
6 — 1784, April 23. First Territorial
Ordinance.
The amendment of Mr Gerry being adopted the report as
amended was agreed to as follows
Resohcd that so much of the territory ceded or to be ceded
by individual states to the United States as is already purchased
or shall be purchased of the Indian inhabitants and offered
for sale by Congress shall be divided into distinct states in
the following manner as nearly as such cessions will admit,
that is to say, by parallels of latitude, so that each state shall
comprehend from North to South two degrees of latitude
beginning to count from the completion of forty five degrees
north of the equator; and by meridians of longitude one of
which shall pass through the lowest point of the rapids of Ohio
and the other through the western cape of the Mouth of the
Great Kanhaway. But the territory eastward of this last
meridian between the Ohio, lake Erie and Pensylvania shall
be one state, whatsoever may be its comprehension of latitude.
That which may lie beyond the completion of the 4s1!1 degree
between the said meridians shall make part of the state adjoin
ing it on the South and that part of the Ohio, which is between
the same meridians coinciding nearly with the parallel of 39°
shall be substituted so far in lieu of that parallel as a boundary
line. That the setlieis [on] any territory so purchased and offered
for sale shall either on their own petition or on the order of
Congress receive authority from them with appointments of
time & place for their free males of full age within the limits
of their state to meet together, for the purpose of establishing
a temporary government, to adopt the constitution and laws of
any one of the original States; so that such laws nevertheless
shall be subject to alteration by their ordinary legislature; and
lo erect, subject to a like alteration, counties, townships or
other divisions foi the election of members for their legislature.

ORDINANCE OF 1784.

13

That, when any such state shall have acquired twenty thou
sand free inhabitants, on giving due proof thereof to Congress,
they shall receive from them authority with appointments of
time and place to call a convention of representatives to estab
lish a permanent constitution and government for themselves.
Provided that both the temporary & permanent governments be
established on these principles as their basis
First That they shall for ever remain a part of this con
federacy of the United states of America
Second That they shall be subject to the articles of Confed
eration in all those cases in which the Original states shall be
so subject, and to all the acts and Ordinances of the United
states in Congress assembled conformable thereto.
Third That they in no case shall interfere with the primary
disposal of the soil by (he United States in Congress assembled
nor with the ordinances and regulations which Congress may
find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona
fide purchasers.
Fourth That they shall be subject to pay a part of the federal
debts contracted or to be contracted, to be apportioned on
them by Congress according to the same common rule and
measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on
the other states. —
Fifth That no tax shall be imposed on lands the property of
the United states.
Sixth That their respective governments shall be republican
Seventh, That the lands of non resident proprietors shall in
no case be taxed higher than those of residents within any new
state before the admission thereof to a vote by its delegates in
Congress. That Whensoever any of the said states shall have of free
inhabitants as many as shall then be in any one the least
numerous of the thirteen Original states, such state shall be
admitted by its delegates into the Congress of the L'nited
states on an equal footing with the said Original States pro
vided the consent of so manv states in Congress is first obtained
as may at the lime be competent to such admission. And in
order to adapt the said articles of Confederation to the state
of Congress when its numbers shall be thus enereased, it shall
be proposed to the legislatures of the states originally parties
thereto to require the assent of two thirds of the United States
in Congress assembled in all those cases win rein by the said

*4

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

articles, the assenl of nine states is now required, which being
agreed to by them shall be binding on the new States. Until
such admission by their delegates into Congress, any of the
said states after the establishment of their temporary govern
ment shall have authority to keep a member in Congress with
a right of debating but not of voting.
^ That measures not inconsistent with the principles of the
Confederation and necessary for the preservation of peace and
good order among the settlers in any of the said new states
until they shall assume a temporary government as aforesaid
may from time to time be taken by the United states in
Congress assembled.
That the preceding articles shall be formed into a charter
of compact, shall be duly executed by the president of the
United States in Congress assembled under his hand and the
seal of the United States, shall be promulgated and shall Stand
as fundamental constitutions between the thirteen original
states and each of the several states now newly described,
unalterable from and after the sale of any part of the territory
of such state pursuant to this resolve, but by the joint consent
of the United States in Congress assembled and of the particu
lar slate within which such alteration is proposed to be made.
[n states vote ay; no state votes no.] Manuscript Journals of Congress.

7 — 1785, March 16. King's Draft Anti-
Slavery Resolution.
WKHNESDAY, March 16, 1785.
Congress assembled: Present as yesterday.
A motion was made by M: King seconded by W. Ellery,
That the following proposition be committed
That there shall be neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude
in any of the states described in the resolve of Congress of
the 23 April 1784 olherwi.se than in punishment of crimes
whereof the party shall have been personally guilty ; and that
this regulation shall be an article of compact and remain a
fundamental principle of the constitutions between the 13
Original States, and each of the states described in the said
resolve of the 23 April 1784
Manuscript foit! mils of l '01/^1 ess.

GRAYSON'S ORDINANCE, 1783.

15

8 — 1785, May 20. Grayson's Land
Ordinance.

An Ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of Lands in the
Western Territory.
Be it Ordained by the United States in Congress assembled
That the territory ceded by individual states to the United
Stales which has been purchased of the Indian inhabitants
shall be disposed of in the following manner
, A Surveyor from each State shall be appointed by Congress
or a committee of the States, who shall take an oath for the
faithful discharge of his duty before the Geographer of the
United States, who is hereby emrjowered and directed to
administer the same; and the like oath shall be administered
to each chain carrier by the surveyor under whom he acts.
The Geographer, under whose direction the surveyors shall
act,, shall occasionally form such regulations for their conduct,
as he shall deem necessary; and shall have authority to suspend
them for misconduct in Office and shall make report of the
same to Congress or to the Committee of the States, and he
shall make report in case of sickness, death or resignation of
any surveyor.
The Surveyors as they are respectively qualified shall proceed
to divide the said territory into townships of six miles square,
by lines running due north and south and others crossing these
at right angles as near as may be, unless where the boundaries
of the late Indian purchases may render the same impracti
cable, and then they shall depart from this rule no farther than
such particular circumstances may require; and each surveyor
shall be allowed and paid at the rate of two dollars for every
mile in length he shall run, including the wage's of chain
carriers, markers and every other expense attending the same.
The first line running north and south as aforesaid shall
begin on the river Ohio at a point that shall be found to be
due north from the western termination of a line which has
been run as the southern boundary of the state of Pennsylvania
and the first line running east and west shall begin at the same
point and shall extend throughout the whole territory Provided
that nothing herein shall be construed as fixing the western
boundary of the state of Pennsylvania. The geographer shall

16

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

designate the townships or fractional parts of townships by
numbers progressively from South to North, always beginning
each range with number one; and the ranges shall be distin
guished by their progressive numbers to the westward. The
first range extending from the Ohio to the lake Erie being
marked number one. The Geographer shall personally attend
to the running of the first east and west line and shall take the
latitude of the extiemes of the first north and south line and
of the mouths of the principal rivers.
The lines shall be measured with a chain; shall be plainly
marked by chaps cm the trees and exactly described on a plat,
whereon shall be noted by the surveyor, at their proper dis
tances, all mines, salt springs, salt licks and mill seats, that
shall come to his knowledge, and all water courses mountains
anil other rem irk ible and permanent things over or near
which such lines sh ill pass and also the quality of the lands.
The plats of the townships respectively shall be marked by
subdivisions into lots of one mile square or 640 acres, in the
same direction as the external lines and numbered from 1 to
36, always beginning the succeeding range of the lots with the
number next to thai with which the preceding one concluded.
And where, from the causes before mentioned, only a frac
tional part of a township shall be surveyed, the lots protracted
thereon shall bear the same numbers as if the township had
been entire. And Ihe surveyors in running the external lines
of the townships shall at the interval of every mile mark cor
ners for the lots which are adjacent, always designating the
same in a different manner from those of the townships
The geographer and surveyors shall pay the utmost attention
to the variation of the magnetic needle, and shall run and note
all lines by the true meridian, certifying with every plat what
was the variation at the times of running the lines thereon noted.
As soon as seven ranges of townships & fractional parts of
townships in the direction from South to North shall have been
surveyed, the geographer shall transmit plats thereof to the
board of treasury, who shall record the same with the report
in well bound books to be kept for that purpose: And the
geographer shall make similar returns from time to time of
every seven ranges as they may be surveyed. The secretary at
war shall have recourse thereto, and shall take hy lot therefrom
a number of townships c\: fractional parts of townships as well
from those to be sold entire as from ihose to be sold in lots as

GRA YSON'S ORDINANCE, 17SJ.

17

will be equal to one seventh part of the whole of such seven
ranges as nearly as may be, for the use of the late continental
army; and he shall make a similar draught from lime to time
until a sufficient quantity is drawn to satisfy the same, to be
1 — applied in manner hereinafter directed. The board of treasury
I shall from time to time cause the remaining numbers, as well
those to be sold entire as those to be sold in lots, to be drawn
, for in the name of the thirteen states respectively according
to the quotas in the last preceding requisition on all the states;
provided that in case more land than its proportion is allotted
for sale in any state at any distribution, a deduction be made
therefor at the next
The board of treasury shall transmit a copy of the original
plats previously noting thereon the townships & fractional
parts of townships, which shall have fallen to the several states
by the distribution aforesaid to the commissioners of the loan
office of the several states, who after giving notice of not less
than tno nor more than six months by causing advertisements
to be posted up at the court houses or other noted places in
every county and to be inserted in one newspaper published
•* in the states of their residence respectively shall proceed to
sell the townships or fractional parts of townships at public
vendue, in the following manner, viz. The township or frac
tional part of a township N 1. in the first range shall be sold
entire, and N 2 in the same range by lots, and thus in alter
nate order through the whole of the first range. The township
or fractional part of a township N 1. in the second range shall
be sold by lots, and N 2 in the same range entire, and so in
alternate order through the whole of the second range; and
the third range shall be sold in the same manner as the first
and the fourth in the same manner as the second and thus
alternately throughout all the ranges; provided that none of
the lands within the said territory be sold under the price of
one dollar the acre to be paid in specie or loan office certifi
cates reduced to specie value by the scale of depreciation or
certificates of liquidated debts of the United States including
interest, besides the expense of the survey and other charges
thereon, which are hereby rated at thirty six dollars the towu-
* ship in specie or certificates as aforesaid and so in the same
proportion for a fractional pari of a township or of a lot, lo
be paid at Ihe time of sales, on failure of which payment the
said lands shall again be offered tor saie.

TERR EEO RIAL DOCUMENTS.

There shall be reserved for the United States out of every
township the four lots being numbered, 8, u, 26, 29 and out
of every fractional part of a township so many lots of the same
numbers as shall be found thereon for future sale: There shall
be reserved the lot N 16 of every township for the maintenance
of public schools within the said township; also one third part
of all gold, silver, lead and copper mines, to be sold or other
wise disposed of as Congress shall hereafter direct.
When any township or fractional part of a township shall
have been sold as aforesaid and the money or certificates
received therefor, the loan officer shall deliver a deed in the
following terms.
The United States of America to all to whom these presents
shall come greeting.
Know ye, that for the consideration of  dollars we have
granted and hereby do grant & confirm unto  the township
(or fractional part of the township, as the case may be) num
bered  • in the range •  , excepting therefrom and reserv
ing one third part of all gold, silver lead and copper mines
within the same and the lots N 8, 11, 26 & 29 for future sale
or disposition, and the lot N 16 for the maintenance of pub
lic schools. To have to the said  his heirs and assigns
for ever (or if more than one purchaser to the said  their
heirs and assigns forever as tenants in Common). In wit
ness whereof (A B) Commissioner of the loan office in the
state of  hath, in conformity to the Ordinance rjassed by
the United States in Congress assembled the twentieth day of
May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
eighty five, hereunto set his hand and affixed his seal this
 day of — — in the year of our Lord •  and of the
independence of the United States of America 
And when any township or fractional part of a township
shall be sold by lots as aforesaid, the commissioner of the
loan office shall deliver a deed therefor in the following form
The United States of America to all to whom these presents
shall come greeting.
Know ye That for the consideration of  dollars we have
granted and hereby do grant & confirm unto  the lot (or
lots as the case may be) in the township (or fractional riart of
the township as tile case maybe) numbered ¦  ¦ in the range
 excepting and reserving one third part of all gold, silver,
lead and copper mines within the same for future sale or dis-

GRAYSON'S ORDINANCE, 1783.

«9

position. To have to the said  his heirs and assigns for
ever (or if more than one purchaser, to the said  their
heirs and assigns for ever as tenants in common). In witness
whereof (A B) commissioner of the continental loan office in
the state of  hath, in conformity to the ordinance passed
by the United States in Congress assembled the twentieth day
of May in the year of our Lord 1785, hereunto set his hand
and affixed his seal this  day of  in the year of our
Lord — - and of the independence of the United States of
America 
Which deeds shall be recorded in proper books by the com
missioner of the loan office and shall be certified to have been
recorded previous to their being delivered to the purchaser,
and shall be good and valid to convey the lands in the same
described. The commissioners of the loan offices respectively shall
transmit to the board of treasury every three months an account
of the townships, fractional parts of townships and lots com
mitted to their charge specifying therein the names of the
persons to whom sold and the sums of money or certificates
received for the same, and shall cause all certificates by them
received to be struck through with a circular punch, and they
shall be duly charged in the books of the treasury with the
amount of the monies or certificates distinguishing the same
by them received as aforesaid.
If any township or fractional part of a township or lot
remains unsold for eighteen months, after the plat shall have
been received by the commissioners of the loan office, the same
shall be returned to the board of treasury and shall be sold in
such manner as Congress may hereafter direct
And whereas Congress by their resolutions of September 16
and 18 in the year 1776 and the 12".' of August 1780 stipu
lated grants of land to certain officers and soldiers of the late
continental army and by the resolution of the 22"! September
1780, stipulated grants of land to certain officers in the hos
pital department of the late continental army, for complying
therefore with such engagements Be it ordained that the secre
tary at war, from the returns in his office or such other suffi
cient evidence as the nature of the case may admit, determine
who are the objects of the above resolutions and engagements
and the quantity of land to which such persons or their repre
sentatives are respectively entitled and cause the townships or

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

GRAYSON'S ORDINANCE, 1783.

fraetiond parts of townships herein before reserved for the
use of the late continental army to be drawn for in such
m inner as he shall deem expedient to answer the purpose of
an impirtiul distribution, fie shall from time to time trans
mit eeililicites to the commissioners of the loan offices of the
different states to the lines of which the military claimants
have respectively belonged, specifying the name & rank of the
paity, the terms of his engagement and time of his service
and the division, brigade regiment or company to which he
belonged, the quantity of land he is entitled to and the town
ship or fractional part of a township and range out of which
his portion is to be taken
The Commissioners of the loan offices shall execute deeds
for such undivided proportions in manner & form herein be
fore mentioned varying only in such a degree as to make the
same conformable to the certificate from the secretary at war.
Where any military claimants of bounty in lands shall not
have belonged to the line of any particular state, similar certif
icates shall be sent to the board of treasury who shall execute
deeds to the parties for the same.
The secretary at war, from the proper returns, shall transmit
to the board of treasury a certificate specifying the name and
rank of the several claimants of the hospital department of the
late continent il army together with the quantity of land each
claimant is entitle! to and the township or fractional part of
a township and rmge out of which his portion is to be taken.
And thereupon the board of treasury shall proceed lo execute
deeds to su h el 1 i in ants.
The board of treasury and the commissioners of the loan
offices in the stales shall within eighteen months return
receipts to the secretary at war for all deeds which have been
delivered, as also all the original deeds which remain in their
hinds for want of applicants, having been first recorded, which
deeds so returned shall be preserved in the office until the
parties or their representatives require the same.
And be it further ordained that three townships adjacent to
lake Erie be reserved lo be hereafter dhposed of by Congress
for llie use of the officers men i\: olheis refugees from Canada
and the refugees fioni Nova Scotia who are or may be entitled
to grants of land inn Ier resolutions of Congress now existing
or which may hereafter be made respecting them and for such
other purposes as Congress may hereafter direct.

j..

And be it further ordained that the towns of Gnadenhutten,
Schoenbrun and Salem on the Muskingum and so much of the
lands adjoining to the said towns with the buildings and
improvements thereon shall be reserved for the sole use of
the Christian Indians who were formerly settled there or
the remains of that society, as may in the judgment of the
Geographer be sufficient for them to cultivate.
Saving and reserving always to all officers and soldiers
entitled\o lands on the north west side of the Ohio by dona
tion or bounty from the commonwealth of Virginia ami to all
persons claiming under them all rights to which they are so
entitled under the deed ot cession executed by the delegates
for the state of Virginia on the first day of Maich 1784 and
the act of Congress accepting the same; and to the end that
the said lights may be fully and effectually serurcd ai cording
to the true intent and meaning of the said deed of cession and
act aforesaid Be it Ordained that no part of the land included
between the rivers called little Miami and Sciola on the north
west side of the river Ohio be sold or in any manner alienated
until there shall first have been laid off and appropriated for
the said Officers and soldiers and persons claiming under
them, the lands they are entitled to agreeably to the said deed
of cession and act of Congress accepting the same.
Done so [by] the United States in Congress assembled, the
20th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1785, and of
our sovereignty and independence the ninth.
CiiARt.hS Thomson, SccrcAirv. RICHARD H. LEE, President.
Manuscript Journals of Congress.

[over]

EE.RREEORIAl. DOCUMENTS.

9 — 1786, March 24. Monroe's Report on
New States.
Report of G'1 Com™
on Motion of M Monroe
respectg Western territory
Enf! read 24 March 1786
To be considered Thursday
March 30".1
read.
The Grand Committee to whom were referred a Motion of
Mr Monroe upon the subject of the Western Territory
ceded by individual States beg leave to Report in part
That the United States in Congress Assembled having on
the 6"1 day of September 1780 Resolved That it be recom
mended to the several States having claims to waste and unap
propriated lands to make liberal surrenders thereof to the
United States for their common benefit; and on the 10th of
October following, that the Territory thus ceded shall be
formed into distinct Republican States and admitted members
of the federal Union having the Same rights of Sovereignty,
freedom and Independence as the other Slates; and that each
State which shall be so formed shall contain a suitable extent
of Territory not less than one hundred nor more than one
hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circum
stances will admit. And the States of Virginia and Massa
chusetts having made Cessions accordingly, the latter founded
on, & the former with an express compact, among others,
as to the said Condition; and the United Stales fully to carry
the said Condition into effect, entered into on the 23" of
April 1784 several Resolutions Respecting it.
And whereas upon further consideration of the same, it hath
appeared that a strict adherence to said Condition in the divis
ion of the Country as aforesaid, will produce many incon
veniences to the settlers upon the same, and likewise to the
Confederacy, to prevent which and put it in the power of the
said States to enable the United States to make such division
thereof as shall be expedient, it was by the Resolution of
 Recommended lo the said States to revise their acts of
Cession as aforesaid; and as the Resolutions aforesaid of the

MONROE'S REPORT, 1786.

23

23d of April 1784 might therefore restrain the United States
in case the Said recommendation should be complied with,
from taking such measures as might be for the general interest
it is hereby
Resolved That the Resolutions of the 23d of april 1784 in
the words following Viz: "That so much of the Territory
ceded or to be ceded by individual states to the United States
as is already purchased or shall be purchased of the Indian
Inhabitants, and offered for sale by Congress, shall be divided
into distinct States in the following manner, as nearly as such
Cessions will admit; that is to say by parallels of latitude, so
that each State shall comprehend from North to South two
degrees of latitude beginning to count from the completion of
forty five degrees North of the equator; and by meridians of
longitude, one of which shall pass through the lowest point
of the Rapids of Ohio, and the other through the western
Cape of the mouth of the great Kanhaway : but the Territory
eastward of this last Meridian, between the Ohio, lake Erie
and Pensylvania, shall be one State whatsoever may be its
comprehension of Latitude. That which may lie beyond the
Completion of the 45th degree between the said Meridians
shall make part of the State adjoining it on the South; and
that part of the Ohio, which is between the same Meridians
coinciding nearly with the parallel of 39° shall be substituted
so far in lieu of that [parallel as a boundary line] " And
"That the preceding articles shall be formed into a charter of
Compact; shall be duly executed by the President of the
United States in Congress Assembled under his hand and the
seal of the United States; shall be promulgated; and shall
stand as fundamental Constitutions between the thirteen origi
nal States and each of the several States now newly described,
unalterable from and after the Sale of any part of the Terri
tory of such State, pursuant to this Resolve, but by the joint
consent of the United States in Congress Assembled, and of
the particular Stale within which such alteration is proposed
to be made." be and they are hereby Repealed.
Papers of old Congress (Ms. in State Department).

24

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

10 — 1787, May 10. Monroe's Draft
Territorial Ordinance.

temporary Government
transcribed agreeably to
order May 9"' 17S7 &
assigned for Thursday May 10th
May io"1 postponed —
July 9 1787
Referred &c
M1' Carrington
M'" Dane
Mr Lee
Mr Kean
Mr Smith
An Ordinance for the temporary government of the Western Territory of
the U.S. N\V. of the River Ohio.
It is hereby ordained by the Lffiited States in Congress
assembled, that there shall be appointed from time to time, a
governor, whose commission shall continue in force for the
term of three years, unless sooner revoked by Congress.
There shall be appointed by Congress, from time to time, a
secretary, whose commission shall continue in force for four
years, unless sooner revoked by Congress. It shall be his duty
to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the general
assembly, and public records and the proceedings of the gov
ernor in his executive department, and transmit authentic
copies of such acts and proceedings every six months, to the
secretary of Congress.
There shall also be appointed a court, to consist of three
judges, any two of whom shall form a court, who shall have a
common law jurisdiction, whose commissions shall continue
in force during good behavior.
And to secure the rights of personal liberty and property to
(lie inhabitants and others, purchasers in the said territory, it
is hereby ordained, that the inhabitants thereof shall always
be entitled to the benefits of the act of habeas corpus, and of
the trial by jury.
The governor and judges, or a majority of them shall adopt

MONROE'S ' ORDINANCE, 17S7.

25

and publish in the territory afores'! such laws of the original
states, criminal and civil, as may be necessary, and best
suited to the circumstances of the inhabitants, and report
them to Congress from time to time, which laws shall be in
force [in said] territory until the organization of the general
assembly, unless disapproved of by Congress; but afterwards
the general assembly shall have authority to alter them as they
shall think fit: I'rovided, however, that said assembly shall
have no power to create perpetuities.
The governor for the time being shall be commander in
chief of the militia, and appoint and commission all officers
in the same, below the rank of general officers: all officers of
that rank shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the organization of the general assembly, the
governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers
in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the
preservation of peace and good order in the same. After the
general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of
magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and
defined by the said assembly; but all magistrates and other
civil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall during the
continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by
the governor.
The governor shall, as soon as may be, proceed to lay out
the said territory into counties and townships, subject however
to such alterations, as may thereafter be made bv the legis
lature, so soon as there shall be 5000 fiec male inhabitants, of
full age, within the said territory upon giving due proof thereof
to the governor, they shall receive authority, with time and place.
to elect representatives from their counties or townships as
aforesaid, to represent them in general assembly; provided
that for every 500 free male inhabitants there shall be one
representative, and so on progressively with the number of free
male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase,
until the number of representatives amount to 25, after which
the number and proportion of representatives shall be regu
lated by the legislature; provided that no person shall 'be
eligible or qualified to act as a representative unless he shall
be a citizen of one of the United States, or have resided within
such territory three years, and shall likewise hold in his own
right, in fee simple, 200 acres of land within the same; Pro
vided also, that a freehold, or life estate in fifty acres of land

26

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

in the said district, if a citizen of any of the United States,
and two years residence if a foreigner, in addition, shall be
necessary to qualify a man as elector for the said represen
tative. The representatives thus elected, shall serve for the term of
two years, and in case of the death of a representative or
removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the
county or township for which he was a member to elect another
in his stead, to serve for the residue of the time.
The general assembly shall consist of the governor, a legis
lative council, to consist of five members, to be appointed by
the United States in Congress assembled, to continue in office
during pleasure, any three of whom to be a quorum, and a
house of representatives, who shall have a legislative authority
complete in all cases for the good government of said terri
tory; Provided that no act of the said general assembly shall
be construed to affect any lands the property of the United
States, and provided further, that the lands of the non-resident
proprietors shall in no instance be taxed higher than the lands
of residents.
All bills shall originate indifferently either in the council or
house of representatives, and having been passed by a majority
in both houses, shall be referred to the governor for his assent,
after obtaining which, they shall be complete and valid; but
no bill or legislative act whatever, shall be valid or of any force
without his assent.
The governor shall have power to convene, prorogue and
dissolve the general assembly when in his ojnnion it shall be
expedient. The said inhabitants or settlers shall be subject to pay a
part of the federal debts contracted, or to be contracted, and
to bear a proportional part of the burthens of the government,
to be apportioned on them by Congress, according to the same
common rule and measure by which apportionments thereof
shall be made on the other states.
The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary and such
other officers as Congress shall at any time think jjroper to
appoint in such territory, shall take an oath or affirmation of
fidelity and of office; (the governor before the president of
Congress, and all other officers before the governor).
Papers of old Congress (Ms. in State Department).

i A
I

NORTIIWr.ST ORDINANCE, 1787. 27
11 — 1787, July 13. Northwest Ordinance.
An Ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States
North west of the River Ohio.
Ee it ordained by the United States in Congress Assembled
that the said territory for the purposes of temporary govern
ment be one district, subject however to be divided into two
districts as future circumstances may in the opinion of
Congress make it expedient
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the estates
both of resident and non resident proprietors in the said terri
tory dying intestate shall descend to and be distributed among
their children and the descendants of a deceased child in equal
parts; the descendants of a deceased child or grand child to
take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among
them; and where there shall be no children or descendants
then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree; and
among collaterals the children of a deceased brother or sister
of the intestate shall have in equal parts among them their
deceased parent's share & there shall in no case be a distinc
tion between kindred of the whole & half blood; saving in all
cases to the widow of the intestate her third jiart of the real
estate for life, and one third part of the personal estate : and
this law relative to descents and dower shall remain in full
force until altered by the legislature of the district. And
until the governor & judges shall.adopt laws as herein after
mentioned estates in the said territory may be devised or
bequeathed by wills in writing signed and sealed by him or
her in whom the estate may be, being of full age, and' attested
by three witnesses, and real estates may be conveyed by lease
and release or bargain and sale signed, sealed and delivered
by the person being of full age in whom the estate' may be and
attested by two witnesses provided such wills be duly proved
and such conveyances be acknowledged or the execution
there of duly proved and be recorded within one year after
proper magistrates, courts and registers shall be appointed for
that purpose and personal property may be transferred by
delivery saving however to the french am! Canadian inhabitants
& other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vincents and the
neighbouring villages who have hereto fore professed them-

28

1 'ERR il X > R1A I D 0 CUMENTS.

selves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force
among them relative lo the descent & conveyance of property
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid that there shall be
appointed from lime to time by Congress a governor, whose
commission shall continue in force for the term of three years,
unless sooner revoked by Congress; he shall reside in the dis
trict and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres
of land while in the exercise of his office. There shall be
appointed from lime to time by Congress a secretary, whose
commission shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner
revoked: he shall reside in the district and have a freehold
estate therein in live hundred acres of land while in the exer
cise of his office; It shall be his duty to keep and preserve
the acts and laws passed by the legislature and the public
records of the disiiict and the proceedings of the governor in
his executive department, and transmit authentic copies of
such acts & proceedings every six months lo the Secretary of
Congress. Theie shall also be appointed a court to consist
of three judges anv two of whom to form a court, who shall
have a common law jurisdiction and reside in the district and
have each therein a freehold estate in five hundred acres of
land while in the exercise of their offices, and their commissions
shall continue in force daring good behaviour.
The governor, and judges or a majority of them shall adopt
and publish in the district such laws of the original states
criminal and civ il as may be necessary and best suited to the
circumstances of the district and report them lo Congress from
lime to time, which law shall be in force in the district until
the organization of the general assembly therein, unless dis
approved of bv Congress; but afterwards the legislature shall
h'a\c authority' to alter them as they shall think fit.
The governor for the lime being shall be commander in
chief of the militia, appoint and commission ail officers in the
same below llie rank of general Officers: All general officers
shall be appointed & commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the organization of the general Assembly the
governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers
in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the
preservation of ihe peace and good order in the same. After the
general assembly shall be oiganized, the powers and duties of
mag ist rales and oilier civil officers shall lie regulated and defined
by the said assembly; bulail magistrates and olhercivil officers,

NORTHWEST ORP/N.l-YCE, 17S7. =9
not herein otherwise directed shall during the continuance of
this temporary government be appointed by the governor.
For the prevention of crimes and injuries the laws to be
adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district and
for the execution of process criminal and civil, the governor
shall make proper divisions thereof, and he shall proceed from
time to time as circumstances may require to lay out the parts
of the District in which the indian titles shall Ikuc been
extinguished into counties and townships subject however lo
such alterations as may thereafter be made by the legislature
So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants
of full age in the district upon giving proof thereof to the
governor, they shall receive authority with time and place to
elect representatives from their counties or townships to repre
sent them in the general Assembly, provided that for every five
hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one representa
tive and so on progressively with the number of free male
inhabitants shall the right of representation encrease until the
number of representatives shall amount to twenty five after
which the number and proportion of representatives shall be
regulated by the legislature; provided that no person be eligi
ble or qualified to act as a representative unless he shall have
been a citizen of one of the United States three years and be
a resident in the district or unless he shall have resided in the
district three years and in either case shall likewise hold in
his own right in fee simple two hundred acres of land within
the same;" provided also that a freehold in fifty acres of land
in the district having been a citizen of one of the states and
being resident in the district; or the like freehold and two
years residence in the district shall be necessary to qualify a
man as an elector of a representative
The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of
two years and in case of the death of a representative or
removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the
county or township for which he was a member, to elect
another in his stead to serve for the residue of the term
The general Assembly or legislature shall consist of the
governor, legislative council and a house of representatives.
The legislative council shall consist of live members lo con
tinue in Office n\a years unless sooner removed by Congress,
any tin co of whom to be a quorum and the members of the
council shall be nominated and appointed in the following

3°

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

manner, to wit; As soon as representatives shall be elected,
the governor shall appoint a lime & place for them lo meet
together, and when met they shall nominate ten persons resi
dents in the district and each possessed of a freehold in five
hundred acres of Land and return their names to Congress;
five of whom Congress shall appoint & commission to serve as
aforesaid ; and whenever a vacancy shall happen in the coun
cil by death, or removal from office, the house of Representa
tives shall nominate two persons qualified as aforesaid, for
each vacancy, and return their names to Congress; one of whom
Congress shall appoint and Commission for the residue of the
terirT; and every live years, four Months at least before the
expiration of the time of service of the Members of Council,
the said House shall nominate ten Persons qualified as afore
said, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Con
gress shall appoint and Commission to serve as Members of
the Council five years, unless sooner removed. And the Gov
ernor, legislative Council, and House of Representatives,
shall have authority to make laws in all Cases for the good
government of the District, not repugnant to the principles
and Aiticles in this Ordinance established and declared. And
all bills having passed by a majority in the House, and by a
Majority in the Council, shall be referred to the Governor for
his assent; but no bill or legislative Act whatever, shall be of
any force without his assent. The Governor shall have power
to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the General Assembly,
when in his opinion it shall be expedient —
The Governor, Judges, legislative Council, Secretary, and
such other Officers as Congress shall appoint in the District,
shall take an Oath or Affirmation of fidelity, and of Office, the
Governor before the President of Congress, and all other Officers
before the Governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed
in the District, the Council and house assembled in one Room,
shall have authority by joint ballot to elect a Delegate to Con
gress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debat
ing, but not of \oling, during this temporary Government. —
And for extend ingthe fundamental principles of Civil and
religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these repub
lics, their laws and Constitutions are erected; to fix and estab
lish those principles as the basis of all laws, Constitutions and
Governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the
said territory; — to provide also for the establishment of States,

NORTHWEST ORDINANCE, 17S7.

3"

and permanent Government therein, and for their admission to
a Share in the federal Councils on an equal footing with the
original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with
the general interest —
It is hereby Ordained and declared by the authority afore
said, That the following Articles shall be considered as Arti
cles of compact between the Original States and the People
and States in the said territory, and forever remain unalterable,
unless by common consent, to wit,
Article the First. No Person demeaning himself in a
peaceable and orderly manner shall ever be molested on
account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments in the
said territory —
Article the Second. The Inhabitants of the said territory
shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of Habeas
Corpus, and of the trial by Jury; of a proportionate repre
sentation of the people in the legislature, and of judicial pro
ceedings according to the course of the common law; all
Persons shall be bailable unless for capital offences, where
the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great; all fines
shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall
be inflicted; no man shall be deprived of his liberty or prop
erty but by the judgment of his Peers, or the law of the land;
and should the Public exigencies make it necessary for the
common preservation to take any person's property, or to
demand his particular Services, full compensation shall be
made for the same, — and in the just jireservation of rights and
property it is understood and declared, that no law ought ever
to be made, or have force in the said territory, that shall in
any manner whatever interfere with or affect private Contracts
or engagements, bona fide and without fraud previously formed
Article the Third. Religion, Morality and knowledge being
necessary to good Government and the happiness of mankind,
Schools and the means of education shall forever be encour
aged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards
the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken
from them without their consent; and in their property, rights
and liberty, they never shall be invaded or disturbed, unless
in just and lawful Avars authorized by Congress; but laws
founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be
made, for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for
preserving peace and friendship with them —

32

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

Article the Fourth. The said territory, and the States which
may be lormed theiein, shall forever remain a part of this
Confederacy of the United States of America, subject to the
Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as
shall be constitutionally made; and to all the Acts and Ordi
nances of the United States in Congress Assembled, conform
able thereto. The Inhabitants and Settlers in the said territory,
shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts contracted
or lo be contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses
of Government, lo be apportioned on them by Congress,
according to the same common rule and measure by which
apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States; and
the taxes, for paying their proportion, shall be laid and levied
by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the Dis
trict or Districts 01 new States, as in the original States,
within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress
Assembled. The legislatures of those Districts, or new States,
shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the Soil
by the United Slates in Congress Assembled, nor with any
regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title
in such Soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be
imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in
no case shall non Resident proprietors be taxed higher than
Residents. The navigable Waters leading into the Missisippi
and S' Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same
shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the
Inhabitants of the said territory, as to the Citizens of the
United States, and those of any other States that may be
admitted into the Confederacy, without any tax, impost or
duty therefor —
Article the Fifth. There shall be formed in the said terri
tory, not less than three nor more than five States; and the
boundaiies of the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her
ai I of Cession and consent to the same, shall become fixed
and established as follows, to wit: The Western State in the
said territory, shall be bounded by the Missisippi, the Ohio
and Wabash Rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and
Post Vincents due North lo the territorial line between the
United Slates and Canada, and by the said territorial line to
the lake of the Woods and Missisippi. The middle State
shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from
Post Vincents to the Ohio; by the Ohio, by a direct line

NORTHWEST ORDINANCE, 17S7.

33

drawn due North from the mouth of the great Miami to the
said territorial line, and by the said territorial line. —The
eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct
line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial line;
provided however, and it is further understood and declared,
that the boundaries of these three States, shall be subject so
far to be altered, that if Congress shall hereafter find it expe
dient, they shall have authority to form one or two States in
that part of the said territory which lies north of an cast and
west line drawn through the Southerly bend or extreme of lake
Michigan: and whenever any of the said States shall have
sixty thousand free Inhabitants therein, such State shall be
admitted by its Delegates into the Congress of the United
States, on an equal footing with the original States, in all
respects whatever; and shall be at liberty to form a permanent
Constitution and State Government; Provided the Constitu
tion and Government so to be formed, shall be Republican,
and in conformity to the principles contained in these Arti
cles; and so far as it can be consistent with the general inter
est of the Confederacy-, such admission shall be'allowed at an
earlier period, and when there may be a less number of free
Inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand.
Article the Sixth. There shall be neither Slavery nor invol
untary Servitude in the said territory otherwise than in the
punishment of Crimes, whereof the Party shall have been duly
Convicted: Provided always that any Person escaping into
the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in
any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully
reclaimed and conveyed to the Person claiming his or her
labor or service as aforesaid. —
Be it Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, that the Resolu
tions of the 23" of April 1784, relative to the subject of this
ordinance, be, and the same are hereby repealed and declared
null and void. —
Done so.
On passing the above Ordinance the yeas & nays being
required by M! Yates

Massachusetts

M'

in.lten

av-1

M'

I lane

ay |

A'cxu York

AI'

Smith

ay ;

M'

I hiring

M

Vales '

no 1

ay

34

TERRITORIAL DOCUMENTS.

New Jersey
Delaware Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia

"' Mr Clarke
Mr Schurnian
Mr Kearny
M' Mitchell
M' Grayson
Mr K. H. I.ec
Mr Carrington
Mr Ulount
M' Hawkins
M' Kean
M' linger
M' Few
Mr Pierce

}ay}ay ay

ay I
ay/

ay

So it was resolved in the affirmative. —

Manuscript Join nals of Congress.

12 — 1789, Aug. 7. Confirmatory Act of
Congress.
An Act to provide for the government of the territory north-west of the
river Ohio.
WHEREAS, in order that the Ordinance of the United
States in Congress assembled, for the government of the terri
tory north-west of the river Ohio, may continue to have full
effect, it is requisite that certain provisions should be made,
so as to adapt the same to the present Constitution of the
United States;
BE it enacted by the Senate, and House of Representatives
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That
in all cases in which by the said Ordinance, any information
is to be given, or communication made by the Governor of
the said territory, to the United States in Congress assembled,
or to any of their Officers, it shall be the duty of the said
Governor to give such information, and to make such commu
nication to the President of the United States, and the Presi
dent shall nominate, and by, and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, shall appoint all Officers which by the said
Ordinance were to have been Appointed by the United States
in Congress assembled, and all Officers so appointed, shall be
commissioned by him, and in all cases where the United
Slates in Congress assembled, might by the said Ordinance,
revoke any Commission, or remove from any Office, the

CONFIRMATORY ACT, 7789.

35

President is hereby declared to have the same powers of
revocation and removal.
And be it further enacted, That in case of the death,
removal, resignation, or necessary absence of the Governor of
the said territory, the Secretary thereof shall be, and he is
hereby authorised and required to execute all the powers, and
perform all the duties of the Governor, during the vacancy
occasioned by the removal, resignation, or necessary absence
of the said Governor.
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
John Adams,
Vice President of the United States, and
President of the Senate.
Approved August the Seventh 1789
G. Washing-ion —
President of the United States
Original Parchment Rolls (Ms. in State Department).

PUNCTUATION
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A Manual for Students and Correspondents.
By KATE O'NEILL,
Of the Richmond, Virginia, High School.

161110.

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Th s manual on Punctuation contains all the rules and exceptions on
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as to ,how clearly the correct application of these rules
erro^Tn ^ °l ""* b°°k "'" d° mUch l° COU"teract the te"de°cy to
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The treatment of the subject is condensed and thoroughly covered
It wi„ be found very he.pfu, ,„ all who write for the press, fn/especMy
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A FEW TESTIMONIALS
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IZtnh™ B'°,0U, !,enSfi i0 U °U PMctuation a„d the p oper placin" of

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fr v

American History Leaflets.
COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.
EDITED BY
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART and EDWARD CHANNINQ,
Of Harvard University.
Price, per copy, 10 Cents.
These Leaflets are designed to promote the scientific method of study
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our colonial and constitutional history as the outcome of some important
crisis, or as exponents of the theories underlying our form of government.
Each Leaflet contains a brief historical introduction and bibliography to
aid further investigation by the student.
r.-The Letter of Colhmbus to Luis de Sant Angel announcing his
Discovery, with Extracts from his Journal.
2. — The Ostend Manifesto. 1354.
3. —Extracts from the Sagas describing the Voyages to Vinland
4.-Extracts from Official Declarations of the United States embodying
the Monroe Doctrine. 1789-1891.
5.— Documents illustrating the Territorial Development of the United
States. 1 763-1 769.
6.-Extracts from official Papers relating to the Bering Sea Controversy
J 790-1 892. ''
7.— The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New
England. 1643-1684.
8.-Exact Text of the Constitution of the United States. From 'he
Original Manuscripts. 1787-1870.
9.— Documents describing the Voyage of John Cabot in 1497
(O.-Governor McDuffie's Message on the Slavery Question 1835
[I. -Jefferson's Proposed Instructions to the Virginia Delegates 1774
¦nd the Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence. 1776*
12.— Ordinances of Secession and other Documents. 1860-18G1
13.— Coronado's Journey to New Mexico and the Great Plains ' 1540-42
14.— Plans of Union. 1696-1780. '
x5.-The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, with the Alien, Sedition
and other Acts. 1 798-1 799,
16.— Documents illustrating- the Territorial Development of the United
States. 1 5 84-1 774,
17.— Documents relating to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. 1854. '
18.— Lincoln's Inaugural and First Message to Congress. 1861.

-/

2 OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.
Reports. As Keith was nine years old in 1761 the minutes could not have
been made by him. Possibly they represent an early copy of Adams's
original minutes. The portion containing Gridley's Speech is here reprinted
rii.ni Ouincy's Report.,. The whole subject of Writs of Assistance is there
most admiiably studio' by Horace Gray, Jr., Esq., later Chief Justice of
Massachusetts and now .Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States. His concluding paragraph is here reproduced.
No ripe logy is needed for reprinting the long extracts from Tudor's Otis.
The IjooI. is a classic 111 Revolutionary biography. Many of the opinions
and assertions made in it have not borne the brunt of modern research.
. But all in all it is a masterly work. The comparison of Adams's minutes
taken at the time and his account of the matter a half a century later gives (
one an admiration for the tenacity of the venerable statesman's memory,
and also an added distrust of "old men's recollections as a source of j
history." The best brief account of the various forms of Otis's Speech is that by
Dr. S. A. Green in the Massachusetts Historical Society's Proceedings,
2d Series, VI. 190. The full titles of Quincy's and Tudor's works are as
follows : Josiah Quincv, Jr., Reports of Cases argued and adjudged in the
Superior Court of Judicature of the Province of Massachusetts Bay between
1761 and 1772, Boston, 1865 — the general editorial work was done by
Samuel M. Quincy; 'William Tudor, The Life of James Otis of Massachu
setts, iioston, 1823. l'or other references see Channing and Hart, Guide
to the Study of American History, § 134.
1. Extract from Gray's Article in Quincy's Reports.
A careful examination of the subject compels the conclu
sion that the decision of Hutchinson and his associates has
been too strongly condemned as illegal: and that there was at
least reasonable ground for holding, as matter of mere law,
that the British Parliament had power to bind the Colonies;
that even a statute contrary to the Constitution could not be
declared void by the judicial Courts; that by the English
statutes, as practically construed by the Courts in England,
Writs of Assistance might be general in form; that the Superior
Court of Judicature of the Province had the power of the Eng
lish Court of Exchequer; and that the Writs of Assistance
prayed for, though contrary to tho spirit of the English Consti
tution, could hardly be refused by a Pro\incial Court, before
general warrants had been condemned in England, and before
the Revolution had actually begun in America. The remedy
adopted by the Colonies was to throw off the yoke of Par
liament; to confer on the judiciary the power to declare
unconstitutional statutes void; to declare general warrants

"*r *

* 4. *

•* -*

ADAMS'S REPORT OF OTIS'S SPEECH. 3
unconstitutional in express terms; and thus to put an end
here to general Writs of Assistance. —Quincy's Reports, 540.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Little, Brown & Co.
2. John Adams's Report of Otis's Speech.*
Gridley. — The Constables distraining for Kates, more
inconsistent with Eng. Rts. & liberties than Writts of assist
ance. And Necessity, authorizes both.
Thatcher. I have searched, in all the ancient Repertories,
of Precedents, in Fitzherberts Natura Previum, and in the
Register (Q. w' yc Reg. is) and have found no such Writt of
assistance as this Petition prays. — I have found two Writts of
ass. in the Reg. but they are very difft, from yc Writt prayd
for. —
In a Book, intituled the Modern Practice of the Court of
Exchequer there is indeed one such Writt, and but one.
By yc Act of Pal', any other private Person, may as well as
a Custom House Officer, take an officer, a Sheriff, or Constable,
&c and go into any Shop, Store &c & seize : any Person author
ized by such a Writt, under the Seal of the Court of Exchequer,
may, not Custom House Officers only. — Strange. — Only a
temporary thing.
The most material Question is, whether the Practice of the
Exchequer, will warrant this Court in granting the same.
The Act im powers all the officers of ye Revenue to enter and
* This report, which has been once published in 2 John Adams's Works,
521-523, is by the courteous permission of Mr. Charles Francis Adams here
reprinted as exactly as possible, with the original paragraphs, spelling, and
punctuation, from the MS. notes of John Adams, who was piesenl at the
argument, though lie was not admitted as a banister until the 14th of Novem
ber following. 2 John Adams's Works, 124 and note, 133. 10 lb. 245. Rec.
1761, fol. 239. The only other contemporaneous report is an enlargement of
this. Vide infra, 477, note 39.
The elabo'rUe narrative given more than half a century afterwards by
Adams to Tudor, who printed an abstract of it as the argument of Otis in this
/ case, is rather a recollection of the sentiments of the colonists between 1761
' rind 1766. 10 John Adams's Works, 232-362 and note. Tudor's Life of .Otis,
(18-86. 4 Bancroft's Hist. (J. S. 417, note. Ante, 400. 1.17. It would seem to
have been written bv .Ida/its without even referring to los our. notes; for it si.b-
siitu'cs Rastall's Entries for Registrum lirevium: and assrrts that ho precedent
could be found of a writ of assistance to a custom house officer--- in direct
opposition to all llie counsel in the case, as reported by himself in the test.
10 John Adams's Works, 322, 342. lie seems also to attribute to Otis his own
argument, seven years later, in the case of The Liberty, aide, 400, 401. 10 John
Adams's Works, 348, 349.

OTIS' S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

ADAMS'S REPORT OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

seise in the Plantations, as well as in England. 7. & 8 Wm. 3,
C. 22, § 6, gives the same as 13. & 14. of C. gives in England.
The ( 1 round of Mr (iridleys tig1, is this, that his Court has
the Power of the Court of Exchequer. — But This Court has
renounced the Cham cry Jurisdiction, wh the Exchequer has in
Cases » here either Party, is y1' Kings Debtor. — Q. into y' Case.
In ling, all Informations of uncusted or prohibited Importa
tions, are in y" Exchequer. — So yl ye Custom House officers
are the officers of yl Court. — under the Eye, and Direction of
the Barons
The Writ of Assistance is not returnable. — If such seisure
were brot before your Honours, youd often find a wanton
Exercise of their Power.
At home, y° officers, seise at. their Peril, even with Probable
Cause. —
j Otis. This Writ is against the fundamental Principles of
Law. — The Priviledge of Plouse. A Man, who is quiet, is
as secure in his House, as a Prince in his Castle — notwith
standing all his Debts, & civil processes of any Kind. — But
l'or flagrant Crimes, and in Cases of great public Necessity,
the Priviledge may be incrohd [incroached ?] on. — For
Felonies an officer may break, upon Proscess, and oath. — i.e.
by a Special Warrant to search such an House, sworn to be
suspected, and good ('.rounds of suspicion appearing.
Make oath cor1:1 l.d. Treac.r, or Exchequer, in Eng* or a
Magistrate here, and get a Special Warrant, for y° public good,
to infringe the Priviledge of House.
Gen1. Warrant to search for Felonies. Hawk. Pleas Crown.
— every petty officer from the highest to y° lowest, and if some
of 'em are uncom others are uncomm. Gouv' Justices used
to issue such perpetual Edicts. (Q. with w' particular Refer
ence?) But one Precedent, and yl in y" Reign of C. 2 when Star
Chamber Powers, and all Powers but lawful & useful Powers
were pushed to K.\!n.-inily. —
The authority, of this Modem Practice of the Court of
Ev.hcrnicr. — it lias an Imprimatur. — But w1 may not have?
— It. may be owing lo some ignorant Clerke of ye Exchequer.
March Imitkiv! 11 18.
But all Pieccilent- and this am'g ye Rest are under y° Con-

' 4 J

trol of ye Principles of Law. Ld. Talbot, better to observe the
known Principles of Law y" any one Precedent, tho in the
House of Lords. —
As to Acts of Parliament, an Act against the Constitution is
void: an Act against natural Equity is void: and if an Act of
Parliament should be made, in the very Words of this Petition,
it would be void. The Executive Courts must pass such Acts
into disuse — 8. Rep. ir8. from Viner. — Reason of yc Coifi
Law to control an Act of Parliament. — Iron Manufacture.
noble Lord's Proposal, y' we should send our Horses to Eng.
to be shod. —
If an officer will justify under a Writ he must return it.
i2lh. Mod. 396. — perpetual Writ.
Stat. C. 2. We have all as good Rt to inform as Custom
House officers — & every Man may have a general, irreturnable
Commission to break Houses. —
By 12. of C. on oath before L" Treasurer, Barons of Ex
chequer, or Chief Magistrate to break with an officer. — 14"1
C. to issue a Warrant requiring sheriffs &c to assist the officers
to search for Goods not entrd, or prohibtd; 7 & 8th W. &
M. gives Officers in Plantations same Powers with officers in
England. —
Continuance of Writts and Proscesses, proves no more nor
so much as I grant a special Writ of ass. on special oath, for
sped Purpose. —
Pew indorsd Warrant to Ware. — Justice Walley seare'd
House. Law Prov. Bill in Chancery. — this Court confined
their Chancery Power to Revenue &c. — Quincy's Reports,
469-476. Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Little, Brown & Co.
3. Gridley's Argument for the Writs from Keith's
Note-book.
"W. Gridley. T appear on the behalf of Mr Cockle and
others, who pray 'that as they cannot fully exercise their Offices
-n such a manner as his Majesty's Service and their Laws in
such cases require, unless your Honors who are vested with
the power of a Court of Exchequer for this Province will please
to grant them Writs of Assistance. They therefore pray that
Ihcy & their Deputies may be aided in the Execution of their

OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

Offices by Writs of Assistance under the Seal of this Court and
in legal form, & according to the Usage of his Majesty's Court
of Exchequer in Great luiiain.'
"May it please your Honors, it is certain it has been the
practice of the Couil of Exchequer in England, and of this
Court in this Province, to grant Writs of Assistance to Custom
House Officers. Such Writs are mentioned in several Acts of
Parliament, in several Hooks of Reports; & in a Book called
the Modern Practice of the Court of Exchequer, We have a
Precedent, a form of a Writ, called a Writ of Assistance for
Custom house Ollu ers, of which the following a few years past
to Mr Paxtou under the Seal of this Court, & tested by the late
Chief Justice Sewall is a literal Translation." [Here follows
the writ printed ant,; 404.]
r"" "The first Question therefore for your Honors to determine
is, whether this pract ice of the Court of Exchequer in England
(which it is certain, has taken place heretofore, how long or
short a time soever it continued) is legal or illegal. And the
second is, whether the practice of the Exchequer (admitting
it to be legal) can warrant this Court in the same practice.
" In answer to the first, I cannot indeed find the Original of
this Writ of Assistant e. It may be of very antient, to which
I am inclined, or it may be of modern date. This however
is certain, that the Stat, of the 14'!' Char, a"." has established
this Writ almost in the words of the Writ itself. 'And it shall
be lawful to 6c for any jierson or persons authorised by Writ
of Assistance under the seal of his Majesty's Court of Exchequer
to take a Constable, Headborough, or other public Officer,
inhabiting near unto the place, & in the day time to enter &
go into any house, Shop, Cellar, Warehouse, room, or any
other place, and in case of Resistance, to break open doors,
Chests, Trunks 6c other Package, & there to seize any kind of
Goods or Merchandize whatever prohibited, and to put the
same into his Majesty's Warehouse in the Port where Seizure
is made. '
"By this act & that of 12 Char. 2"? all the powers in the
Writ of Assistance mentioned are given, & it is expressly said,
the persons shall be authorised by Writs of Assistance under
the seal of the Exchequer. Now the Books in which we
should expect to find these Writs, 6V. all that relates to them are
I'.onks of Precedents, & Reports in the Exchequer, which are

CRIDLEY'S ARGUMENTS FOR WRITS.

extremely scarce in this Country; we have one, & but one that
treats of Exchequer matters, and that is called the 'Modern
practice of the Court of Exchequer,' & in this Book we find
one Writ of Assistance, translated above. Books of Reports
have commonly the Sanction of all the Judges, but books of
Precedents never have more than that of the Chief Justice.
Now this Book has the Imprimatur of Wright, who was Chief
Justice of the King's Bench, and it was wrote by Brown, whom
I esteem the best Collector of Precedents; I have Two Vol
umes of them by him, which I esteem the best except Rastall
& Coke. But we have a further proof of the legality of these
Writs, & of the settled practice at home of allowing them;
because by the Stat. 6th Anne which continues all Processes &
Writs after the Demise of the Crown, Writs of Assistance are
continued among the Rest.
" It being clear therefore that the Court of Exchequer at
home has a power by Law of granting these Writs, I think
there can be but little doubt, whether this Court as a Court
of Exchequer for this Province has this power. By the Statute .
of the f* & 8'.h W. 3d, it is enacted ' that all the Officers for
collecting and managing his Majesty's Revenue, and inspect
ing the Plantation Trade in any of the said Plantations, shall
have the same powers &c. as are provided for the Officers ot the
Revenue in England; also to enter Houses, or Warehouses, to
search for and seize any such Goods, 6c that the like Assistance
shall be given to the said Officers as is the Custom in England."
"Now what is the Assistance which the Officers of the
Revenue are to have here, which is like that they have in Eng
land? Writs of Assistance under the Seal of his Majesty's
Court of Exchequer at home will not run here. They must
therefore be under the Seal of, this Court. For by the Jaw of
this Province 2 W. 3'.1 Ch. 3/tb.ere shall be a Superior Court
'&c. over the whole Province-&c. who shall have cognizance of -
'all pleas &c. & generally of all other matters, as fully &
' [amply] to all intents & purposes as the Courts of King's
'Bench, Common Pleas & Exchequer within his Majesty's
' Kingdom of England have or ought to have.^%
"It is true the common privileges of Englishmen are taken
away in this Case, but even their jinvikges are not so in cases
of Crime and fine. "Pis the necessity cf the Case and the
benefit ot the Revenue that justifies this Writ. Is not the

8 OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.
Revenue the sole support of Fleets & Armies abroad, & Min
isters at home? without which the Nation could neither be
preserved from the Invasions of her foes, nor the Tumults of
her own Subjects. Is not this t say infinitely more important,
than the imprisonment of Thieves, or even Murderers? yet in
these Cases 'tis agreed Douses may be broken open.
" In fine the power now under consideration is the same
with that given by ihe Law of this Province to Treasurers
towards Collectors & lo them towards the subject. A Col
lector may when he pleases distrain my goods and Chattels,
and in want of them arrest my person, and throw me instantly
into Gaol. What! shall my property be wrested from me! —
shall my Liberty be destroyed by a Collector, for a debt, unad-
! judged, without the common Indulgence and Lenity of the
Law? So it is established, and. the necessity of having public
taxes effectually and sjieedily collected is of infinitely greater
moment to the whole, than the Liberty of any Individual." —
Quincy's Reports, 470-481.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Little, Brown & Co.
4. Tudor's Description of the Occasion — Chapter V.
Immediately after the conquest of Canada was completed,
rumors were widely circulated, that a different system would
be pursued, that the charters would be taken away, and the
colonies reduced lo royal governments. The offices [officers]
of the customs beg. m at once to enforce with strictness, all the
acts of parliament regulating the trade of the colonies, several
of which had been suspended, or become obsolete, and thus
had never been executed at all. The good will of the colo
nists or their legislatures, was no longer wanted in the prose
cution of the war; and the commissioners of the customs were
permitted and directed to enforce the obnoxious acts. Gov
ernor Bernard, who was always a supporter of the royal preroga
tive, entered fully into these -\ iews, and shewed by his opinion,
his appointments and his confidential advisers, that his object
would be, to extend llie power of the government to any limits,
which the ministiy might authorize.
The first demonstiation of the new course intended to be
pursued, was the arrival of an order in Council to carry into
eflei-t the Arts o! nade, and to apply to the supreme judicature

t .*

1/ *

TUDOR'S DESCRIPTION OF THE OCCASION. 9
of the Province, for Writs of Assistance, to be granted to the
officers of the customs. In a case of this importance there
can be no doubt, that Mr. Paxton, who was at the head of the
customs in Boston, consulted with the Government and all the
crown officers, as to the best course to be taken. The result
was, that he directed his deputy at Salem, Mr. Cockle, in
November 1760, to petition the Superior Court, then sitting
in that town, for "writs of assistance." Stephen Sewall who
was the Chief Justice, expressed great doubt of the legality of
such a writ, and of the authority of the Court to grant it.
None of the other judges said a word in favour of it; but as
the application was on the part of the Crown, it could not be
dismissed without a hearing, which after consultation was fixed
for the next term of the Court, to be held in February, 1761,
at Boston, when the question was ordered to be argued. In"
the interval, Chief Justice Sewall died, and Lieutenant Gov
ernor Hutchinson was made his successor, thereby uniting in
his person, the office of Lieutenant Governor with the emolu
ments of the commander of the castle, a member of the Coun
cil, Judge of Probate and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court! .
This appointment was unexpected and alarming to all reflect
ing minds, because it was evident that this important place
could not have been given to a man who already held so many
offices, some of which were quite incompatible with the place
of Chief Justice, unless seconding the designs of government
in all cases, was to be the excuse and the return for such
extraordinary favours.
There were some circumstances of a personal kind connected
with this appointment, that formed the ground work for very
malicious and absurd misrepresentation. It was generally
believed, that the place of Chief Justice, whenever it should
become vacant, had been promised by Governor Shirley to
James Otis's father, and that revenge for the disappointment
was the cause of all his subsequent opposition. The language
that was imputed to him by common report on this occasion,
and which has been transmitted down, was according to one
version, "that he would set the province in (lames, though he
perished in the fire " or according to another, in part" of a
well known line, Acheron ta morcbo : though neither of these
sj)ecches was ever authenticated. That Otis should have per
ceived, as clearly as any man, die impropriety and the danger

12 OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.
Adams says, "they haled him worse than they did James Otis
or Samuel Adams, and they feared him more, because they
had no revenge for a father's disappointment of a seat on the
Siqierior bench to impute to him, as they did to Otis."
He published some essays on the subject of an alteration
jiroposed by Hutchinson relative to the value of gold and
silver; in which contioversy, as will be noticed hereafter, Otis
took part on the same side. Thacher also wrote a pamphlet
against the policy of the Navigation Act, and the Acts of
Trade. This pamphlet is entitled '(The Sentiments of a Brit
ish American "J printed in 1764. It is temperate, though
earnest, and well written, the hardship and impolicy of these
measures is very ably illustrated — His motto is a fable of
Phoedrus, of which the close is a key to his sentiments — ¦
Ergo quid refert mea
Cui serviain? clitellas dum portem meas.
He died of a pulmonary complaint, aggravated by his exces
sive anxiety respecting public affairs in 1765, after having been
two years in the legislature from the town of Boston.*
^ The trial took place in the Council Chamber of the Old
Town House, in Boston. This room was situated at the east
end of that building, and like all the interior parts, has since
undergone various alterations. At that time it was an impos
ing and elegant apartment, ornamented with two splendid full
length portraits of Charles II. and James II. The Judges, in
those days, in conformity to European practice, attached a
part of their official dignity to a peculiar costume, which in
later times they have here discarded. Their dress was com
posed of voluminous wigs, broad bands, and robes of scarlet

* " Not long before bis -Iralh," says President Adams, "be sent for me to
commit to my care some of his business at the bar. I asked him whether'be
h:u! seen the Virginia resolves: "Oh yes — thev are men I they are noble spirits I
It kills me, to think of the Irlbavgy and stupidity that prevails here, I long to be
out. I will so out— I will (jo out— I will go into Court and make a speech
which shall be read aller my death, as my dying testimony against this infernal
Ur.innv, which llwy ,'iic I, rinsing upon ns." Seeing llie' violent agitation info
whu.h il throw him, I changed the Mibjeif as soon as possible, mid rclired. lie
had hern 1 onl'med U.r some lime. Ibid he been abroad .imoug Ihe people !,e
could not have complained so pathetically of the " lethargy and stupidity,"' for
town and country were all ailvr; and ill AuguM, became" active enough, and
some ol ihe ptople poured, d lo turn .irr.miablr excesses wide'
¦ ilriuls than by (be

lamrntrii ny m>- pain. as innii Ivy lla-ir encode .
deeply lamented by all !!,.¦ hiemls ol Ihetr country."

len were more
Mr. Timelier soon died,

TUDOR'S DESCRIPTION OF THE OCCASION.

'3

cloth. The judges were five in number, including Lieutenant
Governor Hutchinson, who presided as Chief Justice. The
room was filled with oj.1 the officers of government, and the
principal citizens, to hear the arguments in a cause, that
inspired the deepest solicitude.
The case was opened by Mr. Gridley, who argued it with
much learning, ingenuity and dignity, urging every pcint and
authority, that could be found after the most diligent search,
in favour of the Custom house petition; making all his reason
ing depend on this consideration — " if the parliament of Great
Britain is the sovereign legislator of the British Empire."*
He was followed by Mr. Thacher on -the opposite side,
whose reasoning was ingenious and able, delivered in a tone
of great mildness and moderation. "But," in the language
of President Adams, "Otis was a flame of fire; with a prompti
tude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid
summary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal
authorities, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity, and
a rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away all
before him. American Independence was then and there
born. The seeds of patriots and heroes, to defend the Non
sine Bit's animosus infans; to defend the vigorous youth, were
then and there sown. Every man of an immense crowded
audience appeared to me to go away as I did, ready to take
arms against Writs of Assistance. Then and there, was the
first scene of the first act of opposition, to the arbitrary claims
of Great Britain. Then and there, the child Independence
was born. In fifteen years, i.e. in 1776, he grew up to man
hood and declared himself free."
"There were no stenographers in those days," to give a
complete report of this momentous harangue. Plow gladly
* This summary account of Mr. Gridley's argument is from President
Adams s letters. In Minot's History, Vol. 2, p. 87. A short statement of his
argument is given, which tends to shew that this writ was founded on statutes
ol the rath and 14th of Charles II.; and the authority of the Supreme Court in
this 1 rovincc 10 grant it, was to be derived from the statute of the 7II1 and 8th
of William III., which gave olliccrs of the revenue in this country the same
powers as ollicrrs 111 England — And that in llie execution of their duty they
should receive the like assistance. The obvious meaning ,,f (hjs seems "lo be
thai an uflicer in ease of necessity should have .1 right local! for (he sune sUp-
poil I10111 those about him in pursuance ol his duly. It seems a mosl Ml 1 J. lined
and prcpostcoms mlcrenec, lo make Ihe general term, tike a,*is/,u,cc ine m 1
speed and odious process called a writ of ass. stance, invented in the worst
times ol the Sluail tyranny.

M

OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

would be exchanged for it, a few hundred verbose speeches
on some of the miserable, transient topics of the day, that are
circulated in worthless profusion. Yet on this occasion, "the
seeds were sown," and though some of them doubtless fell by
the wayside or on stony jilaces, others fell on good ground,
and sprang pp and increased and brought forth in due season,
thirty, sixty and an hundred fold. Of the vigour of some of
the soil that received this seed, the jireceding quotation is a
living and most eloquent proof. It indeed affords some com-
pensation for the absence of contemporary records, and the
subsequent neglect of this great leading transaction, that one
of the hearers, after the lapse of sixty years, with all the
authority which venerable age and illustrious services can con
fer, should have called the attention of his countrymen to the
subject; and by a rare and felicitous force of memory, carrying
back their regards over the course of two generations, have
exhibited with a magical effect through the obscurity of time,
an impressive and brilliant sketch, of one of the first struggles
that led to their national existence.

5. Otis's Speech as printed in Tudor's "Otis" —
Chapter VI.
Anxiety and expectation were raised to the utmost in the
minds of all parties, to hear the argument of Otis, which he
began in the following manner.*
"MAY It PLEASE VO'JR HONOURS,
" ] was desired by one of the Court to look into the books,
and consider the question now before them concerning the
Writs of Assistance. I have accordingly considered it, and
now apnear not only in obedience to your order, but likewise
in behalf of the inhabitants of this town, who have presented
another petition, and out of regard to the liberties of the sub
ject. And f take this opportunity to declare, that whether
under a fee or not, (foi in such a cause as this I despise a
fee, : ! will to my dying day oppose with all the powers and
faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery
' Th" Ir.igim nls of dm .peeeb are lalo-n from Minot's Hiitory, Vol. 2. It
¦rriir honi l'ie iritrvs of Pir-idrnt Ao.un., liiat they were derived horn some
mine; leel n.nes, I i boil by him at the lime, which wrie ,if rrwarils carried oli by
soi :r in liviil-i.il. who " uitei pointed Ihem, with some bombastic expressions of
!a . o.mi, " and pi ieli d Ihem in .1 net', spa pi 7 .

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

«S

on the one hand, and villany on the other, as this writ of
assistance is.
"It appears to me the worst instrument of arbitrary power,
the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental
principles of law, that ever was found in an English law book.
I must therefore beg your honours' patience and attention to
the whole range of an argument, that may perhaps appear
uncommon in many things, as well as to points of learning
that are more remote and unusual : that the whole tendency
of my design may the more easily be perceived, the conclu
sions better descend, and the force of them be better felt. I
shall not think much of my pains in this cause, as I engaged
in it from principle. I was solicited to argue this cause as
Advocate General; and because I would not, I have been
charged with desertion from my office. To this charge I can
give a very sufficient answer. I renounced that office, and I
argue this cause from the same principle; and I argue it with
the greater pleasure, as it is in favour of British liberty, at a
time when we hear the greatest monarch upon earth declaring
from his throne, that he glories in the name of Briton, and
that the privileges of his people are dearer to him than the
most valuable prerogatives of his crown; and it is in opposi
tion to a kind of power, the exercise of which in former
periods of English history, cost one King of England his head,
and another his throne. I have taken more pains in this
cause, than I ever will take again, although my engaging in
this and another popular cause has raised much resentment.
But I think I can sincerely declare, that I cheerfully submit
myself to every odious name for conscience sake : and from
my soul I despise all those, whose guilt, malice, or folly has
made them my foes. Let the consequences be what they will,
I am determined to proceed. The only principles of public '
conduct, that are worthy of a gentleman or a man, are to sac
rifice estate, ease, health, and applause, and even life, to the
sacred calls of his country.
"These manly sentiments, in private life, make the good
citizen; in public life, the patriot and ihe hero. 1 do not
say, that when brought to the lest, I shali be invincible. I
pray God f may never be brought' to Ihe melancholy trial, but
if ever I should, it will be then known how far I can reduce
to practice, principles, which I know to be founded in

i6

OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

truth. In the mean time I will proceed to the subject of
this writ."
It appears that some of these writs had been issued, though
by what authority is nut slated; and the officers of the revenue
were afraid to make use of them, unless they could obtain the
sanction of the superior court, which had led to the applica
tion. It is imposMl.k to devise a more outrageous and unlim
ited instrument of tynnmy, than this proposed writ:* and it
cannot be wondered at, that such an alarm should have been
cicated, when it is considered to what enormous abuses such
a process might have led. The following paragraph from the
report of Otis' speech before quoted, will serve to shew what
kind of instrument was here prayed for, and some results that
might have been expected from it.
"Your Honours will find in the old books concerning the
office of a Justice of the Peace, precedents of general warrants
to search suspected houses. But in more modern books you
will find only special warrants to search such and such houses
specially named, m which the complainant has before sworn
that he suspects his goods are concealed; and will find it
adjudged, that special warrants only, are legal. In the same
manner I rely on it, that the writ prayed for in this petition,
being general, is illegal. It is a power, that places the liberty
of every man in the hands of every petty officer. I say I
admit that special writs of assistance, to search special places
may be granted to certain persons on oath; but I deny that
the writ now prayed for can be granted, for I beg leave to
make some observations on the writ itself, before I proceed
to other acts of Parliament. In the first place, the writ is
universal, being directed 'to all and singular Justices, Sheriffs,
Constables, and all other officers and subjects;' so that in
short, it is directed to every subject in the King's dominions
Every one with this writ may be a tyrant in a legal manner,
also may control, imprison, or murder any one within the
realm. _ In the next place, it is perpetual, there is no return
A man is accountable to no person for Lis doings. Every man
1- Jl" l'"' frrl" °!.{h" "Ti'' ,var no wlKrQ to be fo,,nd; in no statute no iatv
book, no volume oi cnUes; neither in Install, Coke, or Filzhcbci nor eve 1
in the InsMiror Uci-cdis, or limns Jllslier. Where then Wil, it lo be found >
.no v, hue out ,,, (,„ M-mgmalion or invention, of lioslon Custom House

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

'7

may reign secure in his petty tyranny, and spread terror and
desolation around him, until the trump of the archangel shall
excite different emotions in his soul. In the third place, a
person with this writ, in the day time, may enter all houses,
shops, &c. at will, and command all to assist him. Fourthly,
by this writ, not only deputies, &c. but even their menial ""?*__
servants, are allowed to lord it over us. What is this but to
have the curse of Canaan with a witness on us; to be the ser
vant of servants, the most despicable of God's creation? Now
one of the most essential branches of English liberty is the
freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle; and .
whilst he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince in his ] —
castle. This writ, if it should be declared legal, would totally
annihilate this privilege. Custom-house officers may enter
our houses when they please; we are commanded to permit
their entry. Their menial servants may enter, may break
locks, bars, and every thing in their way: and whether they
break through malice or revenge, no man, no court, can
inquire. Bare suspicion without oath is sufficient. This
wanton exercise of this power is not a chimerical suggestion
of a heated brain. I will mention some facts. Mr. Pew had
one of these writs, and when Mr. Ware succeeded him, he
endorsed this writ over to Mr. Ware : so thai, these writs are
negotiable from one officer to another; and so your Honours
have no opportunity of judging the persons to whom this vast
power is delegated. Another instance is this: Mr. Justice
Walley had called this same Mr. Ware before him, by a con
stable, to answer for a breach of the sabbath-day acts, or that
of profane swearing. As soon as he had finished, Mr. Ware
asked him if he had done. He replied, Yes. Well then,
said Mr. Ware, I will shew you a little of my power. I com
mand you to permit me to search your house for uncustomed
goods; and went on to search the house from the garret to
the cellar; and then served the constable in the same manner!
But to shew another absurdity in this writ, if it should be
established, I insist upon it every person by the 14th Charles
second, has this power as well as the Custom-Plouse officers.
The words are, " it shall be lawful for any person or persons
authorized, &c." "What a scene does this open ! Every man
prompted by revenge, ill humour, or wantonness to inspect
the inside of his neighbour's house, may get a writ of assist-

I-

OTIS'S SPEECH OM, WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

ance. Others will ask it from self-defence; one arbitrary
exertion will provoke another, until society be involved in
tumult and in blood."
His argument in this cause lasted between four and five
hours, and the summary of it can be best, and can now be
only given, in the words of President Adams, who divides it
into five parts as follows: I. "He began with an exordium,
containing an apology for his resignation of the office of
advocate general in the court of admiralty; and for his appear
ance in that cause in opposition to the crown, and in favour
of the town of Boston, and the merchants of Boston and Salem.
2. "A dissertation on the rights of man in a state of nature.
He asserted, that every man, merely natural, was an indepen
dent sovereign, subject to no law, but the law written on his
heart, and revealed to him by his Maker, in the constitution
of his nature, and the inspiration of his understanding and his
conscience. His right to his life, his liberty, no created
being could rightfully contest. Nor was his right to his prop
erty less incontestible. The club that he had snajiped from
a tree, for a staff or for defence, was his own. His bow and
arrow were his own; if by a pebble he had killed a partridge
or a squirrel, it was his own. No creature, man or beast, had
a right to take it from him. If he had taken an eel, or a
smelt, or a sculpin, it was his projperty. In short, he sported
upon this topic with as much wit and humour, and at the same
time with so much indisputable truth and reason, that he was
not less entertaining than instructive. He asserted, that these
rights were inherent and inalienable. That they never could
be surrendered or alienated, but by ideots or madmen, and
all the i< ts of ideots [idiots] and lunatics were void, and not
obligatory, by all the laws of God and man. Nor were the
poor negroes forgotten. Not a Quaker in Philadelphia, or
Mr. Jefferson of Virginia, ever asserted the rights of negroes
in stronger terms. Young as I was, and ignorant as I was, I
shuddered at ihe doctrine he taught; and I have all my
life shuddered, and still shudder, at the consequences that
may be drawn from such picmises. Shall we say, that the
rights of masters and sen-ants clash., and can be decklcu only
by force. I adore the ideal of gradual abolitions! but who
shall decide how fast or how slowly these abolitions shall be
made ?

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OIYS'S SPEECH.

19

3. "From individual independence he proceeded to asso
ciation. If it was inconsistent with the dignity of human
nature to say, that men were gregarious animals, like wild
geese, it surely could offend no delicacy to say, they were
social animals by nature; that there were natural sympathies,
and above all, the sweet attraction of the sexes, which must
soon draw them together in little groups, and by degrees in
larger congregations, for mutual assistance and defence. And
this must have happened before any formal covenant, by
express words or signs, was concluded. When general coun
cils and deliberations commenced, the objects could be no
other than the mutual defence and security of every individual
for his life, his liberty, and his property. To suppose them to
have surrendered these in any other way, than by equal rules and
general consent, was to suppose them ideots [idiots] or mad
men, whose acts were never binding. To suppose them sur
prised by fraud, or compelled by force into any other compact,
such fraud and such force could confer no obligation. Every
man had a right to trample it under foot whenever he pleased.
In short, he asserted these rights to be derived only from
nature, and the author of nature; that they were inherent,
inalienable, and indefeasible by any laws, pacts, contracts,
covenants, or stipulations, which man could devise.
4. "These principles and these rights were wrought into
the English constitution, as fundamental laws. And under
this head he went back to the old Saxon laws, and to Magna
Charta, and the fifty confirmations of it in parliament, and
the executions ordained against the violators of it, and the
national vengeance which had been taken on them from time
to time, down to the Jameses and Charleses; and to the peti
tion of rights and the bill of rights, and the revolution. He
asserted, that the security of these rights to life, liberty and
property, had been the object of all those struggles against
arbitrary power, temporal and spiritual, civil and political,
military anil ecclesiastical, in every age. He asserted, that
our ancestors, as British subjects, and we, their descendants,
as British subjects, were entitled to all those rights, by the
British constitution, as well as by the law of nature, and our
provincial cinitcr, as much as any inhabitant oi London or
Bristol, or any pari of Knghind; and were not to be cheated
out of them by any phantom of "virtual representation," or any

zo OTIS'S

SPEECH Off WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

other fiction of law or politics, or any monkish trick of deceit
and hypocrisy.
5- "He then examined the acts of trade, one by one, and
demonstrated, that if they were considered as revenue laws,
they destroyed all our security of property, liberty, and life,
every right of nature, and the English constitution, and the
charter of the piovince. Here he considered the distinction
between "external and internal taxes," at that time a popular
and common place distinction. But he asserted that there
was no such distinction in theory, or upon any principle but
" necessity." The necessity that the commerce of the empire
should be under one direction, was obvious. The Americans
had been so sensible of this necessity, that they had connived
at the distinction between external and internal taxes, and had
submitted to the acts of trade as regulations of commerce, but
never as taxations, or revenue laws. Nor had the British gov
ernment, till now, ever dared to attempt to enforce them as
taxations or revenue laws. They had laid dormant in that
character for a century almost. The navigation act he allowed
to be binding upon us, because we had consented to it by our
own legislature. Here he gave a history of the navigation act
of the first of Charles II. , a plagiarism from Oliver Cromwell.
This act had lain dormant for fifteen years. In 1675, after
repeated letters and orders from the King, governor Leverett
very candidly informs his majesty, that the law had not been
executed, because it was thought unconstitutional; parliament
not having authority over us."
Taking a rapid survey of the terrors and vexations the colo
nists were exposed to under the reign of Charles I. and their
tranquillity under the Commonwealth, he came to the first fruits
which they tasted of the restoration, to the celebrated Naviga
tion Act; and he dwelt upon this as the first in order, among
those acts which were now to be enforced by the Writs of
Assistance. The main provisions of this act may be comprised
in a very few words; nothing should be imported into any of
the English jiossessions in Asia, Africa or America, excepting
111 vessels belonging to the people of England, Ireland, Wales
or the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and besides being truly
built and owned in said possessions, the master and" three
foul ths of the sailors must be English ; and no goods of foreign
jiroducliou should be brought even in English shipping, except
from the countries that produced ihem.

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

He expatiated on the narrow exclusive spirit of this statute;
but he would not deny either its policy or necessity, at the
time of its enactment, because England was then surrounded
by the power of France, Spain, and Plolland; nor would he
blame the conduct of Governor Leverett, and the Massachusetts
legislature in adopting it in 1675, after it had laid dormant
for fifteen years. It was a sacrifice they were obliged to make;
but he contended, that the sacrifice was a very great one on
the part of the colonies in general, and of New England in
particular, and above all to the town of Boston. He thought
this statute ought to have been sufficient to satisfy the ambition
and cupidity of the mother country, who boasted so much of
her indulgence and affection for her colonies.
The navigation act, however, was wholly prohibitory, it
abounded with jienalties and forfeitures, but it imposed no
taxes. The distinction therefore was vastly great between this
and the Acts of Trade. Though no revenue was to be derived
Item this act, still it was intended to be enforced by these
V\ 'its, and houses were to be broken open and ransacked under
their authority to enforce it. The Writs of Assistance were
thus extended in a manner, which had never been contem
plated. He discussed most amply, all the effects, which the
acts of navigation produced upon the colonies.
There are, it may be here observed, few statutes enacted by
any nation, that have been more important, or excited more
discussion, than the English navigation act. While the
restrictive and monopolizing system was thought to be sound
political wisdom, this act as forming an essential part of it,
might be considered a masterpiece of policy; but in propor
tion, as wiser notions of national policy make their way into
the councils of all civilized countries, and gradually eradicate
the false and narrow principles of less enlightened periods,
this act, which has been often relaxed in its operation, will
probably so far as foreign trade is concerned, give way to the
extension of liberal views in commerce; which all free and
industrious nations find every day to be more and more puo-
ductive of advantage to themselves, as well as to the world at
large. Commerce is now gradually enlarging the prosperity
and the rights of mankind; and wise statesmen begin to
believe more fully, that the general jiiospcrily increases indi
vidual advantage; and that nations gain not by depressing,

22 OTIS'S SPEECH dN WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.
much bigotry in England, and which inflicted so much h liu v
Mr n!'1' 1S hl^htlme for me to return from this ramble to
our Z VTnS ^ Sir ii°siah Child' ^ose ch pt ?
], r\} "ag, IOS' ls concerning the act of navigation ! Prob
ably tins knight was one of the most active and able inflamers
of the national pride in their navy and their comm ce and
of naviW ^^ r°m°terS of that enthusiasm for the act
wl wrCal/Jutlh WS ^^ '° th'S d^ For *i™k
"!"' ,but f ™ American. George Downing, a native of New
England, educated at Harvard College whose nZ nffi
and title appear in their catalogue Tent to EnZd fe
nf°C o^vell ""f?,11'3 d,Vil wi ^d became^fcS £ £
ador to Soli, 1 hC " 1S P°WerS' that he was sent amba«-
sacior to Ho land. He was not only not received but ill
treated, winch he resented on his return to Eng and by pro
Hoii'Sd1 tc?:::Tr' which;vas ad°^ ^kss
re£ecl * rUmed America' if she ha<* not
'noJ-°n,0n'0W the lan8uaSe of ^e great Dr. Johnson this
Dog Downmg must have had a head and brains or ?n other
^aS'S3rTd To''"" i01'! ", WC '^ beHG- S"^
andS;;;^

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

n

"But where is Downing's statute? British policy has sup
pressed all the laws of England, from 1648 to 1660. The
statute book contains not one line. Such arc ficords and such
is history."
From the navigation act the advocate passed to the Acts of
Trade, and these, he contended, imposed taxes, enormous,
burlhensome, intolerable taxes; and on this topic he gave full
scope to his talent for powerful declamation and invective,
against the tyranny of taxation without representation. From
the energy with which he urged this position, that taxation
without representation is tyranny, it came to be a common
maxim in the mouth of every one. And with him it formed
the basis of all his speeches and political writings; he builds
all his opposition to arbitrary measures from this foundation,
and perpetually recurs to it through his whole career, as the
great constitutional theme of liberty, and as the fundamental
principle of all opposition to arbitrary power.
The first of these acts of trade on which he commented was
the 15th of Charles II. ch. 7. in 1663, entitled "An act for
the encouragement of trade " one short section from this act
may be given as a type of them all, shewing in the most undis
guised manner, the remorseless spirit of colonial monopoly.
"Sec. 5. And in regard his majesty's plantations beyond the
seas are inhabited and peopled by his subjects of this his king
dom of England, for the maintaining a greater correspondence
and kindness between them, and keeping them yet more
beneficial and advantageous unto it, in the further employ
ment and increase of English shipping and seamen, vent of
English woollen and other manufactures and commodities,
rendering the navigation to and from the same, more cheap
and safe, and making tiiis kingdom a staple, not only of the
commodities of these plantations, but also of the commodities
of other countries and places, for the supplying of them; and
it being the usage of other nations to keep their plantations'
trade to themselves. ,: — The statute then goes on to enact that
notning shall be imported or exported from the Colonies,
except from or to " England, Wales, or the Town of Berwick
ujion Tweed." It maybe imagined from the ardent character
of the speaker, what must have been the tone of his observa
tions on these ordinances. Mr. Adams says, that "some of
them appeared to 111c at the lime, young as 1 was, bitter."

24

OTIS'S STEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

r

for he w ,,q 1 constant1y recurred, where is the authority
lJehwu' assistance? After all the search that had been
made by all the members of the bar who had been employed
on c liter side, the only instance where the words could be
found was in a statute of the 13th and 14th of Charles the
to oc 'i the1 Ch T >ted b}' Mr' ,Gridle>' and Which °tis ^nied
to be either authority or precedent, or to have the least colour
ot either in America. Phe statute was entitled, "An act to
Prevent frauds, and regulating abuses in his maiesty's cus°
It I and m the ^ «ection, which had reference to j'ro-
h tinted or uncustomed goods being found on board of vessels
alter clearance or in any place on shore, it is provided for
the seizure of those goods, that, "it shall be lawful to or for
any person or persons, authorized by writ of assistance under
the sial of lus majesty's Court of Exchequer, to take a con
stable headborough, or other public officer, inhabiting near
unto the place, and ,11 the day time to enter, and go into any
house, shop, cellar, warehouse, or room, or other place and
in case of resistance, to break open doors, chests, trunks, and
o her package, there to seize and from thence bring, any kind
of goods or merchandize whatsoever prohibited and uncus
tomed, and to put and secure the same, in his majesty's s ore-
house 111 llie port next to the place where such seizure shall be
made. Another act was cited in connection with this that
was passed 1,1 the seventh and eighth of William the third
c.iap. 23d. to regulate the plantation trade. " — This statute
expressly recited the act before mentioned of Charles H
which it went to inforce, and that " like assistance " should be
given to the officers as in the act of Charles — the word assist
ance here occurs for the second, and last time, in any statute.
But in the former of these acts, and in the latter, if the
con.struct.on can be allowed to authorize a writ of assistance
hese writs were to be issued under the seal of the Court of
^chequer, and were returnable to it. Otis, after alluding to
both these acts, asked with triumphant confidence, "where is
thTcott°o, Kmil,eSty'SC°r1,01' Exchcn«CT. a"d> ^ »
t.ie Court of Exchequer to do here? " They had no warrant
from the Exchequer ,n England, and could not assume to have
any It could not be pretended that the Superior Court of
Judicature court of assize and general goal [gaol] delivery w
the Massachusetts Bay, had all the powers of the Court of Ex^

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

chequer in England and could issue warrants like that Court.
No custom house officer dared say it, or instruct his counsel
to say it. This Court, it is true, was invested with all the
power of the Court of King's bench, common pleas and
exchequer in England; but this power was given by a law of l_
the jirovincial legislature, by virtue of the powers vested in it j
by the charter. Yet neither Pfutchinson nor the other judges,
dared say that this Court was his majesty's court of exchequer,
because the principle would have been fatal to j^arliamentary
pretensions. Otis went still further than to deny the jurisdiction of the
court of exchequer; its warrants and writs were never seen
here, or if they were, would be only waste paper. Such a
"writ of assistance" he said, might become the reign of
Charles the second of England, and he would not dispute the
taste of the parliament of England in passing such an act, nor
the people of England in submitting to it; but it was not cal
culated for the meridian of this country. He insisted further,
that these warrants and writs were even in England incon
sistent with the fundamental laws, the natural and constitu- —
tional rights of the subjects. If, however, it would please the
jieople of England, he might admit that they were legal there,
but not here.
The case of the petitioners was attempted to be made out,
by a series of inferences and forced constructions of the most
sophistical kind; whenever they could find the word "writ "
or "continued" or "assistance" or the words "court of
exchequer," they produced the statute, though it might be in
express terms, "restricted to the realm." There were several
acts of this kind passed under the Stuart kings, which were
brought forward. Among these were, "an act for the regula
tion of the trade of Bay making, in the Dutch Hall in Col
chester " — and an "act for the regulating the making of
Kidderminster stuffs." There seems to have been no other
reason for citing these statutes than their having contained
permission "to enter, search, break open houses, shoj)s, cellars,
rooms, casks, boxes," &c. &c. and to seize and carry away
"certain obnoxious articles." These odious and violent
enactments, which have at all times perhaps, been too readily
passed in England, were yet limited to some particular manu
facture, which they were designed lo encourage. Many of

26 OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.
them were brought from different reigns, in which the rights
of the subject were treated with little ceremony, in favour of
establishing particular manufactures, and of destroying foreign
rivalship, yet all these acts were confined to the realm, and
their operation to very narrow limits within it. "The wit,
the humour, the irony, the satire played off, by Mr. Otis, in
his observations on these acts of navigation, Dutch Bays, and
Kidderminster stuffs," "it would be madness in me," says Mr.
Adams, " to pretend to remember with any accuracy. But I
do say, that Horace's frritat, mulcet, veris terroribus implet,
was never exemplified in my hearing with so great effect."
All the statutes were noticed from Charles II. to George III.
inclusive, that the crown officers thought could be made to
bear on the question. In the examination of these statutes,
and especially of those called the acts of trade, he illustrated
their spirit and tendency, by many references to Child, Gee,
Ashley, and Davenant, whose works on Trade, and the Colo
nies, were a commentary on these acts. He shewed by many
sound and striking observations, how unjust, oppressive, and
impracticable they were; that they never had been and never
could be executed; and asserted what must have then been
considered rather extravagant, though it was doubtless true,
"that if the King of Great Britain in person were encamped
on Boston Common, at the head of twenty thousand men, with
all his navy on our coast, he would not be able to execute these
laws. They would be resisted or eluded." When he came to
the consideration, of "an act for the better security and
encouraging the trade of his Majesty's sugar Colonies in
America," passed the 6th year of George II." which imposed
a very heavy duty on foreign sugar and molasses, and which
statute contains the following language; "we, your Majesty's
most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Great Britain,
assembled in parliament, have given and granted unto your
Majesty, the several and respective duties hereinafter men
tioned," he laid down maxims which thenceforward became
current enough. He demonstrated the importance of these two
articles of molasses and sugar, the former of which, especially,
was connected inseparably with the fisheries, with almost all
the commerce of the colony, as well as its manufactures and
agriculture, and he observed by calculation the great amount
of revenue that would be raised by it. He further advanced.

TUDOR'S VERSION OF OTIS'S SPEECH.

27

principles, that must have been heard by his audience with
very strong, but very different emotions, when "he asserted
this act to be a revenue law, a taxation law, made by a foreign
legislature, without our consent, and by a legislature who had
no feeling for us, and whose interest prompted them to tax us
to the quick.'1
The last ground taken by him in commenting on these later
acts of trade, was their incompatibility with the charter of the
Colony. He went over the history of the charters. " Neither
the first James nor Charles could be supposed to intend, that
Parliament, which they both hated more than they did the
Pope or the French king, should share with them in the gov
ernment of colonies instituted by their royal prerogative."
"Tom, Dick and Harry were not to censure them in their
council." Pym, Hampden, Sir Harry Vane and Cromwell,
did not surely wish to subject a country, which they sought as
an asylum, to the arbitrary jurisdiction of a country, from
which they wished to fly. Charles the second had learned by
dismal, doleful exyjerience, that parliaments were not to be
wholly despised. Pie therefore endeavoured to associate par
liament with himself, in his navigation act, and many otners
of his despotic projects, even in that of destroying by his
unlimited licentiousness and debauchery, the moral character
of the nation. In pointing out the violent infringement of
the charters, from Dummer's defence of the New England
charters, he bestowed many just praises on that excellent work.
In thus adverting to the history of the charters and the colony,
he fell naturally on the merit of its founders, in undertaking
so perilous, arduous, and almost desperate an enterprise; in
"disforesting bare creation"; in conciliating and necessarily
contending with Indian natives, in purchasing, rather than con
quering, a quarter of the globle [globe] at their own expeuse,
the sweat of their own brows, at the hazard and sacrifice of
their own lives; without the smallest aid, assistance or comfort
from the government of England, or from England itself as a
nation. On the contrary, meeting with constant jealousv,
envy, intrigue against their chatter, their religion, and all
their privileges. He reproached the nation, parliament, and
king with injustice, illiberal ity, ingratitude, and oppression
in their conduct towards this country, in a style of oratory that
I never heard equalled in this or any oilier country.

2S

OTIS'S SPEECH ON' WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

After toe close of his argument, the Court adjourned for
consideration, and at the close of the term, Chief Justice
Hutchinson pronounced the opinion: "The Court has con
sidered the subject of writs of assistance, and can see no
foundation for such a writ; but as the practise in England is
not known, it has been thought best to continue the question
to the next term, (hat in the mean time opportunity may be
given to know the result." * No cause in the annals of colo
nial jurisprudence had hitherto excited more public interest-
and none had given rise to such powerful arguments Wheii
the jirofound learning of the advocate, the powers of wit
fancy and pathos, with which he could copiously illustrate and
adorn that learning, and the ardent character of his eloquence
are considered; and that the disposition to serve his clients'
whose cause he had undertaken to defend gratuitously, was not
probably lessened by the instant conviction that his family had
witu a view to tins very cause, been injured by the appoint
ment of the presiding judge, and that his belief in the
importance of the subject must have been certainly enforced
by all the personal sacrifices he had made on this occasion
together with the obloquy and ill will of the people in power
which would follow his course; and, above all, a deep fore
sight of the meditated oppression and tyranny that would be
gratified by the success of this hateful application — when all
these circumstances are recalled, the power and magnificence
of this oration may be imagined. With a knowledge of the
topics that were involved, and the fearless energy with which
they were developed and elucidated, the time when it occurred
and the accompanying circumstances; every person will join
with 1 resident Adams when he says: "I do say in the most
solemn manner, that Mr. Otis' oration against writs of
assistance, breathed into this nation ihe breath of life."
* When the next term came, Mr. Adams says, " No inclement was nrn
nouiie,.,, noliMic; „lls said about writs of assistance. Bu Tit was -TenerX
«l>'»<<'t and nnde.Mond that the Court clandestinelv granted them" and ! 1 e
"The ¦ „ ' , llC'n '" Vly °m' instMte-" Minot's history savs,
•m I orilv v ¦ t H i"'m K™""1'1' and »*« to the court records fo
i in ',! In , ie oV,n0^ I0"" f° MVC the Pride of ""' admin-
Mi, lion and as nulling was aftenvaros heard of this odious instrument Presi-
cxeciae ,'1,™,/'"'"'""" 'S u,,,lu,aUon»l'ly «««ct. " «iat llicy never dared to

TUDOR'S CONCLUDING REMARK'S.

29

6. Tudor's concluding Remarks — Chapter VII.
In addition to the deep anxiety, which such a question as
that of "Writs of Assistance," involving so extensively, not
only pecuniary concerns, but political and civil rights, must
inevitably have created; this trial was also accompanied with
a peculiar interest, arising out of incidental circumstances of
a personal nature, some of which have been already mentioned.
There were others very striking. Otis was the pupil of Grid-
ley, for whose character he felt a high respect, and for whose
instruction he was sincerely grateful: and he never lost sight
of these feelings in the course of the trial. " It was, " says,
the venerable witness so often quoted, "a moral spectacle
more affecting to me than any I have ever since seen upon
the stage, to observe a pupil treating his master with all the
deference, respect, esteem and affection of a son to a father,
and that without the least affectation; while he baffled and
confounded all his authorities, confuted all his arguments,
and reduced him to silence ! " Nor was a suitable return want
ing on the j)art of the master. The same observer in another
place remarks; "The crown, by its agents, accumulated con
struction upon construction, and inference upon inference, as
the giants heaped Pelion upon Ossa. I hope it is not impious
or profane to compare Otis to Ovid's Jupiter; but, misso fttl-
minc fregit Olympian, et excttssit subjecto Pelio Ossam. He
dashed this whole building to pieces, and scattered the pul
verized atoms to the four winds; and no judge, lawyer, or
crown officer dared to say, why do ye so? "
"In plain English, by cool, patient comparison of the
phraseology of these statutes, their several provisions, the
dates of their enactments, the privileges of our charters,
the merits of the Colonists, ccc. he shewed the pretensions to
introduce the revenue acts, and these arbitrary and mechanical
Writs of Assistance, as an instrument for the execution of
them, to be so irrational ; by his wit he represented the attempt
as so ludicrous and ridiculous; and by his dignified reproba
tion of an impudent attempt to impose on the people of
America, he raised such a storm of indignation, that even
Hutchinson, who had been appointed on purpose to sanction
this writ, dared not utter a word in its favour, and Mr. Grid-
ley himself seemed to me to exult inwardly at the glory and
(triumph of his pupil."

V

OTIS'S SPEECH ON WRITS OF ASSISTANCE.

PoulicTnirn" ''ibliC af/ailS "lay be dated flom this trial.
i out.cal parties became more distinctly formed and their
s vei, i adheren Is weie more marked and cfecukd 'h^ ia c
o i, csHn„U,ar"1C r'n:'ll,ai0n beSan t0 be do«ely examined 1 e
So th?P,S "'r5 ' rCVem,e fuU* bussed '11
denied 'r P" hament to impose taxes was openly
ccnied. laxation without representation is tyranny " wn,
tie maxim, that was the guide and watch word of all t he WenS
of liberty, ihe crown officers and their follower adonted
at ^oiSdermr';, 10n3°f ^ ^ "^ «* P^™"
ana considering their power to be irresistible, appealed to the
to thenfeSarsf oiZ ^ ^l bC CXpeCtantS of ^™S£S
io tne tears ot all quiet and timid minds, to adopt a blind
took'the0^" ' fC, °nIy SafC °r reaS°»abie alternate. oTis
took the side of his country, and as has been shewn under
circumstances that made his decision irrevocable He was
o ,trtfd at,°n, C fr°m the ranks of P"vate life, not merely
to take the side, but to be the guide and leader of his co ,2
"Althou2"°n i" t0, the ^eSignS °f the BHtish minis'.
int S in'nnh , « 1damS' " Mn °tis bad never before
ion „ 2 ? bl,c affa,rs' his exertions on this single occa
sion , secured him a commanding popularity with the friends
of their country, and the terror and vengeance o her enemies
neither of which ever deserted hinJ -I^T SS^'.

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t-

COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.

No 34. — March, 1910.
EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL PAPERS
RELATING TO
THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
I5i5-1909.

CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.
1. 1515, Sept. 25. Balboa's Discovery, ... .2
2. 1554. Gomara on a Canal, .... 3
3. 1602. Champlain on a Canal, .... 5
4. 1 701. William Patcrson's Exposition, . 5
5. 1825. Humboldt's Observations, ... 6
6. 1827, Feb. 21. Goethe's Prophecy, .... 8
7. 1831, July 20. Secretary Livingston's Inquiry on
a Dutch Cession, ... .9
8. 1837, Jan. 9. President Jackson's Message to
Congress,  10
9. 1846, Dec. 12. Treaty with Neiv Granada, . . 11
10. 1848, Dec. 11. Memorial to Congress on the Pan
ama Railroad,  12
11. 1849. Squicr's Draft Treaty with Nic
aragua,  13
12. 1850, April 19. Clayton-Bulwcr Treaty, ... 14
13. 1867, June 21. Nicaraguan Treaty  IS
14. 1880, March 8. President Hayes's Declaration, 16

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

Reports on the Failure of the
Trench < '.¦iwi, 
President Zclaya's Message on
Nicaragua Canal 
llay-I'aitnccfotc Treaty, . .
"Spooncr Act" for a Panama
Canal, ...
llay-Uunau-VarilUi Treaty, .
President Roosevelt's Message on
the Republic of Panama,
Lock-Canal Act, . ...
Official Rcviciv of Five Years of
Progress on the Canal, . . .

i— J5J5, Sept. 25— Balboa's Dircovery.

IS.

1879- 1893.

16.

1898, Oct.

27-

17. 18.

1901, Nov.
1002, June

18.
28.

19.
20.

1903, Nov.
1904, Jan.

18. 4-

21.22.

1906, June
1909, May.

29.

17
20 21
212J -M
27
28

Fasciitis N mines * * * gathered an armye of a hundreth
fourescore and tenne men. * * * marched forwarde with his
armye towarde the mountaynes, by the conducte of certeyne
guydes and labourers which Poncha had gyuen hym, as well
to leade hym the way, as also to cary his baggages and open
the straightes through the desolate places and craggy rockes
full of the dennes of wylde beastes. * * * By the helpe
tfierfore of theyr guydes and labourers, with owre carpen
ters, he passed oner the horrible mountaynes and many greate
ryuers lyinge in the way, oner the which he made brydges
cjther with pyles or trunkes of trees. * * * From the pal-
aice of kyngc Poncha, to the prospect of the other south sea,
is only syxe dayes iorncy: the which ncuerthelesse by reaso
of many liynderances and chaunccs, and especially for lacke
of vylayles, he collide accomplyshe in noo lesse then. xxv.
dayes. Hut at the length, the seuenth daye of the calendes
ol October, he behcide with woonderinge eyes the toppes of
tin- hygh mountaynes shewed vnto hym by the guydes of
Quarcqiia, from the whiche he myght'see the other sea soo
longe looked for, und nctier scene before of any man com-
inynge owte of owre worlde. Approchinge therefore to the
toppes of the mountaynes, he commaunded his armye to
sky, and went him selfc alone to the toppe, as it were to take
the fyrst possession therof. Where, faulyiigc prostrate vppon
the groundc, ami raysinge hym selfe ageyne vpon his knees
as is the nianer of the Christians to pray, lyftynge vppe his

* I >

BALBOA'S DISCOVERY. 3
eyes and handes towarde heauen, and directinge his face
towarde the newe founde south sea, he poored foorth his
humble and deuout prayers before ahnyghtie God as a spirit
ual! sacrifice with thankes gyuing, that it had pleased his
dhiine maiestie to rcseruc vnto that day the victorie and
praise of so greate a thynge vnto hym, beinge a man but of
smaule witte and knowlcage, of lyttlc experience and base
parentage. When he had thus made his prayers after his
warlike mancr he beckened with his hande to his coompan-
ions to coome to hym, shewynge them the greate inavne sea
heretofore vnknowen to th[e] inhabitants of Europe,
Aphrike, and Asia. * * * he commaunded them to raise cer-
teine heapes of stones in the steedc of alters for a token of
possession. Then descendynge from the toppes of the moun
taynes, least such as might come after hym shulde argue
hym of lyinge or falshod, he wrote the kynge of Castellcs
name here and there on the barkes of the trees bothe on the
ryght hande and on the leftc: and rayserl heapes of stones
all the way that he went, vntyll he came to the region of
the nexte kynge towarde the south whose name was Chi-
apes. * * * Shortly after, by the conduct of Chiapes hvm
selfe, and certeyne of his men, departinge from the toppes
of the mountaynes, he came in the space of foure dayes to
the bankes of the newe sea: where assemblynge al his men
togyther with the kynges scribes and notaries, they ad
dicted al that maine sea with all the landes adjacent "there
vnto to the dominion and Empire of Castile.— The Decades
of the newe worlde * * * wryttcn * * * by Peter Murtvr of
Anglcria. and translated into Englysslic bv Rychardc Lidcn,
1555, folios 88-91. 2 — 1554— Gomara on a Canal.
Chap. OIL As to the passage which might be made in
order to go more quickly to the Moluccas.
So difficult and so long js the navigation lo the Moluccas
from Spain through the Strait of Magellan that, speaking
thereof many times with men familiar' with the Indies and
with others versed in history and of inquiring minds, we
have heard of a good passage, although a costly one. Which
would not only be an advantageous one, but honorable for
the maker of it, if it were made. This passage should be

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

CHAMPLAIN ON A CANAL.

made on the terra firma of the Indies opening from one sea
to another, through one of four parts. Either by the river of
Lagartos, which runs to the coast of the Nombre de Dios, ris
ing in Chagre, four leagues from Panama, which are tra
versed in a cart. Or by the channel from the lake of Nicar
agua, by which there ascend and descend great boats, and
the lake is not more than 3 or 4 leagues from the sea: by
either of these two rivers the passage is directed and half
made. Also there is another river from Vera Cruz to
Tecoantcpec, along which vessels take to and fro, from
one sea to another, the people of New Spain. From
Nombre de Dios to Panama it is 17 leagues, and from
the Gulf of Brava [Vraua] to the Gulf of San Miguel 25.
Which arc the two other parts, and the most difficult to open.
Mountains exist, but there are hands. Give me who has
the will lo do it, and it can be done. Let there be no lack
of courage and money will not be lacking, and the Indies,
wh'-re the thing is to be done, give this. Considering the
(rade in spices, considering the wealth of the Indies, and
for a King of Castile little is that which it is possible to do.
[This last sentence is ambiguous.] * * * If this passage
which we have spoken of were made, there would be cut off
a third part of the navigation. Those who went to the
Moluccas would go always thither from the Canaries, along
the Zodiac and through a climate free from cold, and
through territory of Castile without the opposition of ene
mies. Tt would be of advantage also for our own Indies, for
people would go to Peru and to other provinces in the same
vessels which they took from Spain, and so there would be
avoided much expenditure and labor. — Translated by J. D. M.
Ford from Francisco Lopez cle Goinara, La Historia Gen
eral Dclas Indias, 1554, folios 135-136.
3 — {602 — Champlain on a Canal.
Tn this place of Panama is collected all the gold and silver
which comes from Peru, and where it is embarked, with
other riches, upon a little river, which rises in the mountains,
and descends to Porto-bello ; which river is four leagues from
Panama, from whence all the gold, silver, and merchandise
must be conveyed on mules: and being embarked on the
said river, there are but eighteen leagues to Porto-bello.

¦1 »

One may judge that, if the four leagues of land which
there are from Panama to this river were cut through, one
might pass from the south sea to the ocean on the other side,
and thus shorten the route by more than fifteen hundred
leagues; and from Panama to the Straits of Magellan,
would be an island, and from Panama to the New-found-
lands would be another island, so that the whole of America
would be in two islands. — Samuel Champlain, Narrative of
a Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico, pp. 41-42.
4 — J 70 J — William Paterson's Exposition.
The first and most considerable of these places is the Isth
mus of America, * * * This country is in a great degree
mountainous, and in most places not easily passable, espe
cially from the north, to the south; and therefore it is that
in all this tract of land there is reckoned but four ordinary
passes between the one and the other sea, * * * The first
of the passes is that of the before-mentioned river of Chagre;
the which, although it be barred, as are almost all those up
on this coast by reason of the contrary or interfering winds,
tides, and currents, yet is not the bar such but that ships
of two or three hundred tons may go in and out; and, when
in, there is safe riding under a very strong and almost in
accessible castle. The convenience of the water carriage
of this river continues for about eighteen Spanish, or twen
ty-two French leagues, to a place called Venta Crucis. From
Vcnta Crucis to Panama, upon the South Sea, there is by
land about eight short French leagues, six whereof is so
level tiiat a canal might easily be cut through, and the other
two leagues are not so very high and impracticable ground,
but that a cut might likewise be made were it in these places
of the world, but, considering the present circumstances of
things in those, it would rut be so easy. However, in the
mean time, with no great pains and expense, a good and
passable way, not only for man and horse, as it already is,
but for carts, waggons, or other sort of carriage, might
easily be made.
The South Sea part of this pass, being that of Panama,
might also be made an excellent harbour as any in the
world, although, by the negligent and untoward management
of the Spaniards, it be not very convenient, and no ways

(5 THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
safe, had they but. the least apprehension of enemies in the
South Seas.— The U'ritings of William Paterson, Vol. I., pp.
140-141. 5 — J 825 — Humboldt's Observations.
The five points that present the practicability of a commun
ication from sea to sea, arc situated between the 5th and 18th
degrees of north latitude. * * * The isthmus of Nicaragua
and that of Cupica [Darien] have always appeared to me
the most favourable for the formation of canals of large
dimensions, * * * the trade of Europe and the United States
with the fur coast (between the mouth of the Co
lumbia and Cook river), with the Sandwich Islands, rich
in sandal wood, with India and China, * * * require[s] ships
of great tonnage, that admit of being heavily laden, natural
or artificial passes, of the mean depth of from 15 to 17 feet,
and an uninterrupted navigation, requiring no unloading of
the vessels. These conditions are indispensable, * * *
With respect to the mode of execution, on which I have
been recently consulted by well-informed persons belonging
to the new governments of Equinoxial America, I believe
that a joint stock association can only be formed when the
practicability of an oceanic canal capable of receiving ves
sels of three or four hundred tons, between the latitudes
7° and 18°, has been proved, and the ground fixed upon
and recognised. I shall abstain from discussing the ques
tion whether this ground "should form a separate repub
lic by the name oi Junctio.ua, dependant on the confeder
ation of the United States," as it has been recently pro
posed in England, by a man whose intentions are always the
most praiseworthy and disinterested. But whatever govern
ment may claim the soil on which the great junction canal of
the Ocean shall be established, the benefit of this hydraulic
work ought lo belting to every nation of both worlds who
shall have contributed to its execution by taking shares. * * *
\\ hen we study attentively the history of the commerce of
nations, wc observe that the direction of (he communica
tions with India has not been changed solely according to
the progress of geographical knowledge, or the improvement
of (lie art of navigation, but that the change of the seat of
civilization in the world has also powerfully contributed to

v «

HUMBOLDT'S OBSERVATIONS. 7
this effect. From the time of the Phenicians to that of the
British empire, the activity of commerce has been carried
progressively from east to west; from the eastern coast of
the Mediterranean to the western extremity of Europe. If
this change continues moving towards the west, which every
thing leads us to presume, the question on the preference
given to the way to India by the southern extremity of
Africa, will no longer be such as it now is. The canal of
Nicaragua affords additional advantages to ships going from
the mouth of the Mississippi, beyond what it promises to
those which take in their lading on the banks of the Thames.
In comparing the different routes round the Cape of Good
Hope, round Cape Horn, or across a cut of the isthmus of
central America, we must carefully distinguish between the
objects of trade, and the nations engaged in it. The prob
lem respecting the way presents itself in a manner altogether
different to an English merchant, and to an Anglo-American ;
as the problem regarding Chili, must be differently solved
by those who trade directly with India and China, or those
whose speculations are directed either towards northern Peru
and the western coast of Guatimala and Mexico, towards
China, after having visited the north-west coast of America,
or towards the fishery of Cachelot in the Pacific Ocean.
These three latter objects of the navigation of the nations
of Europe and of the United States, would be the most in
dubitably benefited by the cutting of an American isthmus.
* * * The comparison is much less favourable across cen
tral America, with respect to space and lime, for a direct
trade with India and China. * * * The principal and real
object of the opening of the isthin is is the prompt com
munication with the western coast of America, the voyage
from the Havannah, and the United States to Manilla, the
expeditions made from England and the Massachusets to
the fur-coast (north-west coast) or to the islands of the
Pacific Ocean, to visit afterwards the markets of Canton and
Macao. I shall add to these commercial considerations some politi
cal views on the effects which the projected junction of the
seas may produce. Such is the state of modern civilization,
that the trade of the world can undergo no great changes
that are not felt in the organization of society. If the pro
ject of cutting the isthmus that joins the two Americas,

8' THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
should succeed, Eastern Asia, at present insulated and secure
irom attack will inevitably enter into more intimate con
nections with the nations of European race which inhabit
the shores of the Atlantic. It may be said, that that neck
ot land against which the equinoxial current breaks, has
been tor ages the bulwark of the independence of China
and Japan. In penetrating farther into futurity, imagina
tion dwells upon the conflict between powerful nations, eager
to obtain exclusive advantages from the way opened to the
commerce of the two worlds. I confess f am not secured
from that apprehension either by my confidence in the mod
eration of monarchical or of republican governments, or by
the hope, somewhat shaken, of the progress of knowledge,
and the just appreciation of human interests. If I abstain
from discussing political events that are so distant, it is to
avoid flattering my reader with ideas of the free enjoyment
of what yet exists only in the wishes of some men interested
m the public good.— Alexander von Humboldt, Personal
Narrative of Travels, Vol. VI, part i, pp. 241, 245-248, 288-
6—1 827, Feb. 2 J— Goethe's Prophecy.
He spoke much, and with admiration, of Alexander von
Humboldt, whose work on Cuba and Columbia he had begun
to read, and whose views as to the project for making a pas
sage through the Isthmus of Panama appeared to have a par
ticular interest for him. "Humboldt", said Goethe, "has, with
great knowledge of his subject, given other points where
by making use of some streams which flow into the Gulf of
Mexico Ihe end may perhaps be better attained than at Pan
ama. All this is reserved for the future, and for an enter
prising spirit. So much, however, is certain, that if they
succeed in cutting such a canal that ships of any burden and
size can be navigated through it from the Mexican Gulf
to the lacific Ocean, innumerable benefits would result to
the whole human race, civilized and uncivilized. But I should
wonder if the United States were to let an opportunity es
cape of getting such work into their own hands. It may
i;c foreseen that this young slate, with its decided predilec
tion to the West, will, in ihniy „,- forty yearSj nave occupied
and peopled the large tract of land beyond the Rocky Moun
tains. It may, furthermore, be foreseen that along the whole

¦* *

" 9

GOETHE'S PROPHECY. 9
coast of the Pacific Ocean, where nature has already formed
the most capacious and secure harbours, important commer
cial towns will gradually arise, for the furtherance of a great
intercourse between China and the East Indies and the Uni
ted Slates. In such a case, it would not only be desirable,
but almost necessary, that a more rapid communication
should be maintained between the eastern and western shores
of North America, both by merchant-ships and men-of-war,
than has hitherto been possible with the tedious, disagree
able, and expensive voyage round Cape Horn. I therefore
repeat, that it is absolutely indispensable for the United
States to effect a passage from the Mexican Gulf to the Pa
cific Ocean ; and I am certain that they will do it.
"Would that I might live to see it! — but I shall not. I
.should like to see another thing — a junction of the Danube
and the Rhine. But this undertaking is so gigantic that 1
have doubts of its completion, particularly when I consider
our German resources. And thirdly, and lastly, I should
wish to see England in possession of a canal through the
Isthmus of Suez. Would 1 could live to see these three great
works ! it would well be worth the trouble to last some fifty
years more for the very purpose. — Conversations of Goethe
zvith Eckermann and Sorct (translated by John Oxenford),
pp. 222-223.
7—1831, July 20. — Secretary Livingston's Inquiry on a
Dutch Concession.
It is understood that a Dutch company are in negotiation
for the privilege of constructing a ship canal from the At
lantic to the Pacific oceans, through the river St. John and
the lakes Nicaragua and Leon, in the Province or" State of
Nicaragua. From the letter of Mr. Savage it would appear
that this privilege had been already granted, and that the
conditions are such as we should have no great reason to
complain of. But as his information, both as to the con
clusion of the act anil the conditions on which it is made,
may be erroneous, it is a matter of great solicitude with this
Government to be assured that, in this important concern,
its interests and its rights have not been neglected. You
will, therefore, make it one of your earliest concerns to as
certain whether any such privilage has been granted; and,

10 THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
should you find it to be the case, to procure an authentic
copy of' the act, and send duplicates by the first conveyances
to this Department. Should you find, on inspecting the act,
that particular privileges or facilities are given in the amount
of toll, tonnage, or other duties or charges, to the vessels
or merchandise of any foreign Power, greater than those
which the vessels or merchandise of the United States would
enjoy, by the terms of the act, in passing through the canal,
or' in the ports at its termination, you will immediately sig-
nify to the Government that the United States consider them
selves, by the terms of the treaty, as entitled to the same
advantages. Should the grant not be completed, you will endeavor to
procure for the citizens of the United Slates, or for the
Government itself, if Congress should deem the measure
constitutional and proper, the right of subscribing to the
stock; and you will, in either case, procure and transmit
such plans, estimates, and other information relative to the
projected work, as may enable us to judge of Us feasibility
and importance.— House Executive Documents, 25 Cong., 2
Scss., No. 228, pp. 25-26.
8— i 837, Jan. 9— President Jackson's Message
to Congress.
Immediately after the passage by the Senate, at a former
session, of the resolution requesting the President to con
sider the expediency of opening negotiations with the gov
ernments of other nations, and particularly with the Gov
ernments of Central America and New Granada, for the
purpose of effectually protecting, by equitable treaty stipula
tions with them, such individuals or companies as might un
dertake to open a communication between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans by the construction of a ship canal across the
isthmus which connects North and South America, and of
securing forever by such stipulations the free and equal right
of navigating such canal lo all such nations on the payment
of such reasonable tolls as ought to be established to com
pensate the capitalists who might engage in such under
taking and complete the work, an agent was employed to ob
tain information in respect to the situation and character of
the country through which the line of communication, it

¦V •

(

JACKSON'S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. n
established, would necessarily pass, and the state of the pro
jects which were understood to be contemplated for open
ing such communication by a canal or a railroad. The agent
returned to the United States in September last, and al
though the information collected by him is not as full as
could have been desired, yet it is sufficient to show that the
probability of an early execution of any of the projects
which have been set on foot for the construction of the
communication alluded to is not so great as to render it ex
pedient to open a negotiation at present with any foreign
government upon the subject— J. D. Richardson, Messages
and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. Ill, pp. 272-273.
9—1846, Dec. i 2— Treaty With New Granada.
Article XXXV. * * * The Government of New Granada
guarantees to the Government of the United States that the
right of way or transit across the Isthmus of Panama upon
aiiy modes of communication that now exist, or that may be
hereafter constructed, shall be open and free to the Govern
ment and citizens of the United States, and for the trans
portation of any articles of produce, manufactures or mer
chandise, of lawful commerce, belonging to the citizens of
the United States; that no other tolls or charges shall be
levied or collected upon the citizens of the United States,
or their said merchandise thus passing over any road or
canal that may be made by the Government of New Granada,
or by the authority of the same, than is, under like circum
stances, levied upon and collected from the Granadian citi
zens; that any lawful produce, manufactures or merchan
dise, belonging to citizens of the United States, thus pass
ing from one sea to the other, in either direction, for
the purpose of exportation to any other foreign country,
shall not be liable to any import-duties whatever : or, having
paid such duties, they shall be entitled to drawback upon
their exportation ; nor shall the citizens of the United States
be liable to any duties, tolls or charges of any kind, to
which native citizens are not subjected for thus passing the
said Isthmus. And, in order to secure to themselves the
tranquil and constant enjoyment of these advantages, and
as an especial compensation for the said advantages, * * * the
United States guarantee, positively and efficaciously, to New

12 THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
Granada, by the present stipulation, the perfect neutrality
of the before-mentioned isthmus, with the view that the free
transit from the one to the other sea may not be interrupted
or embarrassed in any future time while this treaty exists;
and, in consequence, the United States also guarantee, in the
same manner, the rights of sovereignty and property which
New Granada has and possesses over the said territory. —
Treaties and Conventions of the United Slates, pp. 204-205.
JO— 1 848, Dec. J 1— Memorial to Congress of William
H. Aspinwall and others on the Panama Railroad.
Impressed with the importance of this matter as involving
the prosperity of California and Oregon, and the welfare
of ail who are in any way connected with our citizens in
those territories; and regarding it as vitally affecting the
best interests of our government, in a political and pecuniary
point of view; and having under their control the maps,
drawings, and other information procured by the Pacific
Mail Company, your memorialists have secured to them
selves an exclusive grant or privilege for ninety-nine years,
from the republic of New Granada, for constructing a rail
road across the Isthmus of Panama ; and they come before
your honorable body to ask the co-operation and aid neces
sary for carrying out this great American work.
They beg leave to say, that its speedy completion by pri
vate enterprise alone, without the countenance of govern
ment, cannot be expected. Privilege after privilege, simi
lar lo (hat which they now hold, has been granted to others,
and all have failed. It docs not promise any immediate or
certain returns; and for complete and early success, it re
quires some engagement, for employment and compensation
by the government, as an inducement to capitalists
to unite with your memorialists in furnishing the necessary
means. * * *
Your memoralists * * * ask your co-operation * * * only
on the grounds — first, of economy and pecuniary saving to
the government in the transportation of men, munitions of
war, and naval stores, to our military and naval stations in
California and Oregon; and, second, on the higher and more
important political ground of being able, on an emergency,
and when occasion requires, to send reinforcements and sup-

* •

*¦ S

MEMORIAL ON THE PANAMA RAILROAD. 13
plies in less than thirty days, instead of six months, as re
quired to send them around Cape Horn or across the Rocky
mountains. They ask no advance of money towards the con
struction of the road, and no compensation until services
are performed; but they respectfully pray your honorable
body to empower and direct the Secretary of the Navy to
enter into a contract with your memoralists for the trans
portation on said road, for a period of twenty years, of naval
and army supplies, including troops, munitions of war, pro
visions, naval stores, the mails ol the United States, and
its public agents, at a sum not exceeding the amevnt now
specified by law to be paid for the transportation of the
mails alone from New York to Liverpool; provided, that
your memorialists shall within one year commence, and with
in three years complete, the construction of a railroad across
the isthmus of Panama, connecting the waters of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. -Senate Miscellaneous Documents, 30
Cong., 2 Scss., No. 1, pp. 3-4.
\\ — J 849— Squier's Draft Treaty with Nicaragua.
Article XXXV. It is stipulated by and between the high
contracting parties —
ist. * * * That the right of way or transit across the
territories of Nicaragua, by any route or upon any mode
of communication at present existing, or which may here
after be constructed, shall at all times be open and free
to the government and citizens of the United States, for
all lawful purposes whatever; and no tolls, duties, or
charges of any kind shall be imposed upon the transit, in
whole or part, by such modes of communication, of vessels
of war, or other property belonging to the government of
the United States, or on public mails sent under the author
ity of the same, or upon persons in its employ, nor upon
citizens of the United States, nor upon vessels belonging to
them. * * *
2d. And inasmuch as a contract was entered into on the
twenty-seventh day of August, 1849. between the republic
of Nicaragua and a company of citizens of the United States,
styled the 'American Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Com
pany,' and in order to secure the construction and perman
ence of the great work thereby contemplated, both high con-

r4

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

I \Z 7/ i'CS ° scvc,ra">r and J'"i'itly agree to protect and
in 'n f abo,ve-"am«1 company in the full and perfect en-
jo muit of said work from its inception to its completion, and
aitci its completion, from any acts of invasion, forfeiture, or
violence, from whatever quarter the same may proceed; and to
give mb effect to the stipulations here made, and to secure
tor the benefit of mankind the uninterrupted advantages of
such communication from sea to sea, the United State's dis
tillery recognizes the rights of sovereignty and property
winch he State of Nicaragua possesses in and over the line
ot said canal, and for the same reason guarantees, posi-
ively and efficaciously, the entire neutrality of the same so
ong as it shall remain under the control of citizens of 'the
Uuted States, and so long as the United States shall enjoy
the privileges secured to them in the preceding section' of
this article. * * * &
4th. And it is also agreed, on the part of the republic
of fNicaragua, that none of the rights, privileges, and im
munities guaranteed, and by the preceding articles, but es
pecially by the first section of this article, conceded to the
United States and its citizens, shall accrue to any other na
tion, or to its citizens, except such nation shall first enter
into the same treaty stipulations, for the defence and pro
tection of the proposed great interoceanic canal, which have
been entered into by the United States, in terms the same
with those embraced in section 2d of this article.— E G
Squier, Nicaragua, pp. 684-685.
12— J 850, April J 9— Clayton-Bulwer Treaty.
Article I. The Governments of the United States and
Crcat Britain hereby declare that neither the one nor the
other will ever obtain or maintain for itself any exclusive
control over the said ship canal; agreeing that neither will
ever erect or maintain any fortifications commanding the
same, or 111 the vicinity thereof, or occupy, or fortify, or
colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, the Mosquito coast, or any part of Central Amer
ica; „or will either make use of any protection which either
affords or may afford, or any alliance which cither has or
may have to or will, any Stale or people for the purpose of
erecting or maintaining any such fortifications, or of occupy-

CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY.

i5

ing, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the
Mosquito coast, or any part of Central America, or of assum
ing or exercising dominion over the same; nor will the Uni
ted States or Great Britain take advantage of any intimacy,
or use any alliance, connection, or influence that either may
possess, with any State or Government through whose terri
tory the said canal may pass, for the purpose of acquiring or
holding, directly or indirectly, for the citizens or subjects
of the one any rights or advantages in regard to commerce
or navigation through the said canal which shall not be
offered on the same terms to the citizens or subjects of the
other. * * *
Article V. The contracting parties further engage that
when the said canal shall have been completed they will pro
tect it from interruption, seizure, or unjust confiscation, and
that they will guarantee the neutrality thereof, so that the
said canal may forever be open and free, and the capital in
vested therein secure. — Treaties and Conventions of the Uni
ted States, pp. 441-442.
i3—i 867, June 7\ — Nicaraguan Treaty.
Article XIV. The Republic of Nicaragua hereby grants
to the United States, and to their citizens and property, the
right of transit between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
through the territory of that Republic, on any route of com
munication, natural or artificial, whether by land or by water,
which may now or hereafter exist or be constructed under
the authority of Nicaragua, to be used and enjoyed in the
same manner and upon equal terms by both Republics and
their respective citizens; the Republic of Nicaragua, how
ever, reserving its rights of sovereignty over the same.
Article XV. The United States hereby agree to extend
their protection to all such routes of communication as afore
said, and to guarantee the neutrality and innocent use of the
same. They also agree to employ their influence with other
nations to induce them to guarantee such neutrality and pro
tection. And the Republic of Nicaragua, on its part, undertakes to
establish one free port at each extremity of one of the afore
said routes of communication between the Atlantic and Pa
cific Oceans. * * * The United States shall also be at liberty,

i6

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

PRESIDENT HAYES'S DECLARATION.

17

V ¦«

on giving notice lo the Government or authorities of Nic
aragua, to carry troops and munitions of war in their own
vessels, or otherwise, to cither Or said free ports, and shall
be entitled to their conveyance between them without ob
struction by said Government or authorities, and without
anv charges or tolls whatever for their transportation on
cither of said routes ; provided said troops and munitions of
war are not intended to be employed against Central Ameri
can nations friendly to Nicaragua. — Treaties and Conven
tions of the United States, p. 784.
14— 1 880, March 8— President Hayes's Declaration.
The policy of this country is a canal under American con
trol. The United States can not consent to the surrender
of this control to any European power or to any combination
of European powers. If existing treaties between the Uni
ted States and other nations or if the rights of sovereignty
or property of other nations stand in the way of this policy
— a contingency which is not apprehended — suitable steps
should be taken by just and liberal negotiations to promote
and establish the American policy on this subject consis
tently with the rights of the nations to be affected by it.
The capital invested by corporations or citizens of other
countries in such an enterprise must in a great degree look
for protection to one or. more of the great powers of the
worid. No European power can intervene for such protec
tion without adopting measures on this continent which the
United States would deem wholly inadmissible. If the pro
tection of the United States is relied upon, the United States
must exercise such control as will enable this country to
protect its national interests and maintain the rights of
those whose private capital is embarked in the work.
An interoceanic canal across the American Isthmus will
essentially change the geographical relations between the At
lantic and Pacific coasts o<f the United States and between
the United States and the rest of the world. It would be
the great ocean thoroughfare between our Atlantic and our
Pacific shores, and virtually a part of the coast line of the
United States. Our merely commercial interest in it is great
er than that of all other countries, while its relations to our
power and prosperity as a nation, to our means of defense,

V

our unity, peace, and safety, are matters of paramount con
cern to the people of the United States. No other great
power would under similar circumstances fail to assert a
rightful control over a work so closely and vitally affecting
its interest and welfare.— J. D. Richardson, Messages and
Papers of the Presidents, Vol. VII., pp. 585"586-
J5— -J879-1 893— Reports on the Failure of the French
Canal.
The Congress of 1879 had calculated that the time for
the finishing of the [sea-level] Canal would be at least twelve
years, and it fixed the probable expense of the undertaking
at $214,000,000. Supposing that the interest on capital dur
ing construction amounted to $26,000,000, there would be a
total expenditure of $240,000,000.
Mr. De Lesseps, in the beginning of the year 1880, went
to the Isthmus of Panama with a company of engineers for
the purpose of completing the surveys which had been sub
mitted the preceding year to the International Congress. The
estimate of the construction work proper authorized by this
Commission amounted to $166,800,000. _
At the same time this Commission expressed the opinion
that with good and judicious organization the work might
be concluded in eight years. Mr. De Lesseps believed it to
be possible to reduce this estimate of expenditures.
It was under these conditions that the work was commenced
in 1881. After employing two or three years in making
more careful and thorough surveys, and in preparatory work,
the real difficulties of the undertaking began to be under
stood. It must be remembered that everything had to be created,
at an enormous expense and very slowly, in a country entire
ly lacking in natural resources, and situated at a great dis
tance from the source of supplies.
It must be recalled, also, that there had been great want
of foresight, in proportion to the importance of the work,
and this explains the grave consequence which ensued. Not
withstanding the existence of the Panama Railroad along the
line of the Canal at nearly every portion of it, the first in
stallation was extremely tedious ami costly. Finally it was
necessary to construct a large number of buildings to house

i8

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

v A

about 15,000 employees and workmen; hospitals, stores and
workshops had to be erected. All of this plant and the
preparation of the equipment had already cost enormous
sums, and required a considerable length of time before the
actual excavation of the work could be commenced. These
special difficulties everywhere encountered in the Isthmus
were inevitable. It was then impossible to find proper work
men in the neighborhood of the work. Considerable effort
was necessary to obtain laborers from other countries and
bring them to the Isthmus, and, in proportion as the work
grew in extent, salaries increased, as well as the cost of
everything. At that time the unhcalthfulness of the climate, due, in
a large measure, to the excavation and uplifting of the sur
face of the ground, also interfered with the progress oi
the work.
* * * It is, of course, impossible to enter here into the de
tails of the work done by the old Company. It is sufficient
to know that, when the old Company at length decided to
build a lock canal, it was financially impossible to do so, be
cause its credit was so greatly impaired that it could not
obtain the necessary financial support. In 1889, a Receiver
was appointed by the French Court and with unlimited pow
ers—particularly to transfer or to assign to any new Com
pany, all or any portion of the Company's assets.
The receipts of the old Company from the sale of its bonds
and stock amounted, in round figures, to $260,000,000. * * *
These figures arc most suggestive. They show, in the first
place, that the expenditures actually made upon the Isth
mus amounted to $156,400,000, and that, of this, the cost of
c.vcavation and embankment, proper, amounted to $88,600,000.
In the second place, the reports show the great importance of
expenditures incidental to and connected with the work. No
doubt such last-mentioned expenses were to some degree ex
travagant, but, nevertheless, it must be admitted that, for the
most part, they were necessary and will be utilized in the
completion of the work by the new Company. * * *
The facts just given are deduced from statements made
by a special Commission appointed by the Receiver of^ the
oid Company. In all its appraisals and valuations this Com
mission has evinced extreme discrimination and fairness.
After having made these statements, this Commission de-

)

REPORTS ON FAILURE OF FRENCH CANAL. 19
sired to determine the actual value of what had been done
by the old Company, and upon this point states:
"The enormous amount of material at hand ready to be
utilized, the great number of works established, lauds re
ceived and to be received, labor actually expended, experi
ence gained, supplies laid in, preliminaries mapped out, in
cluding the right of way, are worth to the new Company
at least 450,000,000 francs" ($90,000,000). — The New Pan
ama Canal Company, pp. 7-10.
The Panama enterprise, considered especially from the
financial point of view, has been conducted most deplorably.
Its emissions, amounting to not less than 1,335,565,000 francs,
have been placed by means of statements always and inten
tionally erroneous. This enormous capital has been far from
reaching its proper destination, and in employing it tlT* com
pany has surrendered itself to uncxcusable extravagances.
* * * The prodigalities of the company have gone more
particularly to the entrepreneurs, the financiers, and the press.
Thanks to contracts badly framed, repeatedly changed, and
obtained for the most part by means of large commissions,
the contractors have realized excessive profits. The finan
ciers have received large sums out of all proportion to the
services rendered. They imposed themselves on the Panama
Company, and not content with the legitimate remunerations
which they might have claimed for the services they render
ed, they have exacted much more, so much that, to satisfy
them, it has been necessary to have recourse to very unusual
financial proceedings, and notably to fictitious syndicates.
These have given the administration of Panama the oppor
tunity to pay for assistance poorly defined and to certain
financiers the means to force consent to allowances entirely
unjustified. The press has had its share in all these lar-
gresses : it has not had the same exigencies as the financiers
nor the same profits; but it has not contributed less to mis
leading public opinion, by receiving too readily in return for
money, and in inserting without sufficient verification, the
information and documents from the Panama Company,
which had both the object and effect of getting money from
too credulous subscribers.
Concerning the accusation of corruption in Parliament
* * * it js jn evidence that certain members received

20 THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
from M. de Rcinach money which they knew came from
Panama. Prosecution was abandoned solely because "there
is not otherwise established against X  any connection
between his vote in 1888 and the delivery of the check."
This suffices to prevent a criminal condemnation; but it
leaves, nevertheless, evidence of the gratuitous sending of
sums by the Panama Company to political men, called in
the exercise of their duty to vote on a request of the com
pany submitted to Parliament.
Translated from Rapport fait au nom de la Commission
d'enqucte * * * sur les * * * affaires de Panama, 236-238, 244.
J 6 — 1898, Oct. 27— President Zelaya's Message on the
Nicaragua Canal.
In the first place, a report will be laid before you of a
promise of a contract for the construction of an international
canal through our isthmus with Messrs. Edward F. Cragin
and Edward Eyre, representing a reputable syndicate of
North American capitalists.
The clear and well-defined opinion of the Government is
that the Cardenas-Menocal contract, which was concluded
March 23, 1887, has become null and void owing to the lack
of fulfillment of its most essential clauses and the abandon
ment of the work for nine consecutive years; but being de
sirous to avoid troublesome discussions which might give rise
to difficulties, owing to the rancorous feelings which are
likely to arise when one's interest is at stake, it has held
aloof therefrom, and has preferred not to declare the afore
said contract null and void, and to give Messrs. Cragin and
Eyre a promise that is not to be made good until the alleged
rights of the previous contractors have been cleared away
or declared to be void.
The promise made to Messrs. Cragin and Eyre has been-
made in full confidence that dealings were being had with
a well-organized and strong company, which has many ele
ments of power and abundant capital, as it has conclusively
shown by the signatures of sundry influential men who rec
ommend it and by the deposit of $too,ooo in gold which it
will make in the general treasury three days after the prom
ise shall have been ratified.— Senate Documents, 56 Cong., 1
Sess., No. 50, p. 160.

1

¦4'

? *

HAY-PAUNCEFOTE TREATY. 21
J7 — J90J, Nov. 18.— Hay-Pauncefote Treaty,
Article I. The High Contracting Parties agree that the
present Treaty shall supersede the afore-mentioned Conven
tion of the 19th April, 1850.
Article If. It is agreed that the canal may be constructed
under the auspices of the Government of the United States,
either directly at its own cost, or by gift or loan of money
to individuals or Corporations, or through subscription to
or purchase of stock or shares, and that, subject to the pro
visions of the present Treaty, the said Government shall have
and enjoy all the rights incident to such construction, as well
as the exclusive right of providing for the regulation and
management of the canal.
Article III. The United States adopts, as the basis of the
neutralization of such ship canal, the following Rules, sub
stantially as embodied in the Convention of Constantinople,
signed the 28th October, 1888, for the free navigation of the
Suez Canal, that is to say :
1. The canal shall be free and open to the vessels of com
merce and of war of all nations observing these Rules, on
terms of entire equality, so that there shall be no discrimina
tion against any such nation, or its citizens or subjects, in
respect of the conditions or charges of traffic, or otherwise.
Such conditions and charges of traffic shall be just and equit
able. 2. The canal shall never be blockaded, nor shall any right
of war be exercised nor any act of hostility he committed
within it. The United States, however, shall be at liberty
to maintain such military police along the canal as may be
necessary to protect it against lawlessness and disorder. —
United States Treaties in Force (1904), p. 381.
i 8— J 902, June 28.— "Spooner Act" on a Panama Canal.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That
the President of the United States is hereby authorized to
acquire, for and on behalf of the United States, at a cost
not exceeding forty million of dollars, the rights, privi
leges, franchises, concessions, grants of land, right of way,
unfinished work, plants, and other property, real, personal,

22 THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
and mixed, of every name and nature, owned by the New
Panama Canal Company, of France, on the Isthmus of Pan
ama, and all its maps, plans, drawings, records on the Isth
mus of Panama and in Paris, including all the capital stock,
not less, however, than sixty-eight thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three shares of the Panama Railroad Company,
owned by or held for the use of said canal company, pro
vided a satisfactory title to all of said property can be ob
tained. Sec. 2. That the President is hereby authorized to ac
quire from ihe Republic of Colombia, for and on behalf
of the United States, upon such terms as he may deem rea
sonable, perpetual control of a strip of land, the territory
of the Republic of Colombia, not less than six miles in
width, extending from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific
Ocean, and the right to use and dispose of the waters there
on, and to excavate, construct, and to perpetually maintain,
operate, and protect Ihereon a canal, of such depth and ca
pacity as will afford convenient passage of ships of the great
est tonnage and draft now in use, from the Caribbean Sea
to the Pacific Ocean, which control shall include the right
to perpetually maintain and operate the Panama Railroad,
if the ownership thereof, or a controlling interest therein,
shall have been acquired by the United States, and also juris
diction over said strip and the ports at the ends thereof to
make such police and sanitary rules and regulations as shall
be necessary to preserve order and preserve" the public health
(hereon, and to establish such judicial tribunals as may be
agreed upon theron as may be necessary to enforce such
rules and regulations. * * *
Sec. 4. That should the President be unable to obtain
for the United States a satisfactory title to the property of
the New Panama Canal Company and the control of the
necessary territory of the Republic of Colombia and the
rights mentioned in sections one and two of this Act, within
a reasonable time and upon reasonable terms, then the Presi
dent, having first obtained for the United States perpetual
control by treaty of the necessary territory from Costa Rica
and Nicaragua, upon terms which he may consider reason
able, for the construction, perpetual maintenance, operation,
and protection of a canal connecting the Caribbean Sea with
the Pacific Ocean by what is commonly known as the Nic-

"SPOONER ACT" ON A PANAMA CANAL.

23

»- *

aragua route, shall through the said Isthmian Canal Commis
sion cause to be excavated and constructed a ship canal and
waterway from a point on the shore of the Caribbean Sea
near Greytown, by way of Lake Nicaragua, to a point near
I'.rito on the Pacific Ocean.— Statutes at Large, Vol. XX!
pp. 481-482.

XXXIL,

? 4

J 9— 1903, Nov. J8-Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty.
Article I. The United States guarantees and will main
tain the independence of the Republic of Panama.
Article II. The Republic of Panama grants to the United
States in perpetuity the use, occupation and control of a
zone of land and land under water for the construction,
maintenance, operation, sanitation and protection of said
Canal of the width of ten miles extending to the distance of
five miles on each side of the center line of the route of the
Canal to be constructed; * * * with the proviso that the cities
of Panama and Colon and the harbors adjacent to said cities
which are included within the boundaries of the zone above
described, shall not be included within this grant. The Re
public of Panama further grants to the United States in
perpetuity the use, occupation and control of any other lands
and waters outside of the zone above described which may
be necessary and convenient for the construction, mainte
nance, operation, sanitation and protection of the said Canal
or of any auxiliary canals or other works necessary and
convenient for the construction, maintenance, operation, san
itation and protection of the said enterprise. * * *
Article V. The Republic of Panama grants to the Uni
ted States in perpetuity a monopoly for the construction,
maintenance and operation of any system of communication
by means of canal or railroad across its territory between
the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific ocean * * *
Article VII. * * * The Republic of Panama agrees that the
cities of Panama and Colon shall comply in perpetuity with
the sanitary ordinances whether of a preventative or curative
character prescribed by the United States and in case the
Government of Panama is unable or fails in its duty to en
force this compliance by the cities of Panama and Colon
with the sanitary ordinances of the United States the Re-

24

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

public of Panama giants to the United States the right and
authority to enforce the same.
The same right and authority are granted to the United
States for the maintenance of public order in the cities of
Panama and Colon ami the territories and harbors adjacent
thereto in case the Republic of Panama should not be, in
the judgment of the United States, able to maintain such
order. * * * .
Article XIV. As the price or compensation for the rights,
powers and privileges granted in this convention by the Re
public of Panama 'to the United States, the Government of
the United Slates agrees to pay to the Republic of Panama
the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in gold coin of
the United States on the exchange of the ratification of
this convention and also an annual payment during the life
of this convention of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
($250,000) in like gold coin, beginning nine years after the
date aforesaid. * * *
Article XXIII. If it should be necessary at any time to
employ armed forces for the safety or protection of the
Canal, or of the ships that make use of the same, or the rail
ways and auxiliary works, the United States shall have the
right, at all times and in its discretion, to use its police and
its land and naval forces or to establish fortifications for
these purposes.— United States Treaties in Force (1904), pp.
609-616. 20— 1904, Jan. 4— President Roosevelt's Message on
the Republic of Panama.
When this Government submitted to Colombia the Hay-
Herran treaty three things were, therefore, already settled.
One was that the canal should be built. The time for de
lay, the time for permitting the attempt to be made by private
enterprise, the time for permitting any government of anti
social spirit and of imperfect development to bar the work,
was past. The United States had assumed in connection
with the canal certain responsibilities not only to its own
people, but to the civilized world, which imperatively de
manded that there should no longer be delay in beginning
the work.
Second. While it was settled that the canal should be
built without unnecessary or improper delay, it was no less

ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE ON PANAMA.

25

clearly shown to be our purpose to deal not merely in a
spirit of justice but in a spirit of generosity with the people
through whose land we might build it. * * * It is plain
that no nation could construct and guarantee the neutrality
of (he canal with a less degree of control than was stipulated
for in the Hay-Hcrran treaty. A refusal to grant such
degree of control was necessarily a refusal to make any prac
ticable treaty at all. Such refusal therefore squarely raised
the question whether Colombia was entitled to bar the tran
sit of the world's traffic across the Isthmus. * * *
Third. Finally the Congress definitely settled where the
canal was to be built. * ""* * As events turned out, the
question of "reasonable time" did not enter into the matter
at all. Although, as the months went by, it became increas
ingly improbable that the Colombian Congress would ratify
the treat)' or take steps which would be equivalent thereto,
yet all chance for such action on their part did not vanish
until the Congress closed at the end of October; and within
three days thereafter the revolution in Panama had broken
out. Panama became an independent State, and the control
of the territory necessary for building the canal then became
obtainable. The condition under which alone we could have
gone to Nicaragua thereby became impossible of fulfill
ment. * * *
I hesitate to refer (<i Hie injurious insinuations wliich have
been made of complicity by this Government in the revolu
tionary movement in Panama. They are as destitute of foun
dation as of propriety. The only excuse for my mentioning
them is the fear lest unthinking persons might mistake for
acquiescence the silence of mere self-respect. I think proper
to say, therefore, that no one connected with this Govern
ment had any part in preparing, inciting, or encouraging the
late revolution pn the Isthmus of Panama, and that save from
the reports of our military and naval officers, * * * no one
connected with this Government had any previous knowl
edge of the revolution except such as was accessible to
any person of ordinary intelligence who read the newspapers
and kept up a current acquaintance with public affairs.
By the unanimous action of its people, without the firing
of a shot — with a unanimity hardly before recorded in any
similar case — the people of Panama declared themselves an
independent republic. Their recognition by this Government

26

THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.

was based upon a state of facts in no way dependent for its
justification upon our action in ordinary cases. * * * These
reasons embrace, first, our treaty rights; second, our na
tional interests and safety; and, third, the interests of col
lective civilization.
I have already adverted to the treaty of 1846, * * * That
our wise and patriotic ancestors, with all their dread of en
tangling alliances, would have entered into a treaty with
New Granada solely or even primarily for the purpose of
enabling that remnant of the original Republic of Colombia
* * * to continue from Bogota to rule over the Isthmus of
Panama, is a conception that would in itself be incredible,
even if the contrary did not clearly appear. * * * The
great design of the article was to assure the dedication of the
Isthmus to the purposes of free and unobstructed inter
oceanic transit, the consummation of which would be found
in an interoceanic canal. To the accomplishment of this ob
ject the Government of the United States had for years
directed its diplomacy. * * *
This recognition was, in the second place, further justi
fied by the highest considerations of our national interests
and safety. In all the range of our international relations, I
do not hesitate to affirm that there is nothing of greater or
more pressing importance than the construction of an inter
oceanic canal. * * * The events of the past five years have
given to this consideration an importance immeasurably
greater than it possessed in 1846. In the light of our pres
ent situation, the establishment of easy and speedy communi
cation by sea between the Atlantic and the Pacific presents
itself not simply as something to be desired, but as an object
to be positively and promptly attained. Reasons of conven
ience have been superseded by reasons of vital necessity,
which do not admit of indefinite delays.
To such delays the rejection by Colombia of the Hay-PIer-
ran treaty directly exposed us. As proof of this fact I need
only refer to the programme outlined in the report of the ma
jority of the Panama Canal committee, read in the Colombian
Senate on the 14II1 of October last. In this report, which
recommended that the discussion of a law to authorize the
Government to enter upon new negotiations should be in
definitely postponed, it is proposed that the consideration of
the subject should be deferred till October 31, 1904, when

* *

s- 4

ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE ON PANAMA. 27
the next Colombian Congress should have met in ordinary
session. By that time, as the report goes on to say, the ex
tension of time granted to the New Panama Canal Company
by treaty in 1893 would have expired, and the new Congress
would be in a position to take up the question whether the
company had not, in spite of further extensions that had
been granted by legislative acts, forfeited all its property and
rights. When that times arrives," the report significantly
declares, the Republic, without any impediment, will he able
to contract, and will be in more clear, more definite, and
more advantageous possession, both legally and materially."
the naked meaning of this report is that Colombia proposed
to wait until, by the enforcement of a forfeiture repugnant
to the ideas of justice which obtain in every civilized na
tion, the property and rights of the New Panama Canal
Company chould be confiscated.
Such is the scheme to which it was proposed that the Uni
ted states should be invited to. become a party. The con
struction of the canal was to b'e relegated to "the indefinite
future, while Colombia was, by reason of her own delay to
be placed in the "more advantageous" position of claiming
not merely the compensation to be paid by the United States
for the privilege of completing the canal, but also the forty
millions authorized by the act of 1902 to be paid for the
property of the New Panama Canal Company. * * *
In the third place, I confidently maintain that the recog
nition of the Republic of Panama was an act justified by tlic
interests of collective civilization. If ever a Government
could be said to have received a mandate from civilization
to effect an object the accomplishment of which was demand
ed in the interest of mankind, the United States holds that
position with regard to the interoceanic canal. * * * That
our position as the mandatory of civilization has been by
no means misconceived is shown by the promptitude with
which the powers have, one after another, followed our lead
111 recognizing Panama as an independent State.— Foreiqn
Relations, 1903, pp. 261-263, 272-276.
21-1906, June 29-Lock-Canal Act.
Be il enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
"I the United States of America in Congress assembled,

28

THE IS Tim I AN CANAL.

1 hat a lock-canal he constructed across the Isthmus of Pan
ama connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans,
of the general type proposed by the minority of the Board of
Consulting Engineers, created by order of the "President
datetl January twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and five, in
pursuance of an Act entitled "An Act to provide for the con
struction of a canal connecting the waters of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans," approved June twenty-eighth, nineteen
hundred and two.— Statutes at Large, Vol. XXXIV., p. 611.
22—1909, May— Official Review of Five Years of
Progress on the Canal.
It was perceived by the American Commission at the outset
that the word divided itself naturally into two stages: First,
that of preparation; and second, that of actual construction.
J he first covered a period of about two and a half years.
All energies were devoted during that time to making the
Isthmus healthy by thorough sanitation; to accumulating and
organizing a working force and providing for it houses and
a food supply; to assembling a plant with which to do the
work of construction; to enlarging the existing railway sys
tem so as to make it adequate, and to establishing a system
of civil government for the Zone. * * *
The plan of this Canal, with several changes which have
since been ordered by the President and adopted by the Com
mission, provides :
A channel, 500 feet wide at sea level, will lead from deep
water in Limou Bay to Gatun, a distance of 6.76 miles. At
Gatun a dam V/\ miles long and 115 feet high will impound
the waters of the Chagres River in a lake, the normal level
of which will he 85 feet above mean sea-level. A flight of
three twin locks, each 1,000 feet long, no feet wide, and al
lowing for 41^ feet of water over the sills, will raise ves
sels from sea-level to the lake, or lower them from the lake
to the sea-level channel. From Gatun navigation will be
through the lake in a channel from 1,000 feet to 500 feet wide
for a distance of 23.59 miles, to Bas Obispo, where Cule-
bi-a Cut begins. The channel through the Continental Di
vide, from lias Obispo to Pedro Miguel, a distance of 8.11
miles, will be 300 feet wide, and the surface of the water
will i«e at Ihe lake level. At Pedro Miguel vessels will be

OFFICIAL REVIEW OF PROGRESS ON CANAL. 29
lowered from the 85-foot level to a small lake at 55 feet
above sea-level, in twin locks of one flight. A channel 500
feet wide and 0.97 miles long will lead to Miraflores locks,
where the descent to sea-level will be made in twin locks of
two flights. The locks at Pedro Miguel and Miraflorcs will
be of the same dimensions as those at Gatun. From Mira
flores to deep water in Panama Bay, a distance of 8.31 miles,
the channel will be 500 feet wide, and 45 feet deep at mean
tide. * * *
A total of 73,124,849 cubic yards had been taken out up
to May 1, 1909, and it is estimated that there yet remains to
he excavated 101,541,746 cubic yards. In the month of
March, 1909, more material was excavated than during the
first two years of work under American occupation. The
rate at which the remainder will be done should be judged by
the average for the year 1908, rather than the average for
the five years. Conditions as to equipment, labor, and ex
perience will remain practically the same, until the comple
tion of the Canal, as they were in 1908, but it will be more
difficult to excavate in the lower cuts of the Culcbra Cut, and
for the dredges to take out the rock near the bottom of the
Atlantic and Pacific entrances. * * *
It was recognized at the outset that the Panama Canal
could not be built by Americans unless the Canal Zone was
first made healthy in order that Americans could live here
with reasonable safety. So long as health conditions were
bad it would be impossible to recruit a stable labor force,
not only on account of actual conditions, but also because the
Isthmus of Panama had been given a world-wide reputation
for tinhealthfulness during the construction of the Panama
railroad and the work of the French on the canal. * * *
As the representative of the Commission on the Isthmus,
Gen. George W. Davis, Governor of the Canal Zone, issued
an order 011 June 30, 1904, announcing the organization of
the Sanitary Department, with Colonel Gorgas as its
head. * * *
The public health work has included three branches pe
culiar to the tropics — eradicating yellow fever, controlling
malaria, and, by means of rigid quarantine, keeping the Isth
mus free from bubonic, yellow fever, cholera, and small
pox. Yellow fever and malaria arc carried from one person
to another by mosquitoes, and the conditions in the cities

30 THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.
of Panama and Colon, and in the Canal Zone villages were
favorable to the breeding of mosquitoes. Stagnant water
stood in streets and yards, water for home use was peddled
from house to house and was kept in barrels and other open
containers, underbrush was allowed to grow unchecked, and
there was no general understanding among the inhabitants
that the breeding of mosquitoes was a menace to health.
* * * The last case [of yellow fever] in the city of Pan
ama developed on November il, and the last in Colon, on
December u, 1905. In all there were 246 cases in 1904 and
1905, and 84 deaths. Of this number 134 were among Com
mission employes.
The disease had been confined to the cities of Panama and
Colon. It was fought by preventing the introduction of more
cases from the fever ports of nearby countries, keeping pa
tients in screened rooms where mosquitoes could not gain
acess to them, and by an energetic campaign for the exter
mination of mosquitoes. The work was carried on at first
without the cooperation of the people, but within a year they
had been taught to assist in the destruction of the mosquito.
The first work against malaria was undertaken in Em
pire, Culebra, and Ancon in July, 1904, and by September it
had been extended to Gorgona, Pataiso, and Balboa. The
situation with regard to malaria in July, 1904, is accurately
illustrated by the conditions at Ancon Hospital, and in the
various villages. Anopheles and stegomyia mosquitoes were
found in large numbers in the buildings and wards. Mosquito
breeding took place within a few yards of the wards and none
of the buildings were screened. The decorative plants and
shrubs in the grounds were surrounded with clay vessels
containing water and vegetation in which mosquitoes were
breeding, and all ditches in the grounds were producing mos
quito life. There is no doubt that many cases of malaria
and yellow fever had been contracted in the hospital itself
previous to this time. Examination of blood taken from the
inhabitants of one town in the Canal Zone showed that 80
per cent, of the people were infected with the malaria or
ganism, and that Ancon was not an isolated instance was
proved by the large percentage of cases from all the villages.
Tn Colon one-sixlh of tiie entire population was suffering
from malarial attacks during each week, this deduction be
ing based on the number of cases treated in the hospitals.

< k-
V

OFFICIAL REVIEW OF PROGRESS ON CANAL. 31
The permanent work for the prevention of malaria will
be practically accomplished within a year, although certain
measures such as grass and brush cutting, oiling pools, and
similar routine work must necessarily be continued uidenmte-
p. * * *
""'Only two cases of bubonic plague have developed on the
Isthmus since American occupation. On June 15, 1905, a
negro longshoreman, at Balboa (formerly La Boca), was
taken ill, and a miscroscopic examination showed that he was
suffering with bubonic. He died eight days later. The vil
lage was cleaned and disinfected, and a crusade against rats,
the common carriers of bubonic, was begun. On July 9, a
"rat brigade" was set at work in Panama, and a systematic
effort to exterminate the rats around the docks and through
out the city was made. Rat traps were issued free to all
persons who wished them. Later a bounty was placed on
each rat delivered to the health department, and this bounty
is still in effect.
* * * Dr. C. C. Pierce * * * in May [1904], by an ar
rangement between the State Department in Washington and
the Government of Panama, * * * took charge of the quar
antine work for the port of Panama, and since that time the
quarantine on the Isthmus has been under American control.
In spite of the fact that ports on both the Atlantic and Pa
cific sides of the Isthmus, north and south, have been in
fected with bubonic, smallpox, cholera, and yellow fever the
quarantine has been successfully maintained. In both of
the stations, Panama and Colon, screened rooms are set aside
for yellow fever suspects, and every precaution is taken to
guard them from the bite of mosquitoes.— The Canal Record,
Vol. II., pp. 293, 300.

End.

'il

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Copyright, 1006, by Parker P. Simmons.

REPORT OF THE HARTFORD
CONVENTION.
In several previous numbers of the American History Leaflets, docu
ments have been reprinted showing a spirit of disaffection to the Union in the
Soutfo at various times, as shown by the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of
179S and 1799, the South Carolina Nullification Ordinance of 1832, and the
Secession Ordinances of i860 and 1861. A similar willingness to divide the Union
was repeatedly shown by New England: in 1803, because of the annexation of
Louisiana, and the consequent movement of the baJance of political power south
ward; in 1808, because of the embargo; and especially during the War of 1812,
which was highly unpopular in New England, although the ships and sailors of that
section had long suffered from the aggressions of Great Britain, During the war
several of the New England States refused to permit their mil ilia, when called, to
enter the service of the United States, alleging that the) were not bound tu partici
pate in a war for the acquisition of Cunada. A strong p essure « as brought upon
capitalists not to lend mom'y to the United States, and attempts were made to dis
courage volunteering. Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts, suggested .secession ir
a letter to a friend.
Partly to prevent extreme measures, and pattly to concentrate public opinion and
M bring the Federal Government to terms, the Massachusetts Legislature called 4

Convention to be held at Hartford, Connecticut, December 15, 1814, Massachu
setts, Rhode Island and Connecticut sent official delegates, and some of the
counties of New Hampshire and Vermont also joined in the movement. The
Convention sat about tlnee weeks, and although an officer was detached by Presi
dent Madison to obsen e and report upon t, neither he nor any other Federal
official was informed of what was going on inside the closed doors of the Conven
tion. On adjournment, ];mua'v 15, 1^15, tins report was sent out to the public
As will be seen, il lay dov\ n as ci'e condition upon which the New England
States wnuld remain in the Union, such a change of the Federal Constitution as
would have made a strong IVdeial Government impossible. When the committee
desieji.ited by the Convention appeared in Washington to express their minds to the
President and Congress, i!n*y were confronted by the news that peace had been
made j and therefore nobotlj is able to say whether, if the war had continued, the
New England States would have gone beyond the negative and obstructive attitude
of the Hartford Convention.
The text of this report is taken from a book published some years Jater, by
Timothy Dwight, secretary of the Convention, who also published a Journal, which,
however, contains no information as to the nature of the speeches.
A good and recent bricl'account of this whole transaction can be found in Babcock,
J?ise of American Nationality, chapter ix. {American Nation, XIII.);
more details in Henry AJarm, History of i/ie United States in the
A dm i nisi rat ions of fcfj'crson and Madison, VII., chapters viii. toxi.j
see also Hiidreth, //istory of the United States, VI., 544.-554; John B.
McMaster, History of the People of the United Slates, IV., chapter
xxviii. Much additional material about the whole controversey can be found in
the biographies of John Rmdolph, Josiah Quincy, George Cabot and Timothy
Pickering, and others. For the bibliography of the subject, see Channing and
Hart, Guide to the Study of American History, $173; Babcock,
American Nationality, chapter >ix., and the foot-notes to the general histories
and special works upon the period.

REPORT, ETC.
The delegates from the legislatures of the slates of
Massachusetts. Connecticut and Rhode-Island, and from
the counties of Grafton and Cheshire in the slate of
Nezv-Hanipshirc and the county of Windham in the
slate of Vermont, assembled in- convention, beg leave to
report the following result of their conference.
The convention is deeply impressed with a sense of the
arduous nature <.[ the commission which they were ap
pointed to execute, of devising the means of defence
against dangers, ;md of relief from oppressions proceeding
from the acts of ilieir own government, without violating
eniisliliiiio'ial principles, or disappointing tiie hopes of a
suffering and injured people. To prescribe patience and

firmness to those who are already exhausted by distress,
is sometimes to drive them to despair, and the progress
towards reform by the regular road, is irksome to those
whose imaginations discern, and whose feelings prompt,
to a shorter course. But when abuses, reduced to a sys
tem, and accumulated through a course of years, have per
vaded every department of government, and spread cor
ruption through every region of the state ; when these are
clothed with tine forms of law, and enforced by an execu
tive whose will is their source, no summary means of re
lief can be applied without recourse to direct and open
resistance. This experiment, even when justifiable, can
not fail to be painful to the good citizen ; and the success
of the effort will be no security against the danger of the
example. Precedents of resistance io the worst adminis
tration, are eagerly seized by those who are naturally
hostile to the best. Necessity alone can sanction a resort
to this measure ; and it should never be extended in dura
tion or degree beyond the exigency, until the people, not
merely in the fervour of sudden excitement, but after full
deliberation, are determined to change the constitution.
It. is a truth, not to be concealed, that a sentiment pre
vails to no inconsiderable extent, that administration have
given such constructions to that instrument, and practised
so many abuses under colour of its authority, that the
time for a change is at hand. Those who so believe, re
gard the evils which surround them as intrinsic and incur
able defects in the constitution. They yield to a persua
sion, that no change, at any time, or on any occasion, can
aggravate the misery of their country. This opinion may
ultimately prove to be correct. Cut as Ihe evidence on
which it rests is not yet conclusive, and as measures
adopted upon the assumption of its certainty might be irre
vocable, some general considerations arc submitted, in the
hope of reconciling all to a course of moderation and firm
ness, which may save them from the regret incident to
sudden decisions, probably avert the evil, or at least insure
consolation and success in the last resort.
The constitution of the United Slates, under the attspi-

¦-A
ces of a wise and virtuous administration, proved itself
competent to all the objects of national prosperity com
prehended in the views of its framers. No parallel can
be found in history, of a transition so rapid as that of the
United States from the lowest depression to the highest
felicity — from the condition of weak and disjointed repub
lics, to that of a great, united, and prosperous nation.
Although this high state of public happiness has un
dergone a miserable and afflicting reverse, through the
prevalence of a weak and profligate policy, yet the evils
and afflictions which have thus been induced upon the
country, are not peculiar to any form of government. The
lust and caprice of power, the corruption of patronage, the
oppression of the weaker interests of the community by
the stronger, heavy taxes, wasteful expenditures, and un
just and ruinous wars, are the natural offspring of bad
administrations, in all ages and countries. It was indeed
to be hoped, that the rulers of these states would not
make such disastrous haste to involve their infancy in the
embarrassments of old and rotten institutions. Yet all
this have they done ; and their conduct calls loudly for
their dismission and disgrace. But to attempt upon every
abuse of power to change the constitution, would be to
perpetuate the evils of revolution.
Again, the experiment of the powers of the constitu
tion to regain its vigour, and of the people to recover from
their delusions, has been hitherto made under the greatest
possible disadvantages arising from the state of the world.
The fierce passions which have convulsed the nations of
Europe, have passed the ocean, and finding their way to
the bosoms of our citizens, have afforded to administra
tion the means of perverting public opinion, in respect to
our foreign relations, so as to acquire its aid in the indul
gence of their animosities, and the increase of their adhe
rents. Further, a reformation of public opinion, resulting
from dear-bought experience, in the southern Atlantic
states, at least, is not to be despaired of. They will have
felt, that the eastern states cannot be made exclusively
the victims of capricious and impassioned policy. They

will have seen that the great and essential interests of the
people are common to the south and to the east. They
will realize the fatal errors of a system which seeks re
venge for commercial injuries in the sacrifice of com
merce, and aggravates by needless wars, to an immeasu
rable extent, the injuries it professes to redress. They
may discard the influence of visionary theorists, and rec
ognize the benefits of a practical policy. Indications of
this desirable revolution of opinion, among our brethren
in those states, are already manifested. While a hope
remains of its ultimate completion, its progress should not
be retarded or stopped, by exciting fears which must
check these favourable tendencies, and frustrate the efforts
of the wisest and best men in those states, to accelerate
this propitious change.
Finally, if the Union be destined to dissolution, by rea
son of the multiplied abuse of bad administration, it
should, if possible, be the work of peaceable times, and
deliberate consent. Some new form of confederacy should
be substituted among those states which shall intend to
maintain a federal relation to each other. Events may
prove that_ the causes of our calamities are deep and per
manent. They may be found to proceed, not merely from
the blindness of prejudice, pride of opinion, violence of
party spirit, or the confusion of the times ; but they may
be traced to implacable combinations of individuals, or of
states,^ to monopolize power and office, and to trample
without remorse upon the rights and interests of commer
cial sections of the Union. Whenever it shall appear that
these causes are radical and permanent, a separation, by
equitable arrangement, will be preferable to an alliance by
constraint, among nominal friends, but real enemies, in
flamed by mutual hatred and jealousy, and inviting, by
intestine divisions, contempt and aggression from abroad.
But a severance of the Union bv" one or more states,
against the will of the rest, and especially in a time of warj
can be justified only by absolute necessity. These are
among the principal objections against precipitate meas
ures tending to disunite the states, and when examined

in connection with the farewell address of the Father of
his country, they must, it is believed, be deemed con
clusive. Under these impressions, the convention have proceed
ed to confer and deliberate upon the alarming state of pub
lic affairs, especially as affecting the interests of the peo
ple who have appointed them for this purpose, and they
are naturally led to a consideration, in the first place, of
the dangers and grievances which menace an immediate or
speedy pressure, with a view of suggesting means of pres
ent relief in the next place, of such as are of a more re
mote and general description, in the hope of attaining fu
ture security.
Among the subjects of complaint and apprehension,
which might be comprised under the former of these prop
ositions, the attention of the convention has been occu
pied with the claims and pretensions advanced, and the au
thority exercised over the militia, by the executive and
legislative departments of the national government. Also,
upon the destitution of the means of defence in which the
eastern states are left; while at the same time they are
doomed to heavy requisitions of men and money for na
tional objects.
The authority of the national government over the mili
tia is derived from those clauses in the constitution which
give power to Congress 'to provide for calling forth the
militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec
tions and repel invasions ;' — Also 'to provide for organiz
ing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for govern
ing such parts of them as may be employed in the service
of the United States, reserving to the states respectively
the appointment of the officers, and the authority of train
ing the militia according to the discipline prescribed by
Congress.' Again, 'the President shall be commander
in chief of the army and navy of the United States,
and of ihe militia of the several stales, when called into
the aclmil service of the Hailed Stales.' Jn these specified
c.-is.'s onlv, has Ihe national government auv power over
Ihe mililia ; and it follows conclusively, that lor all general

and ordinary purposes, this power belongs to the states
respectively, and to them alone. It is not only with regret,
but with astonishment, the convention preceive that under
colour of an authority conferred with such plain and pre
cipe limitations, a power is arrogated by the executive
government, and in some instances sanctioned by the two
houses of congress, of control over the militia, which if
conceded will render nugatory the rightful authority of
ihe individual states over that class of men, and by placing
at the disposal of the national government the lives and
services of the great body of the people, enable it at pleas
ure to destroy their liberties, and erect a military despot
ism on the ruins.
An elaborate examination of the principles assumed
for the basis of these extravagant pretensions, of the con
sequences to which they lead, and of the insurmountable
objections to their admission, would transcend the limits
of this report. A few general observations, with an ex
hibition of the character of these pretensions, and a rec
ommendation of a strenuous opposition to them, must not,
however, be omitted.
It will not be contended that by the terms used in the
constitutional compact, the power of the national govern
ment to call out the militia is other than a power express
ly limited to three cases. One of these must exist, as a
condition precedent to the exercise of that power — Unless
the laws shall be opposed, or an insurrection shall exist, '
or an iffvasion shall be made, congress, and of consequence
the President as their organ, has no more power over the
militia than over the armies of a foreign nation.
But if the declaration of the President should be ad
mitted to be an unerring test of the existence of these
cases, this important power would depend, not upon the
truth of the fact, but upon executive infallibility. And
the limitation of the power would censcquentiy be nothing
more than merely nominal, as it might always be eluded.
It follows therefore that Ihe decision of the President in
this particular cannot be conclusive. It is as much the
duty of the state authorities lo watch over the rights re-

served, as of the United States to exercise the powers
which are delegated.
The arrangement of the United States into military
districts, with a small portion of the regular force, under
an officecr of high rank of the standing army, with power
to call for the militia, as circumstances in his judgment
may require; and to assume the command of them, is not
warranted by the constitution or any law of the United
States. It is not denied that Congress may delegate to the
President of the United States the power to call forth the
militia in the cases which are within their jurisdiction —
But he has no authority to substitute military prefects
throughout the Union, to use their own discretion in such
instances. To station an officer of the army in a military
district without troops corresponding to his rank, for the
purpose of taking command of the militia that may be
called into service, is a manifest evasion of that provision
of the constitution which expressly reserves to the states
the appointment of the officers of the militia ; and the ob
ject of detaching such officer cannot be well concluded to
be any other than that of superceding the governor or
other officers of the militia in their right to command.
The power of dividing the militia of the states into
classes, and obliging such classes to furnish by contract or
draft, able-bodied men, to serve for one or more years
for the defence of the frontier, is not delegated to Con
gress. If a claim to draft the militia for one year for
such general object be admissible, no limitation can be
assigned to it, but the discretion of those who make the
law. Thus, with a power in Congress to authorize such
a draft or conscription, and in the Executive to decide
conclusively upon the existence and continuance of the
emergency, the whole militia may be converted into a
standing army disposable at the will of the President of
the United States.
The power of compelling the militia, and other citi
zens of the United States, by a forcible draft or conscrip
tion, to serve in the regular armies as proposed in a late
official letter of the Secretary of War, is not delegated

to Congress by the constitution, and the exercise of it
would be not less dangerous to their liberties, than hostile
to the sovereignty of the states. The effort to deduce
this power from the right of raising armies, is a flagrant
attempt to pervert the sense of the clause in the constitu
tion which confers that right, and is incompatible with
other provisions in that instrument. The armies of the
United States have always been raised by contract, never
by conscription, and nothing more can be wanting to a
government possessing the power thus claimed to enable
it to usurp the entire control of the militia, in derogation
of the authority of the state, and to convert it by impress
ment into a standing army.
It may be here remarked, as a circumstance illustrat
ive of the determination of the Executive to establish an
absolute control over all descriptions of citizens, that the
right of impressing seamen into the naval service is ex
pressly asserted by the Secretary of the Navy in a late
report. Thus a practice, which in a foreign government
has been regarded with great abhorrence by the people,
finds advocates among those who have been the loudest
to condemn it.
The law authorising the enlistment of minors and ap
prentices into the armies of the United States, without
the consent of parents and guardians, is also repugnant
to the spirit of the constitution. By a construction of
the power to raise armies, as applied by our present
rulers, not only persons capable of contracting are liable
to be impressed into the army, but those who are under
legalVlisabilities to make contracts, are to be invested
with the capacity, in order to enable them to annul at
pleasure contracts made in their behalf by legal guard
ians. Such an interference with the municipal laws and
rights of the several states, could never have been con
templated by the framcrs of the constitution. It impairs
the salutary control and influence of the parent over his
child — the master over his servant — the guardian over
his ward — and thus destroys the most important rela
tions in society, so that by the conscription of the father,

IO
and the seduction of the son, the power of the Executive
over all the effective male population of the United
States is made complete.
Such are some of the odious features of the novel sys
tem proposed by the rulers of a free country, under the
limited powers derived from the constitution. What por
tion of them will be embraced in acts finally to be passed,
it is yet impossible to determine. It is, however, suffi
ciently alarming to perceive, that these projects emanate
from the highest authority, nor should it be forgotten,
that by the plan of the Secretary of War, the classifica
tion of the militia embraced the principle of direct taxa
tion upon the white population only; and that, in the
house of representatives, a motion to apportion the mili
tia among the white population exclusively, which would
have been in its operation a direct tax, was strenuously
urged and supported.
In this whole series of devices and measures for rais
ing men, this convention discern a total disregard for
the constitution, and a disposition to violate its provi
sions, demanding from the individual states a firm and
decided opposition. An iron despotism can impose no
harder servitude upon the citizen, than to force him
from his home and his occupation, to wage offensive
wars, undertaken to gratify the pride or passions of his
master. The example of France has recently shown that
a cabal of individuals assuming to act in the name of the
people, may transform the great body of citizens into sol
diers, and deliver them over into the hands of a single
tyrant. No war, not held in just abhorrence by the peo
ple, can require the aid of such stratagems to recruit an
army. I lad the troops already raised, and in great num
bers sacrificed upon the frontier of Canada, been em
ployed for the defence of the country, and had the mil
lions which have been squandered with shameless pro
fusion, been appropriated to their payment, to the pro
tection of the coast, and to the naval service, there
would have been no occasion for unconstitutional ex
pedients. Even at this late hour, let Government leave

n
to New England the remnant of her resources, and she
is ready and able to defend her territory, and to resign
the glories and advantages of the border war, to those
who are determined to persist in its prosecution.
That acts of Congress in violation of the Constitution
are absolutely void, is an undeniable position. It does
not, however, consist with the respect and forbearance
due from a confedaretc State towards the General Gov
ernment, to fly to open resistance upon every infraction
of the Constitution. The mode and the energy of the
opposition, should always conform to the nature of the
violation, the intention of its authors, the extent of the
injury inflicted, the determination manifested to persist in
it, and the danger of delay. But in cases of deliberate,
dangerous, and palpable infractions of the Constitution,
affecting the sovereignty of a State, and liberties of the
people ; it is not only the right but the duty of such a
State to interpose its authority for their protection, in
the manner best calculated to secure that end. When
emergencies occur which are either beyond the reach of
the judicial tribunals, or too pressing to admit of the de
lay incident to their forms, States, which have no com
mon umpire, must be their own judges, and execute their
own decisions. It will thus be proper for the several
States to await the ultimate disposal of the obnoxious
measures, recommended by the Secretary of War, or
pending before Congress, and so to use their power ac
cording to the character these measures shall finally as
sume}, as effectually to protect their own sovereignty, and
the rights and liberties of their citizens.
The next subject which has occupied the attention of
the convention, is the means of defence against the com
mon enemy. This naturally leads to the inquiries,
whether any expectation can be reasonably entertained,
that adequate provision for the defence of the Eastern
States will be made by the National Government?
Whether the several States can, from their own re
sources, provide for self-defence and fulfil the requisi
tions which are to be expected for the National Treasury ?

12

and, generally what course, of conduct ought to be
adopted by those States, in relation to the great object of
defence ?
Without pausing at present to comment upon the
causes of the war, it may be assumed as a truth, officially
announced, that to achieve the conquest of Canadian ter
ritory, and to hold it as a pledge for peace, is the delib
erate purpose of Administration. This enterprise, com
menced at a period when Government possessed the ad
vantage of selecting the time and occasion for making a
sudden descent upon an unprepared enemy, now lan
guishes in the third year of the war. It has been prose
cuted with various fortune, and occasional brilliancy of
exploit, but without anv solid acquisition. The British
armies have been recruited by veteran regiments. Their
navy commands Ontario. The American ranks are
thinned by the casualties of war. Recruits are discour
aged by the unpopular character of the contest, and by the
uncertainty of receiving their pay.
In the prosecution of this favorite warfare, Adminis
tration have left the exposed and vulnerable parts of the
country destitute of all efficient means of defence. The
main body of the regular army has been marched to the
frontier. — The navy has been stripped of a great part
of its sailors for the service of the lakes. Meanwhile the
enemy scours the sea-coast, blockades our ports, ascends
our bays and rivers, makes actual descents in various and
distant places, holds some by force, and threatens all that
are assailable, with fire and sword. The sea-board of
four of the New England States, following its curvatures,
presents an extent of more than seven hundred miles,
generally occupied by a compact population, and accessi
ble by a naval force, exposing a mass of people and prop
erty to the devastation of the enemy, which bears a great
proportion to the residue of the maritime frontier of the
United States. This extensive shore has been exposed
to frequent attacks, repeated contributions, and constant
alarms. The regular forces detached by the national
Governnient for its defence, arc mere pretexts for placing

13
officers of high rank in command. They are besides con
fined to a few places, and are too insignificant 111 number
to be included in anv computation.
These States have thus been left to adopt measures
for their own defence. The militia have been constantly
kept on the alert, and harassed by garrison duties, and
other hardships, while the expenses, of which the Na
tional Government decline the reimbursement, threaten
to absorb all the resources of the States. The President
of the United States has refused to consider the expense
of the militia detached by State authority, for the indis
pensable defence of the State, as chargeable to the Union,
on the ground of a refusal by the Executive of the State,
to place them under the command of officers of the regu
lar army. Detachments of militia placed at the disposal
of the General Government, have been dismissed either
without pay, or with depreciated paper. The prospect of
the ensuing campaign is not enlivened by the promise of
any alleviation of these grievances. From authentic doc
uments, extorted bv necessity from those wdiose inclina
tion might lead them to conceal the embarrassments of
the Government, it is apparent that the Treasury is bank
rupt, and its credit prostrate. So deplorable is the state
of the finances, that those who feel for the honor and
safety of the country, would be willing to conceal the
melancholy spectacle, if those wdiose infatuation has pro
duced this state of fiscal concerns, had not found them
selves compelled to unveil it to public view.
If the war be continued, there appears no room for
reliancfe upon the National Government for the supply of
those means of defence, which must become indispensable
to secure these States from desolation and ruin. Nor is
it possible that the States can discharge this sacred duty
from their own resources, and continue to sustain the
burden of the national taxes. The Administration, after
a long perseverance in plans to baffle every effort of com
mercial enterprise, had fatally succeeded in their attempts
at the epoch of the war. Commerce, the vital spring of
New England's prosperity, was annihilated. Embargoes,

14
restrictions, and the rapacity of revenue officers, had com
pleted its destruction. The various objects for the em
ployment of productive labor, in the branches of business
dependent on commerce, have disappeared. The fisheries
have shared its fate. Manufacturers, which Government
has professed an intention to favor and to cherish, as an
indemnity for the failure of these branches of business,
are doomed to struggle in their infancy with taxes and
obstructions, which cannot fail most seriously to affect
their growth. The specie is withdrawn from circulation.
The landed interest, the last to feel these burdens, must
prepare to become their principal support, as all other
sources of revenue must be exhausted. Under these cir
cumstances, taxes, of a description and amount unprece
dented in this country, are in a train of imposition, the
burden of which must fall with the heaviest pressure upon
the States east of the Potowmac. The amount of these
taxes for the ensuing year cannot be estimated at less than
tive millions of dollars upon the New England States, and
the expenses of the last year for defence, in Massachusetts
alone, approaches to one million of dollars.
From these facts, it is almost superfluous to state the
irresistible inference that these States have no capacity of
defraying the expense requisite for .their own protection,
and, at the same time, of discharging the demands of the
national treasury.
The last inquiry, what course of conduct ought to be
adopted by the aggrieved States, is in a high degree mo
mentous. When a great and brave people shall feel them
selves deserted by their government, and reduced to the
necessity either of submission to a foreign enemy, or of
appropriating to their own use, those means of defence
which are indispensable to self-preservation, they cannot
consent to wait passive spectators of approaching ruin,
which it is in their power to avert, and to resign the last
remnant of their industrious earnings, to be dissipated in
support of measures destructive of the best interests of
the nation.
This Convention will not trust themselves to express

15
their conviction of the catastrophe to which such a state
of things inevitably tends. Conscious of their high re
sponsibility to God and their country, solicitous for the
continuance of the Union, as well as the sovereignty ot
the States, unwilling to furnish obstacles to peace— reso
lute never to submit to a foreign enemy, and confiding in
the Divine care ami protection, they will, until the last
hope shall be extinguished, endeavor to avert such conse
quences. With this view they suggest an arrangement, which
may at once be consistent with the honor and interest of
the National Government, and the security of these States.
This it will not be difficult to conclude, if that govern
ment should be so disposed. By the terms of it these
States might be allowed to assume their own defence, by
the militia or other troops. A reasonable portion, also, of
the taxes raised in each State might be paid into its treas
ury and credited to the United States, but to be appro
priated to the defence of such State, to be accounted for
with the United States. No doubt is entertained that by
such an arrangement, this portion of the country could be
defended with greater effect, and in a mode more consist
ent with economy, and the public convenience, than any
which has been practised.
Should an application for these purposes, made to
Congress by the State legislatures, be attended with suc
cess, and should peace upon just terms appear to be un
attainable, the people would stand together for the com
mon defence, until a change of Administration, or of dis
position Tn the enemy, should facilitate the occurrence of
that auspicious event. It would be inexpedient for this
Convention to diminish the hope of a successful issue to
such an application, by recommending, upon supposition
of a contrary event, ulterior proceedings. Nor is it in
deed within their province. In a state of things so solemn
and trying as may then arise, the legislatures of the
States, or conventions of (he whole people, or delegates
appointed by them for the express purpose in another

1 6

Convention, must act as such urgent circumstances may
then require.
But the duty incumbent on this Convention will not
have been performed, without exhibiting some general
view of such measures as they deem essential to secure
the nation against a relapse into difficulties and dangers,
should they, by the blessing of Providence, escape from
their present condition, without absolute ruin. To this
end a concise retrospect of the state of this nation under
the advantages of a wise administration, contrasted with
the miserable abyss into which it is plunged by the profli
gacy and folly of political theorists, will lead to some
practical conclusions. On this subject, it will be recol
lected, that the immediate influnece of the Federal Con
stitution upon its first adoption, and for twelve succeed
ing years, upon the prosperity and happiness of the na
tion, seemed to countenance a belief in the transcendency
of its perfection over all other human institutions. In the
catalogue of blessings which have fallen to the lot of the
most favored nations, none could be enumerated from
which our country was excluded — a free Constitution,
administered by great and incorruptible statesmen, real
ized the fondest hopes of liberty and independence. — The
progress of agriculture was stimulated by the certainty of
value in the harvest — and commerce, after traversing
every sea, returned with the riches of every clime. A
revenue, secured by a sense of honor, collected without
oppression, and paid without murmurs, melted away the
national debt; and the chief concern of the public cred
itor arose from its too rapid diminution. The wars and
commotions of the European nations, and their interrup
tions of the commercial intercourse afforded to those who
had not promoted, but who would have rejoiced to
alleviate their calamities, a fair and golden opportunity,
by combining themselves to lay a broad foundation for
national wealth. Although occasional vexations to com
merce arose from the furious collisions of the powers at
war, yet the great and good men of that time conformed
to the force of circumstances which they could not con-

17
trol, and preserved their country in security from the
tempests which overwhelmed the old world, and threw
the wreck of their fortunes on these shores. Respect
abroad, prosperity at home, wise laws made by honored
legislators, and prompt obedience yielded by a contented
people, had silenced the enemies of republican institu
tions. The arts flourished — the sciences were cultivated
— the comforts and conveniences of life were universally
diffused — and nothing remained for succeeding adminis
trations but to reap the advantages and cherish the re
sources flowing from the policy of their predecessors.
But no sooner was a new administration established
in the hands of the party opposed to the Washington
policy, than a fixed determination was perceived and
avowed of changing a system which had already produced
these substantial fruits. The consequences of this change,
for a few years after its commencement, were not suffi
cient to counteract the prodigious impulse towards pros
perity, which had been given to the nation. But a steady
perseverance in the new plans of administration, at length
developed their weakness and deformity, but not until a
majority of the people had been deceived by flattery, and
inflamed by passion, into blindness to their defects. Under
the withering influence of this new system, the declension
of the nation has been uniform and rapid. The richest
advantages for securing the great objects of the constitu
tion have been wantonly rejected. While Europe reposes
from the convulsions that had shaken down her ancient
institutions, she beholds with amazement this remote
country, offce so happy and so envied, involved in a ruin
ous war, and excluded from intercourse with the rest of
the world.
To investigate and explain the means whereby this
fatal reverse has been effected, would requite a volumin
ous discussion. Nothing more can be attempted in this
report than a general allusion to the principal outlines
of the policy which has produced this vicissitude. Among
these may be numerated —
First. — A deliberate and extensive system for effect-

i8
ing a combination among certain states, by exciting local
jealousies and ambition, so as to secure to popular leaders
in one section of the Union, the control of public affairs
in perpetual succession. To which primary object most
other characteristics of the system may be reconciled.
Secondly — The political intolerance displayed and
avowed in excluding from office men of unexceptionable
merit, for want of adherence to the executive creed.
Thirdly. — The infraction of the judiciary authority
and rights, by depriving judges of their offices in violation
of the constitution.
Fourthly. — The abolition of existing taxes, requisite
to prepare the country for those changes to which nations
are always exposed, with a view to the acquisition of
popular favour.
Fifthly. — The influence of patronage in the distribu
tion of offices, which in these states has been almost inva
riably made among men the least entitled to such distinc
tion, and who have sold themselves as ready instruments
for distracting public opinion, and encouraging adminis
tration to hold in contempt the wishes and remonstrances
of a people thus apparently divided.
Sixthly. — The admission of new states into the Union
formed at pleasure in the western region, has destroyed
the balance of power which existed among the original
States, and deeply affected their interest.
Seventhly. — The easy admission of naturalised for
eigners, to places of trust, honour or profit, operating as
an inducement to the malcontent subjects of the old world
to come to these States, in quest of executive patronage,
and to repay it by an abject devotion to executive meas
ures. Eightly. — Hostility to Great Britain and partiality
to the late government of France, adopted as coincident
w ilh popular prejudice, and subservient to the main ob
ject, party power. Connected with these must be ranked
erroneous and distorted estimates of the power and re
sources of those nations, of the probable results of their

'9
controversies, and of our political relations to them re
spectively. Lastly and principally. — A visionary and superficial
theory in regard to commerce, accompanied by a real
hatred but a feigned regard to its interests, and a ruinous
perseverance in efforts to render it an instrument of coer
cion and war.
But it is not conceivable that the obliquity of any ad
ministration could, in so short a period, have so nearly
consummated the work of national ruin, unless favoured
by defects in the constitution.
To enumerate all the improvements of what that in
strument is susceptible, and to propose such amendments
as might render it in all respects perfect, would be a task
which this convention has not thought proper to assume.
They have confined their attention to such as experience
has demonstrated to be essential, and even among these,
some are considered entitled to a more serious attention
than others. They are suggested without any intentional
disrespect to other states, and are meant to be such as all
shall find an interest in promoting. Their object is to
strengthen, and if possible to perpetuate, the union of the
states, by removing the grounds of existing jealousies, and
providing for a fair and equal representation, and a limita
tion of powers, which have been misused.
The first amendment proposed, relates to the appor
tionment of representatives among the slave holding
states. This cannot be claimed as a right. Those states
are entitled to the slave representation, by a constitu
tional compact. It is therefore merely a subject of agree
ment, which should be conducted upon principles of mu
tual interest and accommodation, and upon which no sen
sibility on either side should be permitted to exist. It has
proved unjust and unequal in its operation. Had this
effect been foreseen, the privilege would probably not have
been demanded ; certainly not conceded. Its tendency in
future will be adverse to that hormony and mutual confi
dence which are more conducive to the happiness and
prosperity of every confederated state, than a mere pre-

20
ponderancc of power, the prolific source of jealousies and
controversy, can be to any of them. The time may
therefore arrive, when a sense of magnanimity and justice
wil_l reconcile those states to acquiesce in a revision of this
article, especially as a fair equivalent would result to them
in the apportionment of taxes.
The next amendment relates to the admission of new
states into the Union.
This amendment is deemed to be highly important
and in fact indispensable. In proposing it, it is not in
tended to recognize the right of Congress to admit new
states without the original limits of the United States nor
is any idea entertained of disturbing the tranquility of any
state already admitted into the Union. The object is
merely to restrain the constitutional power of Congress in
admitting new states. At the adoption of the constitution,
a certain balance of power among the original parties was
considered to exist, and there was at that time, and yet is
among those parties, a strong affinity between their great
and general interests.— By the admission of these states
that balance has been materially affected, and unless the
practice be modified, must ultimately be destroyed. The
southern states will first avail themselves of their new
confederates to govern the east, and finally the western
states, multiplied in numbers, and augmented in popula
tion, will control the interests of the whole. Thus for the
sake of present power, the southern states will be common
sufferers with the east, in the loss of permanent advan
tages. None of the old states can find an interest in
creating prematurely an overwhelming western influence,
which may hereafter discern (as it has heretofore) bene
fits to be derived to them by wars and commercial re-
restrictions. The next amendments proposed by the convention,
relate to_ the powers of Congress, in relation to embargo
and the interdiction of commerce.
Whatever theories upon the subject of commerce have
hitherto dhided the opinions of statesmen, experience
has at last shown that it is a vital interest in the United

)•

21
States, and that its success is essential to the encourage
ment of agriculture and manufacturers, and to the wealth,
finances, defence, and liberty of the nation. Its welfare
can never interfere with the other great interests of the
state, but must promote and uphold them. Still those
who are immediately concerned in the prosecution of com
merce, will of necessity be always a minority of the na
tion. They are, however, best qualified to manage and
direct its course by the advantages of experience, and the
sense of interest. But they are entirely unable to protect
thmselves against the sudden and injudicious decisions of
bare majorities, and the mistaken or oppressive projects of
those who are not actively concerned in its pursuits. Of
consequence, this interest is always exposed to be ha
rassed, interrupted, and entirely destroyed, upon pretence
of securing other interests. Had the merchants of this
nation been permitted by their own government to pursue
an innocent and lawful commerce, how different would
have been the state of the treasury and of public credit!
How short-sighted and miserable is the policy which has
annihilated this order of men, and doomed their ships to
rot in the docks, their capital to waste unemployed, and
their affections to be alienated from the government which
was formed to protect them ! What security for an ample
and unfailing revenue can ever be had, comparable to that
which once was realized in the good faith, punctuality,
and sense of honour, which attached the mercantile class
to the interests of the government! Without commerce,
where can be found the aliment for a navy : and without
a navy, what is to constitute the defence, and ornament,
and glory*o'f this nation ! No union can be durably ce
mented, in which every great interest does not find itself
reasonably secured against the encroachment and combi
nations of other interests. When, therefore, the past sys
tem of embargoes and commercial restrictions shall have
been reviewed — when the fluctuation and inconsistency of
public measures, betraying a want of information as well
as feeling in the majority, shall have been considered, the
icasouableness of some restrictions upon the power of a

22
bare majority to repeat these oppressions, will appear to be
obvious. The next amendment proposes to restrict the power
of making offensive war. In the consideration of this
amendment, it is not necessary to inquire into the justice
of the present war. But one sentiment now exists in re
lation to its expediency, and regret for its declaration is
nearly universal. No indemnity can ever be attained for
tiffs terrible calamity, and its only palliation must be found
in obstacles to its future recurrence. Rarely can the state
of this country call for or justify offensive war. The
genius of our institutions is unfavourable to its successful
prosecution ; the facility of our situation exempts us from
its necessity, hi this case, as in the former, those more
immediately exposed to its fatal effects are a minority of
the nation. The commercial towns, the shores of our
seas and rivers, contain the population whose vital in
terests are most vulnerable by a foreign enemy. Agricul
ture, indeed, must feel at last, but this appeal to its sen
sibility comes too late. Again, the immense population
which has swarmed into the west, remote from immediate
danger, and which is constantly augmenting, will not be
averse from the occasional disturbances of the Atlantic
states. Thus interest may not unfrequently combine with
passion and intrigue, to plunge the nation into needless
wars, and compel it to become a military, rather than a
happy and flourishing people. These considerations,
which it would be easy to augment, call loudly for the
limitation proposed in the amendment.
Another amendment, subordinate in importance, but
still in a high degree expedient, relates to the exclusion
of foreigners hereafter arriving in the United States from
the capacity of holding offices of trust, honour, or profit.
That the stock of population aleady in these states
is amply sufficient to render this nation in due time suffi
ciently great and powerful, is not a controvertible ques
tion^ Nor uill it be seriously pretended, that the national
dcncicncy in wisdom, arts, science, arms, or virtue, needs
to be replenished from foreign countries. Still, it is

)•

23
agreed, that a liberal policy should offer the rights of hos
pitality, and the choice of settlement, to those who are dis
posed to visit the country. But why admit to a participa
tion in the government aliens who were no parties to the
compact — who are ignorant of the nature of our institu
tions, and have no stake in the welfare of the country but
what is recent and transitory? It is surely a privilege
sufficient, to admit them after due probation to become
citizens, for all but political purposes. To extend it be
yond these limits, is to encourage foreigners to come to
these states as candidates for preferment. The Conven
tion forbear to express their opinion upon the inauspicious
effects which have already resulted to the honour and
peace of this nation, from this misplaced and indiscrim
inate liberality.
The last amendment respects the limitation of the of
fice of President to a single constitutional term, and his
eligibility from the same state two terms in succession.
Upon this topic it is superfluous to dilate. The love
of power is a principle in the human heart which too often
impels to the use of all practicable means to prolong its
duration. The office of President has charms and at
tractions which operate as powerful incentives to this pas
sion. The first and most natural exertion of a vast pa
tronage is directed towards the security of a new election.
The interest of the country, the welfare of the people,
even honest fame and respect for the opinion of posterity,
are secondary considerations. All the engines of intrigue,
all the means^of corruption are likely to be employed foi
this object. A President whose political career is limited
to a single election, may find no other interest than will be
promoted by making it glorious to himself, and beneficial
to his country. But the hope of re-election is prolific of
temptations, under which these magnanimous motives are
deprived of their principal force. The repeated election
of the President of the United States from any one state,
affords inducements and means for intrigues, which tend
to create an undue local influence, and to estabbsli the
domination of particular states. The justice, therefore, of

24
securing to every state a fair and equal chance for the
election of this officer from its own citizens is apparent,
and this object will be essentially promoted by preventing
an election from the same state twice in succession.
Such is the general view which this Convention has
thought proper to submit, of the situation of these states,
of their dangers and their duties. Most of the subjects
which it embraces have separately received an ample and
luminous investigation, by the great and able asserlors of
the rights of their country, in the national legislature; and
nothing more could be attempted on this occasion than a
digest of general principles, and of recommendations suit
ed to the present state of public affairs. The peculiar dif
ficulty and delicacy of performing even this undertaking,
will be appreciated by all wdio think seriously upon the
crisis. Negotiations for peace are at this hour supposed
to be pending, the issue of which must be deeply interest
ing to all. No measures should be adopted which might
unfavourably affect that issue ; none which should embar
rass the administration, if their professed desire for peace
is sincere ; and none which on supposition of their in
sincerity, should afford them pretexts for prolonging the
war, or relieving themselves from the responsibility of a
dishonourable peace. It is also devoutly to be wished,
that an occasion may be afforded to all friends of the
country, of all parties, and in all places, to pause and con
sider the awful state to which pernicious counsels and
blind passions have brought this people. The number of
those who perceive, and who are ready to retrace errors,
must, it is believed, be yet sufficient to' redeem the nation'
It is necessary to rally and unite them by the assurance
that no hostility to the constitution is meditated, and to
obtain their aid in placing it under guardians who alone
can save it from destruction. Should this fortunate
change be effected, the hope of happiness and honour may
once more dispel the surrounding gloom. Our nation
may yet be great, our union durable. But should this
prospect he utterly hopeless, the time will not have been
lost which shall have ripened a general sentiment of the

)•

25
necessity of more mighty efforts to rescue from ruin, at
least some portion of our beloved country.
Therefore resolved,
That it be and hereby is recommended to the legis
latures of the several states represented in this Conven
tion, to adopt all such measures as may be necessary ef
fectually to protect the citizens of said states from the
operation and effects of all acts which have been or may
be passed by the Congress of the United States, which
shall contain provisions, subjecting the militia or other
citizens to forcible drafts, conscriptions, or impressments,
not authorized by the constitution of the United States.
Resolved, That it be and hereby is recommended to
the said Legislatures, to authorize an immediate and
earnest application to be made to the government of the
United States, requesting their consent to some arrange
ment, whereby the said states may, separately or in con
cert, be empowered to assume upon themselves the de
fence of their territory against the enemy ; and a reason
able portion of the taxes, collected within said States, may
be paid into the respective treasuries thereof, and appro
priated to the payment of the balance due said states, and
to the future defence of the same. The amount so paid
into the said treasuries to be credited, and the disburse
ments made as aforesaid to be charged to the United
States. Resolved, That it be, and hereby is, recommended to
the legislatures of the aforesaid states, to pass laws (where
it has not already been done) authorizing the governors or
commanders-in-chief of their militia to make detachments
from the same, or to form voluntary corps, as shall be most
convenient and conformable to their constitutions, and to
cause the same to be well armed, equipped, and disci
plined, and held in readiness for service; and upon the
request of the governor of cither of the other states to em
ploy the whole of such detachment or corps, as well as the
regular forces of the state, or such part thereof as may
be required and can be spared consistently Willi the safety

2G
of the state, in assisting the state, making such request to
repel any invasion thereof which shall be made or at
tempted by the public enemy.
Resolved, That the following amendments of the con
stitution of the United States be recommended to the
states represented as aforesaid, to be proposed by them
for adoption by the state legislatures, and in such cases as
may be deemed expedient by a convention chosen by the
people of each state.
And it is further recommended, that the said states
shall persevere in their efforts to obtain such amendments,
until the same shall be effected.
First. Representatives and direct taxes shall be ap
portioned among the several states which may be included
within this Union, according to their respective numbers
cf free persons, including those bound to serve for a term
of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, and all other
persons. Second. No new state shall be admitted into the
Union by Congress, in virtue of the power granted by the
constitution, without the concurrence of two thirds of both
houses. Third. Congress shall not have power to lay any
embargo on the ships or vessels of the citizens of the
United States, in the ports or harbours thereof, for more
than sixty days.
Fourth. Congress shall not have power, without the
concurrence of two thirds of both houses, to interdict the
commercial intercourse between the United States and
any foreign nation, or the dependencies thereof.
Fifth. Congress shall not make or declare war, or
authorize n<(^ of hostility against any foreign nation, with
out the concurrence of two thirds of both houses, except
such acts of hostility be in defence of the territories of the
United States when actually invaded.
Sixth. Xo person who shall hereafter be naturalized,
shall be eligible as a member of the senate or house of

1

27
representatives of the United States, nor capable of hold
ing any civil office under the authority of the United
States. Seventh. The same person shall not be elected pres
ident of the United States a second time ; nor shall the
president be elected from the same state two terms in suc
cession. Resolved, That if the application of these states to the
government of the United States, recommended in a fore
going resolution, should be unsuccessful, and peace should
not be concluded, and the defence of these states should
be neglected, as it has been since the commencement of
the war, it will, in the opinion of this convention, be expe
dient for the legislatures of the several states to appoint
delegates to another convention, to meet at Boston in the
state of Massachusetts, on the third Thursday of June
next, with such powers and instructions as the exigency of
a crisis so momentous may require.
Resolved, That the Hon. George Cabot, the Hon.
Chauncey Goodrich, and the Hon. Daniel Lyman, or any
two of them, be authorized to call another meeting of this
convention, to be holden in Boston, at any time before
new delegates shall be chosen, as recommended in the
above resolution, if on their judgment the situation of the
country shall urgently require it.

George Cabot,
Nathan Dane,
William Pkescott,
Harrison Gray Otis,
Timothy Bigelow,
Joshua Thomas,
Samuel Sumner Wilde,
Joseph Lyman,
Stei'Hicn Longfellow, Jun.
Daniel Waldo,
Hodijati Baylies,
George Bliss.

• Massachusetts.

28
Ctiauncey Goodrich,
John Treadwell,
James Hillhouse,
ZEriiANrAii Swift,
Nathaniel Smith,
Calvin Goddard,
Roger Minot Sherman.
Daniel Lyman,
Samuel Ward,
Edward Manton,
Benjamin Hazard.
Benjamin West,
Mills Olcott
William Hall, Jun.

Connecticut.

J

Zhode-Island.
r N. Hampshire.
Vermont.

Theodore Dwight, History of the Hartford Convention. 352-379.

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PLANE AND SOLID,
By CHARLES A. HOBBS, A. M. (Harvard).
Master of Mathematics in the Volkmann School, Boston, Mass.
£smo. Half Leather. 404 pp. Price, $1.25.
In order that a student may receive the most profit from the study o.
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The Common Sense . .
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A SYSTEM OF VERTICAL PENMANSHIP.
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*

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3 —Extracts from the Sagas describing the Voyages to Vinland.
4!— Extracts from Official Declarations of the United States embodying
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5.— Documents illustrating the Territorial Development of the United
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NO. 36.
THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.
PERCY'S DISCOURSE OF VIROINIA.
WINQFIELD'S DISCOURSE
OF VIRGINIA.
1607, 1619.

C>\

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1907

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COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.

No. 36.

JAMESTOWN, J607, J6J9.

CONTENTS.

PAGE. I

I. Percy's Discourse of Virginia 
II. Wingfield's Discourse of Virginia  17

The history of early Virginia depends upon ihe "Discourse"
vrtten by George Percy, the "Discourse of Virginia" penned by
Edward Maria Wingfield, and the "True Relation" and "General
History" of Captain John Smith, together with isolated and
fragmentary pieces from other actors on that historic ground.
The "True Relation" forms No. 27- of the present series, while
the "General History" has been reproduced in almost countless
forms. This number of the "Leaflets" contains the two less well-
known accounts of these early days. George Percy was the
eighth son of Henry Percy, Eat! of Northumberland and brother
of Henry Percy, the ninth holder of that title. He caire to Vir
ginia in the first expedition and remained in the colony until
April, 1612, when he returned to England. Besides the docu
ment which is here printed, he wrote a "True Relation of the
v'roev clings in Virginia" in answo io charges which iiad been
5'ode by Captain John Smith in the h>st years of the existence
of ihe Virginia Comoany; but there j; no animosity rgamst
Smith delayed in the document which is here printed. Edward
Maria Wingfield likewise cam-; of a distinguished f.'imly, as ap-

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN,

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

pears from the fact that he was godson of Cardinal Pole anc
Queen Mary Tudor, from the latter of whom he derived his
middle name. His career in Virginia was unfortunate, but hi;
"Discourse" is interesting as showing his side of the case. Fur
ther information concerning these authors can be found in tin
"Dictionary of English National Biography" and Brown's "Gene
sis of the United States," Vol. II.
Among the mare important modern books dealing with tin
early expeditions to the James River are Alexander Brown'
"Genesis of the United States" (Boston, 1890) and the sam.
author's "First Republic in America" (Boston, 1898) ; P. A
Brace's "Economic History of Virginia" (New York' 1896)
The most recent secondary accounts are to be found in L. G
Tyler's "English in America" in the "American Nation Series
and Edward Channing's "United States," Vol. I.

PERCY'S DISCOURSE.
Observations gathered out of a Discourse of the Plantation
of the Sonthcme Colonie in Virginia by the English,
1606. Written by that Honorable Gentleman Master
George Percy.
On Saturday the twentieth of December in the yeere 1606.
the fleet fell from London, and the fift of January we anchor-
sd in the Dozvncs; but the winds continued contrarie so long,
chat we were forced to stay there some time, where wee suf
fered great stormes, but by the skilfulnesse of the Captaine
wee suffered no great losse or danger.
The twelfth day of February at night we saw a blazing
Starre, and presently a storme. The three and twentieth day
we fell with the Hand of Mattanenio in the West Indies. The
foure and twentieth day we anchored at Doniinico, within
fourteene degrees of the Line,Ja very faire Hand, the Trees
full of sweet and good smels inhabited by many Savage In
dians, they were at first very scrupulous to conic aboorci usl
Wee learned 01* them afterwards that the, Spaniards haT
given them a great overthrow on this Ile,\i>iit when they
knew what we were, there came ninny to our ships with their
Canoas, bringing us many kindes of sundry fruites, as Pines,
Potatoes, Plantons, Tobacco, and other fruits, and Roane
Cloth abundance3which they had gotten out of certaine
Spanish ships that were cast away upon that _ Hand. We
gave them Knives, Hatchets for exchange which they es-
teeme much, wee also gave them Beades, Copper Jewels
which they hang through" their nosthrils, eares, and lips, very
strange to behold, their bodies are all painted red to keepe
away the biting of Muscetos, they goe all naked without cov
ering: the haire of their head is a yard long, all of a length
pleated in three plats hanging downe to their wastes, they
suffer no haire to grow oiithcir faces, they cut their skinncs
.in divers workes, they are continually in warres, and will

4 THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.
Vate their enemies when they kill them, or any stranger if
they take Ihem. They will lap up mans spittle, whilst one
spits in their mouthes in a barbarous fashion like DoggcsJ
These people and the rest of the Islands in the West Indies,
and Brasill, are called by the names of Canibals, that will
cale mans flesh, these people doe poyson their Arrow heads,
which are made of a fishes boneQhey worship the Devill for
their God, and have no other belie fe^' Wildest we remayued
at ibis Hand wc saw a Whale chased by a Thresher and a
c'r.vtu'd-lish : they fought for the space of two hourcs, we
might see the Thresher with his flayle lay on the monstrous
bhiwes which was strange to behold: in the end these two
fishes brought the Whale to her end.
The sixe and twentieth day, we had sight of Marigalanta,
and ihe next day wee sailed with a slackc saile alongst the
Ile of Guadalnpa, -where wc went ashore, and found a Bath
which was so hot, that no man was able to stand long by it,
our Adn.irall Captaine Newport caused a piece of Porke tc
be put in it: which boy led it so in the space of halfe an houre,
as no fire could mend it. Then we went aboord and sailed by
many Hands, as Mounserot and an Hand called Saint
Christopher, both unhabitecl about; about two a clocke in
the aftcrnoone wee anchored at the He of Mcvis. There the
Captaine landed all his men being well fitted with Muskets
and other convenient Amies, inarched a mile into the Woods;
being commanded to stand upon their guard, fearing the
trcaclierie of the Indians, which is an ordinary use amongst,
them and all other Savages on this He, we came^t'o a Bath
standing in a Valley betwixt two Hils ; where wee bathed
our selves and found it to be of the nature of the Bathes in
England, some places hot and some colder: and men may re
fresh themselves as they please, finding this place to be so
convenient for our men to avoid diseases, which will breed
in so long a Voyage, wee incamped our selves on this He sixe
il.iyrs, and spent none of our ships vieluall, by reason our men
:.onic went a limiting, some a fouling, and some a fishing,
where we got great store of Conies, sundry kinds of fowlcs,
'"and itreat plcntic of fish. CW'e kept Centincls and Courts de
' ¦¦ci-ti at eve rv Captaines quarter, fearing wee should be as-
Is. Hilled I'V the Indians, thai wcre~~oiV the other side of the
Hand: wee saw none ii'U* were molested by any: but some
f.'w we saw as wc were a hunting ou the Hand. They would
not come to us by any meancs, but ranr.e swiftly through the

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

5

Woods to the Mounlaine tops:, :o we lost the sight of thcmT\
whereupon we made all the haste wee could to our quarter, I
thinking there had bcene a great ambush of Indians therej
abouts. Wc past into the thickest of the Woods where we
had almost lost our selves, we had not gone above halfe a
mile amongst the thickc, but we came into a most pleasant
Jiarden, being a hundred paces square on every side, ha'inj
manv Cotton-trees growing in it with abundance of Cotton
wool!, and many Guiacttm trees: wee saw the goodliest tall
trees growing so thickc about the Garden, as though <h»y
had bcene set by Art, which made us marvell very much to
see it.
The third dav,'' wee set saile from Mcvis: the fourth day
wc sailed along by Castutia and by Saba: This day we
anchored at the ile of Virgines, in an excellent Bay able
to harbour a hundred Ships: if this Bay stood in England,
it would be a great profit and commoditie to the Land. On
.his [land wee caught rji\at strre rf Fre-h li h, r.nl abund: nee
of Sea Tortoises, which served all our Fleet three dates, which
were in number eight score persons. We also killed great
store of wilde Fowle, wee cut the Barkes of certaine Trees
which tasted much like Cinnamon, and very hot in the mouth.
This Hand in some places hath very good ground, straight
and tall Timber. But the greatest discommoditie that wee
have scene on this Hand is that it hath no Fresh-water,
which makes the place void of any Inhabitants.
Upon the sixt day, we set saile and passed by Beram, and
by Saint John deportorico. The seventh day, we arrived at
Mono: where wee watered, which we stood in great need
of, seeing that our water did smell so vildly that none of our
men was able to indure it. Whilst some of the Saylers were
a filling the Caskes with water, the Captaine, and the rest
jf the Gentlemen, and other Soldiers marched up in the He
jixe miles, thinking to find some other provision to maiuiaine
our victualling; as wee marched we killed two wild Bores,
and saw a huge wild Bull, his homes was an ell betwecne
¦the two toiis. 'Wee also killed Guanas, in fashion of a Ser
pent, and speckled like a Toade under the belly. These
waves that wee went, being so troublesome and vilde going
upon Ihe sharpe Rockes, that many of our men fainted in
the march, hut by good fortune wee lost none hut one Ed
ward Brookes Gentleman, whose fal melted within him by
'April, n'107. 1

6 THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.
the great hcatc and drought of the Countrey: we were not
able lo relieve him nor our selves, so he died in that great
extrcamitie. The ninth day in the afternoone, we went off with our
Boat to the He of Moneta, some three leagues from Mona,
where we had a terrible landing, and a troublesome getting
up to the top of the Mountaine or Ile, being a high firme
Rocke step, with many terrible sharpe stones: AfterVee got
to the top of the lie, we found it to bee a fertill and a plame
ground, full of goodly grasse, and abundance cf Fowdes of
all kindes, they flew over our heads as thicke as drops of
Hale; besides they made such a noise, that wee were not
able to heare one another speake. Furthermore, wee were
not able to set our feet on the ground, but either' on Fowles
or Egges which lay so thicke in the grasse: Wee laded two
Boats full in the space of three houres, to our great re
freshing. The tenth day wc set saile, and disimboged out of the West
Indies, and bare our course Northerly. The fourteenth day
we passed the Tropicke of Cancer. The one and twentieth
day, about five a clocke at night there began a vehement
tempest, which lasted all the night, and winds, raine, and
thunders in a terrible manner. Wee were forced to lie at
Hull that night, because we thought wee had beene neerer
land then wee were. The next morning, being the two and
twentieth day wee sounded : and the three and twentieth and
foure and twentieth da}', but we could find no ground. The
five and twentieth day we sounded, and had no ground at an
hundred fathom. The six and twentieth day of Aprill,' about
foure a clocke in the morning, wee descried the Land of Vir
ginia: the same day wee entred into the Bay of Chcsnpioc
(h'rectly, without any let or hinderance ; there wee landed and
discovered a little way, but wee could find nothing worth the
speaking of, but faire meddowes and goodly tall 'frees, with
such Fresh-waters running through the woods, as 1 was al
most ravished at the first sight thereof.
At night, when wee were going aboard, there came the
Savages creeping upon all foure, from the Hills like Beares,
with their Bowes in their mouthes, charged us desperately
in the faces, hurt Captaine Gab rill Archer in both bis hands,
and a sayler in two places of the body very dangerous. After
they had spent their Arrowes, and felt the sharpnesse of our
]M.iv 6, 1607.

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN. 7
shot, they retired into the Woods with a great noise, and
so left us.
The seven and twentieth day we began to build up our
Shallop: the Gentlemen and Souldiers marched eight miles
up into the Land, we coald not see a Savage in all that
march, we came to a place wdiere they had made a great fire,.
and had beene newly a rosting Oysters : wdien they perceived
our comming, they ficd away to the Mountaines, and leftj
many of the Oysters in the fire; we eat some of the Oysters,
wdiicii were very large and delicate in taste.
The eighteenth day we lanched our Shallop, the Captaine
and some'Gentlemen'went in her, and discovered up the Bay,
we found a River on the Southside running into the Maine ;
we entered it and found it very shoald water, not for any
Boats to swim : Wee went further into the Bay, and saw a
plaine plot of ground where we went on Land, and found
the place five niile in compasse, without either Bush or Tree,
we saw nothing there but a Cannow, which was made out of
the whole tree, which was five and fortie foot long by the
Rule. Upon this plot of ground we got good store of Mus
sels and Oysters, which lay on the ground as thicke as stones :
wee opened some, and found in many of them Pearles. Wee
marched some three or foure miles further into the Woods^
where we saw great smoakes of fire. Wee marched to those
smoakes and found that the Savages had beene there burning
downe the grasse, as wee thought either to make their plan- ,
ration there, or else to give signes to bring their forces lo-J
nether, and so to give us battell. yVe past through excellent
ground full of Flowers of divers kinds and colours, and as
goodly trees as I have scene, as Cedar, Ciprcsse, and other
kindes: going a little further we came into a little plat of
ground full of fine and bcautifull Strawberries, foure times
bigger and better than ours in England J Al: this march wc,
could neither see Savage nor Townc. When it grew to be
towards night wc stood backe to our Ships, we sounded and'
found it shallow water for a great way, which put us out of
all hopes for getting any higher with our Ships, which road
at the mouth of the River." Wee rowed over to anoint of
Land, where wee found a channell. and sounded six^ei^t
ten, or twelve fathom: which put us in good comfort. 1 here-
fore wee named that point of Land, Cape Comfort.
The nine and twentieth day we set up a Crosse at Ci s<t-
pioc Bay, and named that place Cape Henry. Thirtieth day,

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

wc came with our ships to Cape Comfort; where wee saw five
Savages running on the Shoare; presently the Captaine
caused the shallop to be manned, so rowing to the shoare,
the Captaine called to them in signe of friendship, but they
were at first very timersome, untii they saw the Captain lay
his hand on his heart: upon that they laid clown their Bowes
and Arrowes, and came very boldly to us, making signes to
come a shoare to their Towne, which is called by the Savages
Kecoughtan. \J\'ree coasted to their Towne, rowing over a
River running into the Maine, where these Savages swam
over with their Bowes and Arrowes in their mouthes!)
When we came over to the other side, there was a many
of other Savages which directed us to their Towne, where
we were entertained by them very kindly. When we came
first a Land they made a dolefull noise, laying their faces to
the ground, scratching the earth with their nailes. We did
thinke that they had been at their Idolatry. When they had
ended their Ceremonies, they went into their houses and
brought out mats and laid upon the ground, the chief est of
them sate all in a rank : the meanest sort brought us such
dainties as they had, & of their bread which they make of
their Maiz or Gennea wheat, they would not suffer us to
eat unlcssc we sate down, which we did on a Mat right
, against them. After we were well satisfied they gave us of
j their\\Tobacco, wdiich they tooke in a pipe made artificially of
j earth as ours are, but far bigger, .with the bowde fashioned
! together with a piece of fine copper/ After they had feasted
us, they shewed us, in welcome, their manner of dancing,
which was in this fashion : (bne of the Savages standing in
the midst singing, beating one hand against another, all the
rest dancing about him, shouting, howling, and stamping
against the ground, with many Anticke tricks and faces, mak
ing noise like so many Wolves or Devils^ One thing of them
I observed ; when they were in their dance they kept stroke
with their feet just one with another, but with their bands,
heads, faces, and bodies, every one of them had a sevcrall
gesture: so they continued for the space of halfe an boure.
When they had ended their dance, the Captaine gave them
Beadcs and other trilling Jewells. They hang through their
cares Fowles legs: they shave the right side of their heads
with a shell, the left side they weare of an el! long tied up
with an artificial! knot, with a many of Foules feathers stick
ing in it. They goe altogether naked, but their privities are

covered with Beasts skinnes beset commonly with litt!e
bones, or beasts teeth: some paint their bodies blacke, some
red, with artificiall knots of sundry lively colours, very beau-
tifull and pleasing to the eye, in a braver fashion then they in
the West Indies.
The fourth day of May, we came to the King or Wero-
wance of Paspihc: where they entertained us with much
welcome; an old Savage made a long Oration, making a
foule noise, uttering his speech with a vehement action, but
we knew little what they meant. Whilst we were in com
pany with the Paspihcs, the Werowance of Rapahanna came
from the other side of the River in his Cannoa: he seemed
to take displeasure of our being with the Paspihcs: he would
faine have had us come to his Towne, the Captaine was un
willing; seeing that the day was so far spent he returned
backe to his ships for that night.
The next day, being the fift of May, the Werowance of
Rapahanna sent a Messenger to have us come to him. We
entertained the said Messenger, and gave him trifles which
pleased him: Wee manned our shallop with Muskets and
Targatiers sufficiently : this said Messenger guided us where
our determination was to goe. When wee landed, the Wero-^
wance of Rapahanna came downe to the water side with all v/
his traine, as goodly men as any I have seene of Savages or
Christians: the Werowance comming before them playing''
on a Flute made of a Reed, with a Crown of Deares haire
coloured red, in fashion of a Rose fastened about his knot of
haire, and a great Plate of Copper on the other side of his
head, with two long Feathers in fashion of a paire of Homes
placed in the niicbt of bis Crowne. His body was painted all
with Crimson, with a Chaine of Beads about his necke, his
face painted blew, besprinkled with silver Ore as wee
thought, his earcs all behung with Braslets of Pcarle, and in
either eare a Birds Claw through it beset with fine Copper
or Gold.Chc entertained us in so modest a proud fashion, as
though he had beene a Prince of civill govcrnment^holdin?
his countenance without laughter or any such ill behaviourj
he caused his Mat (o be spred on the ground, where bee sate
downe with a great Majestic, taking a pipe of Tobacco: ihe
rest of bis company standing about him. After he had rested
a while he rose, and made signes to us to come to his Towne :
flee went formost, and all the rest of his people and our
selves followed him up a steepe Hill wdiere his Palace was

10

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

settled. Wee passed through the Woods in fine paths, hav
ing most pleasant Springs which issued from the Mouiitaines:
Wee also went through the goodliest Cortie fieldes that ever
was scene in any Countrey. When wee came to Rapahannos
Towne, bee entertained us in good hunianitie.
The eight day of May wc discovered up the River. We
landed in the Countrey of Apamatica, at our landing, there
came many stout and able Savages to resist us with their
Bowes and Arrowes, in a most warlike manner, with the
swords at their backes beset with sharpe stones, and pieces
of yron able to cleave a man in sunder. Amongst the rest
one of the chiefest standing before them crosse-legged, with
his Arrow readie in his Bow in one hand, and taking a Pipe
of Tobacco in the other, with a bold uttering of his speech,
demanded of us our being there, walling us to"bee gone. Wee
made signes of peace, wdiich they perceived in the end, and
let us laud in quietnesse.
The twelfth day we went backe to our ships, and dis
covered a point of Land, called Archers Hope, wdiich was
sufficient with a little labour to defend our selves against
any Enemy. The soile was good and fruitfull, with excellent
good Timber. There are also great store of Vines in big-
nesse of mans thigh, running up to the tops of the Trees
in great abundance. We also did see many Squirels, Conies,
Black Birds with crimson wings, and divers other Fowdes
and Birds of divers and sundrie collours of crimson, Watchet,
Yellow, Greene, Murry, and of divers other hewes naturally
without any art using.
We found store of Turkie nests and many Egges, if it had
not beene disliked, because the ship could not ride neere the
shoare, we had sctled there to all the Collonies contentment.
The thirteenth day, we came to our seating place in Pas-
pihas Countrey, some eight miles from the point of Land,
which I made mention before: where our shippes doe lie so
neere the shoare that they are moored to the Trees in six
fathom water.
The fourteenth day we landed all our men which were set
to vAnrke about the fortification, and others some to watch
and ward as it was convenient. The first night of our land
ing, about midnight, there came some Savages sayling close
to our quarter: presently there was an alarum given; upon
luiat the Savages ran away, and wc not troubled any more
G

by them (hat night. Not long after there came two Savages
that seemed to he Commanders, bravely drest, with Crownes
of coloured haire upon their heads, which came as Messen
gers from the Werowance of Paspiliae; telling us that their
Werowance was comming and would be merry with us with a
fal Deare.
'The eighteenth day, the Werowance of Paspiha" came him-
selfe to our quarter, with one hundred Savages armed, which
garded him in a very warlike manner with Bowes and Ar
rowes, thinking at that time to execute their villany. Pas
piliae made great signes to us to lay our Amies away. But
we would not trust him so far: he seeing he could not have
convenient time to worke his will, at length made signes
that he would give us as much land as we would desire to
take. As the Savages were in a throng in the Fort, one of
them stole a Hatchet from one of our company, which spied
him doing the deed: whereupon he tooke it from him by
force, and also strooke him over the arme: presently another
Savage seeing that, came fiercely at our man with a wooden
sword, thinking to beat out his braines. The W crowance
of Paspiha saw us take to our Armes, went suddenly away
with all his company in great anger.
The nineteenth day, my selfe and three or foure more
walking into the Woods by chance wee espied a path-way
like to an Irish pace: wee were desirous to knowe whither
it would bring us; wee traced along some foure miles, all
the way as wee went, having the plcasantest Suckles, the
ground all flowing over with faire flowers of sundry colours
and kindes, as though it had beene in any Garden or Orchard
in England. There were many Strawberries, and other fruits
unknowne : wee saw the Woods full of Cedar and Cypressc
trees, with other trees, wdiich issues out sweet Gummes like
to Balsam : wee kept on our way in this Paradise, at length
wee came to a Savage Towne, where wee found but few
people, they told us the rest were gone a hunting with the
Werowance of Paspiha: we stayed there a while, and had
of them Strawberries, and other things; in the mcane time
one of the Savages came running out of his house with a
Bowc and Arrowes and ratine mainly through the Woods:
then I beganne to mistrust some villanic, that lie went to call
some companie, and so betray us, wee made all the haste
away wee could : one of the Savages brought us on the way
to the Wood side, where there was a Garden of Tobacco,

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

i3

and other fruits and lierbes, he gathered Tobacco, and dis
tributed to every one of us, so wee departed.
The twentieth day the Werowance of Paspiha sent fortie
of his men with a Deere, to our quarter; but they came more
in villanie than any love they bare us: they faine would have
layne in our Fort all night, but wee would not suffer them
\ for fcare ol their treachery. One of our Gentlemen having
a Target which lice trusted in, thinking it would bcarc out a
slight shot, bee set it up against a tree, willing one of the
Savages lo shoot; who tooke from his backe an Arrow of an
elle long, drew it strongly in his Bowe, shoots the Target a
footc thorow, or better: wdiich was si range, being that a
Pistoll could not pierce it. Wee seeing the force of his
Bowe, afterwards set him up a Steele Target; he shot again,
and burst his arrow all to pieces, he presently pulled out
another Arrow, and bit it in his teeth, and seemed to bee
in a great rage, so hee went away in great anger. Their
Bowes are made of tough Hasell, their strings of Leather,
their Arrowes of Canes or Hasell, headed with very sharpe
stones, and are made artificially like a broad Arrow; other
some of their Arrowes are headed with the ends of Deeres
homes, and are feathered very artificially. Paspiha was as
good as his word; for hee sent Venison, but the Sawse came
within few dayes after.
At Tort Cotage in our Voyage up the River, we saw a
Savage Boy about the age of ten yecres, wdiich had a head
of haire of a perfect yellow and a reasonable white skinne,
which is a Miracle amongst all Savages.
This River which wee have discovered is one of the fam-
ousest Rivers that ever was found by any Christian, it ebbes
and flowes a hundred and threescore miles where ships of
great burthen may harbour in safetie. Wheresoever we
lauded upon this River, wee saw the goodliest Woods as
Beech, Okc, Cedar, Cypresse, Wal-nuts, Sassafras and Vines
in great abundance, wdiich hang in great clusters on many
Trees, and other Trees unknowne, and all the grounds be-
spred with many sweet and delicate flowres of divers colours
and kindes. There are also manv fruites as Strawberries,
Mulberries, Rasbcrries and Fruits unknowne, there are many
branches of this River, which runne flowing through the
Woods with great plenlie of fish of all kindes, as for Stur
geon nil ihe World cannot he compared to il. hi this Coun
trey I have scene many great and large Medowcs having
\0

excellent good pasture for any Cattle. There is also great
store of Deere both Red and Fallow. There are Beares,
Foxes, Otters, Bevers, Muskrats, and wild beasts unknowne.
The foure and twentieth day wee set up a Crosse at the
head of this River, naming it Kings River, where we pro
claimed James King of England to have the most right unto
it. When wee had finished and set up our Crosse, we shipt
our men and made for James Fort. By the way wee came to
Polmtans Towre where the Captaine went on shore suffering
none to goe with him, hee presented the Commander of this
place with a Hatchet which hee tooke joyfully, and was well
pleased. _,
But yet the Savages murmured aU our planting in the
Count rie, whereupon this Werowance"ma.o% rinswere againe
very wisely of a Savage, Why should you bee offended with
them as long as they hurt you not, nor take any thing away
by force, they take but a little waste ground, which dotli_j
you nor any of us any good.
I saw Bread trade l,y their women wdiich doe all their drug-
erie. The men takes their pleasure in hunting and their
vvarres, which they are in continually one Kingdome against
another. The manner of baking bread is thus, after they
pound their wheat into flowre with hote water, they make it
into paste, ajiid worke it into round balls and Cakes, then they
put it into a pot of seething water, when it is sod throughly,
they lay it on a smooth stone, there they harden it as well as
in an Oven.
There is notice to be taken to know married women from
Maids, the Maids you shall alwayes sec the fore part of their
head and sides shaven close, the hinder part very long, which
they lie in a pleate hanging downe to their hips. The married
women weares their haire all of a length, and is tied of
that fashion that the Maids are. The women kinde in this
Countrey doth pounce and race their bodies, legges, thighes,
amies and faces with a sharpe Iron, which makes a stampc
in curious knots, and, drawes the proportion of Fowlcs, Fish,
or Beasts, then with paintings of sundry lively colours, they
rub it into the stampc which will never be taken away, be
cause it is dried into the flesh where it is sered.
The Savages beare their yecres well, for when wee were
al Pumonkies, wee saw a Savage by their report was above
eight score yecres of age. I lis eyes were smiKe into hi-;
head, having never a tooth in his mouth, his haire all gray
\\

H

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

15

with a reasonable bigge beard, which was as wdiite as any
snow. It is a Miracle to see a Savage have any haire on
their faces, I never saw, read, nor heard, any have the like
before. This Savage was as lustic and went as fast as any
of us, which was strange to behold.
The fifteenth day of June, we had built and finished our
Fort which was triangle wise, having three Bulwarkes at
every corner like a halfe Moone, and foure or five pieces of
Artillcrie mounted in them, we had made our selves suffi
ciently strong for these Savages, we had also sowne most
of our Conic on two Mountaines, it sprang a mans height
from the ground, this Countrey is a fruitfiill soile, bearing
many goodly and fruitfiill Trees, as Mulberries, Cherries,
Walnuts, Ceders, Cypresse, Sassafras, and Vines in great
abundance. Muuday the two and twentieth of June, in the morning
Captaine Newport in the Admirall departed from James Port
for England.
Captaine Newport being gone for England, leaving us (one
hundred and foure persons) verie bare and scantie of vic
tuals, furthermore in warrcs and in danger of the Savages.
"He hoped after a supply which Captaine Newport promised**
within twentie weekes. But [if the beginners of this action /
doe carefully further us, the Country being so fruitful!, it
would be as great a profit to Jjie Realme of England, as the ;;
Indies to the King of Spaincjii this River which we have
found had bcene discovered in the time of warre with Spaine, ,
it would have beene a commoditie to our Realme, and a great I
annoyance^ to our enemies. The seven and twentieth of i
July the King of Rapahanna, demanded a Canoa which was
restored, lifted up his hand to the Sunne, which they worship
as their God, besides he laid his hand on his heart, that he!
would be our speciall friend. It is a general! rule of thesej
people when they swere by their God which is the Sunne,
no Christian will keepe their Oath better upon this promise.
These people have a great reverence to the Sunne above all
other things at the rising and setting of the same, they sit
downe lifting up their hands and eyes to the Sunne making
a round Circle on the ground with dried Tobacco, then they
began to pray making many Devilfish gestures with a Hellish
noise fuming at ihe mouth, staring with their eyes, wagging
their beads and hands in such a fashion and deformitie as it
was monstrous to behold. w

The sixt of August there died John -Asbic of the bloudie
Flixe. The ninth day died George Floivre of the swelling.
The tenth day died William- Bruster Gentleman, of a wound
given by the Savages, and was buried the eleventh day.
The fourteenth dav, Jerome Alikock Ancient, died of a
wound, the same day Francis Midwinter, Edivard Moris Cor-
porall died suddenly. , ., t,
The fifteenth clay, there died Edward Browne and Stephen
Gallhrope. The sixteenth clav, their died Thomas Gozvcr
Gentleman. The seventeenth dav, there died Thomas Moun-
slic The eighteenth day, there died Robert Pennington, and
John Marline Gentleman. The nineteenth day, died Drue
Piggasc Gentleman. The two and twentieth day of August,
there died Captaine Bartholomew Gosnold one of our Coun-
cell, he was honourably buried, having all the Ordnance 111
the Fort shot off with many vollies of small shot.
After Captaine Gosnols death, the Councell could hardly
agree by the dissention of Captaine Kendall, which after
ward was committed about, haiuous matters which was
proved against him. .
The foure and twentieth day, died Edward Hanngton and
George Walker, and were buried on the same day. The sixe
and twentieth day, died Kenclme Throgmortme. The seven
and twentieth day died William Roods. The eight and
twentieth day died Thomas Stoodie, Cape Merchant.
The fourth day of September died Thomas Jacob Sergeant.
The fift dav, there died Benjamin Beast. [Our men were
destroyed With cruell diseases as Swellings, Thxes, Burning
(Fevers and by warres, and some departed suddenly, but for
\the most part they died of mere famine. There were never^
^Englishmen left in a forreigue Countrey m such miscnej^
as wee were in this new discovered Virginia ,lWee watched
every three nights lying ou the bare cold ground what
weather soever came warded all the next day, wdiich brought
our men to bee most feeble wretches, our food was but a
small Can of Barlie sod in water to five men a day, our
drinkc cold water taken out of the River, which was at a
flood verie salt, at a low tide full of slime and filth, winch
was the destruction of many of our men. Thus we lived for
the space of live moncths in this miserable distresse, not
havino- five able men to man our Bulwarkes upon any oc
casion. If it had not pleased God to have put a texiflm in
the Savages hearts, we had all perished by those vild andi

1 6

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

cruell Pagans, being in that weakc estate as we were; our
men night and day groaning in every corner of the Fort most
pittifull to heare, if there were any conscience in men, it
would make their harts to bleed to heare the pitlifu! mur-
murings & out-cries of our sick men without rcliefe every
night and day for the space of sixe weekes, some departing
out of the World, many times three or foure in a night, iii
the morning their bodies trailed out of their Cabincs like
Dogges to be buried : in this sort did I see the mortalitie of
divers of our people.
It pleased God, after a while, to send those people which
were our mortall enemies to releeve us with victuals, as
Bread, Corne, Fish, and Flesh in great plentie, which was
the setting up of our feeble men, otherwise wee had all per
ished. Also we were frequented by divers Kings in the
Countrie, bringing us store of provision to our great comfort.
The eleventh day, there was certaine Articles laid against
Master JVingtield wdiich was then President, thereupon he
was not only displaced out of his President ship, but also
from being of the Councell. Afterwards Captaine John Rat-
cliffc was chosen President.
The eighteenth day, died one Ellis Kinistone which was
starved to death with cold. The same clay at night, died one
Richard Simmons. The nineteenth day, there died one
Thomas Mouton.
William White (having lived with the Natives) reported
to us of their customes in the morning by breake of day, be
fore they eate or drinke both men, women and children, that
be above terme yeeres of age runnes into the water, there
washes themselves a good while till the Sunne riseth, then
offer Sacrifice to it, strewing Tobacco on the water or Land,
honouring the Sunne as their God, likewise they doe at
the setting of the Sunne.
[Purchas's Pilgrimes, (London, 1625) Part iv, pp. 1685-1(190.]

V-\

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

17

II
WINGFIELD'S DISCOURSE
Here followcth what happened in James Towne, in Virginia,
after Caplayue Newport's departure for Engliund.
Captayne Newport, liavcing allwayes his eyes and eares
open to the proceedings of the Collonye, 3 or 4 dayes before
his departure asked the President how he thought himself
settled in the gouerment: whose answere was, that no dis
turbance could indaunger him or the Collonye, but it must
be wrought eyther by Captayne Gosnoid or Mr Archer; for
the one was strong wth frcinds and followers, and could if
he would; and the other was troubled wth an ambitious spirit,
and would if he could.
The Captayne gave them both knowdedge of this, the Presi
dent's opinion ; and moved them, with many intreaties, to
be myndefull of their dutyes to His Matie and the Collonye.
June, 1607. — The 22th, Captayne New-port retorned for
England; for whose good passadge and safe retorne wee
made many prayers to our Almighty God.
June the 251I1, an Indian came to us from the great Pougli-
waton wth the word of peace; that he desired greatly our
freindshipp: that the wyrounnces, Pasyaheigh and Tapa-
hanagh, should be our freindes; that wee should sowe and
reape in peace, or els he would make warrs upon them wth
vs. This message fell out true; for both those wyroaunccs
have ever since remayned in peace and trade with vs. Wee
rewarded the messiuger wth many tryfles well wxre great
wonders to him.
This Powatan dwellelh 10 myles from vs, upon the River
Famaonche, well lyeth North from us. The Powatan in
the former iornall menconed (a dwellar by Captn. Newport's
faults) ys a wyroaunce, and under this Great Powaton, well
before wee knew not.
July. — Th 3 of July, 7 or 8 Indians presented the Presi
dent a dear from Pamaonke, a wyrouance, desiring our
friendshipp. They enquired after our shipping; well the

i8

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

1 resident said was gon to Crotitoon. They fear much our
sbipps; and therefore he would not have them think it fan-
from us. Their wyrounce had a hatchet sent him Thev
wear we 1 contented wth trifles. A little after this came a
dear to the President from the Great Powatan. He and his
messingcrs were pleased wth the like trifles. The President
likewise bought divers tymes dear of the Indyans; beavers,
and other flesh ; wch he alwayes caused to be equally devided
among the Collonye.
About this tyme, divers of our men fell sick. We mvssed
above (forty before September did see us; amongst whom was
the worthy and religious gent. Captn. Bartholomew Gosnold
upon whose liefs stood a great part of the good succes and
ortune of our government and Collony. In his sicklies
tyme, the President did easily foretel his owne deposing from
us comaimd; so much .differed the President anil the other
Loiinccllors in niannagmg the government of the Collonye.
July-- Ihe 711 of July Tapahanah, a wyroaunce, dweller
on Sahsbery side, hayled us with the word of peace. The
1 resident, wth a shallopp well manned, went to him. He
found him syttmg on the ground crossed legged, as is theire
custom, wli one attending on him, wch did often saie, "This
is the wyroance Tapahanah ;" wch he did likewise confirme
wth streaking his brest. He was well enough knowne; for
the President had sene him divse [diverse] tymes before His
countynance was nothing cherefull; for we had not seen him
since he was ,11 the feild against, us; but the President would
take no knowledge thereof, and used him kindely; giving
him a red wascoat, wch he did desire.
Tapahanah did enquire after our shipping. He receyved
answer as before. He said his ould store was spent: that
his new was not at full growth by a foote; that, as soone as
any was ripe, he would bring it; wch promise he truly
ptormed. ~ J
, .1Ile ; • • of " ¦ • Mr Kendall was put out from
nemg ot the Counsell, and comitted to prison; for that it
(lid manyfestly appeare he did practize to sowe discord be-
twceiie the President and Councell.
Sicknes had now left us vj [vi] able men in our towne.
».ods onely mercy did now watch and warde for us; but the
J resident ludd this our weaknes carefully from the salvages;
never siiffrmg them, in all this tyme, to come into our towne.
.Vpkm.— Ihe vjth of September, Pasyaheigh sent us a

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

19

boy that was run from us. This was the first assurance of
his peace wth us; besides, wee found them no canyballs.
The boye observed the men & women to spend the most
pt of the night in singing or howling, and that every morn
ing the women carryed all the litle children to the river's
sides; but what they did there, he did not knowe.
The rest of the wyroaunces doe likewise send our men
runnagats to us home agaiue, using them well during their
being with them ; so as now, they being well rewarded at
home at their retorne, they take litle ioye to travell abroad
whout pasporls.
The Councell demanded some larger allowance for them
selves, and for some sick, their favorites; wch the President
would not yeeld unto, wthout their warrants.
This matter was before ppounded [propounded] by Captn.
Martyn, but so nakedly as that he neyther knew the quantity
of the stoare lo be but for xiij weeks and a half, under the
Cap Mcrehaunt's hand. He prayed them further to consider
the long tyme before wee expected Captn. Newport's retorne ;
the incertainty of his retorne, if God did not favor his voy
age ; the long tyme before our harvest would bee ripe ; and
the doubtful! peace that wee had wth the Indyans, wch
they would keepe no longer then oportunity served to doe us
mischeif. It was then therefore ordered that every meale of fish or
flcshe should excuse the allowance for poridg, both against
the sick and hole. The Councell, therefore, sitting againe
upon this proposition, instructed in the former reasons and
order, did not thinke fit to break the former order by en
larging their allowance, as will appeare by the most voyces
reddy to be shewed under their handes. Now wras the com-
011 store of oyle, vinigar, sack, & aquavite all spent, save-
ing twoe gallons of each : the sack reserved for the Comuniou
Table, the rest for such cxtreamityes as might fall upon us,
wch the President had onely made knowne to Captn. Gos
nold; of wch course he liked well. The vessells wear, there
fore, boonged upp. When Mr Gosnold was dead, the Presi
dent did acquaint the rest of the Counsell wth the said rem
nant: but, Lord, how they then longed for to stipp up that
little remnant! for they had nowc emptied all their own bot
tles, and all other that they could smell out.
A little while after this, the Councell did againe fall upon
the President for some better allowance for themselves, and

20

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

some few the sick, their privates. The President ptested
[protested] he would not be partial; but, if any one had any
thing of him, every man should have his portion according to
their placs. Nevertheless, that, upon their warrants, he
would deliver what pleased them to demand. Yf the Presi
dent had at that tyme enlarged the pportion according to
their request, whout [without] doubt, in very short tyme,
he had starved the whole company. Fie would not ioyne wth
them, therefore, in such ignorant murder whout their own
warrant. The President, well seeing to what end their ympacience
would growe, desired them earnestly & often tymes to be-
s'kv the Presidentshipp amonge themselves; that he would
obey, a private man, as well as they could comand. But
they refused to charge him of the place ; sayeing they mought
not doe it, for that hee did his Matie good service in yt. ' In
this meanc tyme, the Indians did daily relieuc us wth corne
and fleshe, that, in three weekes, the President had reared upp
xx men able to worke ; for, as his stoare increased, he mended
the comon pott; he had laid up, besides, provision for 3
weekes' wdieate before hand.
By this tyme, the Councell had fully plotted to depose
Wingfield, ther then President; and had drawne certeyne
artyclcs in wrigliting amongst themselves, and toke their
oathes upon the Evangelists to observe them: th' effect
whereof was, first, —
To depose the then President;
To make Mr Ratcliffe the next President;
Not to depose the one th' other;
Not to take the deposed President into Councell againe ;
Not to take Mr Archer into the Councell, or any other,
wthout the consent of every one of them. To theis they had
subscribed ; as out of their owne mouthes, at severall tymes,
it was easily gathered. Thus had they forsaken his Mats
governmt, sett vs downe in the instruccons, & made it a
Triumvirat. It seemeth Mr Archer was nothing acquainted wth theis
artycles. Though all the rest crept" out of his noats and
romentaryes that were preferred against the President, yet
it pleased God to cast him into the same disgrace and pitt
that he prepared for another, as will appeare "hereafter.
Septan— The 10 of September, Mr Ratcliff, Mr Smyth,

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

21

and Mr. Martynn, came to the President's tennt with a war
rant, subscribed under their hands, to depose the President;
sayeing they thought him very unworthy to be eyther Pesi-
dent or of the Councell, and therefore discharged him of
bothe. lie answered them, that they had eased him of a great
deale of care and trouble; that, long since, lice had divers
tymes profercd them the place at au easier rate; and, fur
ther, that the President ought to be removed (as appeareth
in his Mats instruccons for our governnient) by the greater
number of xiij voyces, Councellors ; that they were but three,
and therefore wished them to proceede advisedly. But they
told him, if thev did him wrong, they must answere it. Then
said the deposed President, "I ame at your pleasure; dis
pose of me as you will, wthout further garboiies."
I will now write what followeth in my owne name, and
give the new President his title. I shall be the briefer being
thus discharged. I was comytted to a Serieant, and sent to
the pyunasse; but I was answered wth, "If they did me
wronge, they must answere it."
The nth of September, I was sent for to come before the
President and Councell upon their Court daie. They had
now made Mr Archer, Recorder of Virginia. The President
made a speeche to the Collony, that he thought it fitt to ac
quaint them whie I was deposed. I ame now forced to stuff
my paper with frivolous trifles, that our grave and worthy
Councell may the better strike those vaynes where the cor
rupt blood lyeth, and that they may see in wdiat maimer of
governmt the hope of the Collony now travayleth.
Ffirst, Master President said that I had denyed him a penny
whitle, a chickyn, a spoonfull of beere, and served bun wth
foule corne ; and wth that pulled some graine out of a bagg,
shewing it to the company.
Then start up Mr Smyth, and said that I had told him
playnly how he lied ; and that I said, though we were equall
heere, yet, if we were in England, he would think scorne
his man should be my companyon.
Mr Martyn followed wth, "He reporteth that I doe slack
the service in the Collonye, and doe nothing but tend my
pott, spitt, and oven; but he hath starved my sonne, and
denyed him a spooncfull of becrc. I banc friends 111 Eng
land shal be revenged on him, if ever lie come in London."
I asked Mr. President if I should answere theis complts,
and whether he had ought els to charge me wthall. Wth that

22

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

he pulled out n paper booke, loaded full wth artycles against
me, and gave them Mr Archer to rcade.
I tould Mr President and the Councell, that, by the in
struccons for our government, our proceedings ought to be
vcrball, and I was there ready to answere; but they said they
would procccde in that order. I desired a coppie of the ar
ticles, and tyme given me to answere them likewise by
wrighting; but that would not be graunted. I badd them
then please themselves. Mr. Archer then read some of the
artycles; when, on the suddaine, Mr President said, "Staie,
staie ! Wee know not whether lie will abide our Judgment,
or whether he will appealc to the King;" sayeing to me,
"How saie you: Will you appeale to the King, or no?" I
apprehended presently that God's mercy had opened me a
waie, through their ignorance, to escape their malice; for
I never knew how I might demande an appeale : besides, I
had a secret knowledge how they had forejudged me to paie
five fold for any thing that came to my hands, whereof I
could not discharge myself by wrighting; and that I should
lie in prison until I had paid it.
The Cape Marchant had delivered me our marchandize,
wthout any noat of the pcrticularyties, under my hand; for
himself had rcceyved them in grosse. I likewise, as occa-
tion moved me, spent them in trade or by guift amongst the
Indians. So likewise did Captn. Newport take of them, when
he went up to discover the King's river, what he thought
good, wthout any noate of his hand mentioning the certain
ty ; and disposed of them as was fitt for him. Of these, like
wise, I could make no accompt; onely I was well assured I
had never bestowed the valewe of three penny whitles to my
own use, nor to the private use of any other ; for I never
carryed any favorite over wth me, or intertayned any thear.
I was all one and one to all.
Upon theis consideracons, I answered Mr President and
the Councell, that His Matys handes were full of mercy, and
that I did appeale to His Mats mercy. They then comytted
me prisoner againe to the master of ye pynnasse, wth theis
words, "Looke to him we'd : he is now the King's prisoner."
Then Mr Archer pulled out of his hosome another paper
hook full of arlycles against me, desiring that he might rcade
thrni in the name of Ihe Collony. I said f stood there ready
to answere any man's complaintt whome I had wronged; hut
no one man spoke one word against me, Then was he willed

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

23

to rcade his booke, whereof I complayncd; but I was still
answered, "If they doe me wrong, they must answer it." I
have forgotten the most of the artycles, they were so slight
(yet he glorieth much in his pennworkc). I know well the
last: and a spceche that he then made savoured well of a
mutyny; for lie desired that by no means I might lye prys-
oner in the towne, least boath he and others of the Collony
should not give such obedience to their comaund as they
ought to doe: which goodly speech of his they easilye swal
lowed. But it was usuall and naturall to this honest gent.. Mi-
Archer, to be allwayes hatching of some mutany in my tyme.
Hee might have appcered an author of 3 severall mutynies.
And hee (as Mr Pcarsie sent me worde) had bought some
witnesses' handes against me to divers artycles, wth Indian
cakes (wch was noe great matter to doe after my deposal,
and considering their hungar), perswations, and threats. At
another tyme, he feared not to saie openly, and in the pres
ence of one of the Councell, that, if they had not deposed me
when they did, he hadd gotten twenty others to himself wch
should have deposed me. But this speech of his was likewise
easily disiested. Mr Crofts feared not to saie, that, if others
would ioyne wth him, he would pull me out of my seate, and
out of my skynn too. Others would saie (whose names I
spare), that, unless I would amend their allowance, tuey
would be their owne carvers. For these mutinus speeches
I rebuked them openly, and proceeded no further against
them, considering thein [therein] of men's lives in the King's
service there. One of the Councell was very earnest wth me
to take a guard aboute me. I answered him, I would no
guard but God's love and my own innocencie. In all theis
disorders was Mr Archer a ringleader.
When Mr President and Mr Archer had made an end of
their artycles above mentioned. I was again sent prisoner to
the pynnasse; and Mr Kendall, takeinge from thence, had
his liberty, but might not carry armes.
All this while, the salvages brought to the towne such corn
and fflcsh as they could spare. Paspahcigbe, by Tapahannc's
mediation, was taken inlo freindship with vs. The Councill
ors, Mr Smyth especially, traded up and downe the river wth
the Indyans for conic; well releved (he Collony well.
As I understand by a report, I am much charged wth starv
ing the Collony. 1 did ahvaics give every man his allow-

24

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

ance faithfully, hoth of corne, oyle, aquivitc, &c, as was by
the Counsell proportioned; neythcr was it bettered after my
tyme. unlill towards th' end of March, a biskct was allowed
iii evcrv workcing man for his brcakefast, by means of the
pvision brought us by Captn. Newport; as will appeare here
after. It is further said, I did much hanquit and ryot. I
never had but one squirell roasted; whereof I gave part to
Mr. Rat cliff, then sick; yet was that squirell given me. 1
did never heatc a flcshe pott but when the comon pot was
so used likewise. Yet how often Mr President's and the
Counccllors' spitts have night & daye bene endaungered to
break their backes, — so laden wth swanns, geese, ducks &!
how many times their flesh potts have swelled, many hungry
cies did behold, to their great longing; and what great theeves
and theeving thcar hath been in the comon stoare since my
tyme, I doubt not but is already made knowne to his Mats
Councell for Virginia.
The 17th daie of Septembr, I was sent for to the Court to
answere a complaint exhibited against me by Jehu Robinson;
for that, when I was President, I did saie, hee wth others
had consented to run awaye with the shallop to Newfound
land. At an other tyme, I must answere Mr. Smyth for
that I had said hee did conceal an intended mutany. I tould
Mr Recorder, those words would beare no actions ; that one
of the causes was done wthout the lymits menconed in the
Patent grauntcd to us ; and therefore prayed Mr President
that I motight not be thus lugged with theis disgraces and
troubles ; but hee did weare no other eies or eares than grew
on Mr Archer's head.
The jury gave the one of them iooli and the other two hun
dred pound damages for slaunder. Then Mr Recorder did
very learnedly comfort me, that, if I had wrong, I might
bring my writ of error in London; whereat I smiled.
I, seeing their law so speedie and cheape, desired justice
for a copper kettle wch Mr Crofte did deteyne from me.
Hee said I had given it him. I bid him bring his proofe
for that. Hee confessed he had no proofe. Then Mr.
President did aske me if I would be sworne I did not give
it him. I said I knew no cause whie to sweare for myne
own' lie asked Mr Crofts if bee would make oath I did!
give it him ; web oalhe he tooke, and wonn my kettle from me,
that was in that place and tyine worth half his weight in
gold. Vet 1 did understand afterwards that he would have

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN.

25

given [ohn Capper the one half of the kettle to have taken
the oath for him ; but lice would no copper on that price.
I tould Mr President I had not known the like lawe, and
prayed they would be more sparing of law until} wee had
more witt or wealthe ; that lawes were good spies in a popu
lous, peaceable, and plentifull country, whear they did make
the good men better, & stayed the badd from being worse;
yt wee weare so poore as they did but rob us of tyme that
might be better ymployed in service in the Collonye.
The  daie of  the President did beat James
Read, the Smyth. The Smythc stroakc him againe. For
this he was condempned to be hanged; but, before he was
turned of the lather, he desired to speak with the President
in private, to whome be accused Mr Kendall of a mutiny,
and so escaped himself. What indictment Mr Recorder
framed against the Smyth, I knowe not; but I knowe it is
familiar for the President, Counsellors, and other officers,
to beate men at their pleasures. One lyeth sick till death,
another walketh lame, the third cryeth out of all his boanes ;
wch myseryes they doe take upon their consciences to come
to them by this their alines of beating. Wear this whip
ping, lawing, beating, and hanging, in Virginia, knowe
in England, I fear it would drive many well affected myndes
from this honoble action of Virginia.
This Smyth comyng aboord the pynnasse wth some others,
aboute some busines, 2 or 3 dayes before his arraignemt,
brought me comendacons from Mr Pearsye, Mr Waller, Mr
Kendall, and some others, saieing they would be glad to see
me on shoare. I answered him, they were honest gent.,
and had carryed themselves very obediently to the gouuors.
I prayed God that they did not think of any ill thing un-
worthie themselves. I added further, that upon Sundaie,
if the weathiar were faire, I would be at the sermon. Last
ly, I said that I was so sickly, starved, lame, and did lye
so could and wett in the pynnasse, as I would be dragged
thithcre before I would goe thither any more. Sundaie
proved not faire: I went not to the sermon.
The  daie of  Mr Kendall was executed:
being shott to death for a mutiny. In th' arrest of his
jtidgmt, he alleaged to Mr President yt his name was Sickle-
more, not Ratcliff; Si so had no authority to pnounce jtidg
mt. Then Mr. Martyn pnounced judgmt.
Somewhat before Ibis tyme, the President and Councell

26

THE FOUNDtNG OF JAMESTOWN.

had sent for the keyes of my coffers, supposing that I had
some wrightings concerning the Collony. I requested that
the Clcarke of the Councell might see what they tooke out
of my coffers : but they would not suffer him or any other.
Under cullor hecrcol.thcy took my books of accompt, and ad
my noates that concerned the expellees of the Collony, and
instructions under the Cape-Marchant's hande of the stoare
of provision, divers other bookes & trifles of my owne proper
goods, wch [ could never recover. Thus was I made good
prize on all sides.
The  rlaie of  , the President comanded me
to come on shore ; wch I refused, as not rightfully deposed,
and desired that I motight speake to him and the Councell
in the pesencc of 10 of the best sorte of the gent. Wth
much inlrcaty. some of them wear sent for. Then I tould
diem I was determined to goe into England to acquaint our
Councell there wth our weaknes. I said further, their
lawes and governmt was such as I had no ioye to live under
them any longer; that I did much myslike their triumverat
havcing forsaken his Mats instruccons for our government,
and therefore praicd there might be more made of the Coun
cell. I said further, I desired not to go into England, if
eyther Mr President or Mr Archer would goe, but was will
ing to take my fortune wth the Collony; and did also proffer
to furnish them wth iooli towards the fetching home the
Collonye, if the action was given over. They did like of
none of my proffers, but made divers shott att mee in the
pynnasse. I, seeing their resolucons, went ashoare to them;
whear, after I had staied a while in conference, they sent
me to the pynnasse againe.
Decern. — The ioth of December, Mr Smyth went up the
ryver of the Chechobomynies to trade for corne. Fie was
desirous to see the hcade of that river; and, when it was
not passible wlh the shallop, he hired a cannow and an In
dian to carry him up further. The river the higher grew
worse and worse. Then bee went on shoare wth bis guide,
and, left Robinson & Fmmcry, twoe of our Men, in the can-
now; well were presently slaync by the Indians, Pamaonkc's
nun. and bee himself taken prysoner, and, by the means of
his guide, his lief was saved; and Pamaonche, havcing him
prisoner, carryed him lo his neyhors wyroances to sec if
any of Ihem knew him for one of those web had bene, some
twoe or iliiee veers before us, in a river amongst them North-

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN. V
ward, and taken awaie some Indians *™m to*m($*£™
At Inst he brought h m to the great Powaton (ot wnome
before wee had no knowledge), who sent him home to our
towne the viii th of January.
During Mr Smylhc's absence, the President did swear
Mr Archer one of the Councell, contrary to his oat . ta<en
iu the artycles agreed upon betweene themselves (betorc
spoken of), and contrary to the King's instruccons, and
wthout Mr Martyn's consent; whereas there weare no more
but the President and Mr Martyn then of the Councelk
Mr Archer, being settled in his authority, sought how to
call Mr Smvth's lief in question, and had indited him upon
a chapter hi Leviticus for the death of Ins twoe men He
had had his tryall the same daie of his retorne, and, I be
lieve his hanging the same or the next daie so speede ,s
our iawe there. &But it pleased God to send Captm New
port unto us the same evening to or unspeakable comfort
whose arrivall saved Mr Smyth's leif and mine, because hee
tooke me out of the pynnasse, and gave me leave tc , lye in
the towne. Also by his comyng was pevented a parhamt,
wch ye newe Counselor, Mr Recorder, intended thear to
summon. Thus error begot error rPfrPshed
Caotavne Newport, haveing landed, lodged, and refreshed
his mem "mploiea some of them about a fame stoare house,
others about a stove, and his maryners aboute a chinch,
all wch workes they finished cherefully and in short time
Januarv.— The 7 of January, our towne was almost quite
burnt, with all our apparell and provision ; but Captn. Jew-
port healed our wants, to our great comforts, out of the
great plenty sent us by the promdent and loving care of our
worthie and most worthie Councell.
American Antiquarian Society's Transactions, IV, 77-90.

PUNCTUATION
PRACTICALLY ILLUSTRATEU
A Manual for Students and Correspondents.
By KATE O'NEILL,
Of the Richmond, Virginia, High School.
i6mo. Cloth. £02 Pages. Price, jo Cents.
This manual on Punctuation contains all the rules and exceptions on
this important but much neglected subject. The proper use of each point
is practically illustrated by numerous examples in sentences so constructed
as to show clearly the correct application of these rules.
Proper study of this book will do much to counteract the tendency to
errors in the use of punctuation marks— errors that are so common, and
that spoil so much that would otherwise be good.
The treatment of the subject is condensed and thoroughly covered.
It will be found very helpful to all who write for the press, and especially
to the large number of correspondents and stenographers whose letters
should show a proper use of "points."

A FEW TESTIMONIALS.
" This is one of the best helps to punctuation that has been prepared
for the class and the individual. It is clear, concise, well illustrated
and every way helpful."— fournal of Education.
"A useful little manual for all who write for the press, for corre
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m a clear light, and will repay any writer who feels, as so many do,
vague and uncertain as to what is reallycorrect."— The Christian Advocate.
"A compact and useful little book which does not deal so much with
cue philosophy „f punctuation as with its practical side."— The Vail,
limes, Hartford. '
" We wish that every one of our correspondents possessed this book.
1 here is more good sense in it on punctuation and the proper placing of
s.gns to bring out the meaning than we have found in any otlier book,
and t,,ey are so explained that the commonest persons can understand
uiem. — Obscrvalor, Huntington, Ind.

NOW BEADY.
The Common Sense . . .
.... Copy Books.
A SYSTEM OF VERTICAL PENMANSHIP.
By JOSEPH V. WITHERBEE,
Principal of Public School No. 24, Brooklyn, N. Y.

In Seven Books, Nos. 1-2-3-4-5-6, and Tracing Book.
Size, 5H x 8^ inches.
Price, per dozen, - - 72 Cents.
Sample Set sent by mail on receipt of 50 Cents.
The Common Sense Copy Books present a system of what is technically
known as Vertical Writing, and are based on a modification of the idea as
riginally advanced and advocated by foreign educators.
Copies  The simplicity of the copies, both in form and spacing, reduces
the toil of the teacher and pupil to a minimum, while conducing at
the same time to the acquisition of a style of penmanship that will
ensure greater legibility, more rapid work and better adaptability for
business purposes.
Size.— The page is the same length and width as regular note paper and
that size has been used for two reasons : First, to accustom the pup:
while in school, to the ordinary space limitations within which m
correspondence is confined ; and Second, because the narrow p
ensures better work on the part of the pupil, inasmuch as the hand
performs its task more easily when writing in a space limited in width.
Position.— Pupils using this System are not required to assume a set or
forced position at the desk, but the greatest freedom is encouraged.
The author recommends that the following directions be carefully
followed :
I. Sit squarely facing the desk with the feet flat on the floor ; 2, raise
the scat so that both forearms, when placed half their length on the desk,
are nearly level ; 3, place the paper squarely in front of the body ; 4, hold
the pen easily between llie thumb and second finger, with the extended fore
finger resting lightly upon it in such a way that both points of the pen shall
press equally upon the paper ; 5, sit erect.

CORRESPONDENCE INVITED.

The Elements of Geometry.
PLANE AND SOLID.
By CHARLES A. HOBBS, A. M. (Ilarvard).
Master of Mathematics in the Volkmann School, Boston, Mass.
£2ino. Half Leather. 404pp. Price, $£.2J.
In order that a student may receive the most profit from the study of
Geometry he should learn to reason for himself. The method of teaching
Geometry by which pupils simply commit to memory a stated number of
propositions is not conducive to a rapid development of the reasoning
powers. On the other hand, a pupil may be taught from the outset to
think out the reasons for the different steps in a demonstration, and re
ceive assistance only where he is not liable to discover readily the reasons
by himself. Such is the method adopted in this book, which is the
product of years of successful application of this method of teaching in
the class-room, and is in the direct line of the methods advocated by the
leading educators of the present day.

A FEW TESTIMONIALS.
" It recommends itself by its brevity and conciseness; the plan followed
after the first book of allowing the student to do his own proving is
valuable, and it must, on this account, become an important help in a
real teacher's hands." — John J, Schobinger, the Harvard School,
Chicago, III,
"You seem to have struck the ideal mid-ground between the ex-
"emists." — George Parsons Tibbets, Williston Seminary, Easthampton,
Pass. " It seems to me that your plan of forcing the pupil to think by giving
him only an outline of the proofs is excellent." — Maxime Bocher, Asst.
Professor of Mathematics in Harvard University.
" Its many problems of computation, besides over nine hundred exer
cises, furnish supplementary work necessary for the class. The problems
at the end of the several books clinch the principles brought out in the
demonstration of the theorems." — f. J. linger, Vincland, N. J.
"I have obtained excellent results by employing the method used
therein."—//'. /.. Fletcher, Foxcroft, Me.
"It leaves .something for the teacher to do and something for ths
pupil lo find out for himself." — Miss Ellen Sullivan, High School,
Albany, N, Y.

'C

American History Leaflets.
! COLONIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.
EDITED BY
s ALBERT BUSHNELL HART and EDWARD CHANNINO,
Ol Harvard University.
Price, per copy, 10 Cents.
These Leaflets are designed to promote the scientific method of study.
ing history from its documents, and furnish in convenient form and at
a moderate price copies of original documents that have become famous in
o.ir colonial and constitutional history as the outcome of some important
cisis, or as exponents of the theories underlying our form of government.
Each Leaflet contains a brief historical introduction and bibliography to
aid further investigation by the student.
I. — The Letter of Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel announcing his
Discovery, with Extracts from his Journal.
2. — The Ostend Manifesto. 1854.
3. — Extracts from the Sagas describing the Voyages to Vinlarid.
4. — Extracts from Official Declarations of the United States embodying
the Monroe Doctrine. 1 789-1891.
5. — Documents illustrating the Territorial Development of the United
States. 1763-1769.
6. — Extracts from official Papers relating to the Bering Sea Controversy.
1 790-1892.
7. — The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New
England. 1643-1684.
8. — Exact Text of the Constitution of the United States. From the
Original Manuscripts. 1787-1870.
3, — Documents describing the Voyage of John Cabot In 1497.
M. — Governor McDuffie's Message on the Slavery Question. 1835.
H, — Jefferson's Proposed Instructions to the Virginia Delegates, 1774,
and the Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, 1776.
I!!. — Ordinances of Secession and other Documents. 1S60-1861.
13 — Coronado's Journey to New Mexico and the Great Plains. 1540-42.
14. — Plans of Union. 1696-1780.
!«;. — The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, with the Allen, Sedition
and other Acts. 1798-1799.
1 5, — Documents illustrating the Territorial Development of the United
States. 1584-1774.
f 7S — Documents relating to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. 1B54.
18. — Lincoln's Inaugural and First Message to Congress. l86t.

?0 —Extracts from the Navigation Acts. 1645-1698.
20,— The Exact text of the Articles of Confederation, with the Franklin an*'
Dickinson Drafts. From ihe Original Manuscripts. 1776-1781, |
81,— The Stamp Act. 1765.
22.— Documents Illustrating State Land Claims and Cessions. 1776-1803.
23.— Extracts from the Dred Scott Decision. 1857.
24.— Documents relative to the Bank Controversy. 1829-1833.
25.— Extracts from the Massachusetts Body of Liberties. 1641.
26.— Extracts from Lincoln's State Papers. Dec. 1861-March 1865.
27.— The Early History of Virginia. Extracts from John Smith's Trut
Kelalion, etc.
28.--Proposals to Amend the Articles of Confederation. 1780-J787.
20.— The Early History of Plymouth. Extracts from Bradford and Mount
30.— Constitutional Doctrines of Webster, Hayne, and Calhoun. 1828-1833.
31. — Extracts from John Winthrop's History of New England.
32.— Documents relating to Territorial Administration. 1778-1700.
33.— James Otis and the Writs of Assistance.
84.— Extracts from Official Documents embodying the Canal Diolomacv of
the United States. 1823-1901. '
3D.— Report of the Hartford Convention. - *!
30. — The Founding of Jamestown.
All of the above numbers are now ready for delivery. Price, 10 Cents
per number. SOME PRESS AND OTHER COMMENTS.
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editing dunng the past three years afford in every respect the KstavaHaW? material for
tjl tV T n?'Ta h'Slory in PreP«*ory schools and lower coltege grad" Each
The e^rtt^" °f aflb.rd'nf' '? '^ student the means of reading and Sing for' hirS
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