128 ADMINISTRATIONS OF HUNTER AND BURNET. Lord Lovelace, distinguished by no remarkable occurrence, was terminated by his sudden decease. General Hunter, who was appointed to succeed Lord Lovelace, arrived in 1610, and brought with him three thousand Germans, a part of whom settled in New York, and the remainder in Pennsylvania. His administration is remarkable only for his frequent and unsatisfactory disputes with the assembly, concerning the custody and disbursement of the public money. An unsuccessful invasion of Canada, by the united forces of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, took place in 1711. William Burnet, son of the celebrated Bishop Burnet, succeeded to Hunter. He was well apprised of the danger to be apprehended from the French upon the north-western frontier, and soon penetrated their design of forming a line of forts from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. He erected a fort at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, in hopes of defeating their design. But the French were not thus to be foiled. They erected Fort Frontignac, at the outlet of Lake Ontario, and another at Niagara, at the entrance of the Niagara river into the lake. The remainder of his administration appears to have chiefly been occupied by contentions with the assembly concerning the court of chancery, which had become so odious that an act of the legislature was passed, declaring its proceedings void. Burnet, being appointed governor of Massachusetts, was succeeded by. Colonel Montgomery. His short administration was not distinguished by any remarkable event. He died in 1731, and Rip Van Dam, the senior member of the council, became acting governor. He was superseded, in 1732, by William Cosby, having, in the mean time, permitted the French to erect a fortification at Crown Point, within the boundaries of the colonies, which served as a rallying point for hostile Indians Cosby was at first a popular governor, but having imprudently attacked the liberty of the press, he lost favour with the people. His successor, Clark, was not more fortunate, as he excited the hostility of the assembly by his arbitrary attempts to controul the public treasure. He carried matters so Who succeeded Lord Lovelace? What events transpired during Hunt er's administration? Who succeeded Hunter? Who was his successor? What is said of his administration ? What was done during Burnet's ad- Of Clark? ministration ! ADMINISTRATION OF CLINTON. 129 far, as to charge the colonies with a design to throw off their dependence on the crown. George Clinton succeeded Clark, in 1743. He seems to have retained the popularity with which most of the governors commenced their administrations, by timely concessions to the people. He gave his assent to a law which limited the duration of the assemblies; and succeeded in raising recruits and subsidies for a vigorous prosecution of the war which had commenced with France. Before his preparations were completed, however, a treaty was concluded. In the middle of the eighteenth century the population of the whole colony of New York was scarcely 100,000 inhabitants-less than one-half the number now contained in the metropolis of that state. The Indian wars, which were almost constantly raging on the frontier, were an effectual check to the extended settlement of the interior. CHAPTER XV. COLONISATION OF NEW JERSEY. WE have already referred to the early settlements of the Swedes and Dutch, on the Delaware river. It was not until 1640 that any attempt was made, by the English, to colonise this region; and then it was successfully resisted. Their settlement at Elsingburgh was broken up by the united efforts of the Swedes and Dutch. The Swedes took possession of the place, built a fort, commanded the navigation of the river, and exacted duties from the ships of other nations passing on its waters. This lasted till their subjugation by the Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, which has already been related. When New York was given to the Duke of York, by Charles II, the country between the Delaware and Hudson was included in the grant. It was immediately afterwards conveyed, by the duke, to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. In compliment to Carteret, who had defended the Of Clinton ? Of New York in the middle of the eighteenth century? Who first settled in New Jersey, on the Delaware? When did the English first attempt to settle there? What was the result? Who dispossessed the Swedes? 130 FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS OF SETTLEMENT. island of Jersey against the Long Parliament in the civil war, it was called Nova-Cesaria, or New Jersey. To invite settlers to the country, the proprietaries gave assurance that the province should enjoy a representative government; freedom from all taxes, except such as were imposed by the general assembly; and the undisturbed enjoyment of liberty of conscience. This last provision was undoubtedly intended for the benefit of the society of Friends, who had been much molested by the Dutch in the neighbouring colony; and many of whom were already settled in New Jersey. Lands were also offered, at a quit rent of a half-penny an acre, after the year 1670, with the further condition, that one able-bodied male servant should be maintained for every 100 acres of land, thus affording a guarantee for the actual cultivation of the land. This condition was probably intended to prevent the appropriation of large tracts by speculators. New provisions were added to this constitution, by subsequent proclamations of the proprietors, and the whole code was denominated, by the people, the Laws of the Concessions, and regarded by them as the great charter of their liberties. Philip Carteret, the first governor of New Jersey, purchased from the Indians their titles to all the lands which were occupied. This proceeding was afterwards approved by the proprietaries, who then established the rule, that all lands should be purchased from the Indians by the governor and council, who were to be reimbursed by the settlers, in proportion to their respective possessions. Colonel Nichols, the first English governor of New York, while yet unacquainted with the duke's grant to Berkeley and Carteret, had granted licenses to persons to purchase lands of the Indians, and make settlements in New Jersey; and the towns of Elizabethtown, Woodbridge, and Piscataway were accordingly settled. But the hopes which he had entertained of increasing the value of the duke's territories by this measure, were soon dissipated by intelligence of his having parted with his claim to all the lands south-west of the Hudson. The measures which Nichols had already taken, gave rise to disputes between his settlers and the proprietaries, which disturbed the colony for more than half a century. Nichols endeavoured to prevail on the duke to revoke the grant; but this was not done, and the government was surren dered to Philip Carteret, who arrived in 1665, with thirty What privileges did they offer to set- | By Colonel Nichols ? By the Duke of York? tlers ? What was done by Philip Carteret? settlers, and fixed his residence at Elizabethtown, the first capital of the colony. Here he remained for several years, while the little state grew and flourished under his prudent administration. Its free institutions, fertile soil, and fortunate situation for commerce, all contributed to invite settlers, and advance its prosperity. In 1670, the earliest quit-rents fell due. The first demand of this tribute excited general disgust. A numerous party, including those who had settled under Nichols, refused to acknowledge the title of the proprietors, and in opposition to it set up titles which they had obtained from the Indians. The governor struggled hard to maintain the rights of the proprietaries for two years, till at length an insurrection broke forth, and he was compelled to return to England, abandoning the government; which was immediately conferred on a son of Sir George Carteret, who had favoured the popular party. In 1673, the Dutch recovered New Jersey, together with New York, but soon afterwards it was restored to the English by the treaty of London. After this event the Duke of York obtained a new charter for New York and New Jersey; appointed Andros governor over the whole reunited province, and investing all the legislative power in the governor and council, established the same arbitrary government in New Jersey which he had all along maintained in New York. He promised Sir George Carteret, however, to renew his grant of New Jersey. But when he finally performed his promise, he still ordered Andros to maintain his prerogative over the whole territory. In 1675, Philip Carteret returned to New Jersey, and was willingly received by the inhabitants, who had become heartily weary of the tyranny of Andros. As he postponed the payment of quit-rents to a future day, and published a new set of concessions from Sir George Carteret, peace and order were once more restored to the colony. The only subject of uneasiness arose from the arbitrary proceedings of Andros, who interdicted and finally destroyed their commerce, exacted trioute, and even arrested governor Carteret, and conveyed him a prisoner to New York. He was only released by the interposition of the Duke of York. What was the first capital of New | Of the Dutch? Jersey? What is said of Carteret's administra tion ! What is said of the quit-rents? Of the Duke of York? 132 BURLINGTON SETTLED. In 1674, Lord Berkeley, one of those who had received the grant from the Duke of York, sold his share of New Jersey to two English Quakers, named Fenwicke and Byllinge, conveying it to the first of them in trust for the other. A dispute arising between them, the matter was referred to the celebrated William Penn, who decided in favour of Byllinge. Fenwicke came over with his family in 1675, and settled in the western part of New Jersey. Byllinge subsequently became embarrassed in his pecuniary affairs, and made an assignment of his claims on New Jersey to William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, and Nicholas Lewis, who assumed the direction of the territory thus conveyed. Their first care was to effect a division of the province between themselves and Sir George Carteret; and, accordingly, the eastern part of the province was assigned to Carteret, under the name of East New Jersey; the western part to Byllinge's assigns, who named their portion West New Jersey. The western proprietors then divided their territory into one hundred lots, ten of which they assigned. to Fenwicke, and the remaining ninety they reserved to be sold for the benefit of Byllinge's creditors. They then gave the settlers a free constitution, under the title of Concessions, granting all the important privileges of civil and religious liberty. In 1677, upwards of four hundred Quakers, many of them possessed of considerable property, arrived from England, and settled in West New Jersey, giving their first settlement the name of Burlington. The claims of the Duke of York to jurisdiction over New Jersey continued to be urged, to the great annoyance of the inhabitants, until 1680, when, after repeated remonstrances to the English government, and a legal decision in their favour, the people finally succeeded in procuring a formal recognition of their independence. West Jersey now rapidly filled with inhabitants, most of them being of the Quaker persuasion. Their first representative assembly met in 1681. It was convoked by Samuel Jennings, the deputy of Edward Byllinge, their first governor. 1 whom did Lord Berkeley sell his | How was the western part divided? pa of New Jersey? What events followed? To whom did Byllinge assign his How was the province divided? What was granted to the settlers? When and by whom was Burlington settled? What took place in 1680 ? When was the first assembly convoked? |