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ADMINISTRATION OF PHILIP CARTERET.

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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, pur chased 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 licences 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 the 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 surrendered to Philip Carteret, who arrived in 1665, with thirty settlers, and fixed his residence at Elizabethtown, the first

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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 first 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 proprietors 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 tribute, 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.

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 cele

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brated 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 took place in 1681. It was convoked by Samuel Jennings, the deputy of Edward Byllinge, their first governor. In this assembly was enacted a body of Fundamental Constitutions, which formed the future basis of their government.

In 1682, William Penn, and eleven other persons of the society of Friends, purchased from Sir George Carteret the whole province of East New Jersey. Twelve other persons, of a different religious persuasion from their own, were then united with the purchasers, and to these twenty-four proprietaries, the Duke of York executed his third and last grant of East New Jersey; on receiving which they proceeded to organise a proprietary government. Their first governor was

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ANARCHY WITHOUT DISORDER.

the celebrated Robert Barclay, author of the 'Apology for the Quakers;' who was appointed for life. Under his brief administration a large number of emigrants arrived from Scotland. Barclay died in 1690.

On his accession to the throne, James II., utterly disregarding the engagements he had entered into as Duke of York, attempted to deprive New Jersey of its chartered privileges, and was only prevented from the execution of his purpose by the Revolution, which deprived him of the throne

in 1688.

From that period, till 1692, Chalmers asserts, that no government whatever existed in New Jersey; and it is highly creditable to the society of Friends, whose members composed the main part of the population, that the peace of the country and the prosperity of its inhabitants were promoted during this interval, by their own honesty, sobriety, and industry.

The pretensions of New York to jurisdiction over New Jersey were revived under William and Mary, which circumstance led to much angry discussion, until at the commencement of the reign of Queen Anne, the proprietaries, wearied with continual embarrassments and disputes, surrendered their powers of government to the crown. The queen forthwith united East and West New Jersey into one province, and committed the government of it, as well as of New York, to her kinsman, Lord Cornbury. His administration here, as well as in the neighbouring colony, was only distinguished by his arrogant attempts to overawe and dictate to the colonial assemblies, and their firm and resolute resistance of his assumptions of arbitrary power.

After his recall, New York and New Jersey continued for many years to be ruled by the same governor, each choosing a separate assembly; and it was not until 1738, that a separate governor for New Jersey was appointed at the instance of the people. Lewis Morris was the first governor under this new arrangement. The college of Nassau Hall, at Princeton, was founded the same year.

After this period, no remarkable circumstance transpired in this province, until the middle of the eighteenth century, the period to which we are now bringing up the history of the several colonies, with a view to proceed afterwards with an account of their united operations in the French war of 1754.

CHAPTER XVI.

COLONISATION OF DELAWARE.

DELAWARE was first settled in 1627. William Usselin, an eminent Swedish merchant, being satisfied of the advantages of colonising the country in the neighbourhood of New Netherlands, gained the permission of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, to form a company for the purpose. Large sums of money were accordingly contributed, and a colony of Swedes and Finns sent out, who first landed at Cape Henlopen, the delightful appearance of which induced them to give it the name of Paradise Point. They, soon after, bought of the natives the land from that Cape to the falls of the Delaware; and scattered their settlements along the shores of the river.

Their first settlement was near Wilmington at the mouth of Christina creek, and they afterwards built forts at Lewistown and Tinicum isle: which last was the seat of government of their colony of New Swedeland, or New Sweden, as they were pleased to call it. Here, John Printz, their governor, built himself a spacious mansion, which he called Printz Hall, and supported the dignity of a colonial viceroy.

The empire was destined however to a speedy termination. The Dutchmen of New Netherlands could not bear the presence of so formidable a rival. They built a fort in 1651 at New Castle, in the very centre, as it were, of New Sweden, and notwithstanding the protestations of Printz, held it till the accession of Risingh, his successor. This governor employed a most unworthy stratagem for displacing the intruders. Being on an apparently friendly visit to the commander of the fort, and observing the weakness of the garrison, he incontinently took possession of it, disarmed the soldiers, and made them swear allegiance to his sovereign. An account of this important affair, coloured to the life, may be found in Knickerbocker's celebrated History of New York.

Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of New York, in revenge for this insult, fitted out a grand armament, invaded New Sweden, and reduced the whole colony to complete subjection; sending many of the inhabitants to the mother coun

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