30. "Concerning the Riots & Insurrections in New Jersey" (1744-1748)

BY HIS MAJESTY'S COUNCIL IN NEW JERSEY

The Council was at the same time an executive and a judicial body, and also was one of the two legislative bodies. For the proceedings of a Council, see No. 64 below. Bibliography: Channing and Hart, Guide, § 106.

A

BRIEF STATE OF FACTS, concerning the Riots & Insurrections, in New Jersey & the Remedys, attempted, by the Government & the several Branches of the Legislature, to put an End to them, & to restore the Peace of the Province.

By the Affidavits & Papers herein referred to, it will appear, That a Number of Evil minded Men (taking Advantage, of that divided & weak State of the Governm of this Province, & of that Time of War & Rebellion in Gr. Br,) entred into a Combination, & Agreement, to obstruct the Course of legal Proceedings, & to protect themselves from His Maj known Officers, & from the Process of the Law, in every Case, let their Crimes be ever so high; And, in Execution of this Scheme, it appears

That, on the 19th Sept 1745 100. Men, armed with Clubs, Axes & Crow Bars, came, in a riotous & tumultuous Manner, to the Goal of the County of Essex, &, having broke it open took, from thence, One Samuel Baldwin, committed on an Action of Trespass wherein he had refused to give Bail, or enter an Appearance.

That, these riotous People, then, boasted of the great Numbers they could bring together, on any Occasion, & gave out many threatning Expressions agt the Persons that sho endeavour to punish them for this their Crime; Saying, if any of them were taken, they would come to his Relief with twice the Number they then had, & bring with them 100 Indians.

Two Justices of Essex, with the Undersheriff, according to their Duty, made a Record on their View, ag! 27. of the Rioters, known to them, & many other Evil doers & Disturbers of the Kings Peace, to them unknown; Which was returned into the Supream Court, & Process issued from thence agt the Delinquents.

This Matter being layd before the late Gov! he was so justly apprehensive of the dangerous Consequences, of so open & notorious a Con

tempt of His Maj* Authority, & the Laws of the Land, that he thought, the Aid of the Legislature necessary to prevent them & therefore recommended, in the strongest Terms, to the then Assembly the granting such Aid, by his Speech to them on the 28. Sep 1745; But, so it hapned, that the then Gov! & the Assembly differed in Opinion as to that Matter. . . .

On the 15th of Jan 1745, the Sheriff of Essex, by Vertue of the Gov s Warrant, & in Obedience to the Process of the Supreme Court, issued upon the s Record, arrested & took Rob. Young, Tho Sarjant, & Nehemiah Baldwin, three of the Persons that stood convicted, by the Record of View before ment On the 16th of Jan" as he was carrying the sa Baldwin before One of the Justices of the Supreme Court, agreeable to the Commands of the Govs Warrant, he, & the People whom he had called to his Assistance were assaulted, by a great Number of Men, armed with Clubs & other Weapons, who, in a most violent Manner, rescued & carryed away, the Prisoner, notwithstanding all the Sheriff & his Officers could do to prevent it. The Sheriff then returned to the Goal, in Order to Secure the other two Prisoners, & being Colonel of the Militia, he had posted a Guard, of 30. Men, at the Goal armed with Firelocks for that Purpose.

It appears that, at 2 o'clock in the Afternoon, great Numbers of People came together in a riotous & tumultuous manner in the Town of Newark, that they pay'd no Regard to the Commands of the Magistrates to disperse, or to the Procl made to them in the Kings Name, according to the Statute of the 1 of George, but continued together.

It appears that Coll Chetwood sent two Captains, who had the Command of the Newark Companys, with their Drums, to the People, so assembled who, accordingly went, & required those Men that belonged to their Companys, to follow the Drums, but none regarded those Commands.

It appears that one Amos Roberts, a principal leading Man among these Common Disturbers, at that Time, mounted his Horse, & called out, Those who are upon my List follow me, Which all, or the greatest Part, accordingly did, being then about 300. in Number.

It appears that, the s Roberts & his Accomplices, met & armed, as before, came to the Goal in a violent Manner, & having beat & broke thro' the Guard, & struck the Sheriff several Blows, they broke open the Goal Doors, & took from thence the two Prisoners above mentioned, & one other, confined for Debt, & then, they gave it out, that if they had stayed till the next Day, they should have had three Times the Numbers.

G

Upon this second Riot, the Sheriff & those Justices, then present, made a Record thereof, on their own View, ag! the sa Roberts & 57. Others by Name, Inhabitants of the Countys of Essex & Morris, & Others, to them unknown, to the Number of 300, at the least...

The Gent of the Co! considering that most of the People concerned in the s Riots, are an ignorant People, & greatly imposed on, by a few wicked & designing Men, conceiving that a Gen. Pardon, for the Crimes past, together with the s Riot Act, wo be the easiest & most effectual Method, to restore & secure the Peace of the Province, & knowing that Mercy to Criminals, ought to flow from the Crown, Some of them, therefore, interceded with the then Gov! to grant a Gen! Pardon, w'ch he seemed inclinable to do. . . .

By Affids taken May 3a & 8th 1746, It appears that the Infection of the Riots was spreading into West Jersey; For that the People settled on that Hundred thousand Acre Tract, in the County of Hunterdon, belonging to those Proprietors in & abo! London, called the West New Jersey Society, within a fortnight then last past, had two great Meetings, in Order to stand by One Another in Defence of their Poss'ions ag the s Prop" (tho' by the Paper C. No 8, it appears that those People do own the Societys Title to that Tract, & that they themselves had no Pretence of Right to the same; That they had agreed to a Paper, for that Purpose, & about 70. had signed it, at their Meeting on the 26th Day of April; That an Article was, That if any Person, seated on the sa Tract, sho refuse to sign that Paper, he shoa be dispossesed, by the Rest, & his Improvem! sold, by them to the highest Bidder, That sundry People, from Newark, & Eliz Town, were reported to have been present at the last of those Meetings, That, about Ten or a Dozen of them observed to be riding, continually, backwards & forwards, to & from Newark, Elizabeth Town & Cohanzey, where the Society have other Lands, & it was believed in Order to unite all, in One Combination. . . .

By these appear, Designs formed by the same Rioters for turning many other People out of Poss'ion by Force. It appears that they had erected Courts of Judicature, & determined Causes, by hearing One Side, but intended for the future, to hear both Sides; That they had taken upon them to Choose their Militia Officers. By these appears how they buoy themselves up, with their Numbers, Friends & Strength, not only in New Jersey, but in New York, Long Island, Penilva & New England; and that they are not afraid of any Thing the Governm can do to them; And give out that, from their Numbers, Violences & unlawful Actions,

its to be inferred that, surely they are wronged & oppressed, or else they would never rebell ag the Laws. By these appears Information, That the People on the Societys Tract, had made a firm Agreement, to defend all their Farms there by Mobb, and that Maidenhead, & great Numbers of others, had joyned in firm Engagements to stand by one another to Death, tho' they have no Pretence to any Right but Poss'ion & Improvem! And that they were resolved sho they be opposed by Fire Arms, to take up Fire Arms to defend theirselves That they would not mind either the Gov! or the King himself, if of a different Way of thinking from them; And that the King himself was unable to quell Mobs in England, any other Way than by granting their Desires. . . .

By these it appears, that the Rioters had formed a Design of coming to Burlington (where the sev! Branches of the Legislature are sitting) in a Body on the 16th Day of December, & that Advertisements, to give Notice of that Design to the Rioters, had been set up, in sundry Places, requiring their Attendance, for that Purpose.

The Co! & Assembly, on Notice of that Design, in a free Conference, agreed to make Resolves of their sev! Houses ag! it, & to send them to the Sheriffs of the sev! Countys, from & thro' which, the Rioters were likely to come, to publish, Which was accordingly done, And we have been credibly informed, that many of the Rioters were on their Way, coming, but, on Notice of sa Resolves, returned. . .

On the 18th of Feb'ry 1747, His Exc! gave his Assent to two Acts that had before been past by the Co! & Assembly viz! An Act for the suppressing & preventing of Riots, Tumults & other Disorders, within this Colony, by w'ch Penaltys or Imprisonms are enacted to be inflicted upon Persons that shall be guilty of any of the like Disturbance for the future, & ano! Act intitled, An Act for avoiding Actions of Slander & for Stay of Proceedings until the 1 Day of Octo! 1748, in other Civil Actions ag the late Rioters. . . .

The Day before, to witt, the 17th Day of Feb 1747, His Ex the Gov! passed His Majty most gracious Pardon, Entitled, An Act to pardon the Persons guilty of the Insurrections, Riots & Disorders raised & committed in this Province. . .

By the Att! Gen! Certificate it appears that no more than Nine Persons have made any Application to him, for the Benefit of the sa Pardon, & as the Fees of Prosecution were payable to him, no more than those 9. Persons who have been prosecuted, have intituled themselves to that Pardon, Yet those who have accepted & complyed with the other Pro

visoes in the Pardon ment its conceiv'd are intitled to more Favour than those who have persisted without any Complyance.

...

. . . By this Depos" also appears, some of the Means that the Rioters use, to bring & keep People into their Combinations, to witt, Threats to pull down their Houses, if they did not joyn them, & the Fears of Death if they fell from their Engagem's with them.

By these Depositions appears, more of the Rioters Endeavours, & Ways of drawing innocent People, into their Combina & that the Rioters pay Taxes to their Comtees That One Rioter had sayd, he had payd so much from Time to Time, as with a Tax of 13 then layd on him, would have been suffic to have bought his Plantation - By this Depos" also appears a continual Destruction & Waste of Timber, carryed on by the Rioters for three Years past, upon some Thousands of acres of Land belong to P'sons therein named, which before that, were the best timbered Lands in New Jersey, but now, none good left on them, that a Team can easily approach - By this & the other Dispositions it appears that the Rioters of particular Places, have got Captains over them who they call by that Name, & that the said Amos Roberts seems to be the Chief Captain of the whole Rioters in this Province.

It appears not to the Council, that any One Poss'ion forcibly entred upon, & detained by, the Rioters, dur? these Disturbances, has been restored to the Owners, pursuant to the Tenor of the Pardon afs & they have good Reason to believe that no One has been restored, but all are Forcibly detained to this Day.

On the 1st Day of this instant December, the Co! of Prop" of East New Jersey, presented a Mem! & Representation to the Gov! Co!! & Assembly, Setting Forth the miserable State of this Province, for that the Laws have, long ceased to be a Protect" to His Majty good Subjects therein, & the Right of the People to that Protection, & to expect that the Legislature of this Province will, at this Time, effectually interpose to enable the Officers of the Gov'm to carry the Laws of the Land into Execution.

William A. Whitehead, editor, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey (Newark, 1883), VII, 207-225 passim.