became the wife of the Rev. Wm. Skinner, of Amboy, but died without issue.* By the death of Mr. Brooke, and the retirement of Mr. Melyen, both of the churches of the town becaine vacant at the same time, and the people were once more left without a preacher. Whitehead's P. Amboy, p. 94. CHAPTER XIV. A. D. 1702-1740. -- Land Titles-Political Parties-Lord Cornbury, Gov.-Corruption of the Court Act of Indemnity-Lord Lovelace, Gov. His Death - Robert Hunter, Gov. Death of Col. Townley — Officials of the Town-Card-Playing not tolerated- Newark Bounds - Suit of Vaughan vs. Woodruff- Early Town Books lost -Town Committee of Seven - List of Freeholders in 1729Lithgow vs. Robison, &c. -Measures of Defence against the Proprietors -Sale of Town Lands - Fenn vs. Chambers & Alcorn - Sale of more LandDistribution of Land in 1737-Cooper vs. Moss, &c. - Logan vs. Manning -Newark Bounds - Lewis Morris, Gov. - Borough Charter - Officials Newspaper Notices. THE surrender of the right of Jurisdiction to the Crown, on the part of the Proprietors, while it greatly simplified the matter, of government, made no change whatever, in respect to the contest growing out of the conflicting titles to the lands of this town and vicinity. It rather served to intensify the excitement and the hostility of parties; inasmuch as, by an implied compromise, it was understood, that the royal government would confirm the Proprietors in their claims to the possession of the soil, as a compensation for their surrender of sovereignty. In the political agitations that followed the change of government, this question of titles exerted a powerful influence, especially in and about this town. The people were divided into parties or factions, the lines of which were mostly determined by this issue, to them of all-absorbing interest. The character of the party-strife that ensued may, to some extent, be gathered from a communication written by Col. Lewis Morris, Feb. 9, 1703, to the Secretary of State. Re gov ferring to the period of Lord Cornbury's accession to the ernment of New Jersey, he observes, of the Province, that He found it divided into two parties, the one called Hamiltons and the other Basses partie; Hamilton's partie in East New-Jersey, consisted of the gentlemen of the best figure and fortune and majority of the people. Basse being formerly an Anabaptist Minister, those of that religion, some Quakers, and a miselanious mob, where of his partic.* Col. Richard Townley, of the Hamilton party, and a noted enemy to democracy, was chosen to the Assembly of 1703; and, when there, became so warm a partisan of Lord Cornbury, as, Nov. 29, 1705, to be appointed one of his Council,— a position which he retained until his death in 1711.† In the Assembly, that met in November, 1704, this town had no representative, the county members being from Newark. By questioning the qualifications of three of the members, Cornbury obtained a majority, and carried his measures. A militia law was passed, that proved a terrible grievance to the Quakers who constituted so large a portion of the population. The laying out of the highways was entrusted to the most inveterate party men, of whose proceedings Col. Morris gives the following damaging account: They pull'd down their enemies inclosures, laid waies through their orchards, gardens & improvemts; there was one gentleman at whom they had an extraordinary pique, and they laid a way over a mill pond, to necessitate him to pull down dam & mills that could not be erected for 1000 pounds, or to pull it down themselves, though the gentleman offered to build a bridge over the streame, at his own charge, of a mile distant wch would have been nearer and better way. To be short they never omitted an ill turn they could do, and alwaies went out of their way to do it. The country was impoverished by excessive taxation to support the government : The whole Province was filled with murmurs and complaints; but neither that nor y hearty curses they liberaly bestow'd upon the vilains that were y authors of their sufferings, avail'd any thing; they were forced to get money, some by takeing it up at 10, 20, 30, & more p' Cent interest, those whose credit would not go, even on y° most desperate * N. Y. Col. Docmts., V. 84. + Smith's N. J., p. 276. Analytical Index of N. J. Docmts., pp. 49, 53, 4, 7, 64. terms, were forc't to sell w' they had was vendible, to raise the money, and very many there was y' sold good milch cowes to raise six shillings.* This is the language of a partisan, Col. Morris, belonging to the Proprietary party; yet, taken even with the needful abatement, it serves to show the state of parties, the corruption of officials, and the distress of the people at that period; in all of which this town bore its full share, and more. The Act of Indemnity, sought the previous year, was passed by the Assembly of 1704, and received the Governor's sanction. The ignorance of Cornbury, in respect to the issues before the people, is well exemplified in a letter, June 14, 1704, to the Lords of Trade, in which he says: Col. Nichols coming into these parts found ye people of New York refractory and not inclinable to submit to him, but found y people of Elizabethtown ready to obey his orders in all things, by which means y people of New York became tractable and did submit. Col. Nichols thought himself obliged to doe something for ye people of Elizabethtown yt might be as a reward for their fidelity upon y' consideration granted them ye lands they now hold.t This, in a State Paper, from the Head of a Colonial Government! Contemptible! No such town existed before his coming. In the Assembly that met at Burlington, Ap. 5, 1707, this town was represented by Capt. Daniel Price. The Burgesses openly rebuked Cornbury for his outrages on the rights of the people, and stood up manfully for their own prerogatives. Nine members of the Council, of whom Col. Richard Townley was one, drew up and transmitted to the Queen an unqualified defence of Cornbury, in which they expressed their "dislike and abhorrence" of the proceedings of the representative body. Counter statements were forwarded by the Assembly, which, in connection with the complaints from every quarter of the two Provinces, N. York and N. Jersey, resulted in Cornbury's displacement, and the appointment, April 22, 1708, of John, Lord Lovelace, to succeed him.‡ N. Y. Col. Docmts., V. 36, 7. t Analytical Index of N. J. Docmts., p. 47. The town made choice, in 1708, and in 1709, of Benjamin Lyon to represent them in the Assembly. Lovelace was removed by death, May 6, 1709, less than six months after his arrival, and the government devolved on Lt. Gov. Richard Ingoldsby, until the arrival of Gov. Robert Hunter at New York, June 14, 1710. Col. Townley was retained in the Council, and Joseph Marsh, of this town, was a representative in the Assembly, that met in December of the same year. In a representation, made by the Representative body to the Governor, of the affairs of the Province, it was insisted upon, that, in order to reconcile the people to the government, it was indispensable that eight of the members of the Council, who had rendered themselves obnoxious, should be removed. Col. Townley was of this number. Similar representations were made by 18 of the Proprietors. Counter statements, in justification of their course, were made by the obnoxious gentlemen of the Council, in which they declared. themselves "in conscience bound" to preserve the royal prerogative from licentious encroachments. Gov. Hunter, writing to the Board of Trade, May 7, 1711, ṣays,— Unless Her Majesty be pleased to remove from Her Councill in the Jersey's William Pinhorne, Daniel Cox, Peter Sonmans, and William Hall there are no hopes of peace and quiet in that Province, Collonel Townley is since dead. These representations prevailed; the removals were ef fected, and peace was restored. Gov. Hunter proved an acceptable ruler, his administration contrasting with Cornbury's to great advantage. In the absence of other material, something of the history of the town during the first ten years of the eighteenth century may be learned from these general statements respecting the Province. In all the agitations of the times, consequent on these provincial events, the people of this town, ever foremost in the warfare for popular rights, could not but have taken an active and decided part-the more so because of the persecution, by Cornbury, of the Rev. Mr. Brooke, their worthy townsman, and his untimely death. |