"I am also astonished—pardon my candor—that with such views you can remain a Protestant."
"There is a great difference between knowing and willing, my young friend. I consider conversion an act of great heroism, and also as a gift of the highest grace."
Richard wrote in his diary:
"If Angela should be what the doctor considers her! According to my notions, such a being exists only in the realm of the ideal. But if Angela yet realizes this ideal? I must be certain. I will visit Siegwart to-morrow."
To Be Continued.
Greenwood tent, new splendors wear,Let thy festal tree-tops glisten;Stag, come here to look and listen;For the world's joy draweth near!Flowers, unclose your lids, that clearerLight your dew-wet eyes may mirror.Blossom! blossom!On her bosomLo! the mother bears the Child!Glad-winged birds, from forest dim,Hither fly, where peace long-sought is;Sing melodious jubilates,With the blessèd cherubim.Morning airs, come quick! with tenderThrill breathe on the branches slender;Breathe and hover!Rough ways overComes the mother with the Child!Stag, birds, trees, and breezes blest,Triumph in harmonious numbers—Fear not to disturb the slumbersOf the Babe upon her breast.Gently lull him with your voices,O'er whom all the world rejoices!Sing, adore him!Bend before him!Hail the mother with the Child!
Greenwood tent, new splendors wear,Let thy festal tree-tops glisten;Stag, come here to look and listen;For the world's joy draweth near!Flowers, unclose your lids, that clearerLight your dew-wet eyes may mirror.Blossom! blossom!On her bosomLo! the mother bears the Child!Glad-winged birds, from forest dim,Hither fly, where peace long-sought is;Sing melodious jubilates,With the blessèd cherubim.Morning airs, come quick! with tenderThrill breathe on the branches slender;Breathe and hover!Rough ways overComes the mother with the Child!Stag, birds, trees, and breezes blest,Triumph in harmonious numbers—Fear not to disturb the slumbersOf the Babe upon her breast.Gently lull him with your voices,O'er whom all the world rejoices!Sing, adore him!Bend before him!Hail the mother with the Child!
[Footnote 187]
[Footnote 187: Authorities: O'Callaghan'sDocumentary and Colonial Histories of New York. Bancroft'sHistory of the United States. Lingard'sHistory of England. Bishop Bayley'sHistory of the Catholic Church in New York. O'Callaghan'sJournal of the Legislature of New York, especially a note thereto, by George H. Moore, Esq. Shea'sHistory of the Catholic Missions. Campbell'sLife and Times of Archbishop Carroll. DeCourcy and Shea'sCatholic Church in the United States, etc.]
The student of Catholic history may be permitted to recall, with an honorable pride, the illustrious name and recount the eminent public services of Colonel Thomas Dongan, who, while the only Catholic, was one of the most able and accomplished, of the colonial governors of New York. His life and exploits are but little known, even among Catholics; and while his merits place him without a superior in the honored list of our governors, it yet remains, for the Catholic historian especially, to rescue his fame from obscurity, and to weave together, from scattered historical fragments, the story of a career at once brilliant and useful, checkered and romantic. As soldier, ruler, exile, nobleman, or Christian gentleman, he is equally entitled to a distinguished place among the remarkable men of his age. His position was a most difficult and delicate one—a Catholic ruler over Protestant subjects, at a time when religious rivalries and animosities formed the mainspring of public and private political action. It is no small achievement that, in so trying an office, he acquitted himself to the satisfaction of friend and foe; and that Protestant and Catholic historians unite in commending his wise and honorable course. As a patriot, he has won our national gratitude; for it is to his courage and address that we are indebted for the invaluable service of having extended the northern frontier of our republic to the great lakes. His devotion to civil and religious liberty places his name with that of Calvert, in the hearts of Catholics; while both should be hallowed together by all lovers of free government.
The subject of this memoir was descended from a noble and ancient Irish family, distinguished for an energy of character and enterprising spirit which he did not allow to expire with his ancestors. His father was Sir John Dongan, baronet, of Castletoun, in the county of Kildare, Ireland. He was also nephew to Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnel, who figured conspicuously in the reign of Charles II., as he did in that of James II. This Earl of Tyrconnel, uncle to Governor Dongan, was one of those against whom Titus Oates informed. He was made lieutenant-governor of Ireland, and afterward lord deputy, on the recall of Clarendon, by James II.; and he aimed at rendering Ireland independent of England, in the event of the Prince of Orange succeeding in his efforts to gain the throne. In furtherance of his patriotic designs, Earl Tyrconnel solicited of James permission to hold an Irish parliament; but that monarch, suspecting his purpose, rejected the measure.
Thomas Dongan was born in 1634; and, after being well-grounded in his religion, and in secular learning, was trained to the profession of a soldier. He entered the military service of France, and served as colonel of a French regiment, under Louis XIV.[Footnote 188]
[Footnote 188: We find his name rendered in French documents asColonel D'Unguent.]
His services there were so highly prized that it was with great difficulty and at considerable sacrifice that he was able to withdraw from it. In 1677-8, after the English parliament had forced Charles II. to break with Louis XIV., an order was issued commanding all British subjects in the service of France to return home. Colonel Dongan obeyed the order of his own sovereign; and he himself informs us that he was obliged to quit "that honorable and advantageous post, and resisted the temptations of greater preferment, then offered him, if he would continue there; for which reason the French king commanded him to quit France in forty-eight hours, and refused to pay him a debt of sixty-five thousand livres, then due him for recruits and arrears, upon an account stated by the intendant of Nancy." No subsequent efforts of Colonel Dongan succeeded in appeasing the French king's resentment, or in securing the payment of his claim.
On his return from the French service to England, he was appointed, by Charles II., a general officer in the English army, then destined for Flanders, and had an annual pension of £500 settled on him for life, in consideration of his losses in France. But it is regarded as quite certain that he did not go to Flanders under this appointment, to defend and support the English garrisons in that country, then menaced by the French; for, in the same year, he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Tangier, a position which he accepted, and continued to fill until the year 1680.
At this time, the American province of New York was under the proprietary government of James, Duke of York, whose deputy's administration of the affairs of the colony had produced great discontent among the people. His governor, Andros, had been recalled to answer the charges of the people; had returned to New York, acquitted by the duke, and resumed the imposition of the heavy system of taxation which had weighed so heavily on the citizens, and produced such discontent. But the resistance of the people, not stopping short even of calling in question the supreme authority of the duke, seconded by the remonstrances of William Penn, finally had the desired effect. Andros was recalled, and Colonel Dongan appointed to succeed him as governor of New York. His commission from the Duke of York, bearing date September 30th, 1682, contains the following appointing clause:
"And whereas, I have conceived a good opinion of the integrity, prudence, ability and fittness of Coll. Thomas Dongan, to be employed as my Lieutent there, I have therefore thought fitt to constitute and appoint him ye said Coll. Thos to be my Lt and Govr within ye lands, islands, places aforesaid (except the said East and West New Jersey) to performe & execute all and every the powers wch are by the said lettrs pattents granted unto me to be executed by me, my Deputy, Agent or Assignes."
The written instructions received by the new governor from the Duke of York, bearing date January 27th, 1683, direct him: First, to call together the council of the duke, consisting of Fredericke Phillipps, Stephen Courtland, and other eminent inhabitants, not exceeding ten councillors. Second, and most important of all, to issue warrants to the sheriffs of the counties for an election of a general assembly of all the freeholders of the province, to pass laws "for the good weale and government of the said Colony and its Dependencyes, and of all inhabitants thereof."The assembly was not to exceed eighteen members, and was to assemble in the city of New York. Third, to give or withhold his assent to such laws as the general assembly might pass, as he might approve or disapprove of the same, etc. Fourth, the laws so passed to be permanent. Fifth, "And I doe hereby require and command you yt noe man's life, member, freehold, or goods, be taken away or harmed in any of the places undr yor government but by established and knowne laws not repugnant to, but as nigh as may be agreable to the laws of the kingdome of England." Sixth, to repress "drunkennesse and debauchery, swearing and blasphemy," and to appoint none to office who may be given to such vices; and to encourage commerce and merchants. Seventh, to exercise general discretionary powers, except that of declaring war, without the duke's consent. The eighth relates to assessment of the estates of persons capable of serving as jurors. Ninth, to establish courts of justice, and to sell the royal lands. Tenth, to pardon offences. Eleventh, to erect custom-houses and other public buildings. Twelfth, to organize the militia. Thirteenth, to settle the boundaries of the province. Fourteenth, to encourage planters, and to lay no tax on commerce, except according to established laws. Fifteenth, to purchase Indian lands. Sixteenth relates to the granting of a liberal charter to the city of New York. Seventeenth, to send reports, by every ship, of the progress of the colony, and to regulate internal trade; and eighteenth, to devote his life, time, etc., to the faithful discharge of his duties.
The admirable document of which the foregoing is a brief synopsis, containing as it does the general principles of all good government, was, no doubt, designed to meet the former evils complained of by the people of New York. That the influence of Colonel Dongan, during the eight months or so that he remained in England between his appointment and departure for New York, was wholesomely exerted in impressing a liberal and enlightened character upon the policy and instructions of the home government, cannot be doubted. No one was better fitted by experience, good judgment, and inclination, for such a task. The document itself, the most just and liberal that ever emanated from an English sovereign, goes far to vindicate the name and character of James II.
The new governor arrived at New York on the 25th of August, 1683, and entered upon the duties of his office—duties rendered more delicate and embarrassing by the excitement through which the community had just passed, the high and extravagant expectations built upon a new appointment, made with the view of remedying old complaints, and by the fact that he himself was a professed and zealous Catholic, while the community whose destinies he was commissioned to guide were almost without exception Protestants, and peculiarly inclined, at that time, to look with distrust and hatred upon all "Papists." That such was the case, we are told by all the historians of the state and city; but that, by his address, good government, and enlightened policy, Governor Dongan soon removed this difficulty, we have the same authority for asserting. Smith says of him, "He was a man of integrity, moderation, and genteel manners, and, though a professed papist, may be classed among the best of our governors;" and adds "that he surpassed all his predecessors in a due attention to our affairs with the Indians, by whom he was highly esteemed."Valentine writes, that "he was a Roman Catholic in his religious tenets, which was the occasion of much remark on the part of the Protestant inhabitants of the colony. His personal character was in other respects not objectionable to the people, and he is described as a man of integrity, moderation, and genteel manners, and as being among the best of the governors who had been placed in charge of this province." And Booth also writes of him, "He was of the Roman Catholic faith, a fact which rendered him, at first, obnoxious to many; but his firm and judicious policy, his steadfast integrity, and his pleasing and courteous address, soon won the affections of the people, and made him one of the most popular of the royal governors." Colden, in his history of the Five Nations, calls him an "honest gentleman," and "an active and prudent governor."
The governor at once organized his council, which, as well from necessity as from prudent policy, was composed of gentlemen of the Dutch Reformed and English churches. Regarding his functions as purely civil, he did not, in the government of the colonists, who were Protestants, advance his views upon subjects not connected with civil government offensively before them, as they feared he would do. He might have induced over from the old country members of his own church to form his council; but neither duty nor prudence recommended this measure. Catholics, however, were no longer excluded from office, nor from the practice of their religion. The governor had a chapel, in which himself, his suite, his servants, and all the Catholics of the province, could attend divine service according to their own creed. A Jesuit father, who accompanied him from England, was his chaplain.
He proceeded at once, according to his instructions, to issue his warrants for the election of a general assembly. This was an auspicious beginning of his administration, as it was a concession from the Duke of York for which the people had long struggled. This illustrious body, consisting of the governor, ten councillors, and seventeen representatives elected by the people, assembled in the city of New York, on the 17th of October, 1683. As he was the first, so he was the most liberal and friendly royal governor, that presided over the popular legislatures of New York; and the contests between arbitrary power and popular rights, which distinguished the administration of future governors, down to the Revolution, did not have their origin under his administration. The first act of the general assembly was the framing of a charter of liberties—the first guaranty of popular government in the province; and Governor Dongan, as he was the first governor to sign the charter of civil and religious liberty in New York, was, not many years afterward, the first citizen persecuted for his religion after its adoption. This noble charter ordained,
"That supreme legislative power should for ever reside in the governor, council, and people, met in general assembly; that every freeholder and freeman might vote for representatives without restraint; that no freeman should suffer but by the judgment of his peers, and that all trials should be by a jury of twelve men; that no tax should be assessed, on any pretext whatever, but by the consent of the assembly; that no seaman or soldier should be quartered on the inhabitants against their will; that no martial law should exist; that no person, professing faith in God, by Jesus Christ, should, at any time, be in any way disquieted or questioned for any difference of opinion in matters of religion."
It was provided that the general assemblies were to convene at least triennially; new police regulations were established; Sunday laws were enacted; tavern-keepers were prohibited from selling liquor except to travellers; children were prohibited from playing in the street, citizens from working, and Indians and negroes from assembling, on the Sabbath; twenty cartmen were licensed, on condition that they should repair the highways gratis, when called on by the mayor, and cart the dirt from the streets beyond the limits of the city. The inhabitants were required to sweep the dirt of the streets together every Saturday afternoon, preparatory to its removal by the cartmen. On the 8th of December, 1683, the city was divided into six wards, each of which was entitled to elect an alderman and councilman annually, to represent them in the government of the city. The appointment of the mayor was reserved to the governor and council, and was not made elective by the people until after the American Revolution.
In 1685, on the death of Charles, the Duke of York succeeded to the English crown, under the title of James II. Governor Dongan, by special orders from the home government, proclaimed King James throughout the province. Indian and French disturbances having ceased, all was now quiet along the northern frontier, and the governor, skilfully availing himself of the opportunity, caused the king's arms to be put upon all the Indian castles along the Great Lake, and they, he writes to Secretary Blathwayt, submitted willingly to the king's government. In 1686, Governor Dongan received a new commission, bearing date on the 10th of June of that year. This was a very different document from his first commission, and manifests the change in favor of arbitrary power which took place in the sentiments and policy of James on his accession to the throne. The general assembly was abolished and the legislative power was vested in the governor and council, subject to the approval of the king; they were also authorized to proclaim and enforce martial law, to impose taxes, etc. It has been erroneously stated by one of our historians that James, in this document, instructed Governor Dongan "to favor the introduction of the Roman Catholic religion into the province—a course of policy which the governor, himself a Catholic, was reluctant to adopt;" whereas, the only provision therein relating to religion is in these words:
"And wee doe, by these presents, will, require, and command you to take all possible care for the Discountenance of Vice and encouragement of Virtue and good-living, that by such example the Infidels may bee invited and desired to partake of the Christian Religion."
According to this commission, the general assembly was dissolved on the 6th of August, 1685, and no other was convened during the reign of James. Notwithstanding this radical change in the organic law of the province, the mild, liberal, and judicious administration of the governor caused the exercise of arbitrary power to be but lightly felt by the people.
In 1686, Governor Dongan signalized his administration by granting, in the name and by the authority of the king, the celebrated charter of the city of New York known as theDongan Charter, bearing date the 22d of April of that year. This document constitutes to this day the basis and foundation of the municipal laws, rights, privileges, public property, and franchises of the city. It was confirmed and renewed by Governor Montgomery, on the 15th day of January, 1730, in the reign of George II.This charter was granted on the petition of the mayor and common council of the city of New York, addressed "To the Right Honorable Colln. Dongan, Esqr., Lieutennant & Governor & Vice Admirall under his Royall Highness, James Duke of York and Albany, &c., of New York and Dependencyes in America." In this petition are recited the ancient privileges and incorporation of the city, and especially the fact that the whole island of Manhattan had been made a part of the corporation, and all the inhabitants thereof were subject to the government of the city; and praying a re-grant and confirmation of the same, and of all their ancient rights and privileges. The charter itself confirms all the ancient franchises and grants to the city, and confers many new ones upon it; it grants to the city the waste or unappropriated lands on the island, and concedes the right of local or municipal legislation, the ferries, markets, docks, etc., and covers thoroughly the whole ground of municipal government. It would seem, from an endorsement made on the petition in the office of the home government, by the secretary through whose hands it passed, that the new charter should be granted on the express condition that the old charter be surrendered; "otherwise, they may keep all their Old Priviledges by virtue of that, and take ye additions by this new one, without Subjecting their Officers, &c., to the approbation & Refusall, &c., of ye governors."
Among other public measures and acts of Governor Dongan may be mentioned, that he proposed to the home government the establishment of post-offices, or "post-houses," as they were called, all along the Atlantic coast within the English dominions, and the establishment of a mint. French Protestants, resorting to the colony for trade or business of any kind, were not to be molested. The fort was supported for one year at his private expense, during the insufficiency of the public revenue under Collector Santen. He obtained a release from the Ranseleers to the lands in Albany, and then granted a charter to that town; and he endeavored to bring about the union of New Jersey and Connecticut, under one and the same government with New York, as a measure of public safety and strength. In 1686, the governor's salary was raised from £400 to £600 per annum. The governor's residence was at the fort, and there was attached to the office the products or rents of a farm, called, at various times, the governor's, duke's, or king's farm, and of another smaller piece of land, called the queen's garden, which were subsequently granted to and remain to this day the property of the corporation of Trinity Church. It may also be mentioned, as an evidence of Governor Dongan's popularity, that there is to be found, in a list of the titles of acts passed by the general assembly in 1684, the following title, "A Bill for a present to the Governor."
We are told by the historians that "considerable improvements were made in the city in Governor Dongan's time." [Footnote 189]
[Footnote 189: Valentine.]
The city wall, erected in 1653, on the present line of Wall street, which derived its name from this circumstance, ran through the farm of Jan Jansen Damen; and from Broadway to Pearl street, the lands north of the wall were, in Governor Dongan's time, in possession of Damen's heirs, who were now induced to part with the same, so that the wall was removed and these valuable lots brought at once into the market, and were soon improved.Afterward, Governor Dongan determined still further to enlarge the city, to demolish the old fortifications, which were in a state of decay, and to erect new defences further out. Wall street was laid out on the site of the old city wall. "The street was afterwards favored by the erection of the city hall on the site of the present custom-house, and of Trinity Church, facing its westerly extremity, and soon became one of principal streets of the city." In 1687, a new street was laid out between Whitehall street and Old Slip, and the corporation sold the lots on condition that the purchasers should build the street out toward the water and protect it against the washing of the tide. These improvements were not carried into effect until several years afterward. This is the present Water street. In the second year of Governor Dongan's administration, 1684, the vessels of New York consisted of three barques, three brigantines, twenty-six sloops, and forty-six open boats; facts which convey some notion of the commerce and prosperity of New York at that time.
Governor Dongan manifested great activity and energy in the conduct of public affairs. His report on the condition of the colony is a document replete with intelligence, vigor, and practical experience, and shows that no part of the colony, however remote, escaped his attention and care; and no branch of the public service was neglected by him. Mr. Santen, the collector of the port, became a defaulter to the amount of £3000, and was the occasion of great embarrassment and loss to Governor Dongan, who, however, on his part, acted promptly in the premises, by seizing the books of the delinquent official, causing him to be arrested and brought before the council for trial, and, on his proving refractory, sending him to England. While in England, the displaced collector preferred charges against Governor Dongan, who defended himself in that able and conclusive document, or report, on the condition of the colony, addressed to the lords of the home government, to which allusion has just been made. The following extract will show how characteristically he defended himself against one of Mr. Santen's charges:
"To the Tenth: Concerning my Covetousness, as hee is pleased to term it. Here, (if Mr. Santen speaks true, in saying I have been covetous,) it was in the management of this small Revenue to the best advantage, and had Mr. Santen been as just as I have been careful, the King had not been in debt, and I had more in my pocket than now I have."
This document also shows how active Governor Dongan was to secure the beaver and other Indian trade for the province; his zeal would not stop short of confining the French to the other side of the great lakes, and William Penn and his people south of a line drawn from a point on the Delaware "to the falls in the Susquehanna." [Footnote 190]
[Footnote 190: Wyalusing Falls, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.]
The report is also full of valuable suggestions on the future as well as the past and present government of the province, and contains valuable statistics relating to the courts of justice, the public revenues, trade and commerce, population, the Indians, shipping, agriculture, and every other public interest.
Governor Dongan distinguished his administration in an especial manner by his attention to the relations and interests of the province connected with the Indian tribes within and adjoining it; and he is admitted by historians to have surpassed all his predecessors in this department of public affairs, and to have been held in the greatest esteem by the Indians themselves.While seeking their alliance, their trade, and their submission to his government, he ever treated them with frankness, generosity, and true friendship. The grateful savages always addressed him by the friendly name of "Corlear;" [Footnote 191] "and the name of 'Dongan, the white father,' was remembered in the Indian lodges long after it had grown indifferent to his countrymen at Manhattan." His master-stroke of Indian policy was in gaining the alliance of the Five Nations, securing their submission to the English government in preference to that of France, and carrying our northern frontier to the great lakes.
[Footnote 191: This was the name of one of the old Dutch inhabitants, who had conferred a great boon upon the Indians, and by his timely intervention saved a large number of them from a contemplated massacre in one of their wars. Whenever afterward they wished to address a person in terms of strong attachment and confidence, they called him "Corlear."]
The Five Nations were a confederacy of the five most powerful Indian tribes of the north: the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas. They were usually called, by the French, by the name of "Iroquois." Their confederation dates back beyond the limits of their history, as known to the white race; and both, like that of other nations in their origin, are only known to us through dim traditions and fabulous exaggerations. They were united when the French came to Canada; for we are told, that, "when Champlain arrived in Canada, he found them united in a war against the Adirondacks, or Algonquins; and, as he settled in the country of the latter, he accompanied them in one of their hostile incursions, and, by the assistance of the French, a body of the Five Nations was defeated." They long felt a resentment for this act of hostility, although they received missionaries from the French, and, in a great measure, embraced the Christian faith. On the arrival of the Dutch, a trade sprang up between the inhabitants of New Amsterdam and the Indians of the Five Nations; and the latter, by exchanging their furs for fire-arms, became more powerful and more terrible to their enemies. It does not seem that the Dutch government laid any claim to their country, or to their allegiance; though Governor Dongan, in his controversy with the French, claimed that his pretensions were based upon a Dutch title. Their form of government was federal, like our own. Each nation had its own separate government, for the regulation of their local and individual affairs, and a general government in all things relating to their common interests. They were the most powerful, the most permanent, and the most capable Indian organization in America. Like the Romans, they incorporated the nations they conquered into the confederacy, with equal rights; or, if this were impracticable, they destroyed their enemies entirely. Such was their power that they exacted tribute from neighboring tribes. In 1715, the Tuscaroras of North Carolina were aggregated to the original confederacy, which was thereafter known by the name of the Six Nations.
Governor Dongan soon perceived the importance of securing the friendship and alliance of these powerful and warlike tribes. The Dutch had made a treaty of peace with the Five Nations, which had never been openly broken; but as it was necessary to keep treaties with the Indians constantly renewed, in order to prevent them from being forgotten; and, as the Indians had considered themselves, on several occasions, slighted by the English governors, they had more than once invaded the territories of the latter.The French in Canada, as the first Europeans who had visited their country, claimed it and the allegiance of the tribes. French missionaries, men of heroic self-sacrifice and profound piety, were among them, preaching the Gospel, receiving their confessions of faith, offering up the Christian sacrifice in their midst, and doing all in their power to improve their temporal and spiritual condition. It was natural, it was probably necessary, that these pious missionaries should bring their flocks in contact with their own government; and, while their mission and holy office among the Indians were utterly divested of all political or worldly motives, they could not avoid being powerful instruments, with the French government, in securing the advancement of French interests among those nations. Governor Dongan, on the other hand, had by his kindness and frankness completely gained their confidence, and was succeeding well in cementing the relations between himself and the Five Nations. He soon discovered the presence of the French missionaries in their midst an obstacle to this policy; and, at the same time, as a Catholic, he felt a profound interest in their religious enlightenment, and in their adherence to the church of which he was himself a devoted member. To avoid the conflict which might arise between the duty he owed, on the one hand, to his church and his conscience, and, on the other, to his king, he resolved on the plan of insisting upon his claim to the allegiance of the Five Nations, claiming the country to the great lakes, and upon the withdrawal of the French missionaries, and the substitution of English Jesuit missionaries in their place. Though receiving little encouragement from the home government in these measures, Governor Dongan carried them so far into effect as to secure the withdrawal of the French missionaries from three of the Five Nations, and to obtain the services of English Jesuits at New York, destined for the Indian missions, in the place of French priests. Father Harrison arrived in New York in 1685, and Father Gage arrived there in 1686. But, in consequence of their ignorance of the Indian language, they were compelled to remain in the city while studying it and preparing for the mission. War, too, soon rendered the field of their missionary zeal and labor inaccessible to them, and the sequel of events shows that it was neither their own nor the good fortune of the Indians that they should ever reach it. A Catholic writer [Footnote 192] thus alludes to Governor Dongan's position on this, to him, delicate subject:
"There can be no doubt that Governor Dongan, on coming among the New Yorkers, found that if the measures for converting the Indians were to proceed, the political interests of his own country required that English missionaries should take the place of the French Jesuits, some of whom were incorporated among the Five Nations. The historians of New York assert that no previous governor had made himself so well acquainted with Indian affairs, or conducted the intercourse between the settlers and Indians with so much ability and regard to the interests of the subjects of Great Britain; while, at the same time, he was held in high esteem by the Indians themselves. And it is mentioned, to his honor, by the same historians, who are unsparing in their condemnation of his religion, that he did not permit the identity of his faith with that of the Catholic missionaries of France to prevent him from opposing their residence among the Indian tribes in his province; their influence being calculated to promote the interests and policy of France, and weaken the authority of the English. But it was loyalty to his own government, and a just regard for the interests confided to him, and not indifference to the pious work of Christianizing the Indians, that induced Governor Dongan to oppose the missions of the French."
[Footnote 192: Campbell'sLife and Times of Archbishop Carroll.]
Another Catholic author [Footnote 193] thus writes on the same subject:
[Footnote 193: Shea'sHist. Cath. Missions.]
"The English colony of New York had now passed under the sway of Colonel Dongan, one of the most enterprising and active governors that ever controlled the destinies of any of the English provinces. His short but vigorous administration showed that he was not only thoroughly acquainted with the interests of England, but able to carry them out. A Catholic, who had served in the French armies, he was biassed neither by his religion nor his former services in the duties of the station now devolved upon him. … Claiming for England all the country south of the great lakes, he it was who made them a boundary. His first step was to extend the power of New York over the five Iroquois cantons, and bind those warlike tribes to the English interest. His next, to recall the Caughnawagas to their ancient home, by promises of a new location on the plains of Saratoga, where a church should be built for them, and an English Jesuit stationed as their missionary. In this plan he found his efforts thwarted by the missionaries, who, French by birth and attachment, looked with suspicion on the growing English influence in the cantons, as fatal to the missions which had cost so much toil, and who relied little on Dongan's fair words, and subsequent promise to replace them by English members of their society."
The same author, in another work, expresses his confidence in the sincerity of Governor Dongan's intentions and promises, and points to the three English Jesuits brought to New York by him, as proof of both. [Footnote 194]
[Footnote 194:New York Doc. Hist.Letter of Mr. Shea, iii. 110.]
The French government of Canada was equally bent on reducing the Five Nations to subjection to the king of France. It required no serious pretexts to induce the French to carry their plans into effect by open war; and pretexts were not long wanting. The murder of a Seneca chief at Mackinaw; an attack by the Iroquois on a French post in Illinois; the seizure of a flotilla—fanned the embers of war into a flame, and the subjugation of the Five Nations seemed to be at hand. A large Canadian army was organized for this purpose. It is said by historians, and with probable truth, that the French king had remonstrated with James II. against Colonel Dongan's interference with the French missions, and that James had instructed his governor to desist from this policy; also, that James, on hearing of the designs of the Canadians on the Five Nations, supposing that these warlike and refractory tribes, either as subjects or enemies, would be always a thorn in the side of his province, while within its limits, ordered Colonel Dongan not to interfere with those designs. But Colonel Dongan entertained very different views on these subjects. Not only did he insist on replacing the French Jesuits with English members of the same society, but he also proposed, both to the home government and to the governors of Maryland and Virginia, that these two provinces should unite with New York in resisting the encroachments of the French. He also proposed to the home government a plan of emigration from Ireland to New York, and that one of his own nephews should be appointed to conduct and manage the enterprise. He wrote to the home government on this subject as follows:
"It will be very necessary to send over men to build those forts [the proposed forts along the northern frontier.] … My lord, there are people enough in Ireland, who had pretences to estates there, and are of no advantage to the country, and may live here very happy. I do not doubt, if his majesty think fit to employ my nephew, he will bring over as many as the king will find convenient to send, who will be no charge to his majesty after they are landed."
Governor Dongan, notwithstanding his instructions to the contrary, "was far too honorable to see his allies, (the Five Nations,) murdered in cold blood, in obedience to the will of his superiors." He sent his messengers to warn the Iroquois of the impending danger, and invited them to meet him at Albany, to renew the old treaty of peace, which had been long ago made between them and the Dutch, and which had almost faded from the memories of the chiefs.
Both met punctually at the appointed rendezvous; and Colonel Dongan made one of his most characteristic and effective speeches to them, in which he explained his claims upon them, demonstrated the hostility of the French and his own friendship for them, made promises of future aid, and proposed an alliance. The treaty here entered into "was long respected by both parties." The clouds of war now burst upon the Five Nations, but found them not unprepared. Two invasions of the French were repelled, and finally the invaders, weakened by sickness and unacquainted with the Indian modes of war, returned with scattered ranks to their own country, to await the terrible retaliation of an injured foe. The warriors of the Five Nations burst with fury on the Canadian settlements, "burning, ravaging, and slaying without mercy, until they had nearly exterminated the French from the territory. The war continued until, of all the French colonies, Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers alone remained, and the French dominion in America was almost annihilated; Governor Dongan remaining," says the historian, "a firm friend of the Indians during his administration, aiding them by his council, and doing them every good office in his power." [Footnote 195]
[Footnote 195: Booth'sHistory of the City of New York.]
By his bold and independent course, so much at variance with the views of his royal master, Governor Dongan incurred the displeasure of James II., who suspended him from his functions, and about April, 1688, the governor resigned his office. The functions of the office of governor then devolved upon the deputy-governor, Nicholson. Smith, the historian, says of Dongan's removal from the office which he had graced so well, and in which he had done so much for the good of his king and his fellow-citizens, that "he fell into the king's displeasure through his zeal for the true interest of the province."
The voluminous correspondence between Governor Dongan and Mons. Denonville, governor of Canada, on the relations of the two rival English and French colonies, published in theColonialandDocumentaryhistories of New York, is replete with interest, as containing valuable information concerning the affairs of the day, and as fairly illustrating the character of our governor. Though frequently running into bitter personalities and irreconcilable conflict, the letters of these two officials were not devoid of personal courtesies and amenities. Thus, we see the French governor acting as a mediator with his sovereign in behalf of Governor Dongan, in order that he might recover his claim for services rendered in the French army; and we find Governor Dongan, at one time, regretting that distance prevented him from meeting and interchanging social civilities with his rival; and, at another, sending to the Canadian governor a present of oranges, which, he had heard, were a great rarity in Canada, and regretting that the messenger's want of "carriage" prevented him from sending more.
There was one point, however, upon which Governor Dongan was ever uncompromising; this was his determination to claim the great lakes as his boundary, and to submit to nothing short of this. He carried his point even in his own day; for the royal arms of England were emblazoned on the Indian castles along that border, English forts defended it, and the Five Nations recognized the king of England as their father. Though wars intervened, this boundary was afterward recognized, by solemn treaty, as the line dividing the English and French dominions in our day, the visitor to the great lakes, and the tourist at the falls of Niagara, sees the American flag floating where Governor Dongan planted its predecessor, the standard of our English ancestors. Then,
"Proudly hath it floatedThrough the battles of the sea,When the red-cross flag o'er smoke-wreaths playedLike the lightning in its glee."Hemans.
"Proudly hath it floatedThrough the battles of the sea,When the red-cross flag o'er smoke-wreaths playedLike the lightning in its glee."Hemans.
Now,
"When Freedom from her mountain heightUnfurled her standard to the air,She tore the azure robe of night,And set her stars of glory there."Drake.
"When Freedom from her mountain heightUnfurled her standard to the air,She tore the azure robe of night,And set her stars of glory there."Drake.
After his retirement from office, Governor Dongan spent his time in New York and on Staten Island, in both of which places he had acquired some property, but resided mostly on his estate on Staten Island. He was offered the commission of a major-general in the British army, and the command of a regiment in the service of James II., all of which he declined to accept.
From the time that James II. ascended the English throne, discontents began to arise among his Protestant subjects, on both sides of the ocean, at the transfer of power from the Protestants to the Catholics. The appointment of Governor Dongan, "a professed papist," was offensive at first to the people of the province of New York; but his upright administration, his devotion to the best interests of the colony, and his personal popularity, quelled all actual disturbance during his term of office. We have seen that, soon after his arrival, civil and religious liberty were guaranteed, and that he selected the council from members of the Dutch Reformed Church, in order to disarm all prejudices. He certainly was not disposed, however, to debar himself and his fellow-Catholic subjects from the enjoyment of that religious liberty which he had done so much to secure for others. He had been accompanied to New York, in 1683, by Father Thomas Harvey, S.J., who performed the divine services in the governor's chapel, in the fort, and attended to the spiritual wants of the governor, and of such Catholics as were in New York during his administration. Fathers Harrison and Gage were sent for, and arrived in New York afterward, with the view of superseding the French missionaries among the Indians. It does not appear that large numbers of Catholics emigrated to New York, during his administration, for his plan for encouraging emigration from Ireland was not carried into effect; yet it is reasonable to suppose that the number of Catholics increased somewhat under the favorable auspices of a Catholic governor. And, although Matthias Plowman, the successor to Mr. Santer, the late collector, was a Catholic, we do not find that Governor Dongan filled many of the public offices in his gift with Catholics. Mr. Nicholson, the deputy-governor, into whose hands Governor Dongan resigned his office, was not appointed by him, but was the deputy of Governor Andros, who had been appointed by the home government governor of New England and New York, and whose headquarters were at Boston; this Mr. Nicholson was said to have been "an adherent of the Catholic faith." Religious controversies ran high, however, during this period, and historians generally inform us that plots were formed by the Protestants, not only in England, under James, but also in the province of New York, under Governor Dongan.This seems probable from the readiness with which the people on both sides of the Atlantic rose on their Catholic rulers as soon as the opportunity presented itself. This opportunity was afforded not long after Governor Dongan's retirement from office, in 1689, on the invasion of England by William Prince of Orange, and the abdication and flight of James II. from England.
The tone of public sentiment in New York in 1689 is thus described by Bishop Bayley, in his treatise on theHistory of the Catholic Church on the Island of New York:
"Smith, describing the disposition and temper of the inhabitants of the colony at the time, shows that, notwithstanding the personal popularity of the governor, the increase of Catholics was looked upon with a suspicious eye. 'A general disaffection,' he says,'to the government prevailed among the people. Papists began to settle in the colony under the smiles of the governor. The collector of the revenues and several principal officers threw off the mask, and openly avowed their attachment to the doctrines of Rome. A Latin school was set up, and the teacher strongly suspected for a Jesuit; in a word, the whole body of the people trembled for the Protestant cause.' The news of the revolution in England, and the subsequent proceedings under Leisler, probably caused such Catholics as were in a situation to get away, to withdraw at the same time with the governor. The documents connected with Leisler's usurpation of authority, as published by O'Callaghan in hisDocumentary History of New York, show how studiously he appealed to the religious prejudices of the people, in order to excite odium against the friends of the late governor, and establish his own claims. The 'security of the Protestant religion,' and the 'diabolical designs of the wicked and cruel papists,' are made to ring their changes through his various proclamations and letters. Depositions and affidavits were published, in which it was sworn that Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson had been several times seen assisting at mass; that the papists on Staten Island 'did threaten to cut the inhabitants' throats,' and to come and burn the city; 'that M. De La Prearie had arms in his house for fifty men; that eighty or a hundred men were coming from Boston and other places, that were hunted away, (no doubt, not for their goodness,) and that there were several of them Irish and papists; that a good part of the soldiers that were in the fort already were papists,' etc. Among other depositions, is one of Andries and Jan Meyer, in which they declare that, 'being delivered from a papist governor, Thomas Dongan, they thought that the deputy-governor in the Fort would defend and establish the true religion; but we found to the contrary. There was a cry that all the images erected by Col. Thomas Dongan in the fort would be broken down and taken away; but when we were working in the fort with others, it was commanded, after the departure of Sir Edmond Andros, by said Nicholson, to help the priest, John Smith,' (supposed to be a name assumed for the sake of safety by one of the Jesuit fathers of New York,) 'to remove, for which we were very glad; but it was soon done, because said removal was not far off, but in a better room in the fort; and ordered to make all things ready for said priest, according to his will, and perfectly, and to erect all things as he ordered, from that time,'" etc.
Mr. Graham says of the state of public feeling prevailing at this time in New York, that
"An outrageous dread of popery had invaded the minds of the lower classes of the people, and not only diminished real and substantial evils in their esteem, but nearly extinguished common sense in their understandings, and common justice in their sentiments."
Deputy-Governor Nicholson took possession of the government in August, 1688. On the 24th of that month, Governor Andros issued a proclamation for a general thanksgiving throughout the English provinces for the birth of a prince, the son of King James, and heir to the English throne. But by the next mail news of quite a different character arrived: the invasion of England by the Prince of Orange, the flocking of the people to his standard, the abdication and flight of King James, and the proclamation of William and Mary as king and queen of England.Mr. Nicholson and his followers recognized the authority of William and Mary, and, claiming that the commissions issued under James II. still held good, proposed to exercised the functions of the public offices under them, until instructions should be received from the new government at home. They were supported by the more respectable and wealthy part of the citizens. But the popular party took the opposite ground, and contended that all the commissions were now invalid, and that the people should take the government into their own hands until the will of their present majesties should be heard from. They were led on by one Jacob Leisler, a successful merchant, but a bitter bigot and ambitious demagogue, and the leader of such as refused all social intercourse with Catholics. Leisler had been appointed as early as 1683, by Governor Dongan, commissioner of the Admiralty; but, while holding this office, he was deeply disaffected, and had previously gained some notoriety by his opposition to Rensselaer, an Episcopal minister and suspected papist, at Albany, who had been sent to the province by the Duke of York.
The revolution commenced in New York by the refusal of Leisler and others to pay revenue and taxes to Mr. Plowman, the collector, because he was a Catholic. The people of Long Island deposed their magistrates and elected new ones, and despatched a large body of militia to New York, "to seize the fort, and keep off popery, French invasion, and slavery." The public money, amounting to £773 12s., had been deposited, for safe keeping, in the fort which was garrisoned by a few soldiers commanded by a Catholic ensign. In order to secure this treasure, the popular party assembled on the 2d of June, 1689, and seized the fort. Leisler, who had refused to lead them to attack, on hearing of its seizure, went, with forty-seven men, to the fort, was welcomed by the citizens, and acknowledged as their leader. At a meeting of the people, a so-called "Committee of Safety" was appointed for the immediate government of the province, and Leisler was appointed to the chief command. Then followed the reign of terror described by Smith, Graham, and other historians. Catholics were hunted down in every direction, and many Protestants, suspected of being "papists" at heart, were treated in the same manner. Orders were issued for the arrest of Governor Dongan—who, since his retirement from office, had been quietly residing on his estate at Staten Island—and all other Catholics, who were compelled to fly for safety. Governor Dongan and other Catholics took shelter on board of a vessel in the harbor, where they remained for weeks, during the height of the excitement. He probably was obliged to keep himself concealed. He fled to Rhode Island, and soon afterward returned to Staten Island; his servants were arrested, his personal effects—charged, in the frenzy of the hour, to embrace a number of arms—were seized at his mill on Staten Island; and all who pretended to hold commissions under him were ordered to be arrested. So effectually were the Catholics driven from the province that, in 1696, seven years afterward, on a census of Catholics, taken by the mayor of the city by order of Governor Fletcher, only nine names were returned, namely, Major Anthony Brockholes, William Douglass, John Cooley, Christiane Lawrence, Thomas Howarding, John Cavalier, John Patte, John Fenny, and Philip Cunningham.