Y
Oman vndkjot Boulo,crpu afcpa tetfbtmm."
)liiiorxLical reflection the fijl of beinr happy ia
time of propcr(y How William tM Teaty by hii great
lcarnin(j had weU nigh ruined the province thro aCaba
3v lialic word i aba, how he enriched it by a amlutude of
' trcd-for -nothing lawa, lec with divert other staUert
.- 't which will be faind out opoo pertiaaL .' '- .
' V'hHe Willum the Testy was busily en-
i feared in repelling hii bitter enemies the Yan
f keea, on one side, we find him suddenly mo
lested in another .quarter, and by other assail
a a W
rendered it laelfecti
cnnseiaenee cf hit fcfa:
:rnr.g
OD-
AH this was a rt
-.J education :
Hague where ww-j -aired a smi.t
of knowledre, he wu ever after a great
ner of indexes, conn oual2y dipping juto books,
without ever studying to the bottom of any
subject so that ha had the scum of all kinds
of authors fermenting ia hU pericranium. In
some of the tide page researches he unlock
ily stiynbled over grand political cohatistk
word which with his' customary facility he
immediately incorporated ' into his' great
scheme of jrorernnaent, to the irretrievable in
jury and delusion of the honest province of
m-. . a a 1 .1 . . t
XMieuw xvcaeruoats, ana in eternal misieaa
ing, of all experimental rulers v
.. The word which had so wonderfully arrest
ed the attention of William the Testy and
which in German chaxaAers, had a particular
ly black and ominus aspect, on being fairly
translated into the English la no other than
economy -a talismanic term, which by constant
use and frequent mention, has ceased to be
' two sloor K.ir, j ! r.e their durr,
e Ui J up (or dry dicJj in a cove t
. 1 the A'.Lany 13son, where they quir.'f
:ed in the mud t and to immortal'.!: !
not. they erected by subscription, a marr-ia-
cent shingle monument on the top of FUr.ea
barrack Hill, which lasted three whole years j
when it fell to pieces, and vaa burnt for Ere
wood. . , '.. -
A morn? tha msor wrecks and fragments of
V V
exalted wisdom, which hare floated down the
stream of time, from venerable antiquity, and
have been carefully picked up by those hum
ble, but industrious wights, who ply along the
shores of literature, we find the following sage
ordinance of Charondas, the locrian legislator
Anxious to preserve the ancient laws of the
state from the additions and improvements of
profound country, members," or officious
candidates for popularity, he ordained, that
whoever proposed a new law, should do it
with a halter, about his neck so that in case
his proposition was rejected, he was strung
aots. ' A warrant colony of Swedes, under formidable in our eyes, but which has asterri- up-and there the matter ended.
the conduct pf Peter -Minoewits, and profess
Sncr allerriance to that redoubtable .virago.
Christiana queen of Sweden j had settled them
selves and erected a fort on south (or Dele.
' ware) river- within the boundaries, claimed
- ty the government of the New-Netherlands.
, ' Ilistory Is mute as to the particulars of their
first landing, and their real pretensions to the
. soil, and this is the more to be lamented as
-v this same colony of Swedes will hereafter be
" found most materially to' affect, not only the
".interests of the Netherlander, but of the world
: '-at large i z'i'-i :&vV r ; '" -rjt'ff
In "whatever manner, therefore, this ,vaga
, f bond colony of Swedes first took possession
of the country,' it is certain that in 1638, they
:, established a fortand Minnewits, according
' ,tc the offhand usage of his cotemporaries, de
" dared himself governour of the adjacent coun
'try, under the name' of the. province of New-
- Sew den. No sooner did this teach the ears
. of the choleric Wilhemila. than, like a true
4 - spirited chieftan, he immediately broke into a
. y' violent rage, and calling together- his council,
belaboured the Swedes most lustily- in the
JoDRest speech that had ever been heard in
v the colony since the memorable dispute of Ten
.- breeches and Tough breeches. ; Having thus
. .. - given vent to the first ebullitions of his indig
, nation, he had resort to hia favourite'measure
: 'bf proclamation, and dispatched, one, piping
V, a. .Ha,Al hit aStxwwa tnaww str w
11UL IU II1C' U . JT- Ul ! VIJjUJ lyswiuiiutj
. Peter M'wne wits .that the 1 whole territory,
bordering on the south river, had, time out of j
- mmH frirrt in nrarinn (it the lltltrh rnlr
, 1 i , nists, navtng ueen " dcsci wiui ions, oc scaica
; t with their blood." '
The latter sanguinary sentence, would cott
Fey an idea ef direful war and bloodshed $
' i vfr iv' tint rrvrt hv thf infnrmatinn that
it merely related to affray, in which some
, half a dozen Dutchmen Jhad been killed b
; v , the Indians, in their benevolent attempts to
iA -A. . establish a colony and promote civilization
Uy this it will be seen that William Ifcieft,
. though a yerysmall man; delighted in big ex
.' 1 cressions.1 and was much given to a praise
wonhy.fiffure in rhetoric, generally .cultivated
- -by your little great men, called hyperbole.
' A figure which has been found of infinite ser
vice amonsr many ol his class, and wntch has
helped to a welt the trrandeur of many a nvigh
' tv self-important but windy chief magistrate.
Nor can 1 resist in this place, from observing
how much my beloved country is indebted to
this same figure of hyperbole, for supporting
certain ot tier greatest charactersstatesmen
orators, civilians ana aivincs wno oy uini o
" r' big words, inflated periods," and windy do&
, . trines, are kept afloat on the surface of society
m iguorant swimmers are buoyed op by blown
-' v ' ' bladders: it ,i?l
, The 'proclamation against Minnewits con
i eluded by ordering the self-dubbcd governour,
and hjs gang of Swedish adventurers, imme
diately to leave the country under penalty o
, the high displeasure, and inevitable vengeance
of the puissant; government of Nieuw Neder
landts. " This k strong measure," ( however,
"does not seemto havead a whit "more effect
than -its predecessors, which, bad .been thun
dercd against the Yankees the Swedes reso
lutely held on to the territory they had takm
possession of -whereupon matters for tpe pre
. cent remained ia;stata quri't w
There is a .certain desctiption ''f .actives Je.
pslators, who by hrewd mahagjement con
trive always to have a hundred irons on- the
anvit, every bnebf which musj'be immediate
ly ' attended to ) who consequently are ever
- ftrll i of J temporary;ehifts and j expedients,
patching" up , the public 'welfare antt cob
bling the national affairs, so as to make nine
holes' where they mend one stopping4 chinks
and flaws with whatever comes first, to hand,
like the Yankees . I have mentioned stuffing
i old clothes in broken windows.' Of this class of
, statesmen, was yy uuam ' : .tn est) -ana naa
' Tie only" brer, blessed, with powers. equal , to his
. eat, or his zeal been disciplined with a little
jdiscretion, there is but very . little doubt but he
' ; would, have niadeTthe. greatest governor of his
, size on record -the renowned governor of the
. ; Island of Darataria alone 'exceptrd. . ' i.
The great defect of Wilhelmus Kieft'a pow
Jicy. wa?. that though no man "could.be more
, yeady't ;itVud forth in an hi pi 'f emergency
'l 'yet he Wfi s J intent upori gua? cling the nation
f al pock e t that ha suffv. red the 'If he nay to break
. or public safety h adoptedKh Va so intent
tipon rcacring it cheap, that, he invariably
ble potency as any in the arcana of necroman-
a When pronounced tn a national assembly it
has n immediate effect in closing the hearts,
beclouding the intellects, drawing the nurse
strings and buttoning the breechea pockets of I
all philosophic legislators. Nor are its effects
on the eye less wonderful. It produces a con
. r.t - . fit.
iraciion oi uie reuna, an ooscunty oi uic cnris-
taline Jens, a viscidity of the vitreous" and an
inspiration of the aqueous humours, an indu
ration of the tunica sclerotica, and a convexity
oi tne cornea ; insomucn mat me organ oi vi
sion loses its strength and perspicuity, and the
unfortunate patient becomes myopes or in plain
English, pur-bund : perceiving only the a-
mount of immediate expense without being
able to look further, and regard it in connex
ion with the ultimate object, to be effected.-
' So that," to quote the words of the eloquent
Burke, 44 a briar at his nose is of greater mag.
nitude than an oak at five hundred yards dis
tance." Such are its instantaneous operations,
and the results are still more astonishing.
By its magic influence seventy-fours, shrink
into frigates -frigates into sloops, and sloops
into gun-boats. As the defenceless fleet of
bneas, at the command of. the protecting Ve
nus, changed into . sea nymphs, and protected
itself , by diving j so the mighty navyv of A-
ra erica, by the cabalistic word economy dwin
dles into small craft, and shelters itself in a
mill-pond J ' "V-:'-' ; . ;
This all potent word, which served As his
touchstone in politics, at once explains the
whole system of proclamations, protests, emp
ty threats, windmills trumpeters, and paper
war, carried on by Wilhelmus the Testy
and we may trace its operations in an arma
ment Which he fitted out in 1642 in a moment
of great wrath ; consisting of two sloops and
thirty men, under the command of Mynheer
Jan Jansen Alpendam, as admiral of the fleet,
and commander in chief of the forces. This
This salutary institution had such an effect,
that for more than two hundred years there
was only one trifling alteration in the crimmi
nal code and the whole race of lawyers starv
ed to death for want . of employment. The
consequence of this was, that the locrianl be
ing unprotected by an over whelming lead of
excellent laws, and undefended by a standing
army of pettifoggers It sheriff's officers, lived
very lovingly' together, and were such a hap
py people, that we scarce hear any thing of
them throughout the whole Grecian history w
for it is well known that none but your un
lucky, quarrelsome, rantipole nations make a-
ny noise in the world . . .
Well would it have . been for William the
Testy, had he happily, in the course of his 44 u-
niversal acquirements,'" stumbled upon this
precaution of the. good Charondas. .On the
contrary, he conceived that the true policy oi
a legislator, was to multiply laws, and thus se
cure the property, the persons and the morals
of the people by surrounding them in a man
ner with men traps and spring guns, and be
setting even the sweet sequestered walks oi
private life, with quick-set hedges, so that a
a man could scarcely turn, without the .risk of
encountering some of these pestiferous pro
tectors. Thus was he continually coimngpet
ty laws, for'every petty offence that occured,
until in time they became too numerous - to
be remembered, and remained .like those of
certain modrrn legislators, in a manner ' dead
letters revived occasionally for the purpose
of individual oppression, or to entrap ignorant
offenders.
Petty courts consequently began to appear,
where the law was adminstered with nearly as
much wisdom and impartiality as in those au
gust tribunals the aldermen's and justice shops
of the present day I he plairilia was gene
rally favoured, as being a customer and bring
ing business to the shop : the offences of the
rich were discreetly winked at- for fear of
;
ralleled by some of the daring cruiZes of our
infant navy, about thebay and vp the sound ;
was intended to drive the Mary landers from
the Schuylkill, of which they had recently ta
ken possessionand which was claimed as
part of the province of New Nederlands for
it appears that at this time bur infant colony
was in tnac enviaoie state, so mucn coveted py
ambitious nations, that is to say, the govern
ment had a vast extent of territory i part oi
which it enjoyed, and the "greater part, of w'nich
it had continually to quarrel about.
Admiral Ian Jansen Alpendam was a man
of great mettle and prowess and no way dis
mayed at the character of the enemy ; who
were represented 'as a gigantic ' gunpowder
race of men, who lived on hoe cakes and ba
con, drank mint juleps and brandy toddy, and
were exceedingly, expert at boxing; biting,
gouging, tar and feathering, and a variety of
other athletic accomplishments, which they
had borrowed from their cousins rerman and
prototypes the Virginians, to whom they have
ever borne ' considerable resemblance not
withstanding all these; alarming representa
tions, the admiral entered the Schykull most
undauntedly .with his fleet, "and arrived with
out disaster or opposition at the place of des
tination. ,
Here he attacked the enemy in a vigorous
speech in low dutch, which the wary Kieft had
previously pui jin nis , poccci j wjierein ne
courteously commenced by calling them a
pack of lszyi louting,' dram drinking cock
fighting, horse racing," slave driving, tavern
haunting, sabbath breaking, mulatto breeding
upstarts and concluded by ordering them to
evacuate the country immediately to which
they roost laconically-replied in plain English
(a was very naturaljfor Swedes) they'd ee
him d d first." c
NoW this was a reply for which neither Tan
Jansen Alpendam, nor., Wilhelmus Kieft had
made any calculationrand finding himself to
tally unprepared, to answer so terrible a rebuff
wtth .suitable . hostility tie concluded, like a
most worthy admiral of a modern English ex
pedition, that his wisest course was to return
home and report progress. - -He accordingly
sailed back to New-Amsterdam, where he was
received with, great honours," and considered
as a; pattern for? alt cbmmandera j having' a-
chieved a most hazardous eirternnze. at a trif-
fomiskUe expedition, which can only be pa- hurting the feelings of their friends tut it
could never be laid to the charge ot the vigi
lant burgomasters, ' that they suffered vice to
skulk uopunuhed, under the disgraceful rags
of poverty- -
About this time may we date the first intro
duction of capital punishments a gcodly gal
lows being erected on the water-side, about
where Whitehall stairs are at present, a little
to the east of the battery. " Hard by also was
erected another, gibbet of a very strange, un
couth . and unraatchable description, but on
which the ingenious William Kieft valued
himself not a. little, being a punishment entire
ly of his own invention
It was for loftiness of altitude not a whit
inferior to that of Hainan, so renowped in bi
ble history; but the marvel of the contrivance
was, that the culprit instead of being suspend
ed by the neck, according to ventral custom,
was hoifted by u the waistband, and was kept
for an hour together, dangling and sprawling
between heaven and earth to the infinite en
tertainment and doubtless great edification of
the multitude - of respectable citizens, , who
usually attend upon exhibitions of the kind. .1
It is incredible now the little governour
chuckled ' at beholding( caitiff vagrants and
sturdy beggars thus swinging by the breech,
ana cutting nunc gaiuuuia iu uc ir. jje nau
a thousand pleasantries, apd mirthful conceits
to litter upon the occasiops. He called them
a . i. 1- la . a-' ' t n
ms aanaie-iions nis wua iowi nis nign ny
ers his snread eagles his goshawks-his
stare Crows and finally h1saoWrwhich
ingenious appellation, though originally con-
j At-i i ' tij ..I... .l
nneq o vrornien wit. nau .taaeu : me air in
this strange manner, has since grown to be a
cant name given to all candidates for legal ele
vation. This punishment moreover, ; i( yrc
may credit the assertion of certain grave ety
moligists, gave the first hint for a kind of har
nessing, or strapping, by which our forefathers
oracca up mcir uiutuiarious Dreccncs, ana
which has of late1 years been " revived and
continues to be worn at thepresenf i day. It
still bears the name ot the object to which it
lir. This he rrorcd bv it- '
tzz :rai!oo, to be not merely a l.; , .
upon the public pocket, but an iccrtu.: :c'c
sumer of time, a hideous encouragtr cf
oess, and of course a deadly bane to t'.t V
rals ot the people." Ill fated K ft
lived in this most enlightened a..J 1.U1 1
age, and attempted to subvert the ines. -liberty
of the press, he could not hart
more closely, upon the senaibiiiuci cf ,
million , . i , .,jf
The populace were id as'violent a turm,. .
the constiuuiooal gravity of their depcna(
would permita mob of factious citizen 1.
even the hardihood to assemble around the I'
tie governor's house, where setting tkn j,
resolutely aowo, like a besieged army li-r
c fortress, they one and all fell to nv'
a 4 . a
witn a aeterminea perseverance, that r' '
evinced it was their intention, to funk I t
to terms with yilainous Cow-pen muniLr
Already was the stately mansion of the
vernour enveloped in murky clouds, an 1 i
puisant little man almost strangled in hi3 h '
when bethinking himself, that there was no i
stance on record, of any great man of antic
ty perishing in so ignoble a manner (the r
of Pliny the elder being the only one that U:
any resemblanceV he -was fain to come t
tcrms,5t compromise with the mob.on conditL.
that they should spare his life, by immediate!)
extinguishing their tobacco pipes. ' y : -:
The result of the armistice Vas, that thou-'
he continued to permit, the custom, of smck-
tng, yet did be abolish the fair, long pip
which prevailed in the days of Wouter . ,
Twiller, denoting ease, tranquility and sobrie-
aw
Xot deportment, and in place thereof int.V j j i
iced little captious short pipes.twoind s'j ' !
length j which he observed could be stuck in
one corner of the mouth or twisted in the hat
band, and would not be in the way of business.
But mark, oh reader I the ? deplorable conse.
quences 1 he smoke of these viIlainoi.
little pipescontinually ascending in a clou. I
about the nose, penetrated into & befogged ths
cerebellum, dried ap alt the kindly moisture c:
he brain, and rendered the people as vapour,
ish and testy as their reno wned litde governor
nay, what is more,4 from a "goodly burl, j
race of folk, they, became, uke (our horn. .
dutch farmers, who smoke short pipes, a lm-
thorn-iawed. smoak-dried, leathern-hided race
of men . . -. V . ' : ' .
Indeed it has been remarked by the observ
ant writer of the: Stuyvesant manuscript, that
under the administration of Wilhelmus Kieft
the disposition of the inhabitants of New Am
sterdam experienced an essential change, s .)
that they became vtry: meddlesome and fac
tious ; "The constant exacerbations of temp.r
into which the little governour Was thrown, (7
the maraudings on his frontiers,"ancl his uhf.
tunate propensity to experiment and iniov.
tion, occasioned him to keep bis council in 3
continual worry and the council being to 1' :
people at laige, . what yeast or leaven is to 3
batch, they threw the whole community in 1
a ferment and the people, at large- beicg :
the. city, what the mind is to the body, Me u
happy commotions they underwent operau
most1 disastrously, upon NAmstf rdnni-
On the 13th the senate made choice Vof the II
Harrison O. Otis, as; President. Mf.XWs had U
otes ' and Mr. Dana . 1 8, .JSiitUaniel -otun, U v
Iras re-elected clerk.' :: f?r?ix li: ' , ,
The votes for Governor y&y d Gaverno: of
flassachusetts have been;countd,wuP It ppt
at Mr. Gerry's majority over Mr.Gores gevn
ft is .2463. Mr, uray is elected it,; governor uy
pmewhat largermajonty over ,Mf.s cpuo. a c
Senate now. consists of 20 Republicans and 20 Fe-
. - - 1
jeralists. ' ' it. - '; , 0 y -1
Jl VirginSt Bank AbtetX very clutnsey attempt
nevertheless in 1 or 3 insMncespractissd success ;
4lly)has, we ate told, lately been made to chanjje
ve dollars Va, Bank Notes into 50 by th addiiwn f
fa 0 and by tearing off ; the opposite coiners, of
lie notes, . after the letteVs Fl wluch '-desi;nat5
le amount.'- This fraud Is said to have originated
dtha scoundrel in Bedford county, who Oft the ths
eiy of his base, traicks, absented hinftelf-Such ,
re the devices such the. numerous checks; aw
uch the elegance of design, and execution, of the
firgima Bank .Mfet, and tor which the direction is.
ndtted ' to treat praise that ho attempt in this
uarter has been undl this, made "either to counter- N
Litor alter theni As the inexperienced' only, will
In liahln tn Imnmtui-A. strict examinaUDU oh th-il"
lartiwill In future be necessary, on receivin;; bank
aper. JLynchburg 'Star , ; v
Remarkable interference of providenctl-
SDoring'the gust ton Sunday the 29th nit, awn:;
r circumstance ot providential mercy toon prt, c
(1 Halifax township, adjoining maj.Wni. MoorU kI.
ir. Francis Hunt, his wife and five children, wt;i e
eated in his house, between the stove ahu nrepw' t-
I he lightning .truck the liouse ,The electntwu
flornHml thmu rK atnvM niiW. thft shock V
ehich Immediately prostrated the whole wui"3 '
rhey remained in that situation for some tiino i b,lf
have all recovered, .excepjt "one of the girl '
s yet unable to walk, being, coiibiaeraoiy
What tenders', this circumstance remarkable is.
hat two cats lying under the stove, (and a hen -hat
was In the roomY within i short distance of the .aim -
iy. were instantaneously killed.' In this, clipcnmstat.ee
. . . ' V . ft A . . u most stmuneiy acpiccca tnc mcrcuuiiiucti
,, r ' V ,'"'fc".r . pflJiYlne Provi(laifev:ow raanyot
of gaUows-es-hough I am informed Jt ,is Uredtures .tiqnuaKy fall a sacrafice to(.t
our tciio"
this devoui-
lometimesvultrarly denominated tusfiendertJ'xnv element ? Wn, ve'hn: manv 'are .n.i.'.ic"-
' -"'. I'll ....... .,v.k r- .
. ii is- an irrcparauie toss io posterity, mat oi ii
tne inumeraDie laws enacted oy w imam tne
Testy,' which" doubtless formed a code that
inicht have vied with those of Solon. Lvctir.
ling expense of treasure,' and without, losing J gus or Sahcho Pana, but few have been hand-
moudy calicd ' the deliverer ; of his country ; I most " important la one framed in an unlucky
(an appcllationiib-crally, bestowed od all great J moment, to prohibit the universal practice of,
ously rc'scHfftl from its langerous efi'ects.
shrewder mobs of America, who lislike naj-i't,
two minds upon a subject, both determine ini
upon it drunk ; by which means a world of cold a""
tedious speculadon is dispensed with and as it 13
universally allowed that when a man is druiik w
sees doublet it follows most' conclusively that 10
sees twice as weU, a his sober neighbours. ''';',.
It;
i 1
V
t