In the progress of his negotiation for a charter for his Colony, Winthrop had unexpectedly found himself obstructed by the interference of John Clarke, of Rhode Island, who had remained in England in England. since the time when he went thither on his errand John Clarke 1651. to the Parliament.1 After Clarke's main business had been concluded by the annulling of Coddington's "commission," his fellow-citizens from time to time employed him 2 tain. Mr. Hoadly has printed it (N. H. Rec., II. 530-537). Allyn was an able man, but he was not John Davenport, to say nothing of the causes of which they were respectively the champions. It is far from clear, however, that Allyn was the author of this paper, which is supercilious and offensive. The Latin quotations, the illustrations from the Old Testament, and the lofty tone, so foreign from the usual tone of the soft-spoken Secretary, indicate rather a clergyman's hand. Stone did not write it, for he did not justify his Colony. (N. H. Rec., II. 522.) 1 See above, p. 354. At the time when the ninth chapter of this volume passed from my hands, I had given up the hope of ever seeing the instrument by which the "commission" of Coddington was revoked, having diligently sought it in vain in the places, both in England and in America, which appeared likely to reward the quest. (See above, pp. 357, 359.) Since then, through the kindness of Dr. King, of Newport, I have been furnished with a copy of it, made from a transcript in the handwriting of William Lytherland, which came into Dr. King's possession in a parcel of ancient writings. Lytherland was Town Clerk of Newport in 1653. The paper is as follows: — "Gentlemen, The Council have been informed that Mr. Coddington, sent from hence Governor of Rhode Island, hath so behaved himself as hath produced great matters of complaint against him, now depending before us. The consequence thereof hath been the bringing of things there into great disorders and extremities amongst yourselves, by means whereof the whole Colony is exposed as a prey to the Dutch, the enemies of this Commonwealth, who (as we are informed) have designs upon that place in the absence of the Governor that hath withdrawn himself. Upon consideration of all which, we have thought it necessary, for the present, and until further direction and order be given by the Parliament, or this Council, for settling that Colony, to authorize you, and do hereby authorize you, to take care for the peace and quiet thereof, according to such orders and instructions as hath been given you by virtue of any ordinances or acts of Parliament. And, the better to defend the Colony against the Dutch, power is hereby given you to raise such forts and otherwise arm and strengthen your Colony, for defending yourselves against the Dutch, or other enemies of this Commonwealth, or for offending them, as you shall think necessary; and also to take and seize all such Dutch ships and vessels at sea, or as shall come into any of your harbors, or within your power, taking care that such account be given to the State as is usual in the like cases. And, to that end, you are to appoint one or about some miscellaneous affairs, and especially in keeping up their communication with the Republican government Relations of and with Cromwell, and securing good-will and Rhode Island protection in those quarters. Through him they lish Common- presented "letters of humble thanksgiving to his Highness the Lord Protector, Sir Henry Vane, Sept. 13. and Mr. Holland."2 By his advice they sent "a to the Eng wealth. 1654. more persons to attend the care of that business; and we conceive the bearer hereof, Mr. William Dyer, is a fit man to be employed therein; and you are to give account of your proceeding to the Parliament or Council. 66 It was doubtless by the authority of these votes that Harington wrote the letter copied above. One naturally imagines that Clarke was at his ear when it was composed. In Newport this letter was interpreted as an authoritative restoration of the order of things, as formerly established under Williams's charter before "Signed in the name and by order of the Council of State appointed by authority of Parliament, "JAMES HARINGTON, Presid. Coddington's "obstruction;" and a "Whitehall, 2 October, 1652. "JO. THURLOE, Clerk of the Council. “WILL. LYTHERLAND, The discovery of this paper gives significance to two memoranda which I obtained in England. One is an entry in the "Draft Order Books" of the Commonwealth's Council of State: "29th September, 1652. [It was ordered] that the business concerning Rhode Island be referred to the consideration of the Committee for Foreign Affairs." The other is from a volume containing imperfect memoranda of the proceedings of that Committee, viz.: "1st October, 1652. That it be reported to the Council that a letter be written to the Plantation of Rhode Island in New England, to give them power to stay all Dutch ships, and to appoint some fit and able person to take care of them, and preserve the state." copy was sent, with proposals founded upon it, to the "Commissioners" of the mainland towns (R. I. Rec., I. 259 – 261), though a copy had at first been refused (Ibid., 269; comp. 383), perhaps from distrust of the construction which would be put upon it elsewhere. Coddington, however, - to whom were imputed the representations made in England respecting danger from the Dutch (Ibid., 328, 329), — found the tide turned too strongly against him, and gave up the struggle, leaving the towns free to fall back upon the authority to frame their own government, which had been obtained for them by Williams ten years before. In the circumstances thus elucidated, our surprise is lessened at Coddington's saying that he had not "seen anything to show that his commission was annulled." (See above, p. 359.) 1 R. I. Rec., I. 328, 346, 364, 395, 416, 421, 422. * Ibid., 283. At the same time they "ordered, that all transactions that had passed formerly under the title of the Bodies of the Liberties of England, &c., should from henceforth be issued out 1655. 1658. Nov. 5. letter of humble thanksgiving to the Lord President of the Council, in which was their prayer to his Lordship to present their humble submission and June 29. acknowledgment to his Highness the Lord Protector."1 They entrusted to him a memorial "to his Highness and Council," accompanied by a letter to himself, in which they congratulated themselves on his "interest in the hearts of their superiors, those worthy and noble Senators with whom he had to do in their behalf," and protested that their "continued and unwearied wishes after the comfortable, honorable, and prosperous proceedings of his Highness and Honorable Council, in all their so weighty affairs, departed not out of their hearts night or day," and "that they flew as to their refuge, in all civil respects, to his Highness and Honorable Council, as not being subject to any others."2 And through him they con 1659. veyed their Address to the Protector Richard, in May 17. which they set forth their "unexpressible sorrow" for "the late departure of his and the nation's most renowned lord and father," and their "great joy that it had pleased God to provide for the three nations and themselves such a cordial" as was applied in the accession of the new sovereign.3 At the first meeting of the government of Rhode Island after the arrival of tidings of the restoration of King Charles, orders were passed Proclaiming of the King. 1660. Oct. 18. Council of State, and from his new 'Highness's dearest father;" and they professed that, "for his Highness's person, their deepest wishes and humble desires unto God, the Father of lights, were for a double portion of his blessed father's spirit to be poured down into his Highness's noble breast." They had caused Richard to be formally proclaimed in each of their towns two months before. (Ibid., 407.) that he should be proclaimed the next day with every circumstance of ceremony, and "that all writs, warrants, with all other public transactions, should be from thenceforth issued forth and held in his royal Majesty's name." At the same time a "commission," sent to Clarke, constituted him "the undoubted agent and attorney" of the Colony, "to all lawful intents and purposes lawfully tending unto the preservation of all and singular its privileges, liberties, boundaries, and immunities."1 Contributions, liberal according to the means of his constituents, were made from time to time, to enable him to pursue the objects of this agency.2 The "commission" was issued about a year before Winthrop's arrival in England; but he had been there several months, prosecuting his business, before he heard anything of the designs of Clarke. His charter for Connecticut had passed through the preliminary stages, and was awaiting the great seal, when it was arrested in consequence of representations made by the RhodeIsland agent. Boundary The question raised by him related to the boundary line between the two Colonies. The patent from line of Con- the Earl of Warwick to Lord Say and Sele and others, subsequently transferred from these grantees to the planters on the Connecticut, had described the necticut. 1R. I. Rec., I. 432 – 435. he had received letters from Rhode * Ibid., 444, 445, 448, 480, 482, 496, Island, with an Address enclosed, and 505-507, 509, 510. 3 "After the charter was under the great seal and finished, Mr. Clarke then appeared with great opposition, as agent for Rhode Island Colony. He never before made it known to me that he was agent for them [this implies that they had met], nor could I imagine it for a good while after my arrival here. Mr. Alderman Peake told me was desired by those letters to deliver the Address, and afterwards told me he had procured Mr. Mandrick to deliver it. I could not by this conceive they had any other agent. ..... Mr. Clarke might have done their business before my arrival, or all the time since." (Letter of Winthrop from London, September 2, 1662, in Arnold, History of Rhode Island, I. 380.) land conveyed as "lying and extending itself [westward] from a river there called Narragansett River." Intending merely to keep this ancient eastern boundary, but to describe it in more exact language, Winthrop, in preparing his new charter, had used the words, "bounded on the east by the Narrogancett River, commonly called Narrogancett Bay where the said river falleth into the sea." 1659. 1660. 1661. Besides Rhode Island and Connecticut, a third party was interested in the settlement of this boundary. A company consisting partly of Massachusetts men, The Atherton and commonly called the Atherton Company, from Company. Humphrey Atherton, one of the partners, had June 17. bought of the Narragansett Indians a tract of land on the west side of Narragansett Bay.2 Oct. 13. When they heard that Connecticut was soliciting a charter, they naturally desired that their territory should be placed under the government of that Sept. 29. Colony, rather than under the government of Rhode Island; and they apprised Winthrop, who was one of their associates, of their wish in that respect. He replied, writing from London, that the arrangement which he had made was such as accorded Sept. 2 with their wish, though he had made it for the different reason which has just been pointed out.3 There were laws of Rhode Island prohibiting the sale to aliens of 1662. 1 See the patent in Trumbull, Hist., throp, of July 9th, 1659, in which he I. 495; Hazard, II. 597. gives an account of the purchase. He describes the tract as lying twelve miles in length on the shore of Narragansett Bay, with "the trading-house [Wickford] in the middle." Comp. Conn. Rec., II. 541. 2 R. I. Rec., I. 464, 465.-There were seven partners; namely, Winthrop, Atherton, the two Richard Smiths, father and son, long settled on the spot (see above, p. 218), William Hudson and Amos Richardson, of Boston; and John Ticknor, of Nashaway (now Lancaster). In the Trumbull papers in the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society (XXII. 5) is a letter from Richardson to Win 8 Letters in the Collection of Trumbull MSS. in the Library of the Mass. Hist. Soc., XXII., Nos. 38, 45, and 47. They have been printed by Mr. Arnold (History of Rhode Island, I. 378-381). |