On the side of Rhode Island, the jealous powers that advised the sovereign took care to straiten the borders of Massachusetts as they had done oa the sides of New Hampshire and Connecticut. The patent obtained from the Council for New England by the old Colony of Plymouth gave to it lands extending westward to Narragansett Bay; but that patent could not convey jurisdiction, and the Colony never was able to supplement it by the guaranty of a royal charter. As long as Plymouth remained a separate government, the settlements which afterwards became the towns of Tiver ton, Little Compton, Bristol, Warren, and Barrington, were considered as being within her limits, and were accordingly governed by her laws, and represented in her administration. When Lord Clarendon's commissioners 1605. were in New England, Rhode Island presented to them a claim to the jurisdiction of that country, founded upon the charter obtained two years before from the King, which conveyed lands "extending towards the east, or eastwardly, three English miles to the east and northeast of the most eastern and northeastern parts of the aforesaid Narragansett Bay, as the said bay lieth or extendeth itself from the ocean on the south, or southwardly, unto the mouth of the river which runneth towards the town of Providence, and from thence along the eastwardly side or bank of the said river . . . . . up to the falls called Pawtucket Falls, being the most westwardly line of Plymouth Colony, and so, from the said falls in a straight line due north until it meet with the aforesaid line of the Massachusetts Colony." The Commissioners reported to the Secretary of State that, recognizing the claim of Plymouth as being valid, they had established Narragansett Bay as the boundary between were the only towns in Rhode Island. from 1677, Jamestown from 1678, North Kingston and New Shoreham and South Kingston from 1722. date from that year, East Greenwich the two Colonies, "till his Majesty's pleasure should be known." 1 1741. No further pleasure of the King touching the question was made known, and the arrangement continued undisturbed for two generations, within which time the rights of Plymouth, whatever they were, had been transferred to Massachusetts by the charter of William and Mary. Rhode Island revived the question, and resolved 1733. to present it to the King. The Board of Trade December. advised the Privy Council to settle it by the arbi- 1738. tration of commissioners to be appointed by the April 28. King from the neighboring Provinces.3 Accordingly five commissioners were named from each of the Prov- 1740. inces of New York, New Jersey, and Nova Scotia.4 September. After some delays five of the number met in Providence, and heard arguments on both sides, Shirley, April. not yet Governor, being of counsel for Massachusetts. The Commissioners' decree gave to Rhode Island the territory which has been described, rejecting her claim to about twice as much more on the north and east. Both parties were discontented, and appealed to 1746. the King; but after a full hearing of arguments May 28. an Order in Council confirmed the Commissioners' award.5 The towns annexed received magistrates according to the system of Rhode Island." Bristol and Feb. 17. Warren were made to constitute a county with the name of Bristol. Tiverton, Little Compton, and Cumberland (Barrington) were distributed among the three old counties." See above, Vol. II. 603. 2 R. I. Rec., IV. 431, 445, 452, 465, 486, 488, 491, 559, 560; Journal of the Board of Trade, for March 25, 26, Dec. 9, 16, 1735. 3 Ibid., for Jan. 18, Feb. 14, April 13, 25, 28; comp. Privy Council Register, for July 20, Nov. June 30. 1747. 1, 30, 1738, Jan. 12, 1739, April 9, 1740. R. I. Rec., IV. 586 et seq.; R. I. Rec., V. 199-201. Western of Ebode Island 1728. The boundary on the side of Connecticut was at length determined and marked, after some final skirmishboundary ing, the result rather of old habit than of any remaining difference of opinion or purpose. Connecticut continuing to be careless about running the line "pursuant to the order and determination of his Majesty and Council," Rhode Island appointed commissioners to do that office with or without the co-operation of the sister Colony. Connecticut sent men of her own, who, after some formal disputing, of not at all the same temper as that of the disputes of earlier times, agreed in marking by monuments the line which divides the friendly contiguous States at the present day.3 May. 1730. On the accession of the new King, the Rhode Island people sent him a loyal address of congratulation, at the same time soliciting a gift of ordnance for a work which they informed him that they had erected at Newport, — "a regular and beautiful fortification of stone, with a battery subjoined, where might be conveniently mounted sixty cannon."4 1727. May. Governor 1732. Governor Cranston, dying in the office which he had held for thirty successive years, was succeeded by Joseph Jenckes of Pawtucket, who held it for five years with credit. But at the peril of his popularity, Jenckes maintained correct views about the danger from the flood of paper money. He refused to approve a bill "for emitting sixty thousand pounds in public bills of credit," passed when the amount of bills outstanding already exceeded twice that 1731. June. 1 See above, p. 486. 2 R. I. Rec., IV. 405, 411.- May 9, 1728, the Assembly of Connecticut voted immediately to run and determine the boundary line on the side of Rhode Island, " provided the Commissioners from Rhode Island shall produce an authentic copy of R. I. Rec., IV. 563. sum. He indorsed his dissent on the engrossed bill the day after the Assembly rose, which was said by the adverse party to be too late, since no valid act in legislation could take place unless while the whole Legislature was in session. A Memorial had been presented against the bill, which on their defeat the signers wished to transmit to England with a view to obtaining redress there. By way of certifying its authenticity, the Governor was induced to put it under the Colony seal, and thus it was another occasion of complaint against him that he had placed the corporate authority of the Colony in the attitude of censure of its own legislation. Aug. 3. He was solicited to convoke the Assembly to consider the state of things, and when he refused to do so, the Deputy-Governor took the extraordinary step of calling them together. The Assembly declared the Governor's dissent to be of no effect, chiefly on the ground which has been specified. The Governor appealed to the sovereign, desiring to be instructed, 1. whether an Act of the Assembly, not having the Governor's concurrence, was valid; 2. whether he could safely refuse the use of the Colony seal, in attestation of copies made by the Secretary to be submitted to the King; 3. whether his previous personal examination of such papers was necessary, the Secretary being a sworn officer. His application was referred in England to the law-officers of the crown, Yorke and Talbot. As to the last two points their opinion confirmed the view upon which the Governor had acted. As to the first, they said that by the colonial charter “no negative voice was given to the Governor," nor even was any power reserved to the crown of approving or disapproving the laws to be made," and that accordingly the General Assembly, independently of the Governor's concurrence, was competent to make laws, and that the validity of laws so made depended on nothing else but their being, as near as might be, agreeable to the laws of England, 66 regard being had to the nature and constitution of the place and the people."1 1734. The popularity of Governor Jenckes was prostrated by this rude storm. He was displaced at the next election, being succeeded, but not till after two years, by his factious subordinate, John Wanton. During the intervening time, while the latter was continued and John as Deputy-Governor, the highest post was given to his brother, William Wanton, who died before the Governors Wanton. end of his second term of office. Bishop A different radiance from that of the "New Lights" that were presently to dazzle the neighboring Colonies shone upon Rhode Island when George Berkeley came to Newport. At his Deanery of Derry, in Ireland, where his philosophical writings had given him an early fame, that fine genius and devout philanthropist had conceived the idea of establishing a college in the Bermuda Islands, for the preparation of Christian missionaries to the savages of America; and, resigning his Irish preferment, he came over to devote himself to the prosecution of that enterprise. Taking Rhode Island in his way, he awaited there the January fulfilment of promises of pecuniary aid, which had been made to him by the British Ministry. But Stanhope and Walpole found other uses for the King's money, and Berkeley's generous project was starved. He bought a residence in the neighborhood of Newport, and occupied it two or three years, writing there his "Alciphron, or Minute Philosopher." At and after his return September. home, he made valuable gifts to the colleges at Cambridge and New Haven. At Newport he gave for public use a collection of books which survives 1729. 1731. 1 R. I. Rec., IV. 457–461. * Mackintosh, Progress of Ethical Philosophy. p. 130. See President Gilman's full account of the Bishop's bounties to Yale College, in New Haven Hist. Col., I. 147-170. |