necticut by their charter, the Legislature would not submit to his requisition, and at a special session in September, 1693, the Court appointed a petition to be drafted, and Major General Fitz John Winthrop was appointed to present it to his majesty King William, and use his best endeavors for the preservation of their chartered rights. The colony also sent William Pitkin, Esq. to New York, to endeavor to make terms with Governor Fletcher respecting the militia, until his majesty's pleasure should be further known. No terms, however, could be made, short of an entire submission of the militia to his command.

"On the 26th of October, he came to Hartford, while the Assembly were sitting, and, in his majesty's name demanded their submission of the militia to his command, as they would answer it to his majesty ; and that they would give him a speedy answer in two words, yes, or no. He subscribed himself his majesty's lieutenant and commander in chief of the militia, and of all the forces by sea or land, and of all the forts and places of strength in the colony of Connecticut. He ordered the militia of Hartford under arms, that he might beat up for volunteers. It was judged expedient to call the train bands in Hartford together; but the Assembly insisted, that the command of the militia was expressly vested, by charter, in the governor and company; and that they could by no means, consistently with their just rights and the common safety, resign it into any other hands. They insinuated, that his demands were an invasion of their essential privileges, and subversive of their constitution.

"Upon this, Colonel Bayard, by his excellency's command, sent a letter into the Assembly, declaring, that his excellency had no design upon the civil rights of the colony; but would leave them, in all respects as he found them. In the name of his excellency, he tendered a commission to Governor Treat, empowering him to command the militia of the colony. He declared, that his excellency insisted, that they should acknowledge it an essential right inherent in his majesty to command the militia; and that he was determined not to set his foot out of the colony until he had seen his majesty's commission obeyed: That he would issue his proclamation, showing the means he had taken to

"Capt. William (not Robert, as the song goes) Kidd, was commander of the sloop Antonio; received a commission to cruise as a privateer, turned pirate, was guilty of murder was taken, and carried into Boston; was tried, condemned, and executednot as a pirate-but as a murderer. He was here with his accomplices a short time before he was taken; how long he remained on this island I know not. While here, he told Mr. Gardiner where he had deposited the iron chests which contained the treasure above described, and left it in his care, with the injunction, "that he must answer for it with his head." The chests were buried in a swamp, the west side of this island.

"After Kidd's capture, the governor of Massachusetts sent and claimed the property of Mr. Gardiner, who was very unwilling to part with it-informed the Governor's messengers upon what conditions it was intrusted to his care; and if Kidd should ever call for it his life must be the forfeiture. They however assured him that there was no danger from that source, as Kidd was secured, and he delivered it all up to them.

"There has been much digging here upon this island for Kidd's money, even within half a dozen years, all along the coast. But I think it doubtful whether there was ever any buried except that which was buried here."

* Governor Fletcher's letter on file.

give ease and satisfaction to his majesty's subjects of Connecticut, and that he would distinguish the disloyal from the rest.*

"The Assembly, nevertheless, would not give up the command of the militia; nor would Governor Treat receive a commission from Colonel Fletcher.

"The train bands of Hartford assembled, and as the tradition is, while Captain Wadsworth, the senior officer, was walking in front of the companies, and exercising the soldiers, Colonel Fletcher ordered his commission and instructions to be read. Captain Wadsworth instantly commanded, "Beat the drums;" and there was such a roaring of them that nothing else could be heard. Colonel Fletcher commanded silence. But no sooner had Bayard made an attempt to read again, than Wadsworth commands, "Drum, drum, I say." The drummers understood their business, and instantly beat up with all the art and life of which they were masters. "Silence, silence," says the Colonel. No sooner was there a pause, than Wadsworth speaks with great earnestness, “Drum, drum, I say ;" and turning to his excellency, said, "If I am interrupted again I will make the sun shine through you in a moment." He spoke with such energy in his voice and meaning in his countenance, that no further attempts were made to read or enlist men. Such numbers of people collected together, and their spirits appeared so high, that the governor and his suite judged it expedient, soon to leave the town and return to New York."

Gen. Winthrop having arrived in England, presented the petition to his majesty. "His majesty's attorney and solicitor-general gave their opinion in favor of Connecticut's commanding the militia; and on the 19th of April, 1694, his majesty in council determined according to the report they had made.” As it was a time of war with the French, the quota of Connecticut was fixed at one hundred and twenty men, to be at the command of Gov. Fletcher during the war; the rest of the militia, as usual, under the Governor of Connecticut.

Until the session in October, 1698, the General Assembly consisted of but one house, and the magistrates and deputies appear to have acted together. But at this time it was enacted that the Assembly should consist of two houses. The governor, or in his absence, the deputy governor, and magistrates, composed the upper house. The lower house consisted of deputies, now usually called representatives, from the several towns in the colony. This house was authorized to choose a speaker to preside. From this time no public act could be passed into a law, but by the consent of both houses. In 1701, it was enacted that the October session of the Assembly should be annually held in New Haven. Previous to this time, and ever since the union of the colonies, the Assembly had convened, both in May and October, at Hartford.

About this time, for the maintenance of good morals, and the suppression of vicious and disorderly practices, the Assembly "ordered, that a sober and religious man be appointed, by the county court in

Colonel Bayard's letter on file.

+ Trumbull's History of Connecticut.

each of the counties, to be an attorney for her majesty to prosecute all criminal offenders." At this period the colony was in a critical situation. It was in danger and put to a great expense on account of the war with France; it was also continually harassed by the demands of Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts, and of Lord Cornbury, Governor of New York and the Jerseys, for men and money, as they pretended, for the defense of their respective governments. Dudley, it appears, wished to unite all New England under his own government. If this could be effected, it seems Cornbury expected to have the government of the southern colonies. These men, having a powerful party at court, would have probably succeeded in their plans had it not been for the efforts of Sir Henry Ashurst, who was an agent for Connecticut, and a firm friend to the rights of the colonies.

The expedition for the reduction of the French in Canada, in 1709, was the occasion of the first emission of paper money in Connecticut. In this expedition Connecticut was obliged to raise 350 men, who were placed under the command of Col. Whiting, of which ninety perished in this disastrous campaign.

On the 8th of June, 1709, at a special Assembly, it was enacted, "That to assist in the expedition, for want of money otherwise to carry it on, there be forthwith imprinted a certain number of bills of credit, on the colony, in suitable sums, from two shillings to five pounds, which, in the whole, shall amount to the sum of 8,000 pounds, and no more.' It was enacted that the bills should be issued from the treasury as money, but should be received in payments at one shilling on the pound better than money. One half only was to be signed and issued at first, and the other was to remain unsigned until it should be found necessary to put it into circulation. Taxes were imposed for the calling in of one half of it within the term of one year, and the other at the expiration of two years.

The number of inhabitants in Connecticut in the year 1713, was about 17,000. There were four counties, (Hartford, New London, New Haven and Fairfield,) and thirty eight taxable towns, who sent forty delegates to the Assembly. The militia consisted of a regiment to each county, and amounted to nearly 4,000 effective men. At this time the shipping in the colony consisted of two small brigs and twenty sloops; the number of seamen did not exceed one hundred and twenty. There was but a single clothier in the colony, "and the most he could do was to full the cloth which was made; most of the cloth manufactured was worn without shearing or pressing." The trade was very limited. The only articles directly exported to Great Britain were turpentine, pitch, tar, and fur. The principal trade was with Boston, New York, and the West Indies. To the two former places they traded in the produce of the colony: wheat, rye, barley, Indian corn, peas, pork, beef, and fat cattle. To the West Indies the merchants exported horses, staves, hoops, pork, beef and cattle. In return they received rum, sugar, molasses, cotton wool, bills of exchange, and sometimes small sums of money.

The General Assembly met twice in a year, but their sessions did not generally exceed ten days. The annual expense of the two sessions was about 1,600 dollars. The salary of the governor was about 800, and that of the deputy governor 200 dollars. The whole expense of government did not probably exceed 3,500 dollars. This amount was usually below the salary annually allowed to a royal governor in the colonies.

Although the colony had been able to maintain their charter privileges against the intrigues of Dudley, Cornbury, and other enemies, yet they were under many apprehensions that their chartered privileges would be taken from them. There were strong parties in England, and some in the colonies, who were unfriendly to the charter governments-deeming them too independent of the crown and government of Great Britain. In addition to these circumstances, a decision in England in regard to one of the laws of the colony respecting intestate estates, created much alarm. John Winthrop, Esq. son of the last Governor Winthrop, became disaffected towards the government; he conceived that his family had been injured, and that his ancestors had not been rewarded according to the public services which they had rendered to the colony. He had been engaged in a long controversy with Thomas Lynchmere, Esq. The court of probate, as he imagined, had made an unjust and illegal settlement of his paternal estate in favor of his sister, Mrs. Lynchmere; he therefore, after going through the courts of the colony, in which he was unable to obtain redress, appealed to his majesty. Upon hearing the case in England, the law of Connecticut was adjudged repugnant to English law, as not securing the lands to male heirs and admitting daughters to a share in the paternal estate, which the English laws did not warrant. In July, 1728, the colony received a letter from their agent, Jeremiah Dummer, Esq. declaring that their law respecting the settlement of intestate estates was "null and void." The Legislature, deeming that the consequences of annulling this law would be disastrous to the internal peace of the colony, determined to spare no pains or expense in order to prevent it. They employed another agent, Jonathan Belcher, Esq. afterwards Governor of Massachusetts, to assist agent Dummer in his defense of the colony, and in pleading for the continuance of the law respecting intestate estates. These agents conducted the affairs of the colony with such wisdom and success that the charter was preserved and the law retained.

In the expedition of the New England colonies against Louisburg, in 1745, Connecticut furnished upwards of 1000 men. For the encouragement of the men to enlist, the Assembly voted a bounty of ten pounds to each soldier who should furnish himself with arms, knapsack and blanket; and three pounds to every soldier who should not be able to arm himself. Five hundred men were divided into eight companies, and Roger Wolcott, Esq. lieutenant governor, was appointed the commander. At the time of the siege, 200 men were sent on in addition, by Connecticut, and after the reduction of Louisburg, the colony provided 350 men to keep garrison during the winter. A sloop was also furnished, manned with 100 men.

While the war continued against the French in Canada, Connecticut made great exertions, and did more most of the time than double her proportion, compared with the rest of the colonies. In the year 1759, she had more than six thousand men in actual service. At this period the militia were more numerous than at present, according to the population, as all from the age of sixteen to sixty, were obliged to bear arms. In the year 1762, the New England colonies rendered very important services in the reduction of Havanna and Martinique. It was, however, a fatal enterprise to most of the New England troops; of nearly 1000 men, who were engaged in the expedition, not 100 returned. Such as were not killed in the service, were swept away by the bilious plague.

After the definitive treaty of peace, signed at Paris, Feb. 10th, 1763, which ended the French wars, the extension of settlements, commerce, wealth and population in Connecticut, were extremely rapid. "After the peace, an almost boundless scope of commerce and enterprise was given to the colonists. In these favorable circumstances, with the return of thousands of her brave and industrious inhabitants to the cultivation of their fields, and the various arts and labors of peace, the colony was soon able to exonerate itself from the debt contracted by the war." These prosperous circumstances continued till the beginning of the Revolution.

Connecticut, by her charter, granted in 1662, extended from Narragansett river on the east to the South Sea on the west, excepting such lands as were then occupied by prior settlers. Nearly nineteen years afterwards, William Penn obtained a grant of lands on the west side of the Delaware river, extending northward to the 43d degree of latitude; this covered part of the territory embraced in the Connecticut charter. For nearly a century after the charter was obtained, Connecticut neglected to claim these lands, which lay westward of the colony of New York. But after she had granted all her lands eastward of that colony, a company was formed with the design of planting the lands within her charter, on the Susquehannah. This company was formed in 1753, and the next year a purchase was made from the sachems of the Six Nations of a large tract, at Wyoming. In 1774, the settlement was formed into a town, called Westmoreland, which sent representatives to the Assembly of Connecticut.

The treaty of the Connecticut men with the Indians, and their purchase of the lands, excited the jealousy of the proprietaries of Pennsylvania. They proceeded to take a deed of the same lands from some of the chiefs, who declined signing the deed to the Connecticut purchasers. Grants of land were made by Pennsylvania, and settlements begun, which excited warm disputes, and an attempt was made to drive the Connecticut settlers from the lands by force of arms. In 1770, the Legislature of Connecticut sent certain questions to England to be proposed to the most able lawyers there, respecting her title to the lands in question. The answers were favorable to her claims, and she determined to support them. But the Revolutionary war suspended the controversy, until 1781, when both states agreed to appoint commis