1676. partners left him the best of the bargain. And now Aug. 26. that the men who had gone about to turn the world upside down were possessed of a province, what system of politics would they adopt? The light that lighteth every man shone brightly in the pilgrims of Plymouth, the Calvinists of Hooker and Haynes, and in the freemen of Virginia, when the transient abolition of monarchy compelled even royalists to look from the throne to a surer guide in the heart; the Quakers, following the same exalted instincts, could but renew the fundamental legislation of the men of the "Mayflower," of Hartford, and of the Old Dominion. "The CONCESSIONS are such as Friends approve of;" this is the message of the Quaker proprietaries in England to the few who had emigrated: "We lay a foundation for after ages to understand their liberty as Christians and as men, that they may not be brought into bondage but by their own consent; for we put THE POWER IN THE PEOPLE." And on the third day of March, 1677, the fundamental laws of West New Jersey were perfected and published. They are written with almost as much method as our present constitutions, and recognise the principle of democratic equality as unconditionally and universally as the Quaker society itself.

1677.

Mar. 3.

No man, nor number of men, hath power over conscience. No person shall at any time, in any ways, or on any pretence, be called in question, or in the least punished or hurt for opinion in religion. The general assembly shall be chosen, not by the confused way of cries and voices, but by the balloting box. Every man is capable to choose or be chosen. The electors shall give their respective deputies instructions at large, which these, in their turn, by indentures under hand and seal, shall bind themselves to obey. The disobedient deputy may be questioned before the assembly by any one of his electors. Each member is to be allowed one shilling a day, to be paid by his immediate constituents, "that he may be known as the servant of the people." The executive power rested with ten commissioners, to be apported by the assembly; justices and

constables were chosen directly by the people; the judges, appointed by the general assembly, retained office but two years at the most, and sat in the courts but as assistants to the jury. In the twelve men, and in them only, judgment resides; in them and in the general assembly rests discretion as to punishments. "All and every person in the province shall, by the help of the Lord and these fundamentals, be free from oppression and slavery." No man can be imprisoned for debt. Courts were to be managed without the necessity of an attorney or counsellor. The native was protected against encroachments; the helpless orphan educated by the state.

Immediately the English Quakers, with the good wishes of Charles II., flocked to West New Jersey; and commissioners, possessing a temporary authority, were sent to administer affairs till a popular government could be instituted. When the vessel, freighted with the men of peace, arrived in America, Andros, the governor of New York, claimed jurisdiction over their territory. The claim, which, on the feudal system, was perhaps a just one, was compromised as a present question, and referred for decision to England. Meantime, lands were purchased of the Indians; the planters numbered nearly four hundred souls; and, already at Burlington, under a tent covered with sail-cloth, the Quakers began to hold religious meetings. The Indian kings also gathered in council under the shades of the Burlington forests, and declared their joy at the prospect of permanent peace. "You are our brothers," said the sachems, "and we will live like brothers with you. We will have a broad path for you and us to walk in. If an Englishman falls asleep in this path, the Indian shall pass him by, and say, He is an Englishman; he is asleep; let him alone. The path shall be plain; there shall not be in it a stump to hurt the feet."

1678.

Every thing augured success to the colony, but that, at Newcastle, the agent of the Duke of York, who still possessed Delaware, exacted customs of the ships ascending to New Jersey. It may have been honestly believed that his jurisdiction included the whole river; when urgent remon

strances were made, the duke referred the question to a disinterested commission, before which the Quakers reasoned thus:

1678 to "An express grant of the powers of government 1680. induced us to buy the moiety of New Jersey. If we could not assure people of an easy, free, and safe government, liberty of conscience, and an inviolable possession of their civil rights and freedoms, a mere wilderness would be no encouragement. It were madness to leave a free country to plant a wilderness, and give another person an absolute title to tax us at will.

"The customs imposed by the government of New York are not a burden only, but a wrong. By what right are we thus used? The king of England cannot take his subjects' goods without their consent. This is a home-born right, declared to be law by divers statutes.

"To give up the right of making laws is to change the government and resign ourselves to the will of another. The land belongs to the natives; of the duke we buy nothing but the right of an undisturbed colonizing, with the expectation of some increase of the freedoms enjoyed in our native country. We have not lost English liberty by leaving England.

"The tax is a surprise on the planter: it is paying for the same thing twice over. Custom, levied upon planting, is unprecedented. Besides, there is no end of this power. By this precedent, we are assessed without law, and excluded from our English right of common assent to taxes. We can call nothing our own, but are tenants at will, not for the soil only, but for our personal estates. Such conduct has destroyed government, but never raised one to true greatness.

"Lastly, to exact such unterminated tax from English planters, and to continue it after so many repeated complaints, will be the greatest evidence of a design to introduce, if the crown should ever devolve upon the duke, an unlimited government in England."

This argument of the Quakers was triumphant. Sir William Jones decided that, as the grant from the Duke of

York had reserved no profit or jurisdiction, the tax was illegal. The Duke of York promptly acquiesced in the decision, and in a new indenture relinquished Aug. 6 every claim to the territory and the government.

1680.

After such trials, vicissitudes, and success, the light of peace dawned upon West New Jersey; and in November, 1681, Jennings, acting as governor for the proprietaries, convened the first legislative assembly of the representatives of men who said thee and thou to all the world, and wore their hats in presence of beggar or king. Their first measures established their rights by an act of fundamental legislation, and, in the spirit of "the Concessions," they framed their government on the basis of humanity. Neither faith, nor wealth, nor race was respected. They met in the wilderness as men, and founded society on equal rights. What shall we relate of a community thus organized? That they multiplied, and were happy? that they levied for the expenses of their commonwealth two hundred pounds, to be paid in corn, or skins, or money? that they voted the governor a salary of twenty pounds? that they prohibited the sale of ardent spirits to the Indians? that they forbade imprisonment for debt? The formation of this little government of a few hundred souls, that soon increased to thousands, is one of the most beautiful incidents in the history of the age. West New Jersey had been a fit home for Fénelon. The people rejoiced under the reign of God, confident that he would beautify the meek with salvation. A loving correspondence began with Friends in England, and from the fathers of the sect frequent messages were received. "Friends that are gone to make 1682. plantations in America, keep the plantations in your hearts, that your own vines and lilies be not hurt. You that are governors and judges, you should be eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and fathers to the poor; that you may gain the blessing of those who are ready to perish, and cause the widow's heart to sing for gladness. If you rejoice because your hand hath gotten much; if you say to fine gold, Thou art my confidence, you will have denied the

1681.

God that is above. The Lord is ruler among nations; he will crown his people with dominion."

In the midst of this innocent tranquillity, Byllinge, the original grantee of Berkeley, claimed as proprietary the right of nominating the deputy governor. The usurpation was resisted. Byllinge grew importunate; and the Quakers, setting a new precedent, amended their constitutions according to the prescribed method, and then elected a govThis method of reform was the advice of WILLIAM

ernor.

PENN.

1682.

For in the mean time William Penn had become deeply interested in the progress of civilization on the Delaware. In company with eleven others, he had purchased East New Jersey of the heirs of Carteret. But of the eastern moiety of New Jersey, peopled chiefly by Puritans, the history is intimately connected with that of New York. The line that divides East and West New Jersey is the line where the influence of the humane society of Friends is merged in that of Puritanism.