Governor Stuyvesant, with much anxiety of mind, kept a vigilant eye upon the proceedings of John Scott, on Long Island. Some praised the governor for the forbearance he had exhibited under the provoking circumstances. Others severely blamed him for his course, which they pronounced to be cowardly and disgraceful to the nation.
By the terms of the Convention, concluded between the Dutch delegates and John Scott, it was agreed that the English villages, on the western part of Long Island, should remain unmolested under English rule, for the space of one year, until the king of England and the States-General of Holland should have time to settle the question in dispute. In the meantime the English were to have free access to all the Dutch towns on the island, and on the mainland, for purposes of trade; and the Dutch were to enjoy the same privilege in visiting the English towns.
These terms were to be presented to Governor Stuyvesant for his rejection or approval. Deciding to ratify them he took with him an escort of ten men, and proceeded to Hempstead, on the third day of March, 1664. Here he met the President, John Scott, with delegates from the English towns, and the agreement was ratified.
The Dutch had now lost, one after another, every portion of territory which the English had assailed. The whole valley of the Connecticut river had been surrendered to the English. Westchester was entirely in their possession. And now the important towns of Flushing, Jamaica, Hempstead and Gravesend were yielded up to them. The whole of Long Island was also peremptorily claimed by the English, with the declaration that if any resistance were made to their taking possession of it, they would seize the valley of the Hudson and the whole of New Netherland.
The conjuncture was gloomy indeed. Governor Stuyvesant was conscious that he was utterly powerless. He then decided it to be necessary to call to his aid popular representation. A General Assembly of delegates from all the towns was convoked to take into consideration the state of the province. This important meeting was held in the City Hall of New Amsterdam, on the 10th of April, 1664. Twenty-four delegates were present from twelve towns.
Immediately there arose an unfriendly controversy between the governor and the assembly which was fatal to any harmonious or efficient action. The assembly refused to grant the governor the supplies, in money or in men, which he called for, and adjourned for a week. In the meantime Governor Stuyvesant had received dispatches from Holland. The West India Company had acted energetically upon the subject urged in his memorial. They had presented to the States-General a very earnest petition.
In this memorial they laid before that August body, a detailed account of the aggressions committed by the English, and of the repulse with which the Dutch overtures for an amicable settlement had been met at Boston and Hartford.
"Out of respect," said they,
"to the alliance recently entered into with England, they
had hitherto abstained from hostilities. But, as it now
seemed absolutely necessary to repel aggression by force,
they implored such military and pecuniary aid as the
occasion required. They also urged that, in conformity with
Governor Stuyvesant's request, an act should be passed under
the great seal, confirming their original charter; and that
letters might be sent to the revolted towns on Long Island,
requiring them, under the severest penalties, to return to
their allegiance. In conclusion they asked that the whole of
the aggressions of which they complained might be
communicated to the king of England, with the request that
he would order his English subjects to restore, on the
instant, the places they had seized, and to abstain from all
further innovations, pending the negotiations for a boundary
line."
These requests were complied with by the States-General. They sent sixty soldiers to New Amsterdam, with orders to Governor Stuyvesant to resist any further encroachments of the English, and to reduce the revolted villages to allegiance. It was easy for the States-General to issue such an order, but it was not so easy for Governor Stuyvesant to execute it. The Assembly was immediately called together again, and the documents from Holland presented to them. After much deliberation it was decided to be impossible, with the force at the governor's command, to subdue the English villages. In those villages it was said that the Dutch were outnumbered six to one; and that upon the outbreak of hostilities, the flourishing settlements on the Connecticut would immediately send such a force to Long Island, as would enable them to overcome and take possession of all the other villages.