A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume I.

by Stephen M. Ostrander

Some of the orders made by the Court of Sessions, as contained in the ancient records, are very interesting at this period, and express in a great measure the character of the early settlers:—

"At a Court of Sessions held at Gravesend the 16th day of June by His Majesty's authority in the twenty-first year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord Charles the second, by the Grace of God of Great Britaine, Ffrance and Ireland, King, Defender of the ffaith, in the year of our Lord, 1662. Present: Mathias Nichols, Esquire, President; Mr. Cornelis Van Ruyter, Captain; John Manning, Mr. James Huddard, and Mr. Richard Betts, Justices.

"Weras during this Court of Sessions their have been several misdemeanors committed in contempt of authority in the towne of Gravesende, by one throwing down the stocks, pulling down of fences and such like crimes; the court also find that there was noe watch in the town which might have prevented itt, and being the offenders cannot be discovered, itt is ordered that the towne stand fined five pounds till they have made discovery of the offenders."

The penalty in slander cases was very light, as appears by a verdict rendered in an action for defamation in 1699. The verdict was as follows: "At a cort of General sessions, held att Gravesende, December 1, 1669, John Ffurman, plf., vs. Adraiaen Ffrost, def't. The Plaintiff declared in an action of defamacon, how that the defendant reported him to be a purjured person, and common lyer, which was sufficiently proved, and also confessed by the defendant. The Jury brought in the verdict for the plaintiff, with five pounds damages and costs."

Among the measures marking the progress of the county was a provision by which all the highways in the region were to be laid out four rods wide.

When, in 1685, the Duke of York succeeded to the throne of England under the title of James II., he instructed Governor Dongan to assert the prerogative of the Crown as a natural right, to impose taxes, and also prohibited the establishment of printing presses in the colony. He was opposed to the diffusion of information, and evidently thought that education and knowledge would weaken and destroy his power over the people. Thus, selfishness marked his whole course. In August, 1685, the provincial council was dissolved by order of the Governor, and no other was chosen or summoned. This course was adopted to lessen the influence of the people, and concentrate the entire management and control in the hands of the Governor.

On the 3d of May, 1686, an important event occurred for Brooklyn. It was the issuance of a patent whereby all the rights and privileges granted by Governor Nichols in 1667 were fully confirmed and ratified. Dongan, in the same year, also granted a charter to the city of New York, confirming the franchises previously granted to the corporation, and placed the government upon a solid foundation. The Governor, however, still retained the appointment of mayor, under-sheriff, clerk, and all other important officials, merely giving the people the right to choose their aldermen, assistant aldermen, and minor officials, at an annual election to be held on St. Michael's day. This patent of 1686 was a very important document for New York City. Upon this document New York based its claims to ownership in the Brooklyn shore. It was this charter which made sailors on board of United States vessels at the Brooklyn Navy Yard citizens of New York City, and gave them the right to vote in the seventh ward of New York.

Dongan was a fast friend of the Indians, and during his administration secured their good will by counsel and assistance. He had their confidence, and in various ways they manifested gratitude. They called him the "white father," and he was long held in remembrance by the savage tribes, who appreciated his many kind acts to them. He succeeded better with the Indians than he did with the whites.

The King was anxious to introduce the Catholic religion, in opposition to the wishes of the colonists. The feeling between the two parties formed as a result of this threat became very bitter. Dongan quickly saw that the policy of intolerance would jeopardize the perpetuity and peace of the English possessions, and opposed the measure. The Crown officers appointed by the home government were all Catholics, and in order to appease popular prejudices, Dongan selected his councilors from among the best known and foremost Protestants. This judicious policy was not approved by the King, and in 1688 Dongan was recalled, and Francis Nicholson assumed the management of affairs.

In the mean time, Sir Edward Andros had been appointed royal governor of New England and New York. Nicholson, as his deputy, acted during his absence. The troubles which assailed the people in consequence of the arbitrary acts of the King were not to last long. The hour of deliverance was at hand. The dismal forebodings of the people were removed when the intelligence was received that the King had abdicated his throne, and that the reign of William and Mary had begun. This was in 1689. The citizens of New York thereupon assumed the power to remove and depose all the officials who had been appointed through the instrumentality of the late king. The authority of Deputy Nicholson was questioned. Each sovereign had adherents. Parties were formed among the people. One sustained the late sovereign, while another supported the new potentates. Political and religious discussion waxed warm, and the two parties became known as the democratic and aristocratic classes. Some maintained that the change of sovereigns in no way affected the colonial government, and that the commissions granted by James were valid until set aside and declared illegal by the new power. Others considered the change in England as a complete revolution, which extended to every province belonging to the kingdom. They held that all things were in a state of anarchy, and that no one possessed the power to control; that all officials were functus officio, and consequently the power rested with the people, and that they alone could devise measures or means of government, until the sovereign will should be expressed.