In political matters not directly affecting the Crown there was also a slight advance towards freedom of discussion, which, as the time of the Revolution approached, became very much extended. But here again no general rule can be established for the more radical colonies, as Massachusetts, would naturally be far in advance of the more conservative, while between would stand New York.

Of one thing we may be confident. In no colony would the Governor, as representing the Crown, permit a criticism of its actions to pass without censure, and, if possible, punishment. When the Evening Post of Boston (vide p. 14) published in 1741 the paragraph in regard to the expected overthrow of the Walpole Ministry, the Attorney-General was at once ordered to file an Information against the printer, Thomas Fleet, and although no further proceedings were ever taken, the omission was due rather to want of confidence in the Massachusetts jury than to any leniency on the part of the Governor. In the case of McDougall (vide p. 65), we find the writer of a pamphlet obnoxious to the Crown kept in prison even against a writ of Habeas Corpus, and only released when the death of the principal witness in the case made his conviction impossible.

The liberty of the press was still further curtailed by the influence exerted by certain classes in the community. There was always a strong feeling among those who had grants of land (either directly from the Crown or by the Crown as confirmatory of purchases already made from the Indians), against any discussion of their rights over those who were their tenants. This influence would of course be of importance only in the colonies where grants were numerous, as in the colony of New York. But another class influence, that of the Clergy, was far stronger at all times and universal in its extent. In Massachusetts and Pennsylvania it is hardly possible to overestimate the importance of this influence, and in none of the colonies can it be neglected if we desire to properly appreciate the difficulties that faced the printer in his struggle for the right of free discussion. The troubles of Wm. Bradford, the elder in Pennsylvania (vide p. 26), and of James Franklin in Massachusetts (vide p. 11), give us a pretty clear idea of the troubles that would beset the man who did not keep himself out of controversy. Just as the New England Election Sermons give us perhaps the best means of understanding the influence of the Clergy in the field of politics, so these quarrels between printer and Quarterly Meeting or Presbytery show us the feeling toward freedom of discussion.

Livingston Rowe Schuyler.

New York City.

(Concluded next month.)

REMINISCENCES OF ROBERT FULTON

Among the relics of Robert Fulton in possession of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at their house in New York City is a manuscript (hitherto unpublished, it is believed), in which in 1859 the only surviving associate of the inventor recorded his recollections. These simple and obviously honest reminiscences from the hand of a plain man become of interest, however deficient in literary art. He was J. B. Calhoun of Brooklyn, and told his story thus:

“In 1807 Mr. Fulton’s first boat, the North River, of Clermont, commenced running on the Hudson River to Albany. Between 1809 and 1811, he had two more, the Car of Neptune and the Paragon. Each steamer had two masts—on the foremast was a square sail, two topsails, and a jib. On the mainmast was a spanker and topsail. The foremast had at the heel trunnions by which the mast could be lowered when the wind was ahead. When the wind was fair, all hands, passengers too, were called to raise the mast and set sail.

These steamers had high or poop decks some four feet above the main deck; the entrance to the cabin was by the old-fashioned ship companionway—not a house on deck. These steamers, being on the bottom as flat as a house floor, each had two heavy side lee boards, to prevent making leeway when sail was set. In those days neither the pilot nor engineer had an assistant, nor the captain any clerk. In leaving New York at five, the pilot would take the wheel until supper; after supper he would again take the wheel and keep it till next morning; he had no fine pilot-house, not even an awning to protect him from the hot sun nor the most severe weather. When coming to landings, instead of a bell to ring, the pilot blew a tin horn some five feet long; the bell was used only for meal times....