Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-03-18
Records of the Governor and Council.

We have before us the first volume OF
the Records Of the Council of Safety ana
Governor and Council Of the State of Yer
mont, a book authorized by the last Legis-
lature. The editor is Hon. E. P. Walton
whose appointment by the Governor tc
that position, was a pledge that the work
would be done with both zeal and knowl-
edge. Mr.. Walton was associated with
Ex-Governor Hall and Hon Charles Reed
upon the publishing committee of the
Vermont Historical Society, and to those
three men more than any others, is it
owing that Vermont has within the last
five OF six years done much to preserve
the fast fading facts of her early history
! The present volume begins with rec
ord of the conventions held in Vermont
on and after July &c, 1875. The conven-
Ion of this date held at Dorset was one Of
The committees of the various towns, and
was to elect officers for the regiment of
Green Mountain boys. and WAS perhaps
rather of the class Of assemblages of com
mittees of safety and the like which had
been held in ante-revolutionary times,
than of those general conventions which
followed, beginning with that of January
16, 177G, ut Dorset This Dorset cOnven-
ton of January, 1916, was to get rid of
New York rule, ana petitiOned Congress
to that effect; rs well rs 10 take measures
against the common enemy.
We look with interest for the appear
ance of the second volume of the Cover
nor and Council which is now well under
way in the printers hands, for we think
that in it we shall see that this Dorset con-
vcntion Of January, 1875, followed in the
footsteps of no unworthy predecessor, and
that in fact its claims to being the first
" convention " seriously worthy of the
name, are contested by those of Il conven-
ton held ut Manchester in January, 1915.
We think it will be found that this Man
chester Convention began a work that.
interrupted by the breaking out of the
revolution, was but continued by the con
ventions Of l776, and that documents that
have come to Mr.. Walton's hands since
the publication of his first volume will
show this.
In the volume before u.s. after IN account
of the five sessions of the convention that |
first met ut Dorset, July a, 1776. and the |
two sessions of the convention that first |
met at Windsor, July ID, 1777, and a |
sketch of the Constitution, we come to the |
records of the Council of Safety, in whose
hands were the interests of the people |
from July 8. 1777, to the organization of
the State government on the 18th of the |
March Then comes the record |
of the Governor and Council from the last |
named day to August %, 1779
An Appendix of over two hundred pages /
contains reprint of several important |
documents, and accounts of various mat
tiers of Importance by the editor, and is |
thus Il most interesting part of the book.
The body of the work is also enriched by |
notes, descriptive of events and men re-
ferred to. The State has done no better
thing than to put these early records into
print where they will be preserved, and is
fortunate that the work is in .
such hands that a most valuable common
-ary on the history of the time accompt-
MES the record of each year.
Portraits of Thomas Chittenden and
Joseph Marsh are found in the work. am,
hOugh constructed" are thought to be
very truthful. OF that of Lieut. Governor
Marsh, his grandson, Roswell Marsh. OF
Ohio, "a hale old gentleman
WHO visited his native State last summer.
and who is now near the close of an hon
)rable life,) writes, LET we'll enough
llOne.'
The book is well printed at the office of
J. & J NJ. Poland. We understand ii
will be sent. postage prepaid, by the State
Librarian, II. A. Huse, on receipt of $3.50.