The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-17


Thought of bettering their condition. IN u
mere prOsaic sense the love of adventure,
the love of the new and untried to find what
may be in it. love of the free life
of the wOnds and Of new society,"
added romance to the movement;
Yet it was no Texas or California that allured
them.
Another reason for this early emigration,
from Massachusetts, and COnnee-
ticut. and which prevailed tn Il considerable
extent, paTtook of q religious character, ara
was AKIN to that which impelled their an
cestor7, the Puritaps and the Pilgrims, to
TO leave their hOmca in England for the sake
of founding q church OF their liking ana
fresdOm Of worship in the New England
wilderness; for il is written Of these early
immigrants by one of their number. that
Great numbers Of the early settlers on the
New Hampshire Grants were of the sect OF
New Lights. or Separates who fled from
persecution in the New England States, and
their religious liberty This persecution
spoken of, came naturally of the ideas. then
prevalent, that one of the functions Of gov
eminent was TO aid the church in enforcing
upon the whole community conformity OF
doctrines and worship ito the word OF Cod"
that Is. practically. conformity totte pre-
yailing religious belief, and those standards
of belief or profession called orthodox, to b.,
found in certain accredited Platforms"
Upon the New Lights in doctrine, hud the
Separates from the standing order, It bore
hard to be compelled by law to pay towards
the building of meeting houses which they
would not attend, and to contribute to the
support of ministers TO whom they would
not listen, aud this, while sustaining, unaid-
ed, their own systems OF worship and teach,
ing; and then, if their own ministers CHANGED
TO be caught preaching outside the limits OF
their own parish, without orderly invitation,
to see them treated rs pOacheTs or tramns
with fines and the stocks. The religious lib
erty which they enjoyed in this, their asy-
lum, they founded and established. They
stamped upon their earliest church records
their population of the doctrine OF state
interference with matters of religious doc
trine and worship, aud made their.p plan Of
organization as q church charter Of relig-
ious hber'y. Tins, in organizing 1.-THE
church of Christ in Bennington December
B. 1852, the first church organization of the
New Hampshire Grants, 1t was ngneed and
voted to except, from their adoption OF the
Cambridge Platform, that part in respect,
of using the civil law to support the gospel,
and also that part lin respect OF the CIVIL
magistrates cOercive power"
Whatever else may pc sald of the religious
teachings. customs and Observances OF the
New England of that day,it can not be denied
| that they trained up people mighty I'D tne
| ScrintuIes, schOOled to great acuteness OF IN
tellectual perception by study OF the meta
physics Of theology, practice OF It's dialects;
!
religion and the acknowledgements OF creed; ana
| the sudv of the questions of church govern
ment educated them to knowledge OF the
principles of just government, anu tnSlr w
plication to the affairs OF the state. BlgOts
| shall we call them They were indeed rel
gious according to the law and logic OF rel!-
zion. later than its emotions and euthuSl-
asms. would rather say OF them that they
were God-fcaring men, and so in fear OF no
one u e;. orderly, self IsstraineuI
| though self-reliant in thought ana
| will staunch stable,-men stlit IN OPPOSE
non. stout in resistance, determined in de-
| fence of their rights against aggression, =,
Though these first immigrants were mostly
farmers, not greatly cOnversanI with books,
save the one book, yet coming from the tnen
most enlighted part Of America, the heart Oh
New England, the home of the schOol-holiSe
and the Westinghouse, and OF those niue
town demOcracies. training schools in the
science of popular self-g vernment, they
were by no means rude, and had that pTactl-
cal education in the common affairs
of civil life which books cannot
give. The minister, If he did not
come in their company soon followed
together with the lawyer, the physician
graduates of college and men OF culture, "a
so that one hundred years ago, and from the
earliest controversy about title and juIisdlc'
| ton of the New Hampshire Grants down to
the final admission of the State of Vermont
to the Union of the United States, March a.
| 1891. it may be fairly doubted whether these
people were not as intelligent as any cOmmu'
nity of equal number then in New England
This may be safely said, that none were bet
ter suited TO the turbulent times; none who
ever conducted more wisely, astutely and
bravely than they managed tile affairs o.
peace and of war, and of that hali-war, hair
lawsuit, which so long ragged between the
settlers and the land jobbers of New York
with its complications OF boundary yg9ilsale
1 aud
claims of New York, New Hampshire and
| Massachusetts the men of COnVo'u ana
i Lexington not reader than they, w 0f 9 ~
up in resistance to the aggressl1n, col onioa
Britnin upon the liberties Of the Sioionles
{ nor any more patriotic, self-sacrincing, UNI
ted and steadfast in defence OF the e9lnnon
iomEcy OF war than tho leadeTs of theEe pep
ple. who when the infant state, unsupport
ed by Congress and deserted by the neigh
boring States, was left alone 20 make sucf
, defence as she could against powerful in
yasion by the common enemy gathering
upon her northern border, repealed the Inva
sion and secured victory without conflict
disarming the foe by the charm OF words
and. by the iinesse of war, securing to the
common cause the results of q successful
campaign land none who ever displayed.
keeIier sagacity and skill of polite admins
: trati0n and management than they who
made 1.-THE Grants" 2 State who main
tanned It's Independence rs q SEPARATE SOY
ereignty for fourteen years, and then put ~ II
place as one of the United States Of America
Upon plain grounds Of commoniusttce, The
, rebellion of the New Hampshire Grants, Sc
far as ii was rebellion, and the forming OF
, an independent State, stands Justified Inc
, rebellion was against the injustice OF robDe
/. nv. and the State was necessity as an IN
strument of resistance, The lands embraced
, within the territorial limits Of this presen
[ State of Vermont had been understood 70 %
> %, atrUf
Province Of New Hampshire. Upon this un
[ derstandinG, the Royal Goyernorof that Col
ony. Benning Wentworth, had granted DJ
[ charter in the Kings name about one nun
bred and thirty townships OF these lands. o.
, nearly three millions OF acres IN shares u
J some eight Thousand persons w9eh on on f ~,
! Goth DAY of July, 1854, without notice TO I'M
/ settlers aad plainly against their wishes TN
| Colonial GOVERNMENT of New York succeeded
: in obtaining from the King in council an OF
der, declaring the West ban OF the connect
/ icut River TO be tho boundary line between
the two Provinces Of New Hampshire ant
New York, thus placing tho settlers upon
those Grants, and their lands under the J
TisdictiOn of New York. Since the title u
I these lands was originally IN the King ant
the King bad granted them, and the pnlr
! chase price may be said to have gone into TN
/ Kings treasury, the question OF rightul co
( lonial jurisdiction hardly seems 70 touch TN
! question Of legal right to the iandsi and, Ger
i tainly, since the lands had been purchased
! aud paid for in good faith, it was plain vlo
latiOn of equity, on the part of the coionia
government of New York, to treat thos'
+ grants as void and the settlers as tresspass
! ers, and to regrapt the lands 10 strangers
! and thus turn ont from their new, mad
/ homes whole people to obeggaTy and yaga
7 bondage. Nor does amy etoct OF the order es
I tablishing the boundary, such as TO tmphl
by ratroartion the Royal grants alread1!
, made. seem to have been, intended by til.
| Home government. But tho Now York GOV
! eminent gave the order this Interpretation
E treating it as the sanction Of their preVlon
: claim Of jurisdiction and right; and SO sue
d cessiye Royal governors of that Colony set t
/, work granting these lands in large tracts
/ upon careful selection ana survey Of tho best
. to their retaiReTs and fayorites, regardles
al wholly of the rights of the settlers under th
| New Hampshire charters, This mus
i of those Governors to acquire fortune
! for themselves by the oXtraYagapt fees de
I manded and paid for such grants OF D!
i themselves and their favOrities becoming
Q parters with other spectators and jobbers II