The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-01-18


fha'lu,ld lspatth,
THURSDAY !. s, I. y JANUARY is.sis7' ~
Hoe Lava, u Fiction. Y
fS,,or. ths New york Jssrnsl Of Commerce.
81 srhs ridiculous fictfoHs which have from
fsynr to tfisc been published under the title
snf Blue Laws OF Connecticut have had st,cn
wide circulation that it has long been pc!
lieyed by men who ought TO have kn9Mn
better that these absurd statutes, forplda.ng
men to kiss their wives, make oeus, uas
/. hair, or shave on Sunday, and MAKING y
criY1s Tor D woman 10 kiss her chiid on 1,S q
sunday ar fass,day. were really laws OF the,
spnrifan colony, DR., j. Hammond rum
hnils whose recognized authority as a histo-
ron and antiquarian commancis respect 70
,,lI witch he publishes, has ut lengM gone
IN fhr yerv bottom of these forged laws,
G eynossY,p their origin, giving The genuine
laws al the Connecticut colonies, ana
IN d, doing has made oHe OF the Hioss
curious, readable, and Important nooh ~. "a
the time, This book lie entitled - ne Iios
Blue Laws OF Conneetirns anu new hav III
and the Ehise Blue Laws nventea ny sae
Rev. Samuel Peters" De. Irlimouil .pats
his pen like asiagger Into q score OF moaern
writer's. churchmen, hwyerA and historians
IN Enr}ani and America. He exposes their
carelessness-to call 1t by mild phrase-in
aecepting lis genuine these ridiculous forge
Hex. ne shows sl.at they were iuyensions
of the well-known Samuel Peters, whose
=. history"s was q general meianSe OF
salsehood. and vpho was himself 80
piyen to salsehood that il was apparently
more difficult for him to ten truth than
untruth, and thxt later writers haze been
,iineycusably &C fault in citing them from
Peters without gong 10 the genuine laws
Of Connecticut for correct lnfermation.
These genuine kws are giyenst iulllength,
and while they are sufficiently !Baue they
contain none Of the nonsense OF the Peters
edition. and are shown to- be no more Sc
we're than the laws OF England at the same
period, but in many respects more mild ana
humane. The mass OF historical an1orma-
tion condensed on this subject rs WONDER
;frl, and will give to the reader n new idea
of the existing tyranny in England at that
But Or. Truribull does not rest content
With his complete defence OF Connecticut
) BE gives the truth about the severity OF her
Code. and then quietly. and with cool en-
5oyment which those who are hurt Will
share with him, proceeds to show what
other colonies did in those times. Thus,
sshe Quotes Judge Days IS valuable and in
teresting paper y on the judicial organlza-
.tion OF New York, ain which the learned
Z. Judge says or the New Amsterdam trlbu-
mails: "Their mode OF proceeding was In
finitely more effective than the technical
and artificial system introduced by their
English successors" and Dir: James w.
GerarFs remark esThe Dutch here were
humane as Eell as a Just people"
s These quotations are made without note
$ or. comment, as the introduction to a
series OF citations from New Amster-
dam records like these: October B, 1880
Hendrick Jansen; charged with an assault,
Wass subjected. to torture, but he persisted
i'm the lie; November 20, 1641-Jan Hebbe-
SEN, charged with theft. put to the torture,
confessed, sentenced to be whipped with
rods and banished; December 6, 1863
Frans Jansen, charged with theft, once tor
tured and twice whipped without eliciting
additional information; June II, 1660-A
soldier sentenced to be tied in a sack and
cast into the river and drowned until dead
April 16; 1868 Nicholas AibertseD, for de-
serting his ship and betrothed, sentenced to
have his head shaved, his ears bored, be
flogged, and work two years with the COM
pany's negroes; and great many other
curious and cruel punishments.
Quoting statements OF historians that New
York was the refuge Of the oppressed who
sought !" freedom to worship Cod" DE.
Trumbun cites abundant proof OF New
York persecution OF Lutherans, Baptists,
and Quakers. Unauthorized conventicles
were forbidden, unlicensed preachers fined,
Lutherans forbidden the public exercise OF
their religion, Baptists fined and banished,
Ouakers excluded, Sor, il found, impris-
oned, and persons fined for harboriDg them;
Virginia, where the Church Of England
was in power. enacted and enforced all sorts
Of intolerable laws. Maryland was less In
tolerant. Massachusetts, however, was the
most intolerant of all the colonies; and, to
close the volume, the editor shows that the
Blue Laws Of England were rs tyranhous
as those Of any Of her colonies.
This valuable book comes at q time when
its historical truths are Of great importance,
and we have given our notice OF it this pro-
nsinence because the moral OF its revelations
is that historical truth which we have SO
often insisted upon: The settlers OF New
England did not come to this country to
establish liberty, religious or political.
Neither did the settlers OF New DIRK or Yir-
ginia. The principles OF free government,
which we now prize so highly, are wholly
contrary to the spirit OF the original colo
nists. It is enough to make q Massachusetts
Puritan restless IN his grave to hear men
over bis Dust twadty ingi in modern rhetoric
about the liberty that came over in the May
flower. The Puritan abhorred liberty in
the modern sense of the word. o.,
One OF the great: dangers Of the present
age is that we shall relapse into the intole-
rance Of the early days IN America. Large
majorities and long leases of power given
to one political party tend to that sort Of in
tolerance. Partisans. grow impatient Of the
expression OF opinions contrary to their
views, and when backed by strong power
have little hesitation in using it to suppress
discussion and dissent, 1t Is q good time
now to see picture Of thu. colonial tyranny
drawn by the hand Of an impartial and
trustw orthy historian.
HYDRAULICS OF TIE ANcrENTs.
Galignan's Messenger. Father Secchi has
written:a letter to the Academy Of Sciences
on this curious subject. The monuments he
mentions have, been mostly discovered by
him In the environs OF Rome. The first