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

ridge, he met there on the borders of the
Waloomsac gathering Of the settlers of
"the Grants" prepared for resistance Ben
niunton in town meeting had voted TO take |
this farm under their prOteetion,-and it was |
protected. The Sheriff had met a power
greater than the power Of tho county. who |
solved for him the prophetic riddle Of Ethan |
Allen that "the rods of tho valley are not /
the gods Of the hills,"-and IF they would |
come to Bennington the meaning should he |
made clear" And so the power Of tile county |
eyaporated, and resistance TO like attempts
in the future was made the easier, and their
success impossible It has been we'll and
truly said by that venerable gentleman, n
native of Bennington, whose presence graces
this occasion, and who IN his long and use
full life of public service has done his age no
better service than by his publication OF
the Early History of Vermont" that Here
IN fact, on the farm of James breckenridge,
was born the future State OF Vermont, which
struggling through the perils OF infancy, had
by the commencement of the general reyOlu-
tion acquired the activity aud strength Of
adventurous youth had by its close reach-
ed the full stature of manhood, and which
not long afterwards became the acknowledge
ed equal oft associate American republics"
offspring, il may be added, of what the
Tory Governors of New York were wont to
call "the Bennington mob"
This controversy about the lands OF the
settlers, kept mp in one way and another for
many years, naturally led to denial of the
civil Jurisdiction of New York for any pur-
pose. Except for this policy of sp0ilatiOn
the jurisdiction of New York would have
been quietly submitted to-. notwithstanding
the difference of blood aud temper, training
and customs of the two peoples, aud Yer
mont would have bad no name IN history,
nor existence as State.
This difference was considerably marked.
The settlers of the Grants were New Eng
landers of the then New England type, cher
ishng the democratic ideas, and imbned with
the spirit of resistance to aggressions upon
che liberties of individual or people, which
then prevailed in New England, and to which
that people had been peculiarly schOOled and
trained for generations by the events con-
nected with the early immigratiOns, and the
institutions of church and civil government
established by them, of their free choice, in
the wilderness. What was written of these
settlers by an accomplished loyal lady of the
tunes though said reprOachtully, we accept
as true, forgiVIng the reprOach;-They were
fierce republicans refusing to become ten
ants to any one and insisting on owning the
lands they should occupy; whose whole con-
versatiOn was tainted with politics. rom
wellian politics; who talked about slaves to
arbitrary powers and whose indifference TO
the mother country, and lll1beral opinions
and manners were extremely offensive to all
loyal subjects of the King" Few Tories
among them at any time, and those few,
either converted to better ways by the rough
or else finding more congenial home in Cana
da 1t was not so along the Hudson, nor was
this the spirit of the gentry of the New York
| colony. This difference is cOnspicu0nsly in
dicated in the reply of Gov. TryOn to the re-
| buke of the Colonial Secretary for the man
ner in which the New York grants of Yer
mont lands had been made. 81 conceive IT,"
he says, good policy to lodge large tracts of
land in the hands of gentlemen of weight
and considerations They will naturally farm
| nut THAR lou6a fn fpnanfgf npthOH which
will ever create subordinatiOn. and counter
pOise in some measure the general levelling
spirit. that so much prevails in some of his
| MaJesty's governments" - an Grlstocralic
policy, hateful to the democratic aud indie
pendent spirit of the settlers, who would be
vassals to no PATRON or land baron. but
would own the lands they titled.
And so was kept up this controversy as to
titles and jurisdiction, until finally closed in
| 1901 by compromise, by which Vermont to
of thirty thousand dollars, which was divid-
| cd among the New York claimants, by way
of compensation for their losses.
In the war of the revolution. there was no
people more patriotic, none more united IN
| sentiment of hostility to the aggTessions OF
Great Britain, and determination to defend
the common liberties of the colonies, and ia
achieve separation aud independence, THAI
the people of the New Hampshire GRANTS
none who, according to their ability, ,dld
l drawer OF ulOIt tlttblNb sDlNlSp IL hSAhul
war, than they. Scattered Blong the wal
path from canada to New York, they were
ever reliable as minute men to beat PACK Of
battle invasion from that quarter. I1conder
oga, the Canadian border, Bennington anC
| Saratoga, tell the story of their herOism
They were the men of whom BurgOyne, in
modification of his disaster at Bennington
and consequent perpleXtty OF his AFFAIRS
wrote to the British Minister IN London
THE New Hampshire Grants, in particular
I .la1 NIaN nuN M
abounds in the most active and rebellious
race of the continent. and hangs like gath
erlnR storm ON my left"
Twenty days after the Declaration of In
dependence at philadelphia, there assembled
at the lnn Of Cephas Rent in Dorset. dele,
who entered into solemn covenant between
| themselves by formal signatures, recon-
mending that such declaration be subscribed
&c by all the friends of America III the dls-
| tricr y wherein they declare " We do vol
unfairly aud solemnly engage under all the
ties held sacred amongst mankind, at the
risk of our lives and fortunes, to defend by
arms the United American States against the
hostile attempts of the British fleets ana ar
mics. until the present unhappy controversy
between the two countries shall be settled :;
and at q later convention, held by ADJOURN
ment at the same place in September, IL was
unanimously resolved " to take suitable
measures, as soon as may be, to ideelare the
New Hampshire Grants a separate district.
Ill9 convention WAS w Auctb al
Westminster October 80, 1776 and was again
adjourned to meet aJ the same place January
Is, INT, and then and there u was unani-
mOusly proclaimed and publicly declared,
that the district of territory comprehend
ing and usually known by the name and de-
scription Of the New Hampshire Grants. of
right ought to be, and is hereby declared for
ever hereafter to be considered, as free and
independent jurisdiction OF State by the
name of New Connecticut"
| 4 N1,n lavv ~
July, 1777, the representatives of the free
men of said District assembled in convention
and framed q constitution for the State of
Vermont This constitution opens with a
preamble reciting in fOrcible language the
reasons for the formation of free and indie
nendent StateV These recited reasons were,
The right of the people by common consent
TO change their government wheneveF It fails
TO secure the ends of government viz: the
security and protection of the community. as
sucb, andthe natural rights of the individuals
who compose ii tho expressions OF the Brit
ish government towards the colonies "mOre
fnlly set forth In the declaration of Con
Oress ~ and the worse expressions Of New
York towards the settlers of the New Hamp-
shire Grants. This preamble was followed by
"a declaration OF the Rights of the inhabi-
tants of the State of Vermont" and plan oil
frame Of government
II was while the draft of this constitution
was under consideration, that the alarming
, news reached the convention of the eyaeua-
tion by our troops of TicOndeToga and theiI
disastrous retreat through HubbardtOn, thus
, leaving our western border open to the
ravages Of Bufgoyne With his Hessians aud
savages. 1t is reported, that the first i'm.
: pulse Of the convention was to separate and
look to the protection Of their families al
, home. when "a severe thunderstorm came on
and gave them time to reflect y and so they
STAYED till their work was finished, The
thunder storm was Q blessed providence /
n voice from the skies proOlaiming TO the
} convention duty higher even than the per,
, sonal protection of family and home. And
/, so Vermont received her christening and be
} came a State, though, for time after, under
, the anomalous administration of Council
of Safety, and, until March 4, 1891, fourteen
wears, existed as an Independent sovereign
J ty, with all the attributes and functions OF
Sovereignty, when she was admitted rs an
canal member of the Federal Union. In the
! meantime, the American Revelation had
been closed in 0 declared peace. The oopted-