The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-04-13
THE AMERICAN UNION.
HOW 1T BEGAN-GRADUAL DEVELOP
MENT OF THE FEDERAL IDEA.
The First CONGRESS Mt stuyvesant's
BOwery-BeDJamin FranklIn's Plan OF
UniOn-COntinental Congress.

The First s.C0nxress" Mt stuyvesant's
BOwery-BeDJam amin FranklIn's Plan OF
i continental Congress.
philadelphia Press.]
\ Congress Is still the representative power In
the United States. No such thing as a Con-
gress had existed in the experience of the
early forefathers of America until the Puritan
parliament. But here it was first preached by
certain grave Republican men to form a
union under the government Of q Legislature
The utterer Of the scheme was William Penn.
The idea that he had was obtained from Jacob
Leisler and Jacob Melbourne, the first pop
ular magistrates In New York.
This idea may have struck you before, ana
will narrate the circumstances.
i The first Congress Of American States was
held by invitation Of Jacob Leisler of New
York, at Stuyvesant's bowery, In q wayside
tavern, north of old New York. on the present
site Of st. Marks Church, whence A. L.
Stewards body was stolen.
New York, at the time Of this congress,
April "a, 1890, was in great part covered by
forest, and narrow lane toward New Eng
land led through the woods and the Indians
| to old Gov. Stuyvesant's "bowery,' or coun-
try bower. A church and tavern stood here,
besides some mechanics shops and the long
house Of the governor. Delegates attended
only from Massachusetts, Plymouth and
| Connecticut. New York went forward to
meet these gentry, and as smallpox was rag
ing in the "city,' two or three miles below,
the strangers elected to stop at the Bowery
tavern and debate Leisler's proposition, which
| was to Offset the French and Indian raids on
/ Schenectady and other places by two expe-
ditions, one against Montreal by land, and
| the other against Quebec by sea. At that
momen King William was fighting the par
| tisanS OF King James, who were backed by
Louis XIV, in Ireland, and had let the col
onies shift for themselves. In religious fears,
the. common people OF New York had driven
their governor away, and made Jacob Leis-
Ter, an old German soldier, now merchant
their ruler. Gov. Lesler was controlled by
his daughters lover, Jacob Melbourne, the
English democrat OF the colony. The tavern
at Stuyvesants-Gov. Stuyvesant being
recently dead-was place Of conviviality
for the beer and schnapps-drlnklng
Hollanders of the city, and at the unwonted
attendance OF SO many great strangers from
aggressive New England we can conceive
quite movement through the woods to gaze
On the celebrating gentry. There stood the
| old church Of Dominic Hoboken, the graves
Of the Stuyvesants, negroes at WORK Id the
gardens and peach orchards, Indians lying
l
lers few soldiery making the most Of their
| governors short promotion. The names OF
| the persons present at that conference are
not to be found readily, and the times were
| too early for much developed character;
! but it is significant that the overthrow OF the
Duke OF New York in England, and of his
royal governor in America In that common
year OF revolution, 1888, led to the first Eng
| lish Confederation for a common defense in
i the New World. New York had her first As
/ b1xyI I,pie nrp1pppgGnr
which voted bill OF rights that no tax ought
| to be imposed without consent OF the assem-
/ bly,. This Governor, DOngan, was not Pro-
testant, and was especially eDjoined to "allow
no printing"
| THE SECOND CONGRESS.
| II was sixty-four years before the next
congress Of the Colonies met, not now by
invitation OF an insurgent. but by the British
Secretary of State, Lord Holderness. 1t met
at Albany, in June 1854, at the moment
Washington was on his first military expedi4
| ton agant the Monongahela French
/ Four New England colonies, and New York,
Pennsylvania and Maryland composed it,
under the presiding citizenship OF Lieut..
Gov. James Delaney, OF New York. Here it
| was first propounded- momentous question
whether i r. the Colonies had not better adopt
union for mutual defense. What Is called
| federalism is merely the resonation OF that
| word union, down to century and quarter.
| The proposition came from Massachusetts,
l.
From Connecticut was Wolcott Pennsyl-
vania had the strongest delegation, John
Penn, Richard Peters, Isaac Norris and Ben
jamin Franklin. These twenty-four men met
in the Albany court house more than twenty
years before the revolutionary war. Frank
ltu drew the plan If union, and only Connec-
ticut objected. That plan, the nucleus Of the
federal constitution proposed thirty-five years
afterward, Is said to have been suggested by
William Penn as early as 1897.
FRANKLIN's SUGGESTION OF UNION.
Tt was grand council or congress of forty
eight members from eleven colonies-Georgia
and Delaware not being independent. This
congress was to undertake the defense of the
colonies against the French, Spanish and
other foreigners; to pass regulations, appor-
ton quotas of troops and money, and to have
at Its head president general appointed
by the crown the people afterwards succeed
ing the crown as sovereign, who was to APP
point all military officers, have q veto power
and exclusively to direct the Indians.
It was elected by all the colonies In their
assemblies, and also by the British Board Of
Trade, from respective lealousies OF subjects
and crowns. @saM
THE FIRST LOBBY.
The Albany congress was notable to Penn
sylvanians on account OF the Indian title, OBJ
tanned from some OF the leading Indians
watching there as allies, by the Connecticut
incorpated claimants to Northern Pennsyl-
vania. The Pennsylvania agents at the same
Albany congress SHppeu underneath ana
bought for e4O0 the feudal conquest Of the
same Indians by the Six Nations. That was
the first congressional lobby. The Delawares,
occupants Of the lard, sold to the ancestors
of David Wilmot. The 1roquois, nominal con-
querors of the Delawares, sold to the ances-
tors of SIMON Cameron The white people
began to overrun the land from both Hobbies,
and the Delawares, moving west, broke out
in the great insurrection OF Pontiac, while
behind them the Romantic or Wyoming war
between Connecticut and Pennsylvania was
waged until after the revolution.
THE STAMP-ACT CONGRESS.
The stamp act congress met October 7, 1865,
at New York, on the suggestion of the House
Of Representatives OF Massachusetts. There
were nine colonies present Virginia. Georgia,
North Carolina and New Hampshire not be-
ing able to attend. The president Of this
congress was Timothy Ruggles, of Massa-