Morning journal and courier., 1886-12-23
Thursday, December 2a, 1886
AN INTERESTING THEME


 esPoIitical Questions and Parties i'm Kew Havenss Before the Historical | Society.
 Before the Historical society last night the
 lion. Iynde Harrison gave a very interesting
 and instrsctive talk on Political Questions l and Parties lp New Haven" He was listened
 to with the grestsst attention by large au-
 dience. He said: The, tendency Of human nature to discuss the questions oS the day as they arise. and the dispositionSf Sf men tn 1'
 vide and oppose each other, Jad tnelr lnnu- ence in New Haven since ths/ days of doV- ernor Eaton and John Davenport.
 The habit of discussing all kinds or 4ue'- tions concerning local goverrnn0n' in 'o"A meetings for more 4Aan two centuries mas made the freep.e,. of New Haven intelligent mon tl- political questions of the day and ready in their discussion. The leaders in ttese town meeting discussions were natural leaders of the respective political parties as they arose, and no man could hope for politicaI success unless sustained by the fol lowers of his party in town meeting discus sions, especially when they partook of a po- litioai character. The men who were elect ed to the General Assembly, or who held higher positions of public trust and honor, generally made their first mark in the New Haven town meetings. During the last for ty years men have become prominent for oth- CT reasons, and political questions have been discussed otherwise, but the influence of the town meeting continued for two cen turies, and only ceased when the population became so large that town meetings became impracticable.
 FROM 1888 to 1864.
 There were no political parties in New Ha- ven, in the sense that they exist to-day, prior to the Revolution, but there was much sym pathy with the political parties of England, and the politico-religious discussions of the early days took their tone from the senti ments of the Puritan and anti-Stuart parties of England. The town meetings of these early days were held to discuss questions pertaining to local government and the good order and management of the affairs of the plantation. MT. Eaton, MT. Davenport, MT. Newman and MT. Malone were the leaders in the debates. Neither Cromwell nor the crown, before 1760, claimed any right to in- terfere with the independent lawmaking power of the English settlements. Subject only to the limitations of their charters the colonists were inde pendent though it had been generally con- ceded that the Parliament in London might regulate the trade of the colonists. Before the union of Connecticut the New Haven colonists legislated in town meeting or coloni- al assembly ,and divided from time to time into parties, first upon questions of local govern ment, and second upon questions connected with the attempts of the founders of the col ony to make civil government subordinate to the being and welfare of the church. The charter of 1869 united New Haven with Con nscticut. It caused much trouble and insur- rections were common for two or three years. Upon this question of the union with Connecticut the first political division ;,, ernor Leete convoked a special court at New Haven, January z, 1864. A majority of the assembly were opposed to the union, but Mr. Davenport and MT. Street presented a paper which was termed ''The New Haven case stated" The paper preceded to state great variety of incidents in which Hartford, the other colonies, Parliament, Cromwell, the king and his counsel had recognized them as distinct colony. This remon- strance had no effect upon the continued ef- forts of the government at Hartford to in- clude New Haven. But the majority of the New Haven freemen persisted and on the 25th of May, 1864, elected their civil officers, Governor. When the General Court assembled it was found that the col ony was so weak, by the defection of indi- viduals in New Haven and elsewhere, that no business was done and nothing was put on record.
 During the summer following New York was captured from the Dutch and was taken possession of by the Duke of York. His patent included the larger part under the jurisdiction of Connecticut and New Haven. This called for prompt action on the part of both Hartford and New Haven. Governor Leete called a session of the general court to determine what course ought to be taken to protect their territory from the new danger that threatened, and further attempts were made to unite with Connecticut. The com missioners appointed to investigate and re- port advised and urged union with Con- necticut, as the best way to hold their rights against the Duke of York's patent.
 But the party of Davenport and Eaton were still in the majority, and they strongly opposed the uniting of New Haven to Con- necticut. The bounday line between New York and Connecticut, which was fixed on soon after, placed New Haven in the Connec- ticut patent. This had such an effect upon the New Haveners that at meeting of the General Court and of the freemen and inhab- itauts held on the 18th of December, 1864, were unanimously passed submit ting, under protest, to the Connecticut pat ent. The union was made complete at the general election in 1865. The union caused some expected dissatisfaction. Soon after wards, however, the party feeling over the question subsided, and thus the first political issue raised in New Haven passed into his- tory.