Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-05-03
A HISTORIC PIG.
What Came of "a Strays sowe from
Dears Hand"
FROM ne Boston Rerald.

From the Boston Rsrald.
Our State Senate is, no doubt, a body Of
learned gentlemen, yet even of their num-
Der there may be some who know but i'm
perfectly the real origin Of that distin-
guished branch Of the government. AL
though it is almost q century and a half
older than the United States, yet there
was not always an upper House in our
Legislature, but the Massachusetts, Bay
| colony got on for dozen years or more
WitnOut one. History records its rise, and
should give due credit to its IllustrIous
founder. That founder was pig.
Let not the indignant reader SUPPOSE
tnat we are speak, ing in unseemly meta
pnor OF some Puritan statesman; we sim
/ ply recall an historic fact, Honor TO
| wnom honor is duel Why is Richard
oherman's pig still uncommemorated in
bronze or marble In our Senate chamberY
But, hrst, word must be said as to the
ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT
ATIvES.
In the charter of the Massachusetts,
bay Company the freemen of the COM
pahy were empowered TO choose annual
| ~ Ihe Governor and Deputy Governor and
10 assistants, and TO make laws, etc., in
Tue lOur meetings in eaca year of the
| general Court Of all the freemen. Dur
ing the first four years of the colony
llo3Ol634) the magIstrates-to wit, the
! Governor and the Court of Assistants
were thought to be taking too much DOW
er Ia themselves, and this, together with
| the growing inconvenience of assembling
all the freemen from the widening terri
10Y OF the infant State, led the General
Court Ut 1884 to provide "that four Gen.
eral Courts should be held every wear;
that the whole body OF freemen should be
| present only at the court for election of
| magistrates, and that at the other three
! every town should send its deputies, who
| should assist in making laws. disposiug
lands, etc." Thus did representative gov
eminent begin in New England, an d this
was the institution of what is now our
| House OF representatives.
but IN the general courts, in one
| mouse with the deputies so chosen, the
assistants also sat and voted and had a
negative upon the proceedings. In the
case OF an important question In that
| very year this led to a serious difference.
The people of Newton Cambridge
sought leave to remove the Connecticut
Tor want OF room, ''since here the towns
| were set too near each other" The ma
Jorlty of the Deputies were for granting
their request, but most of the magistrates
| (assistants) opposed it for weIghty rea-
sons. The dispute was only temporarily
composed, even, by
A MIGHTY SERMON.
preached by request before the General
Court by Rev. John Cotton from the famII-
lar textin Haggai:
"Yet now be strong, o Zerubbabel,
saith the Lord, and be strong, o Joshua,
the son of JOsedeck, the high priest, and
be strong all ye people of the land, saith
the Lord" from which he drew obvious
conclusions as to the division of powers.
BUTT was not until several years later
that the question between the magistrates
ana the deputies reached Its crisis and its
final settlement.
And now appears the hero or the heroine
of the story, Mrs. Sherman's constitution
making pig.
"A sTRAYE sOwE FROM DEARE ILAND.'
Says Gov. John Winthrop: "Thefe fell
out great business upon very small
occasion. Ammo 1896 there was a stray
SOW in Boston, which was brought to
Capt. keaYne; he had it cried divers
times, and divers came to see it, but none
made claim to 1t for near a year. he
| kept 1t In his yard with a sow Of his own.
| Afterward, one, Sherman's vile, having
lost such SOW, laid claim to 1t" and
came to see 1t. Meanwhile Keayne had
| killed his own sow. Mrs. sherman could
| not Identify the stray SOW as her own, but
asserted That the slaughtered pig was
hers. The elders of the Boston church
| first heard the matter and exOnerated
| keayne, Mrs. Sherman then E'brOu ght lit
10 tue Inferyer COurte ate Boston, before
jury, who also found for the defendant
| heayne, and gave him "three pounds Tor
| his cost. Thus encou aged, Capt. keayne
| turned on his accuser with SUIT for def
amaLiOn in charging him with theft, and
recovered 40 pounds damages. But the
persistent Mrs. Sherman noE appealed
the orr inal pig case, not as in due course
/ to the Court OF assistants sitting separate
| ~, out to the General Court. tn ere the
rehearing took 1.-THE best part of seven
days." and as reported in the Massachu-
sets Col. Records:
'ln the case between Richard Sherman
and Capt. Keayne. this was prOpounded
TO vote: Whether the DEFENDANT bee
| found TO have been pOssest OF the plain
| tltfe's sOWe and converted her TO mis- Owne
use or not: it was YoJed by two magls-
trates and fifteen deputies for the plaintiff,
and by seven magistrates and eight
| deputies for the defendant, and seven
deputies were newters." Thus the plain
| tltt's appeal failed, because "A majority OF
the magistrates assstants) We're against
her, while on JOINT vote majority OF the
whole general court would nave been in
| her favor, since the deputies were so
largely on her side.
Now arose nightly olamor. Capt.
Robert keay ne, tne defendant, was mau
of property and standing, but very un-
popular because of mis- hard dealings with
the poor, which had before this more than
once brought him into court. Mrs. Sher-
man was poor woman. The popular
party, already jealous OF the alleged en-
crOachments OF the magistrates, gave
credence TO the plaintiffs claim that all
through the pig litigation which mad now
lasted half dozen years the magistrates
mad been biased in favor OF the wealth
aud social rank of Keayne. much con-
tentiOn and earnestness there was, =
so that many spoke unreverently of the
(General) Court, especially OF the masis-
trates, saying that the power
OF the negative voice must be taken
away" The infant State was In commO-
ton. Gov. Winthrop put forth manu-
script pamphlet reviewing the case, which
is still extaut: "A breaViate Of the case
between Richard sherman pit. by petition
and Capt. ROOert Keayne deiendtt abOute
the title TO A >traye SOwe supposed to be
brought from Deare Hand about 90 Der
1886" Tue reOpening OF the case at the
next General Court was barely prevented
and public excitement somewhat allayeG
by inducing keayne 10 remit most Of his
damages in the defamation suit, and by
Winthrop's magnantmOus apology 70 the
court for ANYTHING offensive In his treat