New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-21
NEW.ENQLAND SOCIAL LIFE.
PICTURES OF THE PAST.
LAND. i00O.i7s9. BY william B. Weeden.
fwo Volumes. 12mo. PIP. XVII. 9e4. (Hougmon
Mfofn d Co..

so9Hx HNb 4 hs1oi t By William B. wsedsn
~ Sc,umes. Emo pp XVI" xSi se4. "iiiougfton'
Mifnin Co.,
Mr.. Weedcn has performed difficult, nut
necessary and important work. The historian Oh
old confined himself to politics and statecralt prn'
eipally. and thought the chronicle OF government
or q dynasty enough. though the history OF '''e
people were completely neglected But the Soc'a'
and economic phenomena Of any period are more
Instructive than politics. They take us 70 Tue
hearths and the marts Of the common people
They show us lust how our ancestors. or any by
gone pespls. lived what customs, practices, rtes'
ceremonies. habits, they Md: how they dressed
ntn and drank. and did their business: what &C.
cupations they pursued; what comforts and oon-
senienees they enjoyed or lacked: how they amused
themselves; by what various means they increased
their substance: how they worshipped; what part
relaion or oeremonialism had In their secular NE
how thew oourted end married; what superst,tions
weiahed upon them and IN short. as nearly a.
Is possible these things reproduce for ns pas'
which can be distinctly realized In no other way
Americans who read the abundant literature when
concerns their immediate predecessors-the o"ii"-
rn of the commonwealth-are apt TO imagine oha'
they know all thet is to be known OF tho Pllerims
and the "New-Engand mem who followed tAem
But Mr.. Weeden's work will convince all such
readers that tDeN l6 StllI y WING 'A>'" "-~"'
scarcely touched, and that the possibilities OF
throwing new and fuller ilght upon thooe W"
days arc BY no means exhausted.
Such work must from its very nature DC
rather in the form of magazine OF facts than that
of a consecutive, flowing and carefully reasoned
history 1t is history Of the most real kind, nut
it. is history Taught by object lessons rather thali
by detailed descriptions. These volumes Will at
WAYS be necessary to American students and schol
ars. and their use for the higher purposes OF
politics, finance and journalism must oe nnpor-
tant for they contain the most succinct ana I'M
,ressvc records of legislative errors and financial
fallacies, and they are especially calculated 70
enlighten the class Of eXprrimenters who, even 70
this day and In disregard of all experience. con-
tinue to breach and to advocate fiat money
schemes. In going back to the beginnings In COM
pany with Mr.. Weedcn one realizes very clearly
how much the Pilgrim Fathers brought with item
and how strongly and permanently what they
brought with them colOred and controlled their
future and that Of the new country. One realizes
also i'm a novel way the extent Of the distance
between the ideas Of liberty held in the severn
,ccnth and in the nineteenth century The sturdy
cid Puritans and Pilgrims had notion OF in
dividual liberty. The commonwealth was the
centre for them and the old Roman maxim. that
The safety of the community is the highest law, was
theirs too. The community influence was. how
ever, dual. The body polite must he safeguardcd,
hut it must he safeeuar'leG aft"r Scriptura meth
DDS The commonv path was TO I've order but
especially was il 10 he relisioHsly ordered. As
N personal freedom in those days, there was no
such thing and as time passed the tendency
toward extension of the in4uisitorial system which
,neddlel with and regulated every act end rela-
tion of life increased rather than diminished The
H. xl>a diny Nf M
England township was the forming of n close cor.
pnratior thenceforth TO IKE held together with
the utmost jealousy. Then the land was distrh-
uted. ON plan which gave every man and head
pf a family 50 many acres for home place and
ko much of a share in tne common paSturasc. up
land and timberland. BY this plan som" Of the
advantages of possession in sevcraltv were COM
bined with sl,e equities Of communal enjoyment,
and for ,har stage OF development the combination
worked #eii.
TEen for the government Of the community
the general conrt was established. issuing from
the folkmoo; aud soon AZ organization began
tie power Of the church made itself felt. The
minister was not YET the potenta,c OF later
period. He was respected aud deferred t" because
of lis office. but the people were jealous Of their
rights. Democracy now understood WAS yet
unknown Rank WAS not only fully recognized
DuU bcIupUJOublN HtVbCu dOout' ohV CAC '"""'
petty and prosecuting ordinances were enacted
by the people themselves. In nothing was the
feeling more plainly shown than in the apportion-
ment of pews in the village church. The seats
were distributed in accordance with the most
carefully weighed estimates Of the consequence
of the various members OF the congregation. The
largest taxpayer had the best seat in some
places. The selectlnen of a town or town com
,nittee assigned householders their seats. and
sometimes distinctions Of such nicely were drawn
that husband aud wife found themselves placed
II, different pewS. What would cow bc con-
s;de,ed the tyranny OF the church was great
Thus, THE General Court decreed in 1888 that
no dwelling should be placed more than half a
mile away from the Westinghouse in any nc"
plantation: ard again, In 1861 an Ipswich
jnhabitant absenting himself with his wife from
public worship, the Court empowered the sever
men To sell his farm. 50 that lie mas be com
pc,led 10 live nearer the sanctuary Imagine
the churchwardcnS Oh trustees of modern New
York church cooly undertaking to seize and sci
the estate of q member who had committed th'
mislcmeanor Of settling beyond Harlem Bu
our ancestors thought nothing of such proceed
ines
They took life very seriously. beyond question
The town meeting fined people for non-attendancc
Duties TO Church and State were compulsory
Nobody was allowed liberty Of conscience. y
course much of the assumed unity Of belief IN
piled in these rigid regulations was in 'nanne
hssed upon the initial agreement among the pro
prietors Of a new plantation. They would no
have come together had they not hecn OF ON
mind, and being of one mind. the rules whlcl
kept them up to the mark civically and &c
Realistically were merely in the line Of wis
and necessary discipline. No man is compelled
u snlist-at least in time of peace-but having
enlisted. he must submit TO he governed by Tn
articles of war. But in truth the inrasionS o
individual freedom were carried very far in tn
seventeenth century. Among other customs MI
Weeden tells us: /" The imprcssment of labor 10
particular service was common. Either the puf
lie need or the demands of private business coul
enforce il. In the harvest time, artiiccrs an