The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-22
NEW LONDON IN 1775.
How That City Appeared Before the
 Revolution.

Revolution.
 The following extract from "A Gen. eral History of Connecticut" by Sam uel Peters, a clergyman of the Church of England, published in London in 17S1, will prove of interest to many readers:
 New London has the river Thames on the east, and the bay of it's own name on the south, and resembles Islington. Its port and harbor are the best in the colony The church, the meeting and court house are not to be boasted of; the fort is trifiing. The houses in this, as in all the towns In the province, are insulated, at the distance of three four or five yards, one from the other. to prevent the ravages of fire. That of John Winthrop, Esq, is the best in the province. The township is ten miles square, and comprises five parishes, one of which is Episcopal Abimeleck, a descendant of the first English made King of Mohegan, resides with the small party in this township. He is a king to whom the people pay some respect-because they made him so. The people of this town have the credit of inventing tar and feather as proper punishment for heresy. They first inflicted it on Quakers and Ana baptists.
 New London has a printing press much exercised in the business of printing pamphlets, sermons and news papers. It is employed by the gover- nor and company, and is the oldest and best in the colony. New Haven, Hartford and Norwich has also each printing press; so that the people are plentifully supplied with news. poli- tics and ploemical divinity. The port of New London is by far the best in the l province and extremely well calculated 1 for it's capital and grand commercial emporium (of Connecticut) And about | fifty years since a number of mer- | chants there began to export and i'm port goods, seemingly to the satisfac- tion of the whole colony, but to the great displeasure and chagrin of those of New York and Boston, whom it threatened with ruin. Something was necessary to be done. The poor Bosto- nians, according to custom, privately sent to their faithful allies in Hartford l lO lnluSt lllLU ttlGlIl dll lted lndI l1SlI town ought to be the capital, and not New London, which belonged to the dominion of Sassacus, who had mur- dered so many Christians; adding that if they would engage in such an at tempt in favor of Westport the Bos- ton merchants would supply them with goods cheaper than they could buy them at New London. The good people of Hartford forgetting their river was frozen five months in the year, remem- bering how they had obtained their charter, hating Sassacus and loving self, immediately gave into the design ing Bostonians' suggestions and re- fused to receive any more goods from New London. The friendly Meynhers of New York played off a similar trick upon New Haven, and promised to support that town as capital of the colony. The plots succeeded, conten- tions and ouarrels arose among the three parties, the effects of which re- main to this day. The merchants of New London were obliged to quit Con- necticut: and the trade of the province was chiefly directed between New York and Boston, at cent. per cent. disad- vantage to an ill-natured colony, and at the same advantage to its cunning neighbors. When party spirit yields tc self interest, New London will agair become the emporium of Connecticut
 where merchants will settle and i'm
 port goods from foreign countries. IT
 1880 the residents in Connecticut mum.
 bered 10000; in ITO, 100000 Hence il
 appears that the people of Connection
 did, during the ninety years preceding
 the last mentioned date, increase 2,OO
 each year, doubled their number tel
 times over. Should the 100000 whicl
 existed in Connecticut in 1770 double
 their number in the same manner O
 the ensuing ninety years, the province will, in the year 1860. contain 10000