The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-21
C0NNECTICU17S FOUNDERS
ADDRESS ON THOMAS HOOKER BY
 REV, J. II. TWICHELL.

Given Before Mems Club at United Church
 First Conception of Democratic Gov
 ernment in the Connecticut Constitution
 of 1639-Hooker as a Leader and Man.
 The Mems club at the United church last evening was addressed by the Rev. Joseph H. Twichell of Hartford on the subject Thomas Hooker, Founder Of Connecticut" He said in part of the Connecticut constitution of 1889, in the securing of which Hooker was one of the prime movers, that it marks the first conception of democratic gov ernment. The Pilgrims wh0 settled at Plymouth acknowledged the authority of the crown. The Massachusetts Bay colony, while having some democratic principles, were governed under royal charter which restricted the suffrage to a few freeholders. The New Haven colony had founded it's constitution on a policy of more restricted freedom than the Massachusetts colony. Thus 1t Is that one of our historians has said that government of the people, for the people and by the people first originat- ed in Connecticut, and that the birth place of American democracy is Hart ford.
 Dr. Bushnell took the ground that Hooker and the men who framed the constitution of 1889 were largely un- conscious of what they did for the cause of democracy. It Is true that the settlements of the three Connecti- cut towns were church settlements. The democratic state of our fathers was the product of democratic church. It was in laying down these rules for the small towns that they prepared the ground for Q system of government that should last on and on for a time and in way that they dreamed not of. But there was sense in which they did realize that which they were doing. They realized that they were founding their government on the principle of political freedom. | Hooker on his arrival in Massachu- setts in 1883 found things not wholly unprepared for the changes he was SC | instrumental in bringing about. The | charter of the Massachusetts colony had been quite liberal in it's grant of powers to the freemen. These granted powers had been in part usurped by good men in the early days of the col ony, and again restored in part to the freemen on their demanding them. The l colony was in a state of unrest Ut the time Hooker landed. The town ot | Newtown had already asked and hat been granted the right to withdraw and settle elsewhere by the represent
 atives of the town, and Dorchester ant | Watertown were ready to do the same The magistrates of the colony were m | willing that the towns should with draw, as their doing so would weaker | by nearly a third the colony. Hook | CTS presence and his well known | though, while he remained in the Mas l sachusetts colony. not publicly ex | pressed, democratic ideas, must hay
 greatly strengthened the democrati
 party in that colony. In 1636, heade' l by Hooker, they seeded and settled
 in Connecticut. Of the Connecticut
 constitution of 1889 Hooker was tn spirit if not the framer.
 Aside from his public career little i
 known definitely about Hooker H was graduate of Cambridge, wnil Davenport was an Oxford man. 1T
 was a pulpit preacher of the brightes
 order and belonged to the non-con
 form party in the English church. Hi liberal views made him obnoxious t.
 the opposition and he was compelled t.
 flee to Holland, where he preached flu some time to the exiles there. He thel
 returned to England and secretly em
 parked for America. He is said L
 have been of noble presence and stout ly built.
 Next Sunday evening the Mems clu1
 will be addressed by Dr. Alexander Nc
 Kenzie of Cambridge; subject, 'Livin! 1 hy the Heart-A Study of ResIIlts''