The San Francisco call., 1904-08-21
establishment
OF Middle Colonies

y previous fsues OF this page Of
book criticisms opportunity has
/ been taken TO call attention to the
History OF North America" pro-
5ected IN twenty volumes under the
general editorship Of Guy Carleton
Lee. and extended reviews OF the first
three OF these volumes have been Of
fered To the fourth. The Colonial
tion ot the Middle States" by Profess
sor f. r. Jones Of the faculty Of Bryn
adaWr College. attention is now due.
?. II must be recognized that to each
Of the twenty collaborators in this
vastly comprehensive history Of the
continent from the stone age to the
present day a task Of no easy achieve
ment is assigned. In the general
scheme OF editorship Professor Lee has
had to distribute the work o. author
ship in blocks, as it were, an epoch to
eaoh, thus sacrificing continuity TO the
eexigencies Of the whole scheme. The
author Of COLONIZATION Of the Middle
States" like the other historians, has
his province quite strictly confined.
Prohibited from the nature Of this
compilation from catching the signif-
cance Of great colonial movements out
side Of his territory save in so far as
they affect his own province, the
writer suffers from an enforced lack
OF. perspective and scope Of view; he
keeps his eyes too close TO written or
der of things without opportunity 10
catch fundamentals Of the entire colo
uial history.
Professor Lee introduces the volume
with a plant on the lack OF interest
taken in the colonial history Of the
Middle States. Always, says he, has
=. our interest been divided between Pur-
itan New England and Cavalier Vir-
. giuia- whose respective sons have not
ceased IN their laudatory exploitation
of the early history OF these two sec
tons He believes that this sectional
parucularization against the middle
colonies has been due to the dearth OF
writer's native to the district The
author OF the present volume, however,
takes q far less peevish view Of the
question than his editor with the ex-
plGnAtion that IN this. the middle zone,
there was a blending Of the character
isacs Of both New England and Vir-
GINA making economic and govern
mental conditions OF q neutral order.
This has LED TO complete exploita-
ton OF State histories to the neglect
Of interstate or tutercolonial records
The Dutch settlement Of New York
So given the hrst attention Tracing
very Euccinctly the earliest Dutch voy-
ages OF exploration IN and about the
Hudson, Connecticut and Delaware
rivers. Jones emphasizes the strictly
commercial spirit which characterized
al OF the sturdy Hollanders' earliest
s. exploits. They came not TO till the soil
. and build homes, but to strip the land
Of its wealth OF skins and sail away
to'convert pelts into dollars Just when
the Dutch began TO consider New Am
Hterdam q permanent abiding place.
however, the author leaves to con-
lecture
The formation Of the Dutch West
India Company, its powers, the in
augurztion OF the PATRON system Of
land tenure under It's instrument Of
authority-these affairs give opportu-
nifty for a brief though fairly complete
survey OF the governmental idea as ex-
pressed by Peter 6tuyvesant and his
predecessors IN Office at Manhattan
Though celebrating at length upon
difficulties arising out Of the old feudal
system OF tenure, the feuds and open
ruptures between governors and gov
erned and al the rest OF the strictly
chronological. strictly dry facts Of his
tory, the author fails TO give any in
sight into the social and economic con-
oitions and customs that made this
new Holland OF the West the most
quantity picturesque OF all the colonies.
Even though cramped for space on ac-
count Of the scope Of his subject, Jones
could have inserted livening chapter
on Dutch New York with profit to his
work
That the record OF Old Peter Stuy-
vesants quarrels may be taken aptly
as the record OF his Governorship is
= rather a strong assertion for the au-
thor 10 make and one not dovetailing
with the word Of the genial Diedrich
Kniclzerbocker.
Frequently" says Jones, 'at the
same time Stuyvesant would be en-
gagged IN disputes with the English and
the Swedes about territorial claims;
with the colonial PATRONS in regard 10
the respective merits Of company and
patroonship privilege; and with his
own people as TO what were the pre-
negatives Of the directors and pr.vi-
leges OF the people. When It was not
al Of these disputes together. 1t was
a combination Of some two or three Of
them" A hard character this. in