The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-04-03


third Governor, was able, but so impe-
rious and despotic THAI he accomplished
little good.
The World In Fcrmcnt.
Never did man have a much harder
task than did Thomas Dongan. when,
on September 20. 1852, he was commis-
stoned Governor of the Duke of York's
province of New York. Europe was
in ferment of religious intolerance.
In France Louis XIV, stopped at moth
ing in his pursuit of the Huguenots; in
England Charles IL, weak, validating
and as lcentious as Louis. gave coun-
tenance to every form of oppression
of Roman Catholics, although his Pro-
testantism was a pretense only, in
Germany the religious bitterness was
little short of civil war, and in Spain
the Inquisition was in the flush of Its
horrors. No one had more influence
with King Charles than his brother,
the Duke of York, who was a Catholic,
and in whose honor New Amsterdam
was named New York when it was cap
tured from the Dutch. The province
was given to the duke to exploit for
his own personal benefit. He was q
far ADLER man than his royal brother.
His impulses were good, but he was
chanEeable, and, like most of the Stu
dTLS, L VI IilS lllliS Ic " d9
tolerant in regard to religion. BY no
means was he fanatic. In state mat
tiers he considered popular bodies dam
gerous. yet he gave more latitude to
popular bodies than any other monarch
Of that age. He did not rule long at
ter Charles died, and those few years
were stormy, but England had worse
Kings and less liberal ones than James
III.
Thomas Dongan was a son of Sir
John Dongan, OF C&stletown. County
Kildare. His uncle, Richard Talbot
was Earl of Tyrconnel and Lieutenant
Governor OF Ireland Dongan was
born in 1854, was trained as a soldier.
and when Charles l. was beheaded in
1919, the Dongans, being Catholics. fed
service OF the French King, and in
1878 was colonel of an Irish regiment.
BY the terms of the treaty of Mime
guen all English subjects serving In
the French army had to return home,
| so Dongan went to London. The Duke
| of York became interested in him and
! had him appointed Lieutenant-Gover-
nor of Tangier After two years SER
! vice there Dongan returned to London
and became an attendant at court and
figure in society. He was forty-eight
pointed Governor OF New York. He
! spoke French, English and Dutch and
| was a student of men and affairs.
Courtly and kindly. he looked and act
ed the aristocrat. No one ever knew
him TO raise his voice or lose his tenn
per.
tumble Of Characters.
The province he was sent to govern
included Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket
and Pemaqud, as Maine was known in
those days, What were the boundaries
/, OF New York no one knew. a charter
had been given to William Penn for
his plantation. and he was using every
art of which he was master to stretch
| the limits as far north. east, south
and west as he could, The charter OF
| Connecticut was vague. So We're the
charters of Sir George Carteret and
Lord Berkeley had to the Jerseys,
| France claimed sovereignty over all
the Adirondack region down to Sara
toga, and all of what now Is Western
New York
Dongan arrived at Nantasket, travel
ed a little through New England and
then crossing to Long Island, proceed +
! Cd to New York by easy stages on
! Long Island he got an idea of what he
| had to contend against. For several
years many of the towns had refused
to pay taxes, had traded only with
Boston and had given hearty encour-
agement to smugglers privateers, and,
1t was limited, pirates, too, The new
Governor was welcomed by tho corr
poration Of New York with q dinner
in the City Hall in Coentics Slip and
! due honor shown 10 him,
! The city had 1000 inhabitants, The
Dutch predominated, bat there was a
great mixture of tongues and a lot of
| turbulence. Religion PLAYED large
part in affairs Of life, and there was
! as much bitterness shown as In the
old country, although many of the in
! habitants had fled across the ocean
to escape religious prosecutions TheS
wanted freedom of religious belief SO
! far as they personally We're concerned
but they did not want 1t for any per-
| sons who did not believe MS they did
! Thcre were Church OF England Free