Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-10-10
Was Born i'm Celtrideges County
Kildare, and Died Earl of
Limerick.
Inaugurated System That Found
Expression I'm Declaration
of Independence.
BROAD and INTELLIGENT MIND
BY James A. Rooney, LII. d.

Gently DeeH SHllSHleHlHS OuI anu
Catholic friends who, on the plat
form and in what we might des-
ignate as the yellows of the
Protestant press, assert that we
Catholics are only bad citizens, by
calling attention to a list of repre-
sentative Americans of our faith
who seem to be fairly respectable
citizens, including many statemen,
Judges and Governors, 1t is just pos
sible that these anti-Catholic orators
may never have heard of another
Governor who was a good Catholic
and who was in fact the first Cath
olic Governor of the great Empire
State of New York.
He was an Irishman named
Thomas Dongan, and If he did
nothing else than to call together,
on October IA, 1888, the first repre-
sentative assembly of the Province
of New York, made up of twenty
eight representatives, in Fort James,
which occupied the site of the pres
ent Custom House, this act of his
alone and the resulting legislation
would have been sufficient to stamp
him as it's presiding officer, as a
man OF broad and intelligent mind,
of great executive ability and of far
seeing statesmanship, who inaugur-
ated system of constitutional,
popular government, whose enact
ments are regarded by all historians
as the Magma Charta of our Ameri-
can liberty that found expression
later in the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.
BY appointment of the Duke of
York, with whom he had served in
the wars in Flanders, he assumed
the office of Governor of the Prov
ince of New York in 1852, as the
successor of the execrated and
sychophantic Andres, at a period
when, through the autocratic action
of the English Government and it's
utter disregard for popular rights,
the Province was bankrupt and ripe
for sedition and insurrection. Where
as Andres exerted all his influence
to fasten the English proprietary
government on the Province and to
discourage all attempts of any as
sembly of the people. Dongan had
not been in office a year when he
body. During a session of three
weeks this assembly adopted fifteen
enactments, the most far-reaching
and subversive of the then system of
government being an act entitled the
Charter of Liberties.
Its opening sentence, after the
preamble, provided: THAT the
supreme legislative authority under
His Majesty and Royal Highness the
Duke of York, the lord proprietor of
said province, shall forever be and
reside in a Governor, Council and
the people met in general assembly"
Truly 1t was well named the Charter
of Liberties, for in 1t, for the first
time in our colonial history, are
found the words: 1.-The people met in
general assembly" This was fol-
lowed by another act equally impor-
tant: THAT the exerise of the chief
magistracy and the administration OF
the government shall be in the Gov
ernor. assisted by Council"
Here We have expressed for the
first time on the American con-
tinent, by a popular assembly. pre-
sided over by Catholic Governor,
the principle of representative,
popular government in which the
people had part, and the separation
of the functions of the executive
and the legislative branches.
And here is another of the acts
adopted at the instance of this
Catholic Governor: "That no tax.
aid, custom, loan or assessment shall
be levied in this Province except by
act of the Governor, Council and
representatives OF the people In gem
eral assembly met and assembled"
Talk about the Boston tea party of
1878. but here we have the principle
of mo taxation without representa-
tion" asserted by New York in 1858,
or ninety years before.
Just one other enactment and the
final one that brought the Charter
of Liberties TO a fitting close; 'That
no person protesting faith in God by
Jesus Christ shall at any time be
any ways molested, punished. dis
quieted or called in question for any
difference OF opinion In matters OF
religious concernment, who do not
actually disturb the civil peace OF
the Province; but that all and every
such person or persons may, from
time to time, and at all times freely
have and fully enjoy his or their
judgments or consciences. In matters
OF religion throughout this Prov
ince."
Thomas Dongan was born In Gel
bridge. County Kildare, Ireland. In
1894. the youngest son OF Sir John
pongan, baronet, and the nephew OF
Richard Dongan. Earl OF Tyrconnel
and Lieutenant Governor Of Ireland.
After serving with the Duke OF York
under Turenne In Flanders he was
appointed Lieutenant Governr of
TanRiers In Morocco. on the strait
Of Gibraltar. and he was next ap-