Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-17

the provincial and colonial life of this
United States, but comparatively few
of the present day population of this
early capital of New Jersey, or, as
it was called then, Nova caesarea,
know anything definite about it. In
an effort to furnish information
which it is believed will prove in
teresting and at the same time sat-
isfy what is recognized as a well de-
fined craving for a knowledge OF
the important facts in the history of
their own city on the part of the
school children of Perth Amboy,
The Evening News today begins the
F, publication of articles upon the his
tory of our own town. There will
be no attempt at chronological order
in the series, but from time to time
various subjects of historic interest
will be presented to readers.
A good way to acquire a knowledge
of the story of Perth, or Ompoge,
/ Amboy Point or plain Amboy, to list
some of the names by which this
particular part of New Jersey has
been known, is to note the anniver-
saries of important events and study
the links connecting them with the
development of the community or
Of the state, fhr many will be found
of peculiar interest to Perth Amboy
and of equal interest to the whole
/ state.-
Just a week ago, on November 10,
it might have been observed, for in
stance. that it was 220 years to the
day since the provincial legislature
created when Queen Anne took back,
as a gift from the Proprietors of the
Ilv4fHfrf. aTAYrra k14 ka11r
ing the people of the Jerseys in
America held its first session and
met here in Perth Amboy. The
members of the body had been nam
ed by Lord cornbury, the royal gov
ernor and the list included two
from Perth Amboy, Thomas Gordon
and Miles Forster. 1t was Thomas
Gordon who played such a very
prominent part in the affairs of the
province. and of this city and st.
Peters church, and whose grave was,
o short time ago, marked by a bronze
tablet through the efforts of the
Perth Amboy Caledonian club. Miles
Forster had a lively career in Bos-
ton before coming to Perth Amboy
and had been much concerned in
the New England Quaker persecu-
tions. Locally, perhaps his most
conspicuous claim to fame rests upon
the fact that he built the first boat
ever constructed in a port afterwards
to be famed for its output of mer-
camille vessels.
Casual students of New Jersey his
tory have often been confused by the
remuneration on the part of the
Proprietors, of the right to govern
the people of the province. They do
not recognize that from the begin
ming, the Proprietors not only owned
the land but also ruled, by right
given them by the crown, the in
ha bitants thereof. A broadside Cor
poster) was issued in 1884 by the
king setting forth this fact, about
which there evidently was confusion
or debate even then, and Sunderland
prime minister, made it very clear
that there was no authority and no
right to govern except as exercised
by the Proprietors.
When, eighteen years later. these
Proprietors decided that ruling Jer-
seymen was too irksome and gave
back their rights along that line to
the queen, they did not in any way
lose their title Il the lands.
To thousands of acres of land in
| New Jersey, the present day success
sors of those same Proprietors still
have title. The boards validity as
a body was challenged years ago and
the highest courts of the nation
| affirmed its claim to local existence
and today the organization which
has it's office in the> little structure
Just north OF City hall, is the Oldest
| real estate concern in all the United
States, for it has had its charter al
most a century longer than the ma
ton has endured.
In the address which Lord Corn
bury made to the infant House of
Representatives, he imposed a re-
strictlon upon the class of the popu-
lation which has a peculiar interest
at this time. when a large, power
| the savings bank; it has grown up
with the city. so to speak, and 1t
really owes the city a great deal as
| the bank has prospered here i'm
mensely. Whatever form the new
building takes, however, it is cer-
tain to be a credit to the city, and
the people await its erection with
a great deal of interest.