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Nicholson, his lieutenant and apt tool of tyranny in New York, fled at once. Captain Leisler, supported by the
democracy but bitterly opposed by the aristocracy, thereupon administered affairs very prudently until the
arrival of Governor Sloughter (slaw-ter) who arrested him on the absurd charge of treason. Sloughter was
unwilling to execute him, but Leisler's enemies, at a dinner party, made the governor drunk, obtained his
signature, and before he became sober enough to repent, Leisler was no more.
[Footnote: For many years the Atlantic Ocean was infested by pirates. A little after the events narrated above,
William Kidd, a New York shipmaster, was sent out to cruise against these sea-robbers. He turned pirate
himself and became the most noted of them all. Returning from his cruise, he was at length captured while
boldly walking in the streets of Boston. He was carried to England, tried, and hung. His name and deeds have
been woven into popular romance, and the song  My name is Captain Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed, is well
known. He is believed to have buried his ill-gotten riches on the coast of Long Island or the banks of the
Hudson, and these localities have been oftentimes searched by credulous persons seeking for Kidd's treasure.]
From this time till the Revolution, the struggles of the people with the royal governors for their rights,
developed the spirit of liberty and paved the way for that eventful crisis.
EPOCH III. 34
 A Brief History of the United States
* * * * *
NEW JERSEY.
SETTLEMENT. The present State of New Jersey was embraced in the territory of New Netherland, and the
Dutch made settlements at several places near New York. Soon after New Netherland passed into the hands
of the Duke of York, he gave the land between the Hudson and the Delaware to Lord Berkeley and Sir
George Carteret. In 1664, a company from Long Island and New England settled at Elizabethtown, which
they named after Carteret's wife. This was the first permanent English settlement in the State.
[Footnote: This tract was called New Jersey in honor of Carteret, who had been governor of Jersey island in
the English Channel.]
EAST AND WEST JERSEY. Lord Berkeley sold his share to some English Quakers. This part was
called West Jersey. A company of Quakers soon settled at Burlington. Others followed, and thus West Jersey
became a Quaker colony. Sir George Carteret's portion was called East Jersey. After his death it was sold to
William Penn and eleven other Quakers.
[Footnote: It was settled, however, largely by Puritans and Scotch Presbyterians. The latter having refused to
accept the English form of religion, had been bitterly persecuted. Fleming their native country they found an
asylum in this favored land.]
NEW JERSEY UNITED. Constant disputes arose out of the land titles. Among so many proprietors the
tenants hardly knew from whom to obtain their titles for land. The proprietors finally (1702) surrendered their
rights of government to the English crown, and the whole of New Jersey was united with New York under
one governor, but with a separate assembly. Thirty-six years after, at the earnest request of the people, New
Jersey was set apart as a distinct royal province.
PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE.
SETTLEMENT. The first permanent settlement in Delaware was made (1638) by the Swedes, on a tract
which they called New Sweden, lying near Wilmington. They also made the first settlement in Pennsylvania,
a few miles below Philadelphia. The Dutch subsequently conquered these settlements, but they continued to
prosper long after the Swedish and Dutch rule had yielded to the constantly growing English power.
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was a celebrated English Quaker, He obtained from Charles II. a
grant of the land lying west of the Delaware.
[Footnote: The Quakers, avoiding unmeaning forms, aim to lead purely spiritual lives. Their usual worship is
conducted in solemn silence, each soul for itself. They take no oath, make no compliments, remove not the
hat to king or ruler, and  thee and  thou both friend and foe. Every day is to them a holy day, and the
Sabbath simply a day of rest. We can readily see how this must have scandalized the Puritans. William Penn
became a Quaker while in college at Oxford. Refusing to wear the customary student's surplice, he with
others violently assaulted some fellow-students and stripped them of their robes. For this he was expelled.
His father would not allow him to return home. Afterward relenting, he sent him to Paris, Cork, and other
cities, to soften his Quaker peculiarities. After several unhappy quarrels, his father proposed to overlook all
else if he would only consent to doff his hat to the king, the Duke of York, and himself. Penn still refusing, he [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]