1652, passed an order for his recall. Just at this juncture, a war with England commenced, and the States General, esteeming it highly important, that their interests in the New World should be protected, by an officer of courage and ability, on the 16th of May, rescinded their resolution of the 27th of April, and Stuyvesant retained his station.

In order to compensate, as far as possible, for thus slighting the wishes of the people, the States General, in 1653, granted to the city of New Amsterdam, a charter of incorporation, making the city officers elective, and giving them jurisdiction, except in capital cases.

During this period the English, against whom Kieft had so often protested, encroached still farther upon the bounds of the Dutch. They established settlements upon the Housatonic river, and at Greenwich, upon the main land; and crossing over to Long Island, organized colony after colony, upon its fertile lands.

In vain Stuyvesant remonstrated; in vain he attempted to remove their settlements by force, or compelled the inhabitants to swear allegiance to Holland. For every remonstrance they had a reply; and against the employment of force they made threats, which the more flourishing state of their colonies, he well knew, would enable them to fulfil. They seemed as much offended at his resistance, as the Dutch were by their aggressions; and frequently, in their controversies, laid claim to the whole territory under the king's patent, or on account of Cabot's discovery.

Wearied with these protracted disputes, Governor Stuyvesant repaired to Hartford, in September, 1650, where the commissioners of the colonies were in session, to adjust their difficulties, by a personal interview. Unsuccessful in this, he left the settlement in the hands of four deputies, two to be chosen by each party; and, secure in the justice of his cause, appointed as his commissioners, two Englishmen, Willet and Baxter.

On the 29th of September, the commissioners reported articles of agreement, relinquishing to the English, half of Long Island, and all the lands on the Connecticut, except those actually occupied by the Dutch, and prohibiting the Connecticut colonists from settling within ten miles of the Hudson.

Hard as were these conditions, Stuyvesant having once agreed to them, determined to maintain them in good faith, and obtained their ratification, from the States General, in February, 1656. The English government never ratified them, nor did the English colonists pay much regard to them, in their subsequent treatment of the Dutch, for in 1655 they seized, (under Cromwell's orders,) the fort at Hartford, with all its effects; thus terminating, by force, the existence of that colony.

In 1653, a charge of conspiracy between Governor Stuyvesant and the Indians, to massacre the inhabitants of all the New England colonies, was falsely preferred, by Connecticut and New Haven; and but for the firm resistance of Massachusetts, to so iniquitous a transaction, they would have proceeded immediately to destroy New Amsterdam. When this foul charge reached the ears of Governor Stuyvesant, it met with an indignant denial; a denial, to the truth of which, his whole life gave the fullest evidence.

In 1659, Massachusetts, pretending that the agreement made at Hartford, did not extend farther than twenty miles from the coast, claimed the land on the Hudson, above the parallel of 42o, and demanded the right of free navigation of that river.

On the southern frontier, too, the Swedes were not idle. To prevent their encroachments, Stuyvesant, in 1654, erected and garrisoned fort Casimir, on the Delaware, at the site of the present town of New Castle. Risingh, the Swedish governor, soon visited it; and, having, under the guise of friendship, obtained admission, treacherously possessed himself of the fort.

The West India company, indignant at this perfidious act, sent orders to Stuyvesant, to reduce the Swedish settlements on the Delaware. Accordingly, in September, 1655, he left New Amsterdam, at the head of a force of nearly 700 men; and on the 16th, Fort Casimir, and on the 25th of September, Fort Christina, the head quarters of the Swedish governor, capitulated, without bloodshed. The terms offered by the Dutch, to the conquered, were so favorable, that most of them remained in the colony.

During Governor Stuyvesant's absence, upon this expedition, a large body of Indians, deeming it a favorable opportunity to plunder, came upon the defenceless plantations, murdered a number of the inhabitants, and robbed several farms. The return of the Governor, however, put an end to their incursions.

Fort Casimir, after its recapture, became the nucleus of a colony, founded by the city of Amsterdam, and called New Amstel. The terms offered to emigrants were so favorable, that it soon became a place of importance; and in 1657, one Alricks, was appointed Lieutenant Governor of that, and the other Dutch possessions, on the Delaware.

In 1656, Governor Stuyvesant, who was a zealous and somewhat bigoted supporter of the Reformed Dutch church, imprisoned some Lutherans, who had come into the colony, and persisted in the observance of their own forms of worship. In 1658, he banished from the colony, a Lutheran preacher, who attempted to establish a church of his own persuasion. At Vlissingen, (now Flushing,) where the doctrines of the Quakers had made some progress, he attempted, but, of course, un

successfully, to eradicate them by fines, imprisonment, and banishment. Their numbers increased with their persecution.

In 1659, Lord Baltimore protested against the settlements on the Delaware, as being within the bounds of his patent. To this protest, Stuyvesant replied on the 6th of October, setting forth the claims of the Dutch to the South, or Delaware river, and its coasts.

In 1663, a body of Indians attacked Fort Esopus, now Kingston, and killed sixty-five persons. Suspecting that several tribes were leagued together in these hostilities against the colonists, Stuyvesant assembled the magistrates of the adjacent towns, to confer on the measures necessary for the defence of the colony. Having recommended such measures as they thought advisable, the magistrates turned their attention to the civil condition of the colony, and urged in forcible language, upon the governor, and the West India Company, the right of the people to a share, in the administration of the government.

In 1653, a convention of delegates from the different towns had met in New Amsterdam, and in similar terms had remonstrated with the Governor and Company, against the abridgement of their rights, as citizens of Holland. But Stuyvesant, true to his military education, regarded such remonstrances, or petitions, with little favor.

On the 30th of March, 1664, Charles II., King of England, regardless of the rights of Holland, granted to his brother James, Duke of Albany and York, the whole of the New Netherlands. The Duke forthwith despatched Colonel Nicolls, with three ships of war, and a sufficient force, to conquer his province. Governor Stuyvesant hearing of their approach, attempted to put the fort and town in a state of defence, but the sturdy burghers, tired of an arbitrary and despotic government, refused to second his exertions. When, therefore, the fleet appeared before the city, and offered favorable terms, they insisted upon a capitulation. Governor Stuyvesant, angry at their want of spirit, tore the letter of Colonel Nicolls in pieces before them; nor could he be induced to sign the articles of capitulation, till the 6th of September, (1664,) two days after they were prepared.

These terms were, perhaps, the most favorable ever offered to a captured city. The inhabitants were permitted to remain in the colony, if they chose, upon taking the oath of allegiance to the English crown; to retain or dispose of their property; to elect their own local magistrates; and to enjoy their own forms of religious worship. The name of the colony and city was changed to New York.

Governor Stuyvesant, soon after the capitulation, went to Holland, but returned to New York in a few years, and spent the remainder of his life there.

THE ENGLISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.

COLONEL NICOLLS having thus acquired the peaceable possession of the New Netherlands, was appointed by the Duke, Governor of the province, in the autumn of 1664.

He appears to have been a man of prudence, moderation, and justice; and though vested with almost absolute authority, used it in promoting the good of the province. During his administration, an effort was made, but unsuccessfully, to determine the boundary between New York and Connecticut.

In January, 1665, a law was passed, requiring the approval and signature of the Governor, to all deeds of lands purchased from the Indians, in order to render the titles valid. This was necessary, as the Indians frequently sold the same tract of land to different individuals.

On the 12th of June, 1666, Governor Nicolls granted a charter to the city of New York.

In 1667, he gave place to Colonel Francis Lovelace, who held the reins of government till 1673, when it was recaptured by the Dutch.

Though somewhat arbitrary, and disposed to burden the people with heavy taxes, the urbanity of his manners, and his desire for the welfare of the colony, caused Col. Lovelace to be regarded as a good governor. In 1670, on the petition of the Dutch inhabitants of the colony, he granted them permission to send to Holland for a minister, and guarantied his support from the public treasury.

On the 7th of August (New Style) Captains Evertsen and Binckes, the commanders of a Dutch squadron, which had been cruising off the American coast, entered the harbor of New York. Governor Lovelace was absent in New England; and the fort and city were under the command of Captain Manning. The fort appears to have been much dilapidated, and scantily supplied with ammunition.

The Dutch squadron demanded its immediate surrender. Captain Manning asked for delay; but the invaders replied that he should have but half an hour. At the end of that period they opened their fire upon the fort, which Captain Manning returned, as well as he was able, until his ammunition was exhausted. The Dutch, meantime, had succeeded in effecting a landing upon the island, in the rear of the fort; and perceiving that further resistance was useless, Captain Manning surrendered, without formal terms of capitulation.*

The above account of the capture of New York differs materially from that of Smith, which has been copied by all succeeding historians; but is fully substantiated by the documents obtained in England, by J. R. Brodhead, Esq. Captain Manning was not, perhaps, a very efficient officer, but he certainly did not merit the epithets of coward and traitor, which have been so freely bestowed upon him. The affidavits of the witnesses in his trial, prove that his punishment [the breaking of his sword over his head, and incapacitation to hold office] was sufficiently severe for his offence.

Fortunately for the city, the Dutch commanders were men of liberal feelings; and mindful of the courteous treatment their countrymen had received in 1664, they granted every privilege of citizens, to the inhabitants.

The name of New York, they changed to New Orange, that of Albany to Williamstadt, and the fort previously called Fort James, to William Hendrick. Captain Anthony Colve was appointed Governor. Connecticut protested against this invasion, but with as little success, as Governors Stuyvesant and Kieft had formerly done, to her usurpations. By the treaty of February 9th, 1674, New York was restored to the English. It was not, however, given up by the Dutch, till the following

autumn.

Some doubts existing, relative to the validity of the Duke of York's patent, both on account of the Dutch occupation, and the fact, that it was wrested from that nation in time of peace, he deemed it advisable to obtain a new patent, from his brother, in 1674.

In the autumn of this year, Major Edmond Andross, afterwards so well known as the tyrant of New England, arrived in New York, and assumed the office of governor.

His administration in New York seems to have been marked by few striking events. He won neither the love nor the hatred of the citizens; and being absent a part of the time, attending to the more refractory New England colonies, he did not manifest, in his own state, the tyranny, which subsequently rendered him so odious.

In 1675, Nicolaus Van Rensselaer, a younger son of the first Patroon-came over to New York, with a recommendation from the Duke of York, whose favor he had obtained, and wished to settle as minister in Albany. Niewenhyt, who was, at the time, pastor of the Reformed Dutch church, in that city, refused to recognize him, on the ground that he had received Episcopal ordination. In the difficulty resulting from this refusal, Andross took sides, though unsuccessfully, with Van Rensselaer.

During Governor Andross' frequent absences, Mr. Brockholst, the Lieutenant Governor, officiated.

In August, 1683, Colonel Dongan succeeded Andross in the government of the colony; and among his first acts, was one, granting permission to the people to elect an assembly, consisting of a council of ten persons, named by the proprietor or his deputy, and a house of representatives, eighteen in number, elected by the freeholders, to aid in the administration of government.

In this year, the ten original counties were organized.

In February, 1685, the Duke of York, on the death of his brother Charles II., ascended the throne, under the title of James II. Among the first acts of this bigoted and short sighted monarch, were his instructions to Dongan, to allow no printing press to be established in the colony.

Colonel Dongan, mindful of the necessity of keeping up friendly relations with the powerful confederation of the Iroquois, visited them in person, and by pres