STATE OF NEW-YORK. No. 42. IN SENATE, February 3, 1844* REPORT Of the Select Committee, on so much of the Gover- nor's Message as relates to the Colonial History of the State. Mr. Lawrence, from the select committee, to which was referred that portion of the Governor's message which relates to our colonial history has had the same under consideration, and asks leave to present the following REPORT: The committee find that a law was passed on the 2d day of May, 1839, authorizing the Governor and Senate to appoint an agent to visit England, Holland and France, for the purpose of £< procuring the originals, or copies of all such documents and papers in the archives and offices of those governments, relating to, or in any way affecting the colonial history of our State." Four thousand' dollars were at the same time appropriated for de- fraying the expenses of the agency. J. R. Broadhead, Esq., was subsequently appointed and entered upon the duties of this agency. On the 11th of April, 1842, the further sum of three thousand dollars was appropriated by law for the purpose of prosecuting the business of this agency. [Senate No. 42.] 1 (5t.) 2 [Senate It was then hoped that this appropriation would bring this con- cern to a close; but such was not the fact. The committee find that on the 13th day of April, 1843, a further appropriation of $5,000 was made by the Legislature, to M defray the expenses attendant upon this agency," making in all, twelve thousand dollars, which have been drawn from the treasury. The committee have also been advised that a further appropriation will be necessary to complete the work of this agent, who is still abroad pursuing his researches among the rubbish of European manu- scripts. Under these circumstances, the committee have felt it their duty to examine very minutely into the affair of this agency, which has drawn so liberally upon the public treasury, and whose wants seem not yet fully satisfied. The committee find deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, sixteen volumes of manuscripts, procured in Holland by Mr. Broad- head. They are principally written in the language of that country, interspersed, however, with French. These volumes contain 4,722 pages of matter, such as it is. A very large proportion of these pages are blank paper. In many cases all the written matter on the page would not make more than a square of printed matter in the columns of a newspa- per; other pages are half occupied, and others filled. These volumes are well bound in calf; the workmanship of which is a credit to the mechanical genius of the country from whence they came. Your committee have examined, with some care, and w ith the aid of an interpreter, these Dutch manuscripts, and they very much regret to be compelled to say that they find in them a large propor- tion of materials perfectly useless to this country or any other. The committee have caused several chapters to be translated into English, which they will give as specimens of the importance of at least a very large proportion of these volumes. No. 42.] 3 Occasionally may be found a document which appears to be of some value as illustrative of our early history: but even many of these have long since been well known and understood from the dif- ferent histories of our country. For instance, a long and particular description of the natives, as they appeared when our Dutch forefathers first landed at New-York. On looking over the first volume, the committee find eighteen chapters devoted to a Capt. Dale, who, it seems, was a Dutch captain in the service of the States General, and who, at the request of the English monarch, was permitted to go to Virginia in the English service for a certain period, and providing that his pay should cease during his absence. What connection these eighteen manuscripts have with our a Col- lonial History," the committee have not been able to discover. Their frivolous character ought to have excluded them, had they been connected with our history, as the Senate will see from the spe- cimens here presented. On page 4, vol. I, may be found the following: " In reference to the petition of Capt. Thomas Dale, it is Resolved, That the petitioner be discharged from his office: that his account shall be paid, and also that his representations concerning the eight soldiers, who, since his absence, have been sick, shall be considered with indulgence." — [Copy of the Register of resolutions of the States General, remaining in the Royal Archives at the Hague, dated De- cember 8, 1603." On the 4th page, volume I: — u By this register it is clearly evi- dent that Thomas Dale and Thomas Gates, on the 15th November, 1606, were together in garrison in the city of Oudewater, being a small city in the south of Holland, situated on the river Yssel." — From the original Register in the Lias, entitled Events of Nov. and Dec, 1606, remaining in the Royal Archives at the Hague, dated Nov. 15, 1606." The fact that these two Dutch officers were in garrison together in a small city in South Holland in 1606, must be an important matter to this country certainly. 4 [Senate On the next page, we find a further account of Capt. Gates, as follows: " In reference to the petition of Thomas Gates, captain of a company of English soldiers, he being commissioned by the king of Great Britain to serve with his company, and with three other offi- cers in Virginia, Resolved, That permission be hereby given to the petitioner to absent himself from his present duty for the space of one year, on condition that he substitute in his place other good offi- cers and soldiers with which this government are satisfied." — [Copy of the Register of resolutions of the States General, remaining in the Royal Archives at the Hague, dated April 24, 1608. On the 155th, page of volume I, may be found the following: u High and Mighty Lords I at the Hague: " Yesterday arrived the vessel the ' Arms of Amsterdam:' she left New-Netherlands on the 23d of Sept. from the river Mauritius, bringing advices that our people there live wisely and peacefully. Their wives also bear children, and they have bought the island of Manhattan from the savages for the sum of sixty guilders. They have already sowed grain in the middle of May and gathered it in the middle of the month of August, and the samples I send you are taken from the harvest of wheat, rye, barley, oats, buck-wheat, canary seed, beans and flax. " The cargo of the above mentioned vessel consists of 7,246 beaver skins; 850 otter skins; 34 little rat skins; a great many oak caulkins and nut trees. "P. SCHAGEN. u Amsterdam, Nov. 5, 1626." — [Copy of the original remaining in the Royal Archives at the Hague? 1 This document no doubt was interesting to the honest denizens of Holland, whose sons and daughters had emigrated to the new coun- try. It brought them the important intelligence that children could be raised in the new world, and that the earth produced abundance to sustain them. They must have been gratified also to know that their descendants in the New-World w T ere disposed to obey the command of the great law T giver, when he said " be fruitful and multiply and replenish the * No. 42.] 5 earth;" and it may perhaps be well enough to perpetuate this infor- mation in our archives for the benefit of future generations. The Xth. volume contains some documents which relate to the surrender of the New-Netherlands to the English; but very little, however, but what is perfectly familiar to every school boy. The residue is of a similar character with the great mass of these volumes. A specimen of this branch of the records will be here given from volume 13, page 132: £C Letter of the Commissioner Bourse at Vlissengen to the High and Mighty Lords at the Hague: " To-day Commander Cruyssen has arrived here with the troops under his command, from whom we learn that Com- mander Cruyssen, after the battle with the French against the English under the command of Nevis, sailed for Virginia, where he attacked, in the river James, twenty-six English vessels, most of which were fully laden, amongst which was one royal ship of forty- six guns; that he had conquered them all without the escape of one; but not being able to man them all he destroyed most of them be- setting fire to them, or by sinking them, carrying with him eleven vessels loaded with Virginia tobacco; in consequence of which they can, in England, not expect any squadron from Virginia, as it has been taken and destroyed, or brought well into Zealand. " Vlissingen, 23d August, 1667." Resolution of the States General on the foregoing letter. After reciting the said letter, it says: "After deliberation, it was Resolved, That the Admiralty in Zealand shall be ordered to send, in the speediest manner, to the high and mighty lords, a detailed re- port of the capture of the said vssels; also a list of the vessels and their cargoes laden in them, by the above mentioned Commander Cruyssen." On the next page an order is entered which reads thus: " Now by these presents we strongly enjoin upon you to send to us in the most speedy manner, a detailed report of the said capture; also a particular list of the vessels and cargoes taken in by comman- der Cruyssen. — Hague, 30M. August , 1667." 6 [Senate Volume XV, page 11. The contents of the page are as follows: " Upon the petition of the directors of the colony in New Nether- lands, for a subsidy of ten thousand guilders for the promotion of that colony ; it is resolved that ten thousand guilders shall be paid to her out of the Orphan Cass, as formerly has been done. — Dated \bth January, 1657." Many pages in this volume are filled with similar extracts, and about this length. The committee find transcribed into one of these vo- lumes, a long account occupying many pages, which appears to be nothing more than monthly payments to the officers and others at- tached to the colony. In vol. XV, page 117, is the following document: " The Burgomasters and Governors of the city of Amsterdam, au- thorize by this, the directors of the Exchange Bank to pay to Mr. Johan Berkel, receiver-general of Holland, the sum of 50,000 guild- ers, for the support of the suppressed Waldenses." 118th page is the following extract: u The Burgomasters and Governors of Amsterdam authorize by this, the directors of the Exchange Bank of this city, to pay Mr. Johan Berkel, receiver-general of Holland and West Friesland, the sum of 17,566 guilders for the use of the suppressed Waldenses. — Dated Mh April, 1659. These documents show a national sympathy manifested in a most satisfactory manner, for the persecuted and distressed Waldenses, and is certainly worthy of all praise. But has not this been well known for ages? And what has this to do with our Colonial History ? The committee w T ill close these selections with a single additional document. Vol. I, page 159. " The last letters from New Netherlands, bring a report that the people are menaced there by the English from New Plymouth, (not- withstanding all the kindness our people have shown them); they threaten to drive them away and molest them in their possessions and little colony. Therefore they request an assistance of 40 soldiers, No. 42.J 7 but would be glad to settle their troubles in a friendly manner. — Da- ted Nov. 16, 1627. This relates to New Netherlands, but is there any thing new dis- closed: and we might repeat the inquiry at the close of a large share of these documents, which relate to the colony. If the object was, in creating this agency, to obtain specimens of the compositions of those days, perhaps that object has been attained. But such specimens already existed in our own archives, and some of these very documents which have been procured at an enormous price, have for ages slumbered upon our own shelves, as the commit- tee are informed. To what extent this is the fact, the committee have not had the time or disposition to ascertain for a certainty. As specimens of ancient composition, certainly they can have no preference over those which were at the same time made on this side the Atlantic. As a collection of documents, designed to perpetuate and preserve valuable information, for the benefit of future generations, the com- mittee must say that they are of trifling value, compared with the enormous price at which they have been procured. The committee have been kindly furnished with a letter from Mr. Broadhead, dated at Paris, Dec. 1, 1843, by his excellency the Go- vernor, which exhibits the present state and future wants of the agency. He states that the documents from France, will consist of about 20 volumes of the size of the u Holland documents," now in the Secretary's office. He says also that the transcribing of documents selected in England is going on, and thinks they will amount to 50 volumes, making in all from the three countries 86 volumes, and con- siders them all together an "invaluable" collection of u historical memorials He expresses the hope that he shall be able to return to the United States, with this "invaluable" literary treasure, in the course of the coming spring. 8 f Senate He thinks the appropriation of $5,000 made last, will not be suf- ficient to close the expense of copying, &c. in Europe, and estimates the deficiency at $500, which he proposes to advance, and wait his return to this country for a final settlement of his accounts. He says this estimate does not include the cost of insuring the docu- ments, for shipment to America, binding, and arranging them into volumes, &c. &c. In closing this letter he says: "It will be necessary that these documents should be most care- fully arranged, in proper chronological order, indexed and bound into volumes." This he says " will be a work requiring time and the greatest care and accuracy in its execution," and suggests "whether it would not be expedient that a proper provision be forthwith made, in order that there may be no unnecessary delay, in putting these important papers in a state of permanent and general usefulness." The public will doubtless be glad to learn how this matter stands in a financial point of view.^ The amount of appropriations already made is $12,000. Defici- ency of expenses in Europe, as estimated by the agent, $500. The committee have no means of ascertaining what it will cost to finish the work, as described by the agent; but, as he says it must be a work of time and immense labor, to arrange and prepare for binding this mass of manuscripts, sufficient for 70 volumes, and write out separate indexes for every volume,' catalogues, binding, &c, if we get off with an additional sum of $2,000, it will be quite as well as the committee expect. This will make in all, $14,500; and if the estimate of the agent for his own claims, should be found too low, which is quite usual in such cases, it might be put down in round numbers, at $15,000; which, divided by S6, the number of volumes, will give $174.42 as the cost per volume for this work. Now when this is considered, in connection with the fact that all the matter contained in these 86 volumes, if printed on the same sized paper, would not fill over 20 volumes (if the Holland documents are a fair sample), and that a large proportion of these are frivolous or I No. 42.] 9 worthless matter, we must say with Franklin, that this is paying rather " dear for the whistle." The committee indulge the hope, that the documents from France and England will be found more valuable.. If it should prove other- wise, the State will receive a very trifling equivalent for this outlay of the public funds; it will be in time to speak of their merits when they shall be examined; the committee have no wish to pre- judge this part of the subject matter; this whole project ought perhaps to be regarded with some degree of indulgence, on account of the peculiar state of the times in which it originated. A u new impulse" had spread itself over the State. We were then just emerging from our " shell;" regaining u ra?ik and caste" by fol- lowing in the wake of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Mississippi and other States, who were held up to us as models worthy of imitation; our means were supposed to be inexhaustible. It was said that we could safely contract a debt of from 40 to $50,000,000. A ship canal was talked of, from the Hudson to the great lakes; a splendid enlarge- ment substituted, to cost from 20 to $30,000,000. Works of inter- nal improvement were planned and recommended, which would re- quire an outlay of from 150 to $200,000,000; every section of the State expected a canal or rail-road; real and personal estate became inflated with a fictitious value; cities and villages sprung up like Jonah's gourd; new plans and schemes were devised for the pur- pose of " developing our resources." Inexhaustible riches were sup- posed to be concealed in our forests and in our fields; mineralogists, botanists, geologists, &c. &c, were paid enormous salaries, to scour our fields and our woods for this noble purpose; the ingenuity of the most ingenious was put in requisition, to find out and bring for- ward new projects to engulph the funds of the State; a perfect mania seemed to have spread over the country, affecting alike the Govern- ment and the governed, in those days. • ' In looking back upon the past, we are surprised and astonished at the wild and visionary projects, which were then found floating in the imagination of those, to whom the people were accustomed to look for safe and prudent counsel. Nothing since the days of John Law, and his celebrated Mississippi scheme in France, in the commencement of the 17th century, has [Senate No. 42.] 2 10 [Senate equalled this bubble, which was blown to its utmost capacity in 1839 and 1840, and which burst with such tremendous effect in 1841. Under such a state of things, it is not surprising that many pro" jects should have been undertaken, which were totally useless; not only useless but ruinous. It was considered sound and discreet legislation in those days, to purchase a canal upon which the owners were losing §4,000 per annum, and promise to pay for the same, §50,000 in 5 per cent, stock, haying ten years to run; thus drawing from the pockets of the people s75,000, for a work upon which we are losing annually over §4,000, including the interest. Numerous instances might be cited of a similar character, which illustrate the character of the legislation of those days; but this must suffice. This agency of which your committee are treating, had its origin in those halcyon days; and will, as is believed, end about as usefully to the State, as others of the same brotherhood. The committee wish here to be distinctly understood. They do not charge this extraordinary state of things, exclusively to any party. It was a peculiarity of the times, and all parties, to a greater or less extent, participated in it. The precise ratio chargeable to each, is a question which would be •improper to be discussed, in a document like this. We leave that to be settled by the politician. But we conceive it a fit subject to al- lude to, and to be held up and exposed to the public, as a beacon to warn us against running the ship of State upon the same breakers again. In this point of view, it may be useful to recur to it, especially when we find the propriety of returning to this system boldly advo- cated, and the §700,000,000 of private property in our State, con- sidered and treated as a fund which may be drawn upon, to carry out these splendid schemes. It is to be hoped that we shall profit by the past, and learn wisdom from experience, even if it be at a dear rate. No. 42.] 11 It appears from the communication of Mr. Broadhead, already alluded to, that he does not expect any further appropriation the present session, for his own services. And inasmuch as there is an uncertainty whether the manuscripts in his possession, and which are yet to be transcribed, will reach this country much before the next session of the Legislature, the com- mittee think the whole subject had better rest until then. The collections from France and England, can then be examined by an appropriate committee, and the proper and necessary action can then be had, in relation to the final closing up of this concern. The committee recommend the adoption of the following resolu- tion: Resolved, That no action is necessary on this subject at the pre- sent session of the Legislature. Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library lEx ICtbrtfi SEYMOUR DURST When you leave, please leave this hook Because it has been said " Ever thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned book."