separated by three thousand odd miles of ocean from the landsmen who controlled the destinies of the service, with the "cable cut" between them as we would say to-day, could contend with this maladministration, and with the exception of his squadron the vessels belonging to the United colonies were soon laid up in our dockyards.

But as the regular vessels gradually went into the scrap-heap, the volunteer service grew in magnitude and importance, until it became the strongest arm of the national defence, numbering at one time nearly forty thousand men. In the latter part of the war Washington, seeing the hopeless condition of the national ships, wrote to a friend in Congress urging him to use his influence to have an Admiral appointed to take charge of the Navy, or, said he, "if this cannot be done would it not be well to give the vessels belonging to the Colonial Government to officers of experience, and let them operate them for the cause as best they could?"

Notwithstanding the scant reference to the work of the sailor in general histories of the Revolution, no one who traces with scientific accuracy those stirring events that made us a nation, can fail to realize the truth of the statement, made by Washington to Comte de Grasse, that "whatever efforts are made by the land armies the navy must have the casting vote in the conflict." Thus he anticipated Admiral Mahan in appreciating the value of sea-power.

The maritime forces of the nation, including the volunteer service, which I think I am warranted in considering a part of the forces, had a remarkable record during the war, as may be seen from the following statistics:

Regular naval vessels of all descriptions
Private armed vessels

Number of guns carried on the Continental vessels

64

1250

1242

18000

The rosters of the private armed ships are not to be had, but if we allow an average of only fifty men for each vessel engaged in the wara small number indeed, for many of them carried over one hundredwe shall have the total of nearly 70,000 men, as the complement of the Navy which is the number given in Allen's "History of the American Navy during the Revolutionary War."

The number of British vessels captured was 797, of which about 600 surrendered as prizes to the private armed ships.

The value of the prizes captured during the war was $24,000,000 three-quarters of which amount was due the volunteers.

As stated by Maclay, the Navy, as a whole, took part in fifty-seven general engagements during the war, of which forty-one were victories for the Americans, or seventy-two per cent of the entire number. This was nearly double the percentage of the Army which met the enemy forty-eight times and won only nineteen victories a score of forty per

cent.

Leaving out the 7000 British soldiers captured at Yorktown, which capture was, as is now generally recognized, largely due to the Navy of France, the American Army captured 15,000 prisoners during the war, while those taken by the Navy of the Colonies numbered 16,000.

Maclay further states that "while not a single Continental cruiser was taken by British privateers, sixteen English cruisers were taken by American privateers, or by private enterprise. Of these five were captured by small boats."

With such a record, the American people of to day may well take pride in the glorious achievements of their sea-forces in the Revolution, as they now take pride in the fact that the Navy of the United States has become the strong right arm of the nation and its first line of defence. And as time goes on our people will continue to realize that "sea-power" is the vital force that is necessary to maintain that supremacy of the country in the galaxy of nations, which it rightfully holds as the "Father of Republican Governments."

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

COLBY M. CHESTER

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK

(This is a conclusion to Mr. Guernsey's article published in the MAGAZINE for February, 1906.)

T

PART III

AFTER THE CONQUEST OF NEW NETHERLAND

HE first Governor of New York was Col. Richard Nicolls as the lieutenant governor of the Duke. The patent of Charles II was dated March 1664. It was entrusted to Nicolls who with three other commissioners consisting of Sir Robert Carr, Sir George Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick were instructed, among other things, to take possession of the Dutch province of New Netherland which was covered by the patent.

These instructions were dated April 23rd, 1664. The commissioners were sent out to settle the affairs of the Provinces, hear cases of appeal, and make reports, &c. The king desired that Governors should hold office from three to five years, and that three persons should be nominated to him for the office, from which he would select one. With reference to religious worship he desired to make no change, unless "they do in truth deny that liberty of conscience to each other which is equally provided for and granted to every one of them (the New England Colonies) by their charter."

In his instructions with regard to Connecticut, after referring to their supposed Presbyterian government, he said; "without in the least restraining them in the free exercise of their religion, but insisting with them as with the rest, that all the rest who dissent from them have the like liberty without undergoing any disadvantage with reference to their civil interest, but that they enjoy the same privileges with the rest."

In April, 1664, Nicolls with four ships and three or four hundred men sailed for New England. They arrived in Boston late in July, and in about a month sailed for New Amsterdam where they arrived at the end of August. Gov. Stuyvesant surrendered the entire Province of New Netherland on 8th September, (27th August, O. S. ) 1664, to Nicolls.

Some of the conditions of the surrender have already been referred to, relating to the liberty of conscience in Divine worship and Church Discipline which were reserved to the Dutch. They were required to take the oath of allegiance the same as in all the other Provinces.

The inhabitants of New Amsterdam were still almost exclusively Dutch. The city contained some French and some Spanish, but no English families. They did not like the Dutch as neighbors and would not live among them. Thirty years after the surrender we have a report to the Lords of Trade, in 1695, that there were only forty English families in New York city, and many more French.

Col. Nicolls was the acting Deputy Governor of the new province which had been surrendered by the Dutch. The most flourishing part of it was on Long Island where the English settlements had been established. The upper Hudson and the Delaware settlements were thoroughly Dutch, so that the change of government did not affect them. The English on Long Island wished a more definite government modeled after the other colonies. They induced Nicolls to call a convention to submit to the representatives of the people a new form of local government. This convention was called to meet at Hempstead Long Island, in February, 1665. Only the English towns in the entire new province were notified of this convention. There were two delegates allowed from each of the towns on Long Island and two from Westchester. At this convention the code of laws afterwards known as the "Duke's Laws" was unanimously adopted, and on the first day of March, 1665, these were promulgated from Hempstead. Though they nominally applied to all the new province, it was on Long Island and in Westchester that they were made to apply to the daily life of the inhabitants. These superseded the "Blue Laws" of New Haven and Connecticut on Long Island and in Westchester, which up to that time had prevailed there.

Among the other reservations of the Dutch it was agreed "That all inferior civil officers and magistrates, shall continue as they now are, (if they please) till the customary time of new Elections, and then new ones to be chosen by themselves, provided that such new chosen Magistrates shall take the oath of Allegiance to His Majesty of England, before they enter upon their office."

"The town of Manhattans shall choose Deputyes, and those Deputyes shall have free voices in all Public affairs, as much as any other Deputyes."

The four Commissioners reported to the King on May 27th, 1665 of the New England Colonies and New York, that "In these colonies they freely consent that all administration of justice shall be in the King's name; that all householders shall take the oath of allegiance; that church membership shall not be considered in making freemen; that all persons of civil lives shall have liberty of conscience, so that they deny not their shares of maintenance to the public ministers fairly chosen by plurality of votes."

The Duke's laws were compiled from several codes that were then in force in some of the New England Colonies, and were modifications of them in a more or less degree. Among them relating to church and religion we find the following provisions:

"If any person within this government shall by direct exprest, impious or presumptious ways, deny the true God and his attributes, he shall be put to death."*

No person shall be molested or fined or imprisoned for differing in judgment in matters of religion, who shall profess Christianity.

To prevent scandalous and ignorant pretenders to the ministry from intruding themselves as teachers: No minister shall be admitted to officiate within the government but such as shall produce testimonials to the governor that he hath received ordination either from some Protestant bishop or minister within some part of his Majesties' dominions, or the dominions of any foreign prince of the Reformed Religion, upon which testimony the Governor shall induce the said minister into the parish.

No Indian whatsoever shall at any time be suffered to pow-wow or perform outward worship to the devil in any town within this government."

Punishments for the violation of these laws were left to the discretion of the Court, but they must not be contrary to the known laws

*It was declared that in each parish a church should be built in the most convenient part thereof, to hold two hundred persons, at public expense. Sundays are not to be profaned by travellers, labourers, or vicious persons.