Colden represented an obstruction to Cosby's land acquisition, and the governor moved to remove Colden from office. Daniel Horsmanden, a young scheming lawyer, whom Cosby had appointed to the Council much to the dismay of several councilors, maintained a friendly relationship with Colden, in part for personal gains of land. In a letter to Colden, dated November 19, 1734, Horsmanden informed his friend:
Our friend Mathews yesterday Surprized me with an Accot That on Saturday Evening last You were suspended from your Office of Survey Genll. If it be tru, ’twas done in Such privacy, that I know not one Syllable of it.
Lewis Morris, who had been deposed from his position as chief justice by Governor Cosby, wrote to the Marquis of Lothian in defense of Colden.18 Lewis pointed out that the duty of the surveyor general was not only to survey lands granted by the Crown and insure that the grantees do not overstep their privilege but also to prevent the governors from granting land in a manner other than the Crown intended. Thus the surveyor general, in effect, was to restrain a governor in his pursuit of personal gain.
In the letter, Morris continued that it was probably Colden's restraint of Cosby's aggrandizement of land that rendered Colden an inimical personality for the governor rather than the three purported criticisms, which had circulated from the governor's camp. The first of the governor's criticisms indicated that Colden openly stated that the governor's bills had been protested openly by Colden. This never occurred. The second claimed that Colden had revealed secrets of the Council. This was also untrue. The third proposed that Colden was a Jacobite. This was refuted by the previously referred to action of Colden at Kelso in 1715 (see p. 16). As it turned out, Colden was never suspended, and maintained his position throughout Cosby's governorship and for years thereafter.
In his role as surveyor general, Colden's expertise was invoked to establish the boundaries between adjacent colonies. Although the boundary between Connecticut and New York was established in 1664, it remained uncontested until 1684. At that time, Connecticut began to dispute the jurisdiction of several towns within the territory concerning jurisdiction. A tentative agreement between the two colonies was reached in 1725.19 Colden had been an active participant on that occasion. The more recent focal point of disagreement, concerning the rights of the citizens of Richfield, was settled and articles of agreement were signed on May 18, 1732.20 In 1737, Colden served on the commission for settling the boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire.21 In 1741, also Colden served on the commission to define the boundary between Massachusetts and Rhode Island.22
With Governor Cosby's arrival, Colden's political contributions were significantly minimized. Colden's deliberate absence from the Council meetings was a factor. He revealed his sentiments regarding his political status in a letter to his Aunt Elizabeth Hill in January 1734.
It is too true what you hear of the uneasiness the people of this province are under at this time. There is a Complaint gone home against the Governor & probably by next spring it will be known what effect it is like to have As to my part I cannot value my self upon any great share in the Governour's friendship & for that reason I cannot place any security in it but it is said to be some comfort to have many under the same misfortune. However the distance I am at from New York frees me from a good deal of uneasiness that could not be avoided were I there at this time. My endeavor shall be to maintain the Character of an honest man & while I do that I hope never to forfeit your esteem & love It will be the greatest support & comfort to me under what ever misfortunes may be fall me I have taken all the measures which I think prudent to guard against any attempt that may be made & I hope they will be successful but they will create me some experience.23
Although a friend of the governor suggested that it was desirable for the governor to “create an intimate Friendship with you [Colden], because I knew he had much to expect from the Friendship of Man, with your Knowledge of the Nature of the Government, and of the Temper, and different Inclinations of the People he was to govern.”24 This never came to pass.
Colden was a peripheral participant in what was arguably the most significant and most referred to legal trial and decision in the history of British Colonial America. The trial of John Peter Zenger can be traced back to the arrival of Governor Cosby. On his arrival at New York, Cosby disputed the allocation of funds for the salary of Rip Van Dam, the chairman of the Council and acting governor after Montgomerie's death. To resolve the argument to his advantage, Cosby established a chancery court. Chief Justice Lewis Morris objected, based on the fact that the jurisdiction for such a court had expired and that there had been no act by either the Parliament or the Assembly to empower such a court. Governor Cosby responded by dismissing Morris from the position of chief justice and appointing James Delancey to the post. Lewis Morris and his son, Lewis, Jr., then ran for seats representing Westchester County in the New York Assembly and won.
They spearheaded the establishment the New-York Weekly Journal, a newspaper to express views in opposition to those of Cosby and his confidants, which appeared in the city's only existing periodical, William Bradford's Gazette. The New-York Weekly Journal was edited by James Alexander, Colden's close friend. It emphasized praise for Lewis Morris and criticism of Governor Cosby and his policies. In addition to accusing the governor of an assortment of misconducts, the editorial material accused his government of illegal elections and permitting the French navy to explore New York harbor.
On November 2, 1734, Colden was a member of a privy council that met at Fort George, New York, and ordered that certain issues of the New-York Weekly Journal were to be burned “by the common hangman or whipper, near the pillory in this city, on Wednesday the 6th….”25 The governor declared the journal to be scandalous, and endorsed the order for the papers to be burned. Zenger was arrested for seditious libel on November 17, 1734. James Alexander and William Smith, who were lawyers within the opposition to the governor, were excluded from the court by the chief justice. As the trial was to begin in July 1735, the supporters of the printer were pessimistic about the outcome.
A Philadelphia lawyer named Andrew Hamilton was engaged by the defense. He established that a jury rather than the chief justice would decide if the published statements were true or false, and, if true they should not be considered libelous. The jury was convinced that the newspaper's statements were true and returned a verdict of “not guilty.” The citizens of the city celebrated and Hamilton was presented with “the freedom of the city in a gold box on which were inscribed…Demersae leges—time facta libertas—haec tandem emergunt”26 (the laws being submerged—and liberty made fearful—these emerge at last). The judgment established the precedent for freedom of the press in America by declaring that a printed defamatory statement, which is proved to be true, is not libelous.
Despite Colden's endorsement of the burning of issues of the New York Weekly Post, he remained more closely allied with Lewis Morris, James Alexander, and the group that favored the landowners rather than the merchants and Governor Cosby. But, Colden's physical absence from the eye of political storms allowed him to maintain a somewhat detached appearance rather than that of the champion of a cause.
Colden was made aware of Governor Cosby's rapidly advancing illness toward the end of 1735.27 The governor died on March 10, 1736, of what was likely tuberculosis. The populace was exultant while the politicians had mixed feelings about his successor.28 Traditionally, Rip Van Dam, as senior councilor, would have become the acting governor. But, because Van Dam was suspended from the Council when Cosby became ill, George Clarke assumed the leadership role. A contentious period of anarchy ensued and lasted until October when Clarke received notification from the government in England naming him as president and commander-in-chief of the province. This was strengthened by his advancement to the rank of lieutenant governor at the end of the month.29
Colden sent the newly instated lieutenant governor a letter, dated November 3 and written while he was surveying Mohawk lands for pu
rchase, that he signed “your Honours and most Obedient & most humble Servt.”30 as confirmation of his desire to establish a harmonious relationship. Although Colden maintained a close association with James Alexander, Lewis Morris, and William Smith, Sr., as political allies, who represented the minority faction, Colden was also able to enjoy collegiality with Clarke, his former antagonist.
At the beginning of Clarke's period of leadership, Chief Justice Delancey and Adolph Philipse swayed the Council, while the opposition led by Lewis Morris, his son, Lewis, Jr., and James Alexander directed the Assembly. As a consequence, the election that took place in 1737 was particularly contentious. In the course of events leading up to the vote, the votes by Jewish inhabitants were disallowed and for about a decade the Jews were disfranchised.31
That same year witnessed the beginning of a situation, in which Lieutenant Governor Clarke and Surveyor General Colden were allied and eventually became the subjects of censure. Their action evoked criticism that would mature into a cause célèbre. Both Clarke and Colden believed in encouraging settlements, consisting of farms and estates, along the frontier to counter encroachment by the French in Canada. Governor Cosby had previously proclaimed that 100,000 acres near Lake George was to be made available to immigrant Protestant families. Clarke and Colden were initially pleased with the proposal by Captain Laughlin Campbell to form a feudal estate on that frontier land with about eighty Scottish families. It turned out that Campbell lacked the financial resources to fund his scheme and the families, who came as part of the endeavor, were unwilling to participate under the leadership of Campbell. They applied for land on which they could create separate farms, but the patent for the land was withheld. Colden's refusal to allow the settlers to acquire parcels of land generated widespread criticism that affected his reputation for the remainder of his life.
The criticism reached its peak in 1757 with the publication of volume one of William Smith, Jr.'s The History of the Province of New-York. The author, whose book was published when he was only twenty-nine years old, was the son of a distinguished New York lawyer. The senior Smith was made attorney general of New York in 1751, and from 1753 until 1757 he was a member of the Council. During the 1730s and 1740s, the senior Smith and Colden were friends and allied in opposition to Adolph Philipse and James Delancey. In the 1750s, the relationship between Smith, Sr., and Colden transformed into bitter hatred.32
The title page of the first volume of William Smith, Jr.'s book specifies “From the First Discovery to the Year 1732.” In the first volume, the final pages of history, “Part V: From the Year 1720 to the Commencement of the Administration of Colonel Cosby (1732)” extends the time frame by bringing into focus the episode related to Colden that took place in 1737.
Captain Laughlin Campbel, encouraged by a proclamation to that purpose, came over in 1737, and ample promises were made to him. He went upon the land, viewed it and approved it; and was entreated to settle there, even by the Indians, who were taken with his Highland dress, Mr. Clarke, the Lieutenant Governour, promised him, in a printed advertisement, the grant of 30,000 acres of land, free from all but charges of the survey and the King's quit rent. Confiding on the faith of the government, Captain Campbel, went home to Isla, sold his estate, and, shortly after, transported, at his own expense, 83 Protestant families, consisting of 423 adults, besides a great number of children. Private faith and publick honour loudly demanded the fair execution of the project, so expensive to the undertaker and beneficial to the colony. But it unfortunately dropped, through the sordid views of some persons in power, who aimed at a share in the intended grant; to which Campbel, who was a man of spirit, would not consent. [my italics]33
In fact, Smith's interpretation was a misrepresentation, which he could have avoided by consulting contemporary records. Campbell should have been aware that the 100,000 acres had already been allocated. He had only been promised “sufficient land” for as many settlers as he attracted at three pounds per hundred acres and the annual quit rent to the Crown. Campbell had refused the 19,000 acres offered to him and also had falsely included in his list of settlers several who had been in New York before he arrived. Campbell's scheme was aborted because of his own personal greed and determination to make tenants of the settlers.34
This decade best reflects the multifaceted aspects of Colden's life. Because he was well established in his country estate and more often distant from the disturbing aspects of city life, he was able to focus on his intellectual pursuits and devote an increased amount of time to an extensive correspondence with an array of individuals with similar interests. The colonies offered a limited number of intellectuals who gained his respect. Letters to and from Dr. John Mitchell introduced another medical association to his life. Benjamin Franklin and Colden exchanged letters on a variety of subjects, while the correspondence with Dr. Samuel Johnson gave vent to philosophical and metaphysical interests. John Bartram shared an interest in botany. The paucity of Americans who were held in high regard by Colden necessitated frequent transatlantic correspondence. The names of Carolus Linnaeus and Johnannes Frederick Gronovius joined that of Peter Collinson as correspondents with the common interest of botany.
The early part of the decade continued to require Colden's multiple and, at times, prolonged absences from his family and the tranquility of Coldengham, as he exercised his roles of surveyor general and provincial Councilman. Colden had hoped to spend more time on a revision of The History of the Five Indian Nations, but, as he wrote to Collinson, the project was “entirely laid a side by reason that my Business carrying me from home almost three quarters of the year….”1
The position of surveyor general was time consuming. In August 1748, Governor Clinton chronicled that Colden had served as surveyor general for about twenty-eight years, all but three without a salary from the province. In that position, Colden was compensated only by fees from those who received grants of land that required survey. An annual salary of one hundred pounds sterling was suggested.2 During the decade under consideration, Colden conducted several surveys and was appointed in December 1740 to serve on a commission to determine the boundaries between the Province of Massachusetts Bay and the Colony of Rhode Island that was held in April of the following year.3
Related to surveying, Colden devised a new and more exact quadrant to determine distance more accurately utilizing a micrometer screw. He submitted the plans to Collinson to have it evaluated by a machinist in England. It was deemed to be flawed and impractical.4
With the workings on his farm stabilized and his involvement in political affairs temporarily reduced, Colden was able to rekindle his interest in botany. In 1741, Collinson informed Colden that he should anticipate a visit from the individual who was internationally regarded to be the American colonies’ leading botanist, “an Ingenious Man and a great teacher unto Nature Named John Bartram of Pensilvania….”5 Bartram was a native Pennsylvanian, whom Linnaeus held in the highest esteem. Bartram was a farmer without formal education but was driven by a lifelong interest in botany, particularly plants with medicinal applications. He has been assigned the designation of the “father of American Botany.”
Bartram travelled extensively in the eastern colonies collecting plants and chronicled his observations in publications, Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, and other Matters Worthy of Notice, made by Mr. John Bartram in his Travels from Pennsylvania to Onondaga, Oswego, and the Lake Ontario, in Canada (London, 1751), and Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida (American Philosophical Society Transactions, XXXIII, 1942). Bartram had forwarded many of the plant specimens that he collected to Linnaeus, Gronovius, and other European botanical taxonomists. Bartram's life and Colden's would intersect over decades and it was probably Bartram who proposed Colden for membership in the American Philosophical Society sometime after June 1744.6
Shortly following Bartram's visit to Coldengham, Colden wrote Collinson, “Few in America have a
nd tasted in Botany and still fewer if any of these have ability to form & keep a Botanical Garden without which it is impracticable to give compleat Characters of Plants. In short I may positively assert that not one in America has both the power & the will for such a performance.”7
In 1742, Colden became acquainted with Genera Plantarum, which Linnaeus, the Swedish father of a system of taxonomy based on the sexual characteristics of plants, had published in 1737. As Colden wrote over a decade later, “About the year 1742 a student from Leiden gave me the perusal of Dr Linnaeus Characters of Plants As his Method was new to me & appeared exceedingly curious & his characters more accurate than any I had seen it excited my curiosity to examine the plants which grew around my house I put my observations in writing As I was an unexpert botanist I was in doubt whether I had reduced the plants to their proper genera & some of them I was not able to reduce to any Genus in the book For this reason I sent my Observations to Dr Gronovius in Leiden.”8 In 1743, Colden received his first of many letters from Johannes Frederick Gronovius, the Leiden botanist and patron of Linnaeus, who would continue to supply Colden with the sequential publications of Linnaeus.9
Bartram was impressed with Colden and wrote to Collinson that ”this hath been A happy journey & I met with our friend doctor Colden who received & entertained me with all ye demonstrations of civility & respect that was Convenient He is one of the most facetious agreeable gentlemen I have ever met….”10 Colden and Bartram continued to exchange plant specimens over the years.
In keeping with Colden's critical nature and his need to provide his own input in formulating broad concepts (as was the case for his consideration of Newtonian physics) he suggested that there were faults with Linnaeus's sexual system of plant classification, and proposed a system based on small steps of Natural Gradation.11 Colden constructed a catalogue, using the Linnaean system, of the flora in the vicinity of Coldengham. Linnaeus published the catalogue as “Plantae Coldenhamiae in provincia Novaboracensi Americanes sponte Crescentes.”12 When Linnaeus published Species Plantarum in 1753 he referred to “C. Colden” as a source of his knowledge of New World flora. Colden's name would become a permanent part of botanical taxonomy when Linnaeus, in Flora Zeylanica, assigned Coldenia to a specific plant, a genus of borginaceous herb of the species Ehreticoe, and Colden was honored with the title of Summus Perfectus.
Cadwallader Colden Page 5
