60 



CIVIL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part II. 



CONVENTIONS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



APPLICATION TO JOIN VEKMONT. 



Section V. 



Union of Vermont icith a part of JVeic 

 Hinnpsldre and a part of jXew York in 

 17dl. 



Tlie indefinite postponement of the de- 

 cision of the controversy by Congress, as 

 mentioned in the preceding section, was 

 by no means agreeable to Vermont. She 

 ■well knew the ground on which she stood, 

 and allliougli this postponement evinced 

 that her claims to independence had made 

 some impression on the mind of Congress, 

 yet it forbade the hope of an immediate 

 recognition of that independence, and her 

 admission into the union. And, more- 

 over, being irritated by the course pur- 

 sued by A'ew Hampshire and New York, 

 • in substantiating their claims, and being 

 wounded by the humiliating treatment 

 which her agents had received from Con- 

 gress, Vermont now resolved upon a 

 course of policy, which would enable her 

 to assume a more imposing attitude, and 

 induce her opponents to yield to power 

 what had been so long denied to the claims 

 of justice. 



^ince the dissolution of the union be- 

 tween Vermont and the sixteen towns' 

 from New Hampshire, a large number of 

 the inhabitants m the western part of New 

 Hampshire were still anxious to be an- 

 nexed to Vermont. There were at the 

 same time many who were desirous that 

 New Hampshire should sustain her claim 

 and exercise jurisdiction over the whole 

 territory. To facilitate the accomplish- 

 ment of the object last mentioned, a con- 

 vention* of delegates from the several 

 towns in Cheshire county, N. H.,had as- 

 sembled at Walpole on the 15th of No- 

 vember, 1780, and had sent an invitation 

 to the towns on both sides of Connecticut 

 river to appoiut delegates to meet in con- 

 vention at Charlestown on the 3d Tuesday 

 of January following. Accordingly, rep- 

 resentatives from lorty-three towns as- 

 sembled at Charlestown on the IGth of 

 January, 1781; but, to the surprise and 

 disappointment of those who had proposed 

 the nieasure, a large majority of the con- 

 vention were found to be opposed to the 

 jurisdiction of New Hampshire and in 

 favor of a union with Vermont. 



A committee was therefore appointed 

 ^y the convention to confer with Vermont 

 on the subject of the union. This com- 

 mittee, on the 10th day of February, in- 

 formed the assembly of Vermont," then 

 sitting at Windsor, that "the convention 

 of the New Hampshire towns, was de- 



* For proceedings of this convention, see Slade's 

 State Papers, page 126. 



sirous of being united with Vermont, in 

 one separate independent government, 

 upon such principles as should be mutu- 

 ally thought the most equitable and bene- 

 ficial." This application, together with 

 another of similar import from the inhabi- 

 tants of several towns in the north-eastern 

 part of New York, was referred to a com- 

 mittee of the whole, which reported on 

 the 14th of February.* In this re])ort the 

 committee, after recapitulating the history 

 of the controversies with New Hampshire 

 and New York, recommend that the leg- 

 islature of Vermont should lay jurisdic- 

 tional claim to all the lands situated east 

 of Connecticut river, north of Massachu- 

 setts, west of Rlason's line and south of 

 latitude forty-five degrees," and also "to 

 all the lands situated north of the north 

 line of Massachusetts, and extending the 

 same to Hudson river, the east of the 

 deepest channel of said river to the head 

 thereof; from thence east of a north line 

 being extended to latitude 45°, and south 

 of the same line including all the lands 

 and waters to the place where this state 

 now exercises jurisdiction ; and that they 

 do not exercise jurisdiction for the time 

 being." 



In addition to various other reasons for 

 the recommendation above mentioned, the 

 committee say, that notwithstandintr the 

 brave exertions of this state in the battles 

 of Bennington and Hubbardton, Congress 

 has been induced through the influence 

 of the state claiming jurisdiction over its 

 territory, not only to withdraw her troops, 

 but all her articles and stores " even to 

 pick-axes and spades, at a time when the 

 state was erecting a new line of forts on 

 her frontiers," thus compelling her to 

 rely upon her own strength and resources 

 for defence against a powerful enemy, and 

 rendering it justifiable to increase her 

 ability by enlarging the extent of her 

 jurisdiction. 



The report being accepted and its re- 

 commendations adopted by the assembly, 

 a committee was appointed to confer with 

 a committee of the convention of the New 

 Hampshire towns, which was then sitting 

 at Cornish, on the opposite side of the 

 river, and after repeated communications 

 between them, articles of union were 

 finally agreed upon.t By these articles 

 it was stipulated that the constitution of 

 ^'ermont shovild be adopted by the New 

 Hampshire towns ; that application should 

 be made to Congress to be admitted as 

 one of the United States ; that full act of 



* For tills Report, see Slade'sState Papers, p. 198. 



f For a detailed account of these article.': and 



proceedings see Slade's Stale Papers j pages 132-136. 



