CHAi>. 5. 



ADMISSION INTO THE UNION. 



75 



AGENTS OF VERMONT ADDRESS CONGRESS. 



LENIENT MEASURES OF NEW YORK. 



and confer with the agents and delegates 

 from said state, upon the terms and mode 

 of the admission of said state into the 

 federal union." When this report was 

 read, motions were successively made 

 that its consideration be assigned to the 

 first Tuesday in October, tlie first Tues- 

 day in June, and to Monday next, all of 

 which were decided in the negative. 



By these votes it became evident that 

 Congress did not intend to come to any 

 decision upon the affairs of Vermont, and 

 the agents of Vermont, disappointed at the 

 result, addressed a letter to the president 

 of Congress on the lUth of April, and 

 immediately left Philadelphia.** In this 

 communication they say, that in conse- 

 quence of the plighted faith of Congress, 

 and the advice of gentlemen of the first 

 character in America, Vermont had been 

 induced to comi)ly, in the most ample 

 manner, with the resolution of tlie 20th of 

 August, and that they had officially com- 

 municated said comi)liance to Congress. 

 They expressed tlieir disappointment at 

 the delay of Congress to execute, on their 

 jjart, the spirit of said resolution, and 

 pointed out the critical situation, to which 

 Vermont was reduced by casting off a 

 considerable portion of her strength, — by 

 being exposed to the main force of the 

 enemy in Canada, and by receiving no 

 aid from the United States, in whose cause 

 she had freely fought and suffered. 



When these proceedings of Congress 

 became known in V^ermonttliey produced 

 universal dissatisfaction. Itwastlie gen- 

 eral opinion that the resolution of the '20th 

 of August, had been designed to dupe 

 the assembly to a compliance, for the pur- 

 pose of weakening \^ermo»t and render- 

 ing it less dangerous to contravene her 

 designs and wishes. Faith in the virtue 

 and integrity of congress was nearly de- 

 stroyed ; and by these measures of that 

 body, the people, and the assembly of 

 Vermont, were determined to adhere to 

 the boundaries, to whicli they had agreed, 

 and rely upon their own strength, resour- 

 ces, and management for defence and 

 safet}', and urge no further upon Congress 

 their right to a confederation with the 

 United States. Still, that it miglit ap- 

 pear to the world that Vermont was not 

 in fault, the assembly, at their session in 

 October, again appointed agents with full 

 powers to complete arrangements for her 

 admission into the union. 



During these transactions, New York 

 resolved to see what could be effected by 

 adopting a more lenient policy towards 

 the people of Vermont. Accordingly on 



* Tliis letter may bo seen in Slide's State Papers, 

 ■page 172. 



the I4th of April, 1782, the Legislature of 

 New York passed several acts in relation 

 to this district.* By tlie first of these acts 

 full pardon and immunity was granted 

 to the inhabitants of the district, for all 

 crimes and offences with which they stood 

 charged, excepting for the crime of trea- 

 son in adhering to the king of Great 

 Britain, and for murder. This was fol- 

 lowed by another act confirming — first, 

 all the grants made by New Hampshire 

 within the district, which were prior to 

 the grants of the same lands b)^ New York ; 

 secondly^ all the grants made by New 

 York, of lands not previously granted by 

 New Hampshire, and such as were made 

 in confirmation of New Hampshire grants ; 

 t/iirdhj, all Vermont grants of lands not 

 previously granted, and lastlij, the posses- 

 sions of individuals not included in any 

 of the above-mentioned grants, to the 

 amount of 500 acres each, and no more ; 

 all these confirmations to be made with- 

 out requiring any fee to the government. 



But the people of Vermont had now 

 gone too far, and had established their 

 government upon too firm a basis to be 

 shaken from their purpose of indepen- 

 dence by any, however specious, devices 

 of New York. They even appeared to 

 have adopted a fixed determination to 

 listen to no propositions from any quarter 

 by which their separate existence as a 

 state should be endangered ; and as the 

 acts above-mentioned were not to take 

 effect until Vermont renounced her as- 

 sumed powers of government, and the 

 people returned to their allegiance to New 

 York, they seem to have been treated by 

 Vermont with very little attention. 



Notwithstanding the unsettled and em- 

 barrassing state of her relations to Con- 

 gress and the neighboring states, the in- 

 ternal tranquillity of Vermont had been, . 

 for some time, but little disturbed. Her 

 political institutions had been gradually 

 maturing, and the organization of her 

 government had assumed a regularity 

 and efficiency which commanded the obe- 

 dience and respect of the great body of 

 the citizens. New York had not relin- 

 quished her claim to jurisdiction over the 

 territory, but she had not, of late, made 

 any serious eft'ort to exercise it ; and had 

 contented herself willi opposing tlie ad- 

 mission of Vermont into the union, and 

 by endeavoring, in the manner we have 

 just related, to bring over the people to her 

 own interest. But while a vast majority 

 of the people of Vermont yielded a wil- 

 ling obedience to her authority, and were 

 ready to make almost any sacrifice to sus- 



* For these Acts, see Slade's Vt. Stale Papers, 

 page, 173. 



