2l6 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER. 



Lewis Morris, Esq., late chief justice of this province, then two colors, and at 

 sun rising they entered upon the green of Eastcbester, the place of election, fol- 

 lowed by above three hundred horse of the principal freeholders of the county 

 (a greater number than had ever appeared for one man since the settlement of 

 that county.) After having rode three times round the green, they went to the 

 houses of Joseph Fowler and Child, who were well prepared for their recep- 

 tion ; the late chief justice was met, on his alighting, by several gentlemen who 

 came there to give their votes for him. About 11 o'clock appeared the candidate 

 of the other side, William Forster, Esq., schoolmaster, appointed by the Society 

 for Propagation of the Gospel, and lately made, by commission from his 

 Excellency, (the present governor,) Clerk of the Peace and Common Pleas in 

 that county, which commission, it is said, he purchased for the valuable 

 consideration of one hundred pistoles, given the governor : next him came two 

 ensigns, borne by two of the freeholders ; then followed the Honorable James 

 De Lancy, Esq., chief justice of the province of New York, and the Honorable 

 Frederick Phillipse, Esq., second judge of the said province and baron of the 

 exchequer, attended by about a hundred and seventy horse of the freeholders 

 and friends of the said Forster and the two judges : they entered the green on 

 the east side, and, riding twice round it, their word was 'No Land Tax.' As 

 they passed, the second judge very civilly saluted the late chief justice by taldng 

 off his hat, which the late judge returned in the same manner, some of the late 

 judge's party crying out ' No Excise ; " and one of them was heard to say 

 (though not by the judge) ' No pretender ; ' upon which, Forster, the candidate, 

 replied, ' I will take notice of you : ' they, after tbat, retired to the house of 



Baker, which was prepared to receive and entertain them. About an hour 



after, the high sheriff came to town finely mounted, the housings and holster 



caps being scarlet, richly laced with silver, belonging to . Upon his 



approach, the electors on both sides went into the, green where the} r were to 

 elect, and after having read his majesty's writ, bid the electors proceed to the 

 choice, which they did, and a great majority appeared for Mr. Morris, the late 

 judge ; upon which, a poll was demanded, but by whom is not known to the 

 relator, though it was said by many to be done by the sheriff himself. Morris, 

 the candidate, several times asked the sheriff upon whose side the majority 

 appeared, but could get no other reply but that a poll must be had, and 

 accordingly, after about two hours delay in getting benches, chairs and tables, 

 they began to poll. Soon after, one of those called Quakers, a man of known 

 worth and estate, came to give his vote for the late judge. Upon this, Forster, 

 and the two Fowlers, Moses and William, chosen by him to be inspectors, 

 questioned his having an estate, and required of the sheriff to tender him the 

 book to swear, in due form of law, which he refused to do ; but offered to take 

 his solemn affirmation, which both by the laws of England and the laws of this 

 province was indulged, to the people called Quakers, and had always been 

 practised, from the first election of representatives, in this province, to this time, 

 and never refused ; but the sheriff was deaf to all that could be alleged on that 

 side ; and notwithstanding that he was told by the late chief justice, and James 

 Alexander, Esq., one of his Majesty's council, and counsellor at law, and by 

 William Smith, Esq., counsellor at law, that such a procedure was contrary to 

 law, and a violent attempt of the liberties of the people, he still persisted in re- 



