New Jersey as a colony and as a state : one of the original thirteen . nd mercenarymen, had failed to attend to his office in NewJersey, had allowed murderers under sentence ofdeath to go at large, had undertaken to establishcourt fees without legislative consent, and, amongother matters, had refused members of the Legis-lature the right to take their seats. To this thegovernor made an inconsequent and vaporous re-ply, pouring out his spleen upon Jenings and Mor-ris, the popular leaders. No action being taken, the breach grew widerand wider and owing at last to remonstrancesfrom the Assembly o
New Jersey as a colony and as a state : one of the original thirteen . nd mercenarymen, had failed to attend to his office in NewJersey, had allowed murderers under sentence ofdeath to go at large, had undertaken to establishcourt fees without legislative consent, and, amongother matters, had refused members of the Legis-lature the right to take their seats. To this thegovernor made an inconsequent and vaporous re-ply, pouring out his spleen upon Jenings and Mor-ris, the popular leaders. No action being taken, the breach grew widerand wider and owing at last to remonstrancesfrom the Assembly of New Jersey Cornbury, in1708, was removed from his position as governorof New Jersey. A like action was later taken inNew York, although in the meantime his creditorshad confined him in jail. Cornbury returned toEligland, where he became third Earl of Claredon, and died in 1723. Although with the departure of Cornbury thecolony became outwardly quiescent, the eril thatthe governor did lived after him. In its course,it was far-reaching as affecting the destinies -of. GOVERNOR CORNBURY IN FEMAUE ATTIRE. 214 NEW JERSEY AS A COLONY the colony. It lay in the power of the first royalgovernor to correct abuses of the past, strengthenthe loyalty of the present, and lay broad plans forthe future. But Cornbury had no aspirations be-yond the gratification of his selfish lusts. Whileengaged in attaining his own ends he sacrificedthe hopes of an empire and paved the way for aspirit of resistance, first directed toward the gov-ernors of the crown and then against the crownitself. The Assembly first learned its power; the peo-ple recognized that no divinity hedged in a gov-ernor, although he represented in himself the per-son of his sovereign. It was but the first uncon-scious step toward that which even in dreamswould have been treason—the independence ofthe colony.
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