THE TRIAL of ZENGER, the PRINTER
Cosby arrived; a testy, disagreeable man who loved money above
everything else. The colonists received him with favor, because they did
not know these things about him. The Assembly granted him a revenue for
six years, and gave him a present of £750 besides. The Governor thought
this a very small sum and said so. He presented an order from the King
which said that he was to have half the salary that Rip Van Dam had
received for acting as Governor.
[Illustration: Dinner at Rip Van Dam's.]
But Van Dam would not part with his money, and the people sided with
him, for they had long been weary of governors who looked upon the
colony simply as a means to repair their fortunes. Cosby was determined
to get the money, so he sued Van Dam. This suit was conducted in a court
where there were three judges, and two of them were friends of Cosby.
One of them was James De Lancey, a son of that Stephen De Lancey who had
given the clock to the city. The Chief-Justice was still Lewis Morris,
who had been appointed by Governor Hunter. So with two judges, friends
of the Governor, he won his suit, and Van Dam was ordered to pay him
half his salary.
More than this, Chief-Justice Morris, who had disagreed with the other
two judges, was removed from office, and James De Lancey became
Chief-Justice.
The mass of the people disapproved of these doings, and there were
murmurs of discontent. But the Governor had his money, and had made his
friend Chief-Justice, and was running matters pretty much his own way,
so he was satisfied.
There was still only one paper, the _New York Gazette_, published by
William Bradford. As Bradford was the Government printer, it was quite
natural that he should side with Cosby. But just at this time another
paper came into existence, a rival to the _Gazette_, which took up the
people's cause. This was the _New York Weekly Journal_, published by
Peter Zenger, who had been one of Bradford's workmen. Each week it was
filled with articles assailing Cosby, and all who were in sympathy with
him. Very soon Zenger was arrested, charged with publishing libels
against the city officials and the King. He was locked up in one of the
cells in the City Hall.
The friends of Zenger secretly secured the services of Andrew Hamilton,
a distinguished lawyer of Philadelphia, who pleaded his cause to good
effect, and showed that Zenger had only spoken as any man had a right
to speak, and had pointed out wrongs where wrongs existed. Justice
De Lancey, remembering that his friend the Governor had made him
Chief-Justice, told the jury that they must find Zenger guilty. But
the jury pronounced him not guilty. Thus the freedom of the press was
established, and the jury, by their verdict, had opposed the Governor,
his council, the Assembly, and the judge before whom the accused had
been tried.
About this time Lord Augustus Fitzroy, youngest son of the Duke of
Grafton, came from England to visit Governor Cosby. The Governor thanked
him for having honored New York with his presence, and told him that the
city was open and invited him to go where he pleased. Lord Augustus did
not go far. He fell in love with the Governor's daughter. He did more
than fall in love, for one day he induced a minister to climb over the
fort wall and marry him to her, without leave or license. The friends
of the young nobleman were shocked, for the Governor's daughter was
considered beneath him in rank. Governor Cosby was accused of having
brought about this unequal match, although Lord Augustus said that it
was the lady's winning ways and pretty face.
Cosby, after the Zenger trial, did what he could to check the liberty
of the citizens, but was soon stricken with a fatal illness. On his
death-bed he called together the members of his council, and suspended
his old enemy, Rip Van Dam, who would have been his successor until
another Governor was appointed. And having done this he died, on March
10, 1736, leaving a quarrelsome state of affairs behind him.