Excerpt from Random Notes on the Government of Rhode Island
The founders of the Rhode Island Colony purchased their lands of the Indians. They incorporated themselves into a civil society by mutual agreement. As the proprietors of the soil, they arrogated to themselves the right to say who should come to reside upon it, and who should participate in the government of the civil society, which they had established. This is alike true of the colonies established at Providence, at Portsmouth, and at Newport.
Samuel Gorton, an outcast from Plymouth, came to Portsmouth in December, 1638. He denied the validity of their act of incorporation because the colony had no charter, and because the incorporation was without the recognition of the King"s authority: Gorton soon obtained converts to his contention and caused a division among the colonists, whereupon the elected officers of the colony, with some of their adherents, to avoid dissension, entered into a covenant to found a colony, and removed to and founded Newport on the last day of April, 1639. The remaining colonists at Portsmouth, on the day of the withdrawal of their associates, entered into a new agreement of incorporation, in which they fully recognized the king"s authority.
Perhaps the next year, 1640, an unfortunate occurrence took place, which occasioned sharp differences of opinion and brought to a test the validity of Gorton"s contention. Gorton and a widow woman occupied adjoining lands; a cow belonging to the widow escaped and entered Gorton"s grounds, an employee of Gorton, went to drive the cow from his ground and according to the report of the case, by the testimony advanced upon the trial, beat and stoned the cow in an unmerciful and cruel manner; the widow observing the treatment of her cow, went into Gorton"s ground and attempted to reclaim the cow, whereupon Gorton"s maid seized the widow by the hair, pulled her down and beat her. The widow at once went to Nicholas Easton, a magistrate, and complained of the injury she had received, and obtained a warrant for Gorton"s maid; she was arrested on the warrant, and brought before the magistrate; Gorton appeared for her and gave security for her appearance at the court of trials, presided over by Coddington. At this court Gorton appeared but would not allow the maid to appear. He denied the jurisdiction of the court, and was very abusive of its members, and especially of Easton. Among other things, he charged Easton, while he was sitting as a magistrate, as having had his cars cut off, and he charged the entire court with corruption.
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