a period of two years from July 1, 1785. The act provided that the coins should be in pieces of one-third of an ounce, Troy weight, and provision was made for a bond of five thousand dollars guaranteed by two good and sufficient sureties. In October of the same year the act was amended so that the weight of the coins was reduced from one-third of an ounce, or six pennyweights and sixteen grains, to four pennyweights and fifteen grains, as they were found "to exceed in weight the copper coin used in the United States of America."

Harmon's mint was a small, unpainted building, erected in the northeastern part of Rupert on Mill Brook, a tributary of the Mettowee, or Pawlet River. In October, 1786, Harmon again petitioned the Legislature, this time arguing that the shortness of the period for which he was granted the right of coinage would not permit him to indemnify himself for the sum he had expended, and asking for an extension of time. Thereupon it was voted that he should have the exclusive right in Vermont of coining copper money for eight years from July 1, 1786. For the first three years he should enjoy the privilege without cost but for the remaining five years he was to pay the State two and one-half per cent of the money coined.

The earlier coins bore the device of a sun rising over forest clad mountains, with a plough in the foreground. The legend was "Vermontensium, Res, Publica" and the date. On the reverse of the coin was an eye radiating to thirteen stars, with the legend "Quarta, Decima, Stella." The coinage act of 1786 provided for a change in both device and legend. On the obverse of the coin.

was the bust of a man wearing a coat of mail with a laurel wreath on his head. The legend was an abbreviation of the words "Auctoritate Vermontensium." On the reverse was the figure of a woman seated, representing the Genius of America. A shield was at her side, in her right hand she held an olive branch, and in her left, a rod. The legend was "Inde, et Lib.", an abbreviation of Independence and Liberty. It has been claimed by persons none too friendly to Vermont that the bust represented King George Third of Great Britain, but this statement, of course, is absurd. The Vermont coinage ceased in 1788, when the adoption of the United States Constitution by the requisite number of States made it the supreme law of the land. The amount of copper money coined is unknown. According to Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, during the period between the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the adoption of the Constitution in 1788, Vermont took the lead in authorizing the issue of coins. An attempt to authorize the emission of paper currency was defeated in October, 1786.

Another act of sovereignty exercised by Vermont about this time was the naturalization of, or granting of the freedom of the State, to Solomon Willard of New Hampshire, and Hector St. John de Crevecoeur and his three children, Frances, William and Philip. De Crevecoeur, at this time, was the French Consul at New York and a friend of Ethan Allen. In a letter to General Allen, he suggested, in view of the fact that new counties and districts soon would be laid out, that the town at the first fall of Otter Creek be called Vergennes; and

that the town at the first falls of the Winooski (the site of the present village of Winooski), be called Castri Polis, in honor of the Minister of Marine. Other suggestions were for towns called Gallipolis, Rochambeau, Noaillesburg, Danville, Condorcet, etc., and counties of Beauveau, Liancourt and Turgot. He also hinted at the flattering honor of a town named St. Johnsbury, as a personal recognition. The Legislature granted his wish in giving the name St. Johnsbury to a town in honor of De Crevecoeur; the name Vergennes, to commemorate the fame of Count de Vergennes, French Minister for Foreign Affairs; and Danville, probably as a tribute to Rochefoucauld, Duke D'Auville.

In

The first attempt to establish a postal service in Vermont was an act passed by the Legislature in November, 1783, authorizing the payment of nine shillings a week to Samuel Sherman for riding post from Bennington to Albany, N. Y., and return each week until the next meeting of the General Assembly in February. March, 1784, an act was passed establishing post-offices at Bennington, Rutland, Brattleboro, Windsor and Newbury; and Anthony Haswell of Bennington, one of the publishers of the Vermont Gazette, was appointed Postmaster General by the terms of the act. The rate of postage and the postal regulations were the same as those provided by the United States. Owing to the difficult route over the Green Mountains, the post rider from Bennington to Brattleboro was allowed three pence per mile, while the allowance for travel on the other routes was two pence per mile. The privilege of charging fees for the carriage of certain articles added

to the post rider's compensation. The franking privilege was granted to the Governor and such other persons as the Legislature might designate. In March, 1787, the Postmaster General was empowered to establish a postal route from Rutland through Addison county, and to establish post-offices in that county. In 1788 a post rider advertised a route from Clarendon to Jericho, on the Onion (Winooski) River. In 1790 the act granting compensation by the mile to post riders was repealed. This service, meagre as it was, appears to have been as good as that provided in all but the larger towns and cities of the United States at this period.

Another of the rights of an independent government, exercised by Vermont at this time was the negotiation of a trade agreement with a foreign country. In March, 1784, the Council sent to the House a bill empowering the Governor to settle a treaty of amity and commerce with the powers of Europe, which was defeated. During the same session the House refused to pass a bill requesting the Governor to begin a correspondence with the Governor of Quebec relative to opening trade relations between that province and Vermont. In October of the same year the Council unanimously resolved to recommend to the General Assembly the adoption of such measures as appeared most eligible "for opening a free trade and commerce with the Province of Quebec upon terms of reciprocity." The House again refused to accept the recommendation of the Council. A few days later, however, an act was passed, containing a preamble declaring that many advantages would be derived by the citizens of the State as a re