Elizabethtown, which consisted only of a cluster of half a dozen houses, was made the capital.

Agents went to New England to invite settlers, and a company from New Haven were soon settled on the banks of the Passaic.

Others followed, and when, in 1668, the first legislative assembly met at Elizabethtown, it was largely made up of emigrants from New England.

Thus we see how early in the history of our country, the restless tide moved westward.

The fertility of the soil of New Jersey, the salubrity of the climate, the exemption from fear of hostile Indians, and other manifest advantages caused a rapid increase in the population and prosperity of the province, and nothing disturbed the general serenity of society there until in 1670, when specified quitrents of a half-penny per acre were demanded.