Qass. IzJ 9<^ Book. ,' I hA i HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES. ; District of Virginia^ to wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the seventh day of Julv, ,n the fortu-ninth u.n [SEAL.] District, hath deposited in this office the Title of a booktlwnMl.ll he claims as Author, in the tvordf follo^ving , to lit. ' ^'^ ^^'^' Rn. JEFFRIES! Clerk of the IHstrict of Virgin ^ \ COLONIES PLANTED BY THE ENGLISH THE CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA, FROM THEIR .EMENT, TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THAT WAR WHICH TERMINATED IN THEIR BY JOHN MARSHALL. PHILADELPHIA : PUBLISHED BY ABRAHAM SMALL. 1824. 1^ .,«*^^''' ^?r*- »VnV \ ** PREFACE. So large a portion of the life of General Washington was devoted to the public, so elevated and important were the stations which he filled, that the history of his life is, at the same time, the history of his nation. The part he took, while commander in chief, in the civil as well as military affairs of the United States, was so considerable, that few events of ge- neral interest occurred, which were not, in some degree, influenced by him. A detail of the trans- actions in which he was either immediately or remotely concerned, would comprehend so great a part of those which belong to general history, that the entire exckision of the few in which he bore no part, while it would scarcely give to the work more of the peculiar character of biography, would expose it to the charge of being an incom- plete history of the times. Vi PREFACE. His administration of the government while President of the United States, cannot be well un- derstood without a full knowledge of the political measures of the day, and of the motives by which his own conduct was regulated. These considerations appeared to require that his biography should present a j2;eneral historical view of the transactions of the time, as well as a particular narrative of the part performed by him- self. Our ideas of America, of the character of our revolution, of those who engaged in it, and of the struggles by which it was accomplished, would be imperfect without some knowledge of our colonial history. No work had been published when this was undertaken, from which that knowledge could be collected. To have taken up the history of the United States when the command of the ar- my was conferred on General Washington, would have been to introduce the reader abruptly into the midst of scenes and transactions, with the causes of which, and with the actors in them, he would naturally wish to be intimately acquainted. This was tlie apology of the author for the intro- ductory volume to the Life of General Washing- PREFACE. Vll ton. Had the essays since written towards a ge- neral history of the English colonies been then in possession of the public, this volume would not have appeared. But, although they miyjht have prevented its appearance, they ought not to pre- vent its being corrected and offered to the public in a form less exceptionable than that which it originally bore. From the extreme, 1 may add un- pardonable, precipitation with which it was hurried to the press, many errors were overlooked which, on a perusal of the book, were as apparent to the author as to others. He was desirous of cor- recting these errors, and of making the work more worthy of the public to which it was offered, as well as more satisfactory to himself. For this purpose he has given it, since the impressions un- der which it was compiled have worn off, more than one attentive reading ; has made several al- terations in th language ; and has expunged much of the less essential matter with which the narra- tive was burthened. He dares not flatter himself that he has succeeded completely in his attempt to entitle this work to the approbation of the lite- rary pubhc of America ; but hopes that its claims to that approbation are stronger than in its ori- ginal form. Vm PREFACE. Believing that motives no longer exist for con- necting the History of the English Colonies in North America with the Life of Washington, the author has obtained the permission of the propri- etor of the copy-right to separate the Introduction from the other volumes, and to publish it as a distinct work. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Commission of Cabot. — His voyage to America. — Views of dis- covery relinquished by Henry VII. — Resumed by Elizabeth. — Letters patent to Sir Humphry Gilbert. — His voyages and death. — Patent to Sir Walter Raleigh.*^ Voyage of Sir Richard Grenville. — Colonists carried back to England by Drake. — Grenville arrives with other colonists. — They are left on Ro- anoke Island. — Are destroyed by the Indians. — Arrival of John White. — He returns to England for succour. — Raleigli assigns his patent. — Patent to Sir Thomas Gates and others — Code of laws for the proposed colony drawn up by the King. - . > . Page 9 CHAPTER II. Voyage of Newport. — Settlement at Jamestown. — Distress of colonists. — Smith. — He is captured by the Indians. — Con- demned to death, saved by Pocahq^itas. — Returns to James- town. — Newport arrives with fresh settlers. — Smith explores the Chesapeake. — Is chosen president. — New charter. — Third voyage of Newport. — Smith sails for Europe. — Condition of the colony. — Colonists determine to abandon the country. — ■ Are stopped by Lord Delaware. — Sir Thomas Dale. — New charter. — Captain Argal seizes Pocahontas. — She marries Mr. Rolf. — Separate property in lands and labour. — Expedition against Port Royal. — Against Manhadoes, — Fifty acres of X CONTENTS. land for each settler. — Tobacco. — Sir Thomas Dale. — Mr. Yeirdley. — First assembly- — First arrival of females — Of con- victs. — Of African slaves. — Two councils established, — Pros- perity of the colony. — Indians attempt to massacre the vi'hites. — General war. — Dissolution of the company. — Arbitrary measures of the crown. — Sir John Harvey. — Sir William Berkeley. — Provincial assembly restored. — Virginia declares in favour of Charles IT — Grant to Lord Baltimore. — Arrival of a colony in Maryland. — Assembly composed of freemen. — William Claybourne. — Assembly composed of representa- tives. — Divided into two branches. — Tyrannical proceedings. Page 29 CHAPTER III. First ineffectual attempts of the Plymouth company to settle the country. — Settlement at New Pl^'mouth. — Sir Henry Rose- well and company. — New charter. — Settlements prosecuted vigorou5)l3^ — Government transferred to the colonists. — Bos- ton founded. — Religious intolerance. — General court establish- ed, — Royal commission for the government of the plantations. — Contest with the French colony of Acadie. — Hugh Peters. — Henry Vane. — Mrs. Hutchison. — Maine granted to Gorges. — Quo warranto against the patent of the colony. — lieligious dissentions — Providence settled. — Rhode Island settled. — Connecticut settled.— War with the Pequods. — New Haven settled. - - - - 73 CHAPTER IV. Massachusetts claims New Hampshire and part of Maine. — Dissentions among the inhabitants. — Confederation of the New England colonies. — Rhode Island excluded from it. — Separate chambers provided for the two branches of the Legis- lature. — New England takes part with Parliament. — Treaty with Acadie. — Petition of the non-conformists. — Disputes be- tween Massachusetts and Connecticut. — War between Eng- land and Holland. — Machinations of the Dutch at Manhadoes CONTENTS. XI among the Indians. — Massachusetts refuses to join the united colonies in the war. — Application of New Haven to Crom- well for assistance. — Peace with the Dutch. — Expedit on of Sedgewic against Acadie. — Religious intolerance. Page 108 CHAPTER V. Transactions succeeding the restoration of Charles II. — Con- tests between Connecticut and New Haven. — Discontents in Virginia. — Grant to the duke of York. — Commissioners ap- pointed by the crown. — Conquest of the Dutch settlements. — Conduct of Massachusetts to the royal commissioners. — Their recall. Massachusetts evades a summons to appear before the King and council. — Settlement of Carolina. — Form of go- vernment. — Constitution of Mr. Locke. — Discontents in the county of Albemarle. — Invasion from Florida. — Abolition of the constitution of Mr. Locke. — Bacon's rebellion. — His death. — Assembly deprived of judicial power. — Discontents in Virginia. — Population of the colony. - 130 CHAPTER VI. Prosperity of New England. — War with Philip. — Edward Ran- dolph arrives in Boston. — Maine adjudged to Gorges. — Pur- chased by Massachusetts. — Royal government erected in New Hampshire. — Complaints against Massachusetts. — Their let- ters patent cancelled. — Death of Charles II. — James II. pro- claimed. — New commission for the government of New P^ng- land. — Sir Edmond Andros. — The charter of Rhode Island abrogated. — Odious measures of the new government. — An- dros deposed. — William and Mary proclaimed. — Review of proceedings in New York and the Jerseys. — Pennsylvania granted to William Penn. — Frame of government — Founda- tion of Philadelphia laid. — Assembly convened. — First acts of the Legislature. — Boundary line with lord Baltimore settled. 165 xii CONTENTS, CHAPTER VII. New charter of Massachusetts. — Affairs of New York. — War with France. — Schenectady destroyed. — Expedition against Port Royal. — Against Quebec. — Acadie recovered by France. — Peniaquid taken. — Attempt on St. Johns. — Peace. — Affairs of New York. — Of Virginia.—Disputes between England and France respecting boundary in America. — Re-commencement of hostilities. — Quotas of the respective colonies. — Treaty of neutrality between France and the five nations. — Expedition against Port Royal. — Incursion into Massachusetts. — Plan for the invasion of Canada. — Port Royal taken. — Expedition against Quebec. — Treaty of Utrecht. — Affairs of New York. • — Of Carolina. — Expedition against St. Augustine. — Attempt to establish the Episcopal church. — Invasion of the colony. — Bills of credit issued. — Legislature continues itself. — Massa- cre in North Carolina by the Indians. — Tuscaroras defeated. —Scheme of a Bank. - - Page 186 CHAPTER VIII. Proceedings of the legislature of Massachusetts. — Intrigues of the French among the Indians. — War with the savages. — Peace. — Controversy with the governor. — Decided in England. ---Contests concerning the governor's salary.---The assembly adjourned to Salem.— -Contest concerning the salary termi- nated. ---Great depreciation of the paper currency.— -Scheme of a land bank.— -Company dissolved by act of Parliament. -—Governor Shirley arrives.-— Review of transactions in New York. ----- 215 CHAPTER IX. War with the southern Indians. — Dissatisfaction of Carolina with the proprietors. ---Rupture with Spain.— -Combination to subvert the proprietary government.— -Revolution completed. ---Expedition from the Havanna against Charleston.-— Peace CONTENTS. xiii with Spain. — The proprietors surrender their interest to the crown.— The province divided. — Georgia settled — Impolicy of the first regulations. — Intrigues of the Spaniards with the slaves of South Carolia. — Insurrection of the Slaves. P. 238 CHAPTER X. War declared against Spain. — Expedition against St. Augustine. — Georgia invaded. — Spaniards land on an island in the Alta- maha. — Appearance of a fleet from Charleston. — Spanish army re-embarks. — Hostilities with France. — Expedition against Louisbourg. — Louisbourg surrenders. — Great plans of the bel- ligerent powers. — Misfortunes of the armament under the duke D'Anville. — The French fleet dispersed by a storm. — Expe- dition against Nova Scotia. — Treaty of Aix la Chapelle. — Paper money of Massachusetts redeemed. — Contests between the French and English respecting boundaries. — Statement respecting the discovery of the Mississippi. — Scheme for con- necting Louisiana with Canada — Relative strength of the French and English colonies. — Defeat at the Little Meadows. — Convention at Albany. — Plan of "^nion. — Objected to both in America and Great Britain. - - 253 CHAPTER XI. General Braddock arrives. — Convention of governors and plan of the campaign. — French expelled from Nova Scotia, and in- habitants transplanted. — Expedition against fort Du Quesne. —Battle of Monongahela. — Defeat and death of General Brad- dock. — Expedition against Crown Point. — Dieskan defeated. — ^Expedition against Niagara. — Frontiers distressed by the Indians. — Meeting of the governors at New York. — Plan for the campaign of 1756. — Lord Loudoun arrives. — Montcalm takes Oswego. — Lord Loudoun abandons offensive operations. — Small pox breaks out in Albany. — Campaign of 1757 open- ed. — Admiral Holbourne arrives at Halifax. — Is joined by the earl of Loudoun. — Expedition against Louisbourg relinquish- ed. — Lord Loudoun returns to New York. — Fort William ..uv CONTENTS. Henry taken. — Controversy between Lord Loudoun and the assembly of Massachusetts - - Page 287 CHAPTER XIL Preparations for the campaign of 1758. — Admiral Boscawen and general Amherst arrive at Halifax. — Plan of the campaign. — Expedition against Louisbourg, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point. — General Abercrombie repulsed under the walls of Ticonderoga. — Fort Frontignac taken.—Expedition against fort Du Quesne. — Preparations for the campaign of 1759. — General Amherst succeeds general Abercrombie. — Plan of the campaign. — Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken. — Army goes into winter quarters. — French repulsed at Oswego. — Defeated at Niagara. — Niagara taken. — Expedition against Quebec. — Check to the English army. — Battle on the Plains of Abraham. — Death of Wolf and Montcalm. — Quebec capi- tulates. — Garrisoned by the English under the command of general Murray. — Attempt to recover Quebec — Battle near Sillery. — Quebec besieged by Monsieur Levi. — Siege raised. — Montreal capitulates. — War with the southern Indians. — Battle near the town of Etchoe. — Grant defeats them and burns their towns. — Treaty with the Cherokees*, — War with Spain. — Success of the English. — Peace. - 311 CHAPTER XIIL Opinions on the supremacy of parliament, and its right to tax the colonies. — The stamp act. — Congress at New York. — Violence in the towns — Change of administration. — Stamp act repealed. — Opposition to the mutiny act. — Act imposing duties on tea, &c. resisted in America. — Letters from the as- sembly of Massachusetts to members of the administration. — Petition to the King. — Circular letter to the colonial assem- blies — Letter from the earl of Hillsborough. — Assembly of Massachusetts dissolved. — Seizure of the Sloop Liberty. — Convention at Fanueil Hall. — Moderation of its proceedings. — Two British regiments arrive at Boston. — Resolutions of CONTENTS. XV the house of Burgesses of Virginia. — Assembly dissolved. — The members foim an association. — General measures against importation. — General court convened in Massachusetts. — Its proceedings. — Is prorogued. — Duties, except that on tea, repealed. — Circular letter of the earl of Hillsborough. — New York recedes from the non-importation agreement in part Her example followed. — Riot in Boston. — Trial and acquittal of Captain Preston. - - Page 350 CHAPTER XIV. Insurrection in North Carolina — Dissatisfaction of Massachu- setts. — Corresponding committees. — Governor Hutchinson's correspondence communicated by Dr. Franklin. — The assem- bly petition for his removal. — He is succeeded by general Gage. — Measures to enforce the act concerning duties. — Fer- ment in America. — The tea thrown into the sea at Boston. — Measures of Parliament. — General enthusiasm in America. — A general congress proposed. — General Gage arrives. — Troops stationed on Boston neck. — New counsellors and judges. — Obliged to resign. — Boston neck fortified. — Military stores seized by general Gage. — Preparations for defence. — King's speech. — Proceedings of Parliament. — Battle of Lex- ington. — Massachusetts raises men. — Meeting of Congress. — Proceedings of that body — Transactions in Virginia. — Provincial congress of South Carolina. — Battle of Breed's hill. ----- 395 A HISTORY AMERICAN COLONIES. CHAPTER I. Commission of Cabot. — His voyage to America. — ■ Views of discovery relinquished by Henry VII. — Resumed by Elizabeth, — Letters patent to Sir Humphry Gilbert. — His voyages and death. — Pa- tent to Sir Walter Raleigh. — Voyage of Sir Richard Grenville. — Colonists carried back to England by Drake. — Grenville arrives xvith other colonists. — They are left on Roanoke Island. — Are destroyed by the Indians. — Arrival of John White. — He re- turns to England for succour. — Raleigh assigns his patent. — Patent to Sir Thomas Gates and others. — Code of laws for the proposed colony draxVn up by the King. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ex- tend, on the Atlantic, from the bay of Passamaquoddi in the the 45th, to cape Florida in the 25th, degree of north latitude; and thence, on the gulph of Mexico, in- B 10 HISTORY OF THE eluding the small adjacent islands, to the mouth of the Sabine, in the 17th degree of west longitude from Washington. From the mouth of the Sabine to the Rocky mountains, they are separated from Spanish America by a line which pursues an irregular north western direction to the 42d degree of north latitude, whence it proceeds west, to the Pacific. On the north they are bounded by the British provinces; from which, between the Lake of the Woods and the Rocky, or Stony mountains, they are separated by the 49th parallel of north latitude. Their northern boun- dary, west of these mountains, has not yet been ad- justed. The extent of this vast Republic, in consequence of its recent acquisition of almost unexplored territory, has not yet been accurately ascertained ; but may be stated at two millions of square miles. Its population, which began on the Atlantic, and is travelling rapidly westward, amounted in 1820, ac- cording to the census of that year, to nine millions six hundred and fifty four thousand four hundred and fif- teen persons. The enumerations which have been made under the authority of government, show an augmentation of numbers at the rate of about thirty-' four per centum^ in ten years ; and it is probable, that for many years to come, this ratio will not be materi- ally changed. Public sentiment, to which the policy of the go- • The general estimate in the United States is, that their population doubles in twenty-five years. AMERICAN COLONIES. 11 vernment conforms, is opposed to a large military es- tablishment ; and the distance of the United States from the great powers of the world, protects them from the danger to which this policy might otherwise expose them. The navy has become an object of great interest to the nation, and may be expected to grow with its re- sources. In April 1816, Congress passed an act ap- propriating one million of dollars annually, to its gradu- al increase ; and authorising the construction of nine ships, to rate not less than seventy-four guns each, md of tvvelve, to rate not less than forty-four guns each. The execution of this act is in rapid progress. In- considerable as the navy now is, with respect to the number and force of its ships, it is deemed inferior to none in existence for the bravery and skill of its offi- cers and men. When we take into view the exten- sive sea coast of the United States, the magnificent lakes, or inland seas, which form a considerable part of their northern frontier, the abundance of their ma- terials for ship building, and the genius of their popu- lation for maritime enterprise, it is not easy to resist the conviction that this bulwark of defence will, at no very distant period, attain a size and strength sufficient to ensure the safety of the nation and the respect of the world. The net revenue of the United States amounted, in the year 1822, to considerably more than twenty millions of dollars ; and, unless a course of legislation unfavourable to its augmentation be adopted, must grow with their population. 13 HISTORY OF THE In arts, in arms, and in power, they have advanced, and are advancing, with unexampled rapidity. The history of their progress, from the first feeble settlements made by Europeans on a savage coast, to their present state of greatness ; while it has just claims to the attention of the curious of all nations, may be expected deeply to interest every American. Soon after the return of Columbus from that me- morable voyage which opened the vast regions of the west to civilised man, the maritime states of Europe manifested a desire to share with Spain, the glory, the wealth, and the dominion to be acquired in the new world. By no one of these states, was this de- sire carried into action more promptly than by Eng- land. Henry VII. had received communications from Columbus, during the tedious and uncertain negotia- tions of that great man, at the dilatory court of Ferdi- nand, which prepared him for the important discove- ries afterwards made, and inclined him to countenance the propositions of his own subjects for engaging in similar adventures. On the 5th of March 1495, he Commis- grranted a commission to John Cabot, an enterprising sion of Ca- ° . . 1 t> bot. Venetian who had settled in Bristol, and to his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sanctius, empowering them, or either of them, to sail under the banner of England, towards the east, north, or west, in order to discover countries unoccupied by any christian state, and to take possession of them in his name. It does not appear that the expedition contemplated at the date of this commission was prosecuted imme- AMERICAN COLONIES. 13 ^^ diately ; but in May 1496, Cabot, with his second son, Sebastian, sailed from Bristol in a small squadron, H's voyage consisting of one ship furnished by the King, and four barks fitted out by merchants of that city ; and, steering almost due west, discovered the islands of Newfoundland and St. Johns, and, soon afterward, reached the continent of North America, along which he sailed from the fifty sixth to the thirty eighth de- gree of north latitude, in the vain hope of discovering a passage into the Pacific. Thus, according to the English historians, was first discovered that immense continent which stretches from the gulph of Mexico as far north as has yet been explored ; and to this voyage, the Eng- lish trace their tide to the country they afterwards ac- quired by settlement, and by arms. France, which has since contested with Britain the possession of a considerable portion of this important territory, has also advanced claims to its discovery ; but they seem not to be well founded. The ardour which had been excited in the bosom The schfme r TT r 1 • • • • -1 , , <^ making of Henry tor making acquisitions in the new world, settlements expired with this first effort. Cabot, on his return, ed.""*"'*'" found that monarch entirely disinclined to the farther prosecution of a scheme in which he had engaged with some zeal, the commencement of which liad been attended with encouraging appearances. Several causes are supposed to have contributed to suspend the pursuits of the English in America. Previous to its discovery, the Portuguese had explor- 14; HISTORY OF THE ed the Azores, or Western Islands; in consequence of which they claimed this continent, and contended for the exclusion of the Spaniards from the Western Ocean. The controversy was decided by the Pope, who, on the 7th of May 1493, of his own " mere libe- rality and certain knowledge, and the plenitude of apostolic authority," granted to Spain, the countries discovered or to be discovered by her, to the west- ward of a line to be drawn from pole to pole, a hun- dred leagues west of the Azores ; (excepting such countries as might be in the possession of any other christian prince antecedent to the year 1493 ;) and to Portugal, her discoveries eastward of that line. The validity of this grant was probably strength- ened, in the opinion of Henry, by other circum- stances. He set a high value on the friendship of the King of Spain, with whom he was then negotiating the marriage which afterwards took place between his eldest son and Catharine, the daughter of that monarch. Ferdinand was jealous to excess of all his rights ; and Henry was not inclined to interrupt the harmony subsisting between the two crowns, by as- serting claims to the country discovered by Cabot, which was obviously within the limits to which the pretensions of Spain extended. The fisheries of Newfoundland were carried on by individuals, to a considerable extent, and a paltry traffic was continued with the natives ; but no serious Renewed desigu of acquiring territory, and planting colonies in bJt,^"'^*' America was formed until the reign of Elizabeth, AMERICAN COLONIES. 15 when a plan for making permanent settlements was proposed and patronised by several persons of rank and influence. To select a man qualified for this ar- duous task, and disposed to engage in it, was among the first objects to which their attention was directed. Sir Humphry Gilbert had rendered himself conspi- cuous by his military services, and by a treatise con- cerning the north-west passage, in which great inge- nuity and learning, are stated by Dr. Robertson, to be mingled with the enthusiasm, the credulity, and sanguine expectation which incite men to new and hazardous undertakings. On this gentleman the ad- venturers turned their eyes, and he was placed at the head of the enterprise. On the 11th of June 1578, he obtained letters patent from the Queen, vesting in him the powers that were required ; on receiving which, he, with the associates of his voyage, embark- ed for America. But his success did not equal his expectations. The various difficulties inseparable from the settlement of a distant, unexplored country, inhabited only by savages ; the inadequacy of the supplies which could be furnished for a colony by the funds of a few private individuals ; the misfortune of having approached the continent too far towards the north, where the cold barren coast of cape Breton was rather calculated to repel than invite a settle- ment; have been assigned as the probable causes of his failure,* • Robertson. Chalmci 16 " HISTORY OF THE Two expeditions conducted by this gentlenaan ended disastrously. In the last, he himself perished ; having done nothing farther in the execution of his patent, than taking possession of the island of New- foundland, in the name of Elizabeth. Sir Walter Raleigh, alike distinguished by his ge- nius, his courage, and the severity of his fate, had been deeply interested in the adventures in which his half brother. Sir Humphry Gilbert, had wasted his fortune, and was not deterred by their failure, or by the dif- ficulties attending such an enterprise, from prosecut- ing with vigour, a plan so well calculated to captivate his bold and romantic temper. 1584 On the 26th of March, he obtained a patent from Sir Walter the Quccn ; and, on the 27th of April, dispatched two ^ *^'^ * small vessels under the command of captains Amidas and Barlow for the purpose of visiting the country, and of acquiring some previous knowledge of those circumstances which might be essential to the wel- fare of the colony he was about to plant. To avoid the error of Gilbert in holding too far north, Amidas and Barlow took the route by the Canaries, and the West India islands, and approached the North Ame- rican continent towards the gulph of Florida. On the 2d of July, they touched at a small island situate on the inlet into Pamplico sound, whence they pro- ceeded to Roanoke, near the mouth of Albemarle sound. After employing a few weeks in traffic with the In- dians, from whom thev collected some confused ac- AMERICAN COLONIES, 17 counts respecting the neighbouring continent, they took with them two of the natives, who willingly ac- companied them, and embarked for England, where they arrived on the 15th of September. The splen- did description which they gave of the soil, the cli- mate, and the productions of the country they had visited, so pleased Elizabeth, that she bestowed on it the name of Virginia, as a memorial that it had been discovered during the reign of a virgin Queen. ^ Ra- leigh, encouraged by their report to hasten his prepa- rations for taking possession of the property, fitted out a squadron consisting of seven small ships, laden with arms, ammunition, provisions, and passengers, which sailed from Plymouth on the 9th of April, under the tsss command of Sir Richard Grenville, who was his re- Voyage of t • 1 1 • • I TT • Sir Richard lation, and interested with him in the patent. Having cjrenviiie. taken the southern route, and wasted soma time in cruising against the Spaniards, Sir Richard did not reach the coast of North America, until the close of the month of June. He touched at both the islands on which Amidas and Barlow had landed, and made some excursions into different paits of the continent around Pamplico, and x\lbemarle sounds. Having established a colony, consisting of one hun- First coio- dred and eight persons, in the island of Roanoke, an incommodious station, without any safe harbour, he committed the government of it to Mr. Ralph Lane; and, on the 25th of August, sailed for England.f » Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. t Ibid. c 18 HISTORY OF THE An insatiate passion for gold, attended by an eager desire to find it in the bowels of the earth, for a long time the disease of Europeans in America, became the scourge of this feeble settlement. The English flattered themselves that the country they had disco- vered could not be destitute of those mines of the pre- cious metals with whkh Spanish America abounded. The most diligent researches were made in quest of them; and the infatuating hope of finding them stimu- lated the colonists to the utmost exertions of which they were capable. The Indians soon discerned the object for which they searched with so much avidity, and amused them v\ ith tales of rich mines in countries they had not yet explored. Seduced by this infor- mation, they encountered incredible hardships, and, in this vain search wasted that time which ought to have been employed in providing the means of future sub- sistence. Mutual suspicion and disgust between them and the natives ripened into open hostility ; and, the provisions brought from England being exhausted, they were under the necessity of resorting for food to the precarious supplies which could be drawn from the rivers and woods. , In this state of distress, they 1586 were found, in June, by Sir Francis Drake, who was then returning from a successful expedition against the Spaniards in the West Indies. He agreed to sup- ply them with about one hundred men, four months provisions, and a small vessel ; but, before she could be brought into a place of security, and the men and stores disembarked, she was driven out to sea by a *^1: AMERICAN COLONIES. 19 sudden and violent storm. Discouraged by this mis- fortune, and worn out with fatigue and famine, the Colonists colonists unanimously determined to abandon the co- back to lony, and were, at their own request, taken on board Drake! ^ the fleet which sailed hr England.* Thus terminated the first English colony planted in America. The only acquisition made by this ex- pensive experiment, was a better knowledge of the country and its inhabitants. A few days after the departure of Drake with Lane^'"e"''iie . plants a and his associates, a small vessel which had been second co- dispatched by Raleigh with a supply of provisions, reached its place of destination. Not finding the co- lonists, this vessel returned to England. Soon after its departure, Sir Richard Grenville arrived with three ships and ample supplies. Having searched in vain for the colonists he had left, and being unable to con- jecture their fate, he placed fifteen men in the island with provisions for two years, for the purpose of re- taining possession of the country, and returned to England. This small party was soon destroyed by°"i,™JJ|^ the Indians. ^''^'''' Not discouraged by the ill success which had thus far attended his efforts to make a settlement in Ame- rica, Raleigh, in the following year, fitted out three ^^^^ ships under the command of captain John White, and, it is said, directed the colony to be removed to the waters of the Chesapeake, which bay had been » Robertson, Chalmer. Stith. Smith. ^0 HISTORY OF THE discovered by Lane in the preceding year. Instruct ed by calamity, he adopted more efficacious means for preserving and continuing the colony than had be- fore been used. The number of men was greater; they were accompanied by some women, and their supply of provisions was more abundant. Mr. "White was appointed their governor, twelve assistants were assigned him as a council, and a charter incor- porating them by the name of the governor and as- sistants of the city of Raleigh in Virginia, was grant- ed them. Third coio- Thus prepared for a permanent settlement, they nyariives. gj.j.j^,g^ j^ j^j|y ^^ Roanokc, where they received the melancholy intelligence of the loss of their country- men who had been left there by Sir Richard Gren- ville. They determined, however, to remain at the same place, and began to make the necessary prepa- rations for their accommodation. Aware of the dan- ger to be apprehended from the hostile disposition of their neighbours, they endeavoured to effect a recon- ciliation with the natives, one of whom, who had ac- companied Aroidas and Barlow to England, and who was distinguished by his unshaken attachment to the English, was christened, and styled Lord of Dassa Monpeake, an Indian nation in the neighbourhood.* About the same time the first child of English pa- rentage was born in America. She was the daughter of Ananias Dare, and, after the place of her birth, was named Virginia. • Robertson, Chalmer. Stith. Sraitli AMERICAN COLONIES. SI ^oon perceiving their want of many things essential to the preservation, and comfortable subsistence of a new settlement, the colonists, with one voice, deputed their governor, to solicit those specific aids which their situation particularly and essentially required. On his arrival in England, he found the whole nation alarmed at the formidable preparations for their inva- sion, made by Philip II. of Spain ; and Raleigh, Gren- ville, and the other patrons of the colony, ardently en- gaged in those measures of defence which the public danger demanded. Mingling, however, with his ex- ertions to defend his native country, some attention to the colony he had planted, Raleigh found leisure to fit out a small fleet for its relief, the command ot which was given to Sir Richard Grenville ; but, the apprehensions from the Spanish armament still in- creasing, the ships of force prepared by Raleigh were detained in port by order of the Queen, and Sir Rich- ard Grenville was commanded not to leave Cornwall, where his services were deemed necessary. On the 22d of April, White put to sea with two small barks, but, instead of hastening to the relief of his distressed countrymen, wasted his time in cruising ; and, being beaten by a superior force, was totally disabled from prosecuting his voyage.* The attention of Raleish beine; directed to other i^sq ° '^ Raleigh as- more splendid objects, he assigned his patent to Sirs'gnshis Thomas Smith and a company of merchants in Lon- don. • Robertson. Chalmer. Stith Smith, la8& S3 HISTORY OF THE After this transfer, a )'^ear was permitted to elapse before any effort was made for the relief of the colo- 1590 ny. In March, three ships fitted out by the company, in one of which Mr. White embarked, sailed from Third coio- Plymouth ; but, having cruelly and criminally \\ asted their time in plundering the Spaniards in the West Indies, they did not reach Hatteras until the month of August. They fired a gun to give notice of their ar- rival, and sent a party to the place where the colony had been left; but no vestige of their countrymen could be found. In attempting the next day to go to Ro- anoke, one of the boats^ in passing a bar, was half fill- ed with water, another was overset, and six men were drowned. Two other boats were fitted out with nineteen men to search the island thoroughly on which the colony had been left. At the departure of Mr. White, it was in contem- plation to remove about fifty miles into the country ; and it had been agreed that, should the colonists leave the island, they would carve the name of the place to which they should remove, on some tree, door, or post ; with the addition of a cross over it, as a signal of distress, if they should be really distressed at the time of changing their situation. After considerable search, the word CROxVFANvva^found carved in fair capital letters on one of the chief posts, but unaccom- panied by the sign of distress which had been agreed on. Croatan was the name of an Indian town on the north side of Cape Lookout, and for that place, the AMERICAN COLONIES. 23 fleet weighed anchor the next day. Meeting with a storm, and several accidents, they were discouraged from proceeding on their voyage, and, determining to suspend their search, returned to the West Indies. The company made no farther attempt to find these lost colonists ; nor has the time or the manner of their perishing ever been discovered.* The subsequent voyages made by the English to North America were for the sole purpose of traffic, and were unimportant in their consequences, until the year 1602, when one was undertaken by Bartholomew iG'^2 * VoyagrtJ ot Gosnald, which contributed greatly to the revival of GosuaM. the then dormant spirit of colonising in the new world. He sailed from Falmouth in a small bark with thirty two men ; and steering nearly west, reached the Ame- rican continent, on the 11th of May, in about forty three degrees of north latitude. Finding no good harbour at this place, Gosnald put to sea again and stood southward. The next morning, he descried a promontory which he called cape Cod, and, holding his course along the coast as it stretched to the south west, touched at two islands, the first of which he named Martha's Vineyard, and the second, Elizabeth's Island. Having passed some time at these places, examining the country, and tra- ding with the natives, he returned to England. f This voyage was completed in less than four months, and was attended with important consequen- * Robertson. Clialraer. Stilh, t Ibid. ^4 HISTORY OF THE ces. Gosnald had found a healthy climate, a rich soil, good harbours, and a route which shortened con- siderably the distance to the continent of North Ame- rica. He had seen many of the fruits known and prised in Europe, blooming in the woods ; and had planted European grain which grew rapidly. Encour- aged by this experiment, and delighted with the country, he formed the resolution of transporting thi- ther a colony, and of procuring the co-operation of others by whom his plan might be supported. So unfortunate however had been former attempts of this sort, that men of wealth and rank, though strong- ly impressed by his report of the country, were slow in giving full faith to his representations, and in enter- ing completely into his views. One vessel was fitted out by the merchants of Bristol, and another by the earl of Southampton, and lord Arundel of Wardour, in order to learn whether Gosnald's account of the country was to be considered as a just representation of its state, or as the exaggerated description of a per- son fond of magnifying his own discoveries. Both returned with a full confirmation of his veracity, and with the addition of so many new circumstances in favour of the country, as greatly increased the desire of settling it. Richard Hackluyt, prebendary of Westminster, a man of distinguished learning and intelligence, con- tributed more than any other by his judicious exer- tions, to form an association sufficiently extensive, powerful, and wealthy, to execute the often renewed. AMERICAN COLONIES. S5 and often disappointed project of establishing colonies in America. At length, such an association was formed ; and a *^'^^* petition was presented to James I., who had succeed- ed to the crown of England, praying the royal sanc- tion to the plan which was proposed. That pacific monarch was delighted with it, and immediately ac- ceded to the wishes of its projectors. On the 10th of April, letters patent were issued un- Patent to der the great seal of England, to the petitioners. Sir Gates and Thomas Gates and his associates, granting to them°^ ^"^^" those territories in America, lying on the sea coast, between the 34th and 45th degrees of north latitude, and which either belonged to that monarch, or were not then possessed by any other Christian prince or people ; and also the islands adjacent thereto, or with- in one hundred miles thereof. They were divided, at their own desire, into two companies. One, con- sisting of certain knights, gentlemen, merchants, and other adventurers of the city of London, and else- where, was called the first colony, and was required to settle between the 34th and 41st degrees of north lati- tude ; the other, consisting of certain knights, gentle- men, merchants, and other adventurers of Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, and elsewhere, was named the second colony, and was ordered to settle between the 38th and 45th degrees of north latitude ; yet so that the colony last formed should not be planted within one hundred miles of the prior establishment. The adventurers were empowered to transport so D S6 HISTORY OF THE many English subjects as should be wilHng to ac- company them, who, with their descendants, were, at all times, to enjoy the same liberties, within any other dominions of the crown of England, as if they had remained, or were born, within the realm. A council consisting of thirteen, to be appointed and removed at the pleasure of the crown, was established for each colony, to govern it according to such laws as should be given under the sign manual and privy seal of England. Two other boards to consist also of thirteen persons each, and to be appointed by the King, were invested with the superior direction of the affairs of the colonies. The adventurers were allowed to search for, and open mines of gold, silver, and copper, yielding one- fifth of the two former metals, and one-fifteenth of the last, to the King j and to make a coin which should be current both among the colonists and natives. The president and council were authorised to re- pel those who should, without their authority, attempt to setde, or trade, within their jurisdiction, and to seize, and detain the persons, and eftects, of such in- truders, until they should pay a duty of two and one half per centum ad valorem, if subjects, but of five per centum if aliens. These taxes were to be applied, for twenty-one years, to the use of the adventurers, and were afterwards to be paid into the royal ex- chequer. Code of While the council for the patentees were employed laws for the , . * . colony in makinq; preparations to secure the benefits of their drawn up t • i i i • i by the king, grant, Jamcs was assiduously engaged m the new, AMERICAN COLONIES 27 and, to his vanity, the flattering task of framing a code of laws for the government of the colonies about to be planted. Having at length prepared this code, he is- sued it under the sign manual, and privy seal of Eng- land. By these regulations, he vested the general superintendence of the colonies, in a council in Eng- land, " composed of a few persons of consideration and talents." The church of England was establish- ed. The legislative and executive powers within the colonies, were vested in the president and councils ; but their ordinances were not to touch life or mem- ber, were to continue in force only until made void by the King, or his council in England for Virginia, ! and were to be in substance, consonant to the laws of England. They were enjoined to permit none to withdraw the people from their allegiance to himself, and his successors ; and to cause all persons so offend- ing to be apprehended, and imprisoned until refor- mation ; or, in cases highly offensive, to be sent to England to receive punishment. No person was to be permitted to remain in the colony without taking the oath of obedience. Tumults, mutiny, and rebel- lion, murder, and incest, were to be punished with death ; and for these offences, the criminal was to be tried by a jury. Inferior crimes were to be punished in a summary way, at the discretion of the president and council. Lands were to be holden within the colony as the same estates were enjoyed in England. Kindness to- **!: . HISTORY OF THE wards the heathen was enjoined ; and a power reserv- ed to the King, and his successors to ordain farther laws, so that they were consonant to the jurisprudence of England.* Under this charter, and these laws, which mani- fest, at the same time, a total disregard of all political liberty, and a total ignorance of the real advantages which a parent state may derive from its colonies ; which vest the higher powers of legislation in persons residing out of the country, not chosen by the peo- ple, nor affected by the laws they make, and yet leave commerce unrestrained ; the patentees proceed- ed to execute the arduous and almost untried task of peopling a strange, distant, and uncultivated land, covered with woods and marshes, and inhabited only by savages easily irritated, and when irritated, more fierce than the beasts they hunted. * Robertson, AMERICAN COLONIES. 29 CHAPTER II. Voyage of Newport. — Settlement at Jamestown, — Distress of colonists. — Smith. — He is captured by the Indians. — Condemned to deaths saved by Poca- hontas. — Returns to Jamestown. — Newport arrives with fresh settlers. — S7nith explores the Chesa- peake. — Is chosen president. — New charter. — Third voyage of Newport. — Smith sails for Europe. — Condition of the colony. — Colonists determine to abandon the country. — Are stopped by Lord Dela- ware. — Sir Thomas Dale. — New charter. — Capt. Argal seizes Pocahontas. — She marries Mr. Rolf — Separate property in lands and labour. — Expe- dition against Port Royal. — Against Manfiadoes. — Fifty acres of land for each settler. — Tobacco. — ■ Sir Thomas Dale. — Mr. Yeardley. — First assem- bly. — First arrival of females. — Of convicts. — OJ African slaves. — Txvo cou?jcils established. — Pros- perity of the colony. — I?jdiatis attempt to massacre the whites. — General war. — Dissolution of the com- pany. — Arbit7'ary measures of the c?'oxvn. — Sir John Harvey. — Sir TFilliam Berkeley. — Provincial as- sembly restored. — Virginia declares in favour of Charles II.— -Grant to Lord Baltimoi'e. — Arrival of a colony in Maryland. — Assembly composed of free- men. — William Claybourne. — Assembly composed of representatives. — Divided into two branches. — Tyrannical proceedings. 30 HISTORY OF THE 1606. The funds immediately appropriated to the plant= ing of colonies in America, were inconsiderable, and the early efforts to accomplish the object, were feeble. The first expedition for the southern colony con- sisted of one vessel of a hundred tons, and two barks, carrying one hundred and five men, destined to re- main in the country. Voyage of The commaud of this small squadron was given to *.ewport. ^.gp^^jj^ Newport, who, on the 19th of December, sailed from the Thames. Three sealed packets were delivered to him, one addressed to himself, a second to captain Bartholomew Gosnald, and the third to captain John Radcliffe, containing the names of the council for this colony. These packets were accom- panied with instructions directing that they should be opened, and the names of his Majesty's council pro- claimed, within twenty-four hours after their arrival on the coast of Virginia, and not before. The coun- cil were then to proceed to the choice of a president, who was to have two votes. To this unaccountable concealment have those dissentions been attributed, which distracted the colonists on their passage, and which afterwards impeded the progress of their set- tlement.* Newport, whose place of destination was Roanoke, took the circuitous route by the West India islands, and had a long passage of four months. The reck- oning had been out for three days, and serious propo- * Robertson. Chalmer, Stit|i. AMERICAN COLONIES. 31 sitions had been made for returning to England, when leor. a fortunate storm drove him to the mouth of theiothJl^he- Chesapeake. On the 26th of April, he descried cape^'*^*^' *"" Henry, and soon afterward cape Charles. A party of about thirty men, which went on shore at cape Henry, was immediately attacked by the natives, and, in the skirmish which ensued, several were wounded on both sides. The first act of the colonists was the selection of a spot for their settlement. They proceeded up a large river, called by the natives Powhatan, and agreed to make their first establishment upon a peninsula, on its northern side. In compliment to their sovereign, this place was named Jamestown, and the river was called James. Having disembarked, and opened the May isih. sealed packets brought from England, the members of the council proceeded to the election of a presi- dent, and Mr. Wingfield was chosen. But, under frivolous pretexts, they excluded from his seat among them, John Smith, one of the most extraordinary men of his age, whose courage and talents had excited their envy. During the passage, he had been impri- soned on the extravagant charge of intending to mur- der the council, usurp the government, and make himself king of Virginia.* The first indications of a permanent settlement in their country, seem to have excited the jealousy of the natives. Displeased with the intrusion, or dissa- ' ' Robertson. Chalmer, Stith. -^S^Tlf^l HISTORY OF THE tisfied with the conduct of the intruders, they soon formed the design of expelling, or destroying, these unwelcome and formidable visitors. In execution of this intention, they attacked the colonists suddenly, while at work, and unsuspicious of their hostility ; but were driven, terrified, into the woods by the fire from the ship. On the failure of this attempt, a temporary accommodation was effected. Newport, though named of the council, had been ordered to return to England. As the time of his de« parture approached, the accusers of Smith, attempting to conceal their jealousy by the affectation of humani- ty, proposed that he also should return, instead of be- ing prosecuted in Virginia ; but, with the pride of conscious innocence, he demanded a trial ; and, being honourably acquitted, took his seat in the council. About the 15th of June, Newport, sailed for Eng- land, leaving behind him one of the barks, and about one hundred colonists. While he remained, they had partaken of the food allowed the sailors ; but after his departure, they were reduced to the necessity of sub- sisting on the distributions from the public stores, which had sustained great damage during their long passage. These were both scanty, and unwholesome ; the allowance to each man, for a day, being only a pint of worm-eaten wheat and barley. This wretch- ed food increased the malignity of the diseases gene- rated by the climate, among men exposed to all its rigours. Before the month of September, fifty of the company were buried ; among whom was Bartholo- AMERICAN COLONIES. 33 mew Gosnald, who had planned the expedition, and chap, ii. had contributed greatly towards its prosecution. Their distress was increased by internal dissention. The president was charged with embezzling the best stores of the colony, and with feasting at his private table, on beef, bread, and aqua vit^y while famine and death devoured his fellow adventurers. The odium against him was completed by the detection of an attempt to escape from them and their calamities, in the bark which had been left by Newport. In the burst of general indignation which followed the disco- very of this meditated desertion, he was deposed, and Radcliffe chosen to succeed him.* As misfortune is not unfrequently, the parent of mo- deration and reflection, this state of misery produced a system of conduct towards the neighbouring In- dians, which, for the moment, disarmed their resent- ments, and induced them to bring in such supplies as the country afforded at that season. It produced another effect of equal importance. A sense of immi- nent and common danger called forth those talents which were fitted to the exigency, and compelled sub- mission to them. On captain Smith, who had pre- served his health unimpaired, his spirits unbroken, and his judgment unclouded, amidst this general misery and dejection, all eyes were turned, and in him, all actual authority was placed by common con- sent. His example soon gave energy to others. • Stith. Smith, ' 34} HISTORY OF THE CHAP. H. Hq erected such rude fortifications as would resist the sudden attacks of the savages, and constructed such habitations as, by shehering the survivors from the weather, contributed to restore and preserve their heahh, while his own accommodation gave place to that of all others. In the season of gathering corn, he penetrated into the country at the head of small parties, and by presents and caresses to those who were well disposed, and by attacking with open force, and defeating those who were hostile, he obtained abundant suppHes. While thus actively and usefully employed abroad, he was not permitted to withdraw his attention from the domestic concerns of the colony. Incapacity for command is seldom accompanied by a willingness to relinquish power ; and it will excite no surprise that the late president saw, with regret, another placed above him. As unworthy minds most readily devise unworthy means, he sought, by intriguing with the factious, and fomenting their discontents, to regain his lost authority ; and when these attempts were dis- concerted, he formed a conspiracy v/ith some of the principal persons in the colony, to escape in the bark, and thus to desert the country. The vigilance of Smith detected these machinations, and his vigour defeated them.* The prospect which now presented itself of pre- serving the colony in quiet and plenty, until supplies could be received from England, was obscured by • Stith. AMERICAN COLONIES. 35 an event which threatened, at first, the most disas- ^^^^- ": trous consequences. In attempting to explore Chic- cahomini river to its source, Smith was discover- smith is ed and attacked by a numerous body of Indians ; and I'he iSS in endeavouring, after a gallant defence, to make his escape, he sank up to his neck in a swamp, and was obliged to surrender. The wonder and veneration which he excited by the exhibition of a mariner's compass, saved him from immediate death. He was conducted in triumph, through several towns, to the palace of Powhatan, the most potent king in that part of the country, who doomed him to be put toiscondemn- death by placing his head upon a stone, and beating'' '°'^^^'' out his brains with a club. At the place of execu- tion, with his head bowed down to receive the blow, he was rescued from a fate which appeared to be inevitable, by that enthusiastic and impassioned hu- manity which, in every climate, and in every state of society, finds its home in the female bosom. Poca- hontas, the king's favourite daughter, then about thir- teen years of age, whose entreaties for his life had pjcahomas. been ineffectual, rushed between him and the execu- tioner, and folding his head in her arms, and laying hers upon it, arrested the fatal blow. Her father was then prevailed upon to spare his life, and he was sent back to Jamestown.* On arriving at that place, after an absence of seven ReturDs to weeks, he found the colony reduced to thirty-eight Stith. 36 HISTORY OF THR CHAP, n. persons^ who seemed determined to abandon a coun- try which appeared to them so unfavourable to human life. He came just in time to prevent the execution of this design. Alternately employing persuasion, threats, and even violence, he induced the majority to relinquish their intention ; then turning the guns of the fort on the bark, on board which were the most determined, he compelled her to remain, or sink in the river.* By a judicious regulation of intercourse with the Indians, over whom he had gained considerable in- fluence, he restored plenty to the colony, and pre- served it until the arrival of two vessels which had been dispatched from England under the command of captain Newport, with a supply of provisions and instruments of husbandry, and with a reinforcement of one hundred and twenty persons, composed of many gentlemen, several refiners, gold smiths, and jewellers, and a few labourers. The influence of Smith disappeared with the dan- ger which had produced it, and was succeeded by an improvident relaxation of discipline, productive of the most pernicious consequences.f A glittering About this time, a shining earth, mistaken by the Sn T.^ colonists for gold dust, was found in a small stream gold dust. ^j. vvater near Jamestown. Their raging thirst for gold was re-excited by this incident. Stith, in his History of Virginia, describing the phrenzy of the • Stith. t Ibid. AMERICAN COLONIES. 37 moment, says, " there was no thought, no discourse, chap, ii. no hope, and no work, but to dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, and load gold. And, notwithstanding captain Smith's warm and judicious representations how absurd it was to neglect other things of imme- diate use and necessity, to load such a drunken ship with gilded dust, yet was he over-ruled, and her re- turns were made in a parcel of glittering dirt, which is to be found in various parts of the country, and which they, very sanguinely, concluded to be gold dust." The two vessels returned laden, one with this dirt, leos. and the other with cedar. This is the first remittance ever made from America by an English colony. The effects of this fatal delusion were soon felt, and the colony again began to suffer that distress, from scarcity of food, which had before brought it, more than once, to the brink of ruin. The researches of the English setders had not yet extended beyond the country adjacent to James river. Smith had formed the bold design of exploring the Smith ex- great bay of Chesapeake, examining the mighty rivers chesL* ^ which empty into it, opening an intercourse with the^*^"* ^" nations inhabiting their borders, and acquiring a knowledge of the state of their cultivation and popu- lation. Accompanied by Doctor Russel, he engaged in this hardy enterprise in an open boat of about three tons burthen, and with a crew of thirteen men. On the 2d of June, he descended the river in company with the last of Newport's two vessels, and, parting 38 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. 11 . ^yjfV, jjgj. 31 the capes, began his survey at cape Charles. With great fatigue and danger, he examin- ed every river, inlet, and bay, on both sides of the Chesapeake, as far as the mouth of the Rappahan- nock. His provisions being exhausted, he returned, and arrived at Jamestown on the 21st of July- He found the colony in the utmost confusion and disor- der. All those who came last with Newport were sick ; the danger of famine was imminent ; and the clamour against the president was loud, and universal. The seasonable arrival of Smith restrained their fury. The accounts he gave of his discoveries, and the hope he entertained that the waters of the Chesapeake communicated with the south sea,* extended their views and revived their spirits. They contented themselves with deposing their president, and, having in vain urged Smith to accept that office, elected his friend Mr. Scrivener as vice president. After employing three days in making arrange- ments for obtaining regular supplies, and for the go- vernment of the colony. Smith again sailed with twelve men, to complete his researches into the countries on the Chesapeake. From this voyage he returned on the seventh of September ; having advanced as far as the river Sus- quehannah, and visited all the countries on both shores of the bay. He entered most of the large creeks, sailed up many of the great rivers to their falls, and * This error might very possibly be produced by the Indians representing the great western lakes as seas. AMERICAN COLONIES. 39 made accurate observations on the extensive territories chap, n. through which he passed, and on the various tribes inhabiting them, with whom he, alternately, fought, negotiated, and traded. In every situation, he dis- played judgment, courage, and that presence of mind which is essential to the character of a commander ; and never failed, finally, to inspire the savages he encountered, with the most exalted opinion of himself and of his nation. When we consider that he sailed above three thou- sand miles in an open boat ; when we contemplate the dangers and the hardships he encountered ; when we reflect on the valuable additions he made to the stock of knowledge respecting America ; we shall not hesitate to say that few voyages of discovery, un- dertaken at any time, reflect more honour on those engaged in them. " So full and exact," says Dr. Robertson, " are his accounts of that large portion of the American continent comprehended in the two provinces of Virginia and Maryland, that after the progress of information and research for a century and a half, his map exhibits no inaccurate view of both countries, and is the original, on which all sub- sequent delineations and descriptions have been formed .* On his return from this expedition, Smith was is chosen chosen president of the council ; and, yielding to the ^'^"* *"'" general wish, accepted the office. Soon after, New- • Dr. Robertson must allude to the country below the falls of the great rivers. 40 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. II. pnrf arrived with an additional supply of settlers, among whom were the two first females who adven- tured to the present colony ; but he came without provisions. The judicious administration of the president, how- ever, supplied the wants of the colonists, and restrain- ed the turbulent. Encouraged by his example, and coerced by his authority, a spirit of industry and sub- ordination was created among them, which was the parent of plenty and of peace.* The company in England, though disappointed in the hope of discovering a passage to the Pacific, and of finding mines of the precious metals, still indulged in golden dreams of future wealth. To increase their funds, as well as their influence and reputation, by the acquisition of additional numbers, to explain and en- large their powers and privileges, and to ensure a co- lonial government conforming to their own views and wishes, the company petitioned for a new charter, 1609. which was granted on the 23d of May. Some of the first nobility and gentry of the country, and most of the companies of London, with a numerous body of merchants and tradesmen, were added to the former New Char- advcuturcrs, and they were all incorporated, by the name of " The treasurer and company of adventurers of the city of London, for the first colony in Virgi- nia." To them were granted, in absolute property, the lands extending from Cape or Point Comfort, • Robertson. Chalmer. AMERICAN COLONIES. 41 lti09. along the sea coast, two hundred miles to the north- P"^^- "■ ward, and from the same point, along the sea coast, two hundred miles to the southward, and up into the land, throughout, from sea to sea, west and north west; and also all the islands lying within one hun- dred miles of the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid : to be holden as of the manor of East Green- wich, in free and common soccage, and paying, in lieu of all services, one-fifth of the gold and silver that should be found. The corporation was authorised to convey, under its common seal, particular portions of these lands to subjects or denizens, on such condi- tions as might promote the intentions of the grant. The powers of the president and council in Virginia were abrogated, and a new council in England was established, w ith power to the company to fill all va- cancies therein by election. This council was em- powered to appoint and remove all officers for the co- lony, and to make all ordinances for its government, not contrary to the laws of England ; and to rule the colonists according to such ordinances. License was given to transport to Virginia, all persons willing to go thither, and to export merchandise free from cus- toms for seven years. There was also granted, for twenty-one years, freedom from all subsidies in Vir- ginia, and from all impositions on importations and exportations from or to any of the King's dominions, " except only the five pounds in the hundred due for customs." The colonists were declared to be en- titled to the rights of natural subjects. The gover- F 4S HISTORY OF THE CHAP. II. pQj. yyas empowered to establish martial law in case of rebellion or mutiny ; and, to prevent the superstitions of the Church of Rome from taking root in the plan- tation, it was declared that none should pass into Vir- ginia, but such as shall have first taken the oath of supremacy.* The company, being thus enlarged, and enabled to take more effective measures for the settlement of the country, soon fitted out nine ships, with five hundred emigrants, Lord Delawar was constituted governor and captain-general for life ; and several other offices were created. The direction of the expedition was ■™o?nIw- ^S^'" given to Newport; to whom, and Sir Thomas p°'"t' Gates, and Sir George Somers, powers were several- ly granted to supersede the existing administration, and to govern the colony until the arrival of Lord Delavvar. With singular indiscretion, the council omitted to establish precedence among these gentle- men ; who, being totally unable to setde this impor- tant point among themselves, agreed to embark on board the same vessel, and to be companions during the voyage. They were parted from the rest of the fleet in a storm, and driven on Bermudas ; having on board one hundred and fifty men, a great portion of the provisions destined for the colony, and the new commission and instructions of the council. The residue of the squadron arrived safely in Virginia. " A great part of the new company," says Mr. Stith, " consisted of unruly sparks, packed off by their * Charter. AMERICAN COLONIES. 43 friends to escape worse destinies at home. And thf chap, it. rest were chiefly made up of poor gentlemen, broken tradesmen, rakes and libertines, footmen, and such others as were much fitter to spoil and ruin a Com- monwealth, than to help to raise or maintain one. This lewd company, therefore, were led by their se- ditious captains into many mischiefs and extravagan- cies. They assumed to themselves the power of dis- posing of the government, and conferred it some- times on one, and sometimes on another. To day the old commission must rule, to-morrow the new, and next day neither. So that all was anarchy and distraction.'' The judgment of Smith was not long suspended. With the promptness and decision which belong to vigorous minds, he determined that his own autho- rity was not legally revoked until the arrival of the new commission, and therefore resolved to continue its exercise. Incapable of holding the reins of govern- ment with a feeble hand, he exhibited, on this emer- gency, that energy and good sense which never de- serted him when the occasion required them. After imprisoning the chief promoters of sedition, and there- by restoring regularity and obedience, he, for the double purpose of extending the colony, and of pre- venting the mischiefs to be apprehended from so many turbulent spirits collected in Jamestown, de- tached one hundred men to the falls of James river, under the command of West, and the same number to Nansemond, under that of Martin. These per- 4^ HISTOllY OF THE CHAP. II. gnns conductcd their settlements with so Httle iudir- ment, that they soon converted all the neighbouring Indians into '•nemies. After losing several parties, they found themselves in absolute need of the sup- port and direction of Smith. These were readily af- forded, until a melancholy accident deprived the co- lony of the aid of a man whose talents had, more than once, rescued it from that desperate condition into which folly and vice had plunged it. Retiirning from a visit to the detachment stationed at the falls of James river, his powder bag took fire, while he was sleeping in the boat, and, in the explosion, he was so severely wounded as to be confined to his bed. Being unable Smith re- to obtain the aid of a surgeon in the colony, he em- Engiand. barked for England about the beginning of October. State of the At his departure, the colony consisted of about five ° °"^ hundred inhabitants. They were furnished with three ships, seven boats, commodities ready for trade, ten weeks provision in the pul^lic stores, six mares and a horse, a large stock of hogs and poultry, some sheep and goats, utensils for agriculture, nets for fish- ing, one hundred trained and expert soldiers well ac- quainted with the Indians, their language and habita- tions, twenty-four pieces of ordnance, and three hun- dred muskets, with a sufficient quantity of arms and ammunition.* The fair prospects of the colony were soon blasted by a course of folly and crime, of riot and insubordi- nation - • Stilh-. AMERICAN COLONIES, 45 Numerous pretenders advanced their claims to the CHAP, n . 1609. supreme command. The choice at length fell upon captain Percy, who derived much consideration from his virtues, as well as from his illustrious family ; but his talents, at no time equal to this new and difficult station, were rendered still less competent to the task, by a long course of ill health. Being generally con- fined by sickness to his bed, he was incapable of maintaining his authority ; and total confusion en- sued, with its accustomed baneful consequences. The Indians, no longer awed by the genius and vigour of Smith, attacked the colony on all sides. West and Martin, after losing their boats and nearly half their men, were driven into Jamestown. The stock of provisions was lavishly wasted ; and famine added its desolating scourge to their other calamitieso After devouring the skins of their horses, and the In- dians they had killed, the survivors fed on those of their companions who had sunk under such accumu- lated misery. The recollection of these tremendous sufferings was long retained, and, for many years, this period was distinsjuished by the name of THE STARVING TIME.* In six months, the colony was reduced, by these distresses, to sixty persons, who could not have sur vived ten days longer, when they were relieved from this state of despair by the arrival of Sir Thomas . ' "^ . 1610. Gates, Sir George Somers, and captain Newport, May 24ih, from Bermuda. • Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. Beverlv. 46 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IT. Xhe determination to abandon the country was im- They aban- mediately taken, and the wretched remnant of the co- country, lony embarked on board the vessels, and sailed for England. " None dropped a tear," says Mr. Chal- mer, " because none had enjoyed one day of happi- ness." Stopped by Fortunately, they met Lord Delawar, who prevail- vfsii: ed on them to return ; and, on the 10th of June, re- settled them at Jamestown. By mildness of temper, attention to business, and judicious exercise of authority, this nobleman restored order and contentment to the colony, and again im- pressed the Indians with respect for the English name. 1611. Unfortunately, ill health obliged him to resign the go- vernment which he placed in the hands of Mr. Percy, and sailed for the West Indies, leaving in the colony about two hundred persons in possession of the bless- ings of health, plenty, and peace. Sir Thomas On the 10th of May, Sir Thomas Dale, who had Dale. , . , , -^ ' . J . 1 been appointed to the government, arrived with a fresh supply of men and provisions, and found the co- lony relapsing into a state of anarchy, idleness, and want. It required all the authority of the new gover- nor to maintain public order, and to compel the idle and the dissolute to labour. Some conspiracies hav- ing been detected, he proclaimed martial law, which was immediately put in execution. This severity was then deemed necessary, and is supposed to have saved the settlement.* • Robertson. Chalraer. Stith. Beverlv, AMERICAN COLONIES. 47 In the beginning of August, Sir Thomas Gates, ^"^^ ^^ who had been appointed to succeed Sir Thomas Dale, arrived with six ships, and a considerable supply of men and provisions. After receiving this addition to its numbers, the colony again extended itself up James river ; and several new settlements were made. Extravagant accounts of the fertility of Bermuda having reached England, the company became desir- ous of obtaining it as a place from which Virginia might be supplied with provisions. Application was therefore made to the crown for a new patent, to com- prehend this island : and, in March, a charter was is- Uh2. New Char. sued, granting to the treasurer and company all theicr. islands situate in the ocean within three hundred leagues of the coast of Virginia. By this charter, the corpo- ration was essentially new modelled. It was ordained that four general courts of the adventurers should be holden annually, for the determination of affairs of im- portance, and weekly meetings were directed, for the transaction of common business. To promote the effectual settlement of the plantation, license was given to open lotteries in any part of England.* These lotteries, which were the first ever drawn in England, brought twenty-nine thousand pounds into the treasury of the company. When they were dis- continued, in 1620, on the complaint of the House of Commons, they were declared to have " supplied the real food by which Virginia had been nourished.'' • Bobertson. Chalmer. Stilh. Beverly, 48 HISTORY OP THE CHAP, n. About this time an event took place which was fol- lowed by important consequences to the colony. Pro- visions in Jamestown continuing to be scarce, and supplies from the neighbouring Indians, with whom the English were often at war, being necessarily un- certain, captain Argal, with two vessels, was sent round to the Potowmac for a cargo of corn. While obtaining the cargo, he understood that Pocahontas, who had remained stedfast in her attachment to the English, had absented herself from the home of her father, and lay concealed in the neighbourhood. By bribing some of those in whom she confided, Arga! Captain prevailed on her to come on board his vessel, where seiles Po- she was detained respectfully, and brought to James- cahontas. ^^^,^^ ^^ ^^.^^ induced to take this step by the hope that the possession of Pocahontas would give the English an ascendancy over her father, who was known to doat on her. In this, however, he was dis- appointed. Powhatan offered corn and friendship, if they would first restore his daughter, but, with a lofti- ness of spirit which claims respect, rejected every proposition for conciliation which should not be pre- ceded by that act of reparation. During her detention at Jamestown, she made an impression on the heart of Mr. Rolf, a young gentle- man of estimation in the colony, who succeeded in gaining her affections. They were married with the consent of Powhatan, who was entirely reconciled to the English by that event, and continued, ever after, to be their sincere friend. This connexion led also AMERICAN COLONIES. 4-9 to a treaty with the Chiccahominies, a brave and dar- chap, u . ^ . .161^, ing tribe, who submitted themselves to the English, and became their tributaries.* About the same time, an important change took icjis. place in the internal arrangements of the colony. Heretofore no separate property in lands had been acquired, and no individual had laboured for himself. The lands had been held, cleared, and cultivated in common, and their produce carried into a common granary, from which it was distributed to all. This system was to be ascribed, in some measure, to the unwise injunction contained in the royal instructions, directing the colonists to trade together for five years in one common stock. Its effect was such as ought to have been foreseen. Industry, deprived of its due reward, exclusive property in the produce of its toil, felt no sufficient stimulus to exertion, and the public supplies were generally inadequate to the public ne- cessities. To remove this cause of perpetual scarci- ty, Sir Thomas Dale divided a considerable portion Separate of land into lots of three acres, and granted one of ranTs!*^'^ '" them, in fall property, to each individual. Although the colonists were still required to devote a large por- tion of labour to the public, a sudden change was made in their appearance and habits. Industry, im- pelled by the certainty of recompense, advanced with rapid strides ; and the inhabitants were no longer in fear of wanting bread, either for themselves, or for the emigrants from England. f » Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. Beverly. t Wem. G 50 . HISTORY OF THE <^HAP. 11. Early in the following year, Sir Thomas Gates re- turned to England, leaving the government again with Sir Thomas Dale. This gentleman detached captain Argal on an enterprise of which no immediate notice was taken, but which was afterwards recollected with indignation. The French, who had directed their course to the more northern parts of the continent, had been among the first adventurers to North America. Their voy- ages of discovery are of a very early date, and their attempts to establish a colony were among the first which were made. After several abortive efforts, a permanent settlement was made in Canada, in the year 1604, and the foundation of Quebec was laid in the year 1608. In November 1603, Henry IV. ap- pointed De Mont lieutenant-general of that part of the territory which he claimed, lying in North America, between the 40th and 46th degrees of north latitude, then called Acadie, with power to colonise and to rule it ; and he soon afterwards granted to the same gentleman and his associates, an exclusive right to the commerce of peltry in Acadie and the gulph of St. Lawrence. In consequence of these grants, a set- tlement was formed in the subsequent year, on that coast, near the river St. Croix ; and in 1605, Port Ro\ al was built on a more northern part of the bay of Fundy. The colony, receiving not much support from France, was feeble and unprosperous, but retained quiet possession of the country. In a time of pro- AMERICAN COLONIES. 51 found peace, the expedition of Arj^al was directed ^liiLJi against it. He found it totally unprepared for de- fence. The inhabitants, w ho had assiduously and successfully cultivated the friendship of the Indians, were scattered abroad in the woods, engaged in their several pursuits ; and a ship and bark just arrived from France, laden with articles necessary for the use of the colony, were surprised in port, and their car- goes taken to Jamestown. After the departure of Ar- gal, the French resumed their former station. The pretext for this predatory expedition was, that the French, by setding in Acadie, had invaded the rights of the English, acquired by the first discovery of the continent. Argal also paid a visit to New York, then in pos- session of the Dutch ; which country he claimed un- der the pretext that captain Hudson vvas an English- man, and could not transfer the benefit of his discove- ries from his sovereign. He demanded possession of the place; and the Dutch governor, being unable to resist, " peaceably submitted both himself and his co- lony to the King of England, and the governor of Virginia under him," and consented to pay a tribute. Argal then continued his voyage to Jamestown. But another governor soon afterwards arriving from Am- sterdam with better means of asserting the title of his nation, the payment of the tribute was refused, and the place put in a state of defence.* * Robertson. Chalmer. Stilh. 5^ HISTORY OF THE CHAP. II. i^he advantages resulting to the colony from allow- ing each individual to labour, in part for himself, hav- ing soon become apparent, the system of working in common to fill the public stores, seems to have been Fifty acres totally relinquished; and, not long afterwards, fifty offforVa^ch ^^'"^s of land, promised by the rules of the company settler. to each emigrant, were surveyed and delivered to those having the title. 1615. About the same time, tobacco was first cultivated Tobacco. . -,. . . m Virginia. This plant, although detested by the King, who even wrote a pamphlet against it, which he styled a counter blast ; although discountenanced by the lead- ing members of parliament, and even by the compa- ny, who issued edicts against its cultivation ; although extremely unpleasant to persons not accustomed to it, and disagreeable in its effects, surmounted all oppo- sition, and has, by an unaccountable caprice, been brought into general use, and become one of the most considerable staples of America.* 161G. In the spring of the following year, Sir Thomas Dale sailed for England, leaving the government in Yeardiy. the hands of Mr. George Yeardly, who, after a lax 1617. administration of one year, was succeeded by captain Argai. Argal. Argal was a man of talents and energy, but selfish, haughty, and tyrannical. He continued martial law during a season of peace ; and a Mr. Brewster, who * Robertson AMERICAN COLONIES. 53 was tried under this arbitrary system, for contemptu- chap, it. ous words spoken oi the governor, was sentenced to suffer death. He obtained with difficulty an appeal to the treasurer and company in England, by whom the sentence was reversed.* While martial law was, according to Stith, the common law of the land, the governor seems to have been the sole legislator. His general edicts mark the severity of his rule. He ordered that merchandise should be sold at an advance of twenty -five j&er cen- tum^ and tobacco taken in payment at the rate of three shillings per pound, under the penalty of three years servitude to the company; that no person should traffic privately with the Indians, or teach them the use of fire arms, under pain of death ; that no person should hunt deer or hogs without the governor's permission ; that no man should shoot, mless in his own necessa- ry defence, until a new supply of ammunition should arrive, on pain of a ye'-.i^s personal service ; that none should go on board the ships at Jamestown, without the governor's leave ; that every person should go to church on Sundays and holidays, under the penalty of slavery during the following week for the first offence, during a month for the second, and during a year and a day for the third. The rigour of this administra- tion necessarily exciting much discontent, the com- plaints of the Virginians at length made their way to the company. Lord Delawar being dead, Mr, * Robertsou, Chalmer. Stith, Q^ HISTORY OP THE CHAP. n- Yeardly was appointed captain-general, with instruc- Mr. Yeard- tions to examine the wrongs of the colonists, and to ^* redress them.* 1619. The new governor arrived in April, and soon after, to the inexpressible joy of the inhabitants, declared his determination to convoke a colonial assembly. This is an important era in the history of Virginia. Heretofore, all legislative authority had been exercis- ed, either by the corporation in England, or by their officers in the colony. The people had no voice, either personally, or by their representatives, in the government of themselves ; and their most important concerns were managed by persons often unacquainted with their situation, and always possessing interests different from theirs. They now felicitated them- selves on having really the privileges of Englishmen. rirstcolo- This first assembly met at Jamestown on the 19th ma assem- ^^ j^j^g^ 'pj^g colony being not then divided into counties, the members were elected by the different boroughs, amounting at that time to seven. From this circumstance the popular branch of the legisla- ture received the appellation of the house of bur- gesses, which it retained until all connexion with Eng- land was dissolved. The assembly, composed of the governor, the council, and burgesses, met together in one apart- ment, and there discussed the various matters which came before them. The laws then enacted, which, • Robertson.- Chalmer. Stith. AMERICAN COLONIES. 55 it is believed, are no longer extant, were transmitted ^"^^- "• to England for the approbation of the treasurer and company.* Although the emigrations from England continued to be considerable, few females had crossed the At- lantic. Men without wives could not consider their residence in the country as permanent, and must in- tend after amassing some wealth, to return to their native land. To remove this impediment to the popu- lation of the colony, ninety girls, of humble fortune F'rst arrival and spotless character, were transported by the com- 1620. pany to Virginia ; and in the subsequent year, they were followed by sixty of the same description. They were received by the young planters as a blessing which substituted domestic happiness for the cheer- less gloom of solitude ; and the face of the country was essentially changed.! The prospect of becoming parents was accompanied with anxieties for the wel- fare of their children ; and the education of youth soon became an object of attention. The necessity of seminaries of learning was felt, and several steps were taken towards founding the college, afterwards estab- lished by William and Mary. About the same time the company received orders ^P'' 0' «f>n- \ / _ victs. fi:om the King to convey to Virginia one hundred idle and dissolute persons, then in custody of the knight marshal. These were the first convicts trans- • Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. t Mr. Stith says the price for a wife was at first, one hundred, and afler- ^vards, one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco ; and a debt so contracted was made of higher dignity than any other. 56 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. II. ported to America. The policy which dictated this measure was soon perceived to be not less wise than it was humane. Men who, in Europe, were the pests of the body politic, made an acceptable addition to the stock of labour in the colony ; and, in a new world, where the temptations to crime seldom pre- sented themselves, many of them became useful members of society. Heretofore the commerce of Virginia had been en- grossed by the corporation. In the year 1620, this distressing and unprofitable monopoly was given up, and the trade was open to all. The free competition produced by this change of system was of essential advantage to the colony, but was the immediate cause of introducing a species of population which has had vast influence on the past, and may affect the future 1021. destinies of America, to an extent which human wis- dom can neither foresee nor control. A Dutch ves- ^Ivesr ^^h availing itself of this commercial liberty, brought into James river twenty Africans, who were immedi- ately purchased as slaves.* In July, the company passed an ordinance estab- Twocoun- lishing a frame of government for the colony. This nshed.^ ' instrument provided that there should be two supreme councils in Virginia, the one to be called the Council of State, to be appointed and displaced by the trea- surer and company, and to assist the governor with advice on executive subjects ; the other to be denomi- nated the General Assembly, and to consist of the • Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. AMERICAN COLONIES. 57 governor, the council of state, and burgesses ; to be chap, n. chosen for the present, by the inhabitants of every town, hundred, or settlement, in the colony, two for each. The assembly was empowered to enact gene- ral laws for the government of the colony, reserving a negative to the governor. Its acts were not to be in force until confirmed by the general court in Eng- land, and the ratification returned under its seal. On the other hand, no order of the general court was to bind the colony until assented to by the assembly. A controversy concerning the importation of tobac- 1622. CO into the European dominions of the crown, which had for some time existed between the King and the company, was, at length, adjusted. The King had demanded high duties on that arti- cle, while he permitted its importation from the domin- ions of Spain, and also restrained its direct exporta- tion from Virginia, to the warehouses of the company in Holland, to which expedient his exactions had dri- ven them. It was at length agreed that they should enjoy the sole right of importing that commodity into the kingdom, for which they should pay a duty of nine pence per pound, in lieu of all charges, and that the whole production of the colony should be brought to England. The industry, population, and produce of the colo- ny, were now greatly increased. At peace with the Indians, they had extended their settlements to the Rappahannock and to the Potowmac. This change of circumstances having rendered it inconvenient to H 58 HISTORY OF THE CHAP, ii- hrinp; all causes to Jamestown before the 8:overnor and council, who had heretofore exercised all judicial power in the country, inferior courts were established, to sit in convenient places, in order to render justice more cheap and accessible to the people. Thus ori- Sirt? ginated the county courts of Virginia. In this year the cup of prosperity, which the colo- nists had begun to taste, was dashed from their lips by an event which sliook the colony to its foundation. In 1618, Powhatan died, and was succeeded, in his dominions and in his influence over all the neighbour- ing tribes, by Opechancanough, a bold and cunning chief, as remarkable for his jealousy and hatred of the new settlers, as for his qualifications to execute the designs suggested by his resentments. He renewed, however, the stipulations of Powhatan ; and, for a considerable time, the general peace remained undis- turbed. The colonists, unsuspicious of danger, ob- served neither the Indians nor their machinations. Engaged entirely in the pursuits of agriculture, they neglected their military exercises, and every useful precaution. Meanwhile, the Indians, being often em- ployed as hunters, were furnished with fire arms, and taught to use them. They were admitted, at all times, freely into the habitations of the English, as harmless visitants, were fed at their tables, and lodged in their Indian con- chambers. During this state of friendly intercourse, massacrJa u the plan of a general massacre, which should involve t e whites, j^^j^^ woman, and child, in indiscriminate slaughter, was formed with cold and unrelenting deliberation. AMERICAN COLONIES. S» The tribes in the neighbourhood of the English, ex- ^"^^- U: cept those on the eastern shore of the Chesapeak, who were not trusted with the plan, were successively- gained over ; and, notwithstanding the perpetual in- tercourse between them and the white people, the most impenetrable secrecy was observed. So deep and dark was their dissimulation, that they were ac- customed to borrow boats from the English to cross the river, in order to concert and mature their execra- ble designs. The 22d of March was designated as the day on which all the English settlements were to be attack- ed. The better to disguise their intentions, and to ensure success, they brought, in the preceding even- ing, deer, turkies, and fish, as presents ; and, even on the morning of the massacre, came freely among the whites, behaving in their usual friendly manner, until the very instant which had been appointed for the com- mencement of the scene of carnage. The fatal hour being arrived, they fell at once on every settlement, and murdered without distinction of age or sex. So sudden was the execution of their plan, that few per- ceived the weapons, or the approach of the blow, which terminated their existence. Thus, in one hour, and almost in the same instant, fell three hundred and forty- seven men, women and children ; most of them by their own plantation tools. The massacre would have been still more complete, had not information been given, the preceding night, to a Mr. Pace, by an Indian domesticated in his 60 HISTORY OF THE £I1£L-1I- house, and treated as a son, who, being pressed to murder his benefactor, disclosed the plot to him. He immediately carried the intellij^ence to Jamestown, and the alarm was given to some of the nearest settle- ments, which were thereby saved. At some other places, too, where the circumstarrces of the attack enabled the English to seize their arms, the assailants were repulsed. General This horrible massacre was succeeded by a vindic- tive and exterminating war, in which the wiles of the Indians were successfully retaliated on themselves. During this disastrous period, many public works were abandoned ; the college institution was deserted ; the settlements were reduced from eighty to eight; and famine superadded its afflicting scourge to the accumulated distresses of the colony,* As soon as intelligence of these calamitous events reached England, a contribution was made by the ad- venturers for the relief of the sufferers; arms from the tower were delivered to the treasurer and company; and several vessels were dispatched with those arti- cles which might best alleviate such complicated distress. Dissention But the dissolutiou of the company was rapidly ap- tum oSr proaching. That corporation contained many men of company, ^j^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ talents in the nation, who in their assemblies, were in habits of discussing the measures of the crown with the accustomed freedom of a popu- * Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. AMERICAN COLONIES. 6l lar body. Two violent factions, which assumed the ^^y- "• regular appearance of court and country parties, divid- ed the company, and struggled for the ascendancy. James endeavoured to give the preponderance to the court party, but his endeavours were unsuccessful ; and his failure disposed him to listen to complaints against a corporation, whose deliberations he found himself unable to control. To their mismanagement he ascribed the slow progress made by the colony, and the heavy losses that had been sustained.* After hearing both the corporation and their accu- 1623. sers, the privy council determined to issue a commis- sion, appointing persons to be named by the crown, to inquire into the affairs of Virginia from the earliest settlement of the province, and to report thereon to the government. This commission seized the char- ters, books, and papers of the company ; and all let- ters and packets brought from the colony were order- ed to be laid unopened before the privy council. Their report attributed the misfortunes of the colony to the corporation in England ; and James, at no time a friend to popular assemblies, communicated to them his re- solution to revoke the old charter and grant a new one, which should respect private property, but place power in fewer hands. The requisition that they should assent to this proposition, and surrender their charter, was accompanied with the information that t]ie King was determined, in default of submission, to • Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. * 63 HISTORY OF THE CHAP, n. tajjg such proceedings for recalling their letters patent as might be just. The company, however, resolutely determined to defend its rights ; whereupon a writ of quo warranto was instituted in the court of King's Bench, which was decided according to the wishes of 1624. the monarch. The company was dissolved, and all kenTrftothe Its powcrs wtxt rcvcstcd in the crown. ^andsofthe ^bove onc hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling had been expended in planting the colony ; and more than nine thousand persons had been sent from England to people it. Yet, at the dissolution of the company, the annual imports from Virginia, did not exceed twenty thousand pounds in value, and the population of the country was reduced to about eigh- teen hundred persons. While these things were transacting in England, the war against the Indians was prosecuted in the co- lony, with vigour and success. The neighbouring hostile tribes were nearly exterminated, and were dri- ven entirely from the rivers, so that the settlements were extended in safety. In February, the general assembly was once more convened. The several orders which had been pre- viously made by the governor and council, were enacted into laws ; and form the oldest legislative rules of action now remaining on record. Among them are various regulations respecting the church of England. But the act best representing the condi- tion of the colonists, is a solemn declaration, " that the governor should not impose any taxes on the colony, AMERICAN COLONIES. 63 Otherwise than by the authority of the general assem- chap, it. biy ; and that he should not withdraw the inhabitants from their private labour to any service of his own." At this session, too, the privilege of exemption from arrest, while the assembly was sitting, was extended to the burgesses. Several other measures were adopt- ed for the correction of abuses ; and the laws of that session, generally, are marked with that good sense and patriotism, which are to be expected from men perfectly understanding their own situation, and legis- lating for themselves. From this assembly, the royal commissioners en- deavoured, in vain, to procure an address to the King, professing " their willingness to submit themselves to his princely pleasure, in revoking the ancient pa- tents ;" but a petition was agreed to and transmitted, acknowledging their satisfaction at his having taken the plantation into his more especial care, beseeching him to continue the then form of government, to con- firm to Virginia and the Somers isles, the sole impor- tation of tobacco, and soliciting that, if the promised aid of soldiers should be granted them, the governor and assembly might have a voice in directing their operations. Virginia having thus become a royal government, the King issued a special commission, appointing a governor and twelve councillors, to whom the entire direction of the aflfairs of the province was committed. No assembly was mentioned, nor was it intended to permit the continuance of that body, for, to the popu- 6^ HISTORY OF THE CHAP, ir. iar shape of the late system, James attributed the dis- asters of the colony. But some attention to their in- terests, was mingled with this subversion of political liberty. Yielding to the petitions of the English par- liament and of the colonists, he issued a proclamation prohibiting the growth of tobacco in the kingdom, and the importation of it into England or Ireland, ex- cept from Virginia, or the Somers isles, and in ves- sels belonging to his subjects. His death prevented the completion of a legislative code for the colony, which he had commenced, and which he flattered himself, would remedy all the ills that had been ex- perienced. Charles I. Charles I. adopted, in its full extent, the colonial Arbitrary system of his father. He committed to Sir George tSrcrown! Yeardly, whom he appointed governor of Virginia, ^^^^* and to his council, the whole legislative and execu- tive powers of the colony, with instructions to con- form exactly to orders which should be received from him. They were empowered to make laws, and to execute them ; to impose taxes, and to enforce the payment of them ; to seize the property of the late company, and to apply it to the public use ; and to transport the colonists to England, to be punished there for crimes committed in Virginia. To complete this hateful system, the crown exacted a monopoly of the tobacco trade, and appointed agents, to whose management that article was entirely committed.* * Robertson. Chalmer. Stith. AMERICAN COLONIES. 65 The full pressure of these arbitrary regulations was ^"^^^ '^- not felt till Sir John Harvey, on the death of Sir George Sir Joiini Yeardly, was appointed governor of Virginia. The mind of this gentleman is represented by the histo- rians of the day, as having been of a structure to make even tyranny more odious. Rapacious, haughty, and unfeeling, he exercised his powers in the most offen- sive manner. Respect for his commission, suppress- ed opposition to his authority for several years. Rous- ed, at length, almost to madness by oppression, the Virginians, in a fit of popular rage, seized their go- vernor, gnd sent him a prisoner to England, accom- i636. panied by two deputies charged with the duty of re- presenting their grievances, and his misconduct. Charles deemed it necessary to discountenance this summary and violent proceeding, so entirely incom- patible with that implicit obedience which he had ever exacted from his subjects. The deputies of the colo- ny were sternly received ; no inquiry appears to have been made into the conduct of Harvey ; and, early in the succeeding year, he was sent back to Virginia, i637. invested with all his former powers.* The time, however, approached, when a new sys- tem of administration was to be adopted. The dis- contents of the nation, and his own wants, obliged Charles to determine on convening a ])ariiament. He was probably unwilling to increase the ill temper re- sulting from his mal-administration at home, by bring- • Robertson. Chalmer. Stith, 66 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. Ti. j„g before the representatives of the people, com- plaints of the despotism which had been exercised in America. To this change of circumstances may be ascribed, the appointment of Sir William Berkeley to succeed Sir wii- Harvey as governor of Virginia. In almost every re- ley ' ^^ '^' spect, this gentleman was unlike his predecessor. Highly respectable for his rank and abilities, he was still more distinguished by his integrity, by the mild- ness of his temper, and by the gentleness of his man- ners. To complete the satisfaction of the colonists, he was empowered and directed to summon the bur- gesses of all the plantations, to meet the governor and council in the general assembly, and thereby to re- Piovinciai store to the people their share in the government. restored. These changcs had such an effect in Virginia that, when afterward informed of a petition presented in the name of the assembly to parliament, " praying for the restoration of the ancient patents, and corporation government," the general assembly not only trans- mitted an explicit disavowal of it, but sent an address to the King, expressing their high sense of his favour towards them, and earnestly desiring to continue un- der his immediate protection. During the civil war, as well as after the establishment of the common- wealth, they continued firm in their attachment to the royal family. 1650. The House of Commons, however, having succeed- ed in the establishment of its power over England, was not disposed to permit its authority to be ques- AMERICAN COLONIES. 67 tioned in Virginia. An ordinance was passed, rip- chap, n. daring that, as the colonies were settled at the cost and by the people of England, " they are and ought to be subordinate to, and dependent on, that nation ; and subject to such laws and regulations as are or shall be made by parliament. That in Virginia and other places, the powers of government had been usurped by persons who had set themselves up in op- position to the commonwealth, who were therefore de- nounced as rebels and traitors ; and all foreign vessels were forbidden to enter the ports of any of the Eng- lish settlements in America." As the men who then governed were not in the habit of making empty de- clarations, the council of state was empowered to send a fleet to enforce obedience to parliament.* Sir George Ayscue was accordingly detached with a powerful squadron, and was instructed to endea- vour, by gentle means, to bring the colonists to obe- dience ; but, if these failed, to use force, and to give > freedom to such servants and slaves of those who should resist, as would serve in the troops under his command. After reducing Barbadoes, and the other islands to submission, the squadron entered the Chesa- i65i. peak. Berkeley, having hired a few Dutch ships which were then trading to Virginia, made a gallant resistance ; but, unable long to maintain so unequal a contest, he yielded to superior force, having first stipu- lated for a general amnesty. He then withdrew to * Robertson. Chaltner. 68 HISTORY OP THE CH^P- "• a retired situation where, beloved and respected by the people, he resided as a private man, until a coun- ter revolution called him, once more, to preside over the colony.* After the revocation of the charter, it became more easy to obtain large grants of land. This circum- stance, notwithstanding the tyranny of the provincial government, promoted emigration, and considerably increased the population of the colony. At the com- mencement of the civil war, Virginia was supposed to contain about twenty thousand souls.f While the ordinance of 1650, forbidding all trade between the colonies and foreign nations, was dis- pensed with in favour of republican New England, it was rigorously enforced againsr the loyal colony of Virginia. These restrictions were the more burden- some, because England did not then furnish a suffi- cient market for all the produce, nor a supply for all the wants of the colonies. This severity was not cal- culated to detach the affections of the people from the royal family. Their discontents were cherished, too, by the great number of cavaliers who had fled to Vir- ginia after the total defeat of their party in England. Taking advantage of an interregnum occasioned by the sudden death of governor Matthews, the people resolved to throw off their forced allegiance to the commonwealth, and called on Sir William Berkeley to resume the government. He required only their • Robertsbn. Chahner , t I» cers of state, and to some of the nobility, in which absolute power was granted to the archbishop of Can- terbury and to others, " to make laws and constitu- tions concerning either their state public, or the utility of individuals." The commissioners were authorised to support the clergy by assigning them " tithes, ob- lations, and other profits, according to their discretion; • RobertsoD. Chalmer. Hutchison. 9S HISTORY OF THE CHAP IH. to inflict punishment on those who should violate then ordinances ; to remove governors of plantations, and to appoint others ; and to constitute tribunals and courts of justice, ecclesiastical and civil, with such authority and form as they should think proper ;" but their laws were not to take effect until they had re- ceived the royal assent, and had been proclaimed in the colonies. The commissioners were also consti- tuted a committee to hear complaints against a^olony, its governor or other officers, with power to remove the offender to England for punishment. They were farther directed to cause the revocation of such let- ters patent, granted for the establishment of colonies, as should, upon inquiry, be found to have been un- duly obtained, or to contain a grant of liberties hurtful to the royal prerogative.* From the first settlement at Salem, the colony of Massachusetts had cultivated the friendship of their neighbours of New Plymouth. The bonds of mu- tual amity were now rendered more strict; not only by some appearances of a hostile disposition among the natives, but by another circumstance which excited alarm in both colonies. The voyages for discovery and settlement, made by the English and French, to the coast of North America, having been nearly cotemporaneous, their conflicting claims soon brought them into collision with each other. The same lands were granted by • Chalmer. Hutchison. « AMERICAN COLONIES. 93 the sovereigns of both nations ; and, under these dif- <^hap.iii. t) ' ' 1055. ferent grants, actual settlements had been made by the French as far south and west as St. Croix, and, by the English, as far north and east as Penobscot. During the war with France, which broke out early in the reign of Charles I., that monarch granted a com- mission to captain Kirk for the conquest of the coun tries in America occupied by the French ; undev which, in 1629, Canada and Acadie were subdued; but, by the treaty of St. Germains, those places were restored to France without any description of their limits ; and Fort Royal, Quebec, and Cape Breton, were severally surrendered by name. In 1632, a party of French from Acadie committed a robbery on a trading house established at Penobscot by the peo- ple of New Plymouth. With the intelligence of this fact, information was also brought that cardinal Riche- lieu had ordered some companies to Acadie, and that more were expected the next year, with priests, Jesuits, and other formidable accompaniments, for a perma- nent settlement. The governor of Acadie established a military post at Penobscot, and, at the same time wrote to the governor of New Plymouth stating, that he had orders to displace the English as far as Pema- quid. Not being disposed to submit quietly to this invasion of territory, the government of New Ply- mouth undertook an expedition for the recovery of the fort at Penobscot, consisting of an English ship of war under the command of captain Girling, and a bark with twenty men belonging to the colony. The 91 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. ITT , garrison received notice of this armament, and pre pared for its reception by fortifying and strengthening the fort ; in consequence of which Girhng, after ex- pending his ammunition and finding himself too weak to attempt the works by assauh, apphed to Massa- chusetts for aid. That colony agreed to furnish one hundred men, and to bear the expense of the expedi- tion by private subscription ; but a sufficient supply of provisions, even for this small corps, could not be im mediately obtained, and the expedition was abandon- ed. Girling returned, and the French retained pos- session of Penobscot till 1654. The apprehensions entertained of these formidable neighbours contribut- ed, in no small degree, to cement the union between Massachusetts and Plymouth.* Two persons, afterwards distinguished in English annals, arrived this year in Boston. One was Hugh Peters, the coadjutor and chaplain of Oliver Crom- well ; the other was Mr. Henry Vane, the son of sir Henry Vane, who was, at that time a privy council- ^ 1636. lor of great credit with the King. The mind of this young gendeman was so deeply imbued with the po- litical and religious opinions of the puritans, that he appeared ready to sacrifice, for the enjoyment of them, all his bright prospects in his native land. His mor- tified exterior, his grave and solemn deportment, his reputation for piety and wisdom, his strong profes- sions of attachment to liberty and to the public good, * Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 95 added to his attention to some of the leading mem. chap in . bers in the church, won rapidly the affections of the people, and he was chosen their governor. His administration commenced with more external pomp than had been usual, or would seem to be con- genial either with his own professions, or with the plain and simple manners of the people whom he go- verned. When going to court or church, he was al- ways preceded by two Serjeants who walked with their halberts. Yet his popularity sustained no diminution, until the part he took in the religious controversies of the country detached from him many of its most ju- dicious inhabitants.*" Independent of the meetings for public worship on every Sunday, of the stated lecture in Boston on every Thursday, and of occasional lectures in other towns, there were frequent meetings of the brethren of the churches, for religious exercises. Mrs. Hutchinson, who had been much flattered by the attentions of the governor, and of Mr. Cotton, one of the most popular of the clergy ; who added eloquence to her enthu- siasm, and whose husband was among the most re- spected men of the country ; dissatisfied with the exclusion of her sex from the private meetings of the brethren, instituted a meeting of the sisters also, in which she repeated the sermons of the preceding Sunday, accompanied with remarks and expositions. These meetings were attended by a large number of • Chalmer. Hutchison. 96 HISTORY OF THE ^"^r "^ ^^® "^°^^ respectable of her sex ; and her lectures were, for a time, generally approved. At length she drew a distinction between the ministers through the country. She designated a small number as being under a covenant of grace ; the others, as being under a covenant of works. Contending for the necessity of the former, she maintained that sanctity of life is no evidence of justification, or of favour with God; and that the Holy Ghost dwells personally in such as are justified. The whole colony was divided into two parties, equally positive, on these abstruse points, whose resentments against each other threatened the most serious calamities. Mr. Vane espoused, with zeal, the wildest doctrines of Mrs. Hutchinson, and Mr. Cotton decidedly favoured them. The lieutenant governor Mr. Winthrop, and the majority of the churches, were of the opposite party. Many confe- rences were held ; days of fasting and humiliation were appointed ; a general synod was called ; and, after violent dissentions, Mrs. Hutchinson's opinions were condemned as erroneous, and she was banished. Many of her disciples followed her. Vane, in dis- gust, quitted America ; unlamented even by those who had lately admired him. He was thought too visionary ; and is said to have been too enthusiastic even for the enthusiasts of Massachusetts. The patentees, having no common object to prose- cute, resolved to divide their lands ; and, in the ex- pectation of receiving a deed of confirmation for the particular portion which fortune should allot to each, AMERICAN COLONIES. 97 cast lots, in the presence of James, for the shares each ^" g^g "^ ' should hold in severalty. They continued, however, to act some years longer as a body politic, during which time, they o;ranted various portions of the country to different persons ; and executed under the seal of the corporation, deeds of feoffment for the lots drawn by each member of the company : patents of confirmation for which were solicited, but appear to have been granted only to Gorges, for Maine. The charter was surrendered by the company and accept- ed by the crown.* Charles, in pursuance of his determination to take lesr. the government of New England into his own hands, issued a proclamation directing that none should be transported thither who had not the special license of the crown, which should be granted to those only who had taken the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, and had conformed to the discipline of the church of England. This order, however, could not be com- pletely executed ; and the emigrations, which were entirely of non-comformists, still continued. Those who were disgusted with the ceremonials rigidly ex- acted in England, estimated so highly the simple frame of church policy established in Massachusetts, that numbers surmounted every difficulty, to seek an asvlum in this new Jerusalem. Among them were men of the first political influence and mental attain- ments. Pymm, Hampden, Hazlerig, and Cromwell, • Chalmer. Hutchison. N 98 HISTORY OF THE !9!i|^iIIL- with many others who afterwards performed a con- spicuous part in that revolution which brought the head of Charles to the block, are said to have been actually on board a vessel prepared to sail for New Enfi^land, and to have been stopped by the special or- ders of the privy council.* The commissioners for the regulation and govern- ment of the plantations having reported that Massa- chusetts had violated its charter, a writ of quo war- 1638. rajito was issued, on which judgment was given in favour of the crown. The process was never served on any member of the corporation ; and it is therefore probable that the judgment was not final. The privy council however ordered the governor and company to send their patent to England to be surrendered. The general court answered this order by a petition to the commissioners in which they said, '• we dare not ques- tion your Lordship's proceedings in requiring our patent to be sent unto you ; we only desire to open our griefs : and if in any thing we have offended his Ma- jesty or your Lordships, we humbly prostrate our- selves at the foot stool of supreme authority ; we are sincerely ready to yield all due obedience to both ; we are not conscious that we have offended in any thing, as our government is according to law ; we pray that we may be heard before condemnation, and that we may be suffered to live in the wilderness.'' Fortunately for the colonists, Charles and his com- * Hume. AMERICAN COLONIES. 99 missioners found too much employment at home, tn chap, hi. , , . ^ . . ^ \ . 1638. nave leisure for carrying into complete execution, a system aimed at the subversion of what was most dear to the hearts of Americans. To the religious dissentions which distracted Mas- sachusetts, and to the rigour with which conformity was exacted, is to be attributed the first settlement of the other colonies of New England. As early as the year 1634, Roger Williams, a popular preacher at Salem, who had refused to hold communion with the church at Boston, because its members refused to make a public declaration of their repentance for hav- ing held communion with the church of England during their residence in that country, was charged with many exceptionable tenets. Among several which mark his wild enthusiasm, one is found in total opposition, to the spirit of the times and to the severi- ty of his other doctrines. He maintained, that to pun - ish a man for any matter of conscience is persecution, and that even papists and Armenians are entitled to freedom of conscience in worship, provided the peace of civil society be secured. The divines of Massa- chusetts, in opposition to this doctrine, contended that they did not persecute men for conscience, but corrected them for sinning against conscience ; and so they did not persecute, but punish heretics. This unintelligible sophism not convincing Williams, he was, for this, and for his other heresies, banished by the magistrates, as a disturber of the peace of the church, and of the commonwealth. 100 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. TIL Many of his disciples followed him into exile, and« travelling south until they passed the line of Massa- chusetts, purchased a tract of land of the Narraghan- Providence sctts, then a powerful tribe of Indians, where, in 1635, they made a settlement to which they gave the name of Providence. After fixing the place of their future residence, they entered into a voluntary association, and framed a government composed of the whole body of freemen. After the manner of Massachu- setts, they created a church by collecting a religious society ; but, as one of the causes of their migration had been the tenet that all were entitled to freedom of conscience in worship, entire toleration was estab- lished. The new settlers cultivated with assiduity the good will of the natives, with whom a long peace was preserved.* The banishment of Williams was soon followed by that of Mrs. Hutchinson. She was accompa- nied by many of her disciples, who, pursuing the steps of Williams, and, arriving in his neighbour- hood, purchased a tract of land from the same tribe, Rhode and founded Rhode Island. Imitating the conduct Ued? *^ of their neighbours, they formed a similar association for the establishment of civil government, and adopt- ed the same principles of toleration. In consequence of this conduct the island soon became so populous as to furnish settlers for the adjacent shores. f 1634. Connecticut too is a colony of Massachusetts. As early as the year 1634, several persons, among whom • Chalmer. Hutchison. | Chalmer. AMERICAN COLONIES. 101 was Mr. Hooker, a favourite minister of the cluirch, chap, tit . •applied to the general court of Massachusetts for permission to pursue their fortunes in some new and better land. This permission was not granted at that time ; and, it being then the received opinion that the oath of a freeman, as well as the original compact, bound every member of the society so as not to leave him the right to separate himself from it without the consent of the whole, this emigration was suspended. The general court, however, did not long withhold its assent. The country having been explored, and a place selected on the west side of the river Connec- Connecti- . ^ . . 1 ^ ^1 .•^- ^ cut settled, ticut, a commission was granted to the petitioners to remove, on the condition of their still continuing un- der the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, some few huts had been erected the preceding year in which a small number of emigrants had wintered ; and, the fall suc- ceeding, about sixty persons traversed the wilderness in families. In 1636, about one hundred persons, i^sg, led by Pynchon, Hooker, and Haynes, followed the first emigrants, and founded the towns of Hartford, Springfield, and Weathersfield. There are some pe- culiarities attending this commission and this settle- ment, which deserve to be noticed. The country to be settled was, confessedly, with- out the limits of Massachusetts ; yet Roger Ludlow , was authorised to promulgate the orders which might be necessary for the plantations ; to inflict corporal punishment, imprisonment, and fines ; to determine all differences in a judicial way ; and to convene the lOS HISTORY OF THE CHAP. Ill, inhabitants in a general court, if it should be necessa- 1636. ,^, . . , . „ ry. This signal exercise of authority grew out of the principle, solemnly asserted by the general court of Massachusetts, that the oath of fidelity to the com- monwealth was binding, although the person should no longer reside within its limits. There were other difficulties attending the tide of the settlers. The Dutch at Manhadoes, or New- York, claimed a right to the river, as its first disco- verers. In addition to this hostile title, Lord Say and Seal, and Lord Brooke, with some others, contem- plating a retreat in the new world from the despotism with which England was threatened, had made choice of Connecticut river for that purpose, and had built a fort at its mouth, called Saybrooke. The emigrants from Massachusetts, however, kept possession ; and proceeded to clear and cultivate the country. They purchased the rights of Lord Say and Seal, and Lord Brooke, and their partners ; and the Dutch, being too feeble to maintain their title by the sword, gradually receded from the river. The emigrants, disclaiming the authority of Massachusetts, entered into a volun- tary association for the establishment of a government, which, in its form, was like those established in the other colonies of New Eni^land. The principal differ- ence between their constitution and that of Massa- chusetts was, that they imparted the right of free- men to those who were not members of the Church.* • All the powers of povernnieiit for nearly (hrce years, seem to have been in the magistrales. Two were appointed in each town, who directed all the affairs of the plantation. The freemen appear to have had no voice in making the AMERICAN COLONIES. 103 These new establishments gave great and just 9!iiEJ[H.* alarm to the Piquods, a powerful tribe of Indians on the south of Massachusetts. They foresaw their own ruin in this extension of the English settlements : and the disposition excited by this apprehension soon .-displayed itself in private murders, and other acts of hostility. With a policy suggested by a strong sense of danger, they sought a reconciliation with the Nar- raghansetts, their ancient enemies and rivals ; and re- quested them to forget their long cherished animosi- ties, and to co-operate cordially against a common enemy whose continuing encroachments threatened to overwhelm both in one common destruction. Noticing the rapid progress of the English settlements, they urged, with reason, that, although a present friendship subsisted between the Narraghansetts and the new comers, yet all, in turn, must be dispossess- ed of their country, and this dangerous friendship could promise no other good than the wretched privi- lege of being last devoured. These representations could not efface from the bosoms of the Narraghansetts, that deep rooted en- mity which neighbours, not bound together by liga- ments of sufficient strength to prevent reciprocal acts of hostility, too often feel for each other. Dreading still less the power of a foreign nation, than that of laws, or in any part of the government except in some instances of general and uncommon concern. In these instances committees were sent from the seve- ral towns to a general meeting. During this term, juries seem not to liavp b^en employed in any case. 104! HISTORY OF THE CHAP III, men with whom they had been in the habit of con- tending, they not only refused to join the Piquods, but communicated their proposition to the govern- ment of Massachusetts, with whom they formed an War with alHancc against that tribe. Open war being resolved quods. on by both parties, Captain Underbill was sent to the relief of fort Saybrooke v hich had been besieged by the Indians ; and the three colonies, Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, agreed to march their united forces into the country of the Piquods, to effect their entire destruction. The troops of Connecticut were first in motion. Those of Massachusetts were detained by the controversy concerning the covenant of works, and of grace, which had insinuated itself into all the transactions of that colony. Their little army, when collected, found itself divided by this metaphysical point ; and the stronger party, believing that the blessing of God could not be expected to crovi n with success the arms of such unhallowed men as their opponents in faith on this question, refused to march until their small band was purified by expell- ing the unclean, and introducing others whose tenets were unexceptionable. While this operation was performing, the troops of Connecticut, reinforced by a body of friendly Indians and by a small detachment from Saybrooke, determined to march against the enemy. The Piquods had taken two positions which they had surrounded with pali- sadoes, and had resolved to defend. The nearest was on a small eminence surrounded by a swamp near the AMERICAN COLONIES. 105 head of Mystic river, x^srainst this fort the first attack £!lAZi!Il' •^ ^ , "^ 1636. was made. The Indians, deceived by a movement of the vessels from Saybrooke to Narraghansett, be- lieved the expedition to have been abandoned ; and celebrated, in perfect security, the supposed evacua- tion of their country. About day-break, while they were asleep, the English approached, and the surprise would have been complete, had they not been alarm- ed by the barking of a dog. They immediately gave the war whoop, and flew undismayed to arms. The English rushed to the attack, forced their way through the works, and set fire to the Indian wigwams. The confusion soon became general, and almost every man was killed or taken. Soon after this action, the troops of Massachusetts arrived, and it \vas resolved to pursue the victory. Several skirmishes terminated unfavourably to the Piquods ; and, in a short time, they received another total defeat, which put an end to the war. A few only of this once powerful nation survived, who, abandon- ing their country, dispersed themselves among the neighbouring tribes, and were incorporated with them.* This vigorous essay in arms of the New England colonists impressed on the Indians a high opinion of their courage and military superiority ; but their vic- tory was sullied with cruelties which cannot be recol- lected without mingled regret and censure. • Chalmer. Hutchison. Trumbull. o ven settled 106 HISTORY OF THE cHAP.m. Immediately after the termination of this war New rlaven was settlecl. A small emigration from England conducted by Eaton and Davenport, arrived at Boston in June. Unwilling to remain where power and influence were already in the hands of others, they refused to con- tinue within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts ; and, disregarding the threats at Manhadoes, setded them- NewHa-^ selves west of Connecticut river, on a place which they named New Haven. Their institutions, civil and ecclesiastical, were in the same spirit with those of their elder sister, Massachusetts. The colony was now in a very flourishing condition. Twenty-one thousand two hundred emigrants had ar- rived from England ; and, although they devoted great part of their attention to the abstruse points of theology which employed the casuists of that day, they were not unmindful of those solid acquisitions which per- manendy improve the condition of man. Sober, in- dustrious, and economical, they laboured indefatiga- bly in opening and improving the country, and were unremitting in their efforts to furnish themselves with those supplies which are to be drawn from the bosom of the earth. Of these, they soon raised a surplus for which fresh emigrants offered a profitable market ; and their foreign trade in lumber, added to their fish and furs, furnished them with the means of making remittances to England for those manufactures which they found it advantageous to import. Their fisheries had become so important as to attract the attention of AMERICAN COLONIES. 107 government. For their encouragement, a law was ^HAP.m. passed exempting property employed in catching, curing, or transporting fish, from all duties and taxes, and the fishermen, and ship builders, from militia duty. By the same law, all persons were restrained from using cod or bass fish for manure. 108 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.IV. CHAPTER IV. Massachusetts claims New Hampshire and part of Maine. — Dissentions among the inhabitants. — Con- federation of the New England colofiies. — Rhode Island excluded from it. — Separate chambers pro- vided for the two branches of the Legislature. — New England takes part with Parliament. — Treaty with Acadik. — Petition of the non-conformists. — Disputes between Massachusetts and Connecticut. — War be- tween England and Holland. — Machinations of the Dutch at Manhadoes among the Indians. — Massa- chusetts refuses to Join the united colonies in the war. — Application of New Haven to Cromwell for assistance. — Peace with the Dutch. — Expedition of Sedgewic against Acadie. — Religious intolerance, 1639. The government of Massachusetts, induced by the rapidity with which the colony had attained its present strength to form sanguine hopes of future im- portance, instituted an inquiry into the extent of their patent, with a view to the enlargement of territory. To facilitate this object, commissioners were appoint- ed to explore the Merrimack, and to ascertain its northernmost point. The charter conveyed to the arrantees all the lands within lines to be drawn three miles south of Charles river, and the same distance AMERICAN COLONIES, 109 north of the Merrimack. The government construed ^^^^•^^"- this description as authorising a line to be drawn due east from a point three miles north of the head of Mer- rimack, which soon leaves that river, and includes all New Hampshire, and a considerable part of Maine. In pursuance of this exposition of the charter, the Massacim- general court asserted its jurisdiction over New Hamp- New shire, in which there were a few scattered habita- anTpm'or tions, and proceeded to authorise settlements in that ^^^'"'''• country.* The attempts which had been made to colonise the northern and eastern parts of New England had proved almost entirely unsuccessful. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason had built a small house at the mouth of Piscataqua, about the year 1623 ; and, nearly at the same time, others erected a few huts along the coast from Merrimack eastward to Saga- dahock for the purpose of fishing. In 1631, Gorges and Mason sent over a small party of planters and fishermen under the conduct of a Mr. Williams, who laid the foundation of Portsmouth. When the Plymouth company divided New Eng- land among its members, that territory lying along the coast from Merrimack ri\ er, and for sixty miles into the country to the river Piscataqua, was granted to Mason, and was called New Hampshire ; that terri- tory north-eastward of New Hampshire, to the river Kennebec, and sixty miles into the country, was * Chalmer. Hutchison, 110 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IV. granted to sir Ferclinando Gora^es. In 1639, Gorsres 1639 . obtained a patent for this district under the name of Maine, comprehending the lands for one hundred, in- stead of sixty miles, into the country, together with the powers of sovereignty. He framed a system of government which, being purely executive, could not even preserve itself. After struggling with a long course of confusion, and drawing out, for several years, a miserable political existence, Maine submit- ted itself to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and consented to become a part of that colony. In the course of the years 1651 and 1652, this junction was affected, and Maine was erected into a county, the towns of which sent deputies to the general court at Boston. To this county was conceded the peculiar privilege that its inhabitants, although not members of the church, should be entitled to the rights of free- men on taking the oath.* The settlements in New Hampshire, too, were maintaining only a doubtful and feeble existence, when thev drew a recruit of inhabitants from the same causes which had peopled Rhode Island and Con- necticut. 1637. In 1637, when Mrs. Hutchinson and other Anti- nomians were exiled, Mr. Wheelright, her brother in law, a popular preacher, was likewise banished. He carried with him a considerable number of his follow- ers; and, just passing the north-eastera boundary of * Chalmer. Hutchisoo. 1640. AMERICAN COLONIES. Ill Massachusetts, planted the town of Exeter. These chap.iv. emigrants immediately formed themselves, according to the manner of New England, into a body politic for their own government. A few persons arrived soon afterwards from Eng- land, and laid the foundation of the town of Dover. They also established a distinct government. Their first act proved to be the source of future discord. The majority chose one Underbill as governor ; but a respectable minority was opposed to his election. To this cause of discontent was added another of trre- sistable influence. They were divided on the sub- ject of the covenant of works, and of grace. These dissentions soon grew into a civil war, which was hap- pily terminated by Williams, who was, according to the practice of small societies torn by civil broils, in- vited by the weaker party to its aid. He marched from Portsmouth at the head of a small military force; and, banishing the governor, and the leaders of the Antinomian faction, restored peace to this distracted village. Massachusetts had asserted a right over this terri- tory. Her claim derived aid, not only from the fac- tions which agitated these feeble Fettlements, but also from the uncertainty of the tenure by which the in- habitants held their lands. Only the settlers at Ports- mouth had acquired a title from Mason ; and the others were, consequently, unfriendly to his preten- sions. These causes produced a voluntary offer of submission to the government of Massachusetts, lis HIStORY OF THE ^^^J!'J^' which was accepted ; and the general court passed an order, declaring the inhabitants of Piscataqua to be within their jurisdiction, with the privileges of partici- pating in all their rights, and of being exempted from all " public charges, other than those which shall arise for, or among themselves, or from any action, or course that may be taken for their own good or bene- fit." Under the protecting wing of this more power- ful neighbour, New Hampshire attained the growth which afterwards enabled her to stand alone ; and long remembered with affection the benefits she had received.* Charles, environed with difficulties arising from his own misrule, was at length compelled to meet his Parliament ; and, in November, the great council of the nation was again assembled. The circumstances which had caused such considerable emigrations to New England, existed no longer. The puritans were not only exempt from persecution, but became the strongest party in the nation ; and, from this time, New England is supposed to have derived no increase of population from the parent state. f Confedera- About the samc period many evidences were given New°En|- of a general combination of the neighbouring Indians against the settlements of New England ; and appre- hensions were also entertained of hostility from the Dutch at Manhadoes. A sense of impending dan- ger suggested the policy of forming a confederacy of • Chalmer. Hutchison. t Hutchison. laud coIo- AMERICAN COLONIES. US the sister colonies for their mutual defence ; and so ^"^^•^- 1640. confirmed had the habit of self-government become since the attention of England was absorbed in her domestic dissentions, that it was not thought neces- sary to consult the parent state on this important mea- sure. After mature deliberation, articles of confede- ration were digested ; and in May 1643, they were 1643, conclusively adopted.* By them the united colonies of New England, viz. Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, entered into a firm and perpetual league, offensive and defensive. Each colony retained a distinct and separate juris- diction ; no two colonies could join in one jurisdic- tion without the consent of the whole ; and no other colony could be received into the confederacy without the like consent. The charge of all wars was to be borne by the co- lonies respectively, in proportion to the male inhabi- tants of each, between sixteen and sixty years of age. On notice of an invasion given by three magistrates of any colony, the confederates were immediately to furnish their respective quotas. These were fixed at * This was an union, says Mr. Trumbull, of the highest consequence to the New England colonies. It made them formidable to the Dutch and Indians, and respectable among their French neighbours. It was happily adapted to maintain harmony among themselves, and to secure the rights and peace of the country. It was one of the principal means of the preservation of the colonies, during the civil wars, and unsettled state of affairs in England. It was the great source of mutual defence in Philip's war; and of the most emi- nent service in civilising the Indians, and propagating the Gospel among them. The union subsisted more than forty years, until the abrogation of the charters cf the New England colonies by king James II. P 114 HISTORY OF THE CHAP IV. one hundred from Massachusetts, and forty-five from each of the other parties to the agreement. If a larger armament should be found necessary, commissioners were to meet, and ascertain the number of men to be required. Tuo commissioners from each government, being church members, were to meet annually on the first Monday in September. Six possessed the power of binding the whole. Any measure approved by a majority of less than six was to be referred to the general court of each colony, and the consent of all was necessary to its adoption. They were to choose annually a president from their own body, and had power to frame laws or rules of a civil nature, and of general concern. Of this de- scription were rules which respected their conduct towards the Indians, and measures to be taken with fugitives from one colony to another. No colony was permitted, without the general con- sent, to engage in war, but in sudden and inevitable cases. If, on any extraordinary meeting of the commis- sioners, their whole number should not assemble, any four who should meet were empowered to determine on a war, and to call for the respective quotas of the several colonies ; but not less than six could deter- mine on the justice of the war, or settle the expenses, or levy the money for its support. If any colony should be charged with breaking an article of the agreement, or with doing an injury to AMERICAN COLONIES. H5 another colony, the complaint was to be submitted tr> chap. iv. the consideration and determination ot the commis- sioners of such colonies as should be disinterested.* This union, the result of good sense, and of a judi- cious consideration of the real interests of the colonies, remained in force until their charters were dissolved. Rhode Island, at the instance of Massachusetts, was Rhode is- excluded ; and her commissioners were not admitted ctudedVrom into the congress of deputies which formed the con- '*' federation. On her petitioning at a subsequent period to be re- ceived as a member, her request was refused, unless she would consent to be incorporated with Plymouth. This condition being deemed inadmissible, she never was taken into the confederacy. From the formation of this league, its members were considered by their neighbours as one body with regard to external afflurs, , and such as were of general concern ; though the in- ternal and particular objects of each continued to be managed by its own magistrates and legislature. The vigorous and prudent measures pursued by the united colonies, disconcerted the plans of the In- dians, and preserved peace. Rhode Island and Providence plantations, excluded from the general confederacy, were under the neces- sity of courting the friendship of the neighbouring Indians. So successful were their endeavours that, in the year 1644, they obtained from the chiefs of the Narraghansetts a formal surrender of their country.! • Chalmer. Hutchison. Trumbull t Cbalmer, 1644. 116 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IV . The first general assembly, consisting of the col lective freemen of the plantations, was convened in May, 1647. In this body the supreme authority of the nation resided. The executive duties were per- formed by a governor and four assistants, chosen from among the freemen by their several towns ; and the same persons constituted also the supreme court for the administration of justice. Every township, form- ing within itself a corporation, elected a council of six, for the management of its peculiar affairs, and for the settlement of its disputes.* Hitherto the governor, assistants, and representa- tives, of Massachusetts had assembled in the same chamber, and deliberated together. At first their re- lative powers do not seem to have been accurately understood ; nor the mode of deciding controverted questions to have been well defined. The represen- tatives being the most numerous body, contended that every question should be decided by a majority of the whole, while the assistants asserted their right to a negative. More than once, this contest suspended the proceedings of the general court. But the assist- ants having, with the aid of the clergy, succeeded on each occasion, the representatives yielded the point, and moved that separate chambers should be provid- ed for the two branches of the legislature. This mo- tion being carried in the affirmative, their deliberations were afterwards conducted apart from each other. This regulation was subsequently modified with • Chalmer,. AMERICAN COLONIES. 117 respect to judicial proceedings ; for the legislature wn«;CHAP.iv. the court of the last resort. If, in these, the two houses differed, the vote was to be taken conjointly. In England, the contests between the King; andNewEng- •^ ' . ^ land takes Parliament, at length ripened into open war. Ihepaitwiih colonies of New England took an early and sincere part on the side of Parliament. Their interests were committed to such agents as might best conciliate the favour of the House of Commons, who, in return, manifested the impression received from them, and from the general conduct of their northern colonies, by passing a resolution exempting from the payment of " duties or other customs," until the house should order otherwise, all merchandises exported to or from New England.* And, in 1644, the general court passed an ordinance declaring " that what person so- ever shall by word, writing, or action, endeavour to disturb our peace directly or indirectly by drawing a party under pretence that he is for the King of Eng- land, and such as join with him aga^st the Parlia- ment, shall be accounted as an offender of a high na- ture against this commonwealth, and to be proceeded with either capitally or otherwise, according to the quality and degree of his offence ; provided always that this shall not be extended against any merchant, strangers and shipmen that come hither merely for " In the subsequent year ParliRment exempted New England from all taxes "until both houses should otherwise direct; "and, in 1G4C, ail the colo- nies were exempted from all talliages except the excise, " provided their pro duclions should be exported only in English bottoms " 118 HISTORY OP THE CHAP IV. trade or merchandise, albeit thev should come from J 644. any of those parts that are in the hands of the King, and such as adhere to him against the Parliament ; carrying themselves here quietly, and free from rail- ing, or nourishing any faction, mutiny, or sedition among us as aforesaid."* These manifestations of mutual kindness were not interrupted by an ordinance of Parliament, passed in in 1643, appointing the earl of Warwick governor in chief and lord high admiral of the colonies, with a council of five peers, and twelve commoners, to assist him ; and empowering him, in conjunction with his associates, to examine the state of their affairs ; to send for papers and persons ; to remove governors and officers, appointing others in their places ; and to assign over to them such part of the powers then granted as he should think proper. Jealous as were the people of New England of measures endangering their liberty, they do not appear to have been alarmed at this extraordinary exercise of power. So true is it that men close their eyes on encroachments commit- ted by that party to which they are attached, in the delusive hope that power, in such hands, u ill always be wielded against their adversaries, never against themselves. This prosperous state of things was still farther im- proved by a transaction which is the more worthy of notice as being an additional evidence of the extent *o which the colonies of New England then exercised • Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 119 the powers of self-government. A treaty of peflre <^'"AP iv. and commerce was entered into between the governor of Massachusetts, styling himself governor of New JcS.'*'*'' England, and Monsieur D'Aulney, lieutenant gene- ral of the King of France in Acadie. This treaty was laid before the commissioners for the colonies and received their sanction. The rigid adherence of Massachusetts to the prin- i64f . ciple of withholding the privilege of a freeman from all who dissented from the majority in any religious opinion, could not fail to generate perpetual discon- tents. A petition was presented to the general court, ^^5^*,'^*^°^" ^ signed by several persons highly respectable for their coi.formistE. situation and character, but, not being church mem- bers, excluded from the common rights of society, complaining that the fundamental laws of England were not acknowledged by the colony ; and that they were denied those civil and religious privileges to which they were entitled, as freeborn Englishmen, of good moral conduct. Their prayer to be admitted to the rights, or to be relieved from the burdens, of so- ciety, was accompanied with observations conveying a very intelligible censure on the proceedings of the colony, and a threat of applying to Parliament, should the prayer of their petition be rejected. The most popular governments not being always the most inclined to tolerate opinions differing from those of the majority, this petition gave great offence, and its signers were req lired to attend the court. Their plea, that the right to petition government was 1!30 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IV. sacred, was answered by saying that they were not accused for petitioning, but for using contemptuous and seditious expressions. They were required to find sureties for their good behaviour ; and, on refus- ing to acknowled;^e their offence, were fined at the discretion of the court. An appeal from this decision having been refused, they sent deputies to lay their case before Parliament ; but the clergy exerted them- selves on the occasion ; and the celebrated Cotton, in one of his sermons, asserted " that if any should car- ry writings or complaints against the people of God in that country to England, it would be as Jonas in the ship." A storm having risen during the passage, the mariners, impressed with the prophecy of Cotton, insisted that the obnoxious papers should be thrown overboard ; and the deputies were constrained to con- sign their credentials to the waves. On their arrival in England, they found Parliament but little disposed to listen to their complaints. The agents of Massa- ' chusetts had received instructions to counteract their efforts ; and the governments of New England were too high in favour, to admit of a rigid scrutiny into their conduct.* In some of the internal dissentions which agitated Massachusetts, Winthrop, a man of great influence, always among their first magistrates, and often their governor, was charged while deputy governor with some arbitrary conduct. He defended himself at the bar, in the presence of a vast concourse of people ; • Chalmer. Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. ISl and, having been honourably acquitted, addressed !H^^J^ them from the bench, in a speech which was highly approved. As this speech tends to illustrate the political opi- nions of the day, an extract from it may not be un- worthy of regard. *' The questions," he said, " which have troubled the country of late, and from which these disturbances in the state have arisen, have been about the authority of the magistrate and the liberty of the people. Magistracy is certainly an appoint- ment from God. We take an oath to govern you according to God's law, and our o^vn ; and if we commit errors, not willingly, but for want of skill, you ought to bear with us, because, being chosen from among yourselves, we are but men, and subject to the like passions as yourselves. Nor would I have you mistake your own liberty. There is a freedom of doing what we list, without regard to law or jus- tice ; this liberty is indeed inconsistent with authori- ty ; but civil, moral, and federal liberty, consists in every man's enjoying his property, and having the benefit of the laws of his country ; which is very con- sistent with a due subjection to the civil magistrate. And for this you ought to contend, with the hazard of your lives."* During the remnant of his life, he was annually chosen governor. About this time, a controversy which had long 1649, subsisted between Massachusetts, and Connecticut, * Hutchison. Q 122 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IV . was terminated. The latter, for the purpose of main- taining Saybrooke, had laid a duty on all goods ex- ported from Connecticut river. The inhabitants of Springfield, a town of Massachusetts lying on the river, having refused to pay this duty, the cause was laid before the commissioners of the united colonies ; and, after hearing the parties, those of Plymouth and New Haven adjourned the final decision of the case until the next meeting, in order to hear farther objec- tions from Massachusetts, but directed that, in the meantime, the duty should be paid. At the meeting in 1648, Massachusetts insisted on the production of the patent of Connecticut. It was perfectly well known that the original patent could not be procured ; and the agents for Connecti- cut, after stating this fact, offered an authentic copy. The commissioners recommended that the boundary line should be run, to ascertain whether Springfield was really in Massachusetts, but still directed that the duty should continue to be paid. On this order being made, the commissioners of Massachusetts produced a law of their general court, reciting the controversy, with the orders which had been made in it, and imposing a duty on all goods belonging to the inhabitants of Plymouth, Connecticut, or New Haven, which should be imported within the castle, or ex- ported from any part of the bay, and subjecting them to forfeiture for non-payment. The commissioners remonstrated strongly against this measure, and re- commended it to the general court of Massachusetts, AMERICAN COLONIES. 123 seriously to consider whether such proceedings were chap tv . itj4y reconcilable with " the law of love," and the tenor of the articles of confederation. In the mean time, they begged to be excused from " all farther agitations concerning Springfield.'^ In this state of the controversy fort Saybrooke was consumed by fire, and Connecticut forbore to re-build it, or to demand the duty. In the following year, Massachusetts repealed the ordinance which had so successfully decided the contest.* Thus does a member of a confederacy, feeling its own strength, and the weakness of those with whom it is associated, deride the legitimate decisions of the federal body, when opposed to its own interest or pas- sions, and obey the general will, only when that will is dictated by itself. Although, while civil war raged in the mother country. New England had been permitted to govern itself as an independent nation. Parliament seems to have entertained very decisive opinions respecting the subordination of the provinces, and its own control- ling power. The measures taken for giving effect to these opinions, involved all the colonies equally. The council of state was authorised to displace governors and magistrates, and to appoint others. Massachu- setts was required to take a new patent, and to hold its courts, not in the name of the colony, but in the name of the Parliament. The general court, unwil- ling to comply with these requisitions, transmitted a • Chalmer. Hutchison. i2^ HISTORY OF THE CHA P. IV. petition to Parliament, styling that body " the su- preme authority," and expressing for it the highest respect. They stated their uniform attachment to Parliament during the civil war, the aid they had given, and the losses they had sustained. After speak- ing of the favours they had received, they expressed the hope " that it will not go worse with them than it did under the late King ; and that the frame of this government will not be changed, and governors and magistrates imposed on them against their will." They declared, however, their entire submission to the will of Parliament ; and, avowing for that body the most zealous attachment, prayed a favourable an- swer to their humble petition. But the united colonies had lately given great um- brage by supplying Virginia, and Barbadoes, then enemies of the commonwealth, with warlike stores and other commodities. It was also matter of real complaint that their exemption from the payment of duties enabled them to enrich themselves at the ex- pense of others ; and a revocation of their privileges in this respect was seriously contemplated. Yet the requisitions concerning their charter were never com- plied with, and do not appear to have been repeated.* In this year, war was declared by England against Holland. The united colonies, accustomed to con- duct their affairs in their own way, did not think themselves involved in this contest, unless engaged in it by some act of their own. The Dutch at Man* • Chalmer. Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 125 hadoes, too weak to encounter their English npigh. CHAP.rv . boLirs, solicited the continuance of peace ; and, as the trade carried on between them was mutually advan- tageous, this request was readily granted. Intelli- j^j^J,^"^_ gence however was soon brouj^iht by the Indians, that ''0"« o*^!'^ ^^ .... Dutch with the Dutch were privately inciting them to a general 'he Indians, confederacy for the purpose of extirpating the Eng- lish. This intelligence gave the more alarm, because the massacre at Amboyna was then fresh in the recol- lection of the colonists. An extraordinary meeting of the commissioners was called at Boston, uho were divided in opinion with regard to the propriety of de- claring war. In consequence of this division, a con- ference was held before the general court and several elders of Massachusetts. The elders, being request- ed to give their opinion in writing, stated " that the proofs and presumptions of the execrable plot, tending to the destruction of so many of the dear saints of God, imputed to the Dutch governor, and the fiscal, were of such weight as to induce them to believe the reality of it ; yet they were not so fully conclusive as to clear up a present proceeding to war before the world, and to bear up their hearts with that fullness of persuasion which was mete, in commending the case to God in prayer, and to the people in exhorta- tions ; and that it would be safest for the colonies to forbear the use of the sword ; but advised to be in a posture of defence until the mind of God should be more fully known either for a setded peace, or more 1^6 HISTORY OF THE ^^1653 ^^ "^^"'f^st grounds of war.'^* With this opinion of the elders, the vote of the general court concurred. The intelligence of the practices of the Dutch go- vernor with the Indians becoming more certain, all the commissioners except Mr. Bradstreet of Massachu- setts, declared in favour of war. Their proceedings were immediately interrupted by a declaration of the general court of M.tssachusetts, that no determination of the commissioners, although they should be unani- mous, should bind the general court to join in an offen- sive war which should appear to be unjust. A serious altercation ensued, in the course of which the other colonies pressed the war as a measure essential to their safety ; but Massachusetts adhered inflexibly to its first resolution. This additional evidence of the incompetency of their union to bind one member, stronger than all the rest, threatened a dissolution of the confederacy ; and that event seems to have been prevented only by the inability of the others to stand alone. Alarmed at their situation, and irritated by the conduct of their elder sister, Connecticut and New Haven represented to Cromwell, then lord protector of England, the danger to which the colonies were exposed from the Dutch and the Indians ; and the hazard the smaller provinces must continue to incur, unless the league between them could be maintained and executed according to its true intent, and the in- terpretation which its articles had uniformly received. With his usual promptness and decision, Crom- • Chalmer. Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 1^7 well detached a small armament for the reduction of CHVP^iv the Dutch colony, and recommended to Massachu- setts to furnish aid to the expedition. Although the legitimate requisitions of the government of the union had been ineffectual, the recommendation of the lord protector was not to be disregarded ; and the general court passed a resolution conforming to it. A treaty i65*. of peace, which was signed in April, saved the Dutch colony.* The progress of the French in their neighbourhood had been viewed with regret and apprehension by all New England. Sedgewic, the commander of theEvpedUion forces which had been destined against Manhadoes, Acadi<5. animated with the vigour of his master, was easily prevailed on to turn his arms against a people, whose religious tenets he detested, and whose country he hated. He soon dislodged the French from Penob- scot, and subdued all Acadie. The ministers of his most christian majesty, pending the negotiations for the treaty of Westminster, demanded restitution of i^^s. the forts Pentagoet, St. Johns, and Port Royal ; but, each nation having claims on the country, their pre- tensions were referred to the arbitrators appointed to adjust the damages committed on either side since the year 1640 ; and the restitution of Acadie was postponed for future discussion. Cromwell seems not to have intended to restore the icsc. countries he had conquered. He granted to St. Etienne, Crown and Temple, for ever, the territory de- • Cbalmer. Hutchison, 128 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IV. nominated Acadie, and part of the country common- ly called Nova Scotia, extending along the coast to Pentagoet, and to the river St. George. Until the restoration, the colonies of New England continued in a stare of unexampled prosperity. Those regulations respecting navigation, vihich were rigor- ously enforced against others less in favour, were dis- pensed with for their benefit. They maintained ex- ternal peace hy the vigour and sagacity with which their government was administered ; and, improved the advantages which the times afforded them by in- dustry and attention to their interests. In this period of prosperity, they acquired a degree of strength and consistence which enabled them to struggle through the difficulties that afterwards assailed them. These sober industrious people were peculiarly at- tentive to the instruction of youth. Education was among the first objects of their care. In addition to private institutions, they had brought the college at Cambridge to a state of forwardness which reflects much credit on their character. As early as the year 1636, the general court had bestowed four hundred pounds on a public school at Newtown, the name by which Cambridge was then known. Two years af- terwards, an additional donation was made by the re- verend Mr. John Harvard, in consequence of which the institution received the name of Harvard college. In 1642, this college was placed under the govern- ment of the governor, and deputy governor, and of the magistrates, and ministers of the six next adja- AMERICAN COLONIES. 129 cent towns, who, with the president were incorporated 2!!£!^^iX: for that purpose ; and, in 1650, its first charter was granted.* It is to be lamented that the same people possessed a degree of bigotry in religion, and a spirit of intole- rance, which their enlightened posterity will view with regret. During this period of prosperity, the government maintained the severity of its institutions against all those who dissented from the church ; and exerted itself assiduously in what was thought the holy work of punishing heretics, and introducing conformity in matters of faith. In this time, the sect denominated Quakers appeared. They were fined, imprisoned, whipped, and, at length put to death ; but could not be totally suppressed. As enthusiastic as their persecutors, they gloried in their sufferings, and deemed themselves the martyrs of truth. • Ghalmer. Hutchison, R 130 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. V. CHAPTER V. Transactions succeeding the restoration of Charles II, — Contests between Connecticut and New Haven, — Discontents in Virginia. — Grant to the Duke of York. — Co7n7nissioners appointed by the crown, — Conquest of the Dutch settlements. — Conduct of Massachusetts to the royal commissio?iers. — Their recall. — Massachusetts evades a summons to appear before the King and council. — Settlement of Caroli- na. — Form of government. — Constitution of Mr. Locke. — Discontents in the county of Albemarle. — Invasion from Florida. — Abolition of the constitu- tion of Mr. Locke. — Bacon^s rebellion. — His death' ^ — .Assembly deprived of Judicial power. — Discon- tents in Firginia. — Population of the colony, 1660. The restoration of Charles II. was soon known in America, and excited, in the different colonies very different emotions. In Virginia, and in Maryland, the intelligence was received with transport, and the King was proclaimed amidst acclamations of unfeign- ed joy. In Massachusetts, the unwelcome informa- tion was heard vvith doubt, and in silence. Republi- cans in religion and in politics, all their affections were engaged in favour of the revolutionary party in Eng- land, and they saw, in the restoration of monarchy, AMERICAN COLONIES. 131 much more to fear than to hope for themselves. Nnr CH\p v. were they mistaken in their forebodings. No sooner was Charles seated on the throne, than Parliament voted a duty of five per centum on all mer- chandises exported from, or imported into, any of the dominions belonging to the English crown ; and, in the course of the same session, the celebrated navi- gation act was re-enacted. The difficulty of carrying this system into execution among a distant people, accustomed to the advantages of a free trade, was foreseen ; and the law directed that the governors of the several plantations should, before entering into office, take an oath faithfully to observe it.* As some compensation to the colonists for -these commercial restraints, it was also enacted that no to- bacco should be planted or made in England or Ire- land, Guernsey, or Jersey. These regulations con- * fined the trade of the colonies to England ; and con- ferred on them, exclusively, the production of tobacco. Charles, on ascending the throne, transmitted to Sir William Berkeley a commission as governor of Virginia, with instructions to summon an assembly, and to assure it of his intention to grant a general pardon to all persons, other than those who were at- tainted by act of Parliament ; provided all acts passed during the rebellion, derogating from the obedience due to the King and his government, should be re- pealed. The assembly, which had been summoned in * Chalraer. Hutchison. 13S HISTORY OF THE CHAP V. March 1660, in the name of the Kinsr, thoueh he wab 1660. ' . b' ^> _ not then acknowledged in England, and which had been prorogued by the governor to the following 1661. March, then convened, and engaged in the arduous task of revising the laws of the colony. One of the motives assigned for this revision strongly marks the temper of the day. It is that they may " repeal and expunge all unnecessary acts, and chiefly such as might keep in memory their forced deviation from his majesty's obedience."* This laborious work was accomplished ; and, in its execution, the first object of attention was religion. The church of England was established by law, and provision was made for its ministers. To preserve the purity and unity of its doctrines and discipline, those only who had been ordained by some bishop in England, and who should subscribe an engagement to conform to the constitution of the church of Eng- land and the laws there established, could be inducted by the governor : and no others were permitted to preach. The day of the execution of Charles I. was ordered to be kept as a fast ; and the anniversaries of the birth, and of the restoration of Charles II. to be celebrated as holy days. The duties on exports and tonnage were rendered perpetual ; the privilege of the burgesses from arrest was established, and their num- ber fixed ; the courts of justice were organised ; and many useful laws were passed, regulating the interior affairs of the colony.f * Virginia Laws. Chalmer, f Idem. AMERICAN COLONIES. 133 An effort was made to encourage manufactures, 2!L^^L_J- especially that of silk. For each pound of that article which should be raised, a premium of fifty pounds of » tobacco was given ; and every person was enjoined to plant a number of mulberry trees proportioned to his quantity of land, in order to furnish food for the silk worm. But the labour of the colony had been long directed to the culture of tobacco, and Indian corn ; and new systems of culture can seldom be introduced until their necessity becomes apparent. This attempt to multiply the objects of labour did not succeed, and the acts on the subject were soon repealed. In Maryland, the legislature was also convened, and, as in Virginia, their first employment was to manifest their satisfaction with the restoration j after which they entered upon subjects of general utility. Rhode Island, excluded from the confederacy of the other New England colonies, and dreading danger to her independence from Massachusetts, was well pleased at the establishment of an authority which could overawe the strong, and protect the weak. Charles II. was immediately proclaimed ; and an 1662. aeent was deputed to the court of that monarch, for the purpose of soliciting a patent, confirming the right land incor- of the inhabitants to the soil, and jurisdiction of the^ '^^ country. The object of the mission was obtained, and the patentees were incorporated by the name of " The governor and company of the English colony of Rhode Island and Providence." The legislative power was vested in an assembly to consist of the 134) HISTORY OP THE £HA£_X: governor, deputy governor, the assistants, and such of the freemen as should be chosen by the towns* • The presence of the governor or his deputy, and of six assistants, was required to constitute an assembly. They were empowered to pass laws adapted to the situation of the colony, and not repugnant to those of England. " That part of the dominions of the crown in New England containing the islands in Narraghan- setts bay, and the countries and parts adjacent,^' was granted to the governor and company and their suc- cessors, with the privilege to pass through, and trade with, any other English colonies.* • In Connecticut, the intelligence of the restoration was not attended by any manifestation of joy or sor- row. Winthrop was deputed to attend to the interests of the colony; and, in April, 1662, he obtained a char- Patent to ter incorporatinaf them by the name of " The gover- Connecti- » '^ V- i • i i r ^ • cut. nor and company of the English colony of Connecti- cut in New England." The executive as in the other colonies of New England, consisted of a governor, deputy governor, and assistants. The legislature was composed of the members of the executive, and of i two deputies from every town. It was authorised to ' appoint annually the governor, assistants, and other officers ; to erect courts of justice, and to make such laws as might be necessary for the colony, with the usual proviso, that they should not be contrary to those of England. To this corporation, the King granted that part of his dominions in New England, * Chalmer. AMERICAN COLONIES. 135 boanded, on the east, by Narra^hansetts bay, on the chap, v. north, by the southern line of M^issachusetts, on the south, by the sea, and extendini^ in longitude from east to west, with the line of Massachusetts, to the south sea. By this charter. New Haven was, without being consulted included in Connecticut. The freemen of that province, dissatisfied with this measure, deter- i^^-^- mined in general meeting, " that it was not lawful to contest be- join ;" and unanimously resolved to adhere to their J^^^^j^^^^^'^j former association. A committee was appointed to^^^*"*" » 1 veil. address the assembly of Connecticut on this interest- ing subject. They insisted, not that the charter was void, but that it did not include them. A negotiation between the two provinces was com- menced, in which the people of New Haven maintain- ed their right to a separate government with inflexible perseverance, and with a considerable degree of exas- peration. They appealed to the crown from the ex- planation given by Connecticut to the charter ; and governor Winthrop, the agent who had obtained that instrument, and who flattered himself with being able, on his return, to conciliate the contending parties, deemed it advisable to arrest all proceeding on their petition, by pledging himself that no injury should be done to New Haven by Connecticut ; and that the in- corporation of the two colonies should be effected only by the voluntary consent of both. The government of Connecticut, however, still per- sisting to assert its jurisdiction, attempted to exercise 136 HISTORY OP THE ^"1^6 ^ ^^ ^y claiming obedience from the people, appointing constables in their towns, disavowing the authority of the general court of New Haven, and protecting those who denied it. Complaints of these proceedings were laid before the commissioners of the united colonies, who declared that New Haven was still an integral member of the union, and that its jurisdiction could not be infringed without a breach of the articles of confederation. Disregarding this decision, Connecticut pursued unremittingly, the object of incorporation. The in- habitants of New Haven were encouraged to refuse the payment of taxes imposed by their legislature ; and, when distress was made on the disobedient, as- sistance was obtained from Hartford. These pro- ceedings seemed only to increase the irritation on the part of New Haven, where a deep sense of injury was entertained, and a solemn resolution taken to break off all farther treaty on the subject. This state of things was entirely changed by a piece of intelligence which gave the most serious alarm to all New England. Information was receiv- ed that the King had granted to his brother, the duke of York, all the lands claimed by the Dutch, to which he had annexed a considerable part of the territory over which the northern colonies had exercised juris- diction ; and that an armament for the purpose of tak- ing possession of the grant might soon be expected. To this it was added, that commissioners were to come at the same time^ empowered to settle the dis~ AMERICAN COLONIES. 137 putes, and to new model the governments, of the ^A^jiJl: colonies. The commissioners of the united colonies, perceiv- ing the necessity of accommodating internal differ- ences, now took a decided part in favour of the pro- posed incorporation. The most intelligent inhabitants of New Haven became converts to the same opinion; but the prejudices imbibed by the mass of the peo- ple being still insurmountable, a vote in favour of the union could not be obtained. At length, after the arrival of the commissioners appointed by the crown, and a manifestation of their opinion in favour of the incorporation ; after a long course of negotiation which terminated in a compact establishing certain principles of equality required by the jealousy of New Haven ; the union was complet- ed, and the representatives of the two colonies met in the same assembly. During the frequent changes which took place in England after the death of Cromwell, Massachusetts preserved a cautious neutrality ; and seemed disposed to avail herself of any favourable occurrences, without exposing herself to the resentments of that party which might ultimately obtain the ascendancy. Al- though expressly ordered, she did not proclaim Richard as lord -protector; nor did she take any step to recognise the authority of Parliament. The first in- telligence of the restoration of Charles was received with the hesitation of men who are unwilling to be- lieve a fact too well supported by evidence to be dis- s M 138 HISTORY OF THE CHAP y- crptMteri ; and when they were informed of it in a manner not to be questioned, they neither proclaimed the King, nor manifested, by any pubHc act, their ad- mission of his authority. This was not the only tes- timony of their dissatisfaction. Whaley and GofF, two of the judg^es of Charles I. came passengers in the vessel which brought this intelligence, and were received with distinction by the government, and with affection by the people.* In a session of the general court, held in October, 1660, an address to the King was moved; but reports of the yet unsettled state of the kingdom being re- ceived, the motion did not prevail. They had seen so many changes in the course of a few months, as to think it not improbable tliat an address to the King might find the executive power in the hands of a committee of safety, or council of state. This uncer- tain state of things was not of long continuance. In November, a ship arrived from Bristol, bringing posi- tive advices of the joyful and universal submission of the nation to the King, with letters from their agent, and from others, informing them that petitions had been presented against the colony, by those who thought themselves aggrieved by its proceedings. The time for deliberation was passed. A general court was convened, and a loyal address to the King was voted, in which, with considerable ability, though in the peculiar lanii;uage of the day, they justified their whole conduct ; and, without abandoning any • Chalmer. TrumbuU. AMERICAN COLONIES. 139 opinion concerning their own rights, professed unli- ch\p. v. mited attachment to their sovereign. A sinnilar ad- . dress was made to Parliament ; and letters were writ- ten to those noblemen who were the known friends of the colony, soliciting their interposition in its behalf. A gracious answer being returned by the King, a day of thanksgiving was appointed to acknowledge their gratitude to Heaven for inclining the heart of his majesty favourably to receive and answer their ad- dress. Their apprehensions however of danger from the revolution in England still continued. Reports pre- vailed that their commercial intercourse with Virginia and the islands was to be interdicted ; and that a go- vernor-general might be expected whose authority should extend over all the colonies. On this occa- sion, the general court came to several resolutions, respecting the rights of the people, and the obedience due from them, which are strongly expressive of their deliberate opinions on these interesting subjects. It was resolved, That the patent (under God) is the first and main foundation of the civil polity of the colony. That the governor and company are, by the patent, a body politic, invested with the power to make free- men. That the freemen have authority to choose annu- ally a governor, deputy governor, assistants, represen- tatives, and all other officers. That the government thus constituted hath full 140 HISTORY OF THE SilTiJ^- power, both legislative and executive, for the govern ment of all the people, whether inhabitants or stran- gers, without appeals ; save only in the case of laws repugnant to those of England. That the government is privileged by all means, even by force of arms, to defend itself both by land and sea, against all who should attempt injury to the plantation or its inhabitants, and that in their opinion, any imposition prejudicial to the country, contrary to any just law of theirs, (not repugnant to the laws of England) would be an infringement of their rights.* These strong and characteristic resolutions were accompanied by a recognition of the duties to which they were bound by their allegiance. These were declared to consist, in upholding that colony as be- longing of right to his majesty, and not to subject it to any foreign prince; in preserving his person and dominions ; and in settling the peace and prosperity of the King and nation, by punishing crimes, and by propagating the Gospel. f It was, at the same time, determined that the royal warrant, which had been received sometime before, for apprehending Whaley and GofF, ought to be faith- fully executed. These persons however were per- mitted to escape to Connecticut, where they were received with every demonstration of regard, and to remain during life in New England, only taking care not to appear in public. At length, in August 1661, it was determined to • Hutchison. Chalmer. f Idem, AMERICAN COLONIES. 141 proclaim the King; but, as if unable to conceal the^2AL_I reluctance with which this step was taken, an order was made, on the same day, prohibiting all disorderly behaviour on the occasion, and, in particular, direct- ing that no man should presume to drink his majes- ty's health, " which," adds the order, " he hath in a special manner forbid." Farther intelligence being received from England of the increasing complaints against the government of Massachusetts, agents were deputed with instruc- tions to represent the colonists as loyal and obedient subjects, to remove any ill impressions that had been made against them, and to learn the disposition of his majesty toward them ; but to do nothing which might prejudice their charter. The agents, who engaged reluctantly in a service from which they rightly augured to themselves cen- sure rather than approbation, were received more favourably than had been expected. They soon re- turned with a letter from the King, confirming their charter, and containing a pardon for all treasons com- mitted during the late troubles, with the exception of those only who were attainted by act of Parliament. But the royal missive also required that the general court should review its ordinances, and repeal such of them as were repugnant to the authority of the crown; that the oath of allegiance should be taken by every person ; that justice should be administered in the King's name ; that all who desired it, should be per- mitted to use the book of common prayer, and to 14^ HISTORY OF THE ^".tF; ^': perform their devotions according: to the ceremonials 1063. * '^ of the church of England ; and that freeholders of competent estates, not vicious, should be allowed to vote in the election of officers, though they were of different persuasions in church government.* These requisitions gave much disquiet ; and that alone seems ever to have been complied with which directed judicial proceedings to be carried on in the name of the King. The agents, on their return were ill received by the people ; and were considered as having sacrificed the interests of their country, be- cause, with the agreeable, were mingled some bitter though unavoidable ingredients. During these transactions, the Parliament of Eng- land proceeded to complete its system of confining the trade of the colonies to the mother country. It was enacted that no commodity of the growth or manufacture of Europe, shall be imported into the settlements of England, in Asia, Africa, or America, but such as shall be shipped in England, and proceed directly in English bottoms, navigated by English- men. Salt for the fisheries, wine from Madeira and the Azores ; and servants, horses, and victuals, from Scotland and Ireland, were excepted from this gene- ral rule. To counterbalance these restrictions, duties were imposed on salted and dried fish caught or imported by other vessels than those belonging to subjects of the crown; and additional regulations were made for • Hutchison. Chalmer. AMERICAN COLONIES. 14)3 enforcing the prohibition of the culture of tobacco in^[]^L_I: Enp^Iand. These commercial restrictions were the never fail- ing source of discontent and controversy between the mother country and her colonies. Even in those of the south, where similar restraints had been enforced by Cromwell, they were executed imperfectly ; but, in New England, where the governors were elected by the people, they appear to have been, for some time, entirely disregarded.* The 2:ood humour which prevailed in Virginia on Discontents •^ •^ " in Virginia. the restoration of Charles to the throne, was not ot long duration. The restraints on commerce, and the continually decreasing price of tobacco, soon excited considerable discontents. The legislature endeavour- ed, by prohibiting its culture for a limited time, to raise its value ; but, Maryland refusing to concur in the measure, the attempt was unsuccessful. Other legislative remedies were applied with as little advan- tage. Acts were passed suspending all proceedings in the courts of law, except for goods imported ; giv- ing to country creditors priority in payment of debts; and to contracts made within the colony, precedence in all courts of justice. Such expedients as these have never removed the discontents which produced them. The English government seems, at all times, to have questioned the right of the Dutch to their settle- ments in America ; and never to have formally relin- • Hutchison. Chalmer. 144 HISTORY OP THE ^"i664 "' ^"^^^^^ its claim to that territory. Charles now de- Gram tothetermined to assert it ; and granted to his brother the dake of *^ York. duke of York " all that part of the main land of New England, beginning at a certain place called and known by the name of St. Croix, next adjoining to New England in America, and from thence extend- ing along the sea coast unto a certain place called Pemaquie, or Pemaquid, and so up the river thereof to the farthest head of the same, as it tendeth north- ward ; and extending from thence to the river Kern- bequin, and so upwards by the shortest course to the river Canada northward ; and also all that island or islands commonly called by the general name or names of Meitowax, or Long Island, situate and be- ing towards the west of Cape Cod, and the narrow Highgansetts, abutting upon the main land between the two rivers there called and known by the several names of Connecticut and Hudson's river, and all the land from the west side of Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware bay, and also all those several islands called or known by the names of Martha's Vineyard or Nantucks, otherwise Nantucket." To reduce this country, part of which was then in the peaceable possession of the Dutch, colonel Nichols was dispatched with four frigates, carrying three hun- Comission- drcd soldjers. In the same ships, came four commis- e^by^Srsioners, of whom colonel Nichols was one, " empow- crown. gj.g J ^Q i^g^jj. ^^^ determine complaints and appeals in causes, as well military as civil and criminal, within New England ; and to proceed in all things for settling AMERICAN COLONIES. 14j5 the peace and security of the country." Intelligence chap, v. of this deputation preceded its arrival, and the prepa- ration made for its reception, evidences the disposi- tion then prevailing in Massachusetts. A committee was appointed to repair on board the ships as soon as they should appear, and to communicate to their commanders the desire of the local government that the inferior officers and soldiers should be ordered, when they came on shore to refresh themselves, " at no time to exceed a convenient number, to come un- armed, to observe an orderly conduct, and to give no offence to the people and laws of the country." As if to manifest in a still more solemn manner their hos- tility, to the objects of the commissioners, a day of fasting and prayer was appointed to implore the mer- cy of God under their many distractions and troubles.* The commissioners arrived in July, and their com- mission was immediately laid before the council, with a letter from the King requiring prompt assistance for the expedition against New Netherlands. The general court, which was immediately convened, after having first resolved " that they w ould bear faith and true allegiance to his majesty, and adhere to their patent, so dearly obtained, and so long enjoyed, by undoubted right in the sight of God and man," de- termined to raise two hundred men for the expedi- tion. In the mean time colonel Nichols proceeded to conquest Manhadoes. The auxiliary force raised by Massa- Dutch coio- chusetts was rendered unnecessary by the capitula- "^' • Chalmer. Hutchison. 146 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. V . tJQr, of New Amsterdam, which was soon followed by the surrender of the whole province. The year after captain Argal had subdued Manba- does, the garrison, having obtained a reinforcement from Holland, returned to their ancient allegiance. In 1621, the states general made a grant of the country to the West India company, who erected a fort called Good Hope on Connecticut (which they denominat- ed Fresh) river, and another called Nassau on the east side of Delaware bay. The fort on Connecticut river, however, did not protect that frontier against the people of New England, who continued to ex- tend their settlements towards the south. The Dutch remonstrated in vain against these encroach- ments, and were under the necessity of receding as their more powerful neighbours advance^, until the eastern part of Long Island, and the country within a few miles of the Hudson were relinquished. Farther south, the Dutch had built fort Casimir (now New Castle) on the Dela^vare. This fort was taken from them by the Swedes, who claimed the western shore of that river, but was retaken by the Dutch, who, at the same time, conquered Christina, and received the submission of the few Swedes who were scattered on the margin of the river. They also made a settle- ment at cape Henlopen, which attracted the attention of lord Baltimore, who sent a commission to New Castle ordering the Dutch governor to remove be- yond the 40th degree of north latitude, to which his AMERICAN COLONIES. 1*7 Iordship''s claim extended. This mandate however ^"'^^ ^- was not obeyed. On the appearance of colonel Nichols before New Amsterdam, Stuyvesant, the governor, was disposed to defend the place ; but the inhabitants, feeling no inclination for the contest, took part with their inva- ders ; and Stuyvesant was compelled to sign a capi- tulation, by which he surrendered the town to the English, stipulating for the inhabitants their property, and the rights of free denizens. New Amsterdam took the name of New York, and the island of Man- hattans that of York Island.* Hudson's, and the south, or Delaware river, were still to be reduced. Carteret commanded the expe- dition against fort Orange, up Hudson's river, which surrendered on the twenty-fourth of September, and received the name of Albany. While at that place, he formed a league with the five nations, which proved eminently useful to the views of the English jn America. The command of the expedition against the settle- ment on the Delaware was given to sir Robert Carr, who completed the conquest of that country. Thus did England acquire all that fine country lying between her southern and northern colonies ; an acquisition deriving not less importance from its situation, than from its extent and fertility. Nichols took possession of the conquered territo- ' Clialmer„ Smith. 148 HISTof Y OF THE ^^^li ^ ^^' ^^^ ^^^ compelled to surrender a part of it to Carteret. Soon after the patent to the duke of York, and be- fore the conquest of New Netherlands, that prince had granted to lord Berkeley, and sir Genrsje Carte- ret, all that tract of land adjacent to New Ena^land, to the westward of Lont^ Island, bounded on the east, south, and west, by the river Hudson, the sea, and the Delaware; and, on the north, by forty one degrees and forty minutes north latitude. This country was denominated New Jersey.* The conquest of New Netherlands being achiev- ed, the commissioners entered on the other duties assigned them. A great part of Connecticut had been included in the patent to the duke of York ; and a controversy concerning limits arose between that colony and New York. In December, their boun- daries were adjusted by the commissioners in a man- ner which appears to have been satisfactory to all parties. In Plymouth, and in Rhode Island, the commis- sioners found no difficulty in the full exercise of the powers committed to them. In Massachusetts, they were considered as men clothed with an authority subversive of the liberties of the colony, which the sovereign could not rightfully confer. The people of that province had been long in habits of self-go- vernment, and seem to have entertained opinions which justified their practice. They did not acknow- • Chalmer. Smith. AMERICAN COLONIES. 14l9 ledsfe that allep-iance to the crown which is due from 2IL^:Z_Z. •^ *=> . 10tJ4. English subjects residing within the realm; but con- sidered themselves as purchasers from independent sovereigns of the territory which they occupied, and as owing to England, only that voluntary subjection which was created and defined by their charter. They considered this instrument as a compact between the mother country and themselves, and as enumerating all the cases in which obedience was due from them. In this spirit, they agreed, soon after the arrival of the commissioners, on an address to the crown. This address, in which they express great apprehension of danger to their rights from the extraordinary powers granted to men not appointed in conformity with their charter, is drawn up in a style of much earnestness and sincerity, and conch^des with these remarkable words, " let our government live, our patent live, our magistrates live, our religious enjoyments live ; so shall we all yet have farther cause to say from our hearts, let the King live for ever." This address was accompanied with letters to many of the nobility supposed to possess influence at court, praying their intercession in behalf of the colony ; but neither the address, nor the letters were favourably received.* In April the commissioners arrived at Boston, and^ i''*^^. '^ , . . Conduct of their communications with the Q;eneral court com- Massachu- „, • • I'll IT ^^^^ ^° '*^° menced. The suspicions which these two bodies rojai com- entertained of each other, opposed great obstacles to any cordial co-operation between them. The papers, • Hutchison. 150 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. V. on the part of the commissioners, display h\sh ideas 1665. r 1 • 1 • , of their own authority, as the representatives of the crown, and a pre conceived opinion that there was a disposition in the government to resist that authority. Those on the part of the general court manifest a wish to avoid a contest with the crown, and a desire to gratify his majesty, so far as professions of loyalty and submission could gratify him ; but they manifest also a conviction of having done nothing improper, and a stedfast determination to make no concession incom- patible with their rights. With these impressions, the correspondence soon became an altercation. The commissioners, finding their object was to be obtain- ed neither by reasoning, nor by threats, attempted a practical assertion of their powers by summoning the parties before them, in order to hear and decide a complaint against the governor and company. The general court, with a decision which marked alike their vigour, and the high value they placed on their privileges, announced by sound of trumpet, their dis- approbation of this proceeding, which they termed inconsistent with the laws and established authority ; and declared that, in observance of their duty to God and to his majesty, and of the trust reposed in them by his majesty's good subjects in the colony, they could not consent to such proceedings, nor counte- nance those who would so act, or such as would abet them. As a ground of compromise, the court stated their willingness to hear the case themselves in the presence AMERICAN COLONIES. 151 of the commissioners, who would thereby be enabled chap, v . - , . . , , . . . 1665. to understand its merits ; but this proposition was at once rejected, and every effort towards reconciliation proved unavailing.* From Massachusetts, the commissioners proceed- leec. ed to New Hampshire and Maine. They decided in favour of the claims of Mason and Gorsjes, and erected a royal government in each province, appointed jus- tices of the peace, and exercised other acts of sove- reignty ; after which they returned to Boston. The general court, declaring that their proceedings to the eastward tended to the disturbance of the public pefice, asked a conference on the subject, which was refused with a bitterness of expression that put an end to all farther communication between the parties. Massa- chusetts, soon afterwards, re-established her authority both in New Hampshire and Maine. Charles, on being informed of these transactions, They are recalled his commissioners, and ordered the generar^*"^ court to send agents to England, to answer the com- plaints made against its proceedings. The court, hav- ing more than once experienced the benefits of pro- crastination, affected at first to disbelieve the authen- ticity of the letter; and afterwards excused themselves from sending agents by saying that the ablest among them could not support their cause better than had already been done. During these transactions in the north, new colo- nies were forming in the south. * Chaimer. Hutchison 153 HISTORY OP THE CHAP. V. In the year 1663, that tract of country extending from the 36th degree of north latitude to the river St. Matheo, was made a province by the name of Caro- lina, and granted to lord Clarendon, the duke of Albemarle, lord Craven, lord Berkeley, lord Ashley, sir George Carteret, sir John Colleton, and sir Wil- liam Berkeley, in absolute property for ever. This charter bears a strong resemblance to that of Mary- land, and was probably copied from it. Seuiement The proprietors took immediate measures for the of Carolina. ' ' . . settlement of their colony. Its constitution consisted of a governor, to be chosen by themselves from thir- teen persons nominated by the colonists ; and an as- sembly to be composed of the governor, council, and representatives of the people, who should have power to make laws not contrary to those of England, which were to remain in force until the dissent of the proprietors should be published. Perfect freedom in religion was promised ; and, as an inducement to emigration, one hundred acres of land, at the price of a half penny for each acre, were allowed for every freeman, and fifty for every servant, who should, within the space of five years, be settled in the pro vince. A small settlement had been made on Albemarle sound by some emigrants from Virginia, the super- intendance of which had been conferred, by the pro- prietors, on sir William Berkeley, then governor of that colony ; with instructions to visit it, to appoint a governor and council of six persons for the manage- AMERICAN COLONIES. 153 inent of its affairs, and to erant lands to the inh?^- chap, v. ,. , , , • ,r A666. Ditants on the same terms that those in Virginia might be obtained. The attention of the proprietors was next turned to the country south of cape Fear, which, as far as the river St. Matheo, was erected into a county by the name of Clarendon. Considerable numbers from Barbadoes emigrated into it, one of whom, Mr. J(;hn Yeamans, was appointed commander in chief; and, in 1665, a separate government was erected in it, similar to that in Albemarle. The proprietors having discovered some valuable lands not comprehended in their original patent, ob- tained a new charter which bestowed on them a more extensive territory. This charter grants that province within the King's dominions in America, extending north eastward to Carahtuke inlet, thence in a straight line to VVyonok, which lies under 36 degrees 50 mi- nutes north latitude ; south westward to the 29th de- gree of north latitude ; and from the Atlantic ocean to the South sea. Powers of government and privileges analogous to those comprised in other colonial char- ters, were also contained in this. The people of Albemarle, employed like those of Virginia, in the cultivation of corn and tobacco, re- ceived their scanty supplies principally from New England ; and carried on their small commerce in the vessels of those colonies. Their progress was slow, i667. but they were contented, A new constitution was given them, by which the executive power was placed U 154 HISTORY OP THE CHAP. V. ;,-, a p-overnor, to act bv the advice of a council of 1667. . ' • twelve, six of whom were to be chosen by himself, and the others by the assemblv, which was composed of the governor, the council, and twelve delesjates, to be elected annually by the freeholders. Perfect free- dom in religion was established, and all were entitled to equal privileges, on taking the oaths of allegiance to the King, and of fidelity to the proprietors. The first acts of this legislature indicate the condi- tion and opinions of the people. It was declared that none should be sued, during five years, for any cause of action arising out of the country ; and that no per- son should accept a power of attorney to receive debts contracted abroad. The proprietf)rs, dissatisfied with their own sys- tems, applied to Mr. Locke for the plan of a consti- tution. They supposed that this profound and acute 1669. reasoner must be deeply skilled in the science of go- Constitu- ^ , ,.' • 1 1 • 1 tion ot Mr vernment. In comphance with their request, he framed a body of fundamental laws which were ap- proved and adopted. A palatine for life was to be chosen from among the proprietors, who was to act as president of the palatine court, which was to be composed of all those who were entrusted with the execution of the powers granted by the charter. A body of hereditary nobility was created, to be de- nominated Landgraves, and Caciques, the former to be invested with four baronies, consisting each of four thousand acres, and the latter to have two, containing each two thousand acres of land. These estates were to descend with the dignities for ever. AMERICAN COLONIES. 1^5 The provincial legislature, denominaterl a Parlia- ch\p v . ment was to consist of the proprietors, in the absence of any one of whom, his place was to be supplied by a deputy appointed by himself; of the nobility ; and of the representatives of the freeholders, who were elected by districts. These discordant materials were to compose a single body which could initiate no- thing. The bills to be laid before it were to be pre- pared in a grand council composed of the governor, the nobility, and the deputies of the proprietors, who vi^ere invested also with the executive power. At the end of every century, the laws were to become void vi'ithout the formality of a repeal. Various judicato- ries were erected, and numerous minute perplexing regulations were made. This constitution, which was declared to be perpetual, soon furnished additional evidence, to the many afforded b}' history, of the great but neglected truth, that experience is the only safe school in which the science of government is to be acquired ; and that the theories of the closet must have the stamp of practice, before they can be receiv- ed with implicit confidence. The duke of Albemarle was chosen the first pala- i670. tine, but did not long survive his election ; and lord Berkeley was appointed his successor. The other proprietors were also named to high offices ; and Mr. Locke was created a landgrave. After this change of constitution, the attention of the proprietors was first directed to the south. A settlement was made at Port Royal, under the con- 15S HISTORY OF THE CFAP V. jm^i- of William Sayle, who had been appointed go- vernor of that part of the coast which lies south west of cape Carteret. He was accompanied by J<>seph West, who was intrusted with the commercial affairs of the proprietors, and who, with the governor, con- ducted ihe whole mercantile business of the colony. Williaai Sayle, after leading the first colony to Port Royal, and convening a parliament in which there were neither landgraves nor caciques, became the vic- tim of the climate ; after which, the authority of sir John Yeamans, u ho had hitherto governed the set- tlement at cape Fear, was extended over the territory south-west of cape Carteret. In the same year, the foundation of old Charlestown was laid, which con- tinued, for some time, to be the capital of the southern setdements. "While these exertions were making in the south, great dissatisfaction was excited in Albemarle. In 1670, Stevens, the governor, had been ordered to introduce into that settlement, the constitution prepared by Mr. Locke. This innovation was strenuously opposed ; and the discontent it produced was increased by a run^our, which was not the less mischievous for being untrue, that the proprietors designed to dismember the province. There was also another cause which in- creased the ill humour pervading that small society. The proprietors attempted to stop the trade carried on in the vessels of New England, and the attempt pro- duced the constant effect of such measures — much ill temi)er both on the part of those who carried on the traffic, and of those for whom it was conducted. AMERICAN COLONIES' 157 At length, these discontents broke out into open chap, v. insurrection. The insurgents, led by Culpeper, who had been appointed surveyor- general of Carolina, ob- tained possession of the country, seized the revenues, and imprisoned the president, with seven deputies who had been named by the proprietors. Having taken possession of the government, they established ccjurts of justice, appointed officers, called a parlia- ment, and, for several years, exercised the powers of an independent state ; yet they never, formally, dis- claimed the power of the proprietors. At this time, the titheables of Albemarle, a term designating all the men, with the negroes and Indian women, between sixteen and sixty years of age, amounted only to fourteen hundred ; and the exports consisted of a few cattle, a small quantity of Indian corn, and about eight hundred thousand weight of tobacco. About this time, an event occurred in the southern iGss. settlements, showing as well the poverty of the peo- ple, as the manner in which the affairs of the proprie- tors were conducted. Joseph VVebt, their agent, was appointed to succeed Yeamans in the government; and, the colony being unable to pay his salary, the plantation, and mercantile stock of the proprietors, were assigned to him in satisfaction of his claims. In England, the opinion had been long entertained that the southern colonies were adapted to the pro- duction of tliose articles which succeed in the warmer climates of Europe. In pursuance of this opinion. 158 HISTORY OP THE 5!L|g_i Charles, in 1679, employed two vessels to transport foreign jirotestants into the southern colony for the purpose of raising wine, oil, silk, and other produc- tions of the south ; and, to encourage the growth of these articles, exempted them, for a limited time, from taxation. The effort, however, did not succeed* Old Charlestown being found an inconvenient place for the seat of government, the present Charleston be- came the metropolis of South Carolina. This situa- tion was deemed so unhealthy, that directions were given to search out some other position for a town. The seat of government, however, remained unalter- ed until the connexion with Great Britain was dis- solved. Carolina continued to increase slowly in wealth and population without any remarkable incident, except the invasion of its most southern settlement by the Spaniards from St. Augustine. This was occasion- ed, in part, by the jealousy with which the English colony inspired its neighbours, but was principally, and immediately attributable to the countenance given, in Charleston, to the buccaneers who then in- fested those seas, and who were particularly hostile to the Spaniards. It was with difficulty the colonists were prevented by the proprietors from taking ample vengeance for this injury. Their resentments, though restrained, were not extinguished ; and, until the an- nexation of the Floridas to the British crown, these colonies continued to view each other with distrust and enmity. AMERICAN COLONIES. 159 The dissatisfaction of the colony with its rnnstihi. chap, v. tion grew with its population. Alter some time a set- tled purpose was disclosed, to thwart and oppose the wishes of the proprietors in every thing. Wearied with a continued struggle to support a system not adapted to the condition of the people, the proprietors constitu- at length, abandoned the constitution of Mr. Locke, Lockla^an- and restored the ancient form of government.^ ^on^a. The discontents which arose in Virginia soon after Discontents , . . . . rt•^ , of Virginia. the restoration, continued to augment. 1 o the regu- larly decreasing price of tobacco, and the restraints imposed on commerce by the acts of navigation, other cause? of dissatisfaction were soon added. Large grants of land were made to the favourites of the crown : and considerable burdens were produced, and injuries inflicted by the hostility of the Indians. Agents were deputed to remonstrate against these improvident grants, as well as to promote the views of the colony with regard to other objects of great moment ; and a considerable tax was imposed to sup- port the expense of the deputation. They are said to have been on the point of obtaining the objects of their mission, when all farther proceedings were sus- pended in consequence of a rebellion, which, for a time, wore a very serious aspect. At the head of the insurgents was colonel Nathaniel Bacon's re- ■ bellion. Bacon, a gentleman who had received his education, in England, at the inns of court ; and had been ap- pointed a member of the council soon after his arri- * Chalraer. History ot South Carolina and Georgia. 160 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. V. val in Virginia. Young, bold, and ambitious ; pos= sessing an engaging person, and commanding elocu- tion ; he was well calculated to rouse and direct the passions of the people. Treading the path by which ambition marches to power, he harangued the people on their grievances, increased their irritation against the causes of their disgust, and ascribed the evils with which they thought themselves oppressed to those who governed them, while he professed no other object than their good. He declaimed particu- larly against the languor with which the Indian war had been prosecuted ; and, striking the note to which their feelings were most responsive, declared that, by proper exertions, it might have been already ter- minated. The people, viewing him as their only friend, and believing the zeal he manifested to be produced solely by his devotion to their cause gave him their whole confidence and elected him their general. In return, i676. he assured them that he would never lay down his arms until he had avenged their sufferings on the sa- vages, and redressed their other grievances. He applied to the governor for a commission ap- pointing him general to prosecute the war against the Indians. A temporising policy being pursued, he entered Jamestown at the head of six hundred armed men, and obtained all he de.nanded, from an intimi- dated government. No sooner had he withdrawn from the capital than the governor, at the request of the assembly which was then in session, issued a pro- AMERICAX COLONIES. 161 clamation declaring: him a rebel, and commandinsr his55^?jJ^ . . 1676. followers to deliver him up, and to retire to their re- spective homes. Bacon and his army, equally in- censed at this piece of impotent indiscretion, returned to Jamestown, and the governor fled to Accomack. The general of the insurgents called a convention of his friends, who inveighed against the governor, for having, without cause, endeavoured to foment a civil war in the country, and after failjng in this attempt, for having abdicated the government, to the great astonishment of the people. They stated farther that, the governor having informed the King •' that their commander and his followers were rebellious, and having advised his majesty to send forces to reduce them, it consisted with the welfare of the colony, and with their allegiance to his sacred majesty, to oppose and suppress all forces whatsoever until the King be fully informed of the state of the / case by such persons as shall be sent by Nathaniel Bacon in behalf of the people." This extraordinary manifesto was concluded with the recommendation of an oath, first taken by the members of the conven- tion, to join the general and his army against the common enemy in all points whatever ; and to en- deavour to discover and apprehend such evil disposed persons as design to create a civil war by raising forces against him, and the army under his command. In the mean time, the governor collected a consi- derable force which crossed the bay under the com- mand of major Robert Bcverlv, and several sharp X 162 HISTORY OF THE c^i^^- ^'- skirmishes were Fought. A civil war was commenc ed ; agriculture declined ; Jamestown was burnt by the insurgents ; those parts of the country which re- mained in peace were pillaged ; and the wives of those who supported the government were carried to camp, where they were very harshly treated. Virgi- '^'*ifSl'' "13 ^vas relieved from this threatening state of things, and from the encreasing calamities it portended, by the sudden death of Bacon. Having lost their leader, the malcontents were in- capable of farther agreement among themselves^ They began, separately, to make terms with the go- vernment, and all opposition soon ended. Sir Wil- liam Berkeley was re-instated in his authority, and an assembly was convened, which seems to have been actuated by the spirit of revenge common to those who suffer in civil contests.* The real motives and objects of this rebellion are not perfectly understood. Many were disposed to think that Bacon's original design extended no farther than to gratify the common resentments against the Indians, and to acquire that reputation and influence which result from conducting a popular war success- fully. Others believed that he intended to seize the government. Whatever may have been his object, the insurrection produced much misery, and no good, to Virginia. f Soon after the restoration of domestic quiet, sir William Berkeley returned to England, and was suc- • Chalmer. Beverly. | Idem. AMERICAN COLONIES. 163 ceeded by Herbert Jeffreys, who relieved the colony 2!Li£i_L- from one of its complaints by making peace with the Indians. About the year 1680, an essential change was isso. made in the jurisprudence of Virginia. In early times, the assembly was the supreme appellate court of the province. During the administration of lord Cul- peper, a controversy arose between the burgesses, and counsellors, who composed also the general court, concerning the right of the latter to sit as a part of the assembly, on appeals from their own decisions. The burgesses claimed, exclusively, the privilege of judg- ing in the last resort. This controversy was deter- Assembly mined by taking all judicial power from the assembly, jjiiicid and allowing an appeal from judgments of the general ^'°^*'^' court to the King in council, where the matter in contest exceeded the value of three hundred pounds sterling.* From the rebellion of Bacon to the revolution in 1688, the history of Virginia affords no remarkable occurrence. The low price of tobacco, that per|jetual source of dissatisfaction, still continued to disquiet the country. Combinations were formed among the people to raise its value by preventing, for a time, the growth of the article : and disorderly parties assem- bled to destroy the tobacco plants in the beds when it was too late to sow the seed again. Violent mea- sures were adopted to prevent these practices, and several individuals were executed. * Chalmer. Beverly, 164 ' HISTORY OF THE CHAP V. These discontents did not arrest the growth of the Population, colony. A letter from sir Wilham Berkeley, dated in June, 1671, states its population at forty thousand, and its militia at eight thousand. A letter from lord Culpeper in December, 1681, supposes that there might then be in the colony fifteen thousand fighting men. This calculation however is probably exagge- rated, as the report of general Smith, prepared in 1680 from actual returns, represents the militia as then consisting of eight thousand five hundred and sixty-eight men, of whom thirteen hundred were cavalry.* • Chalraer,' AMERICAN COLONIES. l65 CHAP. VI . CHAPTER VI. Prosperity of New Ejigland. — TFar xvith Philip. — "—Edward Randolph arrives in Boston. — Maine adjudged to Gorges. — Purchased by Massachusetts. "—Royal government erected in New Hampshire. — -*— Complaints against Massachusetts. — Their let- ters patent cancelled. — Death of Charles II. — — James II. proclaimed- — New commission for the government of Nexv England. — Sir Edmond An- dros. — The charter of Rhode Island abrogated. — Odious measures of the ?iew government. — Andros deposed. — fVilliam and Mary proclaimed. — Reviexv of proceedings in New York and the Jerseys. — Pennsylvania granted to TFilliam Perm. — Frame of government. — Foundatioji of Philadelphia laid. — Assembly convened. — First acts of the legislature. Boundary line with lord Baltimore settled. After the departure of the commissioners, New leso, England was for some time quiet and prosperous, ot' New' ^ The plague, the fire of London, and the discontents^"^'''" ' of the people of England, engrossed the attention of the King, and suspended the execution of his plans respecting Massachusetts. In the mean time, that colony disregarded the acts of navigation, traded as 166 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VI. an independent state, and governed New Hampshire and Maine without opposition.* War with x his state of prosperous repose was interrupted by a combination of Indians so formidable, and a war so bloody, as to threaten the very existence of all New England. This combination was formed by Philip, the second son of Massassoet. The father and eldest son had cultivated the friendship of the colonists ; but Philip, equally brave and intelligent, saw the continu- ing growth of the English with apprehension, and by his conduct soon excited their suspicion. He gave explicit assurances of his pacific disposition ; but, isrs. from the year 1670 till 1675, when hostilities com- menced, he was secretly preparing for them. The war was carried on with great vigour and various success : the savages, led by an intrepid chief, who believed that the fate of his country depended on the entire destruction of the English, made exertions of which they had not been thought capable. Several battles were fought ; and all that barbarous fury which distinguishes Indian warfare, was displayed in its full extent. Wherever the Indians marched, their route vi^as marked with murder, fire, and desolation. Mas- sachusetts, New Hampshire, and Plymouth, were the greatest sufferers. In those provinces especially, the • From a paper in possession ol the British administration, it appears that in 1673, New Ens;lan> i-> i~> again in war with Holland, a small Dutch squadron appeared before the fort at New York, which surren- dered without firing a shot. The example was fol- lowed by the city and country ; and, in a few days, the submission of New Netherlands was complete. After this acquisition the old claim to Long Island was renewed, and some attempts were made to wrest it from Connecticut. That province however, after consulting its confederates, and finding that offensive operations would be agreeable to the union, declared war against the Dutch ; and not content with defend- ing its own possessions, prepared an expedition against New York. The termination of the war be- tween England and Holland prevented its prosecu- tion, and restored to the English the possessions they had lost.* To remove all controversy concerning his title, which had been acquired while the granted lands were in possession of the Dutch, the duke of York, after the peace of 1674, obtained a renewal of his pa- tent, and appointed sir Edmond Andros governor of his territories in Aiuerica. This commission includ- ed New Jersey, his former grant of which he sup- posed to be annulled by the conquest thereof in 1673, Andros, disregarding the decision of the commis- sioners, claimed for the duke that part of Connecticut which lies west of the river of that name ; and, during the war with Philip, endeavoured to support * Ti'umbuH. Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 179 his claim bv force. The determined resistance of chap vi. Connecticut compelled him to rehnquish an attempt on Saybrooke; after which he returned to New York. The taxes which had been laid by the Dutch were collected, and duties, for a limited time, were im- posed, by authority of the duke. This proceeding excited great discontent. The public resentment was directed, first against the governor, whose conduct was inquired into and approved by his master, and afterwards against the collector, who was seized and sent to England ; but never prosecuted. The repre- sentatives of the duke in New York, feeling the diffi- culty of governing a high spirited people on principles repugnant to all their settled opinions, repeatedly, but ineffectually, urged him to place the colony on the same footing with its neighbours, by creating a local legislature, one branch of which should be elected by the people. It was not until the year 1683, when the revenue laws were about to expire, when the right of the duke to re-enact them was denied in America, and doubted in England, that he could be prevailed on to appoint a new governor with instructions to con- vene an assembly.* In 1674, lord Berkeley assigned his interest in the Jerseys to William Penn and his associates. They afterwards acquired the title of sir George Carteret also, and immediately conveyed one-half of their in- terest to the earl of Perth and others, who, in 1683, Smith. 180 HISTORY OF THE CHAP VI. obtained a conveyance from the duke of York direct- 1689, •' ly to themselves. During these transactions, continual efforts were made to re-annex the Jerseys to New York. Carteret had endeavoured to participate in the advantages of commerce by establishing a port at Amboy ; but Andros seized and condemned the vessels trading thither, and was supported by the duke in this exer- cise of power. The assembly of New York claimed the right of taxing the people of Jersey ; and the col- lector, continued to exercise his former authority within their territory. On his complaining, after the accession of the duke of York to the throne, that every vessel he prosecuted was discharged by the ver- dict of the jury, a writ of quo xvarranto was directed. The English judges did not then hold their offices during good behaviour ; and the proprietors of East Jersey, confident that the cause would be decided against them, surrendered their patent to the crown, praying only a grant of the soil. The Jerseys were, soon afterwards, annexed to New England.* Dongan, who, in 1683, had succeeded Andros in the government of New York, took a deep interest in the affairs of the five nations, who had been engaged in bloody wars with Canada. The French, by esta- blishing a settlement at Detroit, and a fort at MichiU- mackinack, had been enabled to extend their com- merce among the numerous tribes of Indians who hunted on the banks of the great lake?-;, and the up- • Chalmer. Smith. AMERICAN C0L0NIE9\ 181 per branches of the Mississippi. They excluded the c hap, vr. people of New York from any share in this gainful commerce ; in consequence of which Dongan solicit- ed and obtained permission to aid the five nations. This order, however, was soon countermanded ; and a treaty was concluded, stipulating that no assistance should be given to the savages by the English colo- nists ; soon after which Dongan was recalled, and New York was. annexed to New England. From the accession of James to the throne, he had discontinued the assemblies of New York, and em- powered the governor, with the consent of his coun- cil, to make laws " as near as might be" to those of England. The reinstatement of this arbitrary system gave general disgust, and, together with the appre- hension that the Roman Catholic religion would be established, prepared the people of New York, as well as those of the other colonies, for that revolution which wrested power from hands accustomed to abuse it. On receiving intelligence of the revolution at Boston, the militia were raised by a captain Jacob Leisler, who took possession of the fort in the name of King William, and drove Nicholson, the lieutenant governor, oui of the country. This event gave rise to two parties, who long divided New York, and whose mumal animosities were the source of much uneasiness and mischief to the province.* William Penn having gained some knowledge of the country west of the Delaware, formed the design * Chalmer. Smith. Penn. 183 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VI. of acquiring that territory as a separate estate. On Pennsviva- liis pctitioD, a charter was issued in 1681, granting to to^vviiiiamhim, in absohite property, by the name of Pennsyl- vania, that tract of country bounded on the east by the river Delaware, extending westward five degrees of longitude, stretching to the north from twelve miles north of New Castle to the forty-third degree of lati- tude, and limited on the south by a circle of twelve miles, drawn round New Castle to the beginning of the fortieth degree of latitude. In this charter, the acts of navigation were recog- nised, a local legislature was created, and provision made that a duplicate of its laus should be transmit- ted, within five years, to the King in council ; any of which that were repugnant to those of England, or inconsistent with the authority of the crown, might be declared void in six months. This charter conveyed nearly the same powers and privileges with that of Maryland, but recognised the right of Parliament to tax the colony. Penn soon commenced the settlement of the pro- vince, and immediately asserted a claim to a part of the territory which had been supposed by lord Balti- more to be within the bounds of Maryland. In this claim originated a controversy between the two pro- prietors, productive of considerable inconvenience and irritation to both. He published a frame of government for Pennsyl- vania, the chief intention of which was declared to be " for the support of power in reverence with the peo- AMERICAN COLONIES. 183 pie, and to secure the people from the abuse of power! chap, vi. that they may be free by their just obedience, and the magistrates honourable for their just administration ; for liberty without obedience is confusion, and obe- dience without liberty is slavery.'' This scheme of fundamental law contains many provisions indicating good sense and just notions of government, but was too complex for an infant set- tlement ; and, after many fruitless attempts to amend it, was laid aside, and a more simj)le form was adopted, resembling in its principal features, those established in the other colonies, which remained until the proprietary government itself was dissolved. In August 1682, Penn obtained from the duke of York a conveyance of the town r f New Castle, with the territory twelve miles around it, and that tract of land extending thence southward, on the Delaware, to cape Henlopen. Soon after this grant was issued, he embarked for America, accompanied by about two thousand emigrants ; and, in the October follow- ing, landed on the banks of the Delaware. In addi- tion to the colonists sent out by himself, he ft und, on his arrival several small settlements of Swedes, Dutch, Finlanders, and English, amounting to about three thousand persons. Penn cultivated the good will of the natives, from whom he purchased such lands as were necessary for the present use of the colonists. At this time the foundation of Philadelphia was laid. Foundation which, we are assured contained near one hundred phia,' ^ ^'" houses within twelve months from its commencement. 184 HISTORY OF THE CHAP VI. ^„ assembly was convened which, instead of being composed of all the freemen, according to the frame of government, was, at the request of the people themselves, constituted of their representatives. Among the laws which were enacted was one annex- ing the territories lately purchased from the duke of York to the province, and extending to them all its privileges. Universal freedom in religion was estab- lished ; and every foreigner who promised allegiance to the King, and obedience to the proprietor was de- clared a freeman.* In the hope of extending his limits to the Chesa- peake, Penn, soon after his arrival, met lord Baltimore for the purpose of adjusting their boundaries. The patent of that nobleman calls for the fortieth degree of north latitude, and he proposed to determine the intersection of that degree with the Delaware by ac- tual observation. Penn, on the contrary, insisted on finding the fortieth degree by mensuration from the capes of Virginia, the true situation of which had been already ascertained. Each adhering firmly to his own proposition, the controversy was referred to the com- mittee of plantations, who, after the crown had de- scended on James, decided that the peninsula between the bays of Chesapeake and Delaware, should be di- vided into two equal parts by a line drawn from the latitude of cape Henlopen to the fortieth degree, and adjudged that the land lying from that line towards the Delaware should belong to his majesty, and the • History of Pennsylvania. Chalmcr. AMERICAN COLONIES. 185 Other moiety to lord Baltimore. This adjudication ch\p vr. was ordered to be immediately executed. Pennsylvania was slow in acknowledging the Prince and Princess of Orange. The government continu- ed to be administered in the name of James for some time after his abdication was known. At lenirth, however, William and Mary were proclaimed ; and Penn had the address to efface the unfavourable im- pressions which this delay was calculated to make on them. Aa 1689. HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER VII. New charter of Massachusetts. — Affairs of New York, •^-ffar with France. — Schenectady destroyed. — Expedition against Port Royal. — Against Quebec. — Acadie recovered by France. — Pemaguid taken. -—Attempt on St. Johns. — Peace. — Affairs of New York. — Of Virginia. — Disputes between England and France respecting boundary in America. — Re- commencement oj hostilities. — Quotas of the respec- tive colonies. — Treaty of neutrality between France and the Jive nations. — Expedition against Port Royal. — Incursion v:to Massachusetts. — Plan for the invasion of Caiiada. — Port Royal taken. — Ex- pedition against Quebec. — Treaty of Utrecht. — Af- fairs of New York. — Of Carolina. — Expedition against St. Augustine. — Attempt to establish the Episcopal church. — Jnvasion of the colony. — Bills of credit issued. — Legislature continues itself — Alas- sacre in North Carolina by the Indians. — Tuscaro- ras defeated. — Scheme of a Bank. The revolution which placed the Prince and Prin- cess of Orange on the throne, revived in Massachu- setts, the hope of recovering the ancient charter. Elections were lield bv authority of the temporary go- vernment, and the representatives requested the coun- AMERICAN COLONIES. 18^ cil to exercise, until orders should be received from c»AP.vn. il.ngland, the powers and authorities vested in that body by the charter. The council acceded to this proposition ; and the ancient system was re-estab- lished. It was soon perceived by the agents of Massachu- setts that the old charter would not be restored, and that the King u as determined to retain the appoint- ment of the governor in his own hands. The colony, however, was authorised to exercise the powers of government according to the ancient system, until a new arrangement should be made. The vessel by which these directions were transmitted, carried also orders that sir Edmond Andros, and those imprisoned with him, should be sent to England. The general court deputed additional agents, with instructions to solicit the confirmation of their beloved charter ; but these solicitations were ineffectual. The King was inflexible; and, at length, a new charter was jgg, framed, more eligible than the first in many respects, ^|:* ^''^'*' but introducing some changes which affected radically the independence that had been long practically pos- sessed by the colony. The governor was to be ap- pointed by the crown, was enabled to call, adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve the assembly at pleasure ; he had the appointment solely, of all military officers ; and, with the consent of his council, of all officers be- longing to the courts of justice. Sir William Phipps, the first governor, arrived in i^^^. May, and immediately issued writs for a general as- 188 HISTORY OP THE CHAP, vn . semblv, which met in June, and accepted the charter: lt)92. ■' though a considerable party had been formed to op- pose it. This instrument annexed Plymouth and Nova Scotia to Massachusetts ; but, contrary to the wishes of both colonies, omitted New Hampshire, which became permanently a separate government.* Aff'irs of In New York, Leisler, who had obtained the en- tire control of the lower country, associated with himself in the government, a few trusty partisans, de- nominated a committee of safety, over whom he pre- . sided. Some of the principal inhabitants of the city, dissatisfied at seeing a man of low birth, without edu- cation, in possession of supreme power, retired to Al- bany, where a convention of the people was assembled, who determined to hold the fort and country for the King and Queen, but not to submit to the authority of Leisler. On receiving intelligence of these transac- tions, Jacob Milbourne was detached with a small force to reduce the place ; but, finding that the people adhered to the convention, and that his harangues against James and popery made no impression on them, he returned to New York. The next spring he appeared again before the fort ; and, being favour- ed by an irruption of the Indians, obtained posses- sion of it. The principal members of the convention absconded, upon u hich their effects were seized and confiscated. This harsh measure produced resent- ments which were transmitted from father to son. Leislerjretained the supreme power, without farther * Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 189 opposition, until the arrival of sir Henry Slaughter, chap, vii who had been appointed governor of the province. Though informed of the commission which Slaughter bore, this infatuated man refused to yield the govern- ment to him ; and showed a disposition, without the ability, to resist. This ill judged obstinacy threw the governor, who soon obtained possession of the fort, into the arms of the opposite party. Leisler and Milbourne were arrested, tried for high treason, con- demned, and executed. Their estates were confis- cated, but were afterwards restored to their families.* While these things were passing in the interior, the colonies of New England and New York were engaged in a bloody and desolating w-ar with the French of Canada, and with the Indians. The Eng- lish people had long viewed with apprehension, the advances of France towards universal dominion ; and with infinite disgust, the influence of Louis XIV. in their cabinet. On the elevation of the Prince of Orange to the throne, they entered with alacrity into all his views for opposing barriers to the power, and restraints on the ambition, of that haughty monarch. The war which was proclaimed between the two na- w^ar wim tions, extended itself to their possessions in America.*'""''^' De Calliers, v\ho sailed from Canada to France in 1688, had formed a plan for the conquest of New York, which was adopted by his government. Caf- finiere commanded the ships which sailed from Roche- fort on this expedition, subject however to the count Smith. 190 HISTOUY OF THE CHAP . VII . q]q Frontiffnac, who was sreneral of the land forces 1692. . '^ destined to march from Canada by the route of the river Sorel and of lake Champlain. The fleet and troops arrived at Chebucta, whence the count pro- ceeded to Qiiebec leaving orders with Caffiniere to sail to New York. On reaching Quebec, the count found all Canada in the utmost distress. In the preceding summer, twelve hundred warriors of the Five nations had sud- denly landed on the island of Montreal, and put to death about one thousand of the inhabitants whom they found in perfect security. The place was again attacked in October, and the lower part of the island entirely destroyed. In consequence of these calami- tous events, fort Frontij^nac, on lake Ontario, was evacuated, and two vessels which had been construct- ed there were burnt. Count Frontignac, who, in his sixty-eighth year, possessed the activity of youth, after remaining a few days on shore, re-embarked in a canoe for Montreal. In the hope of conciliating the Five nations, he held a great council with them at Onondago, where the In- dians showed some disposition towards a peace with- out concluding one. To influence their deliberations, and raise the depressed spirits of the Canadians, he sent out several parties against the English colonies. That against New York, consisting of about two hundred French, and some Indians ; after marching twenty -two days with their provisions on their backs, through a wilderness covered deep with snow, arri- AMERICAN COLONIES. 191 ved, on 8th of February 1690, about eleven at night, 9!il^ZIL at Schenectady, a village a few miles north-west of Albany. Finding the gates open and unguarded, J^'^^^^-oV- they immediately entered the town, the inhabitants of '=^- which were asleep; and, dividing themselves into small parties, invested every house at the same time. No alarm was given until the doors were broken open ; and then was commenced the perpetration of those barbarities which add so much to the ordina- ry horrors of war. The whole village was instantly in flames; pregnant women were ripped open and their infants cast into the flames, or dashed against the posts of the doors. Sixty persons were massacred, twenty-seven carried into captivity, and those who escaped fled naked, through a deep snow and storm to Albany. In the flight, twenty-five lost their limbs from the intensity of the cold. The town was pillaged until about noon the next day, uhen the enemy marched off" with their plunder. Being pursued by a party of young men from Albany, about twenty-five of them were killed and captured.* In the spring and summer of 1689, several settle- ments and forts in New Hampshire and Maine, were successfully attacked by the Indians ; who, wherever they were victorious, perpetrated their usual cruelties. Knowing that these depredations originated in Cana- da and Acadie, the general court of Massachusetts planned an expedition asrainst both Port Roval and Expedition ' * , " , against Port Quebec. iLarly in the spring, eight small vessels, Royai. • Smith, 19S HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VII. carrying seven or eight hundred men, sailed under the command of sir William Phipps ; and, almost without opposition, took possession of Port Royal, and of the whole coast between that place and New England. The fleet returned in May, hav- ing taken nearly plunder enough to discharge the ex- pense of the equipment. But two detachments made about the same time by count Frontignac, attacked the Salmon falls, and fort Casco, where.they killed and took about one hundred and eighty persons. A vessel had been dispatched to England in April with letters urging the importance of conquering Canada, and soliciting the aid of the King to that en- terprise. He was however too much occupied in Europe to attend to America ; and it was determined to prosecute the expedition without his assistance. Against New York and Connecticut, enarasfed to furnish a Quebec. ' o o body of men, to march, by the way of lake Champ- Iain, against Montreal, while the troops of Massachu- setts should proceed by sea to Quebec. The fleet, consisting of between thirty and forty vessels, the largest of which carried forty-four guns, sailed from Nantucket the ninth of August, having on board two thousand men. This expedition also was command- ■*. ed by sir William Phipps, a brave man, but not qualified for so difiicult an enterprise. He did not arrive before Quebec until October, when it was too late for a regular seige. Instead of availing himself of the first impression, sir William is charged with having wasted two or three days in sight of the place? AMERICAN COLONIES. 193 after which he summoned it to surrender. Having ^"^.^^"' performed this ceremony, he landed between twelve and thirteen hundred men, and marched until night, under a scattering fire from an enemy concealed in the woods. At night, a deserter gave such an ac- count of the French force as entirely discouraged him. Connecticut and New York were disappointed in receiving the assistance expected from the Five na- tions ; who furnished neither the warriors they had promised, nor canoes to transport their troops over the lakes. The commissary too had neglected to lay up the necessary supplies of provisions. These disappointments, obliged the party destined against Montreal to retreat without making an attempt on that place ; which enabled the French general to op- pose the whole force of Canada to Phipps. The evening after the troops were landed, the ships were drawn up before the place, but received more damage from the batteries than they could do to the town. After wasting a few days in unavailing parade, the army re-embarked with precipitation, and return- ed to Boston. The general court, so far from suspecting that the expedition might possibly miscarry, seem to have counted, not only on success, but on acquiring suffi- cient treasure from the enemy to pay their soldiers. The army, finding the government totally unprepared to satisfy its claims, was on the point of mutinying. In this state of difficulty, bills of credit were issued, and were received in lieu of monev. A tax was im- B b 194j history op the CHAP.'vn. posed at the same time, payable in the paper notes of the colony at five per centum above par. Notwith- standing the exertions to keep up its credit, the paper depreciated to fourteen shillings in the pound, which depreciation was, almost entirely, sustained by the army. As the time for collecting the tax approached, the paper rose above par, but this appreciation was gained by the holders.* Colonel Phipps, soon after his return from Cana* , embarked for Eng^land, to renew the solicitations . the colony for aid in another attempt on Queb Though unsuccessful in this application, the govei ment of the province was bestowed on him ; and, this character, he returned to Boston. A desultc war continued to be carried on, which, without fi nishing any events that would now be interesting, produced heavy expense, and much individi ' misery. Canada being considered as the source of all the evils, its conquest continued to be the favourite obj( of Massachusetts. At length, King William yield to the solk-itations of that colony dnd determined 1693. empl(iy a force for the reduction of Quebec. Unf( tunately the first part of the plan was to be executed in the West Indies, where the capture of Martinique was contemplated. While on that service a conta- gious fever attacked both the land and sea forces ; and, before they reached Boston, thirteen hundred sailors, and eighteen hundred soldiers, were buried. • See note No. 1, of the Appendix. AMERICAN COLONIES. 195 The survivors not being in a condition to prosecute chap.'vii the enterprise, it was abandoned.* On the conquest of Acadie by sir William Phipps, the government of Massachusetts had been extended over that province; but, as the prejudices and affec- tions of the inhabitants were entirely on the side of France, it was soon perceived that a military force alone could preserve the acquisition ; and Massachu- setts was unable, at her own expense, to support a sufficient body of troops for the defence of the coun- Port Royal was recovered by Villebonne, after leoc. which all Acadie shook off" the government of Massa- chusetts, and resumed its allegiance to France. About ^}-' ■ ame time a fort at Peuiaquid was attacked and dby Iberville. - December, the treaty of peace which had been Peace, concluded at Riswick was proclaimed at Boston ; and Iv'Stiiities with the French in Canada immediately ce' id. The depredations of the Indians continued a short time after this event ; and, in the course ^ tie following year, general tranquillity was re- siore.d. le frontiers of New Hampshire had been not less i697. led during the war, than those of Massachusetts. X cipetual and distressing incursions had been made into the country, which were marked by the burning of undefended habitations, and the massacre of men, women, and children.f The frontiers of New York were covered by the ^JrvOTk. • Hutchison. Belknap. + Belknap. 196 HISTOftY OF THE CHAP. VII. Pi vff nations. Hostilities were carried on between them and the French, but they were not attended by any material circumstance. During the war the English government meditated a union of the colonies for the purpose of forming an army to defend New York ; and the governors were instructed to propose to the several provinces to raise the quota of troops assigned to each* by the crown. Though this plan never took effect, the fact is of some interest. The influence of the French not yet extending far enough south to involve the colonies beyond New York in the calamities of Indian warfare, few occur- rences took place among them which deserve atten- OfVirginia.tion. In Virginia, the college of William and Mary, to which a charter had been granted in 1692, was liberally endowed, and was established at Williams- burg by an act of assembly which passed in the year 1693. In 1698, the state-house at Jamestown, with many valuable papers, was consumed by fire ; and, in the following year, the legislature passed an act for removing the seat of government to Williamsburg, The quotas assigned by the crown are as follows : To Massachusetts Bay - - 350 Rhode Island and Providence plantations 48 Connecticut - - - - 120 New York . _ . - 200 Pennsylvania - _ _ 80 Maryland - - - - 160 Virginia ... - 240 1 Total 1,198 AMERICAN COLONIES. 197 then called the middle plantation, and for building a^Jil^pLlL capitol at that place. By the treaty of Riswick, it was agreed that France and England should mutually restore to each other all conquests made during the war; and it was farther stipulated that commissioners should be appointed to examine and determine the rights and pretentions of each monarch to the places situated in Hudson's bay. The consequences of not ascertaining boundaries were soon perceived. The English claimed as far west as the St. Croix, while France asserted her right to the whole country east of the Kennebeck. These claims remained unsetded ; and were mingled with other differences of more importance, which soon occasioned the re-commencement of hos-war re- tilities. The whole weight of the war in America fell on it'os. New England. Previous to its commencement, the earl of Bellamont, who was, at that time governor of New York as well as of Massachusetts and of New Hampshire, had required that the quotas of men, as- signed by the crown to the different colonies for the defence of New York, should be furnished. This requisition however was not complied with ; and, be- fore hostilities began, a treaty of neutrality was nego- tiated between the Five nations and the governor of Canada, which was assented to by lord Cornbury, then governor of New York. This treaty preserved the peace of that province, but left Massachusetts 198 HISTORY OF THE CHAP vii. and New Hampshire to struff^le with the combined 170;^. force of the French and their Indian allies ; — a strug- gle which seems to have been viewed by New York with the utmost composure. Hostilities between Great Britain and France were immediately followed by incursions of French and Indians into the exposed parts of New England. A predatory^ and desolating war, attended with-no strik- ing circun»stance, but with considerable expense and great individual distress, was carried on for so^rt** years. During its continuance, propositions wi " made for a cessation of hostilities ; and the nego'ii- tions on this subject were protracted to a considera '■• length ; but Dudley, who had succeeded the earl ,;i Bellamont as governor of Massachusetts and N Hampshire, declined engaging for the neutrality e those provinces, in the hope that Nova Scotia a Canada might be subdued in the course of the wai 1707. The battle of Almanza, in Spain, having inducer] the British cabinet to direct an armament intended for New England to European objects, Dudley r'e termined to make an attempt on Acadie, though lo aid should arrive from England. With this view, 'e applied, early in the spring, to the assemblies of bt his provinces, and to the colonies of Connecticut anu Rhode Island ; requesting them to raise one thousand men for the expedition. Connecticut declined fur- nishing her quota ; but the othe^ three colonies raised the whole number, uho were disposed into two regi- ments, one commanded by colonel Wainright, and AMERICAN COLONIES. 199 the other by colonel Hilton. On the 13th of May, ^"^^j ^'"- they embarked at Nantucket on board a fleet of transports furnished with whale boats, under convoy of a man of war and a galley. The chief command was given to colonel March, who had behaved gal- lantly in several encounters with the Indians, but had never been engaged in such service as this. They orrJv^'] before Port Royal in a few days, and landed ut opposition. After making some ineffectual ipts to bombard the fort, a disagreement among )fficers, and a misapprehension of the state of the and garrison, induced the troops to re-embark in sorderly manner.* Dudley, who was unwilling ilinquifth the enterprise, directed the army to re- n in its position till farther orders. March was v)ved by the soldiers, and was known to be brave, his capacity was doubted. It was therefore '! ght unsafe either to recal him, to place an officer v; • him, or to continue him in the chief command. ; ejipedient devised in this perplexity was, to send immission to the army, composed of three mem- <:; ; of the council, invested with all the powers which llif governor himself, if present, would possess. These commissioners arrived at Casco about the middle of July, where they found the army insubordi- nate, and indisposed to the service. The troops, how- ever, were again embarked, and arrived at Passama- quodi, on the seventh of August. The spirits of the general were broken, and his health was impaired. • Belknap. 200 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VII While dispositions for landing the army were mak- ing, he declared his inability to act, and the command devolved on colonel Wainright. The landing was effected on the 10th of August ; but the troops could not be inspired with that union and firmness which are essential to success. After devoting ten days to inefficient, unmeaning operations, they re-embarked, and returned, sickly, fatigued and dispirited. During this unfortunate expedition, the frontiers were kept in perpetual alarm by small parties of In- 1708. dians ; and, in the succeeding year, a formidable armament was destined by Vaudreuil, the governor of Canada, against New England. This enterprise was not fully prosecuted, in consequence of the failure of several Indian tribes to furnish the number of war- riors expected from them. A considerable force, hovv- incursion evcr penetrated into Massachusetts, and burnt a part into Mas- r-TT i-ii i i sachusetts. of the town 01 Jlavernill ; where about one hundred persons were killed and many others carried off as prisoners. These invaders were pursued and over- taken by a body of troops collected in the neighbour- hood, who killed a few of them, and recovered seve- ral of their own countrymen. The new England colonies, still attributing all these calamities to the French were earnest in their solici- tations to the crown, for aids which might enable them to conquer Canada. Their application was sup- ported by the representations of Francis Nicholson, who had been lieutenant governor, first of New York, and afterward of Virginia; of Samuel Veitch, a trader AMERICAN COLONIES. 20i to Nova Scotia, and of colonel Schuyler, a srentleman ^"^^- ^" - of great influence in New York, who undertook a voyage to England for the purpose of communicating his sentiments more fully to administration, and car- ried with him resolutions of the assembly, expressing the high opinion that body entertained of his merit. Influenced by these representations, the British cabi- net determined to undertake an expedition asjainst the French settlements on the continent of North America, and on New Foundland, to consist of a squadron, having on board five regiments of resjular troops, which were to be at Boston by the middle of May, 1709, where they were to be joined by twelve i709. hundred men to be raised in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Fifteen hundred men also were to be raised in the governments south of Rhode Island, who should proceed, by the way of lake Champlain, against Montreal. All the colonies, except Pennsyl- vania, executed with punctuality the part assia^ned to them. Nicholson, who was appointed to command the troops destined against Montreal, marched to Wood creek, where he was ordered to continue, until the arrival of the forces from Europe ; that the two armies might co-operate with each other. The New England troops, who had been assembled at Boston remained at that place till September, expect- ing the arrival of the fleet and army from England. About that time, Nicholson returned from Wood creek, and it was obviously too late to proceed against Quebec. A meeting of the commanding officers, and Cc SOS HISTORY OF THE ^"^jj ^"' governors of provinces was requested, in order to de- liberate on future operations. A few days before this meeting was to take place, a ship arrived from Eng- land, with the intelligence that the armament intended for America had been ordered to Portugal, and with directions to hold a council of war, in order to deter- mine on the propriety of employing the troops raised in America, against Port Royal ; in which event the ships of war then at Boston were to aid the expedi- tion. The commanders of the ships, except captain, afterwards admiral, Matthews, refused to engage in this service ; and, it being unsafe to proceed without convoy, the men were disbanded.* A congress, composed of governors, and of dele- gates from several of the assemblies, met at Rhode Island, and recommended the appointment of agents to assist colonel Nicholson in representing the state of the country to the Queen, and soliciting troops for an expedition against Canada, the next spring. Go- vernment seems at first to have thought favourably of this proposal, but finally determined to proceed only 1710, against Port Royal. Five frigates and a bomb ketch, which were assigned for this service, arrived with Nicholson, in July. Although the troops were then to be raised, the whole armament, consisting of one regiment of marines, and four regiments of infantry, sailed from Boston the I8th of September ; and, on the 24th arrived before Port Royal. The place was immediately invested, and, after the exchange of a few * Belknap. Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. 203 shot and shells, was surrendered. Vietch was ap- ^ha'p vit- 1 , . . ,. , 1710. pointed governor, and its name, in compliment to the Queen, was changed to Annapolis. After the reduction of Port Royal, Nicholson re- turned to England to renew the often repeated solici- tations for an expedition against Canada. The min- istry was now changed ; and the colonists despaired of obtaining from those in power, any aids against the French. Contrary to the general expectation, his ap- plication succeeded ; and he arrived at Boston, in June, with orders to the governors as far south as i7ii. Pennsylvania, to get their quotas of men and provi- sions in readiness to act with the fleet and army ex- pected from Europe. Within sixteen days, while the several governors were yet deliberating on the subject of these orders, the fleet arrived. The service according perfectly with the wishes of the people as well as of the governors, every practicable exertion was made ; and difficulties were overcome which, on other occasions, nught have been deemed insurmounta- ble. To supply the money which the English treasury could not then advance, the general court of Massa- chusetts issued bills of credit to the amount of f jrty thousand pounds ; and the example was followed by Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Provi- sions were obtained by impressment. The army consisted of seven veteran regiments, who had served under the duke of Marlborough ; one regiment of marines; and two regiments of provin- cials ; amounting, in the whole, to six thousand five 204 HISTORY OF THE Ei^ILIIL hundred men ; a force equal to that which afterwards reduced Quebec, when in a much better state of de- fence. This armament sailed from Boston on the 30th of July. Their sanguine hopes were all blasted in one f^tal nipjht. On the 23d of August, in the river St. Lawrence, the weather being thick and dark, eight transports were wrecked on Egg Island, near the north shore, and one thousand persons perished. The next day the fleet put back, and was eight days beating down the river against an easterly wind, which, in two, would have carried it to Quebec. After holding a fruitless consultation respecting an attempt on Placentia, the expedition was abandoned ; and the squadron sailed for England. Loud complaints were made, and heavy charges reciprocated, on this occa- sion. The ignorance of the pilots, the obstinacy of the admiral, the detenuon of the fleet at Boston, its late arrival there, the want of seasonable orders, and the secret intentions of the ministry, were all subjects of bitter altercation ; but no regular inquiry was ever made into the causes of the miscarriage. The plan of this campaign embraced also an at- tack on Montreal, Four thousand men raised in Con- necticut, New York, and New Jersey, and command- ed by colonel Nicholson, marched against that place by the way of Albany and lake Champlain. The failure of the expedition against Quebec enabling the governor of Canada to turn his whole force towards the lakes, Nicholson was under the necessity of making a precipitate retreat. AMERICAN C0L0NIE3 205 No other event of importance took place dnrinpr CHAP.viT . 1 • -111 >. I'll this war, which was terminated by the treaty or Utrecht. By the 12th article of this treaty, France Peac*" ceded to England " all Nova Scotia or Acadie, with its ancient boundaries, as also the city of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, and all other things in those parts which depend on the said lands." This territory, which had been comprehended in the grant made to the Plymouth company, was, with the consent of that company, afterwards granted by James as King of Scotland, under the name of Nova Scotia, to sir William Alexander. In New York, the Leislerian and anti-Leislerian Affairs oj , ^ ^Jcw York parties continued to persecute each other. To this calamity was added, in the year 1702, the still heavier affliction of a malignant fever, imported in a vessel from the West Indies, which, in almost every in- stance, proved mortal. A similar disease raged, about the s?.me time, in several other sea port towns ; and was probably the same which has since produced such fatal effects under the name of the yellow fever. In the same year, lord Cornbury, a needy and pro- fligate nobleman, was appointed governor of the pro- vince. He embraced the anti-Leislerian party, that being then the strongest. On meeting the assembly, he urged the necessity of providing money for the public exigencies ; and, as he had arranged himself with the ruling party, the vote of supply was liberal. It was soon perceived that the confidence in the governor was misplaced. Considerable sums levied 20Q HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VII. for objects of great interest, were applied to his pri- vate use. The system adopted in New York, for collecting; and keeping public money, was calculated to favour this peculation. The colony having no treasurer, its revenue came into the hands of the re- ceiver general for the crown, whence it was drawn by a warrant from the governor. Contests soon arose, between his lordship and the legi-slature, on the sub- ject of money ; the house requiring a statement of disbursements, and the appointment of a treasurer, to be controled by them. At length, in 1706, an act was passed raising three thousand pounds for fortifi- cations, and directing the money to be placed in the hands of a person named by the legislature. The as- sent of the governor to this act was not given till the succeeding year, and was then accompanied with a message stating, that he had it in command from the Queen " to permit the general assembly to name their own treasurer when they raised extraordinary supplies for particular uses and which are no part of the stand- ing and constant revenue." The continual demands of the governor for money, his misapplication of it, his extortion in the form of fees, and his haughty tyrannical conduct increased the irritation subsisting between him and the legislature. At length, the Queen yielded to the complaints of both New York and New Jersey, and consented to recal him. During these altercations, some spirited resolutions were entered into by the assembly ; one of which AMERICAN COLONIES. 307 claims particular notice. It is in these words. " Re- - "^f^^" ' solved, that the imposing and levying of any monies upon her majesty's subjects in this colony, under any pretence or colour whatsoever, without their consent in general assembly, is a grievance, and violation of the people's property." This strong assertion of a principle, which after- wards dismembered the British empire, then passed away without notice. It was probably understood to be directed only against the assumption of that power by the governor.* In Carolina, the vexatious contests with the pro- Aftaus ot ' ... . , ^,,, ... . Carolina. pnetors still continued. 1 he public attention was, for a time diverted from these, by hostilities with their neighbours of Florida. Before the declaration of war 1702. made against France and Spain, had been officially communicated, it was reported in the colonies that this event had taken place, and Mr. Moore, the go- vernor of the southern settlements, proposed to the assembly an expedition against St. Augustine. Tem- perate men were opposed to this enterprise ; but the • So early as the year 1692, the difference of opinion between the mnther country and the colonies on the great point, which aticrwanls separated them, made its appeaiance. The legislature of Massacliuselts, -d in estab- lishing a code of laws under their new charter, passed an act containing the ge- neral principles respecting the liberty of the subject, that are asserted in mag' na charia, in which was the meiuoiable clause, «' no aid, lax, talliagc, assess- ment, custom, benevolence, or imposition whatsoever, shall b. laid, assessed, imposed, or levied, on an) ofhis majesty's subjects or their estates, on any pre- tence whatsoever, but by the act and consf nt of the governor, council, and re- presentatives of the people, assembled in general courw" It is scarcely necessary to add that the royal assent to this act was refused. SOS HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VII. assurances of the s:overnor, that Florida would be au 1702. ^ easy conquest, and that immense treasure would be the reward of their valour, were too seductive to be resisted. A great majority of the assembly declared in favour of the expedition, and voted the sum of two thousand pounds sterling for its prosecution. Six hundred militia were embodied for the service, and an equal number of Indians engaged as auxiliaries. ^Xs^t'S" ^^ ^^^ P^^" °^ operations which had been concert- Augustine. ed, colonel Daniel was to move by the inland pas- sage, with a party of militia and Indians, and attack the town by land ; while the governor, with the main body should proceed by sea, and bk^ck up the har- bour. Colonel Daniel executed his part of the plan with promptitude and vigour. He advanced against the town, which he entered and plundered before the governor reached the harbour. The Spaniards, how- ever, had been apprised of the preparations making at Charleston, and had laid up provisions for four months, in the castle, into which they retired, as Daniel entered the town. On the arrival of the go- vernor, the place was completely invested ; but, it being impossible to carry the castle without battering artillery, colonel Daniel was dispatched to Jamaica for cannon, bombs, and mortars. During his absence^ two small Spanish vessels of war were seen oiF the mouth of the harbour ; upon which the governor rais- ed the siege, abandoned his transports, and made a precipitate retreat to Carolina. Colonel Daniel re- turned soon afterwards, and, having no suspicion that AMERICAN COLONIES. S09 the sie8:e was raised, stood in for the harbour. He charvii. fortunately discovered his situation m time to escape, though with much difficuhy." This rash and ill conducted expedition entailed on the colony a debt of six thousand pounds sterling. The ignominy attached to it was soon wiped off by one that was attended with better success. The Ap- palachian Indians, who were attached to the Span- iards, had become extremely troublesome to the in- habitants of the frontiers. The governor, at the head of a body of militia and friendly Indians, marched into the heart of their settlements, laid their towns in ashes, made several prisoners, and compelled them to sue for peace, and submit to the British government.* Soon after this transaction, sir Nathaniel Johnson, Governor who had been appointed to succeed Mr. Moor arrived in Charleston. He endeavoured, but ineffectually to turn the attention of the colonists to the culture of silk. This article, as well as cotton was neglected, and rice became the great staple of the country. During his administration, the contests between ^//^^J||p,J ^° the proprietors and the people increased. An attempt ^'^J ^^^fX to establish the Episcopal church was added to other preexisting causes of discord. The colony having been settled by emigrants from different nations, of different religious persuasions, the indiscreet endea- vour to produce uniformity, could not fail to increase their irritation. The influence of the governor in the legislature obtained the passage of such acts as were * History of South Carolinaf Dd SIO HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VH- neirfissary for his purpose ; but many petitions against them were laid before parliament ; and the house of lords presented so decisive an address to her majesty on the subject, that a writ of quo warranto against the charter was directed. This measure, however, was not put in execution ; and the attention of the colo- nists was diverted, for a lime, from .these intestine broils, by the appearance of dane;er from abroad. 1704. Spain claimed the whole country, as part of Florida; and was prep^tring an expedition to enforce this claim. Governor Johnson, who had acquired some military skill in European service, having received intelligence of these preparations, made great exertions to fortify the entrance into the harbour of Charleston, and to put the province in a state of defence. There was reason to rejoice that these precautions were used ; for, although no armament arrived from Europe, yet an expedition planned in the Havanna, was carried into execution. Colony in- A French frigate and four armed Spanish sloops, commanded by Monsieur Le Febour, sailed for Charleston, with orders to touch at St. Augustine for men. His force is said to have amounted to about eight hundred. A government cruizer descried this squadron off the bar of St. Augustine, and brought the intelligence to Charleston. Scarcely had the cap- tain delivered his information, when signals from Sul- livan's island announced its appearance off the coast. The alarm was immediately given, and the militia of the town were under arms. In the evening the fleet vaded. AMERICAN COLONIES. 211 reached Ch-irlesron bar, bat deferred attempting toi^IiiL-III- pass it until the morninj^. After consuniing a day in sounding; the south bar, the Spanish flotilla crossed it, and anchc^red above Sullivan's island. The governor then directed some pieces of heavy artillery to be placed in the vessels in the harbour ; and gave the command of them to William Rhet. A summons to surrender being re- jected, a party of the enemy landed on James' island, and burnt a few houses. Another party, consisting of one hundred and sixty men, landed, about the same time, on the opposite side of the river. Both these were attacked and defeated. Encouraged by this success, J< .bison determined to attack the invaders by sea. In execution of this de- termination, Rhet, with six small vessels, proceeded down the river to the place where the hostile flotilla rode at anchor which, at his approach, precipitately re-crossed the bar. For some days it was believed that the enterprise vvas abandoned ; but while the in- habitants were rejoicing at their deliverance, advice was received that a ship of force had been seen in Sewee bay, and had landed a nmiber of men. On examining his prisoners, the governor was informed that the enemy had expected a ship of war with a re- inforcement of two hundred men, under the command of Monsieur Arbuset. Taking his measures with the promptness of an experienced oflicer, he ordered captain Fenwick to pass the river, and march against the detachment which had landed ; while Rhet, with SIS HISTORY OF THE CHAP VTi . tvi'o small armed vessels, sailed round by sea, with orders to meet the ship in Sewee bay. Fenwick came up with the party on shore, charged them briskly, and drove them to their ship, which, on the appearance of Rhet, surrendered without firing a shot. The prize, with about ninety prisoners was brought up to Charleston. Thus was terminated with the loss of near three hundred men killed and prisoners, among the latter of whom were the general and some naval officers, the invasion of Carolina by Monsieur Le Febour. It seems to have been undertaken in the confidence that the colony was too weak for resistance; and was con- ducted without skill or courage. Bills or cte- To defray the expenses incurred in repelling this invasion, bills of credit to the amount of eight thou- sand pounds were issued. The effect of this emis- sion was such a depreciation of the currency under the form of a rise in the price of commodities and of ex- change, that one hundred and fifty pounds in paper, were given for one hundred pounds sterling. 1707. Lord Granville, the palatine, a bigoted churchman, under whose influence violent measures had been taken for the establishment of religious conformity in Carolina, died in the year 1707. He was succeeded by lord Craven, who, though of the same religious tenets, supported them with moderation. His dis- position to indulge, and thereby mollify, the dissen- ters, was considered by the zealots of the established church, as endangering religion ; and the legislature, AMERICAN COLONIES. 213 which was elected under the influence of the late pa- ^ ^^^; ^ ^ latine, and of his governor, dreadin^j a change in the administration, adopted the extraordinary measure of continuino; itself " for two years, and for the time and I'os. p • 1 I p 1 1 r Legislature term oi eighteen months alter the change oi govern- cominues ment, whether by the death of the present governor, or the succession of another in his time."* Thus adding one other humiliating proof to those which perpetually occur, that principles are deplorably weak, when opposed by the passions. In the year 1712, the Indians in North Carolina, ^''t^. alarmed, as their countrymen had been in the other colonies, by the encreasing population and regular ^i''S'''"''"«'° encroachments of the whites, formed with their ac- roi.n. by the , IIP ... luclians. customed secrecy, the plan oi exterminating in one night these formidable neighbours. No indication of their design was given until they broke into the houses of the planters. The slaughter on Roanoke was im- mense. In that settlement alone, one hundred and thirty-seven persons were murdered. A few escaped by concealing themselves in the u^oods, who, the next day, gave the alarm. The remaining whites were collected together in a place of safety, and guarded by the militia until assistance could be re- ceived from South Carolina. This was prompt and effectual. The assembly at Charleston voted four thousand pounds for the ser- vice ; and colonel Barnwell was detached with six hundred militia, and three hundred and sixty Indians, • Chalmer. ^14 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.vn to the relief of the afflicted North Carolinians. With the utmost celerity he passed through the difficult and dangerous wilderness which then separated the northern from the southern settlements ; and, attack- indians de- jng the savages with unexpected fury, killed three hundred of them, and made one hundred prisoners. The survivors retreated to the Tuscorora town, and took refuge within a wooden breast-work, in which they u ere surrounded by the whites. After sustain- ing considerable loss, they sued for peace and obtain- ed it ; but soon afterwards abandoned their countrj', and united themselves with the Iroquois, or Five nations. The expense of this expedition greatly transcended the scanty means of South Carolina. To supply the exigencies of government, and to promote the conve- nience of commerce, the legislature determined to issue forty-eight thousand pounds in bills of credit, to be denominated bank bills. This money was to be lent out, at interest, on security, and to be redeemed gradually by the annual payment of one-twelfth part of the sum loaned. The bills were made a legal ten- der ; and the creditor who should refuse them, lost his debt. After the emission of these bills, exchange rose, the first year, to one hundred and fifty, and in the second to two hundred per centum, above par. The effect of this depreciation, and of the tender laws which accompanied it, on creditors, and on morals, was obvious and certain. AMERICAN COLONIES. 215 CHAP. VIII CHAPTER VIII. Proceedings of the legislature of Massachusetts. — Intrigues of the French among the Indians, — fVar •with the savages. — Peace. — Controversy with the governor. — Decided in England. — Contests con- cerning the governor's salary. — The asseinbly ad- journed to Salem. — Contest concerning the salary terminated. — Great depreciation of the paper cur- rency. — Scheme of a land hank. — Company dissolv- ed by act of Parliament. — Governor Shirley ar- rives. — Review of transactions in New York, The heavy expenses of Massachusetts durinp^ the i^ii. late war had produced such large emissions of paper money, that a considerable depreciation took place, and specie disappeared. The coifcequent rise of ex- change, instead of being attributed to its true cause, was ascribed to the decay of trade. The colony, having now leisure for its domestic concerns, turned its attention to this interesting subject. Three parties were formed. The first, a small Affairs ot one, actuated by the principle that " honesty is the seits/'' best policy," was in favour of calling in the paper money, and relying on the industry of the people, to replace it with a circulating medium of greater sta- bility. S16 HISTORY OP THE CHAP. VIII The second proposed a private bank, which was to issue bills of credit, to be received by all the mem- bers of the company, but at no certain value com- pared with gold and silver. It was not intended to deposit specie in the bank for the redemption of its notes as they might be offered ; but to pledge real estates as security that the company would perform its engagements. The third party was in favour of a loan of bills from the government, to any of the inhabitants who would mortgage real estate to secure their re-payment in a specified term of years ; the interest to be paid annually, and applied to the support of government. The first party, perceiving its numerical weakness, joined the third; and the whole province was divided between a public and private bank. At length, the party for the public bank prevailed in the general court, and fifty thousand pounds were issued and placed in the hands of trustees ; to be lent for five years, at an interest of five per centum per annum, one-fifth part of the principal to be paid an- nually. This scheme failing to improve the commerce of the colony, governor Shute, who had succeeded 1716. Dudley, reminded the assembly of the bad state of trade, which he ascribed to the scarcity of money; and recommended the consideration of some effectual measures to supply this want. The result of this re- commendation was a second loan of one hundred thousand pounds for ten years, to be placed in the AMERICAN COLONIES. ^17 iiands of commissioners in each county, in proper- chap_vtii (.ion to its taxes. The whole currency soon depre- ciated to such a degree, that the entire sum in circu- lation did not represent more real value, than was represented by that which was circulating before the emission. The governor- had now sufficient leisure, and the general court furnished him with sufficient motives, to reflect on the policy he had recommend- ed. An attempt to raise his salary as money depre- ciated, did not succeed, and only the usual nominal sum was voted for his support. In Massachusetts, peace abroad was the signal for 17I9. dissention at home. Independent in her opinions and habits, she had been accustomed to consider herself rather as a sister kingdom, acknowledging one com- mon sovereign with England, than as a colony. The election of all the branches of the legislature, a princi- ple common to New England, contributed, especial- ly while the mother country was occupied with her own internal divisions, to nourish these opinions and habits. Although the new charter of Massachusetts modified the independence of that colony, by vesting the appointment of the governor in the crown, yet the course of thinking which had prevailed from the set- tlement of the country, had gained too much strength to be immediately changed ; and Massachusetts sought, by private influence over her chief magistrate, to compensajte herself for the loss of his appointment. With this view, it had become usual for the general court to testify its satisfaction with his conduct by E e M8 HISTORY OF THE c AP vnt prptipnts ; and this measure was also adopted in other colonies. Apprehendiiii^ that this practice might dispose the governors to conciliate the leg;isU»tures at the expense of their duty to the crown, the Queen had given pe- remptory orders to receive no more gifts ; and to ob- tain acts fixing their salaries permanently at a sum named by herself. The mandate respecting presents was, of course, obeyed ; and some of the colonies complied with the requisition respecting the salary ; but in Massachusetts and New York, it was steadily resisted. A controling power over salaries was a source of influence which was pertinaciously maintained ; and its efficay was tried in all the conflicts between Mas- sachusetts and her Governor. Almost every impor- tant measure brought before the legislature, was pro- ductive of contests between these departments. They disagreed, not only on the policy of particular acts, 1720. but on the limits of their power. The Governor claimed the right of negativing the speaker chosen by the representatives, which was denied by them ; and, each party persisting in its pretensions, the as- ' se-^)bly was dissolved, and nevv elections took place. The same members being generally re chosen, the house of representatives assembled with increased irritation, and passed some angry resolutions respect- ing its dissolution. The governor, in turn, charged the house with encroachments on the pov\er of the executive ; among other instances of which, he men- AMERICAN COLONIES. S19 tioned certain resolutions passed on the commence- CH\p.vrii ment of hostilities by the Indians, which were deem- ed equivalent to a declaration of war, and had there- fore been rejected. Disagreements were multiplied between them. Paper money and trade were inexhaustible sources of discontent. New elections produced no change 1721. of temper. After war was formally declared against the Indians, the house endeavoured to exercise exe- cutive powers in its prosecution ; and, the council not concurring with them, the representatives attempted, in one instance, to act alone. The measures recommended by the governor to successive assemblies, were disregarded ; irritiiting resolves were adopted and reiterated ; and a course of angry crimination and recriminati(*n took place be- tween them in the progress of which the governor's salary was reduced in its nominal as well as real amount ; and the sum granted, instead of being voted, as had been usual, at the commencement of the ses- sion, was reserved to us close. In the midst of these contests, governor Shute, 1722. who had privately solicited and obtained leave to re- turn to England, suddenly embarked on board the Sea Horse man of war, leaving the controversy con- cerning the extent of the executive power, to devolve on the lieutenant governor.* The house of representatives persisted in asserting its control over objects which had been deemed with- • Hutchison. 2S0 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. viTijp ^\^Q province of the executive ; but its resolutions 1722. * were generally negatived by the council. This pro- duced some altercation between the two branches of the legislature ; but they at length united in the pas- sage of a resolution desiring their agent in England to take the best measures for protecting the interests of the colony, which were believed to be in danger from the representations of governor Shute. Intrigues of DuHng thesc coutcsts in the interior, the frontiers with the In- had suffered severely from the depredations of the Indians. The French had acquired great influence over all the eastern tribes. Jesuit missionaries gene- rally resided among them, who obtained a great as- cendancy in their councils. After the cession of Nova Scotia to Great Britain, father Rahle, a mis- sionary residing among the savages of that province exerted successfully, all his address to excite their jealousies and resentments against the English. By his acts, and those of other missionaries, all the eas- tern Indians, as well as those of Canada, were com- bined against New England. They raade incur- sions into Massachusetts, in consequence of which, some troops were detached to the village in which Rahl6 resided, for the purpose of seizing his person. He received intimation of their approach in time to make his escape ; but they secured his papers, among which were some showing that in exciting the savages to war against the English colonists, he had acted un- der the authority of the governor of Canada, who had AMERICAN COLONIES. 22i secretly promised to supply them with arms and am- ^hap. yiir muiHiioii. Envoys were deputed with a remonstrance against i'^c conduct so incompatible with the state of peace then subsisting between France and England. The go^ er- nor received this embassy politely, and, at first, de- nied any interference in the quarrel, alleging that the Indians w ere independent nations who made war and peace without being controled by him. On being shown his letters to Rahi6, he changed his language, and gave assurances of his future good offices in ef- fecting a peace. On the faith of these assurances, conferences were held with some Indian chiefs then in Canada ; several captives were ransomed ; and, soon after the return of the commissioners to New England, the war was terminated by a treaty of peace Peace, signed at Boston.* Meanwhile the complaints of governor Shute Decision ^ , , p . ^ t . . ag'»insi the agamst the house or representatives were heard miiouseon England. Every question was decided against the versy "with* house. In most of them, the existing charter wasno^r5°*^^' deemed sufficiently explicit ; but, on two points, it was thought advisable to have explanatory articles. These were, the right of the governor to negative the appointment of the speaker, and the right of the house on the subject of adjournment. An explanatory charter ^^^ Char- therefore passed the seals, affirming the power claim- ed by the governor to negative a speaker, and deny- ing to the house of representatives the right of ad- • Hutchison. Belknap. HISTORY OP THE CHAP vm journing itself for a longer time than two days. This 1726 charter was submitted to the general court, to be ac- cepted or refused ; but it was accompanied with the ♦ intimation that, in the event of its being; refused, the whole controversy between the governor and house of representatives would be laid before Parliament. The conduct of the representatives had been so generally condemned in England, as to excite fears that an act to vacate the charter, v\ould be the consequence of a parliamentary inquiry. The temper of the house too had undergone a change. The violence and irrita- tion which marked its proceedings in the contest with governor Shute had subsided ; and a majority deter- mined to accept the New charter. The trade of the province still languished, and complaints of the scarcity of money were as h^ud as 1727. when only specie was in circulation. To remedy these evils, a bill for emitting a farther sum in paper passed both houses, but was rejected by the lieuten- ant governor, as being inconsistent with his instruc- tions. The house of representatives, thereupon, post- poned the consideration of salaries till the next ses- sion. The assembly was then adjourned at its own request, and, after a recess of a fortnight, was /again convened. As an expedient to elude the instructions to the governor which interdicted his assent to any act for issuing bills of credit, except for charges of government, a bill passed with the title of ** an act for raising and settling a public revenue for and to"> ards defraying the necessary charges of government, by AMERICAN COLONIES. ^ S33 \P.VIIF •■27. an emission of sijctv thousand pounds in bills of£ILiI credit." This bill providing for the payment of the salaries to which several members of the council were entitled, passed that house also ; and the lieuten- ant governor gave a reluctant assent to it. Its pas- sage into a law furnishes strong evidence of the in- fluence which the control over salaries gave to the house of representatives. Mr. Burnet \\ ho had been appointed governor of i^^^s. Massachusetts and New Hampshire, was received with great pomp in Boston. At the first^meetingof the assembly, he stated the King's instructions to insist on an established salary, and his intention firmly to ad- here to them. The assembly was not less firm in its determination to resist this demand ; and, that no additional and unnecessary obloquy might be encoun- tered, resolved, not to mingle any difference concern- ing the amount of the salary, with the great question of its depending on the will of the legislature. AsConiestre- soon therefore as the compliments usual on the arri- salary"'' val of a governor had passed, the house voted one thousand seven hundred pounds towards his support, and to defray the charges of his journey. This vote was understood to give him, as a present salary, a sum equal to one thousand pounds sterling per an- num. The governor declared his inability to assent to this bill, it being inconsistent vvith his instructions. After a week's deliberation, the assembly granted three hundred pounds for the expenses of his jf)urney, which he accepted ; and, in a distinct vote, the fiirther 224! HISTORY OF THE CHAP.VTiiRnm of one thousand four hundred pounds was grant- ed toward his support. The latter vote was accom- panied with a joint message from both houses, where- in they asserted their undoubted right as EngUshmen, and their privilege by the charter, to raise and apply money for the support of government ; and their wil- lingness to give the governor an ample and honourable support ; but they apprehended it would be most for his majesty's service to do so without establishing a fixed salary. The governor returned an answer on the same day^ jn which he said, that, if they really in- tended to give him an ample and honourable support, they could have no just objection to making their purpose effectual by fixing his salary ; for he w^ould never accept a grant of the kind then offered. The council was disposed to avoid the contest, and to grant a salary to the present governor for a certain time ; but the house of representatives, remaining firm to its purpose, sent a message to the governor requesting that the court might rise. He answered, that a compliance with this request would put it out of the power of the legislature to pay immediate re- gard to the Kiutj's instructions ; and he would not grant a recess, until the business of the session should be finished. The representatives then declared that, " in faithfulness to the people, they could not come into an act for establishing a salary on the governor or commander in chief for the time being," and, there- fore, renewed their request that the court might rise. Both the governor and the house of representatives AMERICAN COLONIES. » 225 seem, thus far, to have made their declarations with chap vrii . . . . iJ'^s. some reserve. A salary during his own administra- tion might, perhaps, have satisfied him, thousfh he demanded that one should be setdcd, generallv , on the commander in chief for the time being ; and the house had not yet declared against settling a salary on him for a limited time. Each desired that the other should make some concession. Both declined ; both were irritated by long altercation ; and, at length, in- stead of mutually advancing, fixed at the opposite extremes. After several ineffectual efforts on each side, the representatives sent a message to the gover- nor, stating at large the motives which induced the resolution they had formed. The governor returned a prompt answer, in which he also detailed the rea- sons in support of the demand he had made. These two papers, manifesting the prinrij:)les and obj-cts of both parties, deserve attention even at this i)eriod. The house, not long after receiving this message, far from making any advances towards a compliance with his request, came to two resolutions strongly ex- pressive of its determination not to recede from the ground which had been taken. These resolutions gave the first indication, on the part of the representatives, of a fixed purpose to make no advance towards a compromise. They induced the governor to remind the court of the danger to which the proceedings of that body might expose the charter. This caution did not deter the house from preparing, and transmitting to the several towns of Ff 22Q HISTORY OP THE CHAP.vm thfi province a statement of the controversy, which conchides with saying " we dare neither come into a fixed salary on the governor for ever, nor for a limited time, for the following reasons : First, Because it is an untrodden path which neither we, nor out predecessors have gone in, and we can- not certainly foresee the many dangers that may be in it, nor can we depart from that way which has been found safe and comfortable. Secondly, Because it is the undoubted right of all Englishmen, by magjja charta, to raise and dispose of money for the public service, of their own free ac- cord, without compulsion. Thirdly, Because it must necessarily lessen the dignity and freedom of the house of representatives, in making acts, and raising and applying taxes, &c. and, consequently, cannot be thought a proper method to preserve that balance in the three branches of the legislature, which seems necessary to form, maintain, and uphold, the constitution. Fourthly, Because the charter fully empowers the general assembly to make such laws and orders as they shall judge for the good and welfare of the inha- bitants ; and if they, or any part of them, judge this not to be for their good, they neither ought nor could come into it, for, as to act beyond or without the powers granted in the charter might justly incur the King's displeasure, so not to act up and agreeable to those powers, might justly be deemed a betraying of the rights and privileges therein granted ; and if they AMERICAN COLONIESs 3^7 should give up this right, they would open a door tn ch ap, via many other inconveniences." Many messages passed in quick succession be- tween the governor and the house, in the course of which the arguments stated in the papers which have been mentioned, were enlarged and diversified. At length, the house repeated its request for an adjourn- ment ; but the governor replied that " unless his ma- jesty's pleasure had due weight with them, their de- sires would have very little witii him." The council now interposed with a resolution de- claring " that it is expedient for the court to ascertain a sum as a salary for his excellency's support, as also the term of time for its continuance." This resolu- tion was transmitted to the house of representatives, and immediately rejected. After much controversy, a small seeming advance towards an accommodation was made. Instead of vot- ing a salary, as had been usual, for half a year, a grant was made to the governor of three thousand pounds, equal to one thousand pounds sterling, to enable him to manage the affairs of the province. This was generally understood to be a salary for a year. The governor having withheld his assent from this vote, the house intreated him to accept the grant ; and ad- ded *' we cannot doubt but that succeeding assem- blies, according to the ability of the province, will be very ready to grant as ample a support ; and if they should not, your excellency will then have an oppor- tunity of showing your resentment." The governor 5^28 histoHy of the CHAP, vin hnwpvpr persisted to withhold his assent iVom tht; 1728. ^ vote. The colony generall}'', and especially Boston, was opposed to a co-.>jpliance with the instructions of the crown. At a general meeting of the inhabitants, the toun passed a vote, purporting to be unanimous against fixing a salary on the governor. In conse- quence of this vote, and of an opinion that the mem- bers of the house were influenced by the inhabitants of the town, the governor determined to change the; place at which the court should hold its session ; and ^wT^the ^" ^^^^ '^^^^ ^^ October, adjourned it to the 30ih then *is.-nibiy to to meet at Salem, in the county of Essex. Change of place did not change the temper of the house. This was not, as in the contests with gover- nor Shute, an angry altercation, into which the repre- sentatives were precipitated by a restless and en- croaching temper, but a solemn and deliberate stand, made in defence of a right believed to be unquestion- able, and of a principle deemed essential to the wel- fare of the colonv. The srround taken was consider- ed well, and maintained with firmness. Votes and messages of the same tenor with those which had been often repeated, continued to pass between the representatives and the governor, until the subject was entirely exhausted. Each party being determin- ed to adhere to its principles, the house met and ad- journed daily, without entering on business. In the mean time, the governor received no salary. To the members of Boston, who had not been accus- AMERICAN COLONIES. SS9 tomed to the expense of attending the legislature at a - "^,J^' ^'"^ ■distant place, a compensation, above their ordinary wages, was made by that town. The house, firmly persuaded of the propriety of its conduct, prepared a memorial to the King praying a change in the royal instructions to the governor. Agents were appointed to represent the general court in England, and a vote was passed for defraying the expenses attendant on the business. The council re- fused to concur in this vote, because the agents had been appointed by the house of representatives singly; and the measure must have been abandoned for want of money, had not the inhabitants of Boston raised the sum required, by subscription. Letters were soon received from these agents, in- 1729, closing a report from the board of trade, before whom they had been heard by council, entirely disapproving the conduct of the house. The letters also indicated that, should the house persist in its refusal to comply with the King's instructions, the affair might be car- ried before parliament. But, should even this hap- pen, the agents thought it more advisable that the sa- lary should be fixed by the supreme legislature, than by that of the province- " It was better," they said, *' that the liberties of the people should be taken from them, than given up by themselves." The governor, at length, refused to sign a warrant on the treasury for the wages of the members. " One branch of the legislature, he said, might as weH go without their pay as the other.'' The act, S30 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. VIII anri t^g reason for it, were alike unsatisfactory to tha 1729. ' •' house. After a recess from the 20th of December to the 2cl of April, the general court met again at Salem. Repeated meetings at that place having produced no accommodation, the governor adjourned the legis- lature to Cambridge. A few days after the corn- Death of mencement of the session, he was seized with a fever, governor Burnet, of vvhich he died. Mr. Burnet is said to have possessed many valua- ble qualities ; and, had he not been engaged, by a sense of duty, in this long contest, he would, in all probability, have been a favourite of the province.* . ™- ^ Mr. Belcher, who succeeded Burnet, arrived at Arrival ot ' ' ^ governor Bostou cady in August where he was cordially re- ceived. At the first meeting of the general court, he pressed the establishment of a permanent salary, and laid before them his instructions, in which it was de- clared that, in the event of the continued refusal of the assembly, " his majesty will find himself under the necessity of laying the undutiful behaviour of the province before the legislature of Great Britain, not only in this single instance, but in many others of the same nature and tendency, whereby it manifestly ap- pears that this assembly, for some years last past, have attempted, by unwarrantable practices, to weaken, if not cast off, the obedience they owe to the crown, and the dependence which all colonies ought to have on the mother country." * Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. S31 CHAP. VIII At the close" of these instructions, his majesty ad- ded his expectation, " that they do forthwith comply with this proposal, as the last signification of our royal pleasure to them on this subject, and if the said as- sembly shall not think fit to comply therewith, it is our will and pleasure, and you are required, immedi- ately, to come over to this kingdom of Great Britain, in order to give us an exact account of all that shall have passed on this subject, that we may lay the same before our parliament." The house proceeded, as in the case of governor Burnet, to make a grant to Mr. Belcher of one thou- sand pounds currency for defraying the expense of his voyage, and as a gratuity for his services while the agent of the colony in England ; and, some time after, voted a sum equal to one thousand pounds ster- ling to enable him to manage the public affairs, &c. ; but fixed no time for which the allowance was made. The council concurred in this vote, adding an amend- ment " and that the same sum be annually allowed for the governor's support.^' The house not agree- ing to this amendment, the council carried it so as to read " that the same sum should be annually paid during his excellency's continuance in the govern- ment, and residence here." This also was disagreed to and the resolution fell. The small-pox being in the town of Cambridge, the assembly was adjourned to Roxbury. Two or three sessions passed with litde more, on the part of the governor, than a repetition of his de- 2S2 fli STORY OF THE cHAP^vm fflantj for a fixed salary, and an intimation that he should be obliged to return to England, and state the conduct of the house of representatives to the King. Some unsuccessful attempts were made by his friends to pass a bill fixing the salary during his administration, with a protest against the princi- ple, and against that bill's being drawn into prece- dent. Failing in this expedient, and finding the house inflexible, he despaired of succeeding with that body, and turned his attention to the relaxation of his in- 1731. structions. He advised an address from the house to his majesty, praying that he might be permitted to receive the sum which the legislature had offered to grant him. This was allowed by the crown ; with the understanding that he was still to insist on a com- pliance with his instructions. Leave to accept par- ticular grants was obtained for two or three years successively ; and, at length, a general permission was conceded to accept such sums as might be given ;e™ta.bytheassemblv.» Thus was terminated, the stubborn contest concern ing a permanent salary for the governor. Its circum- stances have been given more in detail than consists with the general plan of this work, because it is con- sidered as exhibiting, in genuine colours, the charac- ter of the people engaged in it. It is regarded as an early and an honourable display of the same perse- vering temper in defence of principle, of the same unconquerable spirit of liberty, which at a later day., • Hutchison. Contest concernin AMERICAN COLONIES. S33 CHAP. VU l 1731. and on a more important question, tore the British colonics from a country to which they had been strongly attached. The immense quantity of depreciated paper which ^'^' was in circulation throughout New England, had no tendency to diminish the complaints of the scarcity of money. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were restrained from farther emissions by the instructions to their governors, who received their appointments from the crown. Connecticut, engaged chiefly in agricultural pursuits, suffered less from this deprecia- ted medium than her neighbours, and was less dis- posed to increase its evils. Rhode Island, equally commercial with Massachusetts, and equally fond of paper, chose her own governor, and might therefore indulge, without restraint, her passion for a system alike unfavourable to morals and to industry. That colony now issued one hundred thousand pounds on loan, to its inhabitants, for twenty years. The mer- chants of Boston, apprehensive that this capital would transfer the stock of Massachusetts to Rhode Island, associated against receiving the new emission ; and many of them formed a company which issued one hundred and ten thousand pounds, redeemable with specie, in ten years, a tenth part annually, at the then current value of paper. The association against re- ceiving the new emission of Rhode Island was not long observed ; and the bills of New Hampshire and Connecticut uere also current. Silver immediately rose to twenty-seven shillings the ounce, and the notes Gg S34j history of the CHAP^vni issued by the merchants soon disappeared, leaving in circulation only the government paper. 1739. Great uneasiness prevailed through Massachusetts on this subject. The last instalment bf the bills would become due in 1741, and no power existed to re- deem them by new emissions. Serious consequences were apprehended from calling in the circulating me- dium without substituting another in its place, and the alarm was increased by the circumstance that the taxes had been so lightly apportioned on the first years, as to require the imposition of heavy burdens for the redemption of what remained in circulation. The discontents excited by these causes were mani- fested in the elections, and were directed against the governor, who was openly hostile to the paper system. Land bank. The projector of the bank again came forward ; and, placing himself at the head of seven or eight hundred persons, some of whom possessed property, proposed to form a company which should issue one hundred and fifty thousand pounds in bills. By this scheme, every borrower of a sum larger than one hundred pounds, was to mortgage real estate to se- cure its re-payment. The borrowers of smaller sums might secure their re- payment either by mortgage, or by bond with two securities. Each subscriber, or partner was to pay, annually, three per centum in- terest on the sum he should take, and five per cen- tum of the principal, either in the bills themselves, or in the produce and manufactures of the country, AMERICAN COLONIES. S30 at such rates as the directors should, from time to chap vm y 1739 time, establish. Although the favourers of this project were so suc- cessful at the elections as to obtain a great majority in the general court, men of fortune, and the principal merchants, refused to receive these bills. Many small traders, however, and other persons interested in the circulation of a depreciated currency, gave them credit. The directors themselves, it was said, be- came traders ; and issued bills without limitation, and without giving security for their redemption. The governor, anticipating the pernicious effects of the institution, exerted all his influence against it. He displaced such executive officers as were members of it, and negatived the speaker, and thirteen members elected to the council, who were also of the company. General confusion being apprehended, application was made to parliament for an act to suppress the company. This being readily obtained, the company i74o. was dissolved, and the holders of the bills were allow- dissoWecL ed their action against its members, individually.* About this time governor Belcher was re- called, and Mr. Shirley was appointed to succeed him. He found the land bank interest predominant in the house, and the treasury empty. In this state of things, he deemed it necessary to j^^^ depart from the letter of his instructions, in order to preserve their spirit. A bill was passed declaring that all contracts should be understood to be payable * Uatchison. S36 HISTORY OF THE ^H^lZlZn? in silver at six shillings and eight pence the ounce, or in gold at its comparative value. Bills of a new form were issued, purporting to be for ounces of silver, vhich were to be received in payment of all debts, with this proviso, that if they should depreciate be- tween the time of contract and of payment, a propor- tional addition should be made to the debt. AfTsirsoF While these transactions were passinsr in New New York. . . England, symptoms of that jealousy which an unset- tled boundary must produce between neighbours, began to show themselves in Canada and New York. The geographical situation of these colonies had, at an early period, directed the attention of both towards the commerce of the lakes. Mr. Burnet, the gover- nor both of New York and New Jersey, impressed with the importance of acquiring the command of lake Ontario, had, in the year 1722, erected a trading house at Oswego in the country of the Senecas. This measure excited the jealousy of the French, who launched two vessels on the lake, and transported ma- terials to Niagara for building a large store house, and for repairing the fort at that place. These proceed- ings were strongly opposed by the Senecas, and by the government of New York. Mr. Burnet remon- strated against them as encroachments on a British province, and also addressed administration on the subject. Complaints were made to the cabinet of Versailles ; but the governor of Canada proceeded to complete the fort. To countervail the effects of a measure which he could not prevent, governor Bur- AMERICAN COLONIES. 237 net erected a fort at Oswego ; soon after the building chap, vm of which, while Mr. Vandam was governor of New York, the French took possession of Crown Point, which they fortified ; and thus acquired the command of lake Champlain. Obviously as this measure was calculated to favour both the oifensive and defensive operations of France in America, the English minis- ter, after an unavailing remonstrance, submitted to it. S38 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IX . CHAPTER IX. War with the southern Indians.—- Dissntisjaction of Carolina with the proprietors. — Rupture with Spain, — Combination to subvert the proprietary govern' ment. — Revolution completed. — Expedition from the Havanna against Charleston. — Peace with Spain. — The proprietors surrender their interest to the crown. — The province divided. — Georgia settled. — Impoli- cy of the first regidations. — Intrigues of the Span- iards with the slaves of South Carolina. — Insurrec- tion of the slaves. 1715. In Carolina, the contests between the inhabitants and the proprietors, added to the favour with which the Queen heard the complaints of the dissenters, had turned the attention of the people towards the crown, and produced a strong desire to substitute the regal, for the proprietary government. This desire was in- creased by an event which demonstrated the incom- petency of their government. War with The Yamassees, a powerful tribe of Indians on the north east of the Savanna, instigated by the Spaniards at St. Augustine, secretly prepared a general combi- nation of all the southern Indians, against the province. Having massacred the traders settled among them, the Indians. AMERICAN COLONIES. 239 they advanced in great force against the southern 9"^^^^' frontier, spreading desolation and slaughter on their route. The inhabitants were driven into Charleston ; and governor Craven proclaimed martial law. He also obtained an act of assembly empowering him to impress men ; to seize arras, ammunition, and stores ; to arm such negroes as could be trusted ; and, gene- rally, to prosecute the war with the utmost vigour. Agents were sent to Virginia and to England to so- licit assistance, and bills were issued for the payment and subsistence of the army. At the same time, the Indians entered the northern part of the province, and were within fifty miles of the capital. Thus surrounded by enemies, the go- vernor took the course which was suggested equally by courage and by prudence. Leaving the less ac- tive part of the population to find security in the forts at Charleston, he marched with the militia, towards the southern frontier, which was invaded by the strongest body of Indians ; and, at a place called Salt Catchers, attacked and totally defeated them. The victors pursued them into their own country, expelled them from it, and drove them over the Savanna river. The fugitives found protection in Florida, where they made a new settlement, from which they continued long afterwards, to make distressing incursions into Carolina. The agent who had been sent by the legislature to England to implore the protection of the proprietors, had received ulterior instructions, should he not sue- SIO HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IX. jjgg J ^jtj^ them, to apply directly to the King. Being dissatisfied with his reception by the proprietors, he petitioned the house of commons, who addressed the King, praying his interposition, and immediate assist- ance to the colony. The King referred the matter to the lords commissioners of trade and plantations, whose report was unfavourable to the application, be- cause the province of Carolina was a proprietary go- vernment. They were of opinion that, if the colony was to be protected at the expense of the nation, its government ought to be vested in the crown. On receiving this opinion, the proprietors, in a general meeting, avowed their inability to protect the province, and declared that, unless his majesty would gracious- ly please to interpose, they could foresee nothing but the utter destruction of his faithful subjects in those parts. A government unable to afford protection to the people, was ill adapted to the situation of Carolina. The dissatisfaction growing out of this cause was still farther augmented by the unpopular, and, in some instances, unwise acts of the proprietors. To relieve the distress produced by war, conside- rable sums of paper money had been issued ; and the proprietors, on the complaint of the merchants, of London engaged in the trade of the province, had given instructions to reduce the quantity in circula- tion. The assembly had appropriated the country of the Yamassees, to the use of such of his majesty's Eu- AMERICAN COLONIES. S41 ropean subjects, as would settle it. Extracts from ^iliL_I2L the law on this subject being published in England, to and in Ireland, five hundred men from the latter king- dom emigrated to Carolina. The proprietors repeal- ed this lau ; and, to the utter ruin of the emigrants, as well as to the destruction of this barrier against the savages, ordered the lands to be surveyed, and erect- ed into baronies, for themselves. While the population was confined to the neigh- bourhood of Charleston, all the members of the as- sembly had been elected at that place. As the set- tlements extended, this practice became inconvenient; and an act was passed, declaring that every parish should choose a certain number of representatives, and that the elections should be held, in each, at the parish church. As if to destroy themselves in the province, the proprietors repealed this popular law also. Heavy expenses being still incurred for defence against the inroads of the southern Indians, the peo- ple complained loudly of the insufficiency of that government which, unable itself to protect them, prevented the interposition of the crown in their favour. In this temper, governor J ^hnson, son of the former governor of that name, found the province. He met the assembly with a conciliatory speech, and receiv- ed an answer expressing great satisfaction at his ap- pointment. His original popularity was increased by the courage he displayed in two expeditions against a H h 24^ HISTORY OF THE CHAP. IX. formidable band of pirates who had Ions: infested the coast, which he entirely extirpated. These expeditions occasioned still farther emissions of paper money. The governor, being instructed to diminish its quantity, had influence enough with the assembly to obtain an act for redeeming the bill? of credit, in three years, by a tax on lands and negroes. This tax falling heavily on the planters, they sought to elude it by obtaining an act for a farther emission of bitls. The proprietors, being informed of this de- sign, and also of an intention to make the produce of the country a tender in payment of all debts, at a fixed value, enjoined the governor not to give his assent to any bill, until it should be laid before them. About the same time, the King, by an order in council, signified his desire to the proprietors, that they would repeal an act passed in Carolina, for im- posing a duty of ten per centum on all goods of British manufacture imported into the province. The repeal of this act, and of one declaring the right of the assembly to name a receiver of the public money, and of the election law, were transmitted to the go- vernor, in a letter directing him to dissolve the as- sembly, and to hold a new election at Charleston, ac- cording to ancient usage. i'i8. The assembly being employed in devising means for raising revenue, their dissolution was deferred ; but the rej)eal of the law imposing duties, and the royal displeasure at the clause laying a duty on British manufactures, were immediately coinmunicated, with AMERICAN COLONIES. 243 a recommendation to pass another act, omitting that ^"^^^ ^^- clause. Meanwhile the governor's instructions were di- vulged. They excited great irritation ; and produced a warm debate on the right of the proprietors to re- peal a law enacted with the consent of their deputy in the province. About this time, chief justice Trott, v;ho had be- come extremely unpopular in the colony, was charged with many iniquitous proceedings ; and the governor, the major part of the council, and the assembly, united in a memorial representing his mal- practices to the proprietors. Mr. Young was deputed their agent to i"i9. enforce these complaints. Soon after his arrival in London, he presented a memorial to the proprietors, detailing the proceedings of Carolina, and stating the objections of the assem- bly to the right of their lordships to repeal laws, which had been approved by their deputies. This memorial was very unfavourably received, and the members of the council who had subscribed it, were displaced. The proprietors asserted their right to repeal all laws passed in the province, ap- proved the conduct of the chief justice, censured that of the governor in disobeying their instructions re- specting the dissolution of the assembly, and repeated their orders on this subject. However the governor might disapprove the in- structions given him, he did not hesitate to obey them. The new council was sunmioned, the assem- War with Spain. 3M HISTORY OF THE cvA'p. ix. h]y ^vas dissolved, and writs were issued for electing another at Charleston. The public mind had been gradually prepared for a revolution, and these irritating measures completed the disgust with which the people viewed the go- vernment of the proprietors. An opportunity to make the change so generally desired was soon afforded. A rupture having taken place between Great Britain and Spain, advice was received from England of a plan formed in the Havanna for the invasion of Caro- lina. The governor convened the council, and such members of the assembly as were in town, and laid his intelligence before them. He, at the same time, stated the ruinous condition of the fortifications, and proposed that a sum for repairing them should be raised, by voluntary subscription, of which he set the example by a liberal donation. The assembly declared a subscription to be unne- cessary, as the duties would afford an ample fund for the object. The repeal of the law imposing them was said to be utterly void, and would be disregarded. The members of the new assembly, though they had not been regularly convened at Charleston, had held several private meetings in the country to con- Combina- Q^^t measures of future resistance. They had dravvn tion to sub- _ . •' _ _ vert the yp .^u associatiou for uniting the whole province in ment. opposition to the proprietary government, which was proposed to the militia at their public meetings, and subscribed almost unanimously. This confederacy was formed with such secrecy and dispatch, that, be- AMERICAN COLONIES. S4)5 fore the governor was informed of it, almost every in- habitant of the province was engaged in it. The members of the assembly, thus supported by the people, resolved to subvert the power of the pro- prietors. The governor, who resided in the country, had no intimation of these secret meetings and transactions, until he received a letter from a committee of the re- presentatives of the people, offering him the govern- ment of the province under the King; it having been determined to submit no longer to that of the pro- prietors. Mr. Johnson resolved to suppress this spirit of re- volt, and hastened to town in order to lay the letter before his council. They advised him to take no no- tice of it, until the legislature should be regularly con- vened. On meeting, the assembly declared, " that the laws, pretended to be repealed, continued to be in force ; and that no power, other than the general as- sembly, could repeal them : That the writs under which they were elected were void, inasmuch as they had been issued by advice of an unconstitutional council : That the representatives cannot therefore, act as an assembly, but as a convention delegated by the people to prevent the utter ruin of the govern- ment : And, lastly, that the lords proprietors had un- hinged the frame of the government, and forfeited their right thereto ; and that an address be prepared to desire the honourable Robert Johnson, the present governor, to take on himself the government of the CHAP. IX. 1719, 24*6 HISTORY OF THE €HAP IX. province in the name of the Kinsr." The address — 1719 — was signed by Arthur Middleton, as president of the convention, and by twenty-two members. After several unavaihng efforts, on the part of the assembly, to induce Mr. Johnson to accept the go- vernment under the King ; and, on his part, to rein- state the government of the proprietors ; he issued a proclamation dissolving the asseiubly, and retired into the country. The proclamation was torn from the hands of the officer, and the assembly elected colonel James Moore chief magistrate of the colony. Revolution After proclaimins: him in the name of the Kinsr, completed. . . . . and electing a council, the legislature published a declaration stating the revolution that had taken place, with the causes which produced it; and then pro- ceeded, deliberately to manage the affairs of the province. While Carolina was effecting this revolution, the agent of the colony obtained a hearing before the lords of the regency and council in England, (the King being then in Hanover) who were of opinion that the proprietors had forfeited their charter. They order- ed the attorney general to take out a scire facias against it, and appointed Francis Nicholson provi- sional governor of the province under the King. He was received with universal joy ; and the people of Carolina passed, with great satisfaction, from the pro- prietary government to the immediate dominion of the crown. This revolution was completed by an AMERICAN COLONIES. 24r agreement between the crown and seven of the pro- chap, ix . . 1719 prietors, whereby, for the sum of seventeen thousand The pro- five hundred pounds sterling, they surrendered their surrender right and interest both in the government and soil. Zo^n. This agreement was confirmed by an act of parlia- ment ; soon after which John Lord Carteret, the re- maining proprietor, also surrendered all his interest in the government, but retained his rights of property.* Carolina received with joy the same form of go- i72i, vernment which had been bestowed on her sister co- lonies. The people pleased with their situation, and secure of protection, turned theii attention to domes- tic and agricultural pursuits ; and the face of the coun- try soon evidenced the happy effects which result from contented industry, directed by those who are to receive its fruits. For the convenience of the in- /I'sz, habitants, the province was divided ; and was, thence vince di- forward, distinguished by the names of North and South Carolina.! About this period, the settlement of a new colony was planned in England. The tract of country lying between the rivers Savanna and Alatamaha being un- occupied by Europeans. A company was formed for the humane purpose of transplanting into diis wil- derness, the suffering poor of the mother country. This territory, now denominated Georgia, was granted to the company ; and a corporation, consisting of twenty-one persons, was created under the name of " trustees for settling and establishing the colony of » History of South Carolina, tidem. vided. Sf8 HISTORY OP THE CHAP TT Georgjia.'' Large sums of money were subscribed for transporting, and furnishing with necessaries, such poor people as should be willing to pass the Atlantic, and to seek the means of subsistence in a new world. One hundred and sixteen persons embarked at Graves- end, under the conduct of Mr. James Oglethorpe, one of the trustees, who, after landing at Charleston, pro- ceeded to the tract of country allotted for the new colony, and laid the foundation of the town of Savan- Georgia na, OH the river which bears that name. A small settled. ^ ' , .... ... fort was erected on its bank, in which some guns were mounted ; and a treaty was held with the Creek Indians, from whom the cession of a considerable tract was obtained. The trustees continued to make great efforts for the accomplishment of their object, and settled seve- ral companies of emigrants in Georgia. Unfortunate- ly, the wisdom of their regulations did not equal the humanity of their motives. Totally unacquainted with the country they were to govern, they devised a system for it, rather calculated to impede than to promote its population. 1733. Considering each male inhabitant both as a soldier and a planter, to be provided with arms and ammu- nition for defence as well as with utensils for cultiva- tion, they adopted the pernicious resolution of intro- ducing such tenures for holding lands as were most Impolicy of favourable to a military establishment. Each tract guiations?' granted, was considered as a military fief, for which the possessor was to appear in arras, and take the AMERICAN COLONIES. ^9 iield, when required for the public defence. THpCHapix. grants were in tail male ; and, on the termination of the estate, the lands were to revert to the trust, to be re- granted to such persons as would most benefit the colony. Any lands which should not be enclosed, cleared, and cultivated, within eighteen years, revert- ed to the trust. The importation of negroes, and of rum, was prohibited ; and those only were allowed to trade with the Indians, to whom a license should be given. However specious the arguments in support of these regulations might appear to the trustees, human ingenuity could scarcely have devised a system better calculated to defeat their hopes. The tenure of lands drove the settlers into Caro- lina where that property might be acquired in fee sim- ple. The prohibition of slavery rendered the task of opening the country, too heavy to be successfully un- dertaken in that burning climate ; and the restriction on their trade to the West Indies, deprived them of the only market for lumber, an article in which they abounded. Mr. Oglethorpe's first employment was the con- 1754- struction of fortifications for defence. He erected one fort on the Savanna, at Augusta, and another on an island of the Alatamaha, called Frederica, for defence against the Indians and the inhabitants of Florida. The Spaniards remonstrated against them ; and a commis- sioner from the Havanna insisted on the evacuation of the country to the thirty- third degree of north lati- li 350 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.ix. tnflf^, which he claimed in the name of the Kins: of Spain ; but this remonstrance and claim were equally disregarded. The restrictions imposed by the trustees, on the inhabitants of Georgia, were too oppressive to be en- dured in silence. They remonstrated, particularly, against the tenure by which their lands were held, and against the prohibition of the introduction of slaves. These complaints, the result of experience, were addressed to persons ignorant of the condition of the petitioners, and were neglected. The colony languished ; while South Carolina, not unlike Georgia both in soil and climate, advanced with considerable rapidity. Although emigration was encouraged by paying the passage money of the emigrants, by fur- nishing them with clothes, arms, ammunition, and implements of husbandry, by maintaining their fami- lies for the first year, and, in some instances, by fur- nishing them with stock ; yet the unwise policy, which has been mentioned, more than counterbalanced these advantages ; and for ten years, during which time the exports from Carolina more than doubled, the settlers in Georgia could, with difficulty, obtain a scanty subsistence. 1737. The differences between Great Britain and Spain not admitting of adjustment, both nations prepared for war. The Spaniards strengthened East Florida ; and the British government ordered a regiment, consist- ing of six hundred effective men, into Georgia. The AMERICAN COLONIES. 25i command of the troops, both of Georgia and Carolina, chap.ix. was given to major general Oglethorpe, who fixed his head quarters at Frederica. Before hostilities had commenced, the Spaniards at St. Augustine engaged in criminal intrigues among the blacks of Carolina. Agents had been secretly employed in seducing the slaves of that province to escape to St. Augustine, where liberty was promised them, and where they were formed into a regiment officered by themselves. Hitherto these practices had been attended only with the loss of property ; but, about this time, the evil assumed a much more alarm- ing form. A large number of slaves assembled atinsurrec- Stono, where they forced a warehouse containing slaves/**^ arms and ammunition, murdered the whites in pos- session of it, and, after choosing a captain, directed their march south westward, with drums beating and colours flying. On their march, they massacred the whites, seized all the arms they could find, and forced such blacks as did not voluntarily join them, to follow their party. Intoxicated with ardent spirits, and with their short lived success, they considered their work as already achieved, and halted in an open field, where the time which might have been employed in pro- moting their design, was devoted to dancing and ex- ultation. Fortunately, the people of the neighbour- hood had assembled on the same day, to attend di- vine service ; and, as was then directed by law, all the men came armed. They marched immediately against the blacks, whom they completely surprised. 258 HISTORY OP THE CHAP. IX . Many were killed, and the residue dispersed or taken. 1737. ' ' Thus the insurrection was suppressed on the day of its commencement ; and such of its leaders as sur- vived the battle were immediately executed. Durins^ the lony; repose, v\hich the pacific temper of the duke of Orleans, Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. and the equally pacific tem- per of sir Robert Walpole, minister of England, gave to their respective countries, the British colonies in America had increased rapidly in population and in wealth. Lands were cheap, and subsistence easily acquired. From New York to Virginia inclusive, no enemy existed to restrain new settlements, and no fears of inability to maintain a family, checked the natural propensity to early marriages. The people were employed in cultivating the earth, and in spread- ing themselves over the vast regions which were open to them ; and, during this period, their history furnishes none of those remarkable events which in- terest posterity. AMERICAN COLONIES. 253 CHAP. X. CHAPTER. X. ^Far declared against Spain, — Expedition againt St. Augustvw. — Georgia itruaded. — Spaniards land on a?i island in the Alatamaha. — Appearance of a jieet from Charleston. — Spanish army re-embarks. — Hostilities with France. — Expedition against Louisburg. — Louisburg surrenders. — Great plans of the belligerent powers — Misfortunes of the arma- ment under the duke D'Anville. — The French jieet dispersed by a storm. — Expedition against J^fova Scotia. — Treaty of Aix la Chapelle. — Paper mo- ney of Massachusetts redeemed. — Contests between the French and English respecting boundaries. — Statement respecting the discovery' of the Missis- sippi. — Scheme for connecting Louisiana with Ca- nada. — Relative strength of the French and Eng- lish coloiiies. — Defeat at the little meadows. — Con- vention at Albany. — Plan of union. — Objected to both in America and Great Britain. The increasing^ complaints of the merchants, and .i^'sg- the loud clamours of the nation, at length forced the Spain. minister to abandon his pacific system ; and war was declared against Spain. A squadron commanded by admiral Vernon was detached to the West Indies, with instructions to act offensively; and general Ogle- thorpe was ordered to annoy the settlements in Flo- 254 HISTORY OF THE ^S^^iJ^rida. He planned an expedition as:ainst St Ausfus- tine, and requested the assistance of South Carolina. That colony, ardently desiring the expulsion of neighbours alike feared and hated, entered zealously into the views of the general, and agreed to furnish the men and money he requested. A regiment, com- manded by colonel Vanderdussen, was immediately raised in Virginia and the two Carol inas. A body of Indians was also engaged, and captain Price, who commanded the small fleet on that station, promised his co-operation. These arrangements being made, and the mouth of St. John's river, on the coast of Florida, being appointed as the place of rendezvous, general Oglethorpe hastened to Georgia, to prepare his regiment for the expedition. 1740. Those unexpected impediments, which always em- barass military movements conducted by men with- out experience, having delayed the arrival of his northern troops, Oglethorpe entered Florida at the head of his own regiment, aided by a party of Indians ; and invested Diego, a small fort about twenty-live miles from St. Augustine, which capitulated after a short resistance. He then returned to the place of rendezvous, where he was joined by colonel Vander- dussen, and by a company of Highlanders under the command of captain M'Intosh; a few days after which, he marched with his whole force, consisting of about two thousand men, to fort Moosa, in the neighbour- hood of St. Augustine, which was evacuated on his approach. The general now perceived that the enter- AMERICAN COLONIES^ 255 prise would be attended with more difficulty than had chap, x. been anticipated. In the time which intervened be- tween his entering Florida and appearing before the town, supplies of provisions had been received from the country, and six Spanish half gallies carrying long brass nine pounders, and two sloops laden with pro- visions, had entered the harbour. Finding the place better fortified than had been expected, he determin- ed to invest it completely, and to advance by regular approaches. In execution of this plan, colonel Pal- mer, with ninety -five Highlanders, and forty-two In- dians, remained at fort Moosa, while the army took different positions near the town, and began an inef- fectual bombardment from the island of Anastasia. The general was deliberating on a plan for forcing the harbour and taking a nearer position, when colonel Palmer was surprised, and his detachment cut to pieces. At the same time some small vessels from the Havanna, with a reinforcement of men and sup- ply of provisions, entered the harbour through the narrow channel of the Matanzas. The army began to despair of success ; and the provincials, enfeebled by the heat, dispirited by sick- ness, and fatigued by fruitless efforts, marched away in large bodies. The navy being ill supplied with provisions, and the season for hurricanes approach- ing, captain Price was unwilling to hazard his ma- jesty's ships on that coast. The general, labouring under a fever, finding his regiment, as well as him- self, worn out with fatigue, and rendered unfit for HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X. ar.tinn by disease; reluctantly abandoned the enter- prise, and returned to Frederica. The colonists, disappointed and cha,^rined by the failure of the expedition, attributed this misfortune entirely to the incapacity of the general, who was not less dissatisfied with them. Whatever may have been the true causes of the failure, it produced a mutual and injurious distrust between the general and the colonists.* i742. The events of the war soon disclosed the dangers resulting from this want of confidence in general Oglethorpe, and, still more, from the want of power to produce a co-operation of the common force for the common defence. Spain had ever considered the settlement of Geor- gia as an encroachment on her territory, and had cherished the intention to seize every proper occasion to dislodge the English by force. With this view, an armament consisting of two thousand men, com- manded by Don Antonio di Ridondo, embarked at the Havanna, under convoy of a strong squadron, and arrived at St. Augustine in May. The fleet having been seen on its passage, notice of its approach was given to general Oglethorpe, who communicated the intelligence to governor Glenn of South Carolina, and • In the same year Charleston was reduced to ashes. A large portion of its inhabitants passed, in one day, from prosperity to indigence. Under the pres- sure of this misfortune, the legisluluri' applied to parliament for aid ; and that body, with a liberality reflecting honour on its members, voted tweoty thousand pounds^ to be distributed among the sufferers. AMERICAN COLONIES. 257 ur^ed the necessity of sending the troops of that pro- ^^^^:, ^ vince to his assistance. Georgia beini^ a barrier for South Carolina, the policy of meetinaj an invadinp^ army on the frontiers of the former, especially one containing several com- panies composed of negroes uho had fled from the latter, was too obvious not to be perceived: yet either from prejudice against Oglethorpe, or the disposition inherent in separate governments to preserve their own force for their own defence, Carolina refused to give that general any assistance. Its attention was directed entirely to the defence of Charleston ; and the inhabitants of its southern frontier, instead of march- ing to the camp of Oglethorpe, fled to that city for safety. In the mean time, the general collected a few Highlanders, and rangers of Gef>rgia, together with as many Indian warriors as would join him, and deter- mined to defend Frederica. Late in June, the Spanish fleet, consisting of thirty- Georgia iu- two sail, carrying above three thousand men, crossed Simon's bar into Jekyl sound, and passing Simon's fort, then occupied by general Oglethorpe, procceed- ed up the Alatamaha, out of the reach of his guns; after which, the troops landed on the island, and erect- ed a battery of twenty eighteen pounders. Fort Simon's being indefensible, Oglethorpe re- tre?»ted to Frederica. His whole force, exclusive of In- dians, amounted to little more than seven hundred men, a force which could only enable him to act on the de- fenbive until the arrival of re-inforcements which he Kk S58 HISTORY OP THE CHAP. X. stjn expected from South Carolina. The face of the 1742. country was pecuharly favourable to this system of operations. Its thick woods and deep morasses op- posed great obstacles to the advance of an invading enemy, not well acquainted with the paths which passed through them. Oglethorpe turned these ad- vantages to the best account. In an attempt made by the Spanish general to pierce these woods in order to reach Frederica, several sharp rencounters took place ; in one of which he lost a captain and two lieu- tenants killed, and above one hundred privates taken prisoners. He then changed his plan of operations ; and, abandoning his intention of forcing his way to Frederica by land, called in his parties, kept his men under cover of his cannon, and detached some vessels up the river, with a body of troops on board, to re- connoitre the fort, and draw the attention of the Eng- lish to that quarter. About this time, an English prisoner escaped from the Spaniards, and informed general Oglethorpe that a difference existed between the troops from Cuba, and those from St. Augustine, which had been car- ried so far that they encamped in separate places. This intelligence suggested the idea of attacking them while divided; and his perfect knowledge of the woods favoured the hope of surprising one of their encampments. In execution of this design, he drew out the flower of his army, and marched in the night, unobserved, within two miles of the Spanish camp. There, his troops halted, and he advanced, AMERICAN COLONIES. 259 himself, at the head of a select corns, to reconnoitre ch^v. x. the situation of the enemy. While he was using the utmost circumspection to obtain the necessary infor- mation without being discovered, a French soldier of his party dischargjed his musket, and ran into the Spanish lines. Discovery defeating every hope of success, the general retreated to Frederica. Oglethorpe, confident that the deserter would dis- close his weakness, devised an expedient which turn- ed the event to advantage. He wrote to the deserter as if in concert with him, directing him to give the Spanish general such information as might induce him to attack Frederica ; hinting also at an attempt meditated by admiral Vernon on St. Augustine, and at late advices from Carolina, giving assurances of a re-inforcement of two thousand men. He then tam- pered with one of the Spanish prisoners, who, for a small bribe, promised to deliver this letter to the de- serter, after which, he was permitted to escape. The prisoner, as was foreseen delivered the letter to his general, who ordered the deserter to be put in irons ; and, was, in no small degree, embarrassed to deter- mine whether the letter ought to be considered as a stratagem to save Frederica, and induce the abandon- ment of the enterprise ; or as real instructions to direct the conduct of a spy. While hesitating on the course to be pursued, his doubts were removed by one of those incidents, which have so much influence on human affairs. The assembly of South Carolina had voted a sup- 360 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X p]y Qf jYioney to general Oglethorpe; and the cijovernor had ordered some ships of force to his aid. These appeared oft' the coast while the principal officers of the Spanish army were yet deliberating on the letter. Spanish Thev deliberated no lonsjer. The whole army was army re- _ • _ ^ *' _ • embarks in scizcd w ith 3 panlc ; and, after setting fire to the fort, coutusion. , , 1 • 1 1 r • 1 • 1 enjbarked m great hurry and contusion, leaving be- hind several pieces of heavy artillery, and a large quantity of provisions and military stores. Thus was Georgia delivered from an invasion which threatened the total subjugation of the pro- vince. The ill success of these reciprocal attempts at con- quest, seems to have discouraged both parties ; and the Spanish and English colonies, in the neighbour- hood of each other, contented themselves, for the re- sidue of the war, with guarding their own frontiers. The connexion between the branches of the house of Bourbon was too intimate for the preservation of peace u ith France, during the prosecution of war against Spain. Both nations expected and prepared for hostilities. War had commenced in fact, though not in form, on the continent of Europe ; but as they carried on their military operations as auxiliaries, in support of the contending claims of the elector of Bavaria, and the queen of Hungary, to the imperial throne, they preserved in America a suspicious and jealous suspension of hostility, rather than a real peace. 1744. This state of things was interrupted by a sudden incursion of the French into Nova Scotia. AMERICAN COLONIES. 26l The g-overnor of Cape Breton having^ received in-2ILiZiJE' . . '" 1/ +4, formation that France and Great Britain had become Hnst.iuies principals in the war, took possession of de Canseau fiance, with a small military and naval force, and made the garrison, and inhabitants prisoners of war. This en- terprise was followed •by an attempt on Annapolis, which was defeated by the timely arrival of a rein- forcement from Massachusetts. These offensive operations stimulated the English colonists to addi- tional efforts to expel such dangerous neiy;hbours, and to unite the whole northern continent bordering on the Atlantic, under one common sovereign. The island of Cape Breton, so denominated from one of its capes, lies between the 45th and 47th de- gree of north latitude, at the distance of fifteen leagues from cape Ray, the south western extremity of New- foundland. Its position rendered the possession of it very material to the commerce of France ; and the facility with which the fisheries might be annoyed from its ports, gave it an importance to which it could not otherwise have been eniided. Thirty millions of livres,* and the labour of twenty-five years, had been employed on its fortifications. From its strength, and still more from the numerous privateers that issued from its ports, it had been termed the Dunkirkf of America. On this place, governor Shirley meditat- ed an attack. The prisoners taken at Canseau, and others who had been captured at sea and carried to Louisbourg, * About five and a half millions of dollars. -j- Belknap. S6S HISTORY OF THE ^"i744 ^ ^^'^^^ ^^"^ ^° Boston. The information they ^ave, if it did not originally suggest this enterprise, contri- buted greatly to its adoption. They said that Du- vivier had gone to France to solicit assistance for the conquest of Nova Scotia, in the course of the ensuing campaign; and that the store ships from France for Cape Breton, not having arrived on the coast until it was blocked up with ice, had retired to the West Indies. In several letters addressed to administration, go- vernor Shirley represented the danger to which Nova Scotia was exposed, and pressed for naval ; ssJs»ai;ce. These letters were sent by captain Ryal, an officer of the garrison which had been taken at Cariseaii, v' hose knowledge of Louisbourg, of Cape Breton, and of Nova Scotia, enabled him to make s-uch rei)resenta- tions to the lords of the admiralty, as were calculated to promote the views of the northern colonies. The governor was not disappointed. Orders were dispatched to commodore Warren, then in the West Indies, to proceed towards the north, early in the spring ; and to employ such a force as might be ne- cessary to protect the northern colonies in their trade and fisheries, as well as to distress the enemy. On these subjects, he was instructed to consult with Shirley, to v\hom orders of the same date were writ- ten, directing him to assist the King's ships with transports, men, and provisions. Such deep impression had the design of taking Louisbourg made on the mind -of Shirley, that he did AMERICAN COLONIES. S63 CHAP, X . 1744.. not wait for intelligence of the reception given to his application for naval assistance. He was induced to decide on engaging in the enterprise, even without such assistance, by the representations of Mr. Vaiighan, son of the lieutenant governor of New Hampshire, a man of a sanguine and ardent temper, who could think nothing impracticable which he wished to achieve. Mr. Vaughan had never been at Louisbourg, but had learned something of the strength of the place, from fishermen and others ; and the bold turn of his mind suggested the idea of surprising it. There is something infectious in enthusiasm, whatever be its object ; and Vaughan soon communicated his own convictions to Shirley.* The governor informed the general court that he 1745 had a proposition of great importance to communicate, and requested that the members would take an oath of secrecy, previous to his laying it before them. This novel request being complied w^ith, he submitted his plan for attacking Louisbourg. It was referred to a. committee of both houses ; the arguments for and against the enterprise were temperately consider- ed ; and the part suggested by prudence prevailed. The expedition was thought too great, too hazardous, and too expensive. The report of the committee was approved by the house of representatives, and the expedition was sup- " posed to be abandoned , but, notwithstanding the pre- caution taken to secure secrecy, the subject which • Belknap. S64! HISTORY OF THE 17*5. CHAP. K i-i^f^i occupied the legislature was divulged,* and the people took a deep interest in it. Numerous petitions were presented, praying the general court to re con- sider its vote, and to adopt the proposition of the go- vernor. Among the several arguments urged in its favour, that which the petitioners pressed most ear- nestly, was the necessity of acquiring Louisbourg, to save the fisheries from ruin. The subject being re-considered, a resolution in fa- vour of the enterprise was ciirried by a single voice, in the absence of several men^bers known to be against it. Yet all parties manifested equal zeal for its suc- cess. A general embargo vn as laid, and messengers were despatched to the several governments as far south as Pennsylvania, soliciting their aid. These so- licitations succeeded only in the northern provinces. There being at that time no person in Neu England who had acquired any military reputation, the chief command was conferred on colonel Pepperel, a mer- chant, who was also a large land holder, and was highly respected throughout Massachusetts.! All ranks of men coiubined to facilitate the enter- prise, and those circumstances which are beyond hu- man control, also concurred to favour the general wish. The governors of Massachusetts and New Hamp- • It is said the secret was kept until a member who performed family de- votion at his lodgiugs, betrayed it by prayiDg tor the divine blessing on the attempt. t Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. S65 shire, whose orders forbad their assent to a farther ^HAH^ emission of bills of credit, departed from their instruc- tions to promote this favourite project ; the people submitted to impressments of their propert}' ; and a mild v\ inter gave no interruption to their warlike pre- parations. The troops of Massachusetts,* New Hampshire, and Connecticut, amounting to rather more than four thousand men, assembled at Canseau about the mid- dle of April ; soon after which, to the great joy of the colonial troops, admiral Warren arrived, with a con- siderable part of his fleet. The army then embarked for Chapeaurouge bay, and the fleet cruised oflTLouis- bourg. After repulsing a small detachment of French troops, the landing was effected ; and, in the course of the night, a body of about four hundred men led by Vaughan, marched round to the north east part of the harbour, and set fire to a number of warehouses con- taining spirituous liquors and naval stores. The smoke being driven by the wind into the grand bat- tery, caused such darkness that the men placed in it were unable to distinguish objects ; and, being appre- hensive of an attack from the whole English army, abandoned the fort and fled into the town. * The day before the armament sailed from Massachusetts, an express boat, which had been disjiatchi d to adiaii-al Warren to solicit assistance, returned ■with ihe unwelcome intelligence that he declined furnishing the aid requited. Thii intormation could not arrf st ihe expeilition. Fortunately for its success, the orders from England soon aftt-rwards readied the admiral, who immediate- ly detached a. pari of his fleet ; which he soon followed himself in the Superb, of sixty guns. L 1 26& HISTORY OF THE CHAP X. "YliQ next morning, as Vaugban was returning to camp with only thirteen men, he ascended the hill which over looked the battery, and observ ing that the chimneys in the barracks were without smoke, and the staff without its flag, he hired an Indian, with a bottle of rum, to crawl through an embrasure, and open the gate. Vaughan entered with his men and defended the battery against a party ihen landing to regain possession until the arrival of a reinforcement. For fourteen nights successively, the troops were employed in dragging cannon from the landing place to the encampment, a distance of near two miles, through a deep morass. The army, being totally un- acquainted with the art of conducting sieges, made its approaches irregularly, and sustained some loss on this account. While these approaches were making by land, the ships of war which continued to cruise off the harbour, fell in with and captured the Vigilant, a French man of war of sixty-four guns, having on board a reinforce- ment of five hundred and sixty men, and a large quan- tity of stores for the garrison. Soon after this, an un- successful, and, perhaps, a rash attempt was made on the island battery by four hundred men ; of whom sixty were killed, and one hundred and sixteen taken prisoners. All these prisoners, as if by previous con- cert, exaggerated the numbers of the besieging army, a deception which was favoured by the unevennessof the ground, and the dispersed state of the troops ; and which probably contributed to the surrender of the AMERICAN COLONIES. S67 place. T he provincial army did indeed present a for- ^"^^: ^' midabie front, but, in the rear, all was frolic and con- fusion. The Vipjilant bad been anxiously expected by the garrison, «nd the information of her capture excited a considerv^b.e degree of perturbation. This event, with (he erection of some works on the high cliff at the light house, by which the island battery was much annoyed, and the preparations evidently making for a general assault, determined Duchambon, the gover- Louisbourg nor of Louisbourg, to surrender ; and, in a few days,* he capitulated. Upon entering the fortress, and viewing its strength, and its means of defence, all perceived how imprac- ticable it would have been to carry it by assault.* The joy excited in the British colonies by the suc- cess of the expedition against Louisbourg was un- bounded. Even those who had refused to participate in its hazards and expense, were sensible of its ad- vantages, and of the lustre it ohed on the American arms. Although some disposition was manifested in England, to ascribe the whole merit of the conquest to the navy, colonel Pepperel received, with the tide of baronet, the more substantial reward of a regiment in the British service, to be raised in America ; and the same mark of royal favour was bestowed on go- vernor Shirley. Reimbursements too were made by parliament for the expenses of the expedition. It * Belknap. Hutchison. S68 HISTORY OF THE CAP X. 1745. was the only decisive advantage obtained by the Eng- lish during the war. The capture of Louisbourg, nnost probably, pre- served No\ a Scotia. Duvivier, v\ho had embarked for France to solicit an armament for the conquest of that province, sailed, in July, 1745, with seven ships of war, and a body of land forces. He was ordered to stop at Louisbourg, and thence to proceed in the execution of his plan. Hearing, at sea, of the fall of that place, and that a British squadron was stationed at it, he relinquished the expedition against Nova Scotia, and returned to Europe. The British empire on the American continent con- sisted, originally, of tuo feeble settlements unconnect- ed with, and almost unknown to each other. For a long time the southern colonies, separated from those of New England by an immense wilderness, and by the possessions of other European powers, had no in- tercourse with them, except what was produced by the small trading vessels of the north, which occa- sionally entered the rivers of the south. Neither par- ticipated in the wars or pursuits of the other ; nor were they, in any respect, actuated by common views, or united by common interest. The conquest of the country between Connecticut and Maryland, laid a foundation, which the settlement of the middle colo- nies completed, for connecting these disjoined mem- bers, and forming one consolidated whole, capable of moving, and acting in concert. This gradual change, unobserved in its commencement, had now become AMERICAN COLONIES. S69 too perceptible to be longer overlooked ; and, hence- chap, x. forward, the efforts of the colonies, were in a great measure combined, and directed to a common object. France, as well as Eniijland, had extended her views with her settlements; and, after the fall of Louis- bourg, the governments of both nations meditated important operations for the ensuing campaign in America. France contemplated, not only the recovery of Cape Great plans Breton and Nova Scotia, but the total devastation of the gerents. sea coast, if not the entire conquest of New England. Britain, on her part, calculated on the reduction of Canada, and the entire expulsion of the French from the American continent. Shirley repaired to Louisbourg, after its surrender, where he held a consultation with Warren and Pep- perel on the favourite subject of future and more ex- tensive operations against the neighbouring posses- sions of France. From that place he u rote pressing- ly to administration, for reinforcements of men and 1746. ships to enable him to execute his plans. The cap- ture of Louisbourg gave such weight to his solicita- tions that, in the following spring, the Duke of New Castle, then secretary of state, addressed a circular letter to the governors of the provinces as far south as Virginia, requiring them to raise as many men as they could spare, and hold them in readiness to act accord- ing to the orders that should be received. Before this letter was written, an extensive plan of opera- tions had been digested in the British cabinet. It was proposed to detach a military and naval armament 270 HISTORY OF THE ^"4^.5: which should, early in the season, join the troops to be raised in New England, at Louisbourg ; whence they were to proceed up the St. Lawrence to Quebec. The troops from New York, and from the more southern provinces, were to be collected at i^lbany, and to march against Crown Point, and Montreal. This plan, so far as it depended on the colonies, was executed with promptness and alacrity. The men were raised, and waited with impatience for em- ployment; but neither troops, nor orders, arrived from England. The fleet destined for this service, sailed seven times from Spithead ; and was compelled as often, by contrary winds, to return. Late in the season, the military commanders in America, despairing of the succours promised by England, determined to assemble a body of provin- cials at Albany, and make an attempt on Crown Point. While preparing for the execution of this plan, they received accounts stating that Annapolis was in dan- ger from a body of French and Indians assembled at Minas; upon which, orders were issued for the troops of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hamp- shire, to embark for Nova Scotia. Before these orders could be executed, intelligence was received which directed their attention to their own defence. It was reported that a large fleet and army, under the command of the duke D'Anville, had arrived in Nova Scotia, and the views of conquest, which had been formed by the northern colonies, ^vere convert- ed into fears for their own safety. For six weeks. AMERICAN COLONIES. S^l continual apprehensions of invasion were entertained : chap, x. and the most vigorous measures were taken to repel it. From this state of anxious solicitude, they were at length relieved by the arrival of some prisoners set at liberty by the French, who communicated the ex- treme distress of the fleet. This formidable armament consisted of near forty ships of war, seven of which were of the line ; of two artillery ships ; and of fifty-six transports laden with provisions and military stores, carrying three thousand five hundred land forces, and forty thousand stand of small arms, for the use of the Canadians and Indians. The fleet sailed in June, but was attacked by such fu- TheFrench rious and repeated storms, that many of the ships were persed by wrecked, and others dispersed. In addition to this * *'°'^"" disaster, the troops were infected with a disease which carried them off" in great numbers. While lying in Chebucto, under these circumstances, a vessel which had been dispatched by governor Shirley to admiral Townshend at Louisbourg, with a letter stating his expectation that a British fleet would follow that of France to America, was intercepted by a cruiser, and brought in to the admiral. These dispatches were opened in a council of war, which was considerably divided respecting their future conduct. This cir- cumstance, added to tlie calamities already sustained, so affected the commander in chief, that he died sud- denly. The vice-admiral fell by his own hand ; and the command devolved on Monsieur le Jonguiere, governor of Canada, who had been declared chefd^es- cadre after the fleet sailed. 1746. 27^ HISTORY OF THE CHAP X. 'pi^g design of invading New England was relin- quished, and it was resolved to make an attempt on Annapolis. With this view the fleet sailed from Che- bucto, but was again overtaken by a violent tempest which scattered the vessels composing it. Those which escaped shipwreck returned singly to France.* " Never," says Mr. Belknap, " was the hand of divine providence more visible than on this occasion. Never was a disappointment more severe on the part of the enemy, nor a deliverance more comjjlete, with- out human help, in favour of this co ntry." As soon as the fears excited by this armament were dissipated, the project of dislodging the French and Indians, who had invaded Nova Scotia, was resumed. Governor Shirley detached a part of the troops of Massachusetts on this service ; and pressed the go- vernors jf Rhode Island and New Hampshire, to co- operate with him. The quotas furnished by these colonies were prevented by several accidents from joining that of Massachusetts, which was inferior to the enemy in numbers. The French and Indians, under cover of a snow storm, surprised the English at Minas ; vyho, after an obstinate resistance, in which they lost upwards of one hundred men, were com- pelled to capitulate, and to engage not to bear arms against his most christian majesty, in Nova Scotia for one year. De Ramsay, who commanded the French, returned soon afterwards to Canada. No farther transactions of importance took place in * HulchisoQ. Belknap, AMERICAN COLONIES. S73 America durincj the war, which was terminated by£![I^Zi^ the treatv of Aix la Chapelle. By this treaty, it was Treaty of stipulated that all conquests made during the vvarpeUef should be re'>tored ; and the colonists had the morti- fication to see the French re- possess themselves of Cape Breton. The heavy expenses which had been incurred by the New Enp;land colonies, and especially by Massa- chusetts, had occasioned large emissions of paper money, and an unavoidable depreciation. Instead of availing themselves of peace, to dischari2;e the debts contracted during war, they eagerly desired to satis- fy every demand on the public treasury, by farther emissions of bills of credit, redeemable at future and distant periods. Every inconvenience under which commerce was supposed to labour, every difficulty encountered in the interior economy of the province, was attributed to a scarcity of money ; and this scar- city was to be removed, not by increased industry, but by putting an additional sum in circulation. The rate of exchange, and the price of all commodities, soon disclosed the political truth that, however the quantity of the circulating medium may be augmented, its ag- gregate value cannot be arbitrarily increased ; and that the effect of such a depreciating currency must necessarily be, to discourage the payment of debts, by holding out the hope of discharging contracts with less real value than that for nhich they were made ; and to substitute cunning and speculation, for honest and regular industry. Yet the majority had perse - Mm ^7*4 / HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X. vere j \^ thjg demoralising system. The depreciatioii had reached eleven for one ; and the evil was almost deemed incurable, when the fortunate circumstance of a reimbursement in specie, made by Parliament for colonial expenditures on account of the expedi- tions against Louisbourg and Canada, suggested to Mr. Hutchinson, speaker of the house of represen- tatives in Massachusetts, the idea of redeeming the paper money in circulation, at its then real value. This scheme, at first deemed Utopian, was opposed by many well meaning men who feared that its effect would be to give a shock to the trade and domestic industry of the province ; and who thought that, as the depreciation had been gradual, justice required that the appreciation should be gradual also. Paper mo- With great difficulty, the measure was carried ; deemed, and the bills of credit in circulation, were redeemed at fifty shillings the ounce. The evils which had been apprehended were soon found to be imaginary. Specie, immediately took the place of paper. Trade, so far from sustaining a shock, flourished more than before this change in the domestic economy of the colony ; and the commerce of Massachusetts imme- diately received an impulse, which enabled it to sur- pass that of her neighbours who retained their paper medium.* Revival of 'j^'^g treaty of Aix la Chapelle did not remove the contests J ' with the previously existing: controversies between the colonies French co- ^ •' *^ Ionics res. of Francc and England respectins: boundary. These pecting D 1 o J ''"""'■'^'•y- . Hutchison. AMERICAN COLONIES. ff^Q controversies, orio-inatina; in the manner in which their chap, x. 1748. settlements had been made, and at first of small con- sequence, were now assuming a serious aspect. America was becoming an object of greater atten- tion ; and, as her importance increased, the question concerning limits became important also. In settling this continent, the powers of Europe, estimating the right of the natives at nothing, adopt- ed, for their own government, the principle, that those who first discovered and took possession of any par- ^"^^^ ticular territory, became its rightful proprietors. But as only a small portion of it could then be reduced to actual occupation, the extent of country thus ac- quired was not well ascertained. Contests respecting prior discovery, and extent of possession, arose among all the first settlers. England terminated her controversy with Sweden and with Holland, by the early conquest .of their territories ; but her conflicting claims with France and with Spain, remained un- adjusted. On the south, Spain had pretensions to the whole province of Georgia, while England had granted the country as far as the river St Matheo, in Florida. On the north, the right of France to Canada was undisputed ; but the country between the St. Law- rence and New England had been claimed by both nations, and granted by both. The first settlement appears to have been made by the French ; but its principal town, called Port Royal, or Annapolis, had been repeatedly taken by the English j and, by the S76 HISTORY OF THE CHAP X. treaty of Utrecht, the whole province, by the name of Nova Scotia, or Acad^e, according to its ancient limits had been ceded to them. But the boundaries of Nova Scotia, or Acadie, had never been ascertained. Though the treaty of Utrecht had provided that commissioners should be appoint- ed by the two crowns, to adjust the limits of their respective colonies, the adjustment had never been made. France claimed to the Kennebec ; and in- sisted " that only the peninsula which is formed by the bay of Fundy, the Atlantic ocean, and the gulph of St. Lawrence," was included in the cession of " Nova Scotia, or Acadie, according to its ancient limits." England, on the other hand, claimed all the country on the main land south of the river St. Lawrence. Under the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, commissioners were again appointed to settle these differences, who maintained the rights of their re- spective sovereigns with great ability, and laborious research ; but their zeal produced a degree of asperity unfavourable to accommodation. While this contest for the cold and uninviting country of Nova Scotia was carried on with equal acrim(>ny and talents, a controversy arose for richer and more extensive regions in the south and west. Discovery So carlv as the year 1660, information was re- sissippi, ceived, in Canada, from the Indians, that, west of that colony, was a great river, flowing neither to the north, nor to the east. The government, conjectur- ing that it must empty itself either into the gulph of AMERICAN COLONIES. ^77 Mexico or the south sea, committed the care of ascer- chap, x. taining the fact to Joliet, an inhabitant of Quebec, and to the Jesuit Marquette. These men proceeded from lake Michigan up the river of the Foxes, ahnost to its source, whence they travelled westward to the Ouisconsing, which they pursued to its confluence with the Mississippi. They sailed down this river to the 33d degree of north latitude, and returned by land, through the country of the Illinois, to Canada. The mouth of the Mississippi was afterwards dis- covered by la Salle, an enteri)rising Norman, who, immediately after his return to Q lebec, embarked for France, in the hope of inducing the cabinet of Ver- sailles to patronise a scheme for proceeding by sea to the mouth of that river, and setding a colony on its banks. Having succeeded in this application, he sailed for the gulph of Mexico, with a few colonists; but, steer- ing too far westward, he arrived at the bay of St. Ber- nard, about one hundred leagues from the mouth of the Mississippi. In consequence of a quarrel between him and Beaujieu, who commanded the fleet, the colonists were landed at this place. La Salle was, soon afterwards, assassinated by his own men ; and his followers were murdered or dispersed by the Spaniards and the Indians. Several other attempts were made by the French to settle the country ; but, by some unaccountable fatality, instead of seating themselves on the fertile borders of the Mississippi, they continually landed 378 HISTORY OF THE CHAP, x. ahnnt the barren sands of Biloxi, and the bay of Mo- 1749. bile. It was not until the year 1722, that the misera- ble remnant of those who had been carried thither at various times, was transplanted to New Orleans ; nor until the year 1731, that the colony began to flourish. It had received the name of Louisiana, and soon extended itself by detached settlements, up the Mis- sissippi and its waters, towards the great lakes.* As Scheme for it advanced northward, the vast and interesting plan Louisiana^ was formcd of connecting it with Canada by a chain S;**^"""" of forts. The fine climate and fertile soil of upper Louisiana enabling it to produce and maintain an immense population, rendered it an object which promised complete gratification to the views of France ; while the extent given to it by that nation, excited the most serious alarm among the colonies of Britain. The charters granted by the crown of England to the first adventurers, having extended from the At- lantic to the South Sea, their settlements had regu- larly advanced westward, in the belief that their title to the country in that direction, could not be contro- verted. The setdements of the French, stretching from north to south, necessarily interfered with those of the English. Their plan, if executed, would com- pletely environ the English. Canada and Louisiana united, as has been aptly said, would form a bow, of which the English colonies would constitute the chord. While Great Britain claimed, indefinitely, to the ^' Abbe Raynal. AMERICAN C0L0NIE3t S79 west, as appertaining to her possession of the sea chap, x. coast ; France insisted on confining her to the eastern side of the Apalachian, or Alleghany, mountains ; and claimed the whole country drained by the Mississippi, in virtue of her right as the first discoverer of that river. The delightful region which forms the magni- ficent vale of the Mississippi was the object for which these two powerful nations contended; and it soon be- came apparent that the sword must decide the contest. The white population of the English colonies was supposed to exceed one million of souls, while that of the French was estimated at only fifty-two thousand.* * The following estimate is taken from " The History of the British empire in North America," and is there said to be an authentic account from the mi- Jitia rolls, poll taxes, bills of mortality, returns from governors, and other au- thorities. The colonies of Inhabitants. Halifax and Lunenberg in Nova Scotia . 5,000 New Hampshire - - . - 30,000 Massachusetts Bay - 220,000 Rhode Island and Providence - 35,000 Connecticut _ . - . 100,000 New York - 100,000 The Jerseys _ - - - 60,000 Pennsylvania (then including Delaware) - 250,000 Maryland « . - - 85,000 Virginia . . - - 85,000 North Carolina . - - - 45,000 South Carolina « - - - 30,000 Georgia . - - - 6.000 Total 1,051,000 The white inhabitants of the French colonies were thus estimated : The colonies of Inhabitants. Canada .... 45,000 Louisiana - , . . 7,000 Total 52,000 S80 HISTORY OP THE ^^^^^ ^ This disparity of numbers did not intimidate the governor of New France — a title comprehending both Canada and Louisiana ; nor deter him from proceed- ing in the execution of his favourite plan. The French possessed advantages which, he persuaded himself, would counterbalance the superior numbers of the English. Their whole power was united under one governor, who could give it such a direction as his judgment should dictate. The genius of the people and of the government was military ; and the inhabi- tants could readily be called into the field, when their service should be required. Great reliance too was placed on the Indians. These savages, with the ex- ception of the Five Nations, were generally attached to France, and were well trained to war. To these advantages was added a perfect knowledge of the country about to become the theatre of action. The British colonies, on the other hand, were di- vided into distinct governments, unaccustomed, ex- cept those of New England, to act in concert ; were jealous of the power of the crown ; and were spread over a large extent of territory, the soil of which, in all the middle colonies, was cultivated by men unused to arms. The governors of Canada, who were generally military men, had, for several preceding years, judi- ciously selected and fortified such situations as would give them most influence over the Indians, and facili- tate incursions into the northern provinces. The command of lake Champlain had been acquired by AMERICAN COLONIES. 281 the erection of a strong: fort at Crown Point; and a ^hap. x. . . 1749 connected chain of posts was maintained from Que- bec, up the St. Lawrence, and along the great lakes. It was intended to unite these posts with the Missis- sippi by taking positions which would favour the de- sign of circumscribing and annoying the frontier set- tlements of the English. The execution of this plan was, probably, accele- rated by an act of the British government. The year irso. after the conclusion of the war, several individuals both in England and Virginia who were associated under the name of the Ohio company, obtained from the crown a grant of six hundred thousand acres of land, lying in the country claimed by both nations. The objects of this company being commercial as well as territorial, measures were taken to derive all the advantages expected from their grant, in both these respects, by establishing trading houses, and by em- ploying persons to survey the country. The governor of Canada, who obtained early in- formation of this intrusion, as he deemed it, into the dominions of his most christian majesty, wrote to the governors of New York and Pennsylvania, informing them that the English traders had encroached on the French territory by trading with their Indians ; and giving notice that, if they did not desist, he should be under the necessity of seizing them wherever they should be found. At the same time the jealousy of the Indians was excited by impressing them with Nn 282 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X . fears that the Ene^hsh were about to deprive them of 1750. , . their country. His threat having been disregarded, the governor of Canada put it in execution by seizing the British traders among the Twightvvees, and carrying them prisoners to Presque-isle, on lake Erie ; where he was erecting a strong fort. Al)out ihe same time, a communication was opened from Presque-isle, down French creek, and the Allegheny river, to the Ohio. This communication was kept up by detachments of troops, posted at proper distances from each other, in works capable of covering them from an attack made only with small arms.* This territory having been granted as part of Vir- ginia, to the Ohio company, who complained loudly of these aggressions, Dinwiddie, the lieutenant gover- nor of that province, laid the subject before the assem- 1755. bly, and dispatched MAJOR WASHINGTON, the gentleman who afterwards led his countrymen to independence, with a letter to the commandant of the French forces on the Ohio ; requiring him to with- draw from the dominions of his Britannic majesty. This letter was delivered at a fort on the river Le Boeuf, the western branch of French creek, to Mon- sieur le Guarduer de St. Pierre, the commanding officer on the Ohio, \\ ho replied that he had taken possession of the country by the directions of his general, then in Canada, to whom he would transmit Minot Gazette. AMERICAN COLONIES. S83 % the letter of the h'eutenant governor, and whose nrHprt; chap, x. he should implicitly obey. Preparations were immediately made, in Viry^inia, to assert the rights of the British crown ; and a regi- ment was raised for the protection of the frontiers. Early in the spring, Mi^jor Washington had advanced 1754. with a small detachment from this regiment into the country to be contended for, where he fell in with and defeated a party of French and Indians who were approaching him in a manner indicating hostile de- signs. On being joined by the residue of his regi- ment, the command of which had devolved on him, he made great exertions to pre -occupy the post at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers; but, on his march thither, was met by a much supe- rior body of French and Indians, who attacked him in a small stockade hastily erected at the Little Mea- Defeat at dows, and compelled him, after a gallant defence to Meadows. capitulate. The French had already taken possession of the ground to which Washington was proceedinp-, and, having driven off some militia, and workmen sent thither by the Ohio company, had erected thereon a strong fortification called fort Du Q lesne. The earl of Holderness, secretary of state, perceiv- ing war to be inevitable, and aware of the advantages of union, and of securing the friendship of the Five Nations, had written to the governors of the respec- tive colonies recommending these essential objects ; and, at the same time, ordering them to repel force by S84} HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X . 1754. force ; and to take effectual measures to dislodge the French from their posts on the Ohio. Convention At the suffSfestion of the commissioners for the at Albany. . . '='° • ,. , , plantations, a convention of delegates from the seve- ral colonies met at Albany, to hold a conference with the five nations on the subject of French encroach- ments, and to secure their friendship in the approach- ing war. Availing himself of this circumstance go- vernor Shirley had recommended to the other gover- nors to instruct their con'missioners on the subject of union. Ample powers for this object were given to the delegates of Massachusetts ; and those of Mary- land were instructed to observe what others should propose respecting it. But no direct authority for concerting any system to call out and employ the strength of the colonies, was given by any other of the governments. The congress, consisting of delegates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- cut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, with the lieutenant governor and council of New York, after endeavour- ing to secure the friendship of the Five Nations by large presents, directed a committee, consisting of one member for each colony to draw" and report a plan of union. Plan of A plan* was reported which was approved on the iininn_ * * * * 4th of July. Its essential principles were, that appli- cation be made for an act of parliament authorising the formation of a grand council to consist of dele- • See note No. 2, at the end of the volume. union. AMERICAN COLONIES. 2S5 gates from the several legislatures, and a president ^"^^^^ - general, to be appointed by the crown, and to be in- vested with a negative power. This council was to enact laws of general import ; to apportion their quotas of men and money on the several colonies ; to deter- mine on the building of forts ; to regulate the opera- tions of armies ; and to concert all measures for the common protection and safety. The delegates of Connecticut alone dissented from this plan. That cautious people feared that the pow- ers vested in the president general might prove dan- gerous to their welfare. In England, the objections were of a different cha- racter. The colonies had, in several instances, mani- fested a temper less submissive than was required ; and it was apprehended that this union might be the foundation of a concert of measures opposing the pre- tensions of supremacy maintained by the mother country. This confederation, therefore, notwithstanding the pressure of external danger, did not prevail. It was not supported in America, because it was supposed to place too much power in the hands of the King ; and it was rejected in England from the apprehension that the colonial assemblies would be rendered still more formidable by being accustomed to co-operate with each other. In its stead, the minister proposed that the gover- nors, with one or two members of the councils of the respective provinces, should assemble to consult, and HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X. resolve on measures necessary for the common de- 1754, fence, and should draw on the British treasury for the sums to be expended, which sums should be after- wards raised by a general tax, to be imposed by par- liament on the colonies. This proposition being entirely subversive of all the opinions which prevailed in America, was not pressed for the present ; and no satisfactory plan for calling out the strength of the colonies being devised, it was determined to carry on the war with British troops, aided by such reinforcements as the several provin- cial assemblies would voluntarily afford.* • Minot. AMERICAN COLONIES. ^^7 CH\P.XL CHAPTER XI. General Braddock arrives. — Convention of governors and plan of the campaign. — French expelled from Nova Scotia, and inhabitants transplanted. — Expe- dition against fort Du Qnesne. — Battle of Mono?!' gahela. — Defeat and death of general Braddock. — Expedition against Crown Point. — Dieskan defeat- ed. — Expedition against Niagara. — Frontiers dis- tressed by the Indians, — Meeting of the governors at New York. — Plan J or the campaign of 1756. — Lord Loudoun arrives. — Montcalm takes Oswe- go. — Lord Loudoun abandofis offensive operations, — Small pox breaks out in Albany. — Campaign of 1757 opened. — Admiral Holbourne arrives at Hali- fax. — Is joined by the earl of Loudoun. — Expedi- tion against Louisbourg relinquished. — Lord Lou- doun returns to New York. — Fort IVHliam Henry taken. — Controversy between Lord Loudoun and the assembly of Massachusetts, The establishment of the post on the Ohio, and it'ss. the action at the Little Meadows, being considered by the British government as the commencement of war in America, the resolution to send a few regiments to that country was in»mediately taken ; and early in the year, general Braddock embarked at Cork, at thcBrSck S88 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. Ki. hga j Qf a respectable body of troops destined for the colonies. An active offensive campaign being meditated, ge- neral Braddock convened the governors of the seve- ral provinces, on the 14th of April, in Virginia, who resolved to carry on three expeditions. Plan of the ^he first, and most important, was against fort Du Quesne. This was to be conducted by general Brad- dock in person at the head of the British troops, with such aids as could be drawn from Maryland and Vir- ginia. The second, against Niagara and fort Frontignac, was to be conducted by governor Shirley. The American regulars, consisting of Shirley and Peppe- rel's regiments, constituted the principal force destined for the reduction of these places. The third was against Crown Point. This origi- nated with Massachusetts ; and was to be prosecuted entirely with colonial troops, to be raised by the pro- vinces of New England, and by New York. It was to be commanded by colonel William Johnson of the latter province.* While preparations were making for these several enterprises, an expedition, which had been previous- ly concerted by the government of Massachusetts, was carried on against the French in Nova Scotia. It has been already stated that the limits of this province remained unsettled. While the commis- sioners of the two crowns were supporting the claims • Minot. AMERICAN COLONIES. 380 of their respective sovereigns in fruitless memorials, cu\p xi. the French occupied the country' in contest, and estab- lished military posts for its defence. Against these posts this enterprise was to be conducted. On the 20th of May, the troops of Massachusetts, together with Shirley's and Pepperel's regiments, amounting in the u hole to aljout three thousand men, embarked, at Boston, under the command of lieuten- ant colonel Winblou. The fleet anchored about five miles from fort Lav.rence, where a reinforce- ment was received of three hundred British troops and a small train of artillery. The whole army, commanded by lieutenant colonel Monckton, imme- diately after landing, marched against B-^au Sejour, the principal post held by the French in that country. At the river Mussaquack, which the French consider- ed as the western boundary of Nova Scotia, some slight works had been thrown up with the intention of disputing its passage. After a short conflict, the river was passed with the loss of only one man ; and, in five days. Beau Sejour capitulated. Other small places fell in succession, and, in the course of the month of June, with the loss of only three men killed, the English acquired complete possession of the whole ^gTi",^^^^ province of Nova Scotia. NovaSco- The recovery of this province was followed by one of those distressing measures which involve indivi- duals in indiscriminate ruin, and aggravate the calami- ties of war. Nova Scotia having been originally settled by Go S90 HISTORY OF THE lElL^f:2E- France, its inhabitants were, chiefly, of that nation. In the treaty of Utrecht, it was stipulated for the co- lonists that they should be permitted to hold their lands on condition of taking the oaths of allegiance to their new sovereign. With this condition they re- fused to comply, unless permitted to qualify it with a proviso that they should not be required to bear arms in defence of the province. Though this qualifica- tion, to which the commanding officer of the British forces acceded, was afterwards disallowed by the crown, yet the French inhabitants continued to con- sider themselves as neutrals. Their devotion to France, however, would not permit them to conform their conduct to the character they had assumed. In all the contests for the possession of their country, they were influenced by their wishes rather than their duty ; and three hundred of them were captured with the garrison of Beau Sejour. Their continuance in the country, during the obsti- nate conflict which was commencing, would, it was feared, endanger the colony ; and to expel them from it, leaving them at liberty to choose their place of re- sidence, would be to re-enforce the French in Cana- da. A council was held by the executive of Nova Scotia aided by the admirals Boscawen and Morty, Theinhabi-for the purpose of deciding on the destiny of these un- pianS"^' fortunate people ; and the severe policy was adopted of removing them from their homes, and dispersing them through the other British colonies. This harsh measure was immediately put in execution ; and the AMERICAN COLONIES. S9i miserable inhabitants of Nova Scotia were, in one in- chap xi. 1755. stant, reduced from ease and contentment to a state of beggary. Their lands, and moveables, with the exception of their money and household furniture, were declared to be forfeited to the crown ; and, to prevent their return, the country was laid waste, and their houses reduced to ashes.* As soon as the convention of governors had sepa- rated, general Braddock proceeded from Alexandria to a fort at Wills' creek, afterwards called fort Cum- berland, at that time the most western post in Vir- ginia or Maryland ; from which place the army des- tined against fort Du Quesne was to commence its march. The difficulties of obtaining wagons, and other necessary supplies for the expedition, and de- lays occasioned by opening a road through an exces- sively rough country, excited apprehensions that time would be afforded the enemy to collect in such force at fort Du Quesne, ns to put the success of the enter- prise into some hazard. Under the influence of this consideration, it was determined to select twelve hundred men, who should be led by the general in person to the point of desti- nation. The residue of the army, under the com- mand of colonel Dunbar, was to follow, with the bag- gage, by slow and easy marches. This disposition being made, Braddock pressed forward to his object, in the confidence that he could Minot. ^93 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XT.fin^ ^fy enemy capable of opposing him ; and reached the Monongahela on the eighth of July. As the army approached fort Du Quesne, the ge- neral was cautioned of the dant^er to which the cha- racter of his enemy, and the face of the country, ex- posed him ; and was advised to advance the provincial companies in his front, for the purpose of scouring the woods, and discovering ambuscades. But he held both his enemy and the provincials in too much contempt, to follow this salutary council. Three hundred British troops comprehending the grenadiers and light infantry, commanded by colonel Gage, comi)osed his van ; and he followed, at some distance, with the artillery, and the main body of the army, divided into small columns. Within seven miles of fort Du Quesne, immediately after crossing the Monongahela the second time, in an open wood, thick set with high grass, as he was pressing forv\ard without fear of danger, his front re- ceived an unexpected fire from an invisible enemy. Battle of The van v\ as throw n into some confusion ; but, the heia. general having ordered up the main body, and the commanding officer of the enemy having fallen, the attack was suspended, and the assailants were sup- posed to be dispersed. This delusion was soon dis- sipated. The attack w as renewed with increased fury; the van fell back on the main body ; and the whole army was thrown into utter confusion. The general possessed personal courage in an emi- yient degree ; but was without experience in that spe- AMERICAN COLONIES. 293 cies of war, in which he was engaged ; and seems not ^-^-^P xt. • • 1755 ^ to have been endowed with that rare fertility of genius which adapts itself to the existing state of things, and invents expedients fitted to the emergency. In the impending crisis, he was pecuharly unfortunate in his choice of measures. Neither advancing nor re- treating, he exerted his utmost powers to form his broken troops, under an incessant and galling fire, on the very ground where diey had been attacked. In his fruitless efforts to restore order, every officer on horseback except Mr. Washington, one of his aids- de-camp, was killed or wounded. At length, after loosing three horses, the general himself received a mortal wound ; upon which his regulars fled in terror and confusion. Fortunately, the Indian enemy was arrested by the plunder found on the field, an:] the pursuit was soon given over. The provincials exhi- bited an unexpected degree of courage, and were among the last to leave the field. The defeated troops fled precipitately to the camp Death of of Dunbar, where Braddock expired of his wounds. Their panic was communicated to the residue of the army. As if affairs had become desperate, all the stores, except those necessary for immediate use, were destroyed ; and the British troops were march- ed to Philadelphia, where they ^\ent into quarters. The western parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, were left exposed to the incursions of the savages ; the frontier settlements were generally broyft up ; and the inhabitants were driven into the HISTORY OF THE CHAP.^ir)terior. So excessive was the alarm, that even the "^people of the interior entertained apprehensions for their safety, and many supposed that the sea-board itself was insecure. The two northern expeditions, though not so disas- trous as that against fort Du Quesne, were, neither of them successful. That against Crown Point, was so retarded by those causes of delay to which military operations conducted by distinct governments are al- ways exposed, that the army was not ready to move until the last of August. At length general Johnson reached the south end of lake George, on his way to Ticonderoga, of which he designed to take pos- session. An armament fitted out in the port of Brest for Canada, had eluded a British squadron which was stationed off the banks of Newfoundland to intercept it ; and, with the loss of two ships of war, had enter- ed the St. Lawrence. After arriving at Quebec, the baron Dieskau, who commanded the French forces, resolved, without loss of time, to proceed against the English. At the head of about twelve hundred re- gulars, and about six hundred Canadians and Indians, he marched against Oswego. On hearing of this movement, general Johnson applied for reinforce- ments ; and eight hundred men were ordered by Massachusetts to his assistance. An additional body of two thousand men was directed to be raised for the same object, and the neighbouring colonies akp de- termined to furnish reinforcements. AMERICAN COLONIES. ^95 Dieskau did not wait for their arrival. Perceiving c"ap. xi. xhat Johnson was approaching lake George, and being informed that the provincials were without artillery, he determined to postpone his designs upon Oswego, and to attack them in their camp. On being informed that Dieskau was approaching, Johnson detached colonel Williams, with about one thousand men, to reconnoitre and skirmish with him. This officer met the French about four miles from the American camp, and immediately engaged them. He fell early in the action ; and his party was soon overpowered and put to flisrht. A second detach- Dieskau de- ment, sent in aid of the first, experienced the same fate ; and both were closely pursued to the main body, who were posted behind a breast-work of fallen trees. At this critical moment, within about one hundred and fifty yards of this work, the French halted for a short time. This interval having given the Americans an opportunity to recover from the first alarm, they determined on a resolute defence. When the assailants advanced to the charge, they were received with firmness. The militia and savages fled ; and Dieskau was under the necessity of order- ing his regulars to retreat. A close and ardent pursuit ensued ; and the general himself, being mortally wounded and left alone, was taken prisoner. During the engagement, a scouting party from fort Edward, under captains Folsom and M'Gennis, fell in with the baggage of the enemy, and routed the guard which had been placed over it. Soon after- 296 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XI. wards, the retreating army of Dieskau approached, and was gallantly attacked by the Americans. This unexpected attack from an enemy whose numbers were unknown, completed the confusion of the de- feated army, which, abandoning its baggage, fled to- wards the posts on the lake.* The repulse of Dieskau, magnified into a splendid victory, had some tendency to remove the depression of spirits occasic ned by the defeat of Braddock, and to inspire the provincials with more confidence in themselves. General Johnson, who was wounded in the engagement, received very solid testimonials of the gratitude and liberality of his country. Five thousand pounds sterling, and the title of baronet, were the rewards of his service. This success was not improved. The hopes and expectations of the public u ere not gratified ; and the residue of the campaign W4s spent in fortifying the camp. Massachusetts pressed a winter campaign ; but when her commissioners met those of Connecti- cut and the lieutenant governor and council of New York, it was unanimously aj^reed that the army un- der general Johnson should be discharged, except six hundred men to garrison fort Edward, on the great carrying place between the Hudson and lake George, and fort William Henry on that lake. The French took possession of Ticonderoga, and fortified it. * Minot. Belkuap. Entic, AMERICAN COLONIKS. 397 The expedition against Niagara and fort Frontig chap x*- nac, u as also defeated by delays in making the prepa- Expt-.i.tion r- • oi'iTi against Nia- rations necessary tor its prosecution. ISh.rley did notgara. reach Oswego till late in August. After ascertaining the state of the garrison, he determined to abandon that part of the enterprise which respected fort Fron- tignac, and to proceed ngainst Niagara. While em- ployed in the embarkation of his troops on the lake, the rains set in with such violence as to suspend his operations until the season was so far advanced that the attempt against Niagara was also relinquished, and Shirley returned to Albany.* Thus terminated the campaign of 1755. It open- ed with so decided a superiority of force on the part of the English, as to promise the most important ad- vantages. But, if we exce|)t the expulsion of the French from Nova Scotia, no single enterprise was crowned with success. Great exertions were made by the northern colf)nies, but their eff )rts were pro- ductive of no benefit. From the want of one gene- ral superintending authority in their councils, which could contemplate and control the different parts of the system, which could combine all their operations, and direct them with effect towards the attainment of the object pursued, every thing fiiiled. Such de- la) s and deficiencies were experienced that, though a considerable force was in motion, it could not be bnjught to the point against which it was to act, until the season for action was over ; nor execute the plans * Minot. Btilknap. Entic. Pp 298 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XL which were concerted until the opportunity had passed away. The system adopted by the British cabinet, for conducting the war in America, left to the colonial governments to determine, what number of men each should bring into the field ; but required them to sup- port their own troops, and to contribute to the support of those sent from Great Britain to their assistance. But this system could not be enforced. The requi- sitions of the minister were adopted, rejected, or mo- dified, at the discretion of the government on which they were made ; and, as no rule of apportionment had been adopted, each colony was inclined to con- sider itself as having contributed more than its equal share towards the general object, and as having re- ceived, less than its just proportion, of the attention and protection of the mother country. This temper produced a slow and reluctant compliance on the part of some, which enfeebled and disconcerted enter- prises, for the execution of which the resources of several were to be combined. Distress of In the mean time the whole frontier, as far as North the fron- ,-,-,. i i • tiers. Carolina, was exposed to the depredations of the sa- vages, who were, almost universally, under the influ- ence of the French. Their bloody incursions were made in all directions, and many settlements were en- tirely broken up. It is a curious and singular fact that, while hostili- ties were thus carried on by France and England against each other in America, the relations of peace AMERICAN COLONIES. S99 and amity were preserved between them in Europe, chap xr Each nation had, in consequence of the military ope- rations in 1754, determined to fit out a considerable armament to aid the efforts made in its colonies ; and, when it was understood that admiral Boscawen was ordered to intercept that of France, the Due de Mire- poix, the French ambassador at London, complained of the proposed measure, and gave formal notice that the King his master would consider the first gun fired at sea, as a declaration of war. On receiving intelli- gence of the capture of a part of the squadron by Boscawen, the French minister at the court of St. James was recalled without asking an audience of leave ; upon which, letters of marque and reprisal were issued by the British government. This prompt and vigorous measure had much influence on the war, which was declared, in form, the following spring. General Shirley, on his return to Albany after the close of the campaign in 1755, received a commis- sion appointing him commander in chief of the King's ^ forces in North America. A meeting of all the go- vernors was immediately called at New York, for the purpose of concerting a plan for the ensuing campaign. Operations equally extensive with those proposed for the preceding campaign were again contemplated. To ensure their success, it v^ as determined to raise ten thousand men, for the expedition against Crown Point; six thousand, for that against Niagara ; and three thou- sand, for that against fort Do Qnesne. To favour the operations of this formidable force, it was farther 300 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XI. fletermined that two thousand men should advance 1755. up the Kennebec, destroy the settlement on the Chau- diere, and, descending to the mouth of that river, keep all that part of Canada in alarm. In the mean time, it was proposed to take advan- tage of the season when the lake should be frozen, to seize Ticonderoga, in order to facilitate the enterprise agninst Crown Point. This project was defeated by the unusual mildness of the winter ; and, about the middle of January, general Shirley repaired to Bos- ton in order to make the necessary preparations for the ensuing campaign. Such was the solicitude to accomplish the objects in contemplation, and so deep an interest did the co- lonists take in the war, that every nerve was strained, to raise and equip the number of men required. 1756. Having made in Massachusetts all the preparations for the next campaign, so far as depended on the go- vernment, Shirley repaired to Albany, where he was Command superseded* by major general Abercrombie ; who, on Lord soon after\\ards, yielded the command to the earl of Loudoun. Early in the year, that nobleman had been appointed to the command of all his majesty's forces in North America ; and extensive powers, civil as well as mililarv, had been conferred on him. But he did not arrive at Albany until midsummer. In the spring, the provincial troops destined for the expedition as^ainst Crown Point, were assembled in the neighbourhood of lake George. They were found • He was also recalled from his government. AMERICAN COLONIES. 301 not much to exceed seven thousand men ; and even <"h \v. xi. this number was to be reduced in order to garrison posts in the rear. This army being too weak to ac- complish its object, major general VVinslow, who commanded it, declared himself unable to proceed on the expedition without reinforcements. The arrival of a body of British troops, with general Abercrombie, removed this difficulty ; but another occurred which still farther suspended the enterprise. The regulations respecting rank had given great disgust in America ; and had rendered it disagreeable and difficult to carry on any military operations which required a junction of British and provincial troops. When consulted on this delicate subject, VVinslow assured general Abercrombie of his apprehensions that, if the result of the junction should be to place the provincial troops under British officers, it would produce general discontent, and perhaps desertion. His officers concurred in this opinion; and it w as final- ly agreed that British troops should succeed the pro- vincials in the posts then occupied by them, so as to enable the whole colonial force to proceed under Winslow, against Crown Point. On the arrival of the earl of Loudoun, this subject was revived. The question was seriously propound- ed, *' whether the troops in the several colonies of New England, armed with his majesty's arms, would, in obedience to his commands signified to them, act in conjunction with his European troops ; and under the command of his commander in chief?" The d02 HISTORY OF THE ^^5AE;2y. colonial officers answered this question in the affirma- tive ; but entreated it as a favour of his lordship, as the New England troops had been raised on particu- lar terms, that he would permit them, so far as might consist with his majesty's service, to act separately. This request was acceded to ; but before the army could be put in motion, the attention both of the Eu- ropeans and provincials, was directed to their own de- fence. Monteaim Mousicur de Moutcalm, an able officer, who sue- go. ceeded Dieskau in the command of the French troops in Canada, sought to compensate by superior activity, for the inferiority of his force. While the British and Americans were adjusting their difficulties respecting rank, and deliberating whether to attack Niagara or fort du Quesne, Montcalm advanced at the head of about five thousand Europeans, Canadians, and In- dians, against Oswego. In three days he brou^^ht up his artillery, and opened a battery which played on the fort vvith considerable effi^ct. Colonel Mercer, the commanding officer, was killed ; and, in a few hours, the place was declared by the engineers to be no longer tenable. The garrison, consisting of the regi- ments of Shirley and Pepperel, amounting to sixteen hundred men, supplied with provisions for five months, capitulated, and became prisoners of war. A respec- table naval armament, then on the lake, was also cap- tured. The fort at Oswego had been erected in the coun- try of the Five Nations, and had been viewed by them AMERICAN COLONIES^ 303 with some degree of jealousy. Montcalm, actuated chapxi. by a wise policy, destroyed it in their presence ; de- claring at the same time, that the French wished only to enable them to preserve their neutrality, and would, therefore, make no other use of the rights of conquest, than to demolish the fortresses which the English had erected in their country to overawe them. The British general, disconcerted at this untoward event, abandoned all his plans of offensive operations. General Winslow was ordered to relinquish his in- tended expedition, and to fortify his camp, and en- deavour to prevent the enemy from penetrating into the country by the way of South bay, or Wood creek. Major general Webb, w ith fourteen hundred men, was posted at the great carrying place ; and, to secure his rear, sir William Johnson, with one thou- sand militia, was stationed at the German flats. These dispositions being made, the colonies were strenuously urged to reinforce the army. It was re- presented to them that, should any disaster befal Winslow, the enemy might be enabled to overrun the country, unless opposed by a force much supe- rior to that in the field.* Durinp; this state of apprehensive inactivity, theSmaii^lbx ° ^^ ■" ill Albany. • The northern colonies had been enabled to attend to these representa- tions, and, in some degree to comply with the requisitions made on them, by having received from the British government, in the course of the summer, a considerable sum of money as a reimbursement for the extraordinary expenses of the preceding year. One hundred and fifteen thousand pounds sterling had been appoitioned among them, and this sum gave new vigour and energy to their councils. 3()4j history of the crT\T> TT. small-pox broke out in Albany. This enemy was more dreaded by the provincials than Montcalm himself. So ^reat was the alarm, that it was found necessary to garrison the posts in that quarter, entirely with British troops, and to discharge all the provin- cials except a regiment raised jn New York. Thus terminated for a second time, in defeat and utter disappointment, the sanguine hopes which the colonists had formed of a brilliant and successful campaign. After all their expensive and laborious pre{)arations, not an effort had been made to drive the invaders of the country even from their out-post at Ticondcroga. The expedition to lake Ontario had not been com- menced ; and no preparations had been made for that against fort Du Q.iesne. The colonies of Pennsyl- vania, Maryland, and Virginia, far from contemplat- ing offensive operations, had been unable to defend themselves ; and their frontiers were exposed to all the horrors of Indian warfare. The expedition up the Kennebec was also aban- doned. Thus, no one enterprise contemplated at the opening of the campaign, was carried into execution.* 1757. About the middle of January, the governors of the northern provinces were convened in a military coun- cil at Boston. The earl of Loudoun opened his pro- positions to them with a speech in which he attril)uied all the disasters that had been sustained, to the colo- nies ; and in uhich he proposed that New England • Minot. Bclkuap. Entic. AMERICAN COLONIES. 305 should raise four thousand men for the ensuinsr cam-^lILiLZI: 1/5/. paign. Requisitions proportionably large were also made on New York and New Jersey. The ill success which had, thus far, attended the Campaign ' . , of 1757. combined arms of Great Britain and her colonies, did not discourage them. Their exertions to bring a powerful force into the field were repeated ; and the winter was employed in preparations for the ensuing campaign. The requisitions of lord Loudoun were complied with ; and he found himself, in the spring, at the hand of a respectable army. Some important enterprise against Canada, when the armament ex- pected from Europe should arrive, was eagerly anti- cipated ; and the most sanguine hopes of success were again entertained. In the beginning of July, admiral Holbourne reach- ^''"^•'•ai ed Halifax with a powerful squadron, and reinforce- ;>rnves. ment of five thousand British troops commanded bv George Viscount Howe, and, on the 6th of the same month, the earl of Loudoun sailed from New York with six thousand regulars. A junction of these for mi- b joined by dable armaments was effected without opposition, anddoun, the colonists looked forward with confidence for a decisive blow which would shake the power of France in America. The plan of this campaign varied from that which Jl'^^^^^^' had been adopted in the preceding years. The vasfs^^'stLou- * *^ ^ "^ isbourg re- and complex movements heretofore proposed, were ''nqu'siied. no longer contemplated, and offensive operations were to be confined to a single object. Leaving the posts Qq 306 HISTORY OF THE 5!I4?:2ELon the lakes strongly garrisoned, the British general determined to direct his whole disposable force against Louisbourg ; and fixed on Halifax as the place of rendezvous for the fleet and army. After assembling the land and naval forces at this place, information was received that a fleet had lately arrived from France, and that Louisbourg was so powerfully defended as to render any attempt upon it hopeless. In consequence of this intelligence the en- terprise was deferred until the next year ; the general and admiral returned to New York in August ; and the provincials were dismissed. The French general, feeling no apprehension for Louisbourg, determined to avail himself of the ab- sence of a large part of the British force, and to ob- tain complete possession of lake George. With an army collected chiefly from the garrisons of Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent forts ; amount- ing, with the addition of Indians, and Canadians, to nine thousand men, the marquis de Montcalm laid siege to fort William Henry. That place was well fortified, and garrisoned by three thousand men ; and derived additional security from an army of four thou- sand men at fort Edwards, under the command of major general Webb. Notwithstanding the strength Fort vvii- of the place and its means of defence, Montcalm urged taken. "^^ his approaches with so much vigour, that articles of capitulation, surrendering the fort, artillery, and stores, and stipulating that the garrison should not serve against his most christian majesty or his allies for the AMERICAN COLONIES. 307 space of eighteen months, were signed within six days after its investment. When this important place was surrendered, the commander in chief had not returned from HaHfax. General Webb, alarmed for fort Edward, applied for reinforcements ; and the utmost exertions were made to furnish the aids he required. The return of the army to New York on the last of August, dispelled all fear of an invasion, and enabled the general, who contemplated no farther active operations, to dismiss the provincials. Unsuccessful in all his attempts to gather laurels from the common enemy, the earl of Loudoun en- gaged in a controversy with Massachusetts ; in the commencement of v\hich, he displayed a degree of vigour which had been kept in reserve for two cam- paigns. This controversy is thus stated by Mr. Minot. Upon information from the governor that a regi- ment of Highlanders was expected in Boston, the general court provided barracks for the accommoda- tion of one thousand men at Castle Island. Soon afterwards, several officers arrived from Nova Scotia to recruit their regiments. Finding it impracticable to perform this service while in the barracks at the castle, they applied to the justices of the peace to quarter and billet them, as provided by act of parlia- ment. The justices refused to grant this request, on the principle that the act did not extend to the colo- nies. When informed of this refusal, lord Loudoun CHAP XI. 1757. 308 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. XI . addressed a letter to the justices, insisting perempto- rily on the right, as the act did, in his opinion, extend to America, and to every part of the King's dominions, where die necessities of the people should oblige him to send his troops. He concluded a long disser- tation on the question in the following decisive terms, " that having used gentleness and patience, and con- futed their arguments, without effect, they having re- turned to their first mistaken plan, their not comply- ing would lay him under the necessity of taking mea- sures to prevent the whole continent from being thrown into a state of confusion. As nodiing was want- ing to set things right, but the justices doing their duty (for no act of the assembly was necessary or wanting for it) he had ordered the messenger to remain only forty-eight hours in Boston ; and if on his return he found things not setded, he would instantly order into Boston the three battalions from New York, Long Island, and Connecticut ; and if more were wanting, he had two in the Jerseys at hand, beside those in Pennsylvania. As public business obliged him to take another route, he had no more time left to settle this material affair, and must take the necessary steps before his departure, in case they were not done by themselves." The general court passed a law for the purpose of removing the inconveniences of which the officers complained : but, this law not equalling the expecta- tions of lord Lfuidcnm, he communicated his dissatis- faction in a letter to the governor, which was laid be- AMERICAN COLONIES. 309 fore the assembly, who answered by an address to his excellency in which the spirit of their forefathers seemed to revive. They again asserted that the act of parliament did not extend to the colonies ; and that they had for this reason enlarged the barracks at the casde, and passed a law for the benefit of recruiting parties, as near the act of parliament as the circum- stances of the country would admit ; that such a law was necessary to give power to the magistrates, and they were willing to make it, whenever his majesty's troops were necessary for their defence. They as- serted their natural rights as Enghbhmen ; that by the royal charter, the powers and privileges of civil go- vernment were granted to them ; that their enjoyment of these was their support under all burdens, and would animate them to resist an invading enemy to the last. If their adherence to their rights and privi- leges should, in any measure, lessen the esteem which his lordship had conceived for them, it would be their great misfortune ; but that they would have the satis- faction of reflecting that, both in their words and ac- tions, they had been governed by a sense of duty to his majesty, and faithfulness to the trust committed to them. This address being forwarded to lord Loudoun, he affected to rely on their removing all difficulties in future, and not only countermanded the march of the troops, but condescended to make some conciliatory observations respecting the zeal of the province in his majesty's service. For these the two houses made ai^ CHAP. XI . 1757. 310 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. XI . ample return in a message to the governor, in which they disavowed any intention of lessening their depen- dence on parliament ; and expressly acknowledged the authority of all acts which concerned, and extend- ed to, the colonies. This explicit avowal of sentiments so different from those which Massachusetts had long cherished re- specting her connexion with the mother country, would induce a belief that she had recently become more colonial in her opinions. This was probably the fact ; but Mr. Minot, who may be presumed to have been personally acquainted with the transaction, does not attribute to that cause entirely, the conciliating temper manifested at the close of a contest, which had commenced with such appearances of asperity. Mas- sachusetts had made large advances for the prosecu- tion of the war, for which she expected re-imburse- ments from parliament ; and was not willing, at such a juncture, to make impressions unfavourable to the success of her claims. ti. AMERICAN COLONIES. 311 CHAP. XII CHAPTER XII. PreparatioJis for the campaign of IV/^S. — Admiral Boscawen and general Amherst arrive at Hal fax. — Plaji of the campaign. — Expedition against Loiiishourg., Ticonderoga, and Crown Point. — Ge- neral Ahercrombie repulsed under the walls of Ti- conderoga. — Fort Frontignac taken. — Expedition against fort Du Quesne. — Preparations for the cam- paign of 1759. — General Amherst succeeds general Ahercrombie. — Plan of the campaign. — Ticondero- ga and Crown Point taken. — Army goes into win- ter quarters. — French repulsed at Oswego. — De- feated at JViagara. — JVmgara taken. — Expedition ■ against Quebec. — Check to the English army. — Battle on the Plains of Abraham. — Death of JFolf and Montcalm. — Quebec capitulates. — Gari'isoned by the English under the command of general Mur- ray. — Attempt to recover Quebec. — Battle near Sil- lery. — Quebec besieged by Monsieur Levi. — Siege raised. — Montreal capitulates. — PFar with the south- ern Indians. — Battle near the town of Etchoe. — Grant defeats them and burns their towns. — Treaty with the Cherokees. — IFar with Spain. — Success of the English. — Peace. The affairs of great Britain in North America wore I'ss. SI more gloomy aspect, at the close of the campaign 312 HISTORY OP THE CHAP xii. of 1757^ than at any former period. By the acquisi- tion of fort William Henry, the French had obtained complete possession of the lakes Champlain, and George. By the destruction of Oswego, they had ac- quired the dominion of those lakes which connect the St. Lawrence with the waters of the Mississippi, and unite Canada to Louisiana. By means of fort Du Quesne, they maintained their ascendency over the Indians, and held undisturbed possession of the coun- try west of the Allegheny mountains; while the Eng- lish settlers were driven to the blue ridge. The great object of the war in that quarter was gained, and France held the country for which hostilities had been commenced. With inferior numbers, the French had been victorious in every campaign, and had uniform- ly gained ground on the English colonies. Nor were they less successful elsewhere. The flame of war which was kindled in America, had communicated itself to Europe and Asia. In every quarter of the world where hostilities had been carried on, the Brit- ish arms were attended with defeat and disgrace. But this inglorious scene was about to be succeed- ed by one of unrivalled brilliancy. From the point of extreme depression to which their affairs had sunk, the brightest era of British history was to commence. F'ar from being broken by misfortune, the spirit of the nation was high ; and more of indignation than dismay was inspired by the ill success of their arms. The public voice had, at length, made its way to the throne, and had forced, on the unwilling monarch, a minister AMERICAN COLONIES. 313 who has been justly deemed one of the greatest men£!iiL^ of the age in which he hved. Mr. Pitt had been long distinguished in the house of commons, for the boldness and the splendour of his eloquence. His parliamentary talents, and the in- dependent grandeur of his character, had given him a • great ascendancy in that body, and had made him the idol of the nation. In 1756, he had been introduced into the cabinet, but could not long retain his place. The public affection followed him out of office ; and, the national disasters continuing, it was found imprac- ticable to conduct the complicated machine of govern- ment without his aid. In the summer of 1757, an administration was formed, which conciliated the great contending interests in parliament ; and Mr. Pitt was placed at its head. The controling superiority of his character gave him the same ascendancy in the cabi- net which he had obtained in the house of commons; and he seemed to dictate the measures of the nation. Only a short time was required to show that qualities, seldom united in the same person, w^ere combined in him ; and his talents for action seemed to eclipse even those he had displayed in debate. His plans par- taking of the proud elevation of his own mind, and the exalted opinion he entertained of his countrymen, were always grand ; and the means he employed for their execution, were always adequate to the object. Possessing the public confidence without limitation, he commanded all the resources of the nation, and drew liberally from the public purse ; but the money Rr 31^ HISTORY OF THE CFVPjm v\ras always faithfully and judiciously applied to the public service. Too great in his spirit, too lofty in his views, to become the instrument of faction; when placed at the head of the nation, he regarded only the interest of the natitjn ; and, overlooking the country or the party, which had given birth to merit, he searched for merit only, and employed it wherever it was found. From the elevation of the house of Brunswick to the British throne, a great portion of the people, under the denomination of tories, had been de- graded, persecuted, and oppressed. Superior to this narrow and short sighted policy, Mr. Pitt sought to level these enfeebling and irritating distinctions, and lo engage every British subject in the cause of his country. Thus commanding both the strength and the wealth of the kingdom, with perhaps greater talents, he possessed certainly greater means, than any of his predecessors.* In no part of his majesty's dominions was the new administration more pojmlar than in his American colonies. Deeply and peculiarly interested in the events of the war, they looked for a change of fortune from this change of men, and cheerfully made every exertion, of v\hi(.h they were capal)le, for the ensuing campaign. The circular letter of Mr. Pitt assured the several governors that, to repair the losses and disappointments of the last inactive campaign, the cabinet was determined to send a formidable force, to operate by sea and land, against the French in * Russel. AMERICAN COLONIES. 315 America ; and he called upon them to raise as larce ^!ii^JQ! 1 I- p • 1 • I • • ' 1758. bodieis of men, within their respective govermnents, as the number of inhabitants might allow. Arms, ammunition, tents, provisions, and boats, would, he said, be f rnished by the crown ; and he required the colonies to clothe and pay their men ; assurintj them, at the same time, that it should be recommended to parliament to make them compensation. The legislature of Massachusetts ajjreed to furnish '"'•'^=*f i"^' seven thousand men ; Connecticut five thousand ; and f'"i'i<' «am- Nevv Hampshire three thousand. These troops, great as were their numbers, when compared with the population of the country, were in the field early in May ; and the transports for carryiui^ those of Mas- sachusetts to Halifax, were ready to sail in fifteen days after they were engaged. Near one-thiril of the effective men of that province, are said to have been in military service; and the taxes were so heavy that, in the capital, they amounted to two-thirds of the in- come of real estate.* In the mother country too, the utmost activity was transfused into every department. Her fleets blocked up in the French ports the men and stores designed for Canada, and captured, on the seas, most of those which had been able to make their way into the ocean. At the same time, a powerful armament, equipped with unusual expedition, sailed from her Admiral ports. Early in the spring, admiral Boscavven ar- and gmerai rived at Halifax with a formidable fleet, and twelve ardve.'^ • Minot. 316 HISTORY OF THE CHvpjfii thousand British troops, under the command of eene- ral Amherst. The earl of Loudoun had returned to England, and the command of the British and American forces in the colonies, had devolved on general Abercrombie. That officer found himself at the head of the most powerful army ever seen in the new world. His whole numbers, comprehending troops of every de- scription, have been computed by Mr. Belsham at fifty thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were provincials. The objects of the campaign were no longer de- feated by delays. The preparations for action were made during the winter, and military operations com- menced in the spring. Plan of the Three cxpedltions wcre proposcd. The first was campaign, ^g^jpjgj Louisbourg ; the second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; and the third against fort du Qiiesne.* The army destined an;ainst Louisbourg, consisting of fourteen thousand men, was commanded by major general Amherst ; and the fleet, consisting of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, by admiral SlmslSu. Boscawen. On the 24th of May, the troops embark- Lsbourg. gj ^^ Halifax ; and, on the 2d of June, arrived before Lou'sbourg. The use made by Great Britain of her naval supe- riority wa» felt in no part of the possessions of his most christian majesty more sensibly than in Louisbourg. • Minot. Belknap. AMERICAN COLONIES. 317 The garrison of that important place was composed chap, xii of only two thousand five hundred regulars, aided by six hundred militia. The harbour was defended by five ships of the line ; one ship of fifty guns ; and five frigates, three of which were sunk across the mouth of the basin. Soon after investment of the place, one of the large ships was set on fire by a bomb from a battery on the light house point, and blown up. The flames were communicated to two others which shared the same fate. The English admiral then sent a detachment of six hundred seamen, in boats, into die harbour, un- der captains La Forcey and Balfour, to make an at- tempt on the two remaining ships of the line, which still kept possession of the basin. This service was executed with great gallantry. One, which was aground, was destroyed, and the other was towed off" in triumph. The harbour being in possession of the English, and several practicable breaches made in the works, the place was no longer deemed defensible, and the governor was under the necessity of capitulating. The garrison became prisoners of war, and Louis- bourg, with its artillery, prov isions, and military stores ; and also Island Royal, St. Johns, and their dependencies, were surrendered to the English, who encountered no farther difficulty in taking possession of the whole island.* This important acquisition was made with the loss * Minot. Belknap. Belsham. Russel. 318 HISTOEY OF THE CHAP. XII qf t5etxveen five and six hundred men, killed and 1758. wounded. The joy it diffused throui>;hout the colo- nies, long familiarised to disaster, was in proportion to their former disappointments. tmderola.' "^^^ expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was conducted by general Abercrombie in per- son. His army, consisting of near sixteen thousand effectives, of whom nine thousand were provincials, was attended by a formidable train of artillery, and possessed every requisite to ensure success. On the 5th of July, he embarked on lake George, and reached the landing place early the next morning. A disembarkation being effected without opposition, the troops were immediately formed into four columns, the British in the centre, and the Provincials on the flanks ; in which order they marched towards the ad- vanced guard of the French, composed of one batta- lion posted in a log camp, which, on the approach of the English, made a precipitate retreat. Abercrombie continued his march towards Ticon- deroga, with the intention of investing that place ; but, the woods being thick, and the guides unskilful, his columns were thrown into confusion, and, in some measure, entangled with each other. In this situation lord Howe, at the head of the right centre column, fell in with a part of the advanced guard of the French, which, in retreating from lake George, was likevvise lost in the wood. He immediately attacked and dispersed them ; killing several, and taking one AMERICAN COLONIES. 819 hundred and forty-eight prisoners, among whom were chap, xii five officers. This small advantage was purchased at a dear rate. Though only two officers, on the side of the British, were killed, one of these was lord Howe himself, who fell on the first fire. This gallant young nobleman had endeared himself to the whole army. The Bri- tish and provincials alike lamented his death ; and the assembly of Massachusetts passed a vote for the erection of a superb cenotaph to his memory, in the collegiate church of Westminster, among the heroes and patriots of Great Britain. Without farther opposition, the English army took possession of the post at the Saw Mills, within two miles of Ticonderoga. This fortress, which com- mands the communication between the two lakes, is encompassed on three sides by water, and secured in front by a morass. The ordinary garrison amounting to four thousand men, v\ as stationed under the can- non of the place, and covered by a breast-work, the approach to which had been rendered extremely diffi- cult by trees felled in front, with their branches out- ward, many of which were sharpened so as to answer the purpose of chevaux-de-frize. This body of troops was rendered still more formidable by its general than by its position. It was commanded by the marquis de Montcalm. Having learned from his prisoners the strength of the army under the walls of Ticonderoga, and that a reinforcement of three thousand men was daily ex- 320 HISTORY OF THE CHAPxn pectgj^ general Abercrombie thought it advisable to storm the place before this reinforcement should ar- rive. Being informed by an engineer directed to re- connoitre the works, that they were unfinished, and were practicable, he resolved, without waiting for his artillery, to storm the lines ; and the dispositions for an assault were instantly made. The rangers, the light infantry, and the right wing of the provincials, were ordered to form a line out of cannon shot of the intrenchments, with their right ex- tending to lake George, and their left to lake Cham- plain. The regulars who were to storm the works^ were formed in the rear of this line. The piquets were to begin the attack, and to be sustained by the grenadiers ; and the grenadiers by the battalions. The whole were ordered to march up briskly, to rush upon the enemy's fire, and to reserve their own until they had passed the breast-work. The* troops marched to the assault with great intre- pedity ; but their utmost efforts could make no im- pression on the works. The impediments in front of the intrenchments retarded their advance, and exposed them, while entangled among the boughs of the trees, to a very galling fire. The breast work itself was eight or nine feet high, and much stronger than had been represented ; so that the assailants, who do not General appear to havc been furnished with ladders, were un- blerl^pu"^.! ^^^'^ to pass it. After a contest of near four hours, w" n^orri- ^"^ several repeated attacks, general Abercrombie conderoga. ordered a retreat. AMERICAN COLONIES. 321 The army retired to the camp from which it hadGHlH^ marched in the morning ; and, the next day, resumed its former position on the south side of lake Georj^e.* In this rash attempt, the killed and wounded of the English amounted to near two thousand men, of whom not quite four hundred were provincials. The French were covered during the whole action, and their loss was inconsiderable. f Entirely disconcerted by this unexpected and bloody repulse, general Abercrombie relinquished his designs against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Searching however for the means of repairing the misfortune, if not the disgrace, sustained by his arms, he readily acceded to a proposition made by colonel Bradstreet, for an expedition against fort Frontignac. This fortress stands on the north side of Ontario, at the point where the St. Lawrence issues from that lake ; and though a post of real importance, had been left, in a great degree, undefended. The detachment designed for this service was com- manded by colonel Bradstreet. It consisted of three thousand men, of whom two hundred were British, and was furnished with eight pieces of cannon, and three mortars. Colonel Bradstreet embarked on the Ontario at Os- Fort Fi^oq- wego, and on the 25th of August, landed within one ken. mile of the fort. In two days, his batteries were opened at so short a distance that almost every shell took effect ; and the governor, finding the place ab- • Letter of general Abercrombie, f Minot. Belknap. S S HISTORY OF THE CHAP. XII qptintelv untenable, surrendered at discretion. The 1758. ' • Indians havinj^ deserted, the prisoners amounted only to one hundred and ten men. A great quantity of military stores, together with nine armed vessels, mounting from eight to eighteen guns, also fell into the hands of the English.* After destroying the fort and vessels, and such stores as could not be brought off, colonel Bradstreet returned to the army which undertook nothing farther during the campaign. Expedition y^c demolition of fort Frontignac and of the stores against fort o du QufeBiie. which had been collected there, contributed material- ly, to the success of the expedition ag;ainst fort du Quesne. The conduct of this enterprise had been entrusted to general Forbes, who marched from Phi- ladelphia, about the beginning of July, at the head of the main body of the army, destined for this service, in order to join colonel Bouquet at Raystown, So much time was employed in preparing to move from this place, that the Virginia regulars, commanded by colonel Washington, were not ordered to join the British troops until the month of September. It had been determined not to use the road made by Brad- dock, but to cut a new one from Raystown to fort " du Quesne. About the time this resolution was formed, and before the army was put in motion, ma- jor Grant was detached from the advanced post at Loyal Hannan with eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fort and the adjacent country. This gentleman • Letter of colonel Bradstreet. AMERICAN COLONIES. 333 invited an attack from the ararrison, the resnlt pfCHVp.xii ^ 1758. which was that upwards of three hundred of the de- tachment were killed and wounded, and major Grant himself was made a prisoner.* Earlv in October general Forbes moved from Rays- town ; but the obstructions to his march were so i>reat that he did not reach fort du Q.iesne until late in November. The garrison, being deserted by the Indians, and too weak to maintain the place aarainstFort du the formidable army which u as approaching, aban- evacuated. doned the fort the evening before the arrival of the British, and escaped down the Ohio in boats. The Knglish placed a garrison in it, and changed its name to Pittsburg, in compliment to their popular minister. The acquisition of this post was of great importance to Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Its pos- session had given the French an absolute control over the Indians of the Ohio, who were accustomed to assemble at that place, for the purpose of making their destructive incursions into those colonies. Their route was marked by fire and the scalping knife ; and neither age nor sex could afFv)rd exemp- tion from their ferocity. The expulsion of the French gave the English entire possession of the country, and produced a complete revolution in the disposition of , the Indians inhabiting it. Finding the current of success to be running against their ancient friends, they were willing to reconcile themselves to the most MSS. 324} HISTORY OF THE CHAP xn powerFnl ; and all the Indians between the lakes and the Ohio concluded a peace with the En'glish. Although the events of 1758 did not equal the ex- pectations which had been formed from the force brought into the field, the advantages were decisive. The whole country constituting the original cause of the war, had changed masters, and was in possession of the English. The acquisition of the island of Cape Breton opened the way to Quebec ; and their success in the west enabled them to direct all their force against Canada. The colonies, encouraged by this revolution in their affairs, and emboldened, by the conquests already made, to hope for others still more extensive, prepared vigorously on the application of Mr. Pitt, for the farther prosecution of the war. General Late in the year 1758, general Abercrombie was succeeds succeeded in the command of the army by major ibercrom- general Amherst, who formed the bold plan of con- ^'^* quering Canada* in the course of the ensuing cam- paign. 1759. The decided superiority of Great Britain at sea, and the great exertions of France in other quarters of the world, still prevented the arrival of such rein- forcements as were necessary for the preservation of his most christian majesty's possessions in North Plan of the America. To take advantage of this weakness, the English proposed to enter Canada by three different routes, with three powerful armies ; and to attack all the strong holds by va hich that country was defended. It was determined that one division of the army, to AMERICAN COLONIES, S25 be eomttianded by brigadier general Wolf, a young ^HAPxn officer who "had signalised himself in the siege of Louisbourg, should ascend the St. Lawrence, and lay siege to Quebec. A strong fleet was to escort the troops destined for this enterprise, and to co-ope- rate with them. Major general Amherst was to lead the central and main army against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; After making himself master of these places, he was to proceed over lake Champlain, and by the way of Richlieu, to the St. Lawrence, and down that river, so as to effect a junction with general Wolfe before the walls of Quebec. From their combined force, the conqi est of the capital of Canada was expected. The third army was to be commanded by general Prideaux. Its first destination was against Niagara. After the reduction of this place, Prideaux was to embark on lake Ontario, and proceed down the St. Lawrence against Montreal. Should Montreal fall into his hands before the surrender of Quebec, he was to join the grand aruiy at that place.* It could not be expected that a plan so extensive and so complex, should succeed in all its parts ; and it was greatly to be apprehended, that the failure of one part might defeat the whole. But it suited the daring spirit which eminently distinguished the officers then commanding the British forces, and was entered upon "svith zeal and activity. As the other two expeditions, expecially that against • Miiiot. Belknap, Belsham. Russel. Entir^. 326 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XII Quebec, were supposed to depend greatly on the ce- lerity with u hich the movements of the main army should be made, general Amherst began his prepa- rations in the commencement of winter, for the enter- prise he was to undertake. Early in the spring, he transferred his head quarters from New York to Al- bany, where his troops were assembled by the last of Mas . Notwithstanding his continued exertions, the summer was far advanced before he could cross lake George ; nor did he reach Ticonderoga until the 22d Ticondero-of July. The liucs drawu around that place were ed, immediately abandoned, and the English took posses- sion of them. The French troops in this quarter being unequal to the defence of the posts they held, their object seems to have been, to embarrass and delay the inva- ding army ; but not to hazard any considerable dimi- nution of strength, by persevering in the defence of places until the retreat of the garrison should become impracticable. The hope was entertained, that by retreating from post to post, and making a show of intending to defend each, the advance of the English might be retarded, until the season for action on the lakes should pass away ; while the French would be gradually strengthened by concentration, and thus enabled to maintain some point, which would arrest the progress of Amherst down the St. Lawrence. In pursuance of this plan, as soon as the English had completed their arrangements for taking posses- AMERICAN COLONIES. 337 sion of lake Champlain, the garrison of Ticonderog^ chapxii. retreated to Crown Point. Early in the month of August, Amherst advanced to Crown Point, which was abandoned on his ap-an;ainst the measure, were transmitted by several of the provincial assem- blies to the board of trade in England, to be presented to his majesty immediately ; and to parliament, when that body should be convened. The house of repre- sentatives of Massachusetts instructed their agent to use his utmost endeavours to prevent the passage of the stamp act, or any other act levying taxes or im- positions of any kind on the American provinces. A committee was appointed to act in the recess of the general court, with instructions to correspond with the legislatures of the several colonies, to communicate to them the instructions given to the agent of Massa- chusetts, and to solicit their concurrence in similar measures. These legislative proceedings were, in many places, seconded by associations entered into by individuals, for diminishing the use of British manufactures.* The administration, perceiving the opposition to be encountered by adhering to the vote of the preced- ing session, informed the agents of the colonies in London that, if they would propose any other mode of raising the sum requiredf , their proposition would be accepted, and the stamp duty laid aside. The agents replied that they were not authorised to pro- pose any substitute, but were ordered to oppose the bill when it should be brought into the house, by petitions questioning the right of parliament to tax • Minot. t 100,000/. sterling. AMERICAN COLONIES, 359 the colonies. This reply placed the controversy on ^"'^^.^^^- ground which admitted of no compromise. Deter- mined to persevere in the system he had adopted, and believinpj successful resistance to be impossible, Mr. Grenville brought into parliament his celebrated act for imposing stamp duties in America ; and it passed both houses by great majorities, but not with- out animated debate. So little weight does the hu- man mind allow to the most conclusive arguments, when directed against the existence of power in our- selves, that general Conway is said to have stood alone* in denying the right claimed by parliament. This act excited serious alarm throughout the colo- nies. It was sincerely believed to wound vitally the constitution of the country, and to destroy the most sacred principles of liberty. Combinations against its execution were formed ; and the utmost exertions were used to diffuse among the people a knowledge of the pernicious consequences which must flow from admitting that the colonists could be taxed by a le- gislature in which they were not represented. The assembly of Virginia was in session when the intelligence was received ; and, by a small majority, passed several resolutions introduced by Mr. Henry, and seconded by Mr. Johnson, f one of which asserts • Mr. Pitt was not in the house; and Mr. IngersoU, in his letter, states that Alderman Beckford joined general Conway. Mr. Belsham, therefore, who makes this statement, was probably mistaken. ■f See note No. 3, at the end of the volume. 7f 360 HISTORY OF THE CHAP xiiT . ti^e exclusive right of that assembly to lay taxes and impositions on the inhabitants of that colony.* On the passage of these resolutions, the governor dissolved the assembly ; and writs for new elections were issued. In almost every instance, the members who had voted in favour of the resolutions were re- elected, while those who had voted against them were generally excluded. The legislatures of several other colonies passed re- solutions similar to those of Virginia. The house of representatives of Massachusetts, contemplating a still more solemn and effectual expression of the ge- neral sentiment, recommended a congress of deputies from all the colonial assemblies, to meet at New "Vork the first Monday in October. Circular letters communicating this recommendation, were addressed to the respective assemblies wherever they were in session. New Hampshire alone, although concur- ring in the general opposition, declined sending members to the congress ; and the legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina were not in session. f In the meantime, the press teemed with the most animating exhortations to the people, to unite in de- fence of their liberty and property ; and the stamp officers were, almost universally, compelled to resign. At the time appointed, the commissioners from the assemblies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connec- Congressatticiit, Ncw York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties on the Delaware, Maryland, and * Prior documents. Virginia Gazette. f Minot, # AMERICAN COLONIES. SQi South Carolina assembled at New York ; and, having chap.xtti. chosen Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, their chairman, proceeded on the important objects for which they had convened. The first measure of congress was a declaration* of the rights and griev- ances of the colonists. This paper asserts their title to all the rights and liberties of natural born subjects within the kingdom of Great Britain; among the most essential of which are, the exclusive power to tax themselves, and the trial by jury. The act granting certain stamp and other duties in the British colonies was placed first on the list of grievances. Its direct tendency they said, was, by taxing the colonists without their consent, and by ex- tending the jurisdiction of courts of admiralty, to sub- vert their rights and liberties. They also addressed a petition to the King, and a memorial to each house of parliament. These papers were drawn with .temperate firm- ness. They express, unequivocally, the attachment of the colonists to the mother country ; and assert the rights they claim in the earnest language of con- viction. Having, in addition to these measures, recommended to the several colonies to appoint special agents, with instructions to unite their utmost endeavours in soli- citing a redress of grievances ; and directed their clerk to make out a copy of their proceedings for each colony, congress adjourned. f • See note No. 4, at the end of the volume. t Minot. Prior documents. Zz 363 HISTORY OF THE CHAP xiTi. 'jpy interest the people of Endand against the mea- sures of administration, associations were tormed tor the encouragement of domestic manufactures, and against the use of those imported from Great Britain. To increase their quantity of wool, the colonists de- termined to kill no lambs, and to use all the means in their power to multiply their flocks of sheep. To avoid the use of stamps, proceedings in the courts of justice were suspended ; and a settlement of all con- troversies by arbitration was strongly recommended. While this determined and systematic opposition M'as made by the thinking part of the community, Violence in somc riotous and disorderly meetings took place, es- towns!^^^ pecially in the large tow ns, which threatened serious consequences. Many houses were destroyed, much property injured, and several persons, highly respec- table in character and station, were grossly abused. Change of While these transactions were passing: in America, administia- _ ' ^. tion. causes entirely unconnected with the aflfairs of the co- lonies, produced a total revolution in the British cabi- net. The Grenville party was succeeded by an ad- ministration unfriendly to the plan for taxing the co- lonies without their consent. General Conway, one of the principal secretaries of state, addressed a cir- cular letter to the several governors, in which he cen- sured, in mild terms, the violent measures that had been adopted, and recommended to them, while they maintained the dignity of the crown and of par- liament, to observe a temperate and conciliatory con- AMERICAN COLONIES. 363 CHAPXm. 1765. duct towards the colonists, arid to endeavour, by per- suasive means, to restore the pubhc peace. Parlianjent was opened by a speech from the throne, ^7^^- in which his majesty declared his firm confidence in their wisdom and zeal, which would, he doubted not, guide them to such sound and prudent resolutions, as might tend at once to preserve the constitutional rights of the British legislature over the colonies, and to restore to them that harmony and tranquillity which had lately been interrupted by disorders of the most dangerous nature.'' In the course of the debate in the house of com- mons, on the motion for the address, Mr. Pitt, in explicit terms, condemned the act for collecting stamp duties in America ; and avowed the opinion that par- liament had no right to tax the colonies. He assert- ed, at the same time, " the authority of that kingdom to be sovereign and supreme in every circumstance of government and legislation whatever." He main- tained the difficult proposition " that taxation is no part of the governing, or legislative power ; but that taxes are a voluntary gift and grant of the commons alone ;" and concluded an eloquent speech, by re- commending to the house, " that the stamp act be repealed, absolutely^ totally^ and immediately.^^ The opinions expressed by Mr. Pitt were warmly opposed by the late ministers. Mr. Grenville said, " that the disturbances in America were grov\ n to tumults and riots ; he doubted, they bordered on open rebellion ; and, if the doctrine he had heard that day repealed. 364; HISTORY OP THE CHAP xm. should be confirmed, he feared they would lose that 1766. ' •' , name to take that of revolution. Ihe government over them being dissolved, a revolution would take place in America." He contended that taxation was a part of the sovereign power ; — one branch of legis- lation ; and had been exercised over those who were not represented. He could not comprehend the dis- tinction between external and internal taxation ; and insisted that the colonies ought to bear a part of the burdens occasioned by a war for their defence. Stamp Rct The existing administration, however, concurred in sentiment with Mr. Pitt, and the act was repealed ; but its repeal was accompanied with a declaratory act, asserting the right of Great Britain to bind the colo- nies in all cases whatsoever. The intelligence of this event was received in America with general manifestations of joy. The assertion of the abstract principle of right gave many but little concern, because they considered it merely as a salvo for the wounded pride of the nation, and believed confidendy that no future attempt would be made to reduce it to practice. The highest honours were conferred on those parliamentary leaders who had exerted themselves to obtain a repeal of the act; and, in Virginia, the house of Burgesses voted a statue to his majesty, as an acknowledgment of their high sense of his attention to the rights and petitions of his people. Though all the colonies rejoiced at the repeal of the stamp act, the same temper did not prevail in all AMERICAN COLONIES. 365 of them. In the commercial cities of the north, thp cHAPXiir . 1766. regulations of trade, were nearly as odious as the stamp act itself. Political parties too had been form- ed, and had assumed a bitterness in some of the colo- nies, entirely unknown in others. These dispositions were not long concealed. The first measures of Massachusetts and of New York demonstrated that, in them, the reconciliation with the mother country was not cordial. The letter of secretary Conway, transmitting;^ the re- peal of the act imposing a duty on stamps, enclosed also a resolution of parliament declaring that those persons who had suffered injuries in consequence of their assisting to execute that act, ought to be com- pensated by the colony in which such injuries were sustained. This was chiefly in Massachusetts. The resolution of parliament was laid before the general court of that province, by governor Bernard, in a speech rather in the spirit of the late, than the present administration ; — rather calculated to irritate than assuage the angry passions that had been excited. The house of representatives resented his manner of addressing them ; and appeared more disposed to in- quire into the riots, and to compel those concerned in them to make indemnities, than to compensate the sufferers out of the public purse. But, after a second session, and some intimation that parliament would enforce its requisition, an act of pardon to the offen- ders, and of indemnity to the sufferers, was passed ; but was rejected by the King, because the colonial 366 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xin. assembly had no power, by their charter, to pass an act of general pardon, but at the instance of the crown.* In New York, where general Gage was expected with a considerable body of troops, a message was transmitted by the governor to the legislature, desiring their compliance with an act of parliament called " the mutiny act," which required that the colony in which any of his majesty's forces might be stationed, should provide barracks for them, and necessaries in their quarters. The legislature postponed the considera- tion of this message until the troops were actually ar- rived ; and then, after a second message from the go- vernor, reluctantly and partially complied with the requisitions of the act. At a subsequent session, the governor brought the subject again before the assembly, who determined that the act of parliament could be construed only to require that provision should be made for troops on a march, and not while permanently stationed in the country.! The reason assigned for not furnishing the accommodations required by the governor, implies the opinion that the act of parliament was rightfully obligatory ; and yet the requisitions of the mutiny act were unquestionably a tax ; and no essential distinc- tion is perceived between the power of parliament to levy a tax by its own authority, and to levy it through the medium of the colonial legislatures ; they having no right to refuse obedience to the act. It is remark- able that such inaccurate ideas should still have pre- * Minot. f Minot. Prior documents. Belshatn. AMERICAN COLONIES. 367 vailed, concerning the controling power of parliament chap xni . over the colonies. In England it was thought to manifest a very for- bearing spirit, that this instance of disobedience was punished with no positive penalties ; and that the ministers contented themselves with a law prohibiting the legislature of the province from passing any act, until it should comply, in every respect, with the re- quisitions of parliament. The persevering temper of Massachusetts not having found its way to New York, this measure produced the desired effect. Two companies of artillery, driven into the port of Boston by stress of weather, applied to the governor for supplies. He laid the application before his coun- cil, who advised that, *' in pursuance of the act of parliament" thesupplies required should be furnished. They were furnished, and the money to procure them was drawn from the treasury by the authority of the executive. On the meeting of the legislature, the house of re- i767. presentatives expressed in pointed terms their disap- probation of the conduct of the governor. Particular umbrage was given by the expression " in pursuance of an act of parliament ^ " After the repeal of the stamp act, they were surprised to find that this act, equally odious and unconstitutional, shcjuld remain in force. They lamented the entry of this reason for the advice of council the more, as it was an unwar- rantable and unconstitutional step which totally dis- abled them from testifying the same cheerfulness they 368 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIII. had always shown in granting to his majesty, of theii free accord, such aids as his service has from time to time required."* Copies of these messages were transmitted by governor Bernard to the minister, ac- companied by letters not calculated to diminish the unpleasantness of the communication. The idea of raising revenue in America, was so highly favoured in England, especially by the landed interest, that not even the influence of administration could have obtained a repeal of the stamp act, on the naked principle of right. Few were hardy enough to question the supremacy of parliament ; and the act receding from the practical assertion of the power to tax the colonists, deeply wounded the pride of the King, and of the nation. The temper discovered in some of the colonies was ill calculated to assuage the wound, which this measure had inflicted, on the haughty spirit of the countrv ; and is supposed to have contributed to the revival of a system, which had been reluctantly aban- doned. Charles Townshend, chancellor of the exchequer, said boastingly in the house of commons, " that he knew how to draw a revenue from the colonies with- out giving them offence.''-|- Mr. Grenville eagerly caught at the declaration, and urged this minister to pledge himself to bring forward the «neasure, at which he had hinted. During the sickness and absence of lord Chatham, the cabinet had decided on introduc- • Minot. t -Belsham. AMERICAN COLONIES. 369 ing a bill for imposing certain duties on tea, glass, paper, and painter^s colours, imported into the colo- nies from Great Britain ; and appropriating the money in the first instance, to the salaries of the officers of government. This bill was brought into parliament, and passed almost without opposition. The friends of America, in England, had distin- guished between internal and external taxation ; and the same distinction had been made in the colonies. But the discussions originating in the stamp act, while they diffused among the colonists a knowledge of their political rights, had inspired also more accu- rate ideas respecting them. These duties were plainly intended, not to regulate commerce, but to raise revenue, which would be as certainly collected from the colonists, as the duties on stamps could have been. The principle of the two measures was the same. Many of the Americans were too intelligent to be misguided by the distinc- tion between internal and external taxation, or by the precedents quoted in support of the right, for which parliament contended. This measure was consider- ed as establishing a precedent of taxation for the mere purpose of revenue, which might afterwards be ex- tended at the discretion of parliament ; and was spo- ken of as the entering wedge^ designed to make way for impositions too heavy to be borne. The appro- priation of the money did not lessen the odium of the tax. The colonists considered the dependence of the officers of government, on the colonial legislature, for 3 A CHAP XII I. 1767. 370 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xiTT. their salaries, as the best security for their attending- to the interests, and cultivating the aflfections of the provinces.* Yet the opinion that this act was uncon- stitutional, was not adopted so immediately, or so ge- nerally, as in the case of the stamp act. Many able political essays appeared in the papers, demonstrating that it violated the principles of the English constitu- tion and of English liberty, before the conviction be- came general, that the same principle which had be- fore been successfully opposed, was again approach- ing in a different form. The general court of Massachusetts, perceiving plainly that the claim to tax America was revived, and being determined to oppose it, addressed an ela- 1768. borate letter to Dennis de Berdt, agent for the house of representatives, detailing at great length, and with much weight of argument, all the objections to the Letters late acts of parliament. Letters were also addressed general to the carl of Shclbume and general Conway, se- veral mem- cretaries of state, to the marquis of Rockingham, lord mitfistra- Camden, the earl of Chatham, and the lords com- "°°' missioners of the treasury. These letters, while they breathe a spirit of ardent attachment to the British constitution, and to the British nation, manifest a per- fect conviction that their complaints were just. Conclusive as the arguments they contained might have appeared to Englishmen, if urged by themselves in support of their own rights, they had not much weight, when used to disprove the existence of their * Prior documents. AMERICAN COLONIES. 371 authority over others. The deep and solemn tone ofCHAPXin. conviction, however, conveyed in all these letters, ought to have produced a certainty that the principles assumed in them had made a strong impression, and would not be lightly abandoned. It ought to have been foreseen that with such a people, so determined, the conflict must be stern and hazardous : and, it was well worth the estimate, whether the object would compensate the means used to obtain it. The assembly also voted a petition to the King^, Petition to replete with professions of loyalty and attachment ; but stating, in explicit terms, their sense of the acts against which they petitioned. A proposition was next made for an address to the other colonies on the power claimed by parliament, which, after considerable debate, was carried in the affirmative ; and a circular letter to the assemblies of the several provinces, setting forth the proceedings of the house of representatives, was prepared and adopt- ed.* To rescue their measures from the imputation of systematic opposition to the British government, the house, without acknowledging the obligation of the mutiny act, complied with a requisition of the gover- nor to make a farther provision for one of the King's garrisons v\ithin the province. The governor, soon afterwards, prorogued the general court with an angry speech, not calculated to diminish the resentments of the house directed against himself; resentments * See note 5, at the end of the volume. 37® HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xm occasioned as much by the haughtiness of his man- ners, and a persuasion that he had misrepresented their conduct and opinions to ministers, as by the un- popular course his station required him to pursue.* The circular letter of the house of representatives of Massachusetts was v\ ell received in the other colo- nies. Thev approved the measures which had been taken, and readily united in them. They, too, peti- tioned the King against the obnoxious acts of parlia- ment, and instructed their several agents to use all proper means to obtain their repeal. Virginia trans- mitted a statement of her proceedingsf to her sister colonies ; and her house of Burgesses, in a letter to Massachusetts, communicating the representation made to parliament, say, " that they do not affect an independency of their parent kingdom, the prosperity of which they are bound, to the utmost of their abili- ties, to promote ; but cheerfully acquiesce in the au- thority of parliament to make laws for the preserving a necessary dependence, and for regulating the trade of the colonies ; yet they cannot conceive, and humbly insist, it is not essential to support a proper relation between the mother country, and colonies transplant- ed from her, that she should have a right to raise money from them without their consent, and presume they do not aspire to more than the rights of British subjects, when they assert that no power on earth has a right to impose taxes on the people, or take the • Minot. I Prior documents. AMERICAN COLONIES. 373 smallest portion of their property without their con- ^" ^^ ^"^^ sent given by their representatives in parliament.* On the first intimation of the measures taken by Massachusetts, the earl of Hillsborough, who had been appointed to the newly created office of secre- tary of state for the department of the colonies, ad- dressed a circular to the several governors, to be laid before the respective assemblies, in which he treated the circular letter of Massachusetts, as being of the most dangerous tendency, calculated to inflame the minds of his majesty's good subjects in the colonies, to promote an unwarrantable combination, to excite an open opposition to the authority of parliament, and to subvert the true principles of the constitution.! His first object was to prevail on the several as- semblies openly to censure the conduct of Massachu- setts ; his next, to prevent their approving the pro- ceedings of that colony. The letter, far from pro- ducing the desired effect, rather served to strengthen the determination of the colonies to unite in their en- • In this letter the house of Burgesses express their opinion of the mutiny act in the following terms. " The act suspending the legislative power of New York, they consider as slill more alarming to the colonies, though it has that single province in view. If parliament can compel them to furnish a single ar- ticle to (he troops sent over, they may, by the same rule, oblige them to fur- nish clothes, arms, and every other necessary, even the pay of the officers and soldiers ; a doctrine repl'-te with every mischief, and utterly subversive of all that's dear and valuable ; for what advantage can the people ot the colonies de- rive from choosing their own representatives, if those representatives, when chosen, be not permitted to exercise their own judgments, be under a necessi- ty (on pain of being deprived of their legislative authority) of enforcing the mandates of a British parliament." I' Prior doeuments. 374* HISTORY OF THE CHAP xm . deavours to obtain a repeal of laws universallv detest- 1768. . . ' ed. On manifesting this disposition, the assemblies were generally dissolved ; — probably in pursuance of instructions from the crown. When the general court of Massachusetts was again convened, governor Bernard laid before the house of representatives, an extract of a letter from the earl of Hillsborough, in which, afteranimadverting in harsh terms on the circular letter to the colonies, he de- clared it to be " the King's pleasure" that the gover- nor " should require of the house of representatives, in his majesty's name, to rescind the resolution on which the circular letter was founded, and to declare their disapprobation of, and dissent from, that rash and hasty proceeding." This message excited considerable agitation ; but the house, without coming to any resolution on it, re- quested the governor to lay before them the whole letter of the earl of Hillsborough, and also copies of such letters as had been written by his excellency to that nobleman, on the subject to which the message referred. The copies were haughtily refused ; but the resi- due of the letter from the earl of Hillsborough was laid before them. That minister said, " if, notwith- standing the apprehensions which may justly be en- tertained of the ill consequence of a continuance of this factious spirit, which seems to have influenced the resolutions of the assembly at the conclusion of the last session, the new assembly should refuse to AMERICAN COLONIES. 375 comply with his majesty's reasonable expectation, it ^"'^J^g^'"' is the King's pleasure that you immediately dissolve them." This subject being taken into consideration, a let- ter to the earl was reported, and agreed to by a ma- jority of ninety-three to thirteen, in which they de- fended their circular letter in strong and manly, but respectful terms ; and concluded with saying, '* the house humbly rely on the royal clemency, that to pe- tition his majesty will not be deemed by him to be inconsistent with a respect to the British constitution as settled at the revolution by William III., and that to acquaint their fellow subjects involved in the same distress, of their having so done, in full hopes of suc- cess, even if they had invited the union of all Ame- ri'^a in one joint supplication, would not be discounte- nanced by their gracious sovereign, as a measure of an inflammatory nature. That when your lordship shall in justice lay a true state of these matters before his majesty, he will no longer consider them as tend- ing to create unwarrantable combinations, or excite an unjustifiable opposition to the constitutional au- thority of parliament ; that he will then truly discern who are of that desperate faction which is continually disturbing the public tranquillity ; and that, while his arm is extended for the protection of his distressed and injured subjects, he will frown upon all those who, to gratify their own passions, have dared to attempt to deceive him."* • Prior documents. 76 HISTORY OF THE CHAP, xin ^ motion to rescind the resolution on which their 1768. circular letter was founded, passed in the negative, by a majority of ninety-two to seventeen ; and a let- ter to the governor was prepared, stating their mo- tives for refusing to comply with the requisition of the Legislature earl of Hillsborough. Immediately after receiving it, chusJusd'is- he prorogued the assembly, with an angry speech ; ^^ '^' and, the next day, dissolved it by proclamation.* While the opposition was thus conducted by the legislature with temperate firmness, and legitimate means, the general irritation occasionally displayed itself at Boston, in acts of violence denoting evident- ly that the people of that place, were prepared for much stronger measures than their representatives had adopted. Seizure of fhe scizure of the sloop Liberty belonsrina: to Mr. the Sloop * ■^ ° '^ . Liberty. Hancock, by the collector of the customs, occasioned the assemblage of a tumultuous mob, who beat the officers and their assistants, took possession of a boat belonging to the collector, burnt it in triumph, and patrolled the streets for a considerable time. The revenue officers fled for refuge, first to the Romney man of war, and afterwards to Castle William. After the lapse of some time, the governor moved the coun- cil to take into consideration some measure for re- storing vigour and firmness to government. The council replied " that the disorders which happened were occasioned by the violent and unprecedented manner in which the sloop Liberty had been seized • Minot, AMERICAN COLONIES. *^77 by the officers of the customs. And the inhabitants ^hap. xm ^ . . 1768. of Boston, in a justificatory memorial, supported by affidavits, insisted that the late tumults were occasion- ed, principally, by the haughty conduct of the com- missioners and their subordinate officers, and by the illegal and offensive conduct of the Ronmey man of war.* The legislature however did not think proper to countenance this act of violence. A committee of both houses, appointed to inquire into the state of the province, made a report which, after reprobating the circumstances attending the seizure, to which the mob was ascribed, declared their abhorrence of a proce- dure which they pronounced criminal ; desired the governor to direct a prosecution against all persons concerned in the riot ; and to issue a proclamation offering a reward to any person who should make dis- coveries by which the rioters or their abettors should be brought to condign punishment. This report, hovvever, seems to have been intend- ed, rather to save appearances, than to produce any real effect. It was perfectly understood that no per- son would dare to inform ; or even to appear, as a witness, in any prosecution which might be instituted. Suits were afterwards brought against Mr. Hancock and others, owners of the vessel and cargo ; but they were never prosecuted to a final decision. f This riot accelerated a measure, which tended, in • Minot. Prior documents. t Minot. SB 37S HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIII no inconsiderable degree, to irritate still farther the 17tiH angry dispositions already pre\alent in Boston. The governor had pressed on administration the necessity of stationing; a military force in the province, for the protection of the officers employed in collect- ing the revenue, and of the magistrates, in preserving the public peace. In consequence of these represen- tations, orders had already been given to general Gage to detach, at least, one regiment on this service, and to select for the command of it, an officer on whose prudence, resolution, and integrity, he could rely. The transactions respecting the sloop Liberty rendered any attempt to produce a countermand of these orders entirely abortive ; and, probably occa- sioned two regiments, instead of one, to be detached by general Gage.* It seems to have been supposed that a dissolution of the assembly of Massachusetts would dissolve also the opposition to the measures of administration ; and that the people, having no longer constitutional lead- ers, being no longer excited and conducted by their representatives, would gradually become quiet, and return to, what was termed, their duty to government. But the opinions expressed by the house of represen- tatives were the opinions of the great body of the people, and had been adopted with too much ardour to be readily suppressed. The most active and ener- getic part of society had embraced them with enthu- siasm ; and the dissolution of the assembly, by creat- • Minot. AMERICAN COLONIES. 379 ing a necessity for devising other expedients, hasten- chap, xm J I !•' 1 • ' • • 1 m 1768. ed a mode or conducting opposition at least as effica- cious, and afterwards universally adopted. At a town meeting of the inhai^itants of Boston, a committee was deputed f^r the purpose of praying the governor to convene another general assembly. Ke replied that no other could be convened until his majesty's commands to that effect should be receiv- ed. This answer being reported, the meeting resolv- ed " that to levy money within that province by any other authority than that of the general court, was a violation of the royal charter, and of the undoubted natural rights of British subjects. " That the freeholders, and other inhabitants of the town of Boston would, at the peril of their lives and fortunes, take all legal and constitutional measures to defend all and singular the rights, liberties, privileges, and immunities, granted in their royal charter. " That as there was an apprehension in the minds of many of an approaching war with France, those in- habitants who were not provided with arms should be requested duly to observe the laws of the province, which required that every freeholder should furnish himself with a complete stand." But the important resolution was " that, as the go- vernor did not think proper to call a general court for the redress of their grievances, the town would then make choice of a suitable number of persons to act for them as a committee in a convention, to be held 380 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. XIII gt Faneuil Hall in Boston, with such as might be sent to join them from the several towns in the province." These votes were communicated by the select men, in a circular letter to the other towns in the province, which were requested to concur, and to elect com- mittee men, to meet those of Boston in convention. Convention The measure was p;enerally adopted ; and a conven- ass<-n)l>les . ^ i i • i ii i i in Boston, tiou met, which was regarded with all the respect that could have been paid to a legitimate assembly.* The country in general, though united on the great constitutional question of taxation, was probably not so highly exasperated as the people of Boston ; and the convention acted with unexpected moderation. Its inodera- They disclaimed all pretensions to any other charac- ter than that of mere individuals, assembled by de- putation from the towns, to consult and advise on such measures as might tend to promote the peace of his majesty's subjects in the province, but without power to pass any acts possessing a coercive quality. They petitioned the governor to assemble a gene- ral court, and addressed a letter to the agent of the province in England, stating the character in which they met, and the motives which brought them to- gether. After expressing their opinions with temper and firmness on the subjects of general complaint, and recommending patience and order to the people, they dissolved themselves, and returned to their re- spective homes, t * Minot. I Idem. AMERICAN COLONIES. 381 The day before the convention rose, the two regi CHAP.Xin ires. ments which had been detached by greneral Gage ar- Two i egi- VT T 1 »ni tnents ar- rived, under convoy, m Nantasket road. 1 he coun- rWe. cil had rejected an application of the governor to pro- vide quarters for them, because the barracks in the castle were siifficient for their accommodation ; and, by act of parliament, the British troops were not to be quartered elsewhere until those barracks were full. General Gage had directed one regiment to be sta- tioned in Boston ; but, on hearing a report that the people were in a state of open revolt, he gave addi- tional orders, which left the whole subject to the dis- cretion of the commanding officer ; w ho was induced, by some rash threats of opposing the disembarkation of the troops to land both regiments in that place. The ships took a station which commanded the whole town, and lay with their broad sides towards it, ready to fire, should any resistance be attempted. The troops landed under cover of their cannon, and march- ed into the common with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets ;* a display of military pomp, which was believed by the inhabitants to have been intended for the purpose either of intimidation, or of irritation. The select men, as well as the council, having re- fused to provide quarters for the troops, the governor ordered the state house to be opened for their recep- tion ; and they took possession of all the apartments in it, except that which was reserved for the council. The people were filled with indignation at seeing the • Gazette. 38S HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIII chamber of their representatives crowded with regu- lar soldiers, their counsellors surrounded with foreign troops, and their whole city exhibiting the appearance of a garrisoned town. With the difference of man- ners between the soldiers and the inhabitants, and the strong prejudices reciprocally felt against each other, it is not wonderful that personal broils should fre- quently occur, and that mutual antipathies should be still farther increased.* While these measures were pursuing in America, every session of parliament was opened with a speech from the King, stating that a disposition to refuse obedience to the laws, and to resist the authority of the supreme legislature of the nation, still prevailed among his misguided subjects in some of the colonies. In the addresses to the throne, both houses uniform- ly expressed their abhorrence of the rebellious spirit manifested in the ccjlonies, and their approbation of the measures taken by his majesty for the restoration of order and good government, i To give a more solemn expression to the sense of parliament on this subject, the two houses entered into joint resolutions, condemning the measures pur- sued by the Americans ; and agreed to an address, approving the conduct of the crown, giving assuran- ces of effectual support to such farther measures as might be found necessary to maintain the civil ma- gistrates in a due execution of the laws within the province of Massachusetts Bay, and beseeching his • Minot AMERICAN COLONIES. 383 majesty to direct the governor of that colony to ob- ^"/^^g^"^' tain and transmit information of all treasons commit- ted in Massachusetts since the year 1767, with the names of the persons who had been most active in promoting such offences, that prosecutions might be instituted against them within the realm, in pursu- ance of the statute of the 35th of Henry VIII.* The impression made by these threatening decla- nm. rations, which seem to have been directed particular- ly against Massachusetts, in the hope of deterring the other provinces from involving themselves in her dan- gers, was far from being favourable to the views of the mother country. The determination to resist the exercise of the authority claimed by Great Britain not only remained unshaken, but was manifested in a still more decided form. Not long after these votes of parliament, the as- sembly of Virginia was convened by lord Botetourt, a nobleman of conciliating manners, who had lately been appointed governor of that province. The house took the state of the colony into their immediate consideration, and passed unanimously several reso- Resolutions , . . , 1 • • I r I II "^'f thf- house lutions asserting the exclusive right or that assemblv ..t Bnr- to impose taxes on the inhabitants within his majesty's vitg^nia. dominion of Virginia, and their undoubted ri^jht to petition for a redress of grievances, and to obtain a concurrence of the other colonies in such petitions. That all persons charged with the commission of any oifence within that colony, w ere entitled to a trial be- • Belsham. Prior documents. 384* HISTORY OF THE ^^^769'" ^^^^ *^^^ tribunals of the country, according to the fixed and known course of proceeding therein, and that to sieze such persons, and transport them beyond sea for trial, derogated in a high degree from the rights of British subjects, as thereby the inestimable privi- lege of being tried by a jury from the vicinage, as well as the liberty of summoning and producing wit- nesses on such trial, will be taken from the party ac- cused." An address to his majesty was also agreed on, which states in the style of loydty and rei*! attach- ment to tlie crown, the deep conviction of the house of Burgesses of Virginia, that the complaints of the colonists were well founded.* Assembly Intelligence of these proceedings havina: reached dissolved. ° 1 , , , , the governor, he suddenly dissolved the assembly. This measure did not jjroduce the desired effect. The members convened at a private house, and, having chosen their speaker, moderator, proceeded to form a non- importing association, which was sign- ed by every person present, and afterwards, almost universally throughout the province.f From the commencement of the controversy, the opinion seems to have prevailed in all the colonies, that the most effectual means of succeeding in the struggle in which they were engaged, were those which would interest the merchants and manufacturers of Great Britain in their favour. Under the influence of this opinion, associations had been proposed in • Gazette. Prior documents. f Idem. AMERICAN COLONIES. 385 Massachusetts, as early as May 1765, for the non- chapxiii. J J ^ 1769. importation of goods from that country. The mer- chants of some of the trading towns in the other colo- nies, especially those of Philadelphia, refused, at that time, to concur in a measure which they thought too strong for the existing state of things ; and it was laid aside. But, in the beginning of August, it was re- sumed in Boston ; and the merchants of that place en- tered into an agreement not to import from Great Britain any articles whatever, except a few of the first necessity, between the firbt of January 170 9, and the first of January 1770; and not to import tea, glass, paper, or painter's colours, until the duties imposed on those articles should be taken off. This agree- ment was soon afterwards ado|)ted in the town of Sa- lem, the city of New York, and the province of Con- necticut ; but was not generally entered into through the colonies, until the resolutions and address of the two houses of parliament which have already l^een mentioned, seemed to cut off the hope that jjetitions and memorials alone, would effect the object for which they contended.* The proceedings of the hoiise of Burgesses of Vir- ginia had been transmitted to the speakers of the seve-. ral asseniblies throughout the continent. In the opi- nion of the neighbouring colonies, the occasion re- quired efficacious measures ; and an association, si- Measures milar to that which had been formed by their elder sis- impo.taiioa ter, was entered into by Maryland, and the Carolinas. goods'.'* • Minot. 3C 386 HISTORY OF THE CHAPxm 'I'j^^ inhabitants of Charleston went so far as to break off all connexion with Rhode Island and Georgia, which had refused to adopt the non-importation ap;ree- ment. This vigorous measure was not without its in- fluence ; and those provinces, soon afterwards, entered into the association.* In Portsmouth in New Hampshire, where governor Wentworth possessed great influence, some repug- nance to this njeasure w as also discovered ; but, being threatened with a suspension of their intercourse with the other colonies, the merchants of that place con- curred in the general system. All united in giving effect to this agreement. The utmost exertions were used to improve the manufac- tures of the country ; and the fair sex, laying aside the late fashionable ornaments of England, exulted, with patriotic pride, in appearing dressed in the pro- duce of their own looms. Committees chosen by the people superintended importations ; and the force of public opinion went far to secure the agreement from violation. General The necessities of government requiring a supply Massachu. of Hiouey, the general court of Massachusetts was again convened. The members of the former house of representatives were generally re-elected, and brought with them the temper w^hich had occasioned their dissolution. Instead of entering on the business for which they were called together, they engaged in a controversy with the governor concerning the re- • Gazette. Prior documents. court in Masi setts AMERICAN COLONIES. 387 moval of the ships of war from the harbour, and of£^li^ZII! the troops from the town of Boston, to which they contended, his power, as the representative of the crown was adequate. The governor, ascribing this temper to the influ- ence of the metropolis, adjourned the general court to Cambridge ; but this measure served to increase the existing irritation. The business recommended to them remained unnoticed ; their altercations with the governor continued ; and they entered into several warm resolutions enlarging the ' catalogue of their grievances, in terms of greater exasperation than had appeared in the official acts of any legislature on the continent.* Not long after the passage of these resolutions, the house explicitly refused to make the provision re- quired by the mutiny act for the troops stationed in Massachusetts; upon which, the legislature was pro- n is pro- rogued until the first of January.f The committees, appointed to examine the cargoes of vessels arriving from Great Britain, continued to execute the trust reposed in them. Votes of censure were passed on such as refused to concur in the as- sociation, or violated its principles ; and the names of the offenders were published, as enemies to their coun- try. In some cases, the goods imported in contra- vention of it, were locked up in warehouses ; and, in some few instances, they were re-shipped to Great Britain. • Prior docaments. Minet. f Minot. roeued. 388 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIII. -^qx lon^ after the stron^a: resolutions already noticed had been agreed to by parliament, while their effect was unfolding itself in every part of the American continent, an important revolution took place in the British cabinet. The duke of Grafton was placed at the head of a new administration. He supported, with great earnestness, a proposition to repeal the du- ties imposed for the purpose of raising revenue in the colonies ; but his whole influence was insufficient to Adminis- carry this measure completely. It was deemed in- soivf.i on dispensable to the maintenance of the legislative su- re^eTof premacy of Great Britain, to retain the duty on some dunes. ^^^ article ; and that on tea was reserved while the others were relinquished. Seldom has a wise nation adopted a more ill judged measure than this. The contest with America was plainly a contest of principle, and had been conducted entirely on principle by both parties. The amount of taxes proposed to be raised was too inconsiderable to interest the people of either country. But the principle was, in the opinion of both, of the utmost ipnagnitude. The measure now proposed, while it I encouraged the colonists to hope that their cause was gaining strength in Britain, had no tendency to con- ciliate them. Circular In pursuaucc of this resolution of the cabinet, a cir- eari Iif cular letter was written by the earl of Hillsborough rough."* to the several governors, informing them " that it was the intention of his majesty's ministers to propose, in the next session of parliament, taking off the duties AMERICAN COLONIES. 389 on glass, paper, and painter's colours, in considera- chapxiii . tion of such duties having been laid contrary to the true spirit of contmerce ; and assuring them that, at no time, had they entertained the design to propose to parliament to lay any further taxes on America for the purpose of raising a revenue."* This measure uas soon communicated in letters frooi private individuals in England to their corres- pondents in Massachusetts. The merchants of Bos- ton, apprehensive that an improper opinion concern- ing its operation might be formed, resolved that the partial repeal of the duties did not remove the diffi- culties under which their trade laboured, and was only calculated to relieve the manufacturers of Great Britain ; and that they would still adhere to their non- importation agreement.f The communication of the earl of Hillsborough to the several governors, va as laid before the respective assemblies as they convened, in terms implying an intention to renounce the imposition, in future, of any taxes in America. But this communication seems not to have restored perfect content in any of the co- lonies. The Virginia legislature was in session on its ar- rival, and governor Botetourt laid it before them. Their dissatisfaction with it was manifested by a peti- tion to the King re-asserting the rights previously maintained ; and by an association, signed by the members as individuals, renewing their non importa- • Prior documents. t Minot. 390 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xiTT. tinn asjreement, until the duty on tea should bt ic- pealed.* Yet several causes combined to prevent a rigid ob- servance of these associations. The sacrifice of in- terest made by the merchants could be continued only under the influence of powerful motives. Suspicions were entertained of each other in the same towns ; and committees to superintend the conduct of impor- ters were charged with gross partiality. The different towns too watched each other with considerable jea- lousy ; and accusations were reciprocally made of in- fractions of the association to a great extent. Let- ters were published purporting to be from England, stating that large orders for goods had been received; and the inconvenience resulting from even a partial interruption of commerce, and from the want of those manufactures which the inhabitants had been accus- tomed to use, began to be severely and extensively felt. In Rhode Island, and Albany, it was determin- ed to import as usual, with the exception of such ar- ticles as should be dutiable. On the remonstrances of other commercial places, especially of Boston, these resolutions were changed ; and the hope was enter- tained that the general system on which the colonies relied, would still be maintained. These hopes were blasted by New York. That city soon manifested a disposition to import as usual, with the exception of those articles only which were subject to a duty. At first, the resolution thus to • Gazette. AMERICAN COLONIES. 391 limit the operation of the non-importation agreement, chap xiti. was made to depend on its being acceded to by Bos- ton and Philadelphia. These towns refused to depart from the association as originally formed, and strenu- ously urged their brethren of New York to persevere with them in the glorious struggle. This answer was communicated to the people, and their opinion on the question of rescinding, or adhering to, the non-impor- New York tation agreement, was taken in their respective wards, pan from A decided majority was found in favour of rescinding, pom°k>n'°" with the single exception of dutiable articles. This "S''"'"^"*- determination excited the most lively chagrin in New England and Philadelphia. Their remonstrances against it were, however, ineffectual ; and the exam- ple was soon followed throughout the colonies.* The people of New York alleged, in justification of themselves, that the towns of New England had not observed their engagements fairly ; and that the merchants of Albany had been in the practice of re- ceiving goods from Quebec. But no sufficient evi- dence in support of these assertions was ever pro- duced. About this time a circumstance occurred, which 1770, produced the most serious agitation. The two regi- ments stationed in Boston, to support, as was said, the civil authority, and preserve the peace of the town, were viewed by the inhabitants with very prejudiced March, eyes. Frequent quarrels arose between them ; and, at length, an affi-ay took place in the night, near the filTston, • Minot. Prior documeots. Gazette. S92 HISTORY OF THE CHAP^xm gates of the barracks, uhich brought out captain Preston, the officer of the day, with a part of the main guard, between whom and the townsmen blows ensued ; on which some of the soldiers fired, and four of the people were killed. The alarm bells were immediately rung, the drums beat to arms, and an immense multitude assembled. Inflamed to madness by the view of the dead bodies, they were with difficulty restrained from rushing on the 29th regiment, which was then drawn up under arms in King street. The exertions of the lieutenant governor, who promised that the laws should be en- forced on the perpetrators of the act, and the effijrts of several respectable and popular individuals, pre- vented their proceeding to extremities, and prevailed on them, after the regiment had been marched to the barracks, to disperse without farther mischief. Cap- tain Preston, and the soldiers who had fired, were committed to prison for trial. On the next day, up- wards of four thousand citizens of Boston assembled at Faneuil Hall ; and, in a message to the lieutenant governor, stated it to be " the unanimous opinion of the meeting, that the inhabitants and soldiers can no longer live together in safety ; that nothing can ra- tionally be expected to restore the peace of the town, and prevent farther blood and carnage, but the imme- diate removal of the troops ; and they therefore most fervently prayed his honour that his power and influ- ence might be exerted for their instant resnoval.'' The lieutenant governor expressed his extreme sor- AMERICAN COLONIES. 393 row at the melancholy event which had occurred : ^^ ^^^-^nt- ^ ' 1770. and declared that he had taken measures to have the affair inquired into, and justice done. That the mili- tary were not under his command, but received their orders from the general at New York, which orders it was not in his power to countermand. That, on the application of the council for the removal of the troops, colonel Dalrympie, their commanding officer, had engaged that the twenty-ninth regiment, which had been concerned in the affair, should be marched to the castle, and there placed in barracks until far- ther orders should be received from the general ; and that the main guard should be removed, and the four- teenth regiment laid under such restraints, that all occasions of future disturbance should be prevented. This answer was voted to be unsatisfactory ; and a committee was deputed to wait on the lieutenant governor, and inform him that nothing could content them but an immediate and total removal of the troops. This vote was laid before the council by Mr. Hutchinson, who had succeeded Mr. Bernard in the government of the province. The council declared themselves unanimously of opinion "that it was abso- lutely necessary for his Majesty's service, the good order of the town, and the peace of the province, that the troops should be immediately removed out of the town of Boston." This opinion and advice being communicated to colonel Dalrympie, he gave his honour that measures 3 D S94j HISTORY OF THE cHA^xiTi should be immediately taken for the removal of both regiments. Satisfied with this assurance, the meet- ing secured the tranquillity of the town by appointing a strong military watch, and immediately dissolved itself. This transaction was very diiferently related by the different parties. Mr. Gordon, whose history was written when the resentments of the moment had subsided, and who has collected the facts of the case carefullv, states it in such a manner as nearly, if not entirely, to exculpate the soldiers. It appears that an attack upon them had been pre-concerted ; and that, after being long insulted with the grossest language, they were repeatedly assaulted by the mob with balls of ice and snow, and widi sticks, before they were induced to fire. This representation is strongly sup- ported by the circumstances, that captain Preston, Trial of ^^^^^ ^ ^^",^ ^"^ public trial, was acquitted by a Bos- captain jq^ iyj-y . aj^(] that slx of the eieht soldiers who were Preston and J J ' ^ f^ the soldiers, prosecuted, were acquitted, and the remaining two found guilty of manslaughter only. Mr. Quincy, and Mr. John Adams, two eminent lawyers, and dis- tinguished leaders of the patriotic party, defended the accused, without sustaining any diminution of popu- larity. Yet this event was very differently understood through the colonies. It was generally believed to be a massacre, equally barbarous and unprovoked; and it increased the detestation in which the soldiers were universally held. AMERICAN COLONIES. 395 CHAP XIV. CHAPTER XIV. Insurrection in JVbrfh Carolina. — Dissatisfaction of Massachusetts, — Corresponding committees. — Go- vernor Hutchinson^ s correspondence communicated by Dr. Franklin. — The assembly petition for his removal. — He is succeeded by general Gage. — Measures to enforce the act concerning duties. — Ferment in America. — The tea thrown into the sea at Boston. — Measures of Parliament. — General enthusiasm in America. — A general congress pro- posed. — General Gage arrives. — Troops stationed on Boston neck. — Neiv counsellors and judges. — Obliged to resigfi — Boston neck fortijied. — Militarij stores seized by general Gage. — Preparations for defence. — King's speech. — Proceedings of Parlia- ment. — Battle of Lexington. — Massachusetts raises men. — Meeting of Congress. — Proceedings of that body. — Transactions in Virginia. — Provincial con- gress of South Carolina. — Battle of Breed's hill. In the middle and southern colonies, the irritation i77o, against the mother country appears to have gradually subsided and no disposition was manifested to extend opposition farther than to the importation of tea. Their attention was a good deal directed to an insur- iio.^i"' rection in North Carolina, where a number of igno-Shla.^*' 396 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xn j.g,^j people, supposing themselves to be aggrieved by the fee bill, rose in arms for the purpose of shutting up the courts of justice, destroying all officers of go- vernment, and all lawyers, and of prostrating govern- ment itself. Governor Tryon marched against them, defeated them in a decisive battle, quelled the insur- rection, and restored order. Dissatisfac jp Massachusetts, where the doctrine that parlia- tion of Mas- ' ' sachusetts. nieut could uot rightfully legislate for the colonies was maintained as a corollary from the proposition that parliament could not tax them, a gloomy discon- tent was manifested. That the spirit of opposition seemed to be expiring, without securing the rights they claimed, excited apprehensions of a much more serious nature in the bosoms of that inflexible people, than the prospect of any conflict, however terrible. This temper displayed itself in all their proceedings. The legislature, uhich the governor continued to convene at Cambridge, remonstrated against this re- moval as an intolerable grievance ; and, for two ses- sions, refused to proceed on business. In one of their remonstrances, they asserted the ri^^ht of the people to appeal to heaven in disputes between them and persons in pouer, when power shall be abused. Corres- From the commencement of the contest, Massa- poiicling committees, chusetts had been peculiarly solicitous to unite all the colonies in one system of measures. In pursu- ance of this favourite idea, a committee of correspon- dence was elected by the general court, to communi- cate with such committees as might be appointed by AMERICAN COLONIES. 397 Other 'legislatures.* Similar committees were soon^Ii^JLJ^ afterwards chosen by the townsf throughout the pro- vince, for the purpose of corresponding with each other ; and the example was soon followed by other colonies. While this system of vigilance was in progress, a 177^. discovery was made which greatly increased the ill temper of New England. Doctor Franklin, the agent of Massachusetts, by some unknown means, obtained Governor possession of the letters which had been addressed son's coi- by governor Hutchinson, and by lieutenant governor IjeTce" Oliver, to the department of state. He transmitted these letters to the general court. They were obvi- ously designed to induce government to persevere in the system which was alienating the affections of the colonists. The opposition was represented as being confined to a few factious men, whose conduct was not generally approved, and who had been embolden- ed by the weakness of the means used to restrain them. More vigorous measures were recommend- ed ; and several specific propositions were made, which were peculiarly offensive. Among these was a plan for altering the charters of the colonies, and' rendering the high officers dependent solely on the crown for their salaries.^ The assembly, inflamed by these letters, unani-~ mously resolved, " that their tendency and design • Almost at the same time, and without concert, the same measure was adopted in Virginia, t See note No. 6, at the end of the volume. i Minot. 398 HISTORY OF THE CHAp.xiv yyeyg jy overthrow the constitution of the sj-overn- ment, and to introduce arbitrary power into the pro- Petition loi-vince." At the same time, a petition to the Kina: the removal _ _ ' *-' ottiiego- was voted, prayinsr him to remove afovernor Hutch- vernof and . . . lieutenant inson and heutenant governor Oliver, for ever, from governor. , ' rr<, • the government oi the colony. 1 his petition was transmitted to Doctor Franklin, and laid before the King in council. After hearing it, the lords of the council reported " that the petition in question was founded upon false and erroneous allegations, and that the same is groundless, vexatious, and scanda- lous, and calculated only for the seditious purposes of keeping up a spirit of clamour and discontent in the provinces." This report, his majesty was pleas^ ed to approve, nuichinsou Governor Hutchinson however was soon after- succeeded by Gage, wards rcmovcd, and general Gage appointed to suc- ceed him. The fears of Massachusetts, that the spirit which had been roused in the colonies might gradually sub- side, were not of long continuance. The determina- tion not to import tea from England, had so lessened the demand for that article, that a considerable quan- tity had accumulated in the magazines of the East India company. They urged the minister to take off the import American duty of three pence per pound, and offered, in lieu of it, to pay double that sum on Measures exportation. Instead of acceding to this proposition, the duties, drawbacks were allowed on tea exported to the colo- nies ; and the export duty on that article was taken AMERICAN COLONIES. 399 CHAP XIV. 1774. off. These encouragements induced the company to make shipments on their own account ; and large quantities were consigned to agents in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and other principal places on the continent.* The crisis was arrived ; and the conduct of the colonies was now to determine whether they would submit to be taxed by parliament, or meet the conse- quences of a practical assertion of the opinions they had maintained. The tea, if landed, would be sold ; the duties would, consequently, be paid ; and the prece- dent for taxing them established. The same senti- ment on this subject appears to have pervaded the whole continent at the same time. This ministerial plan of importation was considered by all, as a direct attack on the liberties of the people of America, which it was the duty of all to oppose. A violent ferment ^'^l^,.^"^* "^ was excited in all the colonies ; the corresponding committees were extremely active ; and it was almost universally declared that whoever should, directly or indirectly, countenance this dangerous invasion of their rights, was an enemy to his country. The consignees were, generally, compelled to relinquish their con- signments; and, in most instances, the ships bring- ing the tea were obliged to return with it. At Boston, a town meeting appointed a committee to wait on the consignees to request their resignation. This request not being complied with, another large * Mioot. BeUham 400 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xiv. meeting* assembled at Faneuil Hall, who voted, with 1774. '^ acclamation, *' that the tea shall not be landed, that no duty shall be paid, and that it shall be sent back in the same bottoms." With a forebodinj^ of the probable consequences of the measure about to be adopted, and a wish that those consequences should be seriously contemplated, a leading member-f- thus addressed the meeting. " It is not, Mr. Moderator, the spirit that vapours within these walls that must stand us in stead. The exertions of this day will call forth events which \\]\\ make a very different spirit necessary for our salvation. Whoever supposes tiiat shouts and ho- sannahs will terminate the trials of the day, entertains • The language said by Mr. Gordon lo have been used at this meeting proves that many of the p'-ople ot Bostd' were ali-eaily ripe fop the revolution. To the more cautious among " the sons of liOerty," who had exprt.-ssed some apprehensions lest they should push the matter too far, and involve the colony in a quarrel with Great Biitain, others answered " It must come to a quarrel betv^een Great Biitain and the colnnv sooner or later ; and if so what can be a bet'er time than the pres'-nt ? lIiuKireds of years may pass away before par- liament will make such a number of acts in violation as it has done of late years, and by which it has excited so formidable an opposition to the measures of administration. Beside, the longer the contest is delayed, the more admi- nistration will be strengthened. Do not you observe how the government at home are increasing their party here by sending over young fellows to enjoy appointments, who many into our best families, and so weaken the opposi- tion ? B> sucli means, and by multiplying posts and places, and giving them to their own friends, or applying them to the corruption of their antagonists, they will increase their own force faster in proportion, than the force of the country party will increase by population. If then we must quarrel ere we can have our rights secured, now is the most eligible period. Our credit also is at stake ; we, must venture, and unless we do, we shall be discarded by the sons of liberty in the other colonies, whose assistance we may expect upon emergencies, in case they find us steady, resolute, and faithful." I Mr. Quincy. AMERICAN COLONIES. 401 a childish fancy. We must be sjrossly ignorant oF CHap. xiv the importance and value of the prize for which we contend ; we must be e(]iially ignorant of the povver of those who have combined against us ; we must be blind to that malice, inveteracy, and insatiable re- venge, which actuate our enemies, public and pri- vate, abroad and in our bosoms, to hope that we shall end this controversy without the sharpest, sharpest conflicts; — to flatter ourselves that popular resolves, po- pular harangues, popular acclamations, and popular vapour, will vanquish our foes. Let us consider the issue. Let us look to the end. Let us weigh and con- sider, before we advance to those measures, which must bring on the most trying and terrible struggle this country ever saw."* The question was again put, and passed unani- mously in the affirmative. The captain of the vessel, aware of the approaching danger, was desirous of re- turning, and applied to the governor for a clearance. Affecting a rigid regard to the letter of his duty, he declined giving one, unless the vessel should be pro- perly qualified at the custom house. This answer being reported, the meeting was declared to be dis- solved ; and an immense crowd rejwired to the quay, where a number of the most resolute, disguised as Mijhawk Indians, boarded the vessel, broke open three hundred and forty-two chests of tea, and dis-Teachrown charged their contents into the ocean. f miotUesea. These proceedings were laid before parliament in • Minot. "j- Idem. 3E 402 HISTORY OP THE CHAP. XIV a message from the crown, and excited a hieh and 1774. r . . . . general indignation against the colonies. Both houses Measures expresscd, almost unanimously, their approbation of or parlia- * •' ' ^ iiament. the mcasures adopted by his Majesty ; and gave ex- plicit assurances that they would exert every means in their power, to provide eft'ectually for the due exe- cution of the laws, and to secure the dependence of the colonies upon the crown and parliament of Great Britain. The temper both of the parliament and of the nation was entirely favourable to the high-handed system of coercion proposed by ministers ; and that temper was not permitted to pass away unemployed. A bill was brought in " for discontinuing the lading and shipping of goods, wares, and merchandises, at Boston or the harbour thereof, and for the removal of the custom-house with its dependencies to the town of Salem." This bill was to continue in force, not only until compensation should be made to the East India company for the damage sustained, but until the King in council should declare himself satisfied as to the restoration of peace and good order in Bos- ton. It passed both houses without a division, and almost without opposition.* Soon afterwards, a bill was brought in " for better regulating the government of the province of Massa- chusetts Bay." This act entirely subverted the char- ter, and vested in the crown the appointment of the counsellors, magistrates, and other officers of the co- lony, who were to hold their offices during the royal • Belshara. AMERICAN COLONIES. 403 pleasure. This bill also was carried throimh hntV> rHAP.xiv\ ... . . ^774. houses by great majorities ; but not without a vigo- rous opposition, and an animated debate.* The next measure proposed was a bill " for the impartial administration of justice in the province of Massachusetts Bay. It provided that in case any person should be indicted, in that province,, for mur- der or any other capital offence, and it should appear by information given on oath to the governor, that the fact was committed in the exercise or aid of magis- tracy in suppressing riots, and that a fair trial could not be had in the province, he should send the per- son so indicted to any other colony, or to Great Bri- tain to be tried." This act was to continue in force for four years, f A bill was also passed for quartering soldiers on the inhabitants ; and the system was completed, by " an act making more effectual provision for the go- vernment of the province of Quebec." This bill ex- tended the boundaries of that province so as to com- prehend the territory between the lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi ; and established a legislative council to be appointed by the crown, for its govern- ment.! Amidst these hostile measures, one single concilia- tory proposition was made. Mr. Rose Fuller moved that the house resolve itself into a committee to take into consideration the duty on the importation of tea into America, with a view to its repeal. This • Belsham. f Idem. t Hem 404) HISTORY OF THE cnAF.xiv „if^t;^n was seconded by Mr. Burke, and supported 1774, . J ' ri with all the power of reasoning, and all the splendour of eloquence which distinguished that consummate statesman ; but reason and eloquence were of no avail. It was lost by a great majority. The earl of Chat- ham, who had long been too ill to attend parliament, again made his appearance in the house of lords. He could have been draw n out, only by a strong sense of the fatal importance of those measures into which the nation was hurrying. But his efforts were unavailing. Neither his weight of character, his sound judgment, nor his manly eloquence, could arrest the hand of fate which seemed to propel this lofty nation, with irresistible force, to measures which terminated in its dismemberment.* It was expected, and this expectation was encou- raged by Mr. Hutchinson, that, by directing these measures particularly against Boston, not only the union of the colonies would be broken, but Massa- chusetts herself would be divided. Never was ex- pectation more completely disappointed. All per- ceived that Boston was to be punished for having re- sisted, only with more violence, the principle which they had all resisted ; and that the object of the pun- ishment was to coerce obedience to a principle they were still determined to resist. They felt th<:jrefore that the cause of Boston was the cause of all, that their destinies were indissolubly connected with those of thtit devoted town, and that they must submit to • Belshara. AMERICAN COLONIES. 405 be taxed by a parliament, in which they were not and ^-h^pxiv could not be represented, or support their brethren who were selected to sustain the first shock of a power which, if successful there, would overwhelm them all. The neighbouring towns, disdaining to avail themselves of the calamities inflicted on a sister for her exertions in the common cause, clung to her with increased affection ; and that spirit of enthusiastic pa- General ^ • ^. 1 • 1 r • 1 1 • 1 1 enthusiasm tnotism, which, tor a time, elevates the mind above all considerations of individual acquisition, became the ruling passion in the American bosom. On receiving intelligence of the Boston port bill, a meeting of the people of that town was called. They perceived that " the sharpest, sharpest conflict" was indeed approaching, but were not dismayed by its terrors. Far from seeking to shelter themselves from the threatening storm by submission, diey grew more determined as it increased. Resolutions were passed, expressing their opinion of the impolicy, injustice, inhumanity, and cruelty of the act, from which they appealed to God, and to the world ; and also inviting the other colonies to join with them in an agreement to stop all imports and ex- ports to and from Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies, until the act should be repealed.* It was not in Boston only that this spirit was rous- ed. Addresses were received from every part of the continent, expressing sentiments of symi)athy in their afflictions, exhorting them to resolution and perseve- • Minot. 4'06 HISTORY OF TH£ CHAP, xiy ranee, and assurina: them that they were considered as siitienng in the common cause. The legislature of Virginia was in session when intelligence of the Boston port bill reached that pro- vince. The house of Burgesses set apart the first of June, the day on which the bill was to go into opera- tion, for fasting, prayer, and humiliation, to implore the divine interposition to avert the heavy calamity which threatened the destruction of their civil rights, and the evils of a civil war ; and to give one heart and one mind to the people, firmly to oppose every inva- sion of their liberties. Similar resolutions were adopt- ed in almost every province ; and the first of June be- came, throughout the colonies, a day of fasting, hu- miliation, and prayer, in the course of which sermons were preached to the people, well calculated to in- spire them with horror, against the authors of the un- just sufferings of their fellow subjects in Boston. This measure occasioned the dissolution of the as- sembly. The members, before separation, entered into an association, in which they declared that an attack on one colony to compel submission to arbitra- ry taxes, is an attack on all British America, and threatens ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole be applied in prevention. They^ therefore, recommended to the committee of corres- pondence, to communicate with the several commit- tees of the other provinces, on the expediency of ap- A general pointing deputies from the different colonies to meet proposed, annually in congress, and to deliberate on the com- AMERICAN COLONIES, 407 men interests of America. This measure had aheady 9"^^p-X^Y been proposed in town meetings, both in New York and Boston. While the people of Boston were engaged in the first consultations respecting the bill directed particu- larly ao;ainst themselves, general Gaare arrived in General J ^ ^ . -11 Gagear- town. He was received, notwithstanding the deepnvesin gloom of the moment, with those external marks of respect which had been usual, and which were sup- posed to belong to his station. The general court convened by the governor at Salem, passed resolutions, declaring the expediency of a meeting of committees from the several colonies; and appointed five gentlemen as a committee on the part of Massachusetts. The colonies from New Hampshire to South Carolina inclusive, adopted this measure ; and, where the legislatures were not in ses- sion, elections were made by the people. The legis- lature of Massachusetts also passed declaratory reso- lutions expressing their opinion on the state of public affairs, and recommending to the inhabitants of that province to renounce, totally, the consumption of East India teas, and'to discontinue the use of all goods imported from the East Indies and Great Britain, un- til the grievances of America should be completely redressed. The governor, having obtained intelligence of the manner in which the house was employed, sent his secretary with directions to dissolve the assembly. Finding the doors shut, and being refused admittance, 408 HISTORY OF THE €HAP XTV ]^e Ye2i6 the order of dissolution aloud on the staircase. 1774. The next day, the i^overnor received an address from the principal inhabitants of Salem, at that time the metropolis of the province, \^hich marks the deep impression made by a sense of common dangler. No lonp;er considering themselves as the inhabitants of Salem, but as Americans, and spurning advantages to be derived to themselves from the distress inflicted on a sister town, for its zeal in a cause common to all, they expressed their deep affliction for the calamities of Boston. About this time rough drafts of the two remaining bills relative to the province of Massachusetts, as well as of that for quartering troops in America, were re- ceived in Boston, and circulated through the continent. They served to confirm the wavering, to render the moderate indignant, and to inflame the violent. An agreement was framed by the committee of correspondence in Boston, entitled " a solemn league and covenant,'^ whereby the subscribers bound them- selves, " in the presence of God," to suspend all com- mercial intercourse with Great Britain, from the last day of the ensuing month of August, until the Bos- ton port bill, and the other late obnoxious laws should be repealed. They also bound themselves, in the same manner, not to consume, or purchase from any other, any goods whatever which should arrive after the specified time ; and to break off all dealings with the purchasers as well as with the importers of such goods. They renounced, also all intercourse and con- AMERICAN COLONIES. 409 nexion with those who should refuse to subscribe tr> chap xiv 1 -1111 *''''*• that covenant, or to bind themselves by some similar agreement ; and annexed to the renunciation of inter- course, the dangerous penalty of publishing to the world, the names of all who refused to give this evi- dence of attachment to the rights of their country. General Gage issued a proclamation in which he termed this covenant " an unlawful, hostile, and trai- terous combination, contrary to the allegiance due to the King, destructive of the legal authority of parlia- ment, and of the peace, good order, and safety of the community." All persons were warned against in- curring the pains and penalties due to such dangerous offences ; and all magistrates were charged to appre- hend and secure for trial such as should be miiltv of them. But the time when the proclamations of go- vernors could command attention had passed away ; and the penalties in the power of the committee of correspondence were much more dreaded than those which could be inflicted by the civil magistrate.* Resolutions were passed in every colony in which legislatures were convened, or delegates assembled in convention, manifesting different degrees of resent- * ment, but concurring in the same great principles. All declared that the cause of Boston was the cause of British America ; that the late acts respecting that devoted town were tyrannical and unconstitutional ; that the opposition to this ministerial system of op- pression ought to be universally and perseveringly • Belsham. Minot. 3F 4i HISTORY OF THE ^^^n^^^ maintained ; that all intercourse with the parent state ought to be suspended, and domestic manufactures encouraged ; and that a general congress should be formed for the purpose of uniting and guiding the councils, and directing the efforts, of North America. The committees of correspondence selected Phila- delphia for the place, and the beginning of Septem- ber as the time, for the meeting of this important council. SSbie's. O" t^ie fou^'th of September, the delegates from eleven* provinces appeared at the place appointed ; and, the next day, they assembled at Carpenter's Hall, M hen Peyton Randolph, late speaker of the house of Burgesses of Virginia, was unanimously chosen pre- sident. The respective credentials of the members were then read and approved ; and this august as- sembly, having determined that each colony should have only one vote ; that their deliberations should be conducted with closed doors; and that their proceed- ings, except such as they might determine to publish, should be kept inviolably secret; entered on the solemn and important duties assigned to them.f * Committees were appointed to state the rights claimed by the colonies, which had been infringed by acts of parliament passed since the year 1763 ; to pre- pare a petition to the King, and addresses to the peo- ple of Great Britain, to the inhabitants of the province " Those of North Carolina arrived on the fourteenth. I See note No. 7, at the end of the volume. AMERICAN COLONIES. 411 of Quebec, and to the twelve colonies represented inHLiLHY- congress. Certain resolutions* of the county of Suffolk in Mas- sachusetts, having been taken into consideration, it was unanimously resolved " that this assembly deep- ly feels the suffering of their countrymen in Massa- chusetts Bay, under the operation of the late unjust, cruel, and oppressive acts of the British parliament ; that they most thoroughly approve the wisdom and fortitude with which opposition to these wicked min- isterial measures has hitherto been conducted ; and they earnestly recommend to their brethren, a perse- verance in the same firm and temperate conduct, as expressed in the resolutions determined upon, at a meeting of the delegates for the county of Suffolk, on Tuesday the sixth instant ; trusting that the effect of the united efforts of North America in their behalf, will carry such conviction to the British nation of the unwise, unjust, and ruinous policy of the present ad- ministration, as quickly to introduce better men, and wiser measures." It was resolved, unanimously, " that contributions from all the colonies, for supplying the necessities, and alleviating the distresses of our brethren in Bos- ton, ought to be continued, in such manner, and so long, as their occasions may require." The merchants of the several colonies were re- quested not to send to Great Britain any orders for goods, and to direct the execution of those already * See note No. 8, at the end of the volume. •iia HISTORY OF THE cHAP .xtv.sent to be suspended, until the sense of congress on the means to be taken for preserving the liberties of America, be made public. In a few days, resolutions were passed, suspending the importation of goods from Great Britain, or Ireland, or any of their depen- dencies, and of their manufactures from any place whatever, after the first day of the succeeding De- cember ; and against the purchase or use of such goods. It was also determined that all exports to Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies, should cease on the 10th of September, 1775, unless Ame- rican grievances should be redressed before that time ' An association, corresponding with these resolutions, was then framed, and signed by every member pre- sent. Never were laws more faithfully observed, than were these resolutions of congress ; and their as- sociation was, of consequence, universally adopted. Early in the session, a declaration* of rights was made in the shape of resolutions. This paper merits particular attention, because it states precisely the ground then taken by America. It is observable that it asserted rights which were not generally maintain- ed, at the commencement of the contest ; but the ex- clusive right of legislation in the colonial assemblies, with the exception of acts of the British parliament bona fide made to regulate external commerce, was not averred unanimously. The addresses prepared, the various papers drawn up, and the measures recommended by this congress, • See note No. 9, at the end of the volume. AMERICAN COLONIES. 413 form the best eulogy of the members who rnmpny;ed ch apxiv . it. Affection to the mother country, an exalted ad- miration of her national character, unwillingness to separate from her, a knowledge of the hazards and difficulties of the approaching contest, mingled with enthusiastic patriotism, and a conviction that all which can make life valuable was at stake, characterise their proceedings. " When," they say in the address to the people of Address to ■' ■' * ^ the people Great Britain, " a nation led to greatness by the hand or Great of liberty, and possessed of all the glory that heroism, munificence, and humanity, can bestow, descends to the ungrateful task of forffina: chains for her friends and children, and, instead of giving support to free- dom turns advocate for slavery and oppression, there is reason to suspect she has either ceased to be virtu- ous, or been extremely negligent in the appointment of her rulers. " In almost every age, in repeated conflicts, in long and bloody wars, as well civil as foreign, against many and pow erfrd nations, against the open assaults of ene- mies, and the more dangerous treachery of friends, have the inhabitants of your island, your great and glorious ancestors, maintained their independence, and transmitted the rights of men and the blessings of liberty to you their posterity. " Be not surprised therefore that we, who are de- scended from the same common ancestors, that we, whose forefathers participated in all the rights, the liberties, and the constitution, you so justly boast of, ^l-i HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xiv. gj^jj ^.j^Q hgyg carefully conveyed the same fair inhe- ritance to us, guaranteed by the plighted faith of go- vernment, and the most solemn compacts with British sovereigns, should refuse to surrender them to men, who found their claims on no principles of reason, and who prosecute them with a design, that by having our lives and property in their power, they may with the greater facility enslave z/ow." After stating the serious condition of American af- fairs, and the oppressions, and misrepresentations of their conduct, which had induced the address ; and their claim to be as free as their fellow subjects in Britain ; they say, " are not the proprietors of the soil of Great Britain lords of their own property? Can it be taken from them without their consent ? Will they yield it to the arbitrary disposal of any men, or number of men whatever ? You know they will not. " Why then are the proprietors of the soil of Ame- rica less lords of their property than you are of yours, or vvhy should they submit it to the disposal of your parliament, or any other parliament or council in the world, not of their election ? Can the intervention of the sea that divides us cause disparity of rights, or can any reason be given vvhy English subjects, who live three thousand miles from the royal palace, should enjoy less liberty than those who are three hundred miles distant from it ? " Reason looks with indignation on such distinc- tions, and freemen can never perceive their propriety." - After expatiating on the resources which the con- AMERICAN COLONIES. 415 quest of America would place in the hands of the ^^j^^ ^^' crown for the subjugation of Britain, the address pro- ceeds, " we believe there is yet much virtue, much justice, and much public spirit in the English nation. To that justice we now appeal. You have been told that we are seditious, impatient of government, and desirous of independency. Be assured that these are not facts but calumnies. Permit us to be as free as yourselves, and we shall ever esteem a union with you to be our greatest glory, and our greatest hap- piness ; — we shall ever be ready to contribute all in our power to the welfare of the empire ; — ue shall consider your enemies as our enemies, and your in- terest as our own. "But if you are determined that your ministers shall wantonly sport with the rights of mankind; — if neither the voice of justice, the dictates of the law, the prin- ciples of the constitution, nor the suggestions of hu- manity, can restrain your hands from shedding hu- man blood in such an impious cause, we must then tell you that we will never submit to be hewers of wood or drawers of water for any ministry or nation in the world. " Place us in the same situation that we were at the close of the late war, and our former harmony will be restored."* " The committee which prepared this eloquent and manly address, were Mr. Lee, Mi . Livingston, and Mv. Jay. The composition has been generally attributed to Mr, Jay. 4^16 HISTORY OF THE 9M^^IY The petition to the King states succinctly the griev Petition to anccs coniplained of, and then proceeds to sav, the King. tt i " Had our creator been pleased to give us existence in a land of slavery, the sense of our condition might have been mitigated by ignorance and habit. But thanks be to his adorable goodness, we were born the heirs of freedom, and ever enjoyed our right under the auspices of your roval ancestors, whose family was seated on the British throne, to rescue and secure a pious and gallant nation from the popery and des- potism of a superstitious and inexorable tyrant. Your majesty, we are confident, jusUy rejoices that your title to the crown is thus founded on the tide of your people to liberty ; and, therefore, we doubt not but your royal wisdom must approve the sensibility that teaches your subjects anxiously to guard the blessing they received from divine providence, and thereby to prove the performance of that compact, which elevated the illustrious house of Brunswick to the imperial dignity it now possesses. " The apprehensions of being degraded into a state of servitude, from the pre-eminent rank of English freemen, while our minds retain the strongest love of liberty, and clearly foresee the miseries preparing for us and for our posterity, excites emotions in our breasts, which, though we cannot describe, we should not wish to conceal. Feeling as men, and thinking as subjects, in the manner we do, silence would be dislo)alty. By giving this faithful information, we do all in our power to promote the great objects of AMERICAN COLONIES. 417 your royal cares — ihe tranquillity of your government, chap.xiv and the welfare of your people. " Duty to your majesty and regard for the preser- vation of ourselves and our posterity, — the primary obligations of nature and society, command us to en- treat your royal attention ; and as your majesty enjoys the signal distinction of reigning over freemen, we ap- prehend the language of freemen cannot be displeas- ing. Your royal indignation, we hope, will rather fall on those designing and dangerous men, who, daring- ly interposing themselves between your royal person and your faithful subjects, and for several years past incessantly employed to dissolve the bonds of socie- ty, by abusing your majesty's authority, misrepre- senting your American subjects, and prosecuting the most desperate and irritating projects of oppression, have at length compelled us, by the force of accumu- lated injuries, too severe to be any longer tolerable, to disturb your majesty's repose by our complaints. " These sentiments are extorted from hearts that much more willingly would bleed in your majesty's service. Yet so greatly have we been misrepresent- ed, that a necessity has been alleged of taking our property from us without our consent, to defray the charge of the administration of justice, the support of civil government, and the defence, protection, and se- curity of the colonies," After assuring his majesty of the untruth of these allegations, they say, "yielding to no British subjects in affectionate attachment to your majesty^s person, 3 G 418 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIV family, and government, we too dearly prize the pri- vilege of expressing that attachment, by those proofs that are honourable to the prince that receives them, and to the people who give them, ever to resign it to any body of men upon earth. " We ask but for peace, liberty, and safety. We wish not a diminution of the prerogative, nor do we solicit the grant of any new right in our favour. Your royal authority over us, and our connexion with Great Britain, we shall always carefully and zealously en- deavour to support and maintain." After re-stating in a very affecting manner the most essential grievances of which they complain, and professing that their future conduct, if their apprehen- sions should be removed, would prove them worthy of the regard they had been accustomed, in their hap- pier days to enjoy, they add, " Permit us then most gracious sovereign, in the name of all your faithful people in America, with the utmost humility to implore you, for the honour of Almighty God, whose pure religion our enemies are undermining; for your glory which can be advanced only by rendering your subjects happy, and keeping them united ; for the interest of your family, depend- ing on an adherence to the principles that enthroned it ; for the safety and welfare of your kingdom and dominions, threatened with almost unavoidable dan- gers and distresses ; that your majesty, as the loving father of your whole people, connected by the same bonds of law, loyalty, faith, and blood, though dwell- AMERICAN COLONIES. 4(19 t ing in various countries, will not suffer the transcen- ^^^^^!^^'^* dent relation formed by these ties, to be farther vio- lated, in uncertain expectation of effects thnt, if at- tained, never can compensate for the calamities, through which they must be gained.* The address to their constituents is replete with A.uiipssto the A.ueri- serious and temperate argument. In this paper, the can people. several causes which had led to the existing state of things, were detailed more at large : and much labour was used to convince their judgments that their liber- ties must be destroyed, and the security of their pro- perty and persons annihilated, by submission to the pretensions of Great Britain. The first object of con- gress being to unite the people of America, by de- monstrating the sincerity with which their leaders had sought for reconciliation on terms compatible with liberty, great earnestness was used in proving that the conduct of the colonists had been uniformly moderate and blameless. After declaring their confidence in the efficacy of the mode of commercial resistance which had been recommended, the address concludes with saying, " your own salvation, and that of your posterity, now depends upon yourselves. You have already shown that you entertain a proper sense of the blessings you are striving to retain. Against the tem- porary inconveniences you may suffer from a stoppage of trade, you will weigh in the opposite balance, the • The committee which brought in this admirably well drawn, and truly conciliatory address, were Mr. Lee, Mr. John Adams, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Htniy, Mr. Rutledge, and Mr. Dickinson. The original composition has Iteen generally attributed to Mr. Dickinson. 4S0 HISTORY OF THE * 2!i£L2EIY endless miseries you and your descendants must en dure, from an established arbitrary power. You will not forget the honour of your country, that must, from your behaviour, take its title in the estimation of the world to glory or to shame; and you will, with the deepest attention, reflect, that if the peaceable mode of opposition recommended by us, be broken and rendered ineffectual, as your cruel and haughty minis- terial enemies, from a contemptuous opinion of your firmness, insolently predict will be the case, you must inevitably be reduced to choose, either a more danger- ous contest, or a final, ruinous, and infamous sub- mission. *' Motives thus cogent, arising from the emergen- cy of your unhappy condition, must excite your ut- most diligence and zeal, to give all possible strength and energy to the pacific measures calculated for your relief. But we think ourselves bound in duty to ob- serve to you, that the schemes agitated against the Colonies have been so conducted, as to render it pru- dent that you should extend your views to mournful events, and be in all respects prepared for every con- tingency. Above all things, we earnestly entreat you, with devotion of spirit, penitence of heart, and amend- ment of life, to humble yourselves, and implore the favour of Almighty God ; and we fervently beseech his divine goodness to take you into his gracious pro- tection.'^* • Mr. Lee, Mr. Livingston, and Mr. Jay, were also the committee who brought in liiis address. AMERICAN COLONIES. 431 I'he letter to the people of Canada required no In- chafxiV. "onsiderable degree of address. The extent of that province was not so alarming to its inhabitants as to their neighbours ; and it was not easy to persuade the French settlers, who were far the most numerous, that the establishment of their religion, and the partial toleration of their ancient jurisprudence, were acts of oppression which ought to be resisted. This delicate subject was managed with considerable dexterity, and the prejudices of the Canadians were assailed with some success. Letters were also addressed to the colonies of St. Johns, Nova Scotia, Georgia, and the Floridas, invit- ing them to unite with their brethren in a cause com- mon to all British America*. After completing the business before them, and recommending that another Congress should be held at the same place on the tenth of the succeeding May, the House dissolved itself. The proceedings of Congress were read through- October. out America, with enthusiastic admiration. Their recommendations were revered as revelations, and obeyed as laws of the strongest obligation. Absolute unanimity could not be expected to exist 5 but seldom has a whole people been more united ; and never did a more sincere and perfect conviction of the justice of a cause animate the human bosom, than was felt by the great body of the Americans. The people, gene- • Tliesp letters, as well as that lo the inhabitants of the province of Quebec, were prepared by Mr. Cushingj Mr. Lee, and Mr. Dickinson. 4S2 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xiv . rally, made great exertions to arm and discipline themselves. Independent companies of gentlemen were formed in al) the colonies ; and the whole face of the country exhibited the aspect of approaching war. Yet the measures of Congress demonstrate that, although resistance by force was contemplated as a possible event, the hope was fondly cherished that the non- importation of British goods would in- duce a repeal of the late odious acts. It is impossible to account for the non-importation agreement itself- Had war been considered as inevitable, every princi- ple of sound policy required that imports should be encouraged, and the largest possible stock of sup- plies for an army be obtained. New coun- With the laws relative to the province, governor judges. "' Gage received a list of thirty two new counsellors, a sufficient number of whom, to carry on the busi- ness of the government, accepted the office, and en- tered on its duties. All those who accepted offices under the new sys- tem, were denounced as enemies to their country. The new judi^es were unable to proceed in the ad- ministration of justice. When the court houses were opened, the people crowded into them in such num- bers that the judges could not obtain admittance; and, on being ordered by the officers to make way for the court, they answered that they knew no court, independent of the ancient laws and usages of their country, and to no other would they submit.* The ' Minot. AMEUICAN COLONIES. 4S3 houses of the new counsellors were surrounded by?!ilZJEIX •' 1(74. gjreat bodies of people, whose threats announced to Obliged to . 1 • rr resign. them that they must resign their ottices, or be expos- ed to the fury of an enraged populace. The first part of the alternative was generally embraced. In this irritable state of the public mind, and criti- cal situation of public affairs, it was to be expected that every day would furnish new matter of discon- tent and jealousy. General Gage deemed it a neces- sary measure of security, to fortify Boston neck ; and this circumstance induced the inhabitants to contem- Boston neck torti' plate seriously an evacuation of the town, and removal fied. into the country. Congress was consulted on this proposition ; but was deterred from recommending it, by the difficulties attending the measure. It was however referred to the provincial congress, with the declaration that, if the removal should be deemed necessary, the expense attending it ought to be borne Dv all the colonies. The fortification of Boston neck was followed by a measure which excited still greater alarm. The time for the general muster of the militia approached. Under real or pretended apprehensions from their violence, the amiiiunition and stores which were lodged in the provincial arsenal at Cambridge, and Military stoics S61Z" the powder in the maga^zines at Charlestown, anded by gene- some other places which was partly private and part-'^'' ^"^^ ly provincial property, were seized, by order of the governor, and conveyed to Boston. Under the ferment excited by this measure, the people assembled in great numbers, and were with 434 HISTORY OF THE <^"-^P;^^"^ - difficulty dissuaded from marching to Boston, and demanding a re-delivery of the stores. Not long after- wards, the fort at Portsmouth in New Hampshire was stormed by an armed body of provincials ; and the powder it contained was transported to a place of safety. A similar measure uas adopted in Rhode Island. About the same time a report reached Connecticut that the ships and troops had attacked Boston, and were actually firing on the town. Several thousand men immediately assembled in arms, and marched with great expedition a considerable distance, before they were undeceived. It was in the midst of these ferments, and while these indications of an opinion that hostilities might be expected daily were multiplying on every side, that the people of SufFtilk assembled in convention, and passed the resolutions already mentioned, which in boldness surpass any that had been adopted. Before the general agitation had risen to its pre- sent alarming height, governor Gage had issued writs for the election of members to a general assembly. These writs w ere afterwards countermanded by pro- clamation ; but the proclamation was disregarded; the elections v\ ere held ; and the delegates, who assem- bled and voted themselves a provincial congress, Provincial couducted the affairs of the colony as if they had Massachu'" been regularly invested with all the powers of go- vernment ; atid their recommendations were respected as sacred laws. They drew up a plan for the defence of the pro- AMERICAN COLONIES. 4i25 vince ; provided magazines, ammunition and stores ^IL^^iEZ for twelve thousand militia; and enrolled a number P'epares . • 1 c 1 'or defence, of minute men, a term designatmg a select part ot the militia, who engaged to appear in arms at a minutes warning. On the approach of winter, the general had order- ed temporary barracks to be erected for the troops, partly for their security, and partly to prevent the dis- orders which would unavoidably result from quar- tering them in the town. Such however was the de- testation in which they were held, that the select men and committees obliged the workmen to desist from the work, although they were paid for their labour by the crown, and although employment could, at that time, be seldom obtained. He was not much more successful in his endeavours to obtain carpenters in New York ; and it was with considerable difficulty that these temporary lodgments could be erected. The agency for purchasing winter covering for the troops was offered to almost every merchant in New York ; but such was the danger of engaging in this odious employment, that not only those who were attached to the party resisting the views of adminis- tration, but those also who were in secret friendly to those views, refused undertaking it, and declared " that they never would supply any article for the benefit of men who were sent as enemies to their . country." In Great Britain, a new parliament was assembled icing's * _ speech to and the King, in his opening speech, informed them, parliament. 3H 426 HISTORY OF THE !fiMii^-£[y " that a most daring spirit of resistance and disobe- dience still prevailed in Massachusetts, and had broken forth in fresh violences of a very criminal na- ture ; that the most proper and effectual measures had been taken to prevent these mischiefs ; and that they might depend upon a firm resolution to withstand every attempt to weaken or impair the supreme au- thority of this legislature over all the dominions of the croun." Proceed- The addresscs re-echoed the sentiments of the bo'dy, speech ; all amendments to which were rejected in both houses by cons derable majorities.* Yet the business respecting America was not promptly intro- duced. Administration seems to have hesitated on the course to be adopted ; and the cabinet is said to 1775. have been divided respecting future measures. The few friends of conciliation availed themselves of this delay, to bring forward propositions which might re- store harmony to the empire. Lord Chatham was not yet dead. " This splendid orb,'' to use the bold metaphor of Mr. Burke, " was not yet entirely set. The western horizon was still in a blaze with his de- scending glory ;" and the evening of a life which had exhibited one bright unchequered course of elevated patriotism, was devoted to the service of that country whose aggrandisement seemed to have swallowed up . every other passion of his soul. Taking a prophetic view of the future, he demonstrated the impossibility of subjugating America, and urged, with all the • Belsham. AMERICAN COLONIES. 42/ powers of his vast mind, the immediate removal of£!iAZ:HX the troops from Boston, as a measure indispensably necessary, to open the way for an adjustment of the existing differences with the colonies. Not discour- aged by the great majority against this motion, he brought forward a bill for settling the troubles in America, which was rejected by sixty-one to thirty two voices. The day after the rejection of this bill, lord North moved, in the house of commons, an address to his Majesty, declaring that, from a serious consideration of the American papers, " they find a rebellion actu- ally exists in the province of Massachusetts Bay." In the course of the debate on this address, several pro- fessional gentlemen spoke with the utmost contempt of the mihtary character of the Americans ; and ge- neral Grant, who ought to have known better, de- clared that " at the head of five regiments of infantry, he would undertake to traverse the whole country, and drive the inhabitants from one end of the conti- nent to the other.'' The address was carried by 288 to 106 ; and on a conference, the house of lords agreed to join in it. Lord North, soon after, moved a bill for restraining the trade and commerce of the New England provin- ces, and prohibiting them from carrying on the fishe- ries on the banks of Newfoundland.* While this bill was depending, and only vengeance was breathed by the majority, his lordship, to the as- • Belsham. 428 HISTORY OF TKE CHAP. XIV tnnkhmpnt of all, suddenlv moved, what he termed, 1775, ' ^ his conciliatory proposition. Its amount was, that parliament would forbear to tax any colony, which should tax itself in such a sum as would be perfectly satisfactory. Apparent as it must have been that this proposition would not be accepted in America, it was received with indignation by the majority of the house j and ministers found some difficulty in show- ing that it was in maintenance of the right to tax the colonies. Before it could be adopted lord North con- descended to make the dangerous, and not very re- putable acknowledgment, that it was a proposition de- signed to divide America, and to unite Great Britain. It was transmitted to the governors of the several co- lonies, in a circular letter from lord Dartmouth, with directions to use their utmost influence to prevail on the legislatures to accede to the proposed compromise. These endeavours were not successful. The colo- nists were universally impressed with too strong a conviction of the importance of union, and understood too well the real principle of the contest, to suffer themselves to be divided or deceived by a proposi- tion, conciliatory only in name. After the passage of the bill for restraining the trade of New England, information was received that the inhabitants of the middle and southern colonies, were supporting their northern brethren in every measure of opposition. In consequence of this intel- ligence, a second bill was passed for imposing simi- lar restrictions on East and West Jersey, Pennsyl- AMERICAN COLONIES. 429 vania, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and the ^"^^^^'^^ counties on the Delaware. The favourite colonies of New York and North Carolina were omitted, as being less disaffected than the others. Fortunately, some time afterwards, the house of commons refused to hear a petition from the legislature of New York, which alone had declined acceding to the resolutions of congress, on the suggestion of the minister that it contained claims incompatible with the supremacy of parliament. This haughty rejection had some tenden- cy to convince the advocates of milder measures than had been adopted in their sister colonies, that there was no medium between resistance and absolute sub- mission. The King's speech, and the proceedings of parlia- ment, served only to convince the leaders of opposi- tion in America, that they must indeed prepare to meet '* mournful events.^' They had flattered them- selves that the union of the colonies, the petition of congress to the King, and the address to the people of Great Britain, would produce happy effects. But these measures removed the delusion. The provin- cial congress of Massachusetts pubhshed a resolution informing the people that there was real cause to fear that the reasonable and just applications of that con- tinent to Great Britain for peace, liberty, and safety, would not meet with a favourable reception; that, on the contrary, the tenor of their intelligence, and gene- ral appearances, furnished just cause for the appre- hension that the sudden destruction of that colony, at 430 HISTORY OF THE CHAP. XIV least, was intended. Thev therefore urared the mill- * 1775. . . . • '^ tia in general, and the minute men in particular, to spare neither time, pains, nor expense, to perfect themselves in military discipline ; and also passed re- solutions for procuring and making fire arms and bayonets.* In the mean time, delegates were elected for the ensuing congress. Even in New York, where the influence of administration in the legislature had been sufficient to prevent an adoption of the recommenda- tions of congress, a con\ention was chosen for the purpose of electing members to represent that pro- vince in the grand council of the colonies. In New England, although a determination not to commence hostility appears to have been maintained, an expectation of it, and a settled purpose to repel it, universally prevailed. It was not long before the firmness of this resolu- tion was put to the test. On the night preceding the 19th of April, General Gage detached lieutenant colonel Smith, and major Pitcairn, with the grenadiers and light infantry of the army, amounting to eight or nine hundred men, with orders to destroy some military stores which had been collected at Concord, about eighteen miles from Bos- ton, notwithstanding the secrecy and dispatch which were used, the country was alarmed by messengers sent out by Doctor Warren ; and, on the arrival of the British troops at Lexington, about five in the morn- * Prior documents. Minot. AMERICAN COLONIES. 43t CHAP.XIV 1775. ing, part of the company of militia belonging to the town, was found on the parade, under arms. Major Pitcairn, who led the van, sralloped up, calling: out, ^atueof ' & I I ' i3 ' Lexington " disperse rebels, disperse.'^ He was followed close by his soldiers, who rushed upon the militia with loud huzzas. Some scattering guns were fired, which were immediately followed by a general discharge, and the firing was continued as long as any of the militia appeared. Eight men were killed, and seve- ral wounded. After dispatching six companies of light infantry to guard two bridges which lay at some distance be- yond the town, lieutenant colonel Smith proceeded to Concord. While the main body of the detachment was employed in destroying the stores in the town, some minute men and militia, who were collected from that place and its neighbourhood, having orders not to give the first fire, approached one of the bridges, as if to pass it in the character of common travellers. They were fired on, and two of them were killed. * The fire was instantly returned, and a skirmish ensu- ed, in w hich the regulars were worsted, and compell- ed to retreat with some loss. The alarm now be- coming general, the people rushed to the scene of action, and attacked the King's troops on all sides. Skirmish succeeded skirmish, and they were driven, from post to post, into Lexington. Fortunately for the British, general Gage did not entertain precisely the opinion of the military character of the Americans, which had been expressed in the house of commons 4;33 HISTORY OF THE ^"^775^ " Apprehending the expedition to be not entirely with- out hazard, he had, in the morning, detached lord Percy with sixteen companies of foot, a corps of ma- rines, and two companies of artillery, to support lieutenant colonel Smith. This seasonable reinforce- ment, happening to reach Lexington about the time of his arrival at that place, kept the provincials at a distance with their field pieces, and gave the grena- diers and light infantry time to breathe. But as soon as they resumed their march, the attack was re-com- menced ; and an irregular but galling fire was kept up on each flank, as well as in front and rear, until they arrived, on the common of Charlestown. With- out delay, they passed over the neck to Bunker's hill, where they remained secure for the night, under the protection of their ships of war ; and, early next morning, crossed over to Boston. In this action, the loss of the British in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was two hundred and seven- ty-three ; while that of the provincials did not exceed ninety. This affair, houever trivial in itself, was of great importance in its consequences. It was the commencement of a long and obstinate war, and had no inconsiderable influence on that war, by increasing the confidence which the Americans felt in theai- selves, and by encouraging opposition, with the hope of being successful. It supported the opinion which the colonists had taken up with some doubt, that courage and patriotism were ample substitutes for the knowledge of tactics ; and that their skill in the use AMERICAN COLONIES. 433 of fire arms, gave them a great superiority over their chapxiv. adversaries. Althouirh the previous state of thinj^s was such as to render the commencement of hostilities unavoid- able, each party seemed anxious to throw the blame on its opponent. The British officers allej^ed that they were fired on from a stone wall, before they at- tacked the militia at Lexint^ton ; while the Ameri- cans proved, by numerous depositions, that at Lex- ini^ton, as well as at the bridge near Concord, the first fire was received by them. The statement made by the Americans is supported, not only by the testi- mony adduced, but by other circumstances. In numbers, the militia at Lexington did not exceed one ninth of the British ; and it is not probable that their friends would have provoked their fate while in that perilous situation, by commencing a fire on an enrag- ed soldiery. It is also worthy of attention, that the Americans uniformly sought to cover their proceed- ings with the letter of the law ; and, even after the af- fair at Lexington, made a point of receiving the first fire at the bridge beyond Concord. The provincial congress, desirous of manifesting the necessity under which the militia had acted, sent to their agents, the depositions w hich had been taken relative to the late action, with a letter to the inhabi- tants of Great Britain, stating th.il hostilities had been commenced against them, and detailing the circum- stances attending that event. 31 43^^ HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIV j3^,j ^i^gy ^jjj j^Q^ confine themselves to addresses, 1775. J Massachii- They immediately passed a resolution for raising setis raises "' ,'., 11 ^ ■\/t 1 men. thirteen thousand six hundred men m ivlassachusetts, to be commanded by general Ward ; and called on New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, for their respective quotas, to complete an army of thirty thousand men for the common defence. They also authorised the receiver general to borrow one hun- dred thousand pounds on the credit of the colony, and to issue securities for the re-payment thereof, bearing an interest of six per centum per annum. The neighbouring colonies complied promptly with this requisition ; and, in the mean time, such numbers assembled voluntarily, that many were dis- missed in consequence of the defect of means to sub- sist them in the field ; and the King's troops were themselves blocked up in the peninsula of Boston. About the same time, that enterprising spirit, which pervaded New England, manifested itself in an ex- pedition of considerable merit. The possession of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the command of lakes George and Champlain, were objects of importance in the approaching con- flict. It was known that these posts were weakly defended; and it was believed that the feeble garri- sons remaining in them were the less to be dreaded, because they thought themselves perfectly secure. Under these impressions, some gentlemen of Con- necticut, at the head of whom were Messrs. Deane, Wooster, and Parsons, formed the design of seizing AMERICAN COLONIES. 435 these fortresses by surprise; and borrowed a small <"^tap xiv. sum of money from the legislature of the colony, to enable them to carry on the expedition. About forty volunteers marched from Connecticut towards Ben- nington, where they expected to meet with colonel Ethan Allen, and to engage him to conduct the en- terprise, and to raise an additional number of men. Colonel Allen readily entered into their views, and engaged to meet them at Castleton. Two hundred and seventy men assembled at that place, where they were joined by colonel Arnold, who was associated with colonel Allen in the command. They reached lake Champlain in the night of the ninth of May. Both Allen and Arnold embarked with the first divi- sion consisting of eighty-three men, uho effected a landing without being discovered, and immediately marched against the fort, which, being completely surprised, surrendered without firing a gun. The Ticondero- garrison consisted of only forty-four rank and file, sed. commanded by a captain and one lieutenant. From Ticonderoga, colonel Ssth Warren was detached to take possession of Crown Point, which was garri-c^^^n soned only by a serieant and twelve men. This ser- ^'"''' *"'"" J J J renders. vice was immediately executed, and the fort was taken without opposition. At both these places, military stores of considera- ble value fell into the hands of the Americans. The pass at Skeensborough was seized about the same time by a body of volunteers from Connecticut. To complete the objects of the expedition, it was It 436 HISTORY OF THE ^"^P ^X: necessary to obtain the command of the lakes, which could be accomplished only by seizing a sloop of uar lyinj^ at St. Johns. This service was effected by Arnold, who, having manned and armed a schooner found in South bay, surprised the sloop, and took possession of her without opposition. Thus, by the enterprise of a few individuals, and without the loss of a single man, the important posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point were acquired, with the command of the lakes on which they stand. MetingoF IiiteUiiJ:ence of the capture of Ticonderoga was im- congress. _ '^ ^ ' y mediately transmitted to congress, then just assem- bled at Philadeljjhia. The resolutions passed on the occasion, furnish strong evidence of the solicitude felt by that body, to exonerate the government, in the opinion ol the people, from all suspicion of provok- ing a c( ntinuance of the war, by transcending the Proceed, limits of Self defence. Indubitable evidence, it was body? asserted, had been received of a design for a cruel in- vasion of the colonies from Canada, for the purpose of destroying their lives and liberties; and it was averred that some steps had actually been taken to- wards carrying this design into execution. To a jus- tifiable desire of securing themselves from so heavy a calamity, was attributed the seizure of the posts on the lakes by the neighbouring inhabitants ; and it was re- commended to the committees of New York and Alba- ny to take immediate measures for the removal of the cannon and military stores to some place on the south end of lake George, there to be preserved in safety. AMERICAN COLONIES. 4*37 An exact inventory of the stores was directed to be ^"^p^^v- i775, taken, " in order that they might be safely returned, when the restoration of the former harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, so ardently wished for by the latter, should render it prudent, and consistent with the over-ruling law of self preservation.'' Measures, however, were adopted to maintain the posts ; but, to quiet the apprehensions of their neigh- bours, congress resolved that, having nothing more in view than self defence, " no expedition or incur- sion ought to be undertaken or made by any colony, or body of colonists, against, or into, Canada.'' This resolution was translated into the French lan- guage, and transmitted to the people of that province, in a letter in which all their feelings, and particularly their known attachment to France, were dexterously assailed ; and the effort was earnestly made to kin- dle in their bosoms, that enthusiastic love of liberty which was felt too strongly by the authors of the let- ter, to permit the belief that it could be inoperative with others. During these transactions, generals Howe, Bour- goyne, and Clinton, arrived at Boston, soon after which general Gage issued a proclamation declaring martial law to be in force, and offering pardon to those who would lay down their arms and submit to the King, with the exception of Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. On receiving intelligence of the battle of Lexing- ton, New York appeared to hesitate no longer. In 438 HISTORY OF THE CHAP XIV. tj-iflt place also, the spirit which animated the colonies generally, obtained the ascendancy. Yet the royal party remained formidable ; and it was thou.^ht advi- sable to march a body of Connecticut troops into the neighbourhood, professedly to protect the town against some British regiments expected from Ireland, but really with the design of protecting the patriotic party. The middle and southern colonies, though not so forward as those of the north, laid aside the establish- ed government, and prepared for hostilities. Transac- In Virginia, the governor, lord Dunmore, had just v^irginia. rctumcd from a successful expedition against the In- dians, in which he had acquired considerable popu- larity. Presuming too much on the favour of the moment, and dissatisfied with some recommendations concerning the militia and independent companies made by the colonial convention which had assem- bled in Richmond, he employed the captain of an armed vessel then lying in James river, a few miles from Williamsburg, to convey to his ship by night, a part of the powder in the magazine, belonging to the colony. This measure, though conducted with great secre- cy, was discovered; and the people of the town a »• sembled next morning in arms, for the purpose of de- manding restitution of the property which had been taken. The magistrates, having prevailed on them to disperse, presented an address to the governor, re- monstrating against the removal of the povvder, which they alleged to be the more injurious, because it was AMERICAN COLONIES. 439 necessary for their defence in the event of an insur- ^!L^^2EiI: rection among their slaves. The governor acknou ledged that the powder had been removed by his order, but gave assurances that he would restore it, if an insurrection of the slaves should render the measure necessary. Unsatisfac- tory as this answer was, no farther means were used in Williamsburg for its recovery. This transaction excited a strong sensation in the interior of the country. Meetings were held in seve- ral counties, and the conduct of the governor was greatly condemned. The independent companies of Hanover and King William, at the instance of Mr. Patrick Henry, a member of congress, assembled, and marched for Williamsburg, with the avowed de- sign of compelling restitution of the powder, or of ob- taining its value. Their march was stopped by the active interposition of Mr. Braxton, who obtained from the King's receiver general, a bill for the value of the property that had been removed, with which he re- turned to the companies, and prevailed on them to relinquish a farther prosecution of the enterprise.* The alarm occasioned by this movement induced lady Dunmore, to retire with her family on board the Fowey man of war, lying in James river ; whilst his • The independent companies of the upper part of the northern neck, also assembled to the number of about six hundred men, and proceeded on horse- back as far as Fredericksburg, when a council was held in which Richard Henry Lee, ihen on his way to congress, presided, which advised their return '9 iheir respective homes. 440 HISTORY OF THE ^!L^i^^Z lordship fortified, his i)alace, which he garrisoned with a corps of marines ; and published a proclamation in which he chartjed those who had pr')cured the bill from the receiver general, with rebellious practices. During this state of irritation, lord North's concili- atory proposition was received ; and an assembly was suddenly called, to whose consideration it was sub- mitted. The governor used all his address to pro- cure its acceptance ; but, in Virginia, as in the other colonies, it was rejected, because it obviously involv- ed a surrender of the whole subject in contest. One of the first measures of the assembly was to in- quire into the causes of the late disturbances, and par- ticularly to examine the state of the magazine. Al- though this building belonged to the colony, it was in the custody of the governor ; and, before admittance could be obtained, some persons of the neighbourhood broke into it, one of whom was wounded by a spring gun, and it was found that the powder which remained had been buried, and that the guns were deprived of their locks. These circumstances excited so great a Governor ferment that the governor thought proper to w ithdraw i-pti"?no to the Fowey man of war. Several letters passed be- Ihb^oT wi. *^'^^" him and the legislature containing reciprocal complaints of each other, in the course of which they pressed his return to the seat of government, while he insisted on their coming on board the Fowey. They were content that he should, even there, give his assent to some bills that were prepared, but he re- fused so to do, and the assembly dissolved itself; the AMERICAN COLONIES. 44<1 members being generally elected to a convention then chap.xiv about to meet in Richmond. Thus terminated for ever, the regal government in Virginia. In South Carolina, so soon as intelligence of the provinciax battle of Lexington was received, a provincial con- s°"^h^Ca-^ gress was called by the committee of correspondence, ''^i'"*- An association was formed, the members of which pledged themselves to each other to repel force by force, whenever the continental or provincial congress should determine it to be necessary; and declared that they would hold all those inimical to the colonies, who should refuse to subscribe it. The congress also de- termined to put the town and province in a posture of defence, and agreed to raise two regiments of infantry, and one of rangers. While the congress was in session, lord William Arrival of Campbell, who had been appointed governor, arrived iL',mCamp.- in the province, and was received with those demon- strations of joy which had been usual on such occa- sions. The congress waited on him with an address expressing the causes of their proceedings ; in which they declared that no love of innovation, no desire of altering the constitution of government, no lust of in- dependence, had the least influence on their councils; but that they had been compelled to associate and take up arms, solely for the preservation, and in de- fence, of their lives, liberties, and property. They entreated his excellency to make such a representa- tion of the state of the colony, and of their true mo- 3 K 44S HISTORY OF THE (^HAP_xiv. tjveg^ as to assure his majesty that he had no subjects who more sincerely desired to testify their loyalty and affection, or would be more willing to devote their lives and fortunes to his real service. His lordship returned a mild and prudent answer.* For some time lord William Campbell conducted himself w ith such apparent moderation, as to remain on good terms with the leaders of the opposition ; but he was secretly exerting all the influence of his station to defeat their views ; and was, at length, de- tected in carrying on negotiations with the Indians, and with the disaffected in the interior. These people had been induced to believe that the inhabitants of the sea coast, in order to exempt their tea from a trifling tax, were about to engage them in a contest, which would deprive them of their salt, osnaburgs, and other imported articles of absolute necessity. The detection of these intrigues excited such a fer- ment that the governor was compelled to fly from Charleston, and take refuge on board a ship of war in the river. The government was then, as elsewhere, taken entirely into the hands of men chosen by the people ; and a body of provincial troops was ordered into that part of the country which adhered to the royal cause, ^^here many individuals, contrary to the advice of governor Campbell, had risen in arms. The leaders were seized, and their followers dis- persed. In North Carolina also, governor Martin was charg- " Gordon. AMERICAN COLONIES. 'HiS ed with fomenting a civil war, and exciting an in- chapxiv surrection among the negroes. Relying on the aid he expected from the disaffected, especially from some highland emigrants, he made preparations for the de- fence of his palace ; but the people taking the alarm before his troops were raised, he was compelled to seek safety on board a sloop of war in Cape Fear river; soon after which, the committee resolved " that no per- son or persons whatsoever should have any correspon- dence with him, on pain of being deemed enemies to the liberties of America, and dealt with accordingly.'' As soon as congress was organised, Mr. Hancock laid before that body the depositions show ing that, in the battle of Lexington, the King's troops were the aggressors ; together wiih the proceedings of the pro- vincial congress of Massachusetts on that subject. The affairs of America were now arrived at a crisis to which they had been, for some time, rapidly tend- ing ; and it had become necessary for the delegates of the other provinces finally to determine, either to em- bark with New England in war, or, by separating from her, to surrender the object for which they had jointly contended, and submit to that unlimited su- premacy which was claimed by parliament. Even among the well informed, the opinion that the contest would ultimately be determined by the sword, had not become general. The hope had been indulged by many of the popular leaders, that the union of the colonies, the extent and serious aspect of the opposition, and the distress which their non-im- 4;14.' HISTORY OF THE CHAP. X IV i;75. portation as^reements would produce among the mer- chants and manufacturers of the parent state, would induce administration to recede from its high preten- sions, and restore harmony and free intercourse. This opinion had derived strength from the commu- nications made them by their zealous friends in Eng- land. The divisions and discontents of that country, had been represented as much greater than the fact would justify ; and the exhortations transmitted to them to persevere in the honourable course which had been commenced with so much glory, had ge- nerally been accompanied with assurances that suc- cess would yet crown their patriotic labours. Many had engaged with zeal in the resistance made by America, and had acted on a full conviction of the correctness of the principles for which they contend- ed, who would have felt some reluctance in support- ing the measures which had been adopted, had they believed that those measures would produce war. But each party counted too much on the divisions of the other ; and each seems to have taken step after step, in the hope that its adversary would yield the point in contest, without resorting to open force. Thus, on both sides, the public feeling had been gra- dually conducted to a point, which would, in the first instance, have been viewed with horror, and had been prepared for events, which, in the beginning of the controversy, would have alarmed the most intrepid. The prevailing sentiment in the middle and southern colonies slill was, that a reconciliation, on the terms AMERICAN COLONIES. 445 proposed by America, was not even yet imprar.tica- chap. xiv ble, and was devoutly to be wished ; but that war was to be preferred to a surrender of those rights, for which they had contended, and to which they behev- ed every British subject, wherever placed, to be un- questionably entitled. They did not hesitate there- fore which part of the alternative to embrace ; and their delegates united cordially with those of the north, in such measures as the exigency required. The resolution was unanimous that, as hostilities had actually commenced, and as large reinforcements to the British army were expected, these colonies should be immediately put in a state of defence, and the militia of New York be armed and trained, and kept in readiness to act at a moments warning. Congress also determined to embody a number of men, without delay, for the protection of the inhabitants of that place, but did not authorise opposition to the landing of any troops which might be ordered to that station by the crown. The convention of New York had already consulted congress on this subject, and had been advised to permit the soldiers to take possession of the barracks, and to remain there so long as they conducted themselves peaceably ; but, if they should commit hostilities, or invade private property, to repel force by force. Thus anxious was congress even after a battle had been fought, not to widen the breach between the two countries. In addition to the real wish for reconciliation, sound policy directed that the people of America should engage in the arduous con- 446 HISTORY OF THE CHAP.xiv . flict which was approaching, with a perfect conviction that it was forced upon them, and not invited by the intemperate conduct of their leaders. TKe divisions existing in several of the States suggested the pro- priety of this conduct, even to those who despaired of deriving any other benefit from it, than a greater degree of union among their own countrymen. In this spirit, congress mingled with the resolutions for putting the country in a state of defence, others ex- pressing the most earnest wish for reconciliation with the mother country, to effect which, that body deter- mined to address, once more, an humble and dutiful petition to the King, and to adopt measures for open- ing a negotiation in order " to accommodate the un- happy disputes subsisting between Great Britain and the colonies.'' As no great confidence could be placed in the suc- cess of pacific propositions, the resolution for putting the country in a state of defence was accompanied with others rendered necessary by that undetermined state between war and peace, in which America was placed. All exports to those colonies, which had not deputed members to congress, were stopped ; and all supplies of provisions, and other necessaries, to the British fisheries, or to the army or navy in Masachu- setts Bay, or to any vessels employed in transporting British troops to America, or from one colony to ano- ther, were prohibited. Though this resolution was only an extension of the system of commercial resis- tance which had been adopted before the commence- AMERICAN COLONIES. 447 ment of hostilities, and was evidently provoked hy chap, xiv the late act ol parliament, it seems to have been en- tirely unexpected, and certainly produced great dis- tress. Massachusetts having stated the embarrassments resulting from being without a regular government, *' at a time when an army was to be raised to defend themselves against the butcheries and devastations of their implacable enemies,'^ and having declared a readiness to conform to such general plan as congress might recommend to the colonies, it was resolved " that no obedience is due to the act of parliament for altering the charter of that colony, nor to officers who, instead of observing that charter, seek its subversion." The governor and lieutenant governor, therefore, were to be considered as absent, and their offices vacant. To avoid the intolerable inconveniences arising from a total suspension of government, " especially at a time when general Gage had actually levied war, and was carrying on hostilities against his majesty's peace- able and loyal subjects in that colony," it was " re- commended to the convention to write letters to the inhabitants of the several places which are entitled to representation in the assembly, requesting them to choose such representatives ; and that such assembly or council exercise the powers of government until a governor of his majesty's appointment will consent to govern the colony, according to its charter."* These resolutions were quickly followed by others • Journals of congress. 418 HISTORY OF THE CHAp.xiv. of greater vigour, denoting more decidedly, a deter- mination to prepare for the last resort of nations. It was earnestly recommended to the conventions of all the colonies to provide the means of making gun powder, and to obtain the largest possible sup- plies of ammunition. Even the non-importation agreement was relaxed in favour of vessels importing these precious materials. The conventions were also urged to arm and discipline the militia; and so to class them, that one- fourth should be minute men. They were also requested to raise several regular corps for the service of the continent ; and a general resolution was entered into, authorising any province thinking itself in danger, to raise a body of regulars not ex- ceeding one thousand men, to be paid by the united colonies. Congress also proceeded to organise the higher de- partments of the army, of which, colonel George Washington of Virginia was appointed commander in chiet.* Bills of credit to the amount of three millions of dollars were emitted for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the war, and the faith of the twelve con- federated colonies was pledged for their redemption. Articles of war for the government of the continental army were formed ; though the troops were raised • At'temus Ward of Massachusetts, then commanding the troo|)S before Boston; colonel Charles Lee, lat- ly an officer in ihe British seivice ; and Israel Putnam of Connecticut, were appointed uinjor gi nrals; Horatio Gates, wUo had held the rank of major in the British service, was appointed adjutant ge- neral AMERICAN COLONIES. 449 under the authority of the respective colonies, without chap, xiv even a requisition from conp;ress, except in a few in- stances. A solemn dignified declaration, in form of Manifesto a manifesto, was prepared, to be published to the° '^°"S''es ■ army in orders, and to the people from the pulpit. After detailing the causes of their opposition to the mother country, with all the energy of men feeling the injuries of which they complain, the manifesto ex- claims " but why should we enumerate our injuries in detail ? By one statute, it is declared that parlia- ment can, of right, make laws to bind us in all cases whatsoever ! What is to defend us against so enor- mous, so unlimited a power ? Not a single man of those who assume it, is chosen by us, or is subject to our control or influence : but, on the contrary, they are, all of them, exempt from the operation of such laws ; and an American revenue, if not diverted from the ostensible purposes for which it is raised, would actually lighten their own burdens in proportion <\s they increase ours. We saw the misery to which such despotism would reduce us. We, for ten years, incessantly and ineffectually, besieged the throne as supplicants ; we reasoned, we remonstrated with par- liament in the most mild and decent language." The manifesto next enumerates the measures adopted by administration to enforce the claims of Great Britain, and then adds, — " we are reduced to the alternative of choosing an unconstitutional sub- mission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resis- tance by force. — The latter is our choice. We have 3L 450 HISTOKY OF THE '""^r„^'^ counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honour, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretched- ness vdiich inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them. " Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Oui internal resources are great ; and, if necessary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attainable. We gratefully acknowledge, as signal instances of the divine favour towards us, that his providence would not permit us to be called into this severe controversy, until we were grown up to our present strength, had been previous- ly exercised in warlike operation, and possessed of the means of defending ourselves. With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, DECLARE that, exert- ing the utmost energy of those powers which our be- neficent creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have been compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance, employ for the preservation of our liberties ; being with one mind re- solved to die freemen, rather than to live slaves. *' Lest this declaration should disquiet the minds of our friends and fellow subjects in any part of the empire, we assure them that we mean not to dissolve AMERICAN COLONIES. 451 that union which has so long and fo happily subsist- chap.xiv . ed between us, and which we sincerely wish to see restored. Necessity has not yet driven us to that desperate measure, or induced us to excite any other nation to war against them. We have not raised ar- mies with ambitious designs of separating from Great Britain, and establishing independent states. We fight not for glory, or for conquest. We exhibit to mankind the remarkable spectacle of a people attack- ed by unprovoked enemies, without any imputation or even suspicion of offence. They boast of their privileges and civilization, and yet proffer no milder conditions than servitude or death. *' In our own native land in defence of the free- dom that is our birth right, and which we ever enjoy- ed until the late violation of it, for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our forefathers, and ourselves, against violence ac- tually offered, we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before." Some intelligence respecting the movements of the British army having excited a suspicion that general Gage intended to penetrate into the country, the pro- vincial congress recommended it to the council of war - to take measures for the defence of Dorchester neck, and to occupy Bunker's hill, a commanding piece of ground just within the peninsula on which Charles- town stands. In observance of these instructions, a 4'5S HISTORY OP THE CHAP. XIV ^ptarVirppnt of 0116 thousand men, commanded by colonel Prescot, was ordered to take possession of this ground ; but, by some mistake. Breed's hill, si- tuate nearer to Boston, was marked out, instead of Bunker's hill, for the proposed intrenchments. The party sent on this service worked with so much deligence and secrecy that, by the dawn of day, they had thrown up a small square redoubt, without alarming some ships of war which lay in the river at no great distance. As soon as the returning light discovered this work to the ships, a heavy cannonade was commenced upon it, which the provincials sus- tained with firmness. They continued to labour until they had thrown up a small breast work stretching from the east side of the redoubt to the bottom of the hill, so as to extend considerably their line of defence. As this eminence overlooked Boston, general Gage determined to drive the provincials from it ; and for this purpose, detached major general Howe, and bri- gadier general Pigot, at the head of ten companies of grenadiers, and the same number of light infantry, with a proper proportion of field artillery. These troops landed at More ton's point ; but, perceiving that the Americans waited for them with firmness, they remained on their ground until the arrival of a rein- forcement from Boston, for which general Howe had applied. During this interval, the Americans also were reinforced by a detachment under the command of generals Warren and Pommeroy ; and they avail- ed themselves of this delay to strengthen their dcfen- AMERICAN COLONIES. 453 CHAP. XIV 1775. ces with some adjoining posts and rails which they pulled up and arranged in two parallel lines at a small distance from each other ; filling the space between with hay, so as to form a complete cover from the musketry of the assailants. The British troops, on being joined by their second detachment, advanced slowly, in two lines, under cover of a heavy discharge of cannon and howitzers, frequently halting in order to allow their artillery time to demolish the works. While they were ad- vancing, orders were given to set fire to Charlestown, a handsome village, which flanked their line of march, and which was soon consumed. It is not easy to conceive a spectacle more grand and more awful than was now exhibited, nor a mo- ment of more anxious expectation. The scene of ac- tion was in full view of the heights of Boston and of its neighbourhood, which were covered with specta- tors taking deep and opposite interests in the events passing before them. The soldiers of the hostile ar- mies not on duty, the citizens of Boston, and the in- habitants of the adjacent country; all feeling emotions which set description at defiance, were witnesses of the majestic and tremendous scene. The provincials permitted the English to approach Battle ot unmolested, within less than one hundred yards of hi[r the works, and then poured in upon them so deadly a fire that their line was broken, and they fell back with precipitation towards the landing place. By the great exertions of their officers, they were rallied 454< HISTORY OF THE ^"^r* ^^^- ^"^ brought up to the charge ; but were again driveti back in confusion by the heavy and incessant fire from the works. General Howe is said to have been left, at one time, almost alone ; and it is certain that few officers about his person escaped unhurt. The impression to be made by victory or defeat in this early stage of the war, was deemed so impor- tant that extraordinary exertions were used once more to rally the English. With difficulty, they were led a third time to the works. The redoubt was attack- ed on three sides, while some pieces of artillery raked the breast work from end to end. At the same time, a cross fire from the ships, and floating batteries lying on both sides of the isthmus by which the peninsula is connected with the continent, not only annoyed the works on Breed's hill, but deterred any considerable reinforcements from entering the peninsula. The am- munition of the Americans being nearly exhausted, they were no longer able to keep up the same inces- sant stream of lire which had twice repulsed the as- sailants; and the redoubt, which the English mounted with ease, was carried at the point of the bayonet. Yet the Americans, many of whom were without bayonets, are said to have maintained the contest with clubbed muskets, until the redoubt was half filled with the King's troops. The redoubt being lost, the breast work was aban- doned ; and the hazardous movement was accom- plished, of retreating in the face of a victorious ene- my over Charlestown neck ; exposed to the same AMERICAN COLONIES. 455 cross fire, which had deterred the reinforcements from chap.xiv coming to their assistance. The detachment employed on this enterprise con- sisted of about three thousand men, composing the flower of the British army ; and high encomiums were bestowed on the resolution they displayed. Accord- ing to the returns, their killed and wounded amount- ed to one thousand and fifty four, — an immense pro- portion of the number engaged in the action. Not- withstanding the danger of the retreat over Charles- town neck, the loss of the Americans was stated at only four hundred and fifty men. Among the killed was Doctor Warren, a gentleman greatly beloved and regretted, who fell just after the provincials began their retreat from the breast work. At the time, the colonial force on the peninsula was generally stated at fifteen hundred men. It has been since estimated at four thousand. Although the Americans lost the ground, they claimed the victory. Many of the advantages of vic- tory were certainly gained. Their confidence in themselves was greatly increased ; and it was asked, universally, how many more such triumphs the inva- ders of their country could afford ? The British army had been treated too roughly, to attempt farther offensive operations. They contented themselves with seizing and fortifying Bunker-s hill, which secured the peninsula of Charlestovvn ; in which, however, they remained as closely blockaded as in that of Boston. 456 HISTORY OF THE ^^^mf^^ -^^^ Americans were much elated by the intrepidi- ty their raw troops had displayed, and the execution they had done, in this ens^agement. They fondly cherished the belief that courage, and dexterity in the use of fire arms, woiild bestow advantages amply compensating the want of discipline. Unfortunately for the colonies, this course of thinking was not con- fined to the mass of the people. It seems to have extended to those who guided the public councils, and to have contributed to the adoption of a system, which, more than once, brought their cause to the brink of ruin. They did not distinguish sufficiently between the momentary efforts of a few brave men, brought together by a high sense of the injuries which threatened their country, and carried into ac- tion under the influence of keen resentments ; and those steady persevering exertions under continued suffering, which must be necessary to bring an im- portant war to a happy termination. Nor did they examine, with sufficient accuracy, several striking cir- cumstances attending the battle which had been fought. It is not easy to read the accounts given of the action without being persuaded, that, had the Americans on Breed's hill been supplied with ammu- nition, and been properly supported ; had the rein- forcements ordered to their assistance entered the peninsula, as soldiers in habits of obedience would have done, and there displayed the heroic courage which was exhibited b) their countrymen engaged in defence of the works ; the assailants must have been AMERICAN COLONIES. *57 defeated, and the flower of the British army cut tnCHAP.xiv. pieces. It ought also to have been remarked that, while the few who were endowed with more than a common portion of bravery, encountered the danger of executing the orders they had received, the many were deterred by the magnitude of that danger. But it is not by the few that great victories are to be gained, or a country to be saved. Amidst these hostile operations, the voice of peace was yet heard. Allegiance to the King was still ac- knowledged ; and a lingering hope remained that an accommodation was not impossible. Congress voted a petition to his majesty, replete with professions of duty and attachment ; and addressed a letter to the people of England, conjuring them by the endearing . appellations of " friends, countrymen, and brethren," to prevent the dissolution of " that connexion which the remembrance of former friendships, pride in the glorious achievements of common ancestors, and af- fection for the heirs of their virtues, had heretofore maintained." They uniformly disclaimed any idea of independence, and professed themselves to con- sider union with England on constitutional principles as the greatest blessing which could be bestowed on them. But Britain had determined to maintain, by force, the legislative supremacy of parliament ; and Ame- rica was equally determined, by force, to repel the claim. 3M APPENDIX. NOTE— No. I. The annals of Massachusetts, for this period, exhibit one of those wonderful cases of popular delusion, which infecting every class of society, and gaining strength from its very extravagance; triumphing over human reason, and cruelly sporting with human life ; reveal to man his deplorable imbecility, and would teach him, if the experience of others could teach, never to countenance a departure from that moderation, and those safe and sure princi- ples of moral rectitude which have stood the test of time, and have received the approbation of the wise and good in all ages. A very detailed and interesting account of the humiliating and affecting events here alluded to has been given bj Mr. Hutchin- son, but is too long to be inserted entire in this work : they were, however, of too much magnitude while passing, to be en- tirely unnoticed even at this day. In Great Britain, as well as in America, the opinion had long prevailed that, by the aid of malignant spirits, certain persons possessed supernatural powers, which were usually exercised in the mischievous employment of tormenting others ; and the criminal code of both countries was disgraced with laws for the punishment of witchcraft. With considerable intervals between them, some few instances had occurred in New England of put- ting this sanguinary law in force; but in the year 1692, this weakness was converted into frenzy ; and after exercising suc- cessfully its destructive rage on those miserable objects whose 460 APPENDIX. wayward dispositions had excited the ill opinion, or whose age and wretchedness ought to have secured them the pity of their neighbours, its baneful activity was extended to persons in every situation of life, and many of the most reputable members of society became its victims. The first scene of this distressing tragedy was laid in Salem. The public mind had been prepared for its exhibition by some publications, stating the evidence adduced in former trials for witchcraft both in Old and New England, in which full proof was supposed to have been given of the guilt of the accused. Soon after this, some young girls in Boston had accustomed them- selves to fall into fits, and had aifected to be struck dead on the production of certain popular books, such as the assembly's cate- chism, and Cotton's milk for babes, while they could read Oxford's jests, or popish and quaker books, with many others, which were deemed profane, witliout being in any manner affected by them. These pretences, instead of exposing the fraud to instant detec- tion, seem to have promoted the cheat ; and they were supposed to be possessed by demons who were utterly confounded at the production of those holy books. "Sometimes," says Mr. Hut- chinson, " they were deaf, then dumb, then blind ; and some- times, all these disorders together would come upon them. Their tongues would be drawn down their throats, then pulled out upon their chins. Their jaws, necks, shoulders, elbows, and all their joints would appear to be dislocated, and they would make most piteous outcries of burnings, of being cut with knives, beat, &c. and the marks of wounds were afterwards to be seen." At length an old Irish woman, not of good character, who had given one of those girls some harsh language, and to whom all tiiis diabolical mischief was attributed, was apprehended by the magistracy ; and neither confessing nor denying the fact, was, on the certificate of physicians that she was compos mentis, con- demned and executed. Sir William Phipps, the governor, on his arrival from England, brought with him opinions which could not fail to strengthen the popular prejudice, and the lieutenant governor supported one which was well calculated to render it sanguinary. He main APPENDIX. 461 tained that though the devil might appear in the shape of a guil- ty person, he could never be permitted to assume that of an in- nocent one. Consequently, when those who affected to perceive the form which tormented them designated any particular person as guilty, the guilt of that person was established, because he could not, if innocent, be personated by an evil spirit. The public mind being thus predisposed, four girls in Salem, complained of being afflicted in the same manner with those in Boston. The physicians, unable to account for the disorder, at- tributed it to witchcraft, and an old Indian woman in the neigh- bourhood was selected as the witch. The attention bestowed on these girls gave them great importance ; and not only confirm- ed them in the imposture, but produced other competitors who were ambitious of the same distinction. Several other persons were now bewitched ; and not only the old Indian, but two other old women, the one bedridden, and the other subject to melan- choly and distraction, were accused as witches. It was neces- sary to keep up the agitation already excited, by furnishing fresh subjects for astonishment ; and in a short time, the accusations extended to persons who were in respectable situations. The manner in which these accusations were received, evidenced such a degree of public credulity, that the impostors seem to have been convinced of their power to assail with impunity, all whom caprice or malignity might select for their victims. Such was the prevailing infatuation, that in one Instance, a child of five years old was charged as an accomplice in these pretended crimes ; and if the nearest relatives of the accused manifested either tenderness for their situation, or resentment at the injury done their friends, they drew upon themselves the vengeance of these profligate impostors, and were involved in the dangers from which they were desirous of rescuing those with whom they were most intimately connected. For going out of church when allusions were made from the pulpit to a person of fait fame, a sister was charged as a witch ; and for accompanying on her examination a wife who had been apprehended, the husband was involved in the same prosecution, and was condemned and executed. In the presence of the magistrates these flagitiou'" 462 APPENDIX. accusers affected extreme a^ony, and attributed to those whom they accused, the power of torturing them by a look. The ex- aminations were all taken in writing, and several of them are detailed at full length in Mr. Hutchinson's history of Massachu- setts. They exhibit a deplorable degree of blind infatuation on one side, and of atrocious profligacy on the other, which if not well attested, could s( arcely be supposed to have existed. Many persons of sober lives, and unblemished characters, were committed to prison ; and the public prejudices had already pronounced their doom. Against charges of this nature, thus conducted, no defence could possibly be made. To be accused was to be found guilty. The very grossness of the imposition seeme7/ Province of Massachusetts Bay, Feb. 11, 1768. Sir, The house of representatives of this province have taken into their consideration the great difficulties that must accrue to themselves and their constituents, by the operation of the seve- ral acts of parliament imposing duties and taxes on the Amei'i- can colonies. As it is a subject in which every colony is deeply interested, they have no reason to doubt but your house is duly impressed with its importance : and that such constitutional measures will be come into as are proper. It seems to be necessary, that all possible care should be taken that the representations of the se- veral assemblies, upon so delicate a point, should harmonise with each other : the house, therefore, hope that this letter will be candidly considered in no other light, than as expressing a dis- position freely to communicate their mind to a sister colony, upon a common concern, in the same manner as they would be glad to receive the sentiments of your or any other house of as- sembly on the continent. APPENDIX. 47r> The house have humbly represented to the ministry their own sentiments ; that his majesty's high court of parliament is the supreme legislative power over the whole empire : that in all free states the constitution is fixed : and, as the supreme legis- lative derives its power and authority from the constitution, it cannot overleap the bounds of it, without destroying its founda- tion ; that the constitution ascertains and limits both sovereignty and allegiance ; and therefore, his majesty's American subjects who acknowledge themselves bound by the ties of allegiance* have an equitable claim to the full enjoyment of the fundamen- tal rules of the British constitution ; that it is an essential un- alterable right in nature, ingrafted into the British constitution as a fundamental law, and ever held sacred and irrevocable by the subjects within the realm, that what a man hath honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may freely give, but cannot be taken from him without his consent ; that the Ame- rican subjects may therefore, exclusive of any consideration of charter rights, with a decent firmness adapted to the charac- ter of freemen and subjects, assert this natural and constitu- tional right. It is moreover their humble opinion, which they express with the greatest deference to the wisdom of the parliament, that the acts made there, imposing duties on the people of this province, with the sole and express purpose of raising a revenue, are in- fringements of their natural and constitutional rights ; because as they are not represented in the British parliament, his ma- jesty's commons in Britain by those acts grant their property without their consent. This house further are of opinion, that their constituents, con- sidering their local circumstances, cannot by any possibility be represented in the parliament ; and that it will forever be im- practicable that they should be equally represented there, and consequently not at all, being separated by an ocean of a thou- sand leagues : that his majesty's royal predecessors, for this reason, were graciously pleased to form a subordinate legisla- tive here, that their subjects might enjoy the unalienable right of a representation. Also, that, considering the utter impracti- 3 O 474 APPENDIX. cability of their ever being fully and equally represented in par- liament, and the great expense that must unavoidably attend even a partial representation there, this house think, that a tax- ation of their constituents, even without their consent, grievous as it is, would be preferable to any representation that could be admitted for them there. Upon these principles, and also considering that were the right in the parliament ever so clear, yet for obvious reasons it would be beyond the rule of equity, that their constituents should be taxed on the manufactures of Great Britain here, in addition to the duties they pay for them in England, and other advantages arising to Great Britain from the acts of trade ; this house have preferred a humble, dutiful, and loyal petition to our most gracious sovereign, and made such representation to his majesty's ministers, as they apprehend would tend to obtain redress. They have also submitted to consideration, whether any peo- ple can be said to enjoy any degree of freedom, if the crown, in addition to its undoubted authority of constituting a governor, should appoint him such a stipend as it shall judge proper with- out the consent of the people, and at their expense ; and whe- ther, while the judges of the land, and other civil officers, hold not their commissions during good behaviour, their having sala- ries appointed for them by the crown, independent of the peo- ple, hath not a tendency to subvert the principles of equity, and endanger the happiness and security of the subject. In addition to these measures, the house have written a letter to their agent Mr. de Berdt, the sentiments of which he is di- rected to lay before the ministry; wherein they take notice of the hardship of the act for preventing mutiny and desertion, which requires the governor and council to provide enumerated articles for the king's marching troops and the people to pay the expense : and also the commission of the gentlemen appoint- ed commissioners of the customs to reside in America, which authorises them to make as many appointments as they think fit, and to pay the appointees what sums they please, for whose mal-conduct they are not accountable; from whence it may APPENDIX. 475 happen, that officers of the crown may be multiplied to such a degree, as to become dangerous to the liberties of the people, by virtue of a commission which doth not appear to this house to deiive any such advantages to trade as many have been led to expect. These are the sentiments and proceedings of the house, and as they have too much reason to believe that the enemies of the colonies have represented them to his majesty's ministers and the parliament as factious, disloyal, and having a disposition to make themselves independent of the mother country, they have taken occasion in the most humble terms, to assure his majesty and his ministers, that, with regard to the people of this pro- vince, and, as they doubt not, of all the colonies, the chaige is unjust. The house is fully satisfied, that your assembly is too generous and enlarged in sentiment to believe, that this letter proceeds from an ambition of taking the lead, or dictating to the other assemblies : they freely submit their opinion to the judgment of others; and shall take it kind in your house to point out to them any thing further that may be thought necessary. This house cannot conclude without expressing their firm con- fidence in the king, our common head and father, that the united and dutiful supplications of his distressed American subjects will meet with his royal and favourable acceptance. a .^OT^No^VI. A. b9 7. An account of the origin of these committees, and of their mode of proceeding, is thus given by Mr. Gordon, and is not un- worthy of attention. " Governor Hutchinson and his adherents having been used to represent the party in opposition, as only an uneasy factious few in Boston, while the body of the people were quite content- ed ; Mr. Samuel Adams was thereby induced to visit Mr. James 470 APPENDIX. Warren, of Plymouth. After conversing upon the subject, the latter proposed to originate and establish committees of corres- pondence in the several towns of the colony, in order to learn the strength of the friends to the rights of the continent, and to unite and increase their force. Mr. Samuel Adams returned to Boston, pleased with the proposal, and communicated the same to his confidents. Some doubted whether the measure would prosper, and dreaded a disappointment which might injure the cause of liberty. But it was concluded to proceed. The prime managers were about six in number, each of whom, when sepa- rate, headed a division ; the several individuals of which, col- lected and led distinct subdivisions. In this manner the politi- cal engine has been constructed. The different parts are not equally good and operative. liike other bodies, its composition includes numbers who act mechanically, as they are pressed this way or that way by those who judge for them ; and divers of the wicked, fitted for evil practices, when the adoption of them is thought necessary to particular purposes, and a part of whose creed it is, that in political matters the public good is above every other consideration, and that all rules of morality when in competition with it, may be safely dispensed with. When any important transaction is to be brought forward, it is tho- roughly considered by the prime managers. If they approve, each communicates it to his own division ; from thence, if adopt- ed, it passes to the several subdivisions, which form a general meeting in order to canvass the business. The prime managers being known only by few to be the promoters of it, are desired to be present at the debate, that they may give their opinion when it closes. If they observe that the collected body is in general strongly against the measure they wish to have carried, they declare it to be improper : is it opposed by great numbers, but not warmly, they a