CHAP. IV.

After the death of King William, which happened on the 8th of March 1702,

agreeable to the act made for settling the succession, the crown devolved

on Anne Stewart, the youngest daughter of King James II. by his first

marriage. At her accession to the throne, though in reality she was no

friend to the Whig party, she declared that she would make the late

king's conduct the model of her own, and maintain the succession to the

crown in the Protestant line. The first object of her reign was to humble

the pride of France, the power of which nation had at that time grown to

such an exorbitant height, as to endanger the liberties of Europe. Lewis

XIV. had such influence with the Spanish nation, as to persuade them to

join him in proclaiming the pretended Prince of Wales king of Great

Britain and Ireland. He had also made many encroachments on the freedom

of English commerce and navigation. The indignity offered to her crown

Queen Anne determined to resent, and therefore, on the 4th of May,

declared war against France and Spain, which, for many years, she carried

on with amazing vigour and success.

About this juncture Sir Nathaniel Johnson received a commission from John

Lord Granville, investing him with the government of Carolina, to which

office a salary of two hundred pounds was annexed, to be paid annually by

the Receiver-general of the colony. This gentleman had not only been bred

a soldier from his youth, but had been also a member of the house of

commons, and was well qualified for the trust. But it being suspected

that he was no friend to the Revolution, the Proprietors could not obtain

her majesty's approbation of him, but on the following terms: That he

qualify himself for the office in such a manner as the laws of England

required; that he give security for his observing the laws of trade and

navigation, and obey such instructions as should be sent out from time to

time by her majesty; and the Lords Commissioners of trade and plantations

were ordered to take care that good and sufficient security be given by

him.

[Sidenote] His instructions.

With respect to his own conduct in the government of the colony, he had

instructions from the Proprietors to follow such rules as had been given

to former governors, in the fundamental constitutions and temporary laws

entered upon record, and to be guided by the same as far as in his

judgment he might think fit and expedient. He was required, with the

advice and assistance of his council, carefully to review the

constitutions, and such of them as he should think necessary to the

better establishment of government, and calculated for the good of the

people, he was ordered to lay before the assembly for their concurrence

and assent. He was to use his endeavors to dispose of their lands; but to

take nothing less than twenty pounds for a thousand acres; and, in all

future grants to make them escheat to the Proprietors, unless a

settlement be made on them within the space of four years. He was to take

special care that the Indians be not abused or insulted, and to study the

properest methods of civilizing them, and creating a firm friendship with

them, in order to protect the colony against the Spaniards in the

neighbourhood. He was to transmit to England exact copies of all laws

passed, accounts of the lands sold, and of all annual-rents paid, _&c._

These, and such other regulations as he might judge essential to the

welfare of the country, and the interest of the Proprietors, he had

particular injunctions to study and adopt.

[Sidenote] He endeavors to establish the church of England.

I have already observed, that the colony was in a deplorable state with

respect to religion. The first emigrants from England, where public

worship was countenanced, and had the sanction of the civil authority,

retained indeed for a little time some sense of religion, and showed some

respect for the ordinances of the gospel: but their children, born in a

wilderness, where there was not so much as even the semblance of public

worship, were likely to grow up in ignorance, and to live entirely void

of all sense of religion. Proprietors were either unable to furnish them

with the proper means of instruction, or they were unwilling to bear the

expence of it, having as yet received little recompence for the past

charges of the settlement. Not only the emigrants from England, but also

those from France and Holland, were much divided in their private

opinions with respect to modes of religious worship; and for this reason

all governors, excepting the last, had prudently deferred meddling in a

matter which would occasion uneasiness and confusion among the settlers.

Still, however, the establishment of the church of England in Carolina

was the chief object in view with the Proprietors. The Palatine was a

bigoted zealot for this mode of ecclesiastical worship and government:

the governor was strongly attached to it. James Moore, who was made

Receiver-general, and Nicholas Trott the Attorney-general, were also men

of the same complexion. These men, assisted by a majority of the council,

now began to concert measures with art and skill, and to pursue them with

firmness and resolution, for accomplishing this end, and gratifying the

earnest desire of the Palatine.

[Sidenote] Pursues violent measures for that purpose.

It was not, however, without some difficulty and considerable struggles,

that the keen opposition raised by Dissenters, who now plainly perceived

their design, and who had an irreconcilable aversion from Episcopacy,

could be overcome. This the governor and his party foresaw, and therefore

it became necessary first to exert themselves to secure a majority in the

assembly in favour of the measure they had in view. Hitherto the riotous

proceedings at the former election had been overlooked, and the rioters,

by the countenance and protection of the preceding governor had escaped

prosecution. The grand jury presented this neglect as a grievance to the

court; but the judge told them, "That was a matter which lay before the

governor and council, his superiors." When the complaint was made to the

governor in council, he replied, "That these irregularities happened

before his appointment to the government, but that he would take care to

prevent them for the time to come." Notwithstanding this declaration, if

we may believe the Dissenters, at the following election still greater

irregularities prevailed. By the same undue influence and violence the

governor and his adherents gained their point, and secured a majority in

the house; for that a species of corruption had now infected the great

fountain of liberty, the election of representatives.

It would appear that some of the colonists at this period had

distinguished themselves by loose principles and licentious language, and

had treated some of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion

with the ridicule and contempt of professed infidelity. To bring an odium

upon this class of Dissenters, and to discourage such licentious

practices, a bill was brought into the new assembly for the suppression

of blasphemy and profaneness; by which bill, whoever should be convicted

of having spoken or written any thing against the Trinity, or the divine

authority of the Old or New Testament, by the oath of two or more

credible witnesses, were to be made incapable, and disabled in law to all

intents and purposes, of being members of assembly, or of holding any

office of profit, civil or military, within the province: and whoever

should be convicted of such crimes a second time, were also to be

disabled from suing or bringing any action of information in any court of

law or equity, from being guardian to any child, executor or

administrator to any person; and without fail suffer imprisonment for

three years. Which law, notwithstanding its fine gloss, savoured not a

little of an inquisition, and introduced a species of persecution ill

calculated to answer the end for which it was intended. To punish men

guilty of blasphemy and profaneness in this way, instead of bringing

their atrocious crimes into public disrepute and abhorrence, served

rather to render their persons objects of compassion, and induce men to

pity them on account of their sufferings. Bad as the world is, these

wicked practices seldom miss their deserved rewards, public ignominy and

detestation, which perhaps would fall heavier on such wretches without

penal laws than with them.

[Sidenote] The church of England established by law.

However, had Sir Nathaniel Johnson stopt here, many reasons might have

been urged in his vindication; but he had other measures in view, much

more unpopular and oppressive. He looked upon Dissenters of every

denomination as enemies to the constitutions of both church and state,

and therefore, to subvert their power and influence, or compel them to

uniformity of sentiment, another bill was brought into the assembly,

framed in such a manner as to exclude them entirely from the house of

representatives. This bill required every man who should hereafter be

chosen a member of assembly, to take the oaths and subscribe the

declaration appointed by it, to conform to the religion and worship of

the church of England, and to receive the sacrament of our Lord's Supper,

according to the rites and usage of that church; a qualification which

Dissenters considered as having a manifest tendency to rob them of all

their civil rights or religious liberties. To carry this bill through the

house, all the art and influence of the governor and his party were

requisite. In the lower house it passed by a majority of one vote, and in

the upper house Landgrave Joseph Morton was refused liberty to enter his

protest against it. At this juncture no bill could have been framed more

inconsistent with the rights and privileges of the freemen, and more

pernicious to the interest and prosperity of the country. Dissenters, who

were a numerous and powerful body of the people, were highly offended,

and raised a great outcry against it. Seeing themselves reduced to the

necessity of receiving laws from men whose principles of civil and

ecclesiastical government they abhorred, and subjected to greater

hardships than they suffered in England, many had formed resolutions of

abandoning the colony. Loud clamours were not only heard without doors,

but jealousies and discontent filled the hearts of many within them, not

of Dissenters only, but also of those who adhered to the church.

[Sidenote] The inhabitants of Colleton county remonstrate against it.

In this distracted state of the colony, the inhabitants of Colleton

county, composed chiefly of Dissenters, met and drew up a state of their

grievous circumstances, which they resolved to transmit to the

Proprietors, praying their Lordships to repeal this oppressive act. John

Ash, one of the most zealous men in the opposition, agreed to embark for

England as agent for the aggrieved party, computed to be at least two

thirds of the whole inhabitants of the colony. The governor and his

friends, apprized of this design, used all possible means to prevent him

from obtaining a passage in any ship belonging to Carolina. Upon which

Ash went to Virginia, to which province his instructions were conveyed to

him, and from thence he set sail for England.

After his arrival he waited on Lord Granville, the Palatine, acquainting

him with the design of his message; but met with a very cold reception.

That nobleman was too deeply concerned in bringing about that

establishment against which Ash came to complain, favourably to listen to

his representations. Accordingly, after staying some time in London, and

giving the Proprietors all the information in his power relating to

public affairs, the only satisfaction he could obtain from the Palatine

was this, that he should cause his secretary write to the governor an

account of the grievances and hardships of which Mr. Ash complained, and

require an answer from him with respect to them. Mr. Ash, observing how

the Palatine stood affected, and despairing of success, immediately began

to draw up a representation of their case, which he intended for the

press: but before he had finished it he was taken sick, and died; and his

papers fell into his enemies hands. He was a man of a warm and passionate

temper, and possessed of all those violent sentiments which ill usage,

disappointment, and oppression, naturally kindle in the human breast. His

representation, intended as an appeal to the nation in general, for the

sufferings of the people under the tyrannical proprietary government, was

full of heavy charges against the governor and his party in Carolina, and

bitter reflections on their conduct, which he considered as in the

highest degree injurious to the colony.

Without doubt the Lords Proprietors planned this establishment with a

view to the peaceful influence it would have upon the civil government of

the country, as the preamble to the act expressly indicates. Their feeble

and fluctating state required the assistance and authority of an

established church, and the sanction of religion, to give it more weight

and influence with the people. How far the measures adopted served to

promote the desired end, and were consistent with prudence and good

policy, will afterwards more clearly appear.

[Sidenote] Lay commissioners appointed.

[Sidenote] The acts ratified by the Proprietors.

Sir Nathaniel Johnson having advanced so far, was determined to proceed

in spite of every obstacle thrown in his way. He instituted what the

inhabitants of Carolina took to be a high-commission court, like that of

King James the second. It was enacted, that twenty lay-persons be

constituted a corporation for the exercise of ecclesiastical

jurisdiction, with full power to deprive ministers of their livings at

pleasure, not for immorality only, but also for imprudence, or on account

of unreasonable prejudices taken against them. In vain did many persons

complain of this institution, as tearing the ecclesiastical jurisdiction

out of the hands of the bishop of London, in whose diocese the whole

British colonies in America were included. The governor, bent on carrying

into execution the favourite plan of the Palatine, paid little regard to

the uneasy apprehensions of the people. According to the act for erecting

churches, the colony is divided into ten parishes; seven in Berkeley, two

in Colleton, and one in Craven counties. Money is provided for building

churches; lands are granted for glebes and church-yards; and salaries for

the different rectors are fixed and appointed, payable from the

provincial treasury. When these bills were transmitted to England, to be

ratified and confirmed by the Proprietors, John Archdale opposed them,

and insisted, that the Dissenters of Carolina had not yet forgot the

hardships they suffered in England from acts of uniformity; that the

right of private judgment in religious matters was the birth-right of

every man; that undisturbed liberty of conscience was allowed to every

inhabitant of Carolina by the charter; that acts of conformity, with

penalties annexed to them, have in general proved destructive to the

cause they were intended to promote, and were utterly inconsistent with

Protestant principles; and therefore that these bills, so unpopular and

oppressive in Carolina, ought to be repealed, as contrary to sound policy

and religious freedom. The majority of the Proprietors, however, did not

view them in this light, and the debate ran high between them. At length

the Palatine, equally tyrannical as bigotted put an end to the dispute,

by telling Mr. Archdale: "Sir, you are of one opinion, I am of another;

our lives may not be long enough to end the controversy. I am for the

bills, and that is the party that I will head and support." In

consequence of which the acts were ratified by four Proprietors, and the

following letter was sent to Sir Nathaniel Johnson. "Sir, the great and

pious work which you have gone through with such unwearied and steady

zeal, for the honour and worship of Almighty God, we have also finally

perfected on our part; and our ratification of that act for erecting

churches, _&c._ together with duplicates of all other dispatches, we

have forwarded to you by Captain Flavel."

[Sidenote] The petition of Dissenters to the House of Lords.

The Episcopal party having now got their favourite form of divine worship

established by law in Carolina, began to erect churches in such

situations as were most centrical and convenient for the settlers; and,

to supply them with clergymen, application was made to the society in

England for the propagation of the Gospel. The Dissenters, despairing of

all hopes of redress from the Proprietors, became greatly discouraged,

and could not brook the thoughts of being again subjected to the same

troubles and miseries which had compelled them to leave their native

country. Some were for transporting their families and effects

immediately to Pennsylvania, in order to sit down under Penn's free and

indulgent government; others proposed an application to the House of

Lords in England, praying that august body to commiserate their distress,

and intercede with her Majesty for their relief. For this purpose a

petition was drawn up, and carried over by Joseph Boone to England.

Several merchants in London, after Boone's arrival, being convinced of

the illegal means by which those grievous acts were brought to pass, and

of their pernicious consequence to trade, joined the petitioners.

Accordingly, about the beginning of the year 1706, the following petition

was presented to the House of Lords: setting forth, "That when the

province of Carolina was granted to the Proprietors, for the better

peopling of it, express provision was made in the charter for a

toleration and indulgence of all Christians in the free exercise of their

religion; that, in the fundamental constitutions, agreed to be the form

of government by the Proprietors, there was also express provision made,

that no person should be disturbed for any speculative opinion in

religion, and that no person should, on account of religion, be excluded

from being a member of the General Assembly, or from any other office in

the civil administration: That the said charter, being given soon after

the happy restoration of King Charles II. and re-establishment of the

church of England by the Act of Uniformity, many of the subjects of the

kingdom who were so unhappy as to have some scruples about conforming to

the rites of the said church, did transplant themselves and families into

Carolina; by means whereof the greatest part of the inhabitants there

were Protestant Dissenters from the church of England, and through the

equality and freedom of the said fundamental constitutions, all the

inhabitants of the colony lived in peace, and even the ministers of the

church of England had support from Protestant Dissenters, and the number

of inhabitants and the trade of the colony daily increased, to the great

improvement of her majesty's customs, and the manifest advantage of the

merchants and manufacturers of the kingdom.

"But that, in the year 1703, when a new assembly was to be chosen, which,

by the constitution, is chosen once in two years, the election was

managed with very great partiality and injustice, and all sorts of

people, even aliens, Jews, servants, common sailors and negroes, were

admitted to vote at elections: That, in the said assembly, an act was

passed to incapacitate every person from being a member of any General

Assembly that should be chosen for the time to come, unless he had taken

the sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the rites of the church

of England; whereby all Protestant Dissenters are made incapable of being

in the said assembly; and yet, by the same act, all persons who shall

take an oath that they have not received the sacrament in any dissenting

congregation for one year past, though they have not received it in the

church of England, are made capable of fitting in the said assembly: That

this act was passed in an illegal manner, by the governor calling the

assembly to meet the 26th of April, when it then stood prorogued to the

10th of May following: That it hath been ratified by the Lords

Proprietors in England, who refused to hear what could be offered against

it, and contrary to the petition of one hundred and seventy of the chief

inhabitants of the colony, and of several eminent merchants trading

hither, though the commons of the same assembly quickly after passed

another bill to repeal it, which the upper house rejected, and the

governor dissolved the house.

"That the ecclesiastical government of the colony is under the bishop of

London; but the governor and his adherents have at last done what the

latter often threatened to do, totally abolished it; for the same

assembly have passed an act, whereby twenty lay-persons, therein named,

are made a corporation for the exercise of several exorbitant powers, to

the great injury and oppression of the people in general, and for the

exercise of all ecclesiastical jurisdiction, with absolute power to

deprive any minister of the church of England of his benefice, not only

for immorality but even for imprudence, or incurable prejudices between

such minister and his parish; and the only minister of the church

established in the colony, Mr. Edward Marston, hath already been cited

before their board, which the inhabitants of the province take to be an

high ecclesiastical commission-court, destructive to the very being and

essence of the church of England, and to be held in the utmost

detestation and abhorrence by every man that is not an enemy to our

constitution in church and state.

"That the said grievances daily increasing, your petitioner Joseph Boone

is now sent by many principal inhabitants and traders of the colony, to

represent the languishing and dangerous situation of it to the Lords

Proprietors; but his application to them has hitherto had no effect: That

the ruin of the colony would be to the great disadvantage of the trade of

this kingdom, to the apparent prejudice of her Majesty's customs, and the

great benefit of the French, who watch all opportunities to improve their

own settlements in those parts of America."

[Sidenote] Resolutions of the House of Lords.

After reading this petition in the house of Lords, the Palatine desired

to be heard by his council, which was granted, and the further

consideration of the matter was postponed for one week. Then having heard

what Lord Granville had to offer in his behalf, the Lords agreed to

address her Majesty in favour of the distressed petitioners of Carolina.

They declared, that, after having fully and maturely weighed the nature

of the two acts passed in Carolina, they found themselves obliged in duty

to her Majesty, and in justice to her subjects, (who, by the express

words of the charter, were declared to be the liege people of the crown

of England, and to have a right to all the liberties, franchises, and

privileges of Englishmen), to come to the following resolutions: "First,

That it is the opinion of this house, that the act of assembly in

Carolina, lately passed there, signed and sealed by John Lord Granville,

for himself, Lord Carteret and Lord Craven, and by Sir John Colleton,

four of the Proprietors of that province, in order to the ratifying of

it, entitled, An Act for the Establishment of Religious Worship in the

Province according to the Church of England, _&c._ so far forth as the

same relates to the establishing a commission for the displacing of

rectors and ministers of the churches there, is not warranted by the

charter granted to the Proprietors, as being not consonant to reason,

repugnant to the laws of the realm, and destructive to the constitution

of the church of England. Secondly, That it is the opinion of this house,

that the act of assembly in Carolina, entitled, An Act for the more

effectual Preservation of the Government of the Province, by requiring

all persons that shall hereafter be chosen members of the Commons House

of Assembly, and sit in the same, to take the oaths and subscribe the

declaration appointed by this act, and to conform to the religious

worship in this province according to the Church of England, and to

receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the rites and

usage of the said church, _&c._ is founded on falsity in matter of fact,

is repugnant to the laws of England, contrary to the charter of the

Proprietors, is an encouragement to atheism and irreligion, destructive

to trade, and tends to the depopulation and ruin of the Province".

[Sidenote] Their address to the Queen.

After which resolutions the house addressed her Majesty in the following

words: "We your Majesty's dutiful subjects, having thus humbly presented

our opinion of these acts, we beseech your Majesty to use the most

effectual methods to deliver the said province from the arbitrary

oppressions under which it now lies, and to order the authors thereof to

be prosecuted according to law; at the same time we represent to your

Majesty, how much the powers given by the crown have been abused by some

of your subjects, justice requires us to acquaint your Majesty, that some

of the Proprietors absolutely refused to join in the ratification of

these acts. We humbly beg permission to inform your Majesty, that other

great injustices and oppressions are complained of in the petition; but

the nature of the fact requiring a long examination, it was not possible

for the house to find time for, so near the conclusion of the session;

and therefore we presume with all duty to lay the petition itself before

your Majesty, at the same time we present our address. We cannot doubt

but your Majesty, who from the beginning of your reign has shewn to great

a concern and tenderness for all your subjects, will extend your

compassion for those distressed people, who have the misfortune to be at

so great a distance from your royal person, and not so immediately under

your gentle administration. Your Majesty is fully sensible of what great

consequence the plantations are to the crown of England, and to the trade

of your subjects, and therefore we rest assured, that as your Majesty

will have them all under your royal care, so, in particular, you will be

graciously pleased to find out and prosecute the most effectual means for

the relief of the province of Carolina."

[Sidenote] The Queen's answer.

To which address Queen Anne returned the following answer: "I thank the

house for laying these matters so plainly before me: I am sensible of

what great consequence the plantations are to England, and will do all in

my power to relieve my subjects in Carolina, and protect them in their

just rights." But as it likewise appeared that some of the Proprietors

themselves had refused to approve of the acts, the matter was farther

referred to the Lords of trade and plantations; who, after examination,

found that all the charges brought against the provincial government and

the Proprietors were well grounded; and represented farther to her

Majesty, that the making of such laws was an abuse of the powers granted

to the Proprietors by the charter, and will be a forfeiture of it, and

humbly begged that she would be pleased to give directions for reassuming

the same into her Majesty's hands, by a _scire facias_ in the court of

Queen's Bench. The Queen approved of their representation, and after

declaring the laws null and void, for the effectual proceeding against

the charter by way of _quo warranto_, ordered her Attorney and

Solicitor-General to inform themselves fully concerning what may be most

effectual for accomplishing the same, that she might take the government

of the colony, so much abused by others, into her own hands, for the

better protection of her distressed subjects. Here, however, the matter

was dropt for the present, and no farther steps were taken against the

charter of the Proprietors, or for the relief of the people.

In the mean time the distant colonists, though they had heard nothing of

what had passed in England relating to those grievous acts, became daily

more sensible of their oppressive nature and pernicious consequence.

Several settlers had left the country on account of them, and moved to

Pennsylvania. Archibald Stobo, a Presbyterian minister in Charlestown,

who had warmly opposed this establishment from the beginning, had also

convinced many who remained of the severities and hardships the

Dissenters in England had suffered from the rigors of the Episcopal

government. Several circumstances proved favourable to Stobo's

opposition; he possessed those talents which render a minister

conspicuous and respected, and the people that party-zeal which becomes

violent from ill usage and persecution. To his treasures of knowledge and

excellent capacity for instruction, he added uncommon activity and

diligence in the discharge of the various duties of his sacred function.

He had a natural aversion from the Episcopal jurisdiction, and no

minister of the colony had engrossed so universally the public favour and

esteem. The Governor and his adherents found it necessary to sow the

seeds of division among his followers, and, from maxims of policy, to

magnify his failings, in order to ruin his great power and influence.

But the Presbyterian party were not the only malcontents during these

strange and unwarrantable proceedings of the legislature. Many wise and

religious men of all denominations condemned them, as grievous and

impolitical. They considered differences in religious opinion as improper

objects of temporal punishment, and that magistrates had no business with

them, unless they occasion danger and disturbance to the state. They

looked upon religion as a personal affair, which lies between God and a

man's conscience, and that it was the prerogative of the Supreme Being to

judge of men's hearts, as he alone was capable of forming a right

judgment. In such a case, doubtless every man had a right to judge and

chuse for himself, as he alone, and not the church, must at last be

accountable to God for the choice. In every country this is reasonable;

but in Protestant countries it is the fundamental principle on which they

ground their right of protesting against the rules and errors of any

particular church. For which reason judicious men in Carolina opposed the

acts of assembly, as unreasonable in themselves, repugnant to the

principles of Protestants, and robbing many of the colonists of their

most valuable privileges, for their difference in religious opinion. Even

the society for propagating the gospel disapproved of them, and, at a

meeting in St. Paul's Church, resolved not to send any missionaries to

Carolina, until the clause relating to lay-commissioners was annulled. So

that all impartial men, in some measure, condemned the acts, and seemed

to detest both the factious men who framed them, and the method by which

they had been promoted in the province.

[Sidenote] A project formed for invading Carolina.

At length from these domestic troubles the attention of the people was

drawn off, and turned towards a more important object, their common

defence against foreign enemies. The war between Great Britain and France

and Spain still raged in Europe. The Governor received advice of a

project framed for invading Carolina, and had instructions to put the

country in the best posture of defence. The Spaniards pretended a right

to it on the foot of prior discovery, considering it as a part of

Florida, and had now determined by force of arms to assert their right.

Sir Nathaniel Johnson, as a military commander, was well qualified for

his duty, and formed to shine in a more conspicuous manner in that line

than in any other. No sooner had he received intelligence of the designs

of his enemy, than he set all hands to work upon the fortifications,

appointed a number of gunners to each bastion, and held frequent musters

to train the men to the use of arms. A storehouse was prepared, and a

quantity of ammunition laid up in it, to be ready on the first emergency.

A small fort, called Fort Johnson, was erected on James's Island, and

several great guns mounted on it. Trenches were cast up on White Point,

and other places where they were thought necessary. A guard was stationed

on Sullivan's Island, with orders to kindle a number of fires opposite to

the town, equal to the number of ships they might spy on the coast. In

short, such prudent regulations were made, as to prevent any surprise

from an enemy, and at what time soever they might come, to give them as

warm a reception as possible.

Few months had elapsed before they found the usefulness and necessity of

these wise precautions. Carolina was at this juncture the southern

frontier of the British empire in America. The colony, though it had

acquired some degree of strength, was yet in a feeble state to resist an

enemy of force and enterprize. From its situation there was reason to

apprehend that the French and Spaniards would attack it, as it would fall

an easier conquest than the more populous northern settlements. Before

this time a plan had been concerted at the Havanna for invading it. Mons.

le Feboure, captain of a French frigate, together with four more armed

sloops, encouraged and assisted by the Spanish governor of that island,

had already set sail for Charlestown. To facilitate the conquest of the

province, he had directions to touch at Augustine, and carry from thence

such a force as he judged adequate to the enterprize. Upon his arrival at

Augustine, he had intelligence of an epidemical distemper which raged at

Charlestown, and had swept off a vast number of inhabitants. This

animated him to proceed with greater expedition. Imagining the town to be

in a weak and defenceless state, and that the militia in the country

would be averse from coming nigh it through fear of the fatal infection,

he took on board a considerable number of forces at Augustine, and made

all the sail he could for Carolina.

[Sidenote] A Spanish and French invasion.

Before this time a Dutch privateer, formerly belonging to New-York, by

order of the governor of Carolina, had been refitted at Charlestown for

cruising on the coast. The command had been given to Captain Stool, who

was sent out on purpose to intercept the supplies regularly sent to

Augustine from the Havanna. After being out a few days he returned, and

brought advice of having engaged a French sloop off the bar of Augustine;

but upon seeing four ships more advancing to her assistance, he thought

proper to make all the sail he could for Charlestown, and that he

narrowly escaped falling into the enemy's hands. Scarcely had he

delivered the news, when five separate smokes appeared on Sullivan's

island, as a signal to the town that the same number of ships were

observed on the coast.

Sir Nathaniel Johnson being at than time at his plantation, several miles

from town, Lieutenant Colonel William Rhett commanding officer of the

militia, immediately ordered the drums to beat, and the whole inhabitants

to be put under arms. A messenger was dispatched with the news to the

Governor, and letters to all the captains of the militia in the country,

to fire their alarm guns, raise their companies, and with all possible

expedition march to the assistance of the town.

In the evening the enemy's fleet came the length of Charlestown bar; but

as the passage was intricate and dangerous to strangers, they did not

think it prudent to venture over it while the darkness of the night

approached, and therefore hovered on the coast all night within sight of

land. Early next morning the watchmen stationed on Sullivan's Island

observed them a little to the southward of the bar, manning their gallies

and boats, as if they intended to land on James's Island; but there

having come to an anchor, they employed their boats all that day in

sounding the south bar; which delay was of great service to the

Carolineans, as it afforded time for the militia in the country to march

to town.

The same day Sir Nathaniel Johnson the governor came to Charlestown, and

found the inhabitants in great consternation; but he being a man of

courage, and skilled in the arts of war, his presence inspired them with

fresh confidence and resolution. He proclaimed the martial law at the

head of the militia, and gave the necessary orders: he sent to the Indian

tribes in alliance with the colony, and brought a number of them to his

assistance. As the contagious distemper still raged in Charlestown, the

Governor judged it imprudent to expose his men to the dangerous

infection, unless necessity required it, and therefore held his head

quarters about half a mile distant from town. In the evening a troop of

horse, commanded by Captain George Logan, and two companies of foot,

under the command of Major George Broughton, reached the capital, and

kept diligent watch during the night. The next morning a company from

James's Island, under the command of Captain Drake, another from Wando,

under Captain Fenwick, and five more commanded by Captains Cantey, Lynch,

Hearn, Longbois, and Seabrook, joined the militia of the town; so that

the whole force of the province, with the Governor at their head, was now

collected together in one place.

The day following the enemy's four ships and a galley came over the bar,

with all their boats out for landing their men, and stood directly for

the town, having the advantages of a fair wind and strong tide. When they

had advanced so far up the river as to discover the fortifications, they

cast anchor a little above Sullivan's Island. The Governor, observing the

enemy approaching towards the town, marched his men into it to receive

them; but finding they had stopt by the way, he had time to call a

council of war, in which it was agreed to put some great guns on board of

such ships as were in the harbour, and employ the gallant sailors in

their own way, for the better defence of the town. William Rhett, a man

possessed of considerable conduct and spirit, received a commission to be

vice-admiral of this little fleet, and hoisted his flag on board of the

Crown galley.

The enemy observing them employed in making all possible preparations for

resistance, sent up a flag of truce to the Governor, to summon him to

surrender. George Evans, who commanded Granville bastion, received their

messenger at his landing from the boat, and conducted him blindfolded

into the fort, until the Governor was in readiness to receive him. In the

mean time the Governor, having drawn up his men in such a manner as to

make them appear to the greatest advantage, received the French officer

at their head; and having first shown him one fort full of men, he then

conducted him by a different route to another, giving the same men time

to go by a shorter way, and be drawn up beforehand: and there, having

given him a view of his strength, he demanded the purport of his message.

The officer told him, that he was sent by Mons. le Feboure, admiral of

the French fleet, to demand a surrender of the town and country, and

their persons prisoners of war; and that his orders allowed him no more

than one hour for an answer. Governor Johnson replied, that there was no

occasion for one minute to answer that message: he told him, he held the

town and country for the Queen of England; that he could depend on his

men, who would sooner die than surrender themselves prisoners of war;

that he was resolved to defend the country to the last drop of his blood

against the boldest invader, and he might go when he pleased and acquaint

Mons. le Feboure with his resolution.

The day following a party of the enemy went ashore on James's Island, and

burnt the houses on a plantation by the riverside. Another party,

consisting of an hundred and sixty men, landed on the opposite side of

the river, and burnt two vessels in Dearsby's Creek, and set fire to his

storehouse. Sir Nathaniel Johnson, from such beginnings perceiving that

they were determined to carry fire and sword wherever they went, doubled

his diligence for the defence of the town. He ordered Captain Drake and

his company, with a small party of Indians, to James's Island, to defend

their properties on that side. Drake marched against them, bur before he

could bring up his men, the Indians, whom he could keep under no control,

and who ran through the woods with their usual impetuosity, had driven

the invaders to their boats: Then advice was brought to town, that the

party who landed on Wando Neck had killed a number of hogs and cattle,

and were feasting on the plunder. To prevent their farther progress into

the country, and give them a check if possible, Captain Cantey, with an

hundred chosen men, was ordered to pass the river privately in the night,

and watch their motions. Before break of day the captain came up with

them, and finding them in a state of security, with fires lighted around

them, surrounded and surprised them with a sharp fire from every quarter;

in consequence of which, they were put in confusion and fled, and a

considerable part being killed, wounded, and drowned, the remainder

surrendered prisoners of war.

Having by this blow considerably weakened the force of the enemy, and

being encouraged and animated by their success at land, the Carolineans

determined also to try their fortune by sea. Accordingly William Rhett

set sail with his fleet of six small ships, and proceeded down the river

to the place where the enemy rode at anchor; but the French perceiving

this fleet standing towards them, in great haste weighed anchor and

sailed over the bar. For some days nothing more was heard of them; but,

to make sure, the Governor ordered Captain Watson of the Sea-Flower out

to sea to examine whether or not the coast was clear. The captain

returned without seeing the enemy, but observing some men on shore whom

they had left behind, he took them on board and brought them to town.

These men assured the Governor that the French were gone. In consequence

of which, orders were given for the martial law to cease, and the

inhabitants began to rejoice at their happy deliverance.

[Sidenote] The invaders repulsed and defeated by the militia.

However, before night, certain advice was brought that a ship of force

was seen in Sewee Bay, and that a number of armed men had landed from her

at that place. Upon examination of the prisoners the Governor found that

the French expected a ship of war, with Mons. Arbuset their general and

about two hundred men more to their assistance. The Governor ordered

Captain Fenwick to pass the river, and march against them by land; while

Rhett, with the Dutch privateer and a Bermuda sloop armed, sailed round

by sea, with orders to meet him at Sewee Bay. Captain Fenwick came up

with the enemy, and briskly charged them, who, though advantageously

posted, after a few volleys gave way, and retreated to their ship; and

soon after Rhett coming to his assistance, the French ship struck without

firing a shot. Rhett, being obliged by contrary winds to remain all that

day in Sewee Bay, dispatched John Barnwell, a volunteer, to the Governor,

with an account of their success; and next morning, the wind changing, he

returned to Charlestown with his prize, and about ninety prisoners.

Thus ended Mons. le Feboure's invasion of Carolina, little to his own

honour as a commander, or to the credit and courage of his men. It is

probable he expected to find the province in a weak and defenceless

situation, and that the Governor would instantly surrender on his

appearance before the town. But he was deceived, as many commanders have

been who entertain a despicable opinion of their enemy. The Governor was

a man of approved courage and conduct; the militia undertook the various

little enterprizes with the spirit of men who had not only the honour of

the province, but also their whole properties at stake, and amazing

success crowned their endeavours. Out of eight hundred men who came

against this little colony, near three hundred were killed and taken

prisoners; among the latter were Mons. Arbuset, their commander in chief

by land, with several sea officers, who together offered ten thousand

pieces of eight for their ransom. On the other hand, the loss sustained

by the provincial militia was incredibly small. The Governor publicly

thanked them for the unanimity and courage they had shown in repelling

the invaders: and received from the Proprietors soon after the following

letter. "We heartily congratulate you on your great and happy success

against the French and Spaniards; and for your eminent courage and

conduct in the defence and preservation of our province, we return you

our thanks, and assure you, that we shall always retain a just sense of

your merit, and will take all opportunities to reward your signal

services."

[Sidenote] The union of England and Scotland.

About this time the long-projected union between England and Scotland

took place in Britain, which was attended, as might have been expected,

with the most interesting and happy consequences to both kingdoms. God

and nature had joined the two together, and of course all differences and

divisions subsisting between them, while they acknowledged the same

sovereign, were impolitical and absurd. Unity of affection and interest

unquestionably constituted the strength of the island, and could alone

enable it to oppose foreign enemies with vigour and success. Among the

number of articles which composed this important and beneficial treaty,

it was agreed, "That all the subjects of the united kingdom of Great

Britain, should, from and after this union, have full freedom and

intercourse of trade and navigation to and from any port or place in the

said united kingdom, and the dominions and plantations thereunto

belonging; and that there should be a communication of all rights,

privileges and advantages which do or may belong to the subjects of

either kingdom, except where it is otherwise expressly agreed in these

articles." Unfortunately, however, two modes of religious worship were

established in the nation, which served to perpetuate differences among

the more stiff and rigid partizans of both the Episcopalian and

Presbyterian churches. A division in the ecclesiastical establishment was

as improper and unreasonable as a disunion in the nation. With respect to

the essential principles and doctrines of religion, they are the same in

both churches, and the difference between them lies in the modes of

worship and government, in usages, vestments, forms and ceremonies,

matters of little consequence with regard to religion. Both modes of

worship and government have their advantages and disadvantages, and had

delegates from both churches met at this juncture, and yielded a little

on both sides, for the sake of mutual harmony, and uniformity, such

compliance might have been attended with happy effects. But the

infelicity of the times, and narrow sentiments of the people, not

admitting of this expedient, it was agreed that the Episcopalian

government was only to extend to the colonies, and be considered as the

establishment in them. As the greatest part of emigrants to America

carried along with them prejudices against this establishment, and

discovered a tendency towards a republican form of church-government, it

is remarkable that this disaffection has continued, and in process of

time been acquiring strength, insomuch that the hands of government,

engaged in support of the established church, have often been weakened by

it, and rendered unable to answer the ends of their appointment.

[Sidenote] Missionaries sent out by the society in England.

About this time the society incorporated by King William, having received

large benefactions for the purpose of propagating the gospel, began to

exert themselves for sending over, and maintaining missionaries in the

plantations. As some colonies were totally destitute of the means of

instruction, and others ill provided with ministers, and unable to

support them, the society considered the British subjects as the primary

objects of their charity. To prevent the influence of Roman Catholic

missionaries among the heathens was a secondary end in view with this

charitable corporation, who were also to improve every favourable

opportunity for the instruction and conversion of negroes and Indians.

While a number of missionaries were ordained for the northern colonies,

Samuel Thomas was sent out to Carolina for the instruction of the

Yamassee Indians; and to supply the different parishes, several more

missionaries were on the passage to the province. The society had wrote

to Sir Nathaniel Johnson, expressing their zeal for the interest of

religion, and earnest desire for spreading the knowledge of the gospel

among the inhabitants of the British colonies, and their hopes of his

concurrence towards the accomplishment of their excellent design. Upon

the receipt of which the governor summoned a meeting of his council, and

sent an answer to the corporation in the following words: "We could not

omit this opportunity of testifying the grateful sense we have of your

most noble Christian charity to our poor infant church in this province,

expressed by the generous encouragement you have been pleased to give to

those who are coming missionaries, the account of which we have just now

received by our worthy friend and minister Mr. Thomas, who, to our great

satisfaction, is now arrived. The extraordinary hurry we are in,

occasioned by the late invasion attempted by the French and Spaniards,

from whom God hath miraculously delivered us, hath prevented our

receiving a particular account from Mr. Thomas of your bounty, and also

hath not given us leisure to view your missionaries instructions, either

in regard to what relates to them or to ourselves: but we shall take

speedy care to give them all due encouragement, and the venerable society

the utmost satisfaction. There is nothing so dear to us as our holy

religion, and the interest of the established church, in which we have

been happily educated; we therefore devoutly adore God's Providence in

bringing, and heartily thank your society in encouraging, so many

missionaries to come among us. We promise your honourable society, it

shall be our daily study to encourage their pious labours, to protect

their persons, to revere their authority, to improve by their ministerial

instructions, and, as soon as possible, to enlarge their annual salaries.

When we have placed your missionaries in their several parishes according

to your directions, and received from them an account of your noble

benefaction of books for each parish, we shall then write more particular

and full. In the mean time, we beg your honourable society to accept of

our hearty gratitude, and be assured of our sincere endeavour to concur

with you in the noble design of propagating Christ's holy religion."

Soon after the missionaries arrived, and were settled in their respective

parishes, Edward Marston minister at Charlestown died, and Mr. Thomas,

whom the governor intended for his successor, did not long survive him:

in consequence of whose death, the governor and Council applied by

letters to the society, requesting farther supplies, particularly a

learned and prudent man to take the charge of the capital. The Archbishop

of Dublin recommended Gideon Johnston to them as a person for whose

sobriety, diligence, and ability, he dared to be answerable, and doubted

not but he would execute the duty required in such a manner as to merit

the approbation of every one with whom he should be concerned.

Accordingly, Mr. Johnston, being made commissary to the Bishop of London

for the province of Carolina, and having fifty pounds a-year settled on

him from the society, embarked for Charlestown. On his arrival he had

almost lost his life in going ashore: the ship in which he sailed being

obliged to come to an anchor off the bar to wait the return of the tide,

and Mr. Johnston, with several more passengers, being impatient to get to

land, went on board of the small boat to go up to the town; but a sudden

gust of wind arising, drove the boat upon a sand bank, where they lay two

days, almost perishing with hunger and thirst, when some persons

accidentally discovered and relieved them.

Mr. Johnston was not the only person that shared of the charitable fund;

for five more ministers were settled in the country, to each of whom an

allowance of fifty pounds a-year, besides their provincial salary, was

given by this incorporated society. Two thousand volumes of books were

also sent to be distributed among the people, by these missionaries, for

their private use and instruction. Justice requires a relation of these

facts for the honour of that society, who supplied the province with

instructors at this early period, when it was poor in itself, and stood

so much in need of their generous assistance. As the church of England,

however, continued to be considered as the established religion of the

province; and as all the ministers sent out by this society were of that

persuasion, Dissenters, who in general are not the most charitable in

their judgments with regard to the conduct of their neighbours, and who

perhaps contributed, like many others, towards raising this fund,

concluded that the society had the propagation of Episcopacy more in

their eye than that of Christianity. But certainly it cannot be denied,

that the members of this corporation, who not only contributed largely,

but were also at such pains in collecting a fund for this laudable end,

were the proper judges in what manner it should be applied. Charity

obliges us to believe, that this society, whose design was so benevolent,

employed their money in such a way as they judged would be most agreeable

to the intentions of those who gave it, and most useful for the

instruction and happiness of their fellow creatures: yet mankind, in such

cases, are apt to be forward in advancing their opinions with regard to

the conduct of such public managers, and, as they stand affected

themselves, to praise or condemn them.

[Sidenote] Lord Craven Palatine.

About the close of the year 1707, Lord Granville the Palatine died; and

was succeeded in that high dignity by William Lord Craven. The death of

that nobleman, by whose instruction and encouragement the several violent

steps for the establishment and support of the church of England in

Carolina had been taken, was now likely to produce some change in the

future state of public affairs. Though the Governor and his friends still

maintained a majority in the house of assembly, yet, from the number and

temper of Dissenters, they were not without some suspicions of seeing the

fabric, which they had with such uncommon industry been erecting, totally

overturned. While many Episcopalians in England were terrified with the

prospects of danger to their church, the Carolineans took the alarm, and

passed an act for its security in that province. The preamble of this act

runs thus: "Whereas the church of England has of late been so happily

established among us, fearing that by the succession of a new Governor

this church may be either undermined or wholly subverted, to prevent

which calamity falling upon us, be it enacted, That this present assembly

shall continue to sit for two years, and for the time and term of

eighteen months after the change of government, whether by the death of

the present Governor, or the succession of another in his time." Whether

the church must not have been in great danger when men were obliged to

take such an extraordinary measure for its security, we leave it to the

world to judge.

[Sidenote] Edward Tynte governor.

About the end of the year 1708, Colonel Edward Tynte received a

commission from Lord Craven, investing him with the government of the

colony. About the same time Charles Craven, brother to the Palatine, was

made secretary to the province. During the time Sir Nathaniel Johnson had

governed the country, it had not only been threatened with a formidable

invasion, but also torn to pieces with factions and divisions, which had

much retarded its progress and improvement. Great confusion among the

people had been occasioned by the violent stretch of power in favour of

an ecclesiastical establishment. The new Palatine, sensible of those

things, instructed Governor Tynte to adopt such healing measures as would

be most conducive to the welfare of the settlement. Soon after his

arrival he received a letter from the Proprietors to the following

effect: "We hope by this time you have entered upon your government of

our province of Carolina, and therefore we earnestly require your

endeavours to reconcile the minds of the inhabitants to each other, that

the name of parties, if any yet remains among them, may be utterly

extinguished: for we can by no means doubt, but their unanimous

concurrence with our endeavours for their prosperity, will most

effectually render Carolina as flourishing a colony as any in America."

The late Palatine, from a mixture of spiritual and political pride,

despised all Dissenters, as the enemies of both the hierarchy and

monarchy, and believed the state could only be secure, while the civil

authority was lodged in the hands of high-church men. Lord Craven

possessed not the same proud and intolerant spirit, and thought those

Carolineans, who maintained liberty of conscience, merited greater

indulgences from them; and, though a friend to the church of England, he

always was doubtful whether the minds of the people were ripe for the

introduction of that establishment. He therefore urged lenity and

toleration, which in general have been productive of peace and union,

while rigour and persecution have seldom failed to excite discord and

promote superstition in every community.

[Sidenote] The revenues of the colony.

The expences incurred by the French invasion, though it terminated much

to the honour of the Carolineans, fell heavy on the colony, still in a

poor and languishing condition. No taxes as yet had been laid on real or

personal estates: the revenues of the colony were all raised by duties

laid on spirituous liquors, sugar, molasses, and a few other articles

imported; and on deer-skins and furs exported. The amount of these

several duties was applied towards defraying the charges of government,

such as raising and repairing fortifications, paying the Governor's

salary, maintaining garrisons, providing military stores, and salaries to

ten ministers of the church of England, and sinking bills of credit

stamped for answering the extraordinary expences of the province. Eight

thousand pounds had been issued for defraying the public expences

occasioned by the French invasion; and the act laying an imposition on

furs, skins, and liquors, was continued, for the purpose of cancelling

these bills of credit. From this time forward there was a gradual rise in

exchange and produce, owing, as many thought, to the emission and

establishment of paper currency in the province. Before this period,

French and Spanish gold and silver, brought into the country by pirates,

privateers, and the over-balance of trade with the West Indies, answered

all the purposes of internal commerce, and very little English coin was

circulating in the country. However, soon after this emission, fifty _per

cent_. advance was given by the merchants for what English money there

was; that is to say, for one hundred pounds English coin, they gave one

hundred and fifty pounds paper currency of Carolina.

[Sidenote] The invasion of Canada.

A bloody war still continued between England and France in Europe, and

the success which had attended an expedition against Acadia, had

encouraged the British administration to enter on bolder undertakings in

America. The French in Canada were numerous and strong, and Lord

Godolphin, convinced of the necessity of maintaining a superiority over

them, formed a design of attacking Quebec, and striking such a blow in

that quarter as might render his administration distinguished. He sent

for Sir Hovenden Walker, rear-admiral of the white, and after holding a

private consultation with him respecting the enterprize, immediately

began to make preparations for it. Six thousand men were drawn from the

army in Flanders, and the command of them was given to General Hill.

Eleven ships of the line, one frigate, and two bomb-ships, were fitted

out: transports were provided, on board of which the army embarked and

sailed for Boston in New England. They arrived there on the 24th of June

1711, but by no means met with that zeal and ardour for the expedition

among the people of New England that might have been expected,

considering its interesting consequence with respect to them. Colonel

Francis Nicolson, who had been successful in Acadia the year before,

hastened to Boston, and first used his utmost endeavours to forward the

expedition, and then marched by land, with a body of white men and

Indians, against Montreal. Before Sir Hovenden Walker had procured every

thing requisite to his expedition, the season of the year was too far

advanced. The navigation up the river St. Laurence was hazardous, and

none but unskilful pilots could be found. A sudden blow must necessarily

be struck, or otherwise, as the frosty season begins there so early, the

fleet might find it difficult to return down the river. When they set

sail, they had every thing to dread from their own ignorance and a

dangerous navigation. In proceeding up the river they found uncertain and

rapid currents, and met with dark and foggy weather: in consequence of

which eight transports ran upon a rock, and almost nine hundred men

perished. This unhappy accident cast a damp upon the spirits of the army,

and their plan was frustrated. In a council of war it was judged

imprudent and impracticable to carry large ships up such a river without

the most skilful pilots, and therefore they returned to New England.

General Francis Nicolson having heard of the miscarriage of the

expedition upon the river, retreated also from Lake George, and no more

attempts were made for many years against the French settlements in

Canada.

[Sidenote] A French colony planted in Louisiana.

In the year following the French planted a colony at the mouth of the

great river Mississippi. Lewis the XIVth thought proper to grant a

territory of vast extent in that quarter to Secretary Crozat, by which he

evidently encroached on lands belonging to the Proprietors of South

Carolina. Though the Carolineans had not a little to fear from a

settlement in such a situation, yet Crozat was allowed to take peaceable

possession, without any complaints from the Proprietors, or opposition

from the British government. From this period a new competitor for the

affection and interest of Indian nations arose, more active and

enterprising than the Spaniards, whose motions the Carolineans had good

reason to watch with a jealous and vigilant eye.

[Sidenote] A colony of Palatines settled.

About the same time application was made to the Proprietors for lands in

Carolina, by a number of Palatines harassed in Germany by the calamities

of a tedious war, and reduced to circumstances of great indigence and

misery. The Proprietors wisely judging, that by such acquisitions the

value of their lands would increase, and the strength of their settlement

would be promoted, determined to give every possible encouragement to

such emigrants. Ships were provided for their transportation.

Instructions were sent to Governor Tynte to allow an hundred acres of

land for every man, woman, and child, free of quit-rents for the first

ten years; but, at the expiration of that term, to pay one penny _per_

acre annual-rent for ever, according to the usages and customs of the

province. Upon their arrival Governor Tynte granted them lands in North

Carolina, where they settled, and flattered themselves with having found

in the hideous wilderness an happy retreat from the storms and

desolations of war raging in Europe.

[Sidenote] Robert Gibbes governor.

However, like many others, Governor Tynte had scarcely time to learn the

real state of the country, in order to establish proper regulations in

it, before he died. After his death, a competition arose in the council

about the succession. One party declared for Robert Gibbes, and another

for Thomas Broughton. Gibbes, however, carried his election, and for a

little while stood at the head of the colony. During his time, we know

nothing remarkable that happened. An act of assembly passed for

appointing commissioners, impowering them to take subscriptions and

collect public contributions for building a church at Charlestown. Water

passages were carried southward to Port-Royal, for the ease and

convenience of passengers by sea, and money was provided for building

public bridges; and establishing ferries, for the accommodation of

travellers by land.

[Sidenote] Charles Craven governor.

But as it appeared to the Proprietors, that bribery and corruption had

been used by Robert Gibbes to gain his election to the government, he was

not permitted to continue long in that office; they forbade their

Receiver-General to pay him any salary, and ordered the money due to be

transmitted to Richard Shelton their secretary in England. A commission

was sent our to Charles Craven, a man of great knowledge, courage and

integrity, by his brother, investing him with the government of the

colony. His council was composed of Thomas Broughton, Ralph Izard,

Charles Hart, Samuel Eveleigh, and Arthur Middleton, _&c._; all men of

considerable property, and experience in provincial affairs. The assembly

in his time was not elected, as formerly, in a riotous and tumultuary

manner, but with the utmost harmony and regularity, and proceeded to

their deliberations with great temper and mutual friendship. The Governor

had instructions to defend the province against the French and Spaniards,

and for that purpose to form and cultivate the firmest friendship and

alliance with the Indians; to promote fisheries and manufactures, which

was certainly an absurd and ridiculous instruction; for while they had so

much land, agriculture was evidently more profitable and beneficial to

both the possessors and Proprietors of the province. He was required to

overlook the courts, and take special care that justice be equitably

administered, and that no interruptions or delays attend the execution of

the laws: he was ordered to employ eight men to sound Port-Royal river

for the benefit of navigation, and to fix on the most convenient spot for

building a town, with a harbour nigh it; and to transmit all acts of

assembly made from time to time to England, for the Proprietors

approbation or disapprobation; and such other public matters as appeared

to him of general concern and utility, he was required carefully to study

and promote.

[Sidenote] An Indian war in North Carolina.

In the year 1712, after Governor Craven had assumed the management of the

colony, a dangerous conspiracy was formed by the Indians of North

Carolina against the poor settlers in that quarter. The cause of the

quarrel we have not been able clearly to find out; probably they were

offended at the encroachments made on their hunting lands. The powerful

tribes of Indians called Corees, Tuscororas, and several more, united,

and determined to murder or expel the European invaders. As usual, they

carried on their bloody design with amazing cunning and profound secrecy.

Their chief town they had in the first place surrounded with a wooden

breast-work, for the security of their own families. Here the different

tribes met together to the number of twelve hundred bowmen, and formed

their horrid plot. From this place of rendezvous they sent out small

parties, who entered the settlements, under the mask of friendship, by

different roads. At the change of the full moon all of them had agreed to

begin their murderous operations, on the same night. When that night

came, they entered the planters houses, demanded provisions, out of

pretence were displeased with them, and then murdered men, women, and

children, without mercy or distinction. To prevent the alarm spreading

through the settlement, they ran like fierce and bloody tygers from house

to house, spreading slaughter among the scattered families wherever they

went. None of the colonists, during the fatal night, knew what had

befallen their neighbours, until the barbarians had reached their own

doors. About Roanock one hundred and thirty-seven settlers fell a

sacrifice to their savage fury the first night; among whom were a Swiss

baron, and almost all the poor Palatines who had lately come into the

country. Some, however, who had hid themselves in the woods, having

escaped, next morning gave the alarm to their neighbours, and prevented

the total distruction of that colony. Every family had orders speedily to

assemble at one place, and the militia, under arms, kept watch day and

night around them, until the news of the sad disaster reached the

province of South Carolina.

[Sidenote] The Tuscorora Indians conquered.

Happy was it for the distressed North Carolineans Governor Craven lost no

time in collecting and dispatching a force to their assistance and

relief. The assembly voted four thousand pounds for the service of the

war. A body of militia, consisting of six hundred men, under the command

of Colonel Barnwell, marched against the savages. Two hundred and

eighteen Cherokees, under the command of Captains Hartford and Turstons;

seventy-nine Creeks, under Captain Hastings; forty-one Catabaws, under

Captain Cantey, and twenty-eight Yamasses, under Captain Pierce, being

furnished with arms, joined the Carolineans in this expedition. Hideous

and dreadful, at this time, was that wilderness through which Colonel

Barnwell had to march; and to get to North Carolina in time, for the

relief of the people, the utmost expedition was requisite. In such a case

it was not possible for his men to carry a sufficient quantity of

provisions, together with arms and ammunition, along with them, or to

have these things provided at different stages by the way. There was no

road through the woods upon which either horses or carriages could

conveniently pass; and his army had all manner of hardships and dangers

from the climate, the wilderness, and the enemy, to encounter. In spite

of every difficulty, Barnwell advanced against them, employing his Indian

allies to hunt for provisions to his men by the way. At length, having

come up with the savages, he attacked them, and being much better

supplied with arms and ammunition than his enemy, he did great execution

among them. In the first battle he killed three hundred Indians, and took

about one hundred prisoners. After which the Tuscororas retreated to

their town, within a wooden breastwork; there Barnwell surrounded them,

and having killed a considerable number, forced the remainder to sue for

peace: some of his men being wounded, and others having suffered much by

constant watching, and much hunger and fatigue, the savages more easily

obtained their request. In this expedition it was computed that Barnwell

killed, wounded, and captivated near a thousand Tuscororas. The

remainder, who escaped on the terms of peace, soon after this heavy

chastisement, abandoned their country, and joined a northern tribe of

Indians on the Ohio river. King Blunt, who afterwards came to South

Carolina, confirmed the account of the number the enemy had lost. Of

Barnwell's party five Carolineans were killed, and several wounded: of

his Indians, thirty-six were killed, and between sixty and seventy

wounded. In justice to this officer it must be owned, never had any

expedition against the savages in Carolina been attended with such

hazards and difficulties, nor had the conquest of any tribe of them ever

been more general and complete.

[Sidenote] Bank bills established.

Although the expedition to North Carolina was well conducted, and proved

as successful as the most sanguine of the Carolineans could have

expected, yet the expense the public had incurred by it fell heavy on the

province, the revenues of which were inconsiderable, and not at all

adapted for such important and extensive enterprizes. But as great

harmony at this time subsisted between the Governor and assembly, they

were well disposed for concurring with him in every measure for the

public safety and relief. The stamping of bills of credit had been used

as the easiest method of defraying these expenses incurred for the public

defence: however, at this time the legislature thought proper to

establish a public bank, and issued forty-eight thousand pounds in bills

of credit, called Bank-bills, for answering the exigencies of government,

and for the convenience of domestic commerce. This money was to be lent

out at interest, on landed or personal security; and, according to the

tenour of the act for issuing the same, it was to be sunk gradually, by

four thousand pounds a-year; which sum was ordered to be paid annually by

the borrowers, into the hands of commissioners appointed for that

purpose. After the emission of these bank-bills, the rate of exchange and

the price of produce quickly arose, and in the first year advanced to one

hundred and fifty, in the second to two hundred _per cent_.

[Sidenote] Remarks on paper currency.

With respect to the utility of this paper money, the planters and

merchants, according to their different views and interests, were divided

in opinion. The former, who, for the most part, stood indebted to the

latter, found that this provincial currency was not only necessary to

answer the exigencies of government, but also very useful and convenient

in the payment of private debts. This money being local, in proportion as

it increased in quantity, it raised the nominal price of provincial

commodities: and became of course prejudicial to creditors, in proportion

as it was profitable to debtors; for though it depreciated fifty _per

cent_. in a year, during which time the planters stood indebted to the

merchants, the next year such creditors were obliged to take it in

payment, or produce, which had advanced in price, according to the

quantity of money in circulation. By the acts of assembly which

established these bills of credit, the currency was secured, and made a

tender in law in all payments; so that if the creditor refused this money

before witnesses offered to him, the debt was discharged from the minute

of his refusal. Besides, the planters knew, that in a trading country

gold and silver, by various channels, would make their way out of it when

they answer the purposes of remittance better than produce, to their

great prejudice: paper-money served to remedy this inconvenience, and to

keep up the price of provincial commodities, as it could not leave the

colony, and answered the purpose for paying private debts as well, or

rather better, than gold and silver. As the trade of the country

increased, no doubt a certain quantity of money was necessary to carry it

on with ease and freedom; but when paper bills are permitted to increase

beyond what are necessary for commercial ease and utility, they sink in

value; and in such a case creditors lose in proportion to their

depreciation.

In Carolina, as well as in the other British colonies in America, the

greatest part of gold and silver current was foreign coin, and the

different assemblies settled their value from time to time, by laws

peculiar to each province. To remedy the inconveniences arising from the

different rates at which the same species of foreign coin did pass in the

several colonies and plantations, Queen Anne, in the sixth year of her

reign, had thought fit, by her royal proclamation, to settle and

ascertain the current rate of foreign coin in all her colonies. The

standard at which currency was fixed by this proclamation, was at an

hundred and thirty-three pounds, six shillings and eight-pence _per

cent_.; but this regulation, however convenient and advantageous to

trade, was afterwards little regarded in these provinces, and the

confusion of current money continued and prevailed.

After the emission of this great quantity of bank-bills in Carolina, and

speedy rise of the price of produce in consequence of it, the merchants

of London, to whom the colony stood indebted, judging it prejudicial to

trade, complained of it to the Proprietors. They perceived that the trade

of the country, by this means, would be carried on entirely without

silver or gold; and although their factors in Carolina might raise the

price of British commodities and manufactures, equal to the advanced

price of the produce, yet it might be for their interest sometimes to

take gold and silver rather than produce in return for their British

goods. They considered the issuing of such bank-notes as a violation of

the laws of England, and prevailed on the Proprietors to write Governor

Craven a letter to the following effect: "We have heard complaints from

several hands of an act you have passed, called the Bank Act. We do

recommend to you to consider of some expedient for preventing the

mischievous consequences of that act, lest, upon further complaints, we

be forced to repeal it. The act is exclaimed against by our London

merchants as injurious to trade, as an infringement and violation of the

laws of Great Britain, and made almost in opposition to the act of the

sixth of Queen Anne. Therefore we expect, for preventing such complaints

for the future, that you will endeavour, as much as in you lies, to

reduce that paper credit, pretended to be established in your bank act,

and that you will strictly put in execution the aforesaid act of Queen

Anne."

[Sidenote] Trade infested by pirates.

As the trade of the colony had of late years considerably increased, and

was almost entirely carried on in British ships, its protection was an

object which demanded the attention either of the Proprietors or the

British administration. The war in Europe had engrossed the care of the

latter, and the former were either unable or unwilling to bear the

expence of its protection. They had leased their property in the Bahama

islands to a company of merchants, which turning out to little account;

the Island of Providence became a receptacle for vagabonds and villains

of all nations. From this place of rendezvous a crew of desperate pirates

had been accustomed to push out to sea, and, in defiance of the laws of

nations, to obstruct navigation. The trade of Carolina and that of the

West Indies suffered greatly from their depredations. For five years

after this period those lawless robbers reigned as the masters of the

Gulph of Florida, plundering and taking ships of every nation. North

Carolina, by the conquest of its maritime tribes of Indians, had also

become a refuge for those rogues, who carried their prizes into Cape Fear

river, or Providence, as best suited their convenience or interest. Their

success induced bold and rapacious spirits to join them, and in time they

became so formidable, that no inconsiderable force was requisite to

suppress them.

[Sidenote] Several English statutes adopted.

After a long and expensive war, a treaty of peace and commerce was

concluded between Britain, France and Spain in Europe; and orders were

sent to all the colonies to desist from acts of hostility. Governor

Craven, deeply interested in the prosperity of Carolina, now turned his

attention to improve the precious blessings of peace, and to diffuse a

spirit of industry and agriculture throughout the settlement. The lands

in Granville county were found upon trial rich and fertile, and the

planters were encouraged to improve them. Accordingly a number of

plantations were settled in the neighbourhood of Indian nations, with

whom the Governor studied to cultivate a friendly correspondence. For the

purposes of trade some men took up their residence in their towns, and

furnished them with clothes, arms, and ammunition, in exchange for their

furs and deer-skins. An agent was appointed to superintend the affairs of

Indian tribes, and to conciliate by all possible means their friendship

and esteem. Several interior regulations, conducive to the peace and

prosperity of the colony, were also established. The colonists, as an

eminent writer observes, in general carry with them so much of the

English law as is applicable to their local circumstances and situation;

such as, the general rules of inheritance, and of protection from

personal injuries. What may be proper to be admitted, and what are

necessary to be rejected, is judged and determined, in the first

instance, by the provincial judicature, then subject to the approbation

or disapprobation of the Proprietors; and so far of the British

parliament, that nothing may be attempted by them derogatory to the

sovereignty and supreme jurisdiction of the mother country. At this time

Governor Craven obtained the assent of the General Assembly, to make

several English statutes of the same force in Carolina as if they had

been enacted in it. The people regarded him as a wise and indulgent

parent, and wished to copy the spirit of their laws from the English

original, although they received their obligation and authoritative force

from their being the laws of the colony.

About this time Nicholas Trott, the Chief Justice of the colony, returned

from England, where he had been for some time engaged in the settlement

of private affairs. During his stay in Britain he had engrossed the

favour of the Proprietors, who finding him to be a man of great

abilities, professed a high respect for him, and afterwards desired his

assistance and advice in every case respecting the future management of

their colony. They advanced his salary to one hundred pounds a-year, and

he agreed to carry on a regular correspondence with their secretary, and

to give them the best intelligence with respect to their provincial

affairs. Trott having thus secured the confidence of the Proprietors in

England, soon after he came to Carolina, began to plume himself on his

advantageous circumstances, and to treat his former friends in the colony

with that pride and insolence too common to most men in office and power.

On the other hand, those men, offended at his arrogance, watched his

conduct with an envious and malignant eye, and seemed to desire nothing

more than to humble his pride and destroy his influence. To this fatal

difference may be ascribed several future jealousies and disturbances

with which the colonists were harassed, and which terminated in the total

subversion of the proprietary government.