USA > Georgia > A history of Georgia : from its first discovery by Europeans to the adoption of the present constitution in MDCCXCVIII. Vol. I > Part 20
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260
BENJAMIN MARTYN.
wasting years of wars and rumours of war; through the intricate negociations with numerous Indian tribes ; and through the frequent petitioning of Parliament for help ; moving on in the same great work of beneficence · through evil report and through good report, in war and peace, in a full and exhausted treasury, until the un- cultivated territory which they received of the king in the wilds of America, was returned to his hands peopled with thousands of subjects, wearing the smiling face of culture, and the adornments of civilization.
Nor should we be doing justice to one of the most faithful servants of the Trustees, did we omit to men- tion with commendation the name of Benjamin Mar- tyn, Esq. At the first meeting of the common council, Mr. Hucks, M. P., acquainted the members, that in con- sideration of the generosity of their design, Mr. Benja- min Martyn offered to serve them as secretary, for one year, without any pay or emolument; and Mr. George Heathcote, alderman of London, spoke in terms of praise of his worth and character. In this capacity he continued during the existence of the cor- poration, conducting their voluminous and laborious cor- respondence with great credit and ability. In addition to his onerous official labours, he published three works. in defence of the Trustees, and for the advancement of their designs, viz .: " An Impartial Enquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia ;" "Rea- sons for Establishing the Colony of Georgia ;" and. " An Account showing the Progress of the Colony of Geor- gia, in America, from its Establishment." These are all spirited and business-like papers, written in good style, with much force, sound argument, and practical ability. He already possessed, however, somewhat of a literary reputation, having published some works
261
APPOINTED AGENT FOR GEORGIA.
before, and among them a tragedy; called Timoleon. He was also one of the managers of a society, com- posed of noblemen and gentlemen, for the encourage- ment of learning, of which most laudable institution24 the Duke of Richmond was president. These honours, however, fade before that more noble merit which he won for himself, that more lasting praise which he deserves from others, by his faithful, earnest, and warm- hearted devotion to the colonial interests of Georgia. The Trustees showed their estimation of his services, by a formal resolution, declaring how ably and faith- fully he had served them, from their organization as a corporation ; and recommended him to the Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council, as the most fit person to be appointed agent for the province of Georgia, to transact its affairs with the several officers of government in England. He was so appointed; and during many years sustained the interests of that province, whose cradled infancy he had watched over with such disin- terested zeal.
24 Gent. Mag., June, 1736, 353. celebrated Dr. Richard Mead, Dr. Addi- Among the fellow-managers of this in- son Hutton, George Sale, the translator stitution were the Earls of Hartford, of the Koran, and several other distin- Oxford, Abercorn and Stanhope, the guished men of learning.
CHAPTER VIII.
REVIEW OF THE TRUSTEES' POLICY.
IT is the office of the historian, says the distin- guished annalist of Rome,1 to rejudge the actions of men, that virtues may not be passed over in silence, and that the doers of evil actions may have before them the fear of that infamy which posterity will award to their deeds. The duty of the historian is thus not unlike that of the judge in a court of law. It is his business to hear the details of many differing witnesses ; to examine documents of diverse charac- ters ; to sift evidence from many varying testimonies, and from the pleadings of a hundred great actions- from the records of a long series of noble or ignoble deeds-from the evidence of multiplied witnesses for good or evil ; to sum up in one charge the history of the past, and deliver over his solemn opinion to the unimpannelled jury of the future for their final verdict. Such is the judicial dignity and weighty responsibility of the historian's office ; and if he fails to charge pos- terity aright as to the events and character of the past, he proves derelict to the cause of truth, and of human rights. There are times, when this duty
' Tacitus, Annales, iii. 65.
263
DIFFICULTIES OF ALL INFANT COLONIES.
becomes one of pain and regret; when the past is reviewed in grief, and judged in sorrow: but as we dare not write what is false, so we dare not suppress what is true, and are compelled therefore, while we accord to the Trustees deserved praise, to expose their errors-the errors, not of malice, but of what may truly be termed a parsimonious benevolence.
The early political institutions of Georgia have been the subject of much and just animadversion.
In the infancy of all colonial schemes we find diffi- culties, errors, and failings. It is so generally with all experiments, especially in those which have for their object the ordering of masses of men, and the ar- ranging and scheming for their guidance, equity, and welfare. Theory has never yet made a good com- monwealth. The " Republic " of Plato was even more visionary than the dreams of his philosophy. The " Fundamental Constitutions " of John Locke, though he was one of England's greatest metaphysicians, utterly miscarried in their aim, and brought Carolina to the verge of ruin. William Penn's "Frame of the Government of the Province of Pennsylvania," was, after one year, taken down to make room for a new one ; and the first constitution, given by the Duke of York to the colony which bore his name, was in eight years changed for a wiser and more liberal patent. Stern experience is the only true teacher of govern- mental rules. She sees the necessities of men, and points out the means of compassing them; she ascer- tains their wants, and knows how to provide for them ; she is the great instructress of nations; and to go con- trary to her teachings, is to do violence to that law, " whose seat is the bosom of God, whose voice the harmony of the world."
264.
THE THREE DESIGNS OF THE TRUSTEES.
It is strange, that with so many warning lights hung out from the drifting wrecks of former schemes, the Trustees for the colony of Georgia did not proceed on wiser principles, and more modern legislation. They too theorized the colony into the pangs of civil death, nor saw, nor remedied their error, till, wasted of its strength and substance, there scarcely remained vital- ity enough to give it a nominal existence. In review- ing the operations of the Trustees, two points de- mand special attention-the failure of their original expectations, and the ill effects of their legislative policy. The design of the Trustees comprised three points :2 to provide an asylum for the poor debtor and persecuted Protestant ; to erect a silk, wine, and drug-growing colony ; and to relieve the mother coun- try of an overburdened population. No one at all ac- quainted with the body of Trustees, but will concede to them the most humane and generous intentions. They were mostly men of high birth and elevated sta- tion, of political experience and philanthropic aims ; but they allowed their eager benevolence to warp their judgment, and their else cool imaginations to be fired by fanciful theories and overcoloured pictures of colonial success. It was not long however before their credulity was chastened into soberness by a series of disastrous calamities. The noble feature of benevolence was never indeed relinquished, even though the recipients proved unworthy the bounty ; for, as early as 1735, the Trustees declared that " many of the poor who had been useless in England, were inclined to be useless also in Georgia." And though a strict scrutiny was made into the character
2 " Reasons for Establishing the New and Accurate Account," &c., in Colony of Georgia in America." " A Geo. Hist. Col., i.
265
FAILURE OF COMMERCIAL HOPES.
and condition of each emigrant, most of the early set- tlers were altogether unworthy the assistance they received. Once in Georgia, they were disappointed in the quality and fertility of the lands; were unwill- ing to labour ; hung for support upon the Trustees' store ; were clamorous for privileges to which they had no right; and fomented discontent and faction, where it was hoped they would have lived together in brotherly peace and charity. The benevolence of the Trustees met no adequate return of gratitude ; and their labours for the welfare of the colony, only pro- voked the obloquy and murmurs of those, to whom had been opened the prison-doors of England, and to whom had been granted an asylum in Georgia. The too sanguine hopes of the Trustees as to the commer- cial value of the colony, were also destined to disap- pointment. The wine which was to supply all the plantations, and to cultivate which they had employed a vigneron from Portugal, and planted in their garden the choicest cuttings from Madeira, resulted in only a few gallons, and was then abandoned. The drugs and exotics, which, at a great expense, they had pro- cured and planted in the same place; the olive trees from Venice, barilla seed from Spain, the kali from Egypt, the cubebs cardimas, the caper plant, the mad- der root, and other like articles, were mostly de- stroyed by the snow and frost shortly after they were planted. The hemp and flax, which were to sustain the linen manufactures of Great Britain, and throw the balance of trade with Russia into England's favour, never came to a single ship-load ; and indigo, though there were one or two plantations of it near St. Simons and on the Altamaha, was never generally introduced, and its culture soon abandoned.
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266
INTRODUCTION OF SILK INTO VIRGINIA.
Their most cherished article, silk, maintained a longer struggle, and the efforts of the Trustees to introduce and foster it, deserve to be chronicled. The idea of making America a silk-growing country did not originate with the Trustees. As early as 1609, the subject engaged the attention of the adven- turers to Virginia, and in a pamphlet, called " Nova Britannia offering most excellent fruites by planting in Virginia," published that year, the writer says : " There are silkeworms, and plenty of mulberie trees, whereby ladies, gentlewomen, and little children, (being set in the way to do it,) may bee all imploied with pleasure, making silke comparable to that of Persia, Turkey, or any other." In 1650, Mr. Samuel Hartlib published a work entitled “ Virginia's Dis- covery of Silkworms, with their Benefits," in which he endeavoured to show that the raising of silk was a thing very practicable in Virginia, and even asserted that as a staple, it might be made superior to tobacco, in which opinion he was confirmed by the judgment of several others. That they made some advances in this culture, is evident from the fact that the corona- tion robe of Charles II., in 1660, was made of silk reeled in that colony ; and even so late as 1730, three hundred pounds of the raw material were exported from Virginia. Tobacco, however, soon assumed and maintained the ascendency, to the exclusion of this more useful and beautiful produce.
In 1703 Sir Nathaniel Johnson introduced the silk culture into South Carolina, but the astonishing suc- cess which rewarded the casual introduction of rice into the plantation about eight years before, precluded a just interest in the undertaking ; and as a public and recognized commodity it soon came to naught, though
267
TRUSTEES INTRODUCE IT INTO GEORGIA.
several persons, more for amusement than profit, still gave their attention to it. In 1755, Mrs. Pinckney, the same lady to whom the province was indebted for the first cultivation of indigo, ten years before, reeled sufficient silk in the vicinity of Charleston, to make three dresses, one of which was presented to the Princess Dowager of Wales, another to Lord Ches- terfield, and the third, says Ramsay, who narrates the circumstance, " is now (1809) in Charleston, in the possession of her daughter, Mrs. Horrey, and is re- markable for its beauty, firmness, and strength."3
But notwithstanding these failures, and the known difficulty of introducing a new branch of agriculture into a country, as was evinced by the compulsion which was necessary by Henry IV., to introduce it into France against the united voices of the merchants and traders, and even in opposition to the Duke of Sully ; and also the indifference manifested in England, not- withstanding the able proclamation of King James on the subject, commanding its cultivation ; the Trustees for the settlement of Georgia determined to make one more effort, which, if successful, would enrich both the province and the mother country. The views which they entertained, however, of making Georgia supplant every silk-growing country, were extravagant and erroneous. They expected, in fact, to supply all Europe, and to produce an article of equal strength, beauty, and value, with any made on the continent. The Piedmontese, thought they, who pay half of their silk for the rent of the mulberry trees, and the eggs of the worm ; or the peasants of France, burdened with political difficulty, and stinted for conveniences, could not cope with the settlers of Georgia, where the mul-
3 History of South Carolina, ii. 220.
268
SEND OVER MR. AMATIS.
berry (morus alba) trees would grow in the greatest luxuriance, where timber for their fabrics was of no expense, where room was abundant, and the reward sure. By this transfer, in addition to a direct saving to England of over £500,000, which she paid for this article to foreign countries, twenty thousand people were to find employment in rearing it in Georgia, and as many more at home in preparing it for market.
Before the first embarkation sailed, Mr. Nicholas Amatis, a native of Piedmont, attended the Board, (October 19th, 1732,) and gave intimations of pro- posals which he designed to make, relative to the cultivation of silk in Georgia, and which he was re- quested to make at a future meeting of the common council of the Trust. In the meantime they addressed a letter, (January 29th, 1733,) through their secretary, to Sir Thomas Lombe, who had set up, at Derby, the first silk-throwing mills in England, " desiring his thoughts of the undertaking to raise raw silk in large quantities in Georgia, of the proper steps to be taken to bring the work to perfection, of the probability of succeeding therein, and of the advantage that will accrue to Great Britain thereby." To this letter Sir Thomas replied (January 31st) in an encouraging manner, stating that it appeared to him " as beneficial to the kingdom, attended with as little hazard or dif- ficulty, as much wanted, and which may as soon be brought to perfection in a proper climate, as any undertaking so considerable in itself" that he ever heard of.4
Thus urged, they concluded, (April 3d, 1733,) after some difficulties, an agreement with Mr. Amatis, by which he was to take to Georgia his servant, Jacques
4 Journal of Trustees, i. 57. Force's Tracts, i.
269
BUSINESS ENTRUSTED TO MR. AND MRS. CAMUSE.
Camuse, his wife, and three sons; the Trustees giving him one hundred acres of land-materials for carrying on the work-all the profits of his labour- passage to Georgia, and provisions there for himself and servant for one year, a salary of twenty-five pounds per year, for four years, and their homeward passages to England or Italy paid, whenever, after five years, they desired to return to Europe.5
Thus prepared to introduce the silk culture into Georgia, Mr. Amatis and servant embarked in April and reached the new colony in May. For a little while the work went on well. White mulberry trees, which were preferred because the leaf was earlier, the foliage more abundant, and the silk produced by the worms fed on it best approved by the manufacturers, were planted in the Trustees' garden; eggs were hatched, and silk spun " as fine as any from France or Italy." But soon the process, so well begun, was for a time suspended, by the treachery of those employed, who broke the machinery, spoiled the seed, destroyed the trees, and then fled to Carolina. Sufficient had been wrought to show the feasibility of the plan, and to test the value of the silk; and the Trustees, not dis- couraged by this inauspicious beginning, still clung to the design, and the more surely to advance it, required of every settler that there should be on his grant ten mulberry trees to each acre. Mr. Amatis having left, the business was now entrusted to Mr. and Mrs. Ca- muse, in which superintendence they were continued six years, the first two at a salary of £60 per annum, and the remaining four at £100, besides the use of a dwell- ing house and garden.
In June, 1734, General Oglethorpe carried eight
5 Minutes of Common Council, i. 43.
270
THE QUEEN'S ROBES OF GEORGIA SILK.
pounds of raw silk, the first produced in Georgia, to England, which was followed by a small trunk full of the same article. on the 2d of April, 1735. These par- cels, after being made into organzine by the engine of Sir Thomas Lombe, who said that it had " proved exceedingly good through all the operations," was sent up to London in the summer of 1735, when the Trus- tees, together with Sir Thomas, waited on Her Majesty, Queen Caroline, and exhibited to her the elegant specimen of Georgia silk. The queen selected a por- tion of it to be wove into a pattern, and being again waited on by these gentlemen, and Mr. Booth, the silk weaver, on the 21st of September, she expressed " a great satisfaction for the beauty and fineness of the silk, the richness of the pattern, and at seeing so early a product from the colony ;" and, to express her pleas- ure at such a favourable result, a complete court-dress was made from it, and on His Majesty's next birth-day she appeared at the levee in a full robe of Georgia silk.6
On the return of Oglethorpe, in 1735, he renewed his endeavours to bring the silk culture into active operation. For the purpose of obtaining a sufficient quantity of seed, he allowed no silk to be reeled that year, but let the worms deposite their eggs. He required, also, that the Italian women should teach a number of the colonists, and thus render general the knowledge they could impart. The Salzburgers at Ebenezer were the most forward to adopt his views, and, in March, 1736, Rev. Mr. Bolzius gave one tree to each inhabitant as a present from the General, and two of his congregation were instructed in the art of reeling by Mrs. Camuse. But though Oglethorpe gave
6 Gentleman's Magazine, August, 1735. Political State of Great Britain, L. 241, 469.
271
GERMANS RAISE SILK.
Mr. Bolzius trees, silkworms, and a book of instruc- tions, yet he confessed that he felt no interest in the business, nor inclination to pursue it.
In July, 1739, Mr. Samuel Augspourger carried over a parcel of raw silk which he received from Mr. Jones, the Trustees' store-keeper in Savannah, and which was declared by eminent judges to be "equal to any Ital- ian silk, and worth full twenty shillings per pound."7
In 1742, General Oglethorpe sent five hundred trees to Ebenezer, with the promise of more if required. The indifference of the good Mr. Bolzius had by this time passed away, and he was now a zealous advocate for its extension. A machine was erected near his house, and two women succeeded very well, by which the people were stimulated to renewed exertions, and a public filature was contemplated. The enterprise of these Germans seemed to excite the envious dispo- sition of Mrs. Camuse, with whom had been placed two women from Ebenezer; but the conduct of Mrs. C. in withholding information, rendered their ac- quirement inadequate, and Mr. Bolzius withdrew them from her charge. The first parcel of silk made was sent to the Trustees, who expressed themselves pleased with its quality. In 1745 the weight of cocoons was two hundred and fifty-three pounds, and of spun silk sixteen and three quarters. In 1746 the weight of cocoons was three hundred and forty-four pounds, and of spun silk eighteen pounds. Early in this year a machine for winding, and coppers for bak- ing, together with appropriate treatises on the art, were sent over by the Trustees, but the people were indifferent and apathetic.
The Germans, however, were as active as formerly,
" Harris's Voyages, ii. 336, folio, London, 1748.
272
TRUSTEES GIVE BOUNTY ON SILK. -
and Mr. Bolzius, in a letter to Von Munch, dated May 6th, 1747, says that " the people last winter planted more mulberry trees than for thirteen years before," for which he promised them a bounty of one shilling for every tree which yielded one hundred pounds of leaves. In 1748, the Salzburgers reared four hundred and sixty-four pounds, but their small trees were destroyed, and some of the larger ones injured, by the late frost. They this year succeeded admirably in spinning twenty-four pounds of raw silk-the want of a chimney and proper basins, which had impeded them before, in their rude building, having been remedied. The President, writing to Secretary Martyn, December 11th, 1746, says : " The fundamental cause of its stag- nation is the unaccountable backwardness of some of our dames and damsels to employ themselves in attend- ing to the worms during the time of feeding, which I have frequently taken notice of, and it cannot be im- puted to the want of leaves."
On the 29th of September, 1749, the Trustees prom- ised £2 to every woman who should make herself mis- tress of the art of winding in one year. And they also gave Mr. Bolzius permission to erect ten sheds, with clay furnaces, at an expense of not more than £2 each, and ten machines for reeling, at thirty shillings each, which, he said, could be made better than those at Savannah for £3. They also sent them ten basins ; and the good Germans felt the impulse of this substan- tial encouragement. In 1750, though the people in other parts of the colony mostly relinquished the silk culture, the inhabitants of Ebenezer continued vigour- ously employed and interested in it. On the 2d of June, they received ten kettles from the Trustees, one of which, and a reeling machine, were given to each mis-
273
PICKERING ROBINSON ARRIVES.
tress in the art of spinning ; and two of the best arti- zans received £5 for giving instruction to fourteen young women, to each of whom was bestowed £1, for atten- tion and industry.
Over a thousand pounds of cocoons were raised at Ebenezer, and seventy-four pounds two ounces raw silk made, producing (the price being then thirty shil- lings) over £110 sterling. As illustrative of the luxu- riant growth of the mulberry, it may be interesting to state, that two trees in front of the parsonage, ten years old, measured three feet eight inches in circumference. In December of this year, eight more copper basins were received, and public confidence in the success of the undertaking seemed revived, notwithstanding Mr. Ca- muse and family had left the province, and settled at Purysburgh, in South Carolina.
On the 25th of December, 1750, Mr. Pickering Robin- son, who, together with Mr. James Habersham, had been appointed, the preceding August, a commissioner to promote more effectually the culture of silk, arrived in Savannah.8
Mr. Robinson had been sent to France, at the expense of the Trustees, to study the management of filatures, and the necessary processes for preparing silk for mar- ket; and thus, though not an operative, was qualified to take the directorship of so important a branch of in- dustry. His salary was £100 per annum, £25 for a clerk ; and a tract of land was also granted him, which, in 1763, sold for £1,300.
He brought with him to Georgia a large quantity of
8 Most of the preceding and suc- Assistants ; Journal of the Commis- sioners Robinson and Habersham, and Letters of Habersham.
ceeding facts are drawn from the MS. Journal and Letters of Rev. Mr. Bol- zius ; Letters of the President and
18
274
TRUSTEES GIVE BOUNTY ON COCOONS.
silkworm seed; but all failed, save about half an ounce. The commissioners determined at once to erect a fila- ture, which should be a normal school to the whole province; and it was their opinion, that it would be "a sufficient nursery to supply, in three or four years, as many reelers as will be wanted, when we make no doubt of many private filatures being erected, which can only make their culture a general staple." The dimensions were thirty-six feet by twenty, rough board- ed, with a loft or upper story, for the spreading out of the green cocoons. It was commenced on the 4th of March, 1751: on the 1st of April the basins were put up; and on the 8th of May the reeling began.
To encourage the colonists, the Trustees proposed to purchase all the balls, and wind them at their own ex- pense ; and paid from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 4d. per pound for green cocoons. The commissioners separated the co- coons into three sorts: 1st. Perfect ones; 2d. The spongy and fuzzy; and 3d. The spotted, stained, and dupious. This arrangement, however, gave great of- fence to some of the residents in Savannah and Purys- burgh ; and Messrs. Robinson and Habersham request- ed the Vice-president and assistants to determine the respective prices, and publicly announce the same ; which they did, on the 26th of April, by a proclama- tion, wherein, by way of bounty, they promised to pay for cocoons, delivered at their store in Savannah, the following sums, namely : for cocoons made by one worm, hard, weighty, and good substance, 2s. per pound ; for the weaker quality, pointed, spotted, or bruised, 1s. 3d .; for dupions, (those made by two worms,) 6d .; for raw silk from first quality cocoons, 14s. per pound ; for that made from second quality, 12s .; the product of the double cocoons, 6s. per
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