USA > Georgia > A true and historical narrative of the colony of Georgia, in America, from the first settlement thereof until this present period > Part 3
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العنوان
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(save and except only the commander-in-chief of the militia of our said Province of Georgia, to our governor for the time being of South Carolina, in manner hereafter declared), but shall be subject to and bound to obey such laws, orders, statutes, and constitutions as shall from time to time be made, ordered, and enacted, for the better government of the said Province of Georgia, in the manner hereinafter declared. And we do hereby, for us, our heirs, and successors, ordain, will, and establish, that for and during the term of twenty-one years, to commence from the date of these our letters patent, the said corporation assembled for that purpose, shall and may form and prepare laws, statutes, and ordinances, fit and neces- sary for and concerning the government of the said colony, and not repugnant to the laws and statutes of England, and the · same shall and may present, under their common seal, to us, our heirs, and successors, in our or their privy council, for our or their approbation or disallowance; and the said laws, statutes, and ordinances being approved of by us, our heirs, and successors, in our or their privy council, shall from thence- forth be in full force and virtue within our said Province of Georgia. And forasmuch as the good and prosperous success of the said colony cannot but chiefly depend, next under the blessing of God and the support of our royal authority, upon the provident and good direction of the whole enterprise ; and that it will be too great a burden upon all the members of the said corporation to be convened so often as may be requisite to hold meetings for the settling, supporting, ordering, and main- taining the said colony : Therefore, we do will, ordain, and establish, that the said common council for the time being,.of the said corporation, being assembled for that purpose, or the major part of them, shall from time to time and all times here- after, have full power and authority to dispose of, extend, and apply all the moneys and effects belonging to the said corpora- tion, in such manner and ways, and by such expenses as they shall think best to conduce to the carrying on and effecting the good purposes herein mentioned and intended : And also, shall. - have full power, in the name and on the account of the said corporation, and with and under their common seal, to enter under any covenants or contracts for carrying on and effecting the purposes aforesaid. And our further will and pleasure is,
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that the said common council for the time being, or the major part of such common council which shall be present and assembled for that purpose, from time to time and at all times hereafter, shall and may nominate, constitute, and appoint a treasurer or treasurers, secretary or secretaries, and such other officers, ministers, and servants of the said corporation, as to them or the major part of them as shall be present shall seem proper or requisite for the good management of their affairs ; and at their will and pleasure to displace, remove, and put out such treasurer or treasurers, secretary or secretaries, and all such other officers, ministers, and servants, as often as. they shall think fit so to do, and others in the room, office, place, or station of him or them so displaced, removed, or put out, to nominate, constitute, and appoint ; and shall and may determine and appoint such reasonable salaries, perquisities and other rewards for their labor, or service of such officers, servants, and persons, as to the said common council shall seem meet; and all such officers, servants, and persons shall, before the acting their respective offices, take an oath, to be to them administered by the chairman for the time being of the said common council of the said corporation, who is hereby authorized to administer the same, for the faithful and due execution of their respective . offices and places. And our will and pleasure is, that all such person and persons who shall from time to time be chosen or appointed treasurer or treasurers, secretary or secretaries of the said corporation, in manner hereinafter directed, shall, during such times as they shall serve in the said offices res- pectively, be incapable of being a member of the said cor- poration. And we do further, of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, for us, our heirs, and successors, grant, by these presents, to the said corporation and their suc- cessors, that it shall be lawful for them and their officers or agents, at all times hereafter, to transport and convey out of our realm of Great Britain, or any other our dominions, into the said province of Georgia, to be there settled, and so many of our loving subjects, or any foreigners that are willing to become our subjects and live under our allegiance in the said colony, as shall be willing to go to inhabit or reside there, with sufficient shipping, armor, weapons, powder, shot, ordnance, munition, victuals, merchandise, and wares, as are
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esteemed by the wild people, clothing, implements, furniture, cattle, horses, mares, and all other things necessary for the said colony, and for the use and defence, and trade with the people there, and in passing to and returning from the same. Also, we do, for ourselves and successors, declare, by these presents, that all and every the persons which shall happen to be born within the said Province, and every of their children and posterity, and shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises, and immunities of free denizens and natural born subjects within any of our dominions, to all intents and purposes as if abiding and born within this, our kingdom of Great Britain, or any other dominion. And for the greater ease and encouragement of our loving subjects, and such others as shall come to inhabit in our said colony, we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, grant, establish, and ordain that for ever here- after there shall be a liberty of conscience allowed in the worship of God to all persons inhabiting or which shall inhabit or be resident within our said province, and that all such per- sons, except Papists, shall have a free exercise of religion, so they be contented with the quiet and peaceable enjoyment of the same, not giving offense or scandal to the Government. And our further will and pleasure is, and we do hereby, for us, our heirs, and successors, declare and grant that it shall. and may be lawful for the said common council, or the major part of them assembled for that purpose, in the name of the corpora- tion, and under the common seal, to distribute, convey, assign, and set over such particular portions of lands, tenements, and hereditaments by these presents granted to the said cor- poration, unto such of our loving subjects naturally born or denizens, or others, that shall be willing to become our subjects, and live under our allegience in the said colony, upon such terms, and for such estates, and upon such rents, reservations, and conditions as the same may be lawfully granted, and as to the said common council, or the major part of them so present, shall seem fit and proper. Provided always, that no grants shall be made of any part of the said lands unto any person being a member of the said corporation, or to any other person in trust for the benefit of any member of the said corporation, and that no person having any estate or interest in law or equity in any part of the said lands shall be capable of being a
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member of the said corporation during the continuance of such estate or interest. Provided also, that no greater quantity of lands be granted, either entirely or in parcels, to or for the use, or in trust for any one person, than five hundred acres, and that all grants made contrary to the true intent and meaning hereof shall be absolutely null and void. And we do hereby grant and ordain, that such person or persons for the time being, as shall be. thereunto appointed by the said corporation shall, and may at all times, and from time to time hereafter, have full power and authority to administer and give the oaths appointed by an act of. Parliament made in the first year. of the reign of our late royal father, to be taken instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and also the oath of abjuration, to all and every person or persons which shall at any time be inhabiting or residing within our said colony, and in like cases to administer the solemn affirmation to any of the persons com- monly called Quakers, in such manner as by the laws of our realm of Great Britain the same may be administered. . And we do, of our further grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, grant, establish, and ordain, for us, our heirs, and suc- cessors, that the said corporation and their successors, shall have full power and authority for and during the term of twenty-one years, to commence from the date of these our letters patent, to erect and constitute judicatures and courts of record, or other courts, to be held in the name of us, our heirs, and successors, for the hearing and determining of all manner of crimes, offenses, pleas, processes, plaints, actions, matters, causes, and things whatsoever, arising or happening within the said province of Georgia, or between persons of Georgia, whether the same be criminal or civil, and whether the said . crimes be capital or not capital, and whether the said pleas be real, personal, or mixed; and for awarding and making out executions thereupon, to which courts and judicatures we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant full power and authority, from time to time, to administer oaths for the discovery of truth, in any matter in controversy or depend- ing before them, or the solemn affirmation to any of the per- sons commonly called Quakers, in such manner as by the laws of our realm of Great Britain the same may be administered. And our further will and pleasure is, that the said corporation
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-and their successors, do from time to time, and at all times hereafter, register or cause to be registered all such leases, grants, plantings, conveyances, settlements, and improvements whatsoever, as shall at any time hereafter be made by or in the name of the said corporation, of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments within the said province, and shall yearly send and transmit, or cause to be sent or transmitted, authentic accounts of such leases, grants, conveyances, settlements, and improvements respectively, unto the auditor of the plantations for the time being, or his deputy, and also to our surveyor for the time being of our said province of South Carolina, to whom we do hereby grant full power and authority from time to time, as often as need shall require, to inspect and survey such of the said lands and premises as shall be demised, granted, and settled as aforesaid, which said survey and inspection, we do hereby declare to be intended to ascertain the quit-rents which shall from time to time become due to us, our heirs, and suc- cessors, according to the reservations hereinbefore .mentioned, and for no other purposes whatsoever; hereby, for us, our heirs, and successors, strictly enjoining and commanding, that neither our or their surveyor, or any person whatsoever, under the pretext and color of making the said survey or inspection, shall take, demand, or receive any gratuity, fee, or reward, of or from any person or persons inhabiting in the said colony or from the said corporation or common council of the same, on the pain of forfeiture of the said office or offices, and incurring our highest displeasure. Provided always, and our further will and pleasure is, that all leases, grants, and conveyances to be made by or in the name of the said corporation, of any lands within the said province, or a memorial containing the substance and effect thereof, shall be registered with the auditor of the said plantations, of us, our heirs, and successors, within the space of one year, to be computed from the date thereof, otherwise the same shall be void .. And our further will and pleasure is, that the rents, issues, and all other profits which shall at any time hereafter come to the said corporation, or the major part of them which shall be present at any meeting for that pur- pose assembled, shall think will most improve and enlarge the said colony, and best answer the good purposes here- inbefore mentioned, and for defraying all other charges
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about the same. And our will and pleasure is that the said corporation and their successors shall from time to time give in to one of the principal secretaries of state, and to the commissioners of trade and plantations, accounts of the progresses of the said colony. And our will and pleasure is that no act done at any meeting of the said common council of the said corporation shall be effectual and valid unless eight members, at least, of the said common coun- council, including the member who shall serve as chairman at the said meeting, be present, and the major part of them con- senting thereunto. And our will and pleasure is, that the common council of the said corporation for the time being, or the major part of them who shall be present, being assembled for that purpose, shall from time to time, for and during and unto the full end and expiration of twenty-one years, to com- mence from the date of these our letters patent, have full power and authority to nominate, make, constitute, commission, ordain, and appoint, by such name or names, style or styles, as to them shall seem meet and fitting, all and singular such governors, judges, magistrates, ministers, and officers, civil and military, both by sea and land, within the said districts, as shall by them be thought fit and needful to be made or used for the said government of the said colony, save always and except such officers only as shall by us, our heirs, and successors, be from time to time constituted and appointed for the managing, collecting, and receiving such revenues as shall from time to time arise within the said province of Georgia, and become due to us, our heirs, and successors. Provided always, and it is our . will and pleasure, that every governor of the said province of Georgia, to be appointed by the common council of the said corporation, before he shall enter upon or execute the said office of governor, shall be approved by us, our heirs, or suc- cessors, and shall take such oaths and shall qualify himself in such manner in all respects, as any governor or commander-in- chief of any of our colonies or plantations in America are by law required to do, and shall give good and sufficient security for observing the several acts of Parliament relating to trade and navigation, and to observe 'and obey all instructions that shall be sent to him by us, our heirs, and successors, or any acting under our or their authority, pursuant to the said acts,
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or any of them. And we do, by these presents, for' us, our heirs, or successors, will, grant, and ordain, that the said cor- poration and their successors shall have full power for and during, and until the full end and term of twenty-one years, to commence from the date of these our letters patent, by any commander or other officer or officers by them for that purpose from time to time appointed, to train, instruct, exercise, and govern a militia for the special defence and safety of our said colony, to assemble in martial array the inhabitants of the said colony, and to lead and conduct them, and with them to encounter, expulse, repel, resist, and pursue, by force of arms, as well by sea as by land, within or without the limits of our said colony; and also to kill, slay, and destroy, and conquer, by all fighting ways, enterprises and means whatsoever, all and every such person or persons as shall at any time hereafter, in any hostile manner attempt or enterprise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of our said colony, and to use and exercise the martial law in time of actual war and invasion or rebellion, in such cases where by law the same may be used or exercised; and also from time to time to erect forts and fortify any place or places within our said colony, and the same to furnish with all necessary ammunition, provisions, and stores of war, for offense and defence, and to commit from time to time the custody or government of the same to such person or persons as to them shall seem meet; and the said forts and fortifica- tions to demolish at their pleasure ; and to take and surprise, by all ways and means, all and every such person or persons, with their ships, arms, ammunition, and other goods, as shall in an hostile manner invade or attempt the invading, conquering, or annoying of our said colony. And our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby, for us, our heirs, and successors, declare and grant, that the governor and commander-in-chief of the province of South Carolina, of us, our heirs, and successors, for the time being, shall at all times hereafter have the chief command of the militia of our said province hereby erected and established; and that such militia shall observe and obey all orders and directions that shall from time to time be given or sent them by the said governor or commander-in-chief, any- thing in these presents before contained to the contrary hereof
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in any wise notwithstanding. And, of our more special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and suc- cessors, do give and grant unto the said corporation and their successors, full power and authority to import and export their goods at and from any port or ports that shall be appointed by us, our heirs, and successors, within the said province of Georgia for that purpose, without being obliged to touch at any other port in South Corolina. And we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, will and declare, that from and after the determination of the said term of one and twenty years, such form of government and method of making laws, statutes, and ordinances, for the better govern- ing and ordering the said province of Georgia and the inhabi- tants thereof, shall be established and observed within the same, as we, our heirs and successors, shall hereafter ordain and appoint, and shall be agreeable to law; and that from and after the determination of the said term of one and twenty years, the governor of our said province of Georgia, and all officers, civil and military, within the same, shall from time to time be nominated and constituted and appointed by us, our heirs, and successors. And, lastly, we do hereby, for us, our heirs, and successors, grant unto the said corporation and their successors, that these our letters patent, or the enrollments or exemplification thereof, shall be in and by all things, good, firm, valid, sufficient, and effectual in the law, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, and shall be taken, construed, and adjudged in all courts and elswhere in the most favorable and beneficial sense, and for the best advantage of the said corporation and their successors, any ommission, imperfection, defect, matter, or cause, or thing whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. In witness, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness our self at West- minster, the ninth day of June, in the fifth year of our reign.
By Writ of Privy Seal, COOKS.
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THE gracious purposes and ample privileges contained in the foregoing charter are so obvious to every reader that we need only say, they were suitable to a most generous and humane British. monarch, and had the settlement of the colony of Georgia been carried on conformable thereto, and no other restrictions or reservations made than what are therein men- tioned, then would the colony at this time have been in a flourishing condition, answerable to all those glorious ends that were proposed and expected from it; but on the contrary, laws and restrictions being made such as were never heard of in any British settlement, the colony is brought to the present melancholy situation. But we shall say no more at present on this head than what Mr. Oglethorpe said in Parliament relating to the charitable corporation; viz., *"The better the design was, the more those deserve to be punished who have disap- pointed the public of reaping the benefits that might have accrued from it."
Inhabitants of all sorts, Roman Catholics only excepted, from all parts of the world were invited to possess this promised land, and large sums of money from the Parliament, as well as contributions from private and public charity, were collected; the county was laid out as an earthly paradise; the soil far surpassing that of England; the air healthy, always serene, pleasant, and temperate, never subject to excessive heat or cold, nor to sudden changes.
It was particularly set forth, and with a show of reason enough, that this proposed settlement could not fail of suc- ceeding when the nation was so bountiful, the King so gracious, | the trustees so disinterested and honorable, who had, for the benefit of mankind, given up that ease and indolence to which they were entitled by their fortunes and the too prevalent custom of their native country; and withal, being able, by seeing the mistakes and failures of other colonies, both to avoid and rectify them; and lastly, the universal report of Mr. Oglethorpe's matchless humanity and generosity, who was to conduct the first embarkation, and who was, in all appearance, to undergo the greatest hardships without any other view than to succor the distressed, and despising interest or riches,
* Vide Lond. Mag. p. 37).
" Vide a Pamphlet entitled, "A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South. Carolina and Georgia.
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was to- venture his life, his all, in establishing the intended settlement. Glorious presages of the future happiness of that colony! Irresistible temptations to those whose genius or cir- cumstances led them to leave their native country !
No wonder then, that great numbers of poor subjects, who lay under a cloud of misfortunes, embraced the opportunity of once more tasting liberty and happiness; that Jews, attracted by the temptation of inheritances, flocked over ; that Germans, oppressed and dissatisfied at home, willingly joined in the adventure, some as settlers and others as servants to the trustees ; and lastly, that great numbers of gentlemen of some stock and fortune, willingly expended part of the same in purchasing servants, tools, commodities, and other necessaries, to entitle them to such respective proportions of land as the trustees had thought proper to determine, and such liberties and properties as they had reason to expect from his majesty's most gracious charter. But how much they were all dis- appointed the sequel will show. The first thing that was done was the circumscribing the rights and titles given by his majesty, and making many other various restrictions, services, and conditions, impossible for any human person to perform, a few of which we shall here enumerate : In the first place there was an excessive quit-rent laid upon the land, being a great deal more than his majesty's subjects in the other British colonies had to pay; viz., twenty shillings sterling for every hundred acres, to be paid yearly, and if it, or any part thereof, should be behind and unpaid by the space of six calender months next after any day of payement on which the same became due, then the land was forfeited and returned to the trustees, as it likewise did upon failure in any of the following conditions ; . viz .: one thousand mulberry tree's always to be growing on every hundred acres ; no partnership or company to be entered into for making potash; not to assign or transfer the land, or any part or parcel thereof, or any estate or interest in the same, for any term of years; not to hire, keep, lodge, board, or employ, within the limits of the province, any black or negro ; and if the person holding land should die without issue male, or his heirs at any time should die without issue male, in that case likewise the whole land was forfeited and reverted to the trustees ; and if any part or parcel of any of the five-
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hundred- acre tracts should remain not cultivated,' cleared, planted, and improved, after the space of eighteen years, such part to return to the trustees. These were the chief restric- tions in all the grants of lands, which appeared very hard even to strangers who had not yet felt them and who were ignorant of the climate and nature of the place ; but when anyone com- plained of the hardships of them, to paliate the matter it was given out that negroes were entirely useless and unprofitable ; wine, silk, olives, gardens, and manufactures for women and children were the intended improvements of the colony; that the restriction of the rights of lands were only temporary, to prevent the bartering or selling them by the unthinking people at an undervalue; and concerning the want of male issue, it was asserted that the trustees, being duly petitioned, would grant continuation of the land to the eldest daughter, if any, etc., upon their good * behavior ; that the laws of England and the administration of justice in the most impartial manner, and most adapted to the nature of a free British government, should be ever secured to the inhabitants.
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