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1 Stephens' Journal of Proceedings, vol.
i. p. 15. London. MDCCXLII.
2 Extract of the Journal of Rev. Mr. John Wesley, p. 73. Bristol, n. d.
289
REV. JOHN WESLEY AND MISS HOPKINS.
charms, had been his pupil. He gave her French lessons. Un- der his religious ministrations she became a professed convert and united herself with the church. It would appear that this constant association with a pretty, fascinating maiden eventually excited tender emotions in the breast of the youthful and sus- ceptible ecclesiastic. He was evidently on the eve of declaring his affection when his friend, Mr. Delamotte, excited his appre- hensions by expressing doubts in regard to the sincerity of Miss Hopkins' religious convictions. He also cautioned him against cherishing or avowing too fond an attachment for her. Taking counsel of the Moravian elders, they too advised him not to con- template a matrimonial alliance with her. Thus admonished, Mr. Wesley became more guarded in his conduct and more re- served in his intercourse. Perceiving the change in his deport- ment, Miss Hopkins was piqued, mortified, and angered. Some- thing closely resembling a rupture ensued ; and, not long after- wards, this charming and coquettish young lady gave her hand to a Mr. Williamson.
A few months subsequent to her marriage Mr. Wesley "ob- served some things which he thought reproveable in her be- havior." He mentioned them to her. "At this," writes that clergyman in his Journal, " she appeared extremely angry and said she did not expect such usage from me." The next day Mrs. Causton made excuses for her niece, and expressed much regret at what had transpired.
Having, after the lapse of a few weeks, "repelled Mrs. Will- iamson from the Holy Communion," Mr. Wesley was arrested under the following warrant issued by the recorder : - " GEORGIA. SAVANNAH. S. S.
" To all Constables, Tythingmen, and others whom these may concern :
" You and each of you are hereby required to take the body of John Wesley, Clerk : and bring him before one of the Bailiffs of the said Town to answer the complaint of William William- son and Sophia his wife, for defaming the said Sophia, and re- fusing to administer to her the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in a publick Congregation without cause, by which the said Will- iam Williamson is damaged One Thousand Pounds Sterling. And for so doing this is your Warrant, certifying what you are to do in the premises.
" Given under my hand and seal the 8th day of Aug : Anno. Dom : 1737. THº CHRISTIE."
19
290
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
By Jones, the constable, he was carried before the recorder and bailiff Parker. Williamson was there. To the charge that he had defamed his wife, Mr. Wesley entered a prompt and em- phatic denial. As to the other allegation, he answered that " the giving or refusing the Lord's Supper being a matter purely ecclesiastical," he would not acknowledge any power in the mag- istrate to interrogate him in regard to it. Mr. Parker informed him that he must appear before the next court to be holden for Savannah. Mr. Williamson then said, " Gentlemen, I desire Mr. Wesley may give bail for his appearance." But Mr. Parker immediately refused the application, with the remark, "Sir, Mr. Wesley's word is sufficient."
Causton required that the reasons which induced Mr. Wesley to repel Mrs. Williamson from the Holy Comunion should be assigned in open court. To this demand the elergyman declined to accede. On the second day after the arrest Mr. Causton vis- ited Mr. Wesley at his house, and after some sharp words said, "Make an end of this matter. Thou hadst best. My Niece to be used thus ! I have drawn the sword and I will never sheath it till I have satisfaction." "Soon after," so runs Mr. Wesley's diary, " he added, 'Give the reasons of your repelling her before the whole congregation.' I answered, 'Sir, if you insist upon it I will, and so you may be pleased to tell her.' He said, ' Write to her and tell her so yourself.' I said, 'I will,' and after he went I wrote as follows :
"TO MRS. SOPHIA WILLIAMSON.
" At Mr. Causton's request I write once more. The Rules whereby I proceed are these :
" So many as intend to be Partakers of the Holy Communion shall signify their names to the Curate at least some time the day before. This you did not do.
" And if any of these - - have done any wrong to his Neighbors, by word or deed, so that the Congregation be thereby offended, the Curate shall advertise him that in any wise he pre- sume not to come to the Lord's Table until he hath openly declared himself to have truly repented. If you offer yourself at the Lord's Table on Sunday, I will advertise you (as I have done more than once ) wherein you have done wrong. And when you have openly declared yourself to have truly repented, I will administer to you the Mysteries of God.
" Aug. 11, 1737.
JOHN WESLEY.
" Mr. Delamotte carrying this, Mr. Causton remarked, among
291
THE REV. JOIIN WESLEY IN COURT.
other warm sayings, 'I am the person that am injured. The affront is offered to me, and I will espouse the cause of my Niece. I am ill-used, and I will have satisfaction if it is to be had in the world.'
" Which way this satisfaction was to be had, I did not yet con- ceive. But on Friday and Saturday it began to appear ; Mr. Causton declaring to many persons that Mr. Wesley had repelled Sophy from the Holy Communion purely out of revenge, because he had made proposals of marriage to her which she rejected and married Mr. Williamson."
Having thoroughly espoused the cause of his niece, Mr. Causton set about stirring up the public mind and endeavored to create a general sentiment adverse to Mr. Wesley. He even busied himself with the selection of jurors whose sympathies were in unison with his own. Persuaded by him Mrs. William- son made an affidavit, full of insinuations, in which she asserted " that Mr. Wesley had many times proposed marriage to her, all which proposals she had rejected."
When the grand jury was impaneled, it was manifest that Causton had much to do with its composition. Forty-four mem- bers were present, and among them Wesley noted one French- man, who did not understand the English language, a Papist, a professed infidel, three Baptists, sixteen or seventeen Dissent- ers, and several persons who had quarreled with him and openly vowed revenge.
The court being organized on Monday the 22d, Mr. Causton delivered a long and earnest charge, in which he cantioned the jurymen " to beware of spiritual tyranny, and to oppose the new and illegal authority which was usurped over their consciences." The chief bailiff, uncle by marriage to the complainant, was playing the double role of judge and prosecuting attorney. Mrs. Williamson's affidavit having been read, Causton delivered to the grand jury a paper entitled " A List of Grievances pre- sented by the Grand Jury for Savannah, this - day of Ang., 1737." It had evidently been prepared under his direction, and was designed to mould in advance the finding of that body. After holding this document under advisement for more than a week, and after the examination of sundry witnesses, the jury on the 1st of September returned that paper into court. As modi- fied by a majority, it read as follows : -
"That John Wesley, Clerk, hath broken the Laws of the Realm, contrary to the Peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his Crown, and Dignity;
---
292
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
"1. By speaking and writing to Mrs. Williamson against her husband's consent ;
" 2. By repelling her from the Holy Communion ;
"3. By not declaring his Adherence to the Church of Eng- land ;
" 4. By dividing the Morning Service on Sundays ;
" 5. By refusing to baptize Mr. Parker's child otherwise than by dipping, except the parents would certify it was weak and not able to bear it ;
" 6. By repelling Wm. Gough from the Holy Communion ;
" 7. By refusing to read the Burial-service over the body of Nathaniel Polhill ;
"8. By calling himself Ordinary of Savannah ;
" 9. By refusing to receive Wm. Aglionby as a God-father only because he was not a communicant ;
" 10. By refusing Jacob Matthews for the same reason, and baptizing an Indian Trader's Child with only two sponsors."
Nine of these charges being purely ecclesiastical in their char- acter, Mr. Wesley insisted that the present court could take no cognizance of them. As to the rest of the indictment he pleaded not guilty and demanded an immediate trial. Again and again did he press for a hearing, which was denied upon some frivolous pretext or other, such, for example, as that " Mr. Williamson was gone out of town." So malevolent was the spirit moving the parties preferring these charges against Mr. Wesley that with a view to damaging his clerical reputation far and near they caused the indictment found by a majority of the grand jury to be published in various newspapers in America.
Mr. Wesley had openly avowed a desire to answer directly to the trustees. Twelve of the jurors, three of them being consta- bles and six tithing-men, who would have constituted a majority had that body been properly constituted of four constables and eleven tithing-men, signed the following document which was transmitted in due course : -
" To the Honorable the Trustees for Georgia.
" Whereas two Presentments have been made, the one of An- gust 23rd, the other of August 31st, by the Grand Jury for the Town and County of Savannah in Georgia, against John Wes- ley, Clerk :
" We, whose names are underwritten, being Members of the said Grand Jury, do humbly beg leave to signify our dislike of the said Presentments, being by many and divers circumstances
293
DISSENT OF A PORTION OF THIE JURY.
thro'ly persuaded in ourselves that the whole charge against Mr. Wesley is an artifice of Mr. Causton's, design'd rather to blacken the character of Mr. Wesley than to free the Colony from Re- ligious Tyranny as he was pleas'd in his charge to us to term it. But as these circumstances will be too tedious to trouble your Honors with, we shall only beg leave to give the Reasons of our Dissent from the particular Bills.
" With regard to the First Bill we do not apprehend that Mr. Wesley acted against any laws by writing or speaking to Mrs. Williamson, since it does not appear to us that the said Mr. Wes- ley has either spoke in private or wrote to the said Mrs. William- son since March 12 [the day of her marriage] except one letter of July the 5th, which he wrote at the request of her aunt, as a Pastor, to exhort and reprove her.
" The Second we do not apprehend to be a true Bill because we humbly conceive Mr. Wesley did not assume to himself any au- thority contrary to Law : for we understand every person intend- ing to communicate should ' signify his name to the Curate at least some time the day before,' which Mrs. Williamson did not do : altlio' Mr. Wesley had often, in full congregation, declared he did insist on a compliance with that Rubrick, and had before repell'd divers persons for non-compliance therewith.
" The Third we do not think a True Bill because several of us have been his hearers when he has declared his adherence to the Church of England in a stronger manner than by a formal Dec- laration ; by explaining and defending the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds, the Thirty Nine Articles, the whole Book of Common Prayer, and the Homilies of the said Church : and because we think a formal Declaration is not required but from those who have receiv'd Institution and Induction.
" The Fact alleged in the Fourth Bill we cannot apprehend to be contrary to any law in being.
" The Fifth we do not think a true Bill, because we conceive Mr. Wesley is justified by the Rubrick, viz : ' If they (the l'ar- ents) certify that the child is weak, it shall suffice to pour water upon it :' intimating (as we humbly suppose) it shall not suffice if they do not certify.
" The Sixth cannot be a true Bill because the said William Gough, being one of our members, was surprized to hear himself named without his knowledge or privity, and did publickly de- clare ' It was no grievance to him, because the said John We ;- ley had given him reasons with which he was satisfied.'
294
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
" The Seventh we do not apprehend to be a true Bill, for Na- thaniel Polhill was an Anabaptist, and desir'd in his life-time tha the might not be interr'd with the Office of the Church of England. And further, we have good reason to believe that Mr. Wesley was at Frederica, or on his return thence, when Polhill was buried.
" As to the Eighth Bill we are in doubt, as not well knowing the meaning of the word Ordinary. But, for the Ninth and Tenth we think Mr. Wesley is sufficiently justified by the Canons of the Church which forbid any person to be admitted Godfather or Godmother to any child before the said person has received the Holy Communion ; whereas William Aglionby and Jacob Matthews had never certified Mr. Wesley that they had received it."
Perceiving that he could obtain neither justice nor even a hearing from the town court in Savannah, persuaded that there was no possibility of instructing the Indians, being under no en- gagement to remain a day longer in Savannah than he found it convenient, and believing that his ministry would prove more acceptable in England than in Georgia, he consulted his friends as to the propriety of his returning home. They agreed that it was best for him to do so, but not at that time.
On the 3d of November he again appeared in court, and also on the 22d of that month. On the last occasion Mr. Causton exhibited to him sundry affidavits filed in his case, all of which Wesley pronounced false and malicious. No trial was, on either date, accorded to him. Upon conferring a second time with his friends they were of the opinion that he might now set out immediately for England. The next evening he called upon Mr. Causton and acquainted him with his purpose to leave the colony at an early day. He also put up in the public square the following notice : "Whereas John Wesley designs shortly to set out for England, this is to desire those who have borrowed any books of him to return them, as soon as they conveniently can, to John Wesley."
There was nothing concealed about this determination ; and he quietly, and with the full knowledge of the community, pre- pared for his journey. On the 2d of December, the tide serving about noon, he proposed to bid farewell to Savannah and start for Charlestown whence he was to sail for England. "But about ten," says Mr. Wesley, " the Magistrates sent for me and told me I must not go out of the Province, for I had not answer'd the
295
REV. JOIIN WESLEY LEAVES GEORGIA.
Allegations laid against me. I replied I have appeared at six or seven Courts successively in order to answer them, but I was not suffer'd to do so when I desired it time after time. They then said, however, I must not go unless I would give security to answer those allegations at their Court. I asked, what security? After consulting together about two hours the Recorder shew'd me a kind of bond engaging me under a penalty of fifty pounds to appear at their Court when I should be required. He added, But Mr. Williamson too has desired of us that you should give bail to answer his action. I then told him plainly, Sir, you use me very ill, and so you do the Trustees. I will give neither any bond nor any bail at all. You know your business and I know mine.
" In the afternoon the Magistrates publish'd an Order requir- ing all the Officers and Centinels to prevent my going out of the Province, and forbidding any person to assist me in doing so. Being now only a prisoner at large in a place where I knew by experience every day would give fresh opportunity to procure evidence of words I never said and actions I never did, I saw clearly the hour was come for leaving this place : and, as soon as Evening Prayers were over, about eight o'clock, the tide then serving, I shook off the dust of my feet and left Georgia after having preached the Gospel there (not as I ought, but as I was able) one year and nearly nine months." 1
Stephens 2 informs us that Mr. Wesley was accompanied on this occasion by three obnoxious characters : Coates, a busybody, a mischief-maker, and heavily indebted both to the trust and to the citizens of Savannah; Gough, an idle fellow, impudent in his behavior, leaving behind him many unpaid obligations, and a wife and child whom he more frequently beat than fed; and Campbell, a barber, an insignificant, loose fellow, fit for any leader who would make a tool of him.
Landing at Purrysburgh the next morning, Mr. Wesley and his companions pursued their journey on foot to Beaufort, whence he proceeded by boat to Charlestown. Taking passage on board the Samuel, Captain Percy, he departed from America on the 24th of December, 1737, never more to revisit the scene of his early labors, conflicts, trials, and disappointments.
We make no apology for having dwelt at this length upon the incidents connected with the life and ministrations in Georgia " of
1 Extract of the Rev. Mr. John Wesley's
Journal, etc., pp. 55, 56. Bristol, n. d.
2 Journal of Proceedings, etc., vol. i. pp. 45-47. London. MDCCXLII.
296
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
a man whose eloquence and logical acuteness [to borrow the language of Lord Macaulay] might have made him eminent in literature, whose genius for government was not inferior to that of Richelieu, and who, whatever his errors may have been, devoted all his powers, in defiance of obloquy and derision, to what he sincerely considered as the highest good of his species."
Whatever shadows and doubts gathered about him in the morning of his ministerial career were all quickly dispelled by the glorious beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Then, in the plenitude of intellectual and moral power, he proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation to the nations, gathering about him tens of thousands, founding a sect of strong virtue and stern religious sentiment, and closing one of the most remarkable lives in Eng- lish history with the triumphant cry, " The best of all is, God is with us. He giveth his servants rest. We thank Thee, O Lord ! for these and all Thy mercies. Bless the Church and King, and grant us truth and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord forever and ever. The clouds drop fatness. The Lord is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. Farewell."
CHAPTER XIX.
MUTINY IN OGLETHORPE'S REGIMENT. - ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE GEN- ERAL. - NEGRO INSURRECTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. - OGLETHORPE DENIES CAUSTON'S INSINUATIONS. - REV. MR. NORRIS. -- GRANT OF £20,000 BY PARLIAMENT. - MAGISTRATES AND FREEHOLDERS OF SAVANNAH APPLY TO THE TRUSTEES FOR FEE SIMPLE TITLES TO LAND, AND FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF INTRODUCING NEGRO SLAVES. -- THE HIGHLANDERS AT DARIEN AND THE SALZBURGERS AT EBENEZER PROTEST AGAINST THE ADMISSION OF SLAVERY. - OGLETHORPE COUNSELS AGAINST THE PROPOSED CHANGES. - HE IS ATTACKED BY MALCONTENTS. - DEPRESSED CONDITION OF THE PROVINCE. - THE TRUSTEES REFUSE TO PERMIT THE INTRODUCTION OF NEGRO SLAVES, AND DECLINE TO ENLARGE THE TENURE OF LANDS.
HAVING accommodated matters at Savannah as thoroughly as circumstances would permit, and having inaugurated such a sys- tem of disbursements from the public stores as appeared most equitable for canceling the indebtedness contracted by Causton and relieving the pressing necessities of the inhabitants, General Oglethorpe, on the 25th of October, 1738, departed in open boat for Frederica, leaving, in the language of Colonel Stephens, " a gloomy prospect of what might ensue, and many sorrowful coun- tenances." His energies were now to be concentrated upon the fortification of the southern confines of the colony, the defensive capabilities of which the Spaniards manifestly intended to test at no distant day.
Early in the following November he established his head- quarters temporarily at Fort St. Andrew on Cumberland Island that he might personally superintend and encourage the con- struction of the military defenses which were being there erected. This island was then garrisoned by the companies which had been detailed from Gibraltar. In addition to their pay these troops, for a limited period after their arrival in Georgia, had been allowed extra provisions from the king's store. When, in November, these rations were discontinued, conceiving them- selves wronged and defrauded of their rights, the men became dissatisfied. As the general was conversing at the door of his hut with Captain Mackay, a turbulent fellow had the temerity to come up, unannounced, and demand a renewal of the allow-
.
298
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
ance. Oglethorpe replied that the terms of enlistment had been fully complied with ; and that if he desired any benefit at his hand such rude and disrespectful behavior was not calculated to secure a favorable consideration of his application. The fellow thereupon became outrageously insolent. Captain Mackay drew his sword, which the desperado wrested from him, broke in half, and, having thrown the hilt at that officer's head, rushed away to the barracks. There snatching up a loaded gun and crying aloud " One and All," he ran back, followed by five or more of the conspirators, and fired at the general. Being only a few paces distant, the ball whizzed close by Oglethorpe's ear, while the powder scorched his face and singed his clothes. Another soldier presented his piece and attempted to discharge it. For- tunately it missed fire. A third drew his hanger and endeav- ored to stab the general who, however, having by this time unsheathed his sword, parried the thrust. An officer coming up ran the ruffian through the body. Frustrated in their attempt at assassination, the mutineers sought safety in flight, but were apprehended and put in irons. After trial by court-martial the ring-leaders were found guilty and shot.1
Thus wonderfully was the general preserved for the important trusts committed to his care, and so narrowly was a calamity averted which would have plunged the colony into the depths of uncertainty and peril. At this trying moment, had she been de- prived of Oglethorpe's guidance, Georgia, feeble and uncertain, would have been left well-nigh naked to her enemies.
Spanish emissaries from St. Augustine endeavored to inaugu- rate an insurrection among the negroes of South Carolina. To them freedom and protection were promised. Every inducement was offered which could encourage not only desertion from, but also massacre of, their owners. Of the runaway slaves the gov- ernor of Florida had formed a regiment, appointing officers from among them, and placing both officers and enlisted men upon the pay and rations allowed to the regular Spanish soldiers. Of this fact the Carolina negroes were fully aware. Influenced by the hope of booty, incited to the perpetration of unholy deeds by
1 Compare Gentleman's Magazine, vol. ix. pp. 214, 215. Stephens' Journal of Proceedings, vol. i. p. 326. London. 1742. McCall's History of Georgia, vol. i. pp. 124, 125. Savannah. 1811. Hewitt's Historical Account of the Rise and Prog- ress of the Colonies of South Carolina and
Georgia, vol. ii. pp. 70, 71. London. 1779. Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. i. pp. 154, 155. New York. 1847. Wright's Memoir of Oglethorpe, pp. 204, 205. Lon- don. 1867. Harris' Biographical Me- morials of Oglethorpe, pp. 194, 195, 569. Boston. 1841.
299
-
NEGRO INSURRECTION IN CAROLINA.
ruthless men in Spanish employ, and purposing a forcible pas- sage through Georgia into Florida, a band of negro slaves assem- bled at Stono, killed two young men in charge of a warehouse at that point, and then appropriated the guns and ammunition there stored. Thus armed, they elected one of their number captain, and, under his leadership, marched towards the south- west with colors flying and drums beating. Forcibly entering the house of Mr. Godfrey, they murdered him, his wife, and chil- dren, took all the arms, fired the premises, and moved on in the direction of Jacksonborough. Plundering and burning every house on their line of march, and killing every white person they met, they compelled all negroes to join them. Governor Bull, who was returning to Charlestown from the southward, met this armed force, and, avoiding it, spread the alarm, which soon reached the Presbyterian church at Wiltown where the Rev. Archibald Stobo was preaching to a considerable congregation. By a law of the province all planters were obliged to carry their weapons with them when assembled for divine worship. This regulation, at the present critical juncture, proved most useful. Leaving the women in the church, the men, under the command of Captain Bee, hastened in pursuit of the negroes who were each moment becoming more formidable in numbers. They had now marched about twelve miles and had spread des- olation through all the settlements adjacent to and upon their route. Having found rum in some of the houses, they drank freely of it. When overtaken by the whites, they had halted in an open field where they were singing and dancing and indulging in yells of barbaric triumph. Circumventing them to prevent escape, the planters moved upon them, killing some, capturing others, and dispersing the rest. The leaders and first insurgents were summarily dealt with.
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