USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume I > Part 46
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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMON COUNCIL. 451
to attend and, in case they should be called upon by the Lords of the Council, to deliver in the name of the trustees the following communication : -
" To the Right Honorable the Lords of his Majesty's most Honor- able Privy Council.
" The Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in Amer- ica, who are ready for the service of the Crown to surrender their Trust for granting the Lands in the said Colony, think it their indispensable duty to offer the following considerations to your Lordships on behalf of the People settled there.
" That the Colony of Georgia be confirmed a separate and in- dependent Province as it is expressly declared in his Majesty's Charter it shall be, in confidence of which the Inhabitants, both British and Foreign, have gone thither, and as the Assembly of the Province of Georgia have petitioned for in a representa- tion to the Trustees dated January the 15th, 1750.
" That the Inhabitants of the Colony be confirmed in their titles and possessions which have been granted to them under the Charter.
" That the arrears of Quit Rents, due at this time, be remitted, since most of the Inhabitants have been prevented, by the war and the various obstacles that always occur at the first settling of a Colony, from cultivating so much of their Lands as it might be expected they would have done, and that the Quit Rents for the future be reduced from four to two shillings for each hun- dred acres, this last sum being as much as is usually reserved in any of his Majesty's Provinces in America.
" That as there will be occasion for a Secretary or Agent in England to transact the affairs of the Province here, and to carry on the Correspondence with the Government in Georgia, and as the Trustees' Secretary, Mr. Martyn, has served them ably and faithfully in that capacity from the very date of the Charter, and is much better acquainted with the State of the Colony than any other person residing in England, and as the Trustees have the greatest reason to believe it will be very agreeable and en- couraging to the People there, they humbly desire your Lord- ships will be the means of recommending him to his Majesty for the said employment, with such an appointment as may be thought proper."
On the 19th of December the committee did attend upon the Lords of the Privy Council and, being by them called in, were informed that the lords had read the memorial of the trustees
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452
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
to his majesty and the reports thereon from the Lords Commis- sioners of his Majesty's Treasury and the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, and that they observed in the report from the Lords Commissioners for Trade that the trustees who waited upon them had stated that if, for the service of the Crown, it would be expected they should surrender their trust for granting lands in the colony, they would have some conditions to offer to his majesty's council in behalf of the people settled there. The Lords of the Council therefore desired to ascertain from the committee if the trustees were then prepared to lay those conditions before them. The committee responded that they were, and in the name of the trustees presented the docu- ment prepared on the 14th. This done, the committee with- drew ; and, after some time, having been called in again, they were informed "that the Lords of the Council could not advise his Majesty to recommend to Parliament the granting any sum of money to the Corporation of the Trustees unless they were desirous of making an absolute surrender of their Charter." If such was the pleasure of the trustees, the committee was requested to state in what manner they proposed to make such surrender. Thereupon the committee again withdrew; and, after considering the present condition of the colony, "and the total inability of the Trustees to defray the expences of the Civil Government from Lady Day 1751, to furnish the Troops stationed in Georgia with provisions, or to give any encouragements to the production of Raw Silk without a further supply," immediately drew up and severally signed the following : -
" We, whose names are here underwritten, being a Committee appointed by the Common Council of the Trustees for establish- ing the Colony of Georgia in America, and being fully authorized by them, do hereby signify that we are ready and willing to make an absolute surrender of all the powers, rights, and trusts vested in the said Trustees by his Majesty's Royal Charter bear- ing date the 9th day of June 1732, without any condition or limitation, humbly recommending the Rights and Privileges of the Inhabitants of the said Colony to his Majesty's most gracious protection.
SHAFTESBURY. ROBT. TRACY. JOHN FREDERICK. SAML. LLOYD. EDWARD HOOPER."
December 19th, 1751.
Upon being called in, the committee presented this paper, and
453
PROCEEDINGS UPON SURRENDER OF CHARTER.
then withdrew to await the action of the Privy Council. In a little while they were informed by Mr. Sharpe, the clerk of the council, that he was instructed by their lordships to acquaint them with the fact that they " had referred the said paper to the Attorney and Solicitor General to consider thereof and report to their- Lordships in what manner the same might be most effectually carried into execution."
On the 8th of January, 1752, the Earl of Shaftesbury made full report to the trustees of all that had transpired, whereupon it was resolved "That the Trustees do concur with and ap- prove of all the several steps taken by the Committee, and do in a particular manner approve of, ratify, and confirm, as the Act of the Trustees, the paper respectively signed by the five Mem- bers of the Committee December the 19tli, and by them deliv- ered to the Lords of the Council :
" Resolved that the thanks of the Trustees be given to the said Committee for their conduct in general, and in particular for their care in recommending the rights and privileges of the In- habitants of the Colony to his Majesty's protection :
" Resolved that it be referred to the said Committee to con- sider what papers may be necessary on behalf of the Inhabitants of Georgia to lay before the Attorney and Solicitor General when they take the reference from the Lords of the Council into con- sideration, and to order the same to be laid before them :
" Resolved that the said Committee be empowered to take all such further measures as they shall judge necessary in order to perfect the Surrender of the Trust, in confidence that his Maj- esty's subjects inhabiting the Colony of Georgia will suffer no diminution in their rights and possessions by the Trustees' deliv- ering into his Majesty's hands the Trust which they received from his Majesty on behalf of and for the benefit of his said subjects." 1
Acting upon the reference from the Lords of the Privy Coun- cil, the attorney and solicitor general on the 6th of February re- turned the following report : -
" To the Right Honble the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs.
" May it please your Lordships.
" In obedience to your Lordships' Order of the 19th of Decem- ber last, setting forth that his Majesty was pleased, by his Order in Council of the 13th May last, to refer unto your Lordships the 1 Journal of the Trustees, 1745-1752, pp. 177-183.
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454
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Memorial of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America setting forth that his Majesty was pleased by his Royal Charter, dated the 9th of June 1732, to make, erect, and create the Colony of Georgia, and to constitute the Memorialists to be one Body politick and corporate for establishing the said Colony, and to grant them power to elect their own Successors forever, and also to vest in them and their successors forever seven undivided parts of all the lands therein particularly de- scribed as Trustees for granting the same to such of his Maj- esty's indigent subjects and persecuted Foreign Subjects as should desire to inhabit and reside there : And powers of government over the said Colony were thereby vested in them for the term of twenty-one years: and further setting forth (amongst other things) the several steps theyve taken from time to time for the peopling, settling, and establishing the said Colony, together with the present state and condition thereof : But as the said term of government will expire so soon as the 9th of June 1753, (tho' the power of granting lands is vested in them forever) they hum- bly pray that proper means may be soon provided for putting the government of the Colony on a more sure foundation than it is at present thro' the uncertainty of the Memorialists' being en- abled to support it, least so great a misfortune should happen as the immediate desertion and loss of this important Colony : And that your Lordships had that day proceeded to take the said Memorial into your consideration, and being informed that a Committee of the said Trustees was attending and had some pro- posals to offer to your Lordships in addition to the foregoing Memorial, they were called in and the following Proposal was delivered by them to your Lordships : viz: 'We, whose names are hereunder written, being a Committee appointed by the Com- mon Council of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Geor- gia in America, and fully authorized by them to do, hereby sig- nify that we are ready and willing to make an absolute surrender of all the powers, rights, and trusts vested in the said Trustees by his Majesty's Charter bearing date the 9th of June 1732 without any conditions or limitations, humbly recommending the rights and privileges of the inhabitants of the said Colony to his Majesty's most gracious protection.
SHAFTESBURY. ROBT TRACY. JOHN FREDERICK. SAM LLOYD.
EDWP HOOPER."
December, 1751.
455
REPORT OF TIIE ATTORNEY-GENERAL.
" Which being taken into consideration, your Lordships were thereby pleased to refer the said proposal to us to consider thereof, and report to your Lordships in what manner the same may be most effectually carried into execution.
" We have considered the said Proposal, and perused the said Charter of the 9th June, 1732, and the Grant from Lord Car- teret of the same year, and find that by the Charter the Colony of Georgia was made a separate Province to be governed by its own laws, and not by the Law or Government of South Caro- lina; That the Memorialists were thereby made a Corporate Body with perpetual succession, and that seven eighths of the lands there were granted to them for ever, to be held by the Crown at the rents therein mentioned, with power for them by their Common Council named and to be named according to the directions of the Charter, under their Common Seal, to distribute and convey portions of such lands to such subjects, national born or denizens, or others that shall be willing to become sub- jects, on such terms and for such estates and on such conditions as the same can be lawfully granted and as to the Common Council shall seem fit: And that for the term of twenty one years the Memorialists should have power of making such laws and appointing Governors and Officers as they judge proper. We find also, by the Lord Carteret's said Grant, his one eighth of the lands was vested in the same Trustees on the same trusts.
" In consequence of those Grants we are humbly of opinion that the Memorialists have sufficient power to make such Sur- render and Grant as is proposed.
" The proper method of doing this will be, as we humbly con- ceive, for the Trustees, with the privity and by direction of the Common Council, to execute a Deed of Surrender to his Majesty of their said Charter and of all the powers, jurisdictions, fran- chises, and privileges therein conveyed to them, and thereby to grant all their lands and territories to his Majesty : as well the. one eighth derived from Lord Carteret's Grant as the seven eighths included in his Majesty's said Charter, but subject to such Estates and Interests as the Inhabitants there have in any of the lands by virtue of Grants from the Corporation.
When such Grant and Surrender shall be made, we humbly conceive his Majesty will have both the Government of the Col- ony in his own hands and the lands and territories thereto be- longing, subject to the Grants of any part thereof now subsist- ing : and as to the said one eighth, subject to the Quit Rents reserved in the Lord Carteret's Grant : and may put the gov-
456
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
ernment thereof on such a foot as his Majesty shall in his great wisdom think proper.
" All which is humbly submitted to your Lordships' great wis- dom.
6th February, 1752.1
D. RYDER. W. MURRAY."
A question having arisen as to the best method, after accept- ance of the surrender of the charter, of empowering the colonial officers and magistrates appointed by the trustees to retain their positions and discharge the duties appertaining to them respec- tively until a royal government could be regularly erected in the province and new officers commissioned, the matter was re- ferred to the attorney and solicitor general for suggestion. They returned the following report : -
" To the Right Honorable the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations.
" May it please your Lordships.
" In pursuance of your Lordships' desire, signified to us in Mr. Hill's letter of the 17th inst., setting forth that the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs had referred to your Lordships a Memorial of the Trustees for establishing the Col- ony of Georgia, with directions to propose a Draught of what your Lordships should think most advisable to be done in order to obviate the difficulties therein suggested, a copy of which Memorial your Lordships had directed to be inclosed for our opinion in what manner the present Magistrates and other Offi- cers appointed by the Trustees for the administration of justice and execution of government can, upon the surrender of the Charter, be impowered to act in their respective employments till a new administration of Government shall be settled;
" We have taken the said Memorial into consideration, and are of opinion that if the surrender of the Charter by the Trustees cannot be postponed and the present government there kept up till a new method of administrating the government can be set- tled (which seems most advisable), the properest way for author- izing the present Magistrates and Officers to continue in the exercise of their respective offices in the mean time will be for his Majesty to issue a Proclamation for that purpose under the great seal of Great Britain to be published in Georgia.
" All which is submitted to your Lordships' consideration.
25 Feby, 1752.
D. RYDER, W. MURRAY."2
1 Marquis of Lansdowne's Collection. Reports. America. Vol. Ixi.
2 Marquis of Lansdowne's Collection. Reports. America. Vol. Ixi.
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457
LAST MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES.
His majesty having agreed to accept a surrender at the hands of the trustees upon the terms suggested, instructions were is- sued for the preparation of a deed of grant and surrender to be executed in duplicate, one by his majesty, and its counterpart by the trustees. At a meeting held on the 21st of March, 1752, the common council resolved " that the Trustees or any three or more . of them be empowered and directed to affix the seal of the Cor- poration to such Deed of Surrender and Grant of the Trust, and likewise the Grant to his Majesty of the one eighth part of the Lands and Territories lying within the limits described in the Charter, which had been granted and sold to the Trustees by the Right Honorable John, Lord Carteret, as should be prepared by his Majesty's Attorney General."
This proposition for surrender having been thus made and ac- cepted, on the 29th of February the trustees notified the " Secre- tary at War " that as they were about to surrender their trust into the hands of his majesty, the expenses of the scout-boat in Georgia, and provisions for the detachments of troops stationed in the province could not be borne by them beyond the coming midsummer. They also obtained from Parliament a grant of £4,000 with which to discharge all the outstanding liabilities of the trust. The Lords Justices and the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations were furnished with a memorial and repre- sentation exhibiting the manner in which the trust had been discharged, the present state of the colony, the character and amount of its products, the necessity for extending suitable en- couragement to silk culture, and the propriety of giving early and satisfactory assurances to the colonists that they would be assisted in this regard.
The last meeting of the trustees was held on the 23d of June, 1752. The secretary then produced the " counterpart of an In- denture expressing and declaring the said Surrender and Grant, which Indenture he had received from William Sharpe Esqr. by order of the Lords of the Committee of his Majesty's most IIon- orable Privy Council for Plantation Affairs, and which, when sealed, is to be exchanged with a counterpart under the Great Seal, signifying his Majesty's acceptance of the said Surrender and Grant."
This deed of surrender is a lengthy and carefully prepared document, containing many introductory recitations, in which a history of the creation, nature, and powers of the trust, and also of the acquisition of all lands within the territorial limits of the
1
458
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
province, is fully given. We present only such portion of this important paper as refers to the cession of the property, riglits, and franchises held by the trustees.
" Now this Indenture witnesseth that the said Trustees for es- tablishing the Colony of Georgia in America for themselves and their successors have for the considerations and motives afore- said, and for divers other good considerations them thereunto moving, granted, surrendered, and yielded up, and by these pres- ents do for themselves and their successors grant, surrender, and yield up unto his said most Excellent Majesty, his heirs and successors, the said recited Letters Patent, and their said Corpo- ration, and all right, title, and authority to be or continue a Cor- porate Body, and all the Powers of Government, and all other Powers, Jurisdictions, Franchises, Preheminences and Privileges therein and thereby granted or conveyed to them: and have granted and do hereby grant unto his said Majesty, his heirs and successors, all the said lands, Countrys, Territorys and Premises, as well the said one eighth part thereof granted, meant, or in- tended to be granted by the said John, Lord Carteret, to them as aforesaid, as also the said seven eighths parts thereof granted, meant, or intended to be granted as aforesaid in and by his said Majesty's Letters Patent or Charter above recited, together with all the soils, grounds, havens, ports, gulphs and bays, mines, as well Royall mines of Gold and Silver as other minerals, precious stones, quarries, woods, rivers, waters, fishings, as well Royall Fishings of Whale and Sturgeon, as other fishings, Pearles, Com- modities, Jurisdictions, Royalties, Franchises, Privileges and Pre- heminences, with the said Territories and the Precinets thereof and thereunto in any sort belonging or appertaining, and all other the Premises, and all rents, reversions, remainders, and other profits reserved, due, or payable, or which may happen upon or by virtue of any demise or grant heretofore made of the premises or any part thereof, and all their estates, rights, title, interest, claim or demand whatsoever of or to the said premises and every part thereof: To Have and to Hold all and singular the premises to his said Majesty, his heirs and successors, to the use of his said Majesty his heirs and successors, subject neverthe- less, and without prejudice to, all such grants, leases, contracts, estates and interests in law or equity as have been heretofore lawfully made or granted by the said Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America, or by any acting in authority under them in America, and which are now subsisting according
TO-DO THAT
459
GEORGIA IN CHARGE OF THE CROWN.
to the said Letters Patent, which said surrender and grant his said most excellent Majesty hath accepted, and by these presents for himself, his heirs and successors doth accept. In witness whereof to one part of this Indenture remaining with the Trus- tees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America his said most excellent Majesty has caused his Great Seal to be affixed, and to the other part thereof, remaining with his said Majesty, the said Trustees and with the privity and by direction of the Common Council of the Corporation have caused their common seal to be affixed," etc.
This deed of surrender, having been read and considered, was approved of by the trustees, and the seal of the corporation was affixed to it on the 23d of June, 1752. The seal was there- upon defaced, and the trustees ceased to exist as a body corpo- rate.
The history of Georgia, as the ward of the trustees, is ended. Henceforward, and until clothed with the attributes of state sov- ereignty by the successful results of the American Revolution, she will be recognized as one of the daughters of the Crown, un- der the special charge of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations. By the terms of the surrender hier integrity as an independent province, separate from South Carolina, was fully assured, and all grants of land hitherto made to the inhabitants were recognized and protected.
Early in July, 1752, the lords justices, with the advice of the Privy Council, issued a proclamation to the effect that until his majesty in his royal wisdom should see fit to establish another form and order of government for Georgia all officers of that colony, both civil and military, holding appointments from the trustees, should continue in their respective places of trust and receive such emoluments, salaries, and fees as had been incident thereto respectively. Such officers were admonished to be dili- gent and faithful in the discharge of their duties, and it was en- joined upon the inhabitants of the province to render them every obedience and assistance.
Benjamin Martyn was appointed agent of the colony, in Eng- land.
Upon the death of Mr. Parker, Patrick Graham succeeded to the presidency of Georgia. His assistants were James Ilaber- sham, Noble Jones, Pickering Robinson, and Francis Ilarris. In a letter from these gentlemen to the Board of Trade, dated Sa- vannah in Georgia, April 11, 1753, we are informed that the
460
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
population of Georgia, by recent count, consisted of two thousand three hundred and eighty-one whites and one thousand and sixty- six blacks. This estimate did not include his majesty's troops and boatmen then in the colony, or a congregation of two hun- dred and eighty whites, with negro slaves aggregating five hun- dred and thirty-six, coming from South Carolina and partially located in the Midway settlement, or Butler's colony with sixty slaves. Six vessels were reported as then lying at the wharves in Savannah loading for London and American ports. Joseph Ottolenghe who, in Italy, had acquired a knowledge of the best method of conducting filatures, was about to succeed Mr. Picker- ing Robinson in charge of the silk culture. Remittances were requested in support of this industry, and also in aid of the friendly Indians who were craving additional presents.
On the 5th of March, 1754, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations submitted the following plan for establishing a civil government in his majesty's colony of Georgia : -
" That of the different Constitutions now subsisting in his Majesty's Dominions in America that form of Government estab- lished by the Crown in such of the Colonies as are more immedi- ately subject to its direction and government appears to us the most proper form of Government for the Province of Georgia.
" We should therefore propose that a Governor should be ap- pointed by Commission under the Great Seal in like manner as the Governors of his Majesty's other Colonies and Plantations are appointed, with powers and directions to call an Assembly to pass laws, to erect Courts of Judicature, to grant lands, and to do all other necessary and proper things in such manner and under such regulations as shall, upon due consideration, appear to be the best adapted to the present circumstances of the Col- ony : all which matters as well as every other regulation neces- sary to be made for the better ordering and governing the Colony conformable to the plan proposed, will come under con- sideration when we shall receive his Majesty's directions to pre- pare instructions for the Governor, &c.
"We would likewise propose that twelve persons should be appointed by His Majesty to be his Council of the said Colony, with the same powers, authorities, and privileges as are given to or enjoyed by the Council of his Majesty's other Colonies.
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