USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume I > Part 47
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" That the Governor be appointed Vice-Admiral of the said Colony, with the same powers and authorities as are usually given to the Governors of other his Majesty's Colonies, and that
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PLAN OF A CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
he, together with such other Officers as shall be thought proper to be appointed, do constitute a Court of Admiralty for the regu- lation of matters subject to the Admiralty jurisdiction.
" That proper officers be appointed for the better collecting and regulating his Majesty's Customs and Duties, and for other matters, subject to the Jurisdiction of the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury and the Commissioners of the Customs.
" That for matters relative to his Majesty's revenue of Quit Rents and Grants of Land, there be appointed a Register and Receiver of Quit Rents, and a Surveyor of Lands.
" That a Secretary be appointed for the transaction of all affairs usually belonging to the Office of Secretary in the other Colonies, such as registering of Deeds and keeping the Public Records, and who may likewise act as Clerk of the Council.
" It will also be necessary that a Provost Marshal should be appointed to execute the office of Sheriff until the Province is divided into Counties. And we would further propose that an Attorney General should be appointed to assist the Governor and Council in matters of Law which may come before them in their Judicial capacity.
" These are all the establishments which appear to us neces- sary to be immediately made, the charge whereof, including an allowance heretofore usually given by the Trustees to a Minister and two Schoolmasters, the contingent charges of government, and the bounty upon the culture and produce of Silk will, at a moderate computation, amount to about three thousand pounds per annum during the infancy of the Colony and until it shall be in a condition to bear the expence of its own establishment."
This plan was approved, and the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations were directed to nominate to his majesty such person for the office of governor of the province as they should deem well qualified for the trust. They were also in- structed to inform themselves as to their characters and capa- bilities, and to recommend proper persons to compose the pro- vincial council and to fill the other offices created.
Sanctioning their nominations, his majesty was pleased, on the 6th of August, 1754, to appoint Captain John Reynolds gover- nor of the province of Georgia, William Clifton, Esq., attorney- general, James Habersham, Esq., secretary and register of the records, Alexander Kellet, Esq., provost marshal, and William Russell, Esq., naval officer.
Mr. Henry Yonge and Mr. William DeBrahm were commis-
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
sioned as "Joint Surveyors of Land in Georgia," at a salary each of £50 per annum, and Sir Patrick Houstoun, Bart., was selected as register of grants and receiver of quit rents, with like salary. Patrick Graham, Sir Patrick Houstoun, Bart., James Habersham, Alexander Kellet, William Clifton, Noble Jones, Pickering Rob- inson, Francis Harris, Jonathan Bryan, and William Russell were confirmed as members of council. To their number Clement Martin was subsequently added.
The device submitted by the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations for a public seal for the colony was, on the 21st of June, 1754, approved by his majesty, and the chief en- graver of seals was ordered fortliwith to engrave one of silver for the use of the province. It was to be of equal size with those sent to North and South Carolina. The design was as follows : On one face was a figure representing the Genius of the colony offering a skein of silk to his majesty, with the motto "Hinc laudem sperate Coloni," and this inscription around the circum- ference, "Sigillum Provincia nostra Georgia in America." On the other side appeared his majesty's arms, crown, garter, sup- porters, and motto, with the inscription "Georgius II., Dei Gratia Magna Britannia Francia et Hibernia Rex, Fidei Defensor, Brunsvici et Luneburgi Dux, Sacri Romani Imperii Archi The- saurarius et Princeps Elector."
From the time of the surrender of the charter until the arrival of Governor Reynolds in Georgia the government of the prov- ince was administered, according to the plan inaugurated by the trustees, by a president and four assistants who received their instructions from and made report to the Lords Justices and the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations.
And here, before entering upon the history of Governor Rey- nolds' administration, it is appropriate that we should note the powers conferred upon the royal governor, the composition and functions of the General Assembly, the constitution of the courts, and some other regulations ordained for the conduct of the colony as a province under the immediate government of the Crown.
The official title of Governor Reynolds was Captain-General and Governor in Chief of his Majesty's Province of Georgia, and Vice-Admiral of the same. He was addressed as Your Excellency, and was, within the colony, the immediate and highest represen- tative of his majesty, enjoying prerogatives which, within a limited jurisdiction and in a modified degree, savored of royalty. As captain-general he commanded all land and naval forces
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OFFICE OF ROYAL GOVERNOR.
appertaining to the province, and appointed all officers of the militia.
As governor in chief he was one of the constituent parts of the General Assembly, possessing the sole power of convening, adjourning, proroguing, and dissolving that body. It rested with him to approve or to veto any bill passed by the council and the assembly. All officers who did not receive their warrants di- rectly from the Crown were appointed by him ; and if vacancies occurred, by death or removal, in offices usually filled by the immediate nomination of his majesty, the appointees of the governor acted until the pleasure of the home government was promulgated. Until superseded, they received the profits and emoluments appertaining to the stations they were called upon respectively to fill. He was custodian of the great -cal, and, as chancellor, exercised within the province powers of judicature similar to those reposed in the High Chancellor of England. He presided in the court of errors, composed of himself and the mem- bers of council as judges, hearing and determining all appeals from the superior courts. As ordinary, he collated to all vacant benefices, granted probate of wills, and allowed administration upon the estates of those dying intestate. By him were writs issued for the election of representatives to sit in the Commons House of Assembly. As vice-admiral, while he did not sit in the court of vice-admiralty, -a judge for that court being usually appointed from England, - in time of war he issued warrants to that court empowering it to grant commissions to privateers. With him reposed a power to pardon all crimes save treason and murder. It was optional with him to select as his residence such locality within the limits of the province as he regarded most convenient for the transaction of the public business, and he might direct the assembling of the General Assembly at that point. He was invested with authority, for just cause, to sus- pend any member of council; and, in a word, to "do all other necessary and proper things in such manner and under such regulations as should, upon due consideration, appear to be best adapted to the circumstances of the Colony."
The king's council consisted of twelve members in ordinary, and of two extraordinary members appointed by the Crown to hold office during his majesty's pleasure. When, by reason of death or absence, the number of councilors in the province was less than seven, the governor was authorized to fill all vacan- cies up to that number until the king's pleasure could be signi-
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
fied. Should the governor be dead, or absent from Georgia, the administration of affairs devolved upon the lieutenant-governor, who was styled His Honor, and who, while executing the gov- ernment, was entitled to half the salary and fees enjoyed by the governor. When the governor was present the lieutenant-gov- ernor was entitled neither to salary nor to perquisite. If both the governor and the lieutenant-governor were dead or absent, the senior member of the council in ordinary administered the government, receiving the same compensation as that allowed to the lieutenant-governor when acting in the place of the gov- ernor. The two extraordinary members of council, who were the surveyor-general of the customs and the superintendent-gen- eral of Indian affairs, were not allowed to preside in the absence of the governor and lieutenant-governor.
When sitting as one of the three branches of the legislature, the council was styled the Upper House of Assembly. It also acted as privy council to the governor, assisting him with advice in conducting the government. As an upper house of assembly, or as a privy council, five members constituted a quorum, if there were so many present. Three, however, on an emergency, were sufficient for the transaction of business. As a council they convened whenever the governor saw fit to summon them. On such occasions the governor presided and suggested matters for consideration and advice.
When sitting as an upper house the members of council met at the same time that the Commons House of Assembly was con- vened, was presided over by the lieutenant-governor (if he was of the council and present), or, in his absence, by the senior mem- ber present, and observed forms of procedure similar to those used in the House of Lords in Great Britain, with the excep- tion that no member had the right to make a proxy, and no ad- journment during the session could be authorized for a longer -period than from Saturday to Monday.
The qualification of an elector was the ownership of fifty acres of land in the parish or district where he resided and voted ; that of a representative was the proprietorship of five hundred acres of land in any part of the province. Writs of election were issued by order of the governor in council, under the great seal of the province, were tested by him, and were returnable in forty days. The representatives, when convened, were called the Com- mons House of Assembly. Choosing their own speaker, who was presented to the governor for his approbation, this body, com-
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REPRESENTATIVES, COURTS, ETC.
posed of the immediate representatives of the people, and con- forming in its legislative and deliberative conduct to the prece- dents established for the governance of the English House of Commons, continued its session until dissolved by the governor. Its adjournments were de die in diem, except when Sunday in- tervened. The representatives selected their own messenger and doorkeeper, but their clerk was appointed by the governor. This Commons House of Assembly claimed and enjoyed the exclusive right of originating money bills. The upper and lower houses, as thus constituted, formed the General Assembly of the province, and legislated in its behalf. Journals were regularly kept by each body. All bills having passed both houses were submitted to the governor for his consideration. If approved by him, the seal of the colony was attached and they were duly filed. Au- thenticated copies were then prepared and transmitted for the information and sanction of the home government.
Provision was made for the establishment in Georgia of a court of record to be known as the General Court,1 to be holden four times a year and to possess the same jurisdiction in the prov- ince that the courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Ex- chequer exercised in England. Letters-patent were also issued for erecting a " Court of Session of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery," to be holden twice a year. The civil business was to be transacted in the general court, and the crim- inal business in the court of oyer and terminer. Grand juries were returned twice a year. As the judges of the two courts were the same, and as a general jail delivery only twice a year was found insufficient in a warm climate where the accused suf- fered much from close confinement, arrangements were subse- quently made to abolish the "Court of Session of Oyer and Terminer," to transfer its business to the general court, and to canse four grand juries to be returned each year. The general court remained stationary at Savannah where its sessions were regularly held.
The presiding judge was styled Chief Justice of Georgia. Ile was a "Barrister at Law," had attended at Westminster, was appointed by warrant under his majesty's sign manual and
1 For form of letters-patent for es- Bryan as its justices, and specifying its tablishing this court in the province of jurisdiction, see Chief Justice Anthony Georgia, designating its regular terms to Stokes' View of the Constitution of the British Colonies in North America, etc., pp. 259-261. Loudon. MDCCLXXXIII. be held on the second Tuesday in January, April, July, and October in each year, appointing Noble Jones and Jonathan 30
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
signet, and enjoyed a salary of £500 sterling, raised by annual grant of Parliament. The assistant justices were three in num- ber. They received no salaries except on the death or in the absence of the chief justice, and were appointed by the governor.
During the king's government there was also a court of vice- admiralty, with a justice appointed by the Crown, to judge of captures at sea and to take cognizance of all maritime causes.
Inferior or justices courts were provided for the trial of minor causes. Where the debt or damages claimed did not exceed forty shillings, there was no appeal. The jurisdiction of courts of con- science was limited to £8. Attorneys at law, who also acted as counsel, were admitted by the general court.
The provost marshal received his appointment from the Crown. His duties were akin to those of the sheriff of a county in Eng- land. He was also the returning officer for every district and parish in the province, and was by law empowered to appoint deputies pro hac vice, to hold such elections for him.
Before entering upon the duties of his office the governor was required to take the oaths of allegiance, of supremacy, of objurga- tion, for the due execution of his office, and for the punctual observance of all acts of Parliament. It was also obligatory upon him to make the declaration against transubstantiation.
We conclude this abstract of the political machinery provided for the executive, legislative, and judicial administration of the colony under the auspices of the Crown with the following ex- tract from Chief Justice Stokes' " View of the Constitution of the British Colonies in America,"1 to which we are largely in- debted for the summary just presented : " Georgia continued under the King's Government to be one of the most free and happy countries in the world; justice was regularly and impar- tially administered ; oppression was unknown ; the taxes levied on the subject were trifling ; and every man that had industry be- came opulent ; the people there were more particularly indebted to the Crown than those in any other Colony ; immense sums were expended by Government in settling and protecting that country ; troops of rangers were kept up by the Crown for several years ; the Civil Government was annually provided for by vote of the House of Commons in Great Britain, and most of the inhabitants owed every foot of land they had to the King's free gift : in short there was scarce a man in the Province that did not lie under particular obligations to the Crown. As a proof of
1 Page 139. London. MDCCLXXXIII.
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PROGRESS OF GEORGIA.
the amazing progress that Georgia made I should observe that when Governor Reynolds went to that province in 1754 the exports did not amount to £30,000 a year: but at the breaking out of the Civil War they could not have been much less than £200,000 sterling."
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CHAPTER XXIX.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS' ADMINISTRATION. - REPORT TO THE LORDS COMMIS- SIONERS OF TRADE AND PLANTATIONS OF THE CONDITION OF THE COLONY. - HARDWICKE SUGGESTED AS THE CAPITAL OF GEORGIA. - ESTABLISHI- MENT OF THE GENERAL COURT, THE COURT OF CHANCERY, THE COURT OF OYER AND TERMINER, THE COURT OF ADMIRALTY, MAGISTRATES' COURTS, AND SPECIAL COURTS FOR THE TRIAL OF SLAVES. - CONVOCATION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. - GOVERNOR REYNOLDS' INAUGURAL ADDRESS, AND RESPONSES OF BOTH HOUSES. - LEGISLATIVE ACTS. - MILITIA AND SLAVE LAWS. - EDMUND GREY. - SURRENDER OF FORMER GRANTS AND SUBSTI- TUTION OF NEW CONVEYANCES FROM THE CROWN.
OF all the English colonies in North America Georgia alone had been complimented by liberal and constant aid from the public treasury of the mother country. The trustees had under- taken its foundation and development relying mainly upon pri- vate contributions to defray the charges of the plantation. Their hope was that the province in a few years would prove not only self-sustaining but also a source of emolument to Great Britain. In this expectation they were disappointed. The charities which, at the outset, flowed in so freely were speedily exhausted, and there were no new benefactions proportioned to the growing needs of the colony. The war with the Spaniards entailed unusual expenses. Silk culture proved unprofitable. Many of the inhabitants, relying upon the arm outstretched for their support, failed to exhibit that industry and to put forth those exertions which were demanded by the situation. For a long time the want of a liberal land tenure and the prohibition maintained against the introduction and use of negro slaves exerted a retarding influence and engendered marked dissatisfae- tion. Continued applications were made to the general gov- ernment for assistance, and after an experiment of nearly twenty years, although all restrictions had been removed and every effort within their power had been expended to stimulate enter- prise and invite immigration, the trustees found themselves in- capable of longer supporting their charge. The English nation had now assumed the burthen, and with the inauguration of a new administration came the hope of better days.
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ARRIVAL OF GOVERNOR REYNOLDS.
Sailing in the man-of-war Port Mahon, Governor Reynolds landed at Savannah on the 29th of October, 1754. He was received with every demonstration of respect and joy. Bonfires at night supplemented the general delight which was manifested during the day. After a formal introduction to the president and assistants in council assembled, his commission was read. He was then conducted to the president's chair whence he an- nounced the dissolution of the old board and the formation of a royal council under letters-patent from the Crown. The next morning, the members of council took the oath of office and completed their organization. Other officers, named by his maj- esty, were sworn to faithfully perform the duties devolving upon them. His commission as captain-general and vice-admiral of the province was " read and published at the head of the militia under arms before the council chamber. It was listened to with profound attention and saluted with several rounds of musketry and shouts of loyalty." 1 A public dinner, given by the mem- bers of council and the principal inhabitants of Savannah in honor of the governor, closed the public exercises of the occasion, and the province passed thus simply and joyously from the hands of the trustees into the direct keeping of the Crown.
Governor Reynolds' earliest impressions of the condition and needs of the province are conveyed in a letter and two memorials to the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, dated " at Savannah, in Georgia, December 5th, 1754." After announcing his arrival on the 29th of October, and his pleasant reception by the inhabitants, he proceeds to give an account of the commer- cial metropolis and capital of Georgia. "The town of Sa- vannah is well situated and contains about a hundred and fifty houses, all wooden ones, very small and mostly very old. The biggest was used for the meeting of the President and Assist- ants, wherein I sat in Council for a few days, but one end fell down whilst we were all there, and obliged us to move to a kind of shed behind the Court-house, which being quite unfit, I have given orders, with the advice of the Council, to fit up the shell of a house which was lately built for laying up the silk, but was never made use of, being very ill-calculated for that purpose as Mr. Ottolenghie informs me, wherefore he says he has no further use for it, but it will make a tolerable good house for the Coun- cil and Assembly to meet in, and for a few offices besides." The prison being a small wooden structure and entirely insecure, he
1 Sec Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. i. p. 386. New York. MDCCCALVIL
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
ordered it to be strengthened and supplied with bolts and bars. With the advice of the council a proclamation was published continuing all officers in their present employments until further notice. Writs of election were issued for selecting representa- tives to serve in a general assembly to convene in Savannah on the 7th of January, 1755. The erection of "Courts of Jus- tice and Judicature," in accordance with his majesty's instruc- tions, was receiving consideration. Some Indians had already come down to salute the new governor. They stated that so soon as the hunting season was over numbers would appear to receive the presents which were subject to distribution. The necessity for additional troops to garrison the southern frontier of the province and to prevent the desertion of negro slaves to the Spaniards in St. Augustine, who were constantly encouraging them to run away from their masters, was strongly urged upon the immediate and favorable notice of the home government. Liberal presents were requested for the Chickasaws, Creeks, Uchees, Choctaws, and Cherokees, whom, as he was advised by Mr. McGillivray and other Indian traders of repute, the French at Mobile were endeavoring to excite to hostilities against South Carolina and Georgia. For the further protection of the colony demand was made for an infantry force of one hundred and fifty men, and requisitions were filed for cannon, small arms, and am- munition.
One of the memorials is couched in the following language : " Your Memorialist finds the charge and expence of living in this country much greater than he imagined, every article of life, ex- cept beef and pork, being extremely dear, particularly labour of all kinds, so that he could not subsist the meanest of his servants here with lodging and board, only till he could hire a house to live in, under two shillings sterling a day each : that his salary being no more than six hundred pounds a year, he finds that it will cost him at least that sum to live as a private gentleman without any regard to the dignity of his office, the perquisites whereof he perceives will be extremely low. He therefore humbly begs that your Lordships will be pleased to take the matter into your con- sideration, and to increase his salary in such proportion as to your Lordships shall seem proper, and he is the more inclined to hope that your Lordships will be pleased to grant his prayer as his half-pay in the Navy is saved to the Government at home during his employment here."
A few months later Governor Reynolds inspected the southern
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HARDWICKE.
confines of the province ; and, upon his return to Savannah, ad- vised the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations that Frederica, on St. Simon's Island, of late the most strongly fortified town in the colony, was in ruins. Its houses were in a dilapi- dated condition, its forts were out of repair, and the twenty can- non there remaining - some of them eighteen-pounders - " were all spoilt for want of care." The other guns originally mounted there had, upon the withdrawal of General Oglethorpe's regiment, been transferred to Savannah where they were lying in the sand " without vents or tompions." While he regarded Frederica as the best situation " for a garrison to cover and protect the Prov- ince from invasion by sea," he did not deem it a proper site for a capital. So pleased was he with the natural advantages of the Great Ogeechee River, and with the central situation of a bluff on its right bank about fourteen miles from its mouth, where, in January, a little town had been laid out, which, on the 4th of February, 1755, with the approbation of council, he had named Hardwicke, in honor of his relative, the Lord High Chancellor of England, that he eulogizes the location and bespeaks for it an honorable future. "Hardwicke," so runs his letter of the 1st of May, " has a charming situation, the winding of the river making it a peninsula ; and it is the only fit place for the capital. There are many objections to this town of Savannah being so, besides its being situated at the extremity of the province, the shoalness of the river, and the great height of the land, which is very in- convenient in the loading and unloading of ships. Many lots have already been granted in Hardwicke, but only one house is yet built there ; and as the province is unable to be at the ex- pence.of erecting the necessary public buildings, and the annual sum of £500 allowed for erecting and repairing public works, entertaining Indians, and other incidental expenses being insuffi- cient for all those purposes, I am in hopes your Lordships will think proper to get a sufficient sum allowed for erecting a Court- House, an Assembly-House, a Church, and a Prison at Hard- wicke, which will be such an encouragement to private people to build there as will soon make it fit for the seat of government to the universal benefit of the province." 1
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