USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume II > Part 18
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But a short time before 1 he had advised his lordship of the active interference of the South Carolinians, and of the violent threats uttered by them against such Georgians as opposed the resolutions of the Continental Congress. Referring to the subject of an armed force to support his majesty's government and ex- ecute the obnoxious laws of Parliament within the province, he writes : " I know that any Troops being sent here at this time would be looked upon as Dragooning (as they call it) the people into passive obedience and submission to the unconstitutional acts of the Parliament of Great Britain, and that keeping a standing army without the consent and request of the Legislature of the Colony will be said to be contrary to law.
" But your Lordship will be the best Judge how far his Maj- esty's Officers ought to remain not only lyable to Insults from the People of the Province they live in, but also from the People in another Province, and probably to be seized upon by them and confined or possibly murdered."
The Provincial Congress assembled simultaneously with the legislature and perfected its organization by calling Jolin Glen to the chair. Of the twelve parishes composing the colony only five were represented by delegates, and some of these delegates were hampered by restrictions which materially impaired their free- dom of expression and action. The power of Governor Wright and of the loyal party in Georgia had been successfully exerted in preventing a more general response to the invitation extended by the Liberty Boys of Christ Church Parish. Chagrined at the inaction of the colony, the delegates to this congress essayed to accomplish through the Commons House of Assembly that which, of themselves, they were not strong enough to perform. Laying before that body the papers and resolutions which were then engaging their attention, they hoped by securing the sanction of the representatives to announce those resolutions, which were akin to such as had been adopted by the Continental Congress, as embodying the general sentiments of the province. After a con- ference with the Upper House, finding it impossible to bring about unity of thought and action, the members of the Lower House proceeded to a consideration of various communications received from other provinces on the subject of American grievances, and entered upon a discussion of the resolutions of the Provincial Con- gress which were submitted for their approval. These resolu-
1 See Letter of Governor Wright to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Savannah, February 1,1775.
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tions were substantially the same as those which had been adopted on the 14th of October, with the addition of three others: one rendering grateful acknowledgment to the noble, honorable, and patriotic advocates of civil and religious liberty who had so gen- erously and powerfully espoused and defended the cause of America both in and out of Parliament; another giving thanks to the members of the late American congress for their wise and able exertions in behalf of American liberty; and a third urging that deputies should be sent from Georgia to the Continental Congress which was to convene on the 10th of May next in the city of Philadelphia.
Pending the deliberations upon these important matters, and in order to prevent any authoritative and final action in the premises, the governor, on the 10th of February, adjourned the General Assembly until the 9th of the following May. This action completely thwarted the designs of the liberty party and utterly prevented the nomination, by the representatives, of dele- gates to the Philadelphia congress.
Embarrassed by this unexpected event; perplexed by the paucity of the representation present, which, in all honesty, forbade that the conclusions and recommendations of the Pro- visional Congress should be promulgated as expressive of the will of even a majority of the parishes of Georgia ; hampered by the restrictions under which some of the delegates labored, and weak- ened by the withdrawal of the deputies from St. John's Parish who would listen to nothing short of an emphatic indorsement of all the measures and resolutions suggested by the Continental Congress, the Provisional Congress adjourned on the 25th of Jan- uary. Before doing so, however, it elected Noble W. Jones, Archibald Bulloch, and John Houstoun to represent the province in the Philadelphia congress. Having failed to indorse all the resolutions entered into by her sister colonies, Georgia, to the delight of the governor and council and the sincere mortification of the lovers of American liberty, still remained outside of the continental association.
So incensed were the South Carolinians that they resolved to hold no intercourse with Georgians, but "to consider them as unworthy the rights of freemen and as inimical to the liberties of their country." Bewailing the posture of affairs, and repudiating the action of the Provincial Congress, the parish of St. John re- solved to act independently and in advance of the rest of the colony. So annoyed were the citizens of that parish at the
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ACTION OF ST. JOHN'S PARISII.
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abortive effort made at Savannah to commit the province to the line of conduct prescribed by the Continental Congress that on the 9th of February, 1775, Joseph Wood, Daniel Roberts, and. Samuel Stevens, members of the parish committee, were deputed, with a carefully prepared letter, to repair to Charlestown and request of the committee of correspondence there "permission to form an alliance with them and to conduct trade and commerce according to the act of non-importation to which they had already acceded." Among other arguments advanced in that communi- cation, framed and signed by Lyman Hall, chairman, we find the following : "Our being a Parish of a non-associated Province cannot, we presume, prevent our joining the other Provinces, as the restrictions mentioned in the 14th clause of the General As- sociation must, as we apprehend, be considered as a general rule only, and respects this Province considered in a mixed or promis- cuous sense ; but as we of this Parish are a body detached from the rest by our resolutions and association, and sufficiently distinct by local situation, large enough for particular notice, and have been treated as such by a particular address from the late Con- tinental Congress, adjoining a sea-port and in that respect capable of conforming to the General Association, and (if connected with you), with the same fidelity as a distinct Parish of your own Province : therefore we must be considered as comprehended within the spirit and equitable meaning of the Continental As- sociation, and we are assured you will not condemn the innocent with the guilty, especially when a due separation is made between them."
Reaching Charlestown on the 23d of February, Messrs. Wood, Roberts, and Stevens waited upon the general committee and earnestly endeavored to accomplish their mission. While admir- ing the patriotism of the parish and entreating its citizens to persevere in their laudable exertions, the Carolinians deemed it improper and "a violation of the Continental Association to remove the prohibition in favor of any part of a Province."
Disappointed, yet not despondent, the inhabitants of St. John's Parish, with surprising unanimity, " resolved to prosecute their claims to an equality with the Confederated Colonies."
This parish then possessed nearly one third of the aggregate wealth of Georgia, and its citizens were remarkable for their thrift, courage, honesty, and determination. Having adopted cer- tain resolutions by which they obligated themselves to hold no commerce with Savannah or other places except under the super-
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vision of a committee, and then only with a view to procuring the necessaries of life, and having avowed their entire sympathy with all the articles and declarations promulgated by the General Congress, the inhabitants of St. John's Parish elected Dr. Lyman Hall to represent them in the Continental Congress. This ap- pointment occurred on the 21st of March and no more suitable selection could have been made. Among the prominent citizens of the parish none occupied a position superior to that accorded to Dr. Hall. A native of Connecticut, he had long been identified with the region, and was a member of the Midway Congregation. Owning and cultivating a rice plantation on the Savannah and Darien road only a few miles from Midway meeting-house, he resided in Sunbury and was the leading physician in that com- munity. When departing for the Continental Congress he carried with him, as a present from his constituents to the suffering re- publicans in Massachusetts, one hundred and sixty barrels of rice and fifty pounds sterling. On the 13th of May this gentleman, who had been largely instrumental in persuading the Parish of St. John to this independent course, presented his credentials in Philadelphia and was unanimously admitted to a seat in Con- gress, " as a delegate from the Parish of St. John in the Colony of Georgia, subject to such regulations as the Congress should de- termine relative to his voting." Until Georgia was fully repre- sented, Dr. Hall declined to vote upon questions which were to 'be decided by a vote of colonies. IIe, however, participated in the debates, recorded his opinions in all cases where an expres- sion of sentiment by colonies was not required, and declared his earnest conviction "that the example which had been shown by the Parish which he represented would be speedily followed, and that the representation of Georgia would soon be complete."
The patriotic spirit of its inhabitants and this independent action of St. John's Parish in advance of the other parishes of Georgia were afterwards acknowledged when all the parishes were in accord in the Revolutionary movement. As a tribute of praise and in token of general admiration, by special act of the legislature the name of LIBERTY COUNTY was conferred upon the consolidated parishes of St. John, St. Andrew, and St. James. Sir James Wright was not far from the mark when he located the head of the rebellion in St. John's Parish, and advised the Earl of Dartmouth that the rebel measures there inaugurated were to be mainly referred to the influence of the " descendants of New England people of the Puritan Independent sect " who, re-
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INFLUENCE OF THE MIDWAY CONGREGATION.
taining " a strong tincture of Republican or Oliverian principles, have entered into an agreement amongst themselves to adopt both the resolutions and association of the Continental Congress." On the altars erected within the Midway District were the fires of resistance to the dominion of England earliest kindled; and Lyman Hall, of all the dwellers there, by his counsel, exhorta- tions, and determined spirit, added stoutest fuel to the flames. Between the immigrants from Dorchester and the distressed Bostonians existed not only the ties of a common parentage, but . also sympathies born of the same religious, moral, social, and political education. Hence we derive an explanation of the rea- son why the Midway settlement declared so early for the Revolu- tionists. The Puritan element - cherishing and proclaiming in- tolerance of Established Church and of the divine right of kings, impatient of restraint, accustomed to independent thought and action, and without associations which encouraged tender mem- ories of and love for the mother country - asserted its hatreds, its affiliations, and its hopes with no uncertain utterance, and ap- pears to have controlled the action of the entire parish.1
Aside from an appreciation of her own weakness and of the dangers arising from a numerous Indian population on her bor- ders, a military force in Florida obedient to the will of the king, the presence of predatory bands eager for some excuse to inau- gurate a system of spoliation and murder, and an extensive coast entirely exposed to naval depredations, there were other consid- erations which caused Georgians to pause ere they lifted their hands in anger against the mother country. Some of them are alluded to by Bishop Stevens.2
1 The apparent tardiness and hesitancy on the part of the colony of Georgia in casting her lot with her sister colonies at the inception of those movements which culminated in a declaration of indepen- denee may be excused or accounted for when we remember that she was the youngest and the least prepared of all the colonies, and recall the fact that Schovilites, leagued with Indians, were scourging her borders und awakening in the breasts even of the most patriotic and daring gravest apprehensions for the safety of their wives and children. " The charge of inactivity vanishes," says Cap- tain MeCall, " when the sword nud hatchet nie beld over the heads of the net- ora to compel them to lie still." History of Georgia, vol. ii. p. 4. Savannah. 1816.
During the progress of the Revolution the term Schovilite which, at first, was used to designate not only the bandit fol- lower of Schovil but also every adherent of the Crown in the Southern provinces, was dropped, and that of Loyalist and Tory substituted. The Revolutionists were known as Whigs, Rebels, and Pa- triots. Many Loyalists who fled from the Carolinas and Georgia secured a retreat in East Florida whence, having associated with themselves parties of Indians, under the name of Florida Rangers, they in- dulged in predatory incursions into Geor- gia to the great loss and disquietado of the southern portions of the province.
a History of Georgia, vol. ii. p. 04. Philadelphia. 1859.
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THIE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Since its settlement Georgia had received, by grant of Parlia- ment, nearly £200,000 in addition to generous bounties lavished in aid of silk culture and various agricultural products. This fact weighed with no little force upon the minds of many, and Governor Wright sought every opportunity to inculcate grati- tude towards a sovereign whose paternal care had been so kindly manifested.
Other colonies had charters upon which to base some claims for redress. Georgia had none. Upon the surrender by the trustees of the charter granted to them by King George the Second, all chartered privileges became extinct. Upon its erec- tion into a royal province, the commission of the governor, and the instructions of his majesty communicated through the Lords of Trade and Plantations and the Privy Council, constituted the supreme measure of privilege and the rules of government.
For fourteen years had Sir James Wright presided over the colony with impartiality, wisdom, and firmness. Through his zeal and watchfulness the province had been delivered from the horrors of Indian warfare and guided into the paths of peace and plenty. By his negotiations millions of acres had been added to the public domain. Diligent in the discharge of his official duties, firm in his resolves, just in the exercise of his powers, loyal in his opinions, courteous in his manners, thrifty in the conduct of his private affairs, and exhibiting the operations of a vigorous and well-balanced judgment, he secured the respect and affection of his people. Although differing from many of the in- habitants upon the political questions which were now dividing the public mind, he never suffered himself to be betrayed into acts of violence or of revenge. He preferred to counsel, to en- lighten, to exhort. Georgia was prosperous and her develop- ment, year by year, was marked. Her position therefore was peculiar, and it excites no surprise that at the ontset there should have been a division of sentiment upon the momentous political issues presented for her consideration. The period of doubt, however, was short in its duration. Before Jefferson framed his immortal Declaration of Independence, Georgia cast her lot with her sister American colonies and, through her delegates, was participating in the adoption of those measures which brought about the war of the Revolution. Of all the English provinces in America, Georgia had least cause to take arms against the mother country.
CHAPTER IX.
THE COMMONS HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY REFUSES TO OBEY GOVERNOR WRIGHT'S ORDER. - COMMUNICATION OF MESSRS. JONES, BULLOCH, AND HOUSTOUN TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. - EFFECT IN SA- VANNAH OF THE NEWS OF THE AFFAIR AT LEXINGTON AND CONCORD. - POWDER MAGAZINE SEIZED BY THE LIBERTY BOYS AND A PORTION OF ITS CONTENTS FORWARDED TO THE PATRIOTS NEAR BOSTON. - CANNON SPIKED TO PREVENT A CELEBRATION OF THE KING'S BIRTHDAY. - FIRST LIBERTY POLE IN SAVANNAH. - COUNCIL OF SAFETY APPOINTED. - PUN- ISHMENT OF HOPKINS AND BROWN. - RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE MEETING OF CITIZENS CONVENED AT MRS. CUYLER'S HOUSE. -- UNABLE TO STEM THE CURRENT, GOVERNOR WRIGHT REQUESTS PERMISSION TO RETURN HOME. - HIS DISPATCHES TO GENERAL GAGE AND TO ADMIRAL GRAVES. - CAPTURE OF CAPTAIN MAITLAND'S POWDER SHIP. - GEOR- GIA NO LONGER HESITATES. - GOVERNOR WRIGHT OPPRESSED BY THE GRAVEST APPREHENSIONS. - PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF JULY 4, 1775. - ITS DELIBERATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS.
ALTHOUGH by adjourning the General Assembly Governor Wright defeated a concert of action between that body and the Provincial Congress and prevented the nomination, by the Lower House, of delegates to the General Congress at Philadelphia, he found to his regret that the members of the Commons House retaliated on the 9th of May by refusing to respond to the sum- mons reconvening the legislature. Several days elapsed and still there was no quorum. A further adjournment was ordered to allow the country members an opportunity to come in. Upon the expiration of the specified time it became manifest that the Commons House did not intend to convene in numbers sufficient to warrant the transaction of business. Acting upon the advice of the executive council, the governor prorogued the assembly until the 7th of November. Even then a quorum of the Lower House failed to attend, and a further prorogation became neces- sary. Before the day of convocation arrived Georgia had passed into the hands of the republicans, and the royal government in the province was, for a season, subverted.
Nominated by a Provincial Congress which represented only four of the twelve parishes then constituting the colony of Geor. gia (the fifth, St. John, having withdrawn and commissioned Dr
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Lyman Hall to act as an independent delegate from that parish Messrs. Jones, Bulloch, and Houstoun did not take their seats the Continental Congress to which they had been thus accredite Rightly judging that they could not properly be regarded as re resentatives of the province, and yet persuaded that the will those who selected them should be made known and the min of the colony fairly interpreted, those gentlemen, on the 6th ( April, 1775, addressed the following communication to the Pres dent of the Continental Congress : -
" SIR, - The unworthy part which the Province of Georgi: has acted in the great and general contest leaves room to expec little less than the censure or even indignation of every virtuous man in America. Although, on the one hand, we feel the jus tice of such a consequence with respect to the Province in gen. eral, yet, on the other, we claim an exemption from it in favour of some individuals who wished a better conduct. Permit us, therefore, in behalf of ourselves and many others, our fellow- citizens, warmly attached to the cause, to lay before the respec- table body over which you preside a few facts which, we trust, will not only acquit us of supineness, but also render our conduct to be approved by all candid and dispassionate men.
" At the time the late Congress did this Province the honour to transmit to it an extract from their proceedings, enclosed in a friendly letter from the Honourable Mr. Middleton, the sense and disposition of the people in general seemed to fluctuate be- tween liberty and convenience. In order to bring on a determi- nation respecting the measures recommended, a few well-affected persons in Savannah, by public advertisement in the Gazette, requested a meeting of all the parishes and districts, by delegates or representatives, in Provincial Congress. On the day ap- pointed for this meeting, with concern they found that only five out of twelve parishes to which they had particularly wrote had nominated and sent down delegates ; and even some of these five . had laid their representatives under injunctions as to the form of an association. Under these circumstances, those who met saw themselves a good deal embarrassed. However, one expedient seemed still to present itself. The House of Assembly was then sitting, and it was hoped there would be no doubt of a majority in favour of American freedom. The plan, therefore, was to go through with what business they could in Provincial Congress, and then, with a short address, present the same to the House of Assembly, who, it was hoped, would by votes, in a few minutes
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and before prerogative should interfere, make it the act of the whole Province. Accordingly, the Congress framed and agreed to such an association, and did such other business as appeared practicable with the people, and had the whole just ready to be presented, when the Governor, either treacherously informed, or shrewdly suspecting the step, put an end to the session. What then could the Congress do? On the one hand, truth forbid them to call their proceedings the voice of the Province, there being but five out of twelve parishes concerned; and, on the other, they wanted strength sufficient to enforce them on the principle of necessity, to which all ought for a time to submit. They found the inhabitants of Savannah not likely soon to give matters a favourable turn. The importers were mostly against any interruption, and the consumers very much divided. There were some of the latter virtuously for the measures ; others stren- uously against them; but more who called themselves neutrals than either. Thus situated, there appeared nothing before us but the alternative of either immediately commencing a civil war among ourselves, or else of patiently waiting for the measures to be recommended by the General Congress.
" Among a powerful people provided with men, money, and conveniences, and by whose conduct others were to be regulated, the former would certainly be the resolution that would suggest itself to every man removed from the condition of a coward ; but in a small community like that of Savannah, (whose members are mostly in their first advance towards wealth and independence, destitute of even the necessaries of life within themselves, and from whose junction or silence so little would be added or lost to the general cause, ) the latter presented itself as the most eligible plan, and was adopted by the people. Party disputes and ani- mosities have occasionally prevailed, and show that the spirit of freedom is not extinguished, but only restrained for a time till an opportunity shall offer for calling it forth.
" The Congress convened at Savannah did us the honour of choosing us delegates to meet your respectable body at Philadel- phia on the tenth of next month. We were sensible of the hon- our and weight of the appointment, and would gladly have ren- dered our country any services our poor abilities would have admitted of ; but alas ! with what face could we have appeared for a Province whose inhabitants had refused to sacrifice the most trifling advantages to the public cause, and in whose behalf we did not think we could safely pledge ourselves for the execution of any one measure whatsoever ?
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" We do not mean to insinuate that those who appointed u would prove apostates or desert their opinions ; but that the tid of opposition was great: that all the strength and virtue of thes our friends might be sufficient for the purpose. We very earl: saw the difficulties that would here occur, and therefore re peatedly and constantly requested the people to proceed to the choice of other delegates in our stead; but this they refused to do. We beg, sir, you will view our reasons for not attending in a liberal point of light. Be pleased to make the most favourable' representation of them to the Honourable the Members of the Congress. We believe we may take upon ourselves to say, not- withstanding all that has passed, there are still men in Georgia who, when an occasion shall require, will be ready to evince a steady, religious, and manly attachment to the liberties of America. For the consolation of these, they find themselves in the neighbourhood of a Province whose virtue and magnanimity must and will do lasting honour to the cause, and in whose fate they seem disposed freely to involve their own.
" We have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient and very humble servants,
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