USA > Maryland > An historical view of the government of Maryland : from its colonization to the present day > Part 32
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The emergencies of such a situation required all the energies of the colony. A general council of the colonial governors had
(31) This information is derived from Charles Fenton Mercer, Esq. who has or had in his possession, the papers of the Ohio Company, and among 1 them, a draught of the plan of this town.
(32) Even as late as 1756, this fort was so far in advance of the frontier settlements both of Virginia and Maryland, that Washington, who had then the command of the Virginia forces, constantly urged upon the governor of Virginia, the propriety and necessity of abandoning it on that very account. " The governor, (says the historian) thought it improper to abandon it, since it was 'a king's fort,' and Lord Londoun, on being consulted, gave the same opinion." -2d Marshall's Life of Washington, 30.
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been held at New York, in the fall of 1755, to determine upon
Efforts of the the operations of the coming campaign. In this Assembly to put them in a state of
council, at which Sharpe, governor of Maryland, was defence. present, a most extensive plan of operations was adopted: (33) and the governors returned to their respective colonies, to urge upon the Assemblies the measures necessary for its accomplishment. The Assembly of Maryland responded promptly to the call. Waiving, altogether, the tax on ordinary licenses, and the duty on convicts, to which its lower house had hitherto so pertinaciously adhered, as a part of the sinking fund, it now voted a supply of £10,000 ; of which, £11,000 were to be applied to the building of a fort and block house on the western frontiers, and keeping up a garrison therein ; and £25,000 was ap- propriated in aid of any expedition for the general service. (31) Every exertion was now made to put the frontiers in a state of defence. The crection of an extensive and powerful fortifica- tion, called Fort Frederick, was instantly commenced, and so far completed before the close of that year, as to receive a garrison of two hundred men; and a company of rangers was raised, to co-operate with the garrison. (35) ₹
(33) 1st Marshall's Life of Washington, 473.
. (34) Act of February, 1756, chapter 5th.
(35) Fort Frederick is, I believe, the only monument of the ante-revolu- tionary times, now to be seen in the western parts of this State. Every vcs- tige of the fortification at Cumberland has disappeared. Fort Frederick stands on an elevated and rather commanding position in the plains along the Potomac, distant about one fourth of a mile from that river, and about ten or eleven miles above the mouth of Conococheague creek. It was constructed of the most durable materials, and in the most approved manner, at an ex- pense of upwards of <6000. When the writer saw it, in the summer of 1828, the greater part of it was still standing, and in a high state of preservation in the midst of cultivated fields. According to the description given of it at the period of its construction, its exterior lines were cach 120 yards in length, (the fort being quadrangular ;) its curtains and bastions were faced with a thick stone wall ; and it contained barracks sufficient for the accom- modation of three hundred .men. Reply of Governor and Council to tho commissioners of trade, of 23d August, 175G, in Couu. Pro. Liber, TR, and W S, 117 to 120.
We shall be pardoned for annexing to this note, the following message of the House of Delegates, as illustrating, by the language of cotemporarics, the condition of the frontiers at that period, and the object of this fortification.
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During the years 1756 and 1757, the border settlements remained in a state of jeopardy, requiring the constant vigilance of the colo- ny ; and their security was frequently disturbed by some act of savage barbarity, from the very imagination of which, New disputes we recoil. With the campaign of 1758, this period of
about a system of
rt venue, be-
tween the two
anxiety and peril passed away. The capture of fort
houses of As-
sembly.
Du Quesne, during that year, by the expedition un- der General Forbes, annihilated the French power in that quar- ter, and awed into submission the surrounding savages. Inter- nal tranquillity was again restored to Maryland; and with it re-
" Address of the House of Delegates, December 15th, 1757.
"Fort Cumberland, we are informed, was first begun by some gentlemen of the Ohio Company, as a storehouse of their goods designed for the Ohio Indian trade, and never was garrisoned by troops stationed there by the direction of any law of this province, but commonly by Virginia forces. That fort, we have too much reason to believe, from an extract of a letter from your excellency to the Secretary of State, laid before the lower house in September session, seventeen hundred and fifty-six, in which are the following words : " There are no works in this province that deserve the name of fortifications ; just behind, and among our westernmost settlements, are some small stoccado or pallisadoed forts, built by the inhabitants for the protection of their wives and children ; and besides these, there is one larger, though in my opinion not much more capable of defence, on Potowmack, about 56 miles beyond our set- tlements. It has been distinguished by the appellation of fort Cumberland, and is at present garrisoned by three hundred men from Virginia. It is made with stoccadoes only, and commanded almost on every side by circumjacent hills ; a considerable quantity of military stores, that was left by General Braddock, still remain there, and ten of the carriage guns that his majesty was pleased to order to Virginia, two years ago, are mounted therein ;" is not tenable against even a trifling force, should they come with any cannon; and therefore hum- bly submit it, whether it might not be a prudent measure to remove his majesty's artillery and stores, (though indeed the provisions, we are told, are chiefly spoiled) from thence to a place of greater security.
"Though fort Cumberland may be constructed, for any thing we know, near a place proper for the stationing a garrison at, for his majesty's service in gene- ral, yet being, as we have been informed, between eighty and ninety miles from the settlements of the westernmost inhabitants of this province, and in the truth of that information, are confirmed by your excellency's message of the 11th of this instant, wherein you say, ' the distance from fort Frederick to fort Cumberland, by the wagon road, is 75 miles,' and consequently the car- riage of provisions thither very expensive ; we humbly conceive it cannot be reasonably desired, that the people of this province should be burthened with the great expense of garrisoning that fort, which, if it contributes immediate-
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turned the dissensions between the two houses of Assembly. The perils of its past situation, had rendered the colony deeply sensible of the formidable power of the French, and of the im- portance of removing so dangerous a neighbor. The efforts of the English government, for the extinction of the French power in Canada, were therefore cordially approved; and the colony professed the utmost willingness to accord its quota of assistance. But new difficulties now arose, as to the mode of raising supplies, which endured until the close of the war; and the result was, that no further assistance was derived from Maryland in its ly to the security of any of his majesty's frontier subjects, it must be those of Virginia or Pennsylvania, who do not at present contribute any thing towards the support of it, that we know of.
"We understand, the most common track of the Indians, in making their in- cursions into Virginia (which have been lately very frequent) is through the wild desert country lying between fort Cumberland and fort Frederick, and yet we cannot learn that the forces at fort Cumberland (though the most of these that are in our pay the summer past, have been stationed there, contrary, we humbly conceive, to the law that raised them) have very rarely, if ever, molest- ed those savages in those their incursions; from whence we would willingly pre- sume their passage is below the Ranges, which troops stationed at fort Cum- berland, can with safety to that fort, extend themselves to; and consequently, that any security arising from those troops, even to the Virginians who are most in the way of being protected by them, must be very remote, and to us much more so.
"When, from the incursions and horrid depredations of the savage enemy in the neighboring colonies, an opinion prevailed, that a fort was neces- sary for the defence and security of the western frontier of this pro- vince, it was thought most likely to be conducive to those ends, to have it placed some where near the place fort Frederick is now constructed ; because from thence, the troops that might be judged proper to be kept on foot for the security of the frontier inhabitants, might have it in their power to range constantly in such manner as to protect them against small parties ; and in case any considerable body of the enemy should appear, or the fort should be attacked, the troops might, at a very short warning, be assisted by the inhabitants.
"Near the sum of £6000 has been expended, in purchasing the ground be- longing to and constructing fort Frederick, and though we have not any exact information what sum may still be wanting to complete it, (if ever it should be thought proper to be done) yet we are afraid the sum requisite for that pur- pose, must be considerable ; and we are apprehensive that fort is so large, that in case of attack, it cannot be defended without a number of men, larger than the province can support, purely to maintain a fortification."
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prosecution. A supply bill to meet the requisitions of the crown, was passed by the lower house, in nearly the same form in which it was originally proposed, at nine several sessions of Assembly, held during this interval; and was as regularly re- jected by the upper. The discussions connected with it, ex- hibit a high degree of irritation on both sides; and although the details of the system of taxation proposed by the lower house, may be considered, by some, as objectionable and oppressive, all must admire the courage and constancy with which that house adhered to its propositions. Believing that the principles which were put in issue by the controversy, admitted of no compro- mise, neither the menaces of the crown, nor the official power and influence of the province, could seduce it from its purposes. A brief notice of the prominent features of the system of taxation, thus upheld by that house, will serve not only to illustrate the character of that controversy, but also to exhibit the views of the colony as to the proper objects of taxation.
This scheme of taxation was somewhat analogous to the gene- ral assessment system, which has, of late years, been so frequent- ly the subject of controversy between the two houses of our Assembly. It extended the taxing power to every Characteristic features of the system sustained by the lower house. species of property, real, personal, and mixed, (ex- cept household furniture, and the implements of trade and husbandry ;) including all debts due in the province, whether due to inhabitants or non-residents; and all imported merchandise. Public officers, lawyers, and factors, were to be taxed upon their income. The proprietary property, in all its forms, came in for its rateable proportion of the tax. His quit-rents, his manors, his reserves, and his vacant lands, were all made liable to the tax. The most objectionable feature of the system, was that imposing a double tax upon non-jurors or papists ; and the records of that period justify the inference, that it was adhered to, not so much from any conviction of its general pro- priety, as for the purpose of reaching particular obnoxious indi- viduals, who were high in the confidence of the proprietary. The tax on the proprietary quit-rents and reserves, on imported merchandise, and on debts due to non-residents ; and the double tax on non-jurors, were the principal themes of the censure lavished upon this system by the upper house ; but it is probable,
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their objections lay deeper. The council to the governor, con- sisted generally of persons holding lucrative offices, or possessed of that species of wealth which had hitherto been exempt from taxation ; and they had wit. enough, whilst they felt for them- selves, to complain for others. The mode of assessment and collection of the taxes proposed to be raised by this system, was as objectionable to the upper house, as the system itself; and here the latter were less scrupulous, in revealing their objections. It assumed for the lower house a prerogative as to money-bills, which the upper had never been willing to concede. For many years, the former had claimed the exclusive right of originating money bills, and of appointing and supervising the officers entrusted with the expenditure of the public money. Acting under this claim, in the supply bills of this period, they named the commissioners who were to carry them into effect, and reserved to themselves the exclusive right of auditing their . claims and accounts ; whilst they cast the onerous duties in the collection of the taxes, upon the proprietary's private agents, and the receivers of his quit-rents, who were required to perform them for a small allowance. The privileges here assumed, the upper house had always refused to concede upon any terms ; and if all the other objections to the system could have been obviated, here alone was a source of invincible disagreement.
During the progress of this controversy, the proprietary called in to his aid the opinion of the Attorney General, Pratt, (after- wards Lord Camden.) Upon most of the subjects in controver- Opinion of Lord sy, the objections of the upper house were sustain- this system.
Camden upon ed by that opinion. The tax on non-residents and imports, was pronounced by it to be clearly improper, and one which the mother country would never endure : and to be ex- · tremely unreasonable, in requiring the English importer of goods into Maryland, to pay a tax for the mere right of trading to the province, to which he was entitled beyond the control of the provincial Assembly. It was objected to it also, that if the As- sembly could tax the merchandise imported, they might, by the same rule, prohibit its importation. Had Lord Camden ever read the charter of Maryland, before giving this opinion : or did he doubt the efficacy of the charter power to impose duties on
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imports and exports ? (36) He has not noticed the latter : and in another part of his opinion, he recommends a reference to the charters, for the proper limits of colonial power. The crown lawyers of England never gave opinions to impair the commner- cial monopoly of England, or to diminish the utter dependance of the colonies. The tax on non-jurors, he denounced as violat- ing the public faith, and subverting the very foundation of the Maryland constitution, and as not to be excused by any thing but a well grounded jealousy of dangerous practices and dis- affection on the part of the Papists; and the tax on vacant lands, as one which ought to be resisted by the proprietary, be- cause it was principally levelled at his estate. In regard to the nomination of the officers, he maintained, that the right of ap- pointing these officers did not necessarily fall to the proprieta- ry, under his general charter power of appointing the officers of the province : but that the office being created by law, the law might provide another mode of appointment. He held, how- ever, that the upper house acted rightly, both in claiming a voice in the appointment of these officers, and a co-ordinate right in the supervision and adjustment of their accounts; and concluded his opinion by the following remarkable admonition : "The upper house should take care how they admit encroachments of this kind, when they are supported by arguments, drawn from the exercise of the like rights in the House of Commons here. The constitutions of the two Assemblies differ, fundamentally, in many respects. Our House of Commons stands upon its own Jaws; whereas Assemblies in the colonies, are regulated by their respective charters, usages, and the common law of Eng- land, and will never be allowed to assume those which the House of Commons are justly entitled to here, upon principles that wneither can nor hor must be applied to the colonies." (37) This opinion is here summarily presented, not only as a part of the history of this controversy, tending to elucidate the principles involved in it, but also as displaying the then immature notions of this distinguished person, as to the nature and extent of colo-
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' (36) Supra, 163.
(37) See this opinion at large in Ist Chalmer's Opinions, 262, and the Journals of House of Delegates of 23d March, 1760.
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nial rights. Lord Camden was a pure and enlightened states- man, whose name has come down to us in history, identified with the advocacy of American liberties. He was one of their first, firmest, and most honored champions. So was the peer- · less even amongst peers, the illustrious Chatham. Yet at this period, Mr. Pitt is found cherishing the scheme of compelling the colonies to tax themselves according to the requisitions of the crown, as consistent with colonial liberty ; and Lord Camden earnestly remonstrates against the assumption of the money powers of the House of Commons, by the House of Delegates of Maryland, as inconsistent with the being and nature of the lat- ter, and not to be tolerated. The true nature of colonial dependance was not yet understood. The character and ex- tent of colonial rights had not yet been thoroughly investigat- ed. The objects and efficacy of colonial institutions were not yet, appreciated. It required the coming collisions with the mother country, to strike these out. In the general estimation, the rights of the colonies were yet wrapped in the swaddling- clothes of their infancy : and the interests of a free, widely ex- : tended, and powerful people, were to be measured by the stand- ard adapted to a puny settlement.
- The House of Delegates of Maryland, alike the House of Com- mons, was the only direct representation of the people. The upper house was not only independent of the people, as are the Effect of it upon peers ; but what was still more objectionable, they the lower house. were the mere creatures of the proprietary, "the. breath of his nostrils." The principle, " that the people could be taxed only by their assent," had long been as sacred under the constitution and laws of Maryland, as under those of England. The power of the House of Commons as to money bills, is. claimed as the incident of this principle, and its own organiza- tion : and " The law of Parliament," which justifies it, is nothing more than assumed prerogative for the guard of the principle. The analogy was perfect : and the consequence could not but follow. So thought the House of Delegates ; and the opinion fell powerless. It was not usual for that body to rely upon the opinion of others for a knowledge of its own rights, or to bow down before the authority of great names. "We observe, (says
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HISTORY FROM THE REFORMATION [Hist. View.
it, in reply to the message of the governor, submitting the opinion of the attorney general) your excellency's particular and pathetic admonition to us, to avoid the rock on which we have hereto- fore split ; and as you have thought proper to give us the opinion of his majesty's attorney general, (though given, we presume, on- ly as private counsellor to the Jord proprietary,) relative to the two supply bills ; being desirous to pay to it all due regard, we cannot but wish, that opinion had been accompanied with the state of the facts on which it was founded, especially as we are not at present convinced, that the upper house could not have assented to those bills, without a breach of their duty, and a violation of the constitution." (33)
Peace was at length restored to the colonics, in 1763, by the treaty of Paris; and these dissensions ceased to agitate the province. By this treaty, the French power in Canada was Treaty of Paris. extinguished, and the Mississippi became the ac- Knowledged boundary of the British possessions. The effects of that treaty upon the civil and political condition of the colo- nies, belong to the history of the more momentous controversy, in which they were soon to be involved. From this period, the colonies had no enemy but the parent country ; and the history of this province records only her glorious transition from depen- dence to independence.
The Governors of Maryland, during this period, were John Hart, Charles Calvert, Benedict Leonard Calvert, Samuel Ogle, Tho- mas Bladen, and Horatio Sharpe. (39) To portray individual
(38) Journal of House of Delegates. March session, 1760,
(39) John Hart, who was commissioned governor by the proprietary, . immediately after the restoration, was succeeded in June, 1720, by Charles Calvert, who remained governor until March, 1726-27, when he was superse- ded by Benedict Leonard Calvert, the brother of the proprietary. Ill health compelling the latter to return to England, he was succeeded in the office of governor by Samuel Ogle, in September, 1731, who continued to govern the province until the arrival of the proprietary himself, in 1732. The propric- tary having visited the province with a view to the controversy then pending between himself and the Penns, administered the government in person, until June, 1733, when upon his return to England, Mr. Ogle was re-commissioned, and acted as governance until August, 1742, when he was succeeded by Thomas Bladen, the brother-in-law of the proprietary. Mr. Ogle was again appointed governor in 1746-17 ; and acted as such until 1652, when by his return to
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character, is not the purpose of this work ; . except Governors. where individual acts and motives are involved in the transactions of the colony, and are necessary to illustrate their true character. The period of which we are treating, is so far removed from us in time and character, that not only the actors and their motives, but even the transactions and the results which belong to it, have in a great degree ceased to interest. When events are forgotten, the individuals connected with them cannot hope to be remembered. We have no knowledge of any memorials of that day, but the Assembly and council transactions ; and even tradition is mute. The general condition of the pro- vince was one of tranquillity and prosperity; and the occasional differences between some of these governors and the Assemblies, do not furnish decisive indications of the character of the former. Their private virtues, and their faults, have alike passed away with the age in which they lived ; and their memory is in a name. Yet Cæsar has no more !:
The population of the colony increased rapidly during this era. In 1733, the number of taxable inhabitants was 31,470. (10) In 1748, the number of inhabitants was 130,000, including 94,000 whites and 36,000 blacks; in 1756, it had Population. increased to 154,188, including 107,963 whites, and 46,225 blacks ; and in 1761, it amounted to 161,007, including 114,332 whites, and 49,675 blacks. (41) The inducements held out to emigrants were much greater than during the period of the royal government. The restoration of the proprietary, iden- tified his private rights with the public policy; and these rights being no longer embarrassed by the Assemblies or the agents of
England, the government devolved upon Benjamin Tasker, then president of the council, who continued to administer it until the arrival of Horatio Sharpe, the new governor, in March, 1753. Mr. Sharpe remained in the government until August, 1768, when he was superseded by Robert Eden, the last governor under the proprietary dominion.
(40) The taxables, at this period, were designated by the acts of 1715, chap. 15th ; and 1725, chap. 4th. They included all males above the age of 16, except beneficed clergymen and paupers ; and all female negroes or mulat- toes. Council Proceedings of 1733, Liber M, 92 to 94.
(41) Reports of the governor and council of Maryland, to the commission- ers of trade, in 1749, 1756, and 1761. Coun. Pro. of 13th December, 1749; of 23d August, 1756, Lib. TR and WS, 117; of 1761, in Lib. TR and WS, 31s.
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the crown, as during the royal government, the lands of the province were always open to grant upon favorable terms. The character and stability of the government, the value of the staple commodities of the colony, and the fertility of the ungranted lands, all concurred to invite the industrious and enterprising emigrant. But besides the voluntary immigration during this period, there was another fruitful source of population, the influx of which, although at the time deeply deplored by the inhabi- tants, contributed largely to the increase and strength of the colony. The number of convicts imported into Maryland during this era, must have amounted, upon the lowest estimate, to fifteen or twenty thousand. . They were imported by private shippers, under a contract with the crown ; and sold into servitude in the colony, for their term of transportation. The want of labor is always sensibly felt in a new country, and particularly in those operations which are necessary to prepare it for culture; and in the representations of former periods, it is frequently alluded to, as one of the principal difficulties encountered by the colonists. The number of convicts now thrown into the province, removed this inconvenience ; and although the servants thus obtained, brought with them the brand of infamy, as the voucher for their morals, they were generally inured to labor, and endowed with bodily energies, equal to the severe task of opening and cultivat- ing a new country. They soon became amalgamated with the ordinary population; and when their term of servitude had expired, many of them became highly useful and reputable citi- zeus, and some rose even to the most honorable distinctions. The pride of this age revolts at the idea of going back to such as these, for the roots of a genealogical tree ; and they, whose de- light it would be, to trace their blood through many generations of stupid, sluggish, imbecile ancestors, with no claim to merit but the name they carry down, will even submit to be called " nori homines," if a convict stand in the line of ancestry. Yet certain it is, that whilst this class of population supplied the colony with the labor which it most wanted, it included many, who lived to emerge from the degradation of their servitude, to atone for their early follies and vices, to win for themselves again a fair and honorable name, and even to transmit honor to a vir- tuous offspring. Like the " Clifford" of romance, they lived to
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