USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina V. I, Pt. 1 > Part 16
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Thomas Cary governor
Again was Governor Johnson called on to appoint a dep- uty-governor, and this time he selected Thomas Cary, a merchant doing business in South Carolina, who came to his new charge in 1705.
When the legislature assembled to meet Cary, the law passed the year before requiring an oath of office to be taken by the members was still on the statute-book, but it seems to have been expected that Cary would either ignore that law altogether, or, not enforcing it strictly so far as the Quakers were concerned, would admit them to seats on their making affirmation after the custom of that sect. Cary, however, followed the same course that had led to Daniel's downfall.
He disappointed all the favorable expectations that had been raised by the change of governors, and augmented the inquietude of the colony by proceeding still further in the line of the new departure.
C. R., I, 709
The Assembly met him in November, but the members refusing to take the oaths, he dissolved it and called a new election. When the new Assembly met, applying the law which required an oath of office with rigorous exactness, he excluded the Quaker members and obtained a majority that would sustain his measures. He then caused an act to be passed imposing a fine on any person who should enter into an office before taking an oath of qualification and another declaring void the election of any person who should promote his own candidacy.
With these provisions in force, not only were the Quakers debarred from entering into an office, but the election of any Presbyterian or other dissenter who was objectionable might be declared void on the slight pretext that he had promoted his own election.
Step after step had been successfully taken to bind the
Cary succeeds Daniel, 1705
161
DISSENTERS RESIST CARY
Assembly hand and foot. Inflamed by Cary's proceedings, 1706 -
the opponents of these measures hastened to send John Porter to England to seek a redress of grievances.
The colony grows
In the meantime the growth of the colony, especially to the southward, had continued. The town of Bath was laid off in 1704. The precinct of Pamlico, established ten years earlier, was in 1705 limited from Moline's Creek five miles west of the mouth of Pungo to the westward up the Pam- lico; and from Moline's Creek north and east was Wickham Precinct; while all south of Pamlico River, including the settlers on the Neuse, was Archdale Precinct. It was in Archdale Precinct on the Trent that the Huguenots had located. Lawson says: "Most of the French who lived at that town on James River ( Mannakin Town) are removed to Trent River, where the rest were daily expected, in August, 1708." There they made very good linen cloth and thread and raised considerable quantities of hemp and flax, being well established. They were accompanied by their pastor, Richebourg.
These precincts were each allowed two representatives in the Assembly. The influx of population was chiefly from Virginia, and so great was the movement that the com- inissioners of trade and plantations at London directed an inquiry into its causes and how it might be prevented. Among the new accessions was John Lawson, an English- John man, who landed at Charleston in 1700 and journeyed Lawson through the interior near the sites of Salisbury and Hills- C. R., 1, 703 boro, then eastward to Pamlico, and he remained in the colony studying its natural history. He returned to England in 1707 and published "A New Voyage to Carolina" in 1709 (later reprinted as the "History of North Carolina"), with a map of the province at that time. He returned to Albermarle as surveyor-general in 1711.
Another important accession was Edward Moseley, Gent., Edward Moseley
probably an Englishman, perhaps from the Barbadoes, who
C. R., I, 639
C. R., iii, 453
Lawson's Hist. of N. C., 141
162
THE EXCLUSION OF THE QUAKERS
1706
came into the province about 1704 and soon began to play a prominent part in public affairs, being surveyor-general, and in 1705 a member of the council .*
Hawks, II, 139
Governor Daniel, who was a landgrave, located near Bath Town, a region which was now attracting many of the new settlers ; but others pushed up the Chowan, where they came in contact with the Meherrin Indians, who were forcibly dispossessed of their lands and moved farther to the north- ward, a proceeding which again involved a dispute with Virginia about the dividing line.
C. R., I, 658
The Indians reduced
The Chowan Indians had formerly, by grant from the Yeopims, occupied the land on the south of Meherrin River, and after the Indian war of 1675, in which they were sub- dued, they were required to locate farther eastward. The Meherrin Indians settled on the north side of that river and then roamed on the south side, where they eventually had plantations. In 1706 they were ordered to abandon these plantations and move to the north side. Not obey- ing these directions, Colonel Pollock, who had possessions on the west side of the Chowan, with a force of forty-six men seized many of them and brought them to terms. The government of Virginia complained of this proceeding, de- claring that the land along the Meherrin was in its terri- tory, and that the Carolinians had no right to locate the Indians upon it; but being doubtful of its claim, the Vir- ginia surveyor was directed to secretly run a line 36° 30' to see where it really was. He probably discovered enough to remain quiet, for when the dividing line was established later the Virginia claim was shown to be erroneous.
John Porter's voyage to England
Oct., 1706
The prime objects Porter had in view appear to have been the restoration of the rights of the Quakers to hold office. the setting aside of the laws requiring the assemblymen to
*On May 7, 1703, the treasurer of South Carolina paid Edward Moseley £5 15s. for transcribing the catalogue of the library books at Charlestown. On August 4, 1705, Edward Moseley married the widow of Governor Walker.
163
PORTER'S MISSION TO ENGLAND
take an oath of office, and the restoration of the privilege of the colony to choose its own governor from among the council. He had hardly reached England before Cary left Albemarle and returned to South Carolina, where he re- mained for more than a year, not coming back to his govern- ment until after Porter himself had returned, and during his absence William Glover, a member of the council, admin- istered the affairs of the colony.
1766
MSS. Records Off. Sec. State
C. R., I, 698
Porter's visit to England was well timed. He found pub- lic attention largely addressed to Carolina affairs. The Gordon's Jetter, C. R .. I, 708-715 "Representation of the case of the Dissenters in South Caro- lina," made by John Ashe, had been supplemented by DeFoe's "Party Tyranny in Carolina," and public inter- est had been awakened in the grievances of the distant col- C. R., II, 897 onists. Boone. from South Carolina, had secured the co-operation of merchants dealing with the province, and their petition to the House of Lords had led that body to C. R., 1, 634 address the queen, setting forth the illegality of the pro- ceedings at Charleston, and the queen in council had there- upon declared the church legislation of Governor Johnson null and void, and had directed steps to be taken to declare C. R., I, 643 the charter forfeited; and besides, the church dignitaries had expressed their strong disapproval of the measures by which the Church party in South Carolina had sought to carry out their political purposes.
Under these circumstances John Porter's mission could hardly fail of success. He obtained substantial redress, and after lingering a year in England. returned, in October, 1707, bearing an instrument of writing, or commission, for the settling of the government, by which the laws imposing oaths were suspended; and he also brought an order suspending Colonel Cary as governor, and vesting the powers of that officer in the president of the council, to be chosen by that body, according to the custom before Daniel's time.
He also obtained new deputations from the Lords Pro- prietors appointing other deputies, a majority of whom it
C. R .. I. 709 Oct. 1707
164
THE EXCLUSION OF THE QUAKERS
1707
is stated were Quakers. Thus equipped, his aim seemed accomplished ; but difficulties, however, apparently arose in the performance of his programme.
New element in the controversy MSS. Records Off. Sec. State C. R., 1, 710
May, 1708
On his return, in the fall of 1707, Porter found Governor Cary still absent and William Glover conducting the admin- istration as president of the council. This arrangement he did not disturb. Indeed, it appears that Glover was then chosen president of the council, and for some time remained at the head of the government with the sanction of all parties. But later Glover refused to admit the Quaker deputies unless they would take the oaths. Discontent at once was mani- fested by many of the people, and it became so prevalent that on May 13, 1708, Cary, who had then returned, Porter. Foster, and Pollock, representing the various factions. united in a proclamation commanding the people's obedience to the existing government.
Hawks, II, 38x
C. R., 1, 727
But hardly had this proclamation been issued before a new element entered to breed further disturbance.
C. R., I, 689. 733 Hawks, II, 310
C. R., I, 689
Mr. Adams and Mr. Gordon, two ministers sent out by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, arrived in the colony about that time, and their com- ing set the Quakers and Presbyterians and all opposed to the church law in violent commotion. Glover writes to the Bishop of London, September 25, 1708, that "time had slipped away while I was engaged in the unhappy troubles which the enemy, alarmed at the coming over of these worthy gentlemen, has raised against me."
C. R., I, 720
C. R., I, 732
Mr. Adams wrote in October, 1709, that when Gordon and himself came over (April, 1708) "we found the government in the hands of such persons as were promoted for God's service and good order and from whom we met with all reasonable encouragement. But now the case is sadly altered. for the Quakers, alarmed at our arrival." etc. And Glover himself two years later wrote to the Society : "Although the trouble and confusion this unhappy country has labored under ever since the arrival of your Lordship's missionaries has compelled me to retire from all public employment." etc.
165
GORDON AND AD.IMS ARRIVE
It was evidently the arrival of the two ministers that changed the aspect of affairs.
1708
Porter breaks with Glover
While these commotions were agitating the colony, some time between May 13th and July 24th, it would seem that Porter found it expedient to break with Glover, and confess- ing the disappointment he had experienced at his hands, to establish the authority of the new council without waiting for the Assembly. To this end the new council was called C. R., I, together, and on July 24th it chose as president Colonel Cary, 688, 710 who doubtless agreed to conform his actions to the expressed will of the Lords Proprietors and to carry out the letter and spirit of the commission for settling the colony, which he perhaps found less hesitation in doing now that Granville was dead and the motive for siding with the Church party was no longer so apparent.
July 24. 1708 C. R , I, 793
What took place during that long, hot summer is not Disturb- recorded, save only in a general way that the colony was the scene of great disturbances and that the Church party lost ground and fell into a pitiable minority.
On September 18, 1708. Mr. Adams, who remained in the colony after his coadjutor, Mr. Gordon, had withdrawn from the commotion, writes concerning the troubles: "Besides, we shall be engaged in perpetual broils as we now are at present, for our old worthy patriots who have for many years borne rule in the government with great applause C. R., 1, 687 cannot without concern and indignation think of their being turned out of the council and places of trust for no other reason but because they are members of the Church of England, and that shoemakers and other mechanics should be appointed in their room merely because they are Quaker preachers," etc.
Two governments contending
But Glover was not content to be displaced in that manner, and still claimed the power and authority of the gov-
ances, 1708
166
THE EXCLUSION OF THE QUAKERS
1708
ernor's office. And so there were two governments, cach claiming to be regular and lawful, each with its adherents, who loudly proclaimed their opponents to be rebels and traitors.
Both call the Assembly October, 1708
Pollock's Letter Book
The whole colony became involved, and both sides being determined, the drift was to open rupture. Colonel Jennings, of Virginia, wrote to the Lords Proprietors on Septem- ber 20th that the Quakers had the cunning to set all the country in a flame and all but themselves in arms against one another, and there had already been one man killed in the fray. There was no. hope of peace save by submitting the matter to the legislature. Under these circumstances Colonel Pollock, on behalf of Glover, made an agreement with Cary to submit the claims of the two rival .presidents to an assembly to be elected, and so Cary and Glover each issued separate writs for an election of an assembly to be held on October 3, 1708.
Hawks, II, 380
C. R., I, 696-698
This election was quietly held in six precincts, but the result in Chowan was contested. The assembly consisted of twenty-six members, five from each of the four precincts of Albemarle and two from each of the three precincts in Bath County.
The Cary party carried Bath County and Perquimans and Pasquotank. In Chowan there was a contested election. Currituck alone stood faithful to the losing cause of Presi- dent Glover.
Oct. 11, 1708
Eight days later the Assembly met. The outlook was gloomy indeed for Glover. Moseley and the other Cary contestants from Chowan were seated without delay, and Moseley himself was elected speaker of the Assembly.
Glover departs to Virginia
C. R., I, 698
The commission to settle the government brought over by Porter was read and the Assembly determined that by that instrument the Lords Proprietors had suspended the laws made both in Governor Daniel's time and in Governor Cary's
167
CARY'S ASSEMBLY
time relative to qualifying by taking oaths of office. Colonel Pollock insisted, however, that the former law was not so much as mentioned in the writing -- but such was the decision of the Assembly. Glover protested that he would not be bound by the action of the body, although elected under his own writ, along with the writ of Cary. He insisted that they should be sworn-or, in other words, purged of the Quaker members-before he would abide by his agreement. His protest was treated with scant courtesy. He had appealed to the people. He had agreed to abide by the popular verdict : and now that the people had spoken, now that a large majority of the legislature was against him, he sought to reverse that judgment, and to that end invoked the same method of suppression that had been lately practised- at variance with the fundamental constitution of the colony as well as repugnant to the particular commission of the Lords Proprietors. But his efforts were without avail. Withdrawing from his agreement to submit his claims to the decision of the Assembly, he left the colony and took refuge in Virginia. In this voluntary exile Colonel Pollock accom- panied him, and Gale, the presiding judge of the general court, went to England, and it was not until two years after- ward, when Hyde entered upon the administration as presi- dent of the council, that they returned.
The Cary government was thus left in undisturbed pos- session. The council consisted of Cary, the president ; Foster, Porter and the Quakers. One of the first measures of the new administration was to declare void all acts done by the Glover government during the preceding nine months, thus stigmatizing the retention of power by the old council through the exclusion of the new deputies as in the nature of rebellion.
But although all the machinery of government was in Cary's hands, there remained a large faction disappointed, sullen and antagonistic-and it was this faction that con- tained the men who had been trained in the management of public concerns. Changes were made in the local officers.
1708 Pollock's Letter Book
The Cary government
!
--
168
THE EXCLUSION OF THE QUAKERS
1708
The old set gave place to the adherents of the new admini- tration.
Emanuel Lowe, Archdale's Quaker son-in-law, was an pointed to the land office. and other Quakers, Presbyterian !. and Independents were given public employment. Th. courts were open : suits were begun and prosecuted to jude ment and execution ; wills probated and administration granted. The public lands were opened to entry ani patents granted, and all the branches of government appear to have been administered in due form; and particular !: is it noteworthy that the vestry act was maintained in oper: tion ; and further that the Virginia government complained of the large emigration of Virginians into North Carolina.
C. R., I, 684 C. R., I, 690
In December, 1708, the Proprietors appointed Edward Tynte governor of Carolina, and expected him to appoint Edward Hyde deputy-governor of North Carolina : but until Hyde should arrive Cary was left unmolested in the admin- istration of affairs. In March. 1700, the Proprietors ap- pointed Lawson and Moseley, the speaker of Cary's house. to settle the disputed line between Virginia and North Caro- lina ; and in September, 1709, they appointed Christopher Gale receiver-general in the colony and Lawson surveyor general, both of these being then in London. The Propri- etors signified no particular displeasure at the situation of affairs in North Carolina, but in after years the period of Cary's administration was known as "Cary's usurpation."
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CHAPTER XIV
THE CARY REBELLION
The Palatines .- Their sufferings at sea .- They march through the forest .- De Graffenried's Swiss .- New Bern founded .- Hyde arrives in Virginia .-- Invited to Carolina .- Glover's influence .- The Quakers excluded .- His authority denied .- The new Assembly. -Hyde succeeds .- The Cary administration declared a usurpation. -Partisan legislation .- Hyde embodies men .- Cary prepared .--- Roach aids Cary .- The people divide .- Governor Spotswood seeks to mediate-His agent threatens Cary .- Cary prepares to engage, but fails .- Hyde's moderation .- Cary and Porter sent to England.
The Palatines
It was during the time while Lawson was in England and was preparing his History for publication that arrange- ments were made for the settlement of a considerable num- ber of colonists on the Trent, in Archdale Precinct, near where the French had settled and where Lawson had a large tract of land. Great numbers of Protestants had been expelled from the Palatinate, a fertile and populous country on the Rhine, now embraced in Baden and Bavaria, and many thousands, utterly impoverished and destitute, sought refuge in England. Their support had become a heavy tax on the public, the English people being at that time them- selves in great distress, and efforts were made to disperse them throughout the kingdom and the American colonies. Baron De Graffenried, a Swiss nobleman, being in negotia- tion with the Lords Proprietors for land in Carolina for a Swiss colony, was induced to take charge of a number of these poor Palatines. The queen assumed the expense of their transportation and made a donation of £4.000 for their benefit, while a committee of lords supervised the agreement with the Proprietors and inspected the vessels before the final embarkation. Six hundred and fifty of the most robust of the Palatines were selected by De Graffenried, who placed them under the direction of Christopher Gale. John Lawson and a third associate; and ample provision being made for
German Protestants
1710
170
THE CAIRY REBELLION
1710
The Palatines sail
their sustenance, at length, in January, 1710, after religious services by their pastor and other demonstrations of inter- est, the two transports sailed from Gravesend, accompanied for protection by a squadron of naval vessels commanded by an admiral.
Hardly had the voyage begun, however, before storms arose and impeded the progress of the vessels, and the voyage was protracted to more than three months. Un- happy, indeed, was the fate of these poor exiles driven from their prosperous homes by cruel religious persecution. Dur- ing their long voyage more than one-half succumbed to disease on shipboard, while the sufferings of the others impaired their strength and vitality. Finally, in April, they reached the Chesapeake, but as they were entering that friendly harbor a French vessel captured one of the trans- ports and plundered it of everything valuable, depriving the miserable immigrants of even their clothing.
C. R., I, 718 April, 1710
After landing, their numbers were still further diminished by fever and disease before they were able to set out through the forests for their march to the Chowan. Even- tually the remnant reached the plantation of Colonel Pollock, who provided for their necessities and transported them in boats to the Trent, where they finally arrived in horrible plight, finding no preparations made to receive them, although Lawson was engaged until August in locating them. Gale, the receiver-general, had been a member of the general court in North Carolina from 1703 until the overthrow of Glover's administration, when he went to England. He now returned with Lawson, and was, as chief justice, destined to play an important part in the affairs of the colony. He had brought instructions from the Pro- prietors to use such of the public revenues as could be spared for the support of the Palatines; but Cary having received the public funds, withheld them from Gale, and inadequate provision was made for the colonists, who found themselves driven to the necessity of selling even their clothes to the neighboring settlers for meat and bread.
Lawson locates the Palatines
The Swiss June, 1710
Six months after the departure of the Palatines, De Graf- fenried, who had been created a landgrave by the Lords Pro- prietors, followed with his colony of Swiss. Their voyage
I71
THE PALATINES AND SIVISS
was more fortunate, and after a few weeks they landed in excellent spirits on the banks of the James and likewise came by land to Colonel Pollock's, reaching the Trent in September, where they found the unhappy Palatines in miserable plight.
Being a landgrave, De Graffenried had official prominence in the province, and he used every effort to ameliorate the condition of his colonists. and addressed himself to the work of building a town, which he named New Bern. Many planters now occupied the lands on the Pamlico : the French colony had been increased by accessions from Virginia ; lands along the shore, even between North River and Core River (near the present town of Beaufort), were taken up in 1709. and the settlements were extending southward along the coast. So it happened that the period of Cary's administration was marked by a considerable expansion and development of the province, but yet the administration was not efficient. The new men appointed to office were not trained in official duties, grave complaints were rife, and the government lost some of the prestige it had acquired on the withdrawal of Glover and his adherents to Virginia.
Hyde arrives in Virginia
Such was the condition when Colonel Edward Hyde, who had been selected by the Proprietors as deputy-governor of North Carolina. reached Virginia, in August, 1710, where, however, he failed to receive his commission as he had August, 1710 expected, for Edward Tynte, the governor of Carolina, who was to have sent it to him from Charleston, died with- out doing so. Hyde's coming had been anxiously expected by the Glover faction, who hastened to make their court to him ; but being without a commission. he prudently remained in Virginia and awaited developments. Being the first cousin of the queen. the "awful respect" due to his family C. R .. I, 731, 733 drew public sentiment toward him ; and there being no ques- tion that the Proprietors had designated him for appoint- ment as deputy-governor, Cary was persuaded to join in an invitation that Hyde should come to Carolina and enter upon the administration as president of the council.
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