NOTHING is more difficult for Authors than to divest themselves of Byass and Parti­ality, especially when they themselves are Parties or Sufferers in the Affair treated of.

It is possible this may be supposed the Case with us [...] Publishers of this Narrative; it may be imagined, [...] the Hardships, Losses and Disappointments we have [...] with in the Colony of Georgia, will naturally sowr [...] Humours, and engage us to represent every thing [...] worst Light.

[...] the Probability of those Surmises is very obvious [...] we have, to the utmost of our Power, guarded [...] the weak Side of ourselves; and to convince the [...] our Sincerity, shall no further descend into the [...] of particular Persons, than is absolutely [...] for making our General Narrative intelligible; [...] faithful Detail of publick Vouchers, Records, [...], Memorials and Representations, shall [...] so much of History as may be necessary to [...] material Events, and compleat the Co [...]

[Page 2] We are hopeful, that an information founded upon the strictest Truth will effectually introduce any further Steps that Providence shall enable us to take towards procuring the Redress of our Grievances. While we had the least Hopes of Redress from our immediate Superi­ors and Patrons, we would not; and when we began to despair of Relief by that Channel, we durst not make Application to any other Tribunal, unless we would ex­pose ourselves to the dreadful Effects of the Resentment of those who had before reduced us to Poverty by Op­pression: And indeed, in all the Applications we made for Redress, we were brow-beat, obstructed, threatned, and branded with opprobrious Names, such as prou [...], idle, lazy, discontented and mutinous People, and seve­ral other Appellations of that kind, and were always af­terwards harrassed by all Means whatsoever; several In­stances of which will appear to the Reader in the Sequel.

Our late Retreat from that Confinement to a Land of Liberty puts it in our Power to speak the Truth; and tho' our Endeavours are too late to relieve the dead, the dying, and those many now dispersed in all the Corners of his Majesty's Dominions; yet they may be the Means of ushering in Sympathy and Assistance to the Survivors, and to Multitudes of Widows and Orphans of the de­ceased from the humane and generous.

As our sole Design is to give A plain Narrative of the Establishment and Progress of the Colony of GEORGIA, from its Rise to its present Period, we shall court no other Ornaments than those of Truth and Perspicuity, and shall endeavour to carry the Reader's Attention regularly from the first to the last Motions we make mention of.

In the year 1732 his Majesty was pleased to erect, by his ROYAL CHARTER, into a separate Province, di­stinct from South-Carolina, that Space of Land lying be­tween the Rivers Savannah and Alatamaha, under the Name of GEORGIA.

As this gracious Charter is the Basis and Foundation [Page 3] of all the Transactions relating to this Province, which [...] so much amused and perplexed the World, and which our Endeavour is to set in a true Light, we can­ [...] dispense with inserting the Charter at large, which, [...] are confident, for many Reasons, will be acceptable to the Reader.

The gracious Purposes and ample Privileges contain­ed in the foregoing CHARTER, are so obvious to e­very Reader, that we need only say they were suitable [Page 25] to a most generous and humane British Monarch; and had the Settlement of the Colony of Georgia been carri­ed on conformable thereto, and no other Restrictions or Reservations made than what are therein mentioned, then would the Colony at this Time have been in a flourishing Condition, answerable to all those glorious Ends that were proposed and expected from it: But on the contrary, Laws and Restrictions being made, such as were never heard of in any British Settlement, the Co­lony is brought to the present melancholy Situation. But we shall say no more at present on this Head than what Mr. Oglethorpe said in Parliament relating to the Charitable Corporation, viz. ^* The better the Design was, the more those deserve to be punished who have disappointed the Publick of reaping the Benefits that might have accrued from it.

Inhabitants of all sorts, Roman Catholicks only except­ed, from all Parts of the World, were invited to pos­sess this promised Land, and large Sums of Money from the Parliament, as well as Contributions from private and publick Charity, were collected; the Country was laid out as an Earthly Paradise, the Soil [...]ar surpassing that of England, the Air healthy, always serene, plea­sant and temperate, never subject to excessive Heat or Cold, nor to sudden Changes.

It was Particularly set forth, and with a Shew of Reason enough, that this proposed Settlement could not fail of succeeding when the Nation was so bountiful, the King so gracious, ^† the Trustees so disinterested and ho­nourable, who had, for the Benefit of Mankind, given up that Ease and Indolence to which they were entitled by their Fortunes, and the too prevalent Custom of their Native country; and withal being able, by seeing [Page 26] the Mistakes and Failures of other Colonies, both to a­void and rectify them; and lastly, the universal Report of Mr. Oglethorpe's matchless Humanity and Generosity, who was to conduct the first Embarkation, and who was, in all Appearance, to undergo the greatest Hard­ships, without any other View than to succour the di­stressed; and, despising Interest or Riches, was to ven­ture his Life, his All, in establishing the intended Settle­ment. Glorious Presages of the future Happiness of that Colony! Irresistable-Temptations to those whose Genius or Circumstances led them to leave their native Country!

No wonder then that great Numbers of poor Subjects, who lay under a Cloud of Misfortunes, embraced the Opportunity of once more tasting Liberty and Happi­ness; that Jews, attracted by the Temptation of Inhe­ritances, [...]lock'd over; that Germans, oppressed and dis­satisfied at home, willingly joined in the Adventure, some as Settlers, and others as Servants to the Tru­stees; and lastly, that great Numbers of Gentlemen of some Stock and Fortune, willingly expended Part of the same in purchasing Servants, Tools commodities and other Necessaries to entitle them to such respective Pro­portions of Land as the Trustees had thought proper to determine, and such Liberties and Properties as they had Reason to expect from his Majesty's most gracious Charter: But how much they were all disappointed the Sequel will shew. The first Thing that was done was the circumseribing the Rights and Titles given by his Majesty, and making many other various Restrictions, Services and Conditions, impossible for any human Per­son to perform; a few of which we shall here enumerate: in the first Place, there was an excessive Quit-Rent laid upon the Land, being a great deal more than his Maje­sty's Subjects in the other British Colonies pay, viz. Twenty Shillings [...] for every Hundred Acres, to be paid yearly and i [...] it, or any Part thereof, should be behind and unpaid by the Space of Six Calendar Months [Page 27] next after any Day of Payment on which the same be­came due, then the Land was forfeited, and returned to the Trustees; as it likewise did upon Failure in any of the Following Conditions, viz. One Thousand Mulberry-Trees always to be growing on every Hundred Acres; no Partnership or Company to be entred into for mak­ing Pot-Ash; not to assign or transfer the Land, or any Part or Parcel thereof, or any Estate or Interest in the same for any Terms of Years; not to hire, keep, lodge, board or employ within the Limits of the Province, any Black or Negro; and if the Person holding Land should die without Issue Male, or his Heirs at any Time should die without Issue Male, in that Case likewise the whole Land was forfeited and reverted to the Trustees; and if any Part or Parcel of any of the Five hundred A [...]re-Tracts should remain not cultivated, cleared plan­ted and improved after the Space of Eighteen Years, such Part to return to the Trustees. These were the chief Restrictions in all the Grants of Lands, which appeared very hard even to Strangers, who had not yet felt them, and who were ignorant of the Climate and Nature of the Place; but when any one complained of the Hard­ships of them, to palliate the Matter, it was given out, that Negroes were entirely useless and unprofitable, Wine, Silk, Olives, Gardens, and Manufactures for Wo­men and Children, were the intended Improvements of the Colony; that the Restriction of the Rights of Lands were only temporary, to prevent the bartering or sel­ling them by the unthinking People at an Undervalue; and concerning the Want of Male Issue it was asserted, that the Trustees being duly petitioned, would grant Continuation of the Land to the eldest Daughter, if a­ny &c. upon their good ^* Behaviour: That the Laws [Page 28] England, and the Administration of Justice, in the most impartial Manner, and most adapted to the Nature of the a free British Government, Should be ever secured to the Inhabitants.

The First of February 1732-3, Mr. Oglethorpe arrived at Georgia with the first Embarkation, consisting of For­ty Families, making upwards of One hundred Persons, all brought over and supported at the publick charge. The FIRST Thing he did after he arrived in Georgia was to make a kind of solemn Treaty with a Parcel of Fugitive Indians, who had been formerly banished their own Na­tion for some Crimes and Misdemeanors they had comm­itted, and who had, some Months before this, got Li­berty from the Governor of South-Carolina to settle there ^* Some of these he afterwards carried home with him under the Title of Kings, &c and all of them have been ever since maintained at the publick Charge, at vast Expence, when many poor Christians were starv­ing in the Colony for Want of Bread; and we may safe­ly affirm, (and appeal to the Store-books for the Truth of it) that a larger Sum of Money has been expended for the Support of those useless Vagrants, than ever was laid out for the Encouragement of Silk, Wine, or any other Manufacture in the Colony.

SECONDLY, He prohibited the Importation of Rum, under Pretence that it was destructive to the Constituti­on, and an Incentive to Debauchery and Idleness. How­ever specious these Pretences might seem, a little Expe­rience soon convinced as that this Restriction was di­rectly opposite to the Well-being of the Colony: For in the first Place, we were cut off from the most imme­diate and probable Way of exporting our Timber (the only poor Prospect of Export that we could ever flatter ourselves with) to the Sugar Islands, Rum being the [Page 29] Principal Return they make. In the Second Place, the Experience of all the Inhabitants of America will prove the Necessity of qualifying Water with some Spirit, (and it is very certain, that no Province in America yields Water that such a Qualification is more necessary to than Carolina and Georgia) and the Usefulness of this Expe­riment has been sufficiently evident to all the Inhabi­tants of Georgia who could procure it, and use it with Moderation. A third Reason which made this Restri­ction very hurtful to the Colony was, That tho' the Laws were in force against it, (which put it in the Pow­er of the Magistrates to lay Hardships upon every Per­son who might be otherwise under their Resentment) yet great Quantities were imported ^*, only with this Diffe­rence, that in place of Barter or Exchange, the ready Money was drained from the Inhabitants: And likewise, as it is the Nature of Mankind in general, and of the common sort in particular, more eagerly to desire, and more immoderately to use those Things which are most restrained from them, such was the Case with Respect to Rum in Georgia,

The THIRD Thing he did was regularly to set out to each Freeholder in Savannah Lots of Fifty Acres, in three distinct Divisions, viz. The Eight Part of One Acre for a House and Garden in the Town; Four Acres and 7 Eighths at a small Distance from the Town; and Forty five Acres at a considerable Remove from thence. No Regard was had to the Quality of the Ground in the Divisions, so that some were altogether Pine-Barren, and some swamp and Morass, far surpassing the Strength and Ability of the Planter: And indeed what could be done at any Rate with such small Parcels of Land Separate from one another? These Loss were likewise shaped in long pointed Triangles, which considerably increased [Page 30] the Extent of Inclosure, and rendred great Part of each Lot entirely useless. But these and many other Hard­ships were scarcely felt by the few People that came there, so long as Mr. Oglethorpe Staid, which was about Fifteen Months: They work'd hard indeed in building some Houses in Town; but then they labour'd in com­mon, and were likewise assisted by Negroes from Caro­lina, who did the heaviest Work: But at^*Mr. Ogle­thorpe's going to England, the growing Fame of the Co­lony was thereby greatly increased, so that, as it has been before observed, People in abundance from all parts of the World stock'd to Georgia. Then they be­gan to consider, and endeavour, every one according to his Genius or Abilities, how they might best subsist themselves: Some, with great Labour and Expence, es­sayed the making of^†Tar: This, as it is well known to the Trustees, never quitted Costs: Others tried to make Plank and Saw-Boards; which, by the great Price they were obliged to sell them at, by reason of the great Expence of white Servants, was the chief Means of ruining those who thought to procure [...] Living by their Buildings in Town; for Boards of all kinds could always be bought in Carolina for half the Price that they were able to sell them at; but few were capable to com­mission them from thence, and those who were so were prevented from doing it, upon pretence of discouraging the Labour of white People in Georgia. Those who had Numbers of Servants and Tracts of Land in the Coun­try, went upon the Planting of Corn, Pease, Potatoes, &c. and the Charge of these who succeeded the best, so [Page 31] far exceeded the Value of the Produce, that it would have saved three Fourths to have bought all from the Carolina Market. The Felling of Timber was a Task ve­ry unequal to the Strength and Constitution of white Servants, and the Hoeing the Ground, they being expo­sed to the sultry Heat of the Sun, insupportable; and it is well known, that this Labour is one of the hardest upon the Negroes, even though their Constitutions are much stronger than white People, and the Heat no way disagreeable nor hurtful to them; but in us it created inflammatory Fevers of various kinds both continued and in­termittent, wasting and tormenting Fluxes, most excruciate­ing Cholicks, and Dry-Belly-A [...]hs; Tremors, Vertigoes, Palsies, and a long Train of painful and lingring nervous Distempers; which brought on to many a Cessation both from Work and Life; especially as Water without any Qualification was the Chief Drink, and salt Meat the only Provisions that could be had or afforded: And so general were these Disorders that during the hot Sea­son, which lasts from March to October, hardly one half of the Servants and working people were ever able to do their Masters or themselves the least Service; and the yearly Sickness of each Servant, generally speaking, cost his Master as much as would have maintained a Negroe for four Years. These Things were represent­ed to the Trustees in Summer 1735, in a Petition for the Use of Negroes, signed by about Seventeen of the better sort of People in Savannah: In this Petition there was also set forth the great disproportion betwixt the Maintenance and Cloathing of white Servants and Negroes. This Petition was carried to England and Pre­sented to the Trustees by Mr. Hugh Stirling, an experienced Planter in the Colony; but no Regards was had to it, or to what he could say, and great Resentment was even shewn to Mr. Thompson, the Master of the Ves­sel in which it went.

Whilst we laboured under those Difficulties in sup­porting [Page 32] ourselves, our Civil Liberties received a more terrible Shock: For, instead of such a free Government as we had Reason to expect, and of being judged by the Laws of our Mother Country, a ^* Dictator, (under the Title of Bailiff and Store-keeper) was appointed and lest by Mr. Oglethorpe at his Departure, which was in April 1734 whose Will and Pleasure were the only Laws in Georgia: In regard to this Magistrate, the others were entirely nominal, and in a Manner but Cyphers: sometimes he would ask in publick their Opinion, in order to have the Pleasure of showing his Power by con­tradicting them. He would often threaten Juries, and especially when their Verdicts did not agree with his Inclination or Humour. And in order the more fully to establish his absolute Authority, the Store and Dispo­sal of the Provisions, Money and publick Places of Trust, were committed to him; by which Alteration in his State and Circumstances he became in a Manner infa­tuated, being before that a Person of no Substance or Character, having come over with Mr. Oglethorpe a­mongst the first Forty, and left England upon account of something committed by him concerning his Majesty's Duties: However, he was sit enough for a great many Purposes, being a Person naturally proud, covetous, cun­ning and deceitful, and would bring his Designs about by all possible Ways and Means.

As his Power increased so did his Pride, Haughtiness and Cruelty, insomuch that he caused eight Freeholders, with an Officer, to attend at the Door of the Court eve­ry Day it sat, with their Guns and Bayonets, and they were commanded by his Orders to rest their Firelocks as soon as he appeared; which made People in some Man­ner afraid to speak their Minds, or Juries to act as their Consciences directed them. He was seldom or never un­covered on the Bench, not even when an Oath was ad­ministred [Page 33] and being perfectly intoxicated with Power and Pride, he threatned every Person without Distincti­on, Rich and Poor, Strangers and Inhabitants, who in the least opposed his arbitrary Proceedings, or claimed their just Rights and Privileges, with the Stocks, Whip­ing-Post and Log-House, and many times put those Threatnings in Execution; so that the Georgia Stocks, Whipping-Post and Log-House, soon were famous in Caro­lina, and every where else in America where the Name of the Province was heard of, and the very Thoughts of coming to the Colony became a Terror to People's Minds. And now the Province of Carolina, who had, in private and publick Donations, given us upwards of 1300 l. Sterling, seeing these Things, and how the publick Mo­ney was thrown away, began to despise the Colony, and out of a Regard to the Welfare of their Fellow Crea­tures, disswaded every Body they could from settling in it. That this absolute Power might be exercised with­out the least Interruption, the other Magistrates were such, that they either were unable or incapable to op­pose it: It is true, in December 1734, Mr. Causton met with a little Interruption; for the Trustees then sent o­ver to savannah one Mr. Gordon, as chief Magistrate, who being a person of a very winning Behaviour, a [...]able and fluent in Speech, soon got the Good-will of every Body, and a great many of the People laid their Grie­vances and Hardships open to him, which seem'd a little to eclipse Mr. Causton; but he soon found out an Expe­dient to remove this Adversary, viz. by refusing him Provisions from the Store, which in a little Time ren­dred him incapable to support himself and Family, where­by he was obliged, after about six Weeks Stay, to leave the Place, in order, as he said, to represent our Grievances to the Trustees, and soon after returned to London; but he did not perform his Promise, for what Reason we shall not pretend to determine; and some time thereaf­ter he either resigned or was dismissed from his Office of [Page 34] First Bailiff, and Mr. Causton was appointed in his stead. As to Mr. Henry Parker, who was appointed Third Bai­liff when Mr. Gordon came over, he was, in the first Place, a Man who had nothing to support himself and large Family but his Day-Labour, which was Sawing, and consequently as soon as his Time was otherwise emp­loyed he must be entirely dependent on the Store for his Subsistance. In the second Place, he was a Man of no Education; so that Mr. Causton soon moulded him to his own liking, and infused into him what Notions he Pleased. Thirdly, he was and is an absolute Slave to Li­quor, and he who plies him most with it (which Causton always took care to do, and whose Example has been since followed by his Successor Jones) has him, right or wrong, on his Side. As to Mr. Christie the Recorder, he was easily over-ruled by the other two, and the same Practice was always continued; for he who was appoin­ted Third Bailiff after Gordon's Dismission or Resignati­on, was one Darn, nigh Seventy Years of Age, crazed both in Body and Mind, who died not long after his Appointment, and his Successor R. Gilbert could neither read nor write; so that Causton had never after Gordon's Departure any Opposition made by the other Magistrates to his arbitrary Proceedings. It we should allow our­selves to enter into a Detail of the Particular Instances of such Proceedings, we should exceed much our proposed Bounds; we shall therefore confine ourselves to two on­ly, which may serve as a Specimen of the many others. ONE is that of Capt. Joseph Watson: This Person having incurred Mr. Causton's Displeasure, was indicated for stir­ring up Animosities in the Minds of the Indians, &c. tending to the Ruin and Subversion of the Colony. Up­on his Trial the Jury in their Verdict found him only guilty of some unguarded Expressions, (altho' twice retur­ned and hectored by Mr. Causton, who acted both as Witness and Judge in the Matter) and verbally recom­mended him by their Foreman to the Mercy of the [Page 35] Court, imagining or supposing he might be lunatick; (however, as it afterwards appeared, it was represented to the Trustees that the Jury found him guilty of Luna­cy in their Verdict) whereupon he was immediately con­fined by Mr. Causton, (altho' sufficient Bail was offered) and kept Prisoner near three Years, without any Sen­tence. But, as we are informed this Affair now lies be­fore a proper Judicature, we shall say no more of it.

The other Instance is that of Mr. Odingsell, who was [...]n Inhabitant of Carolina, and had been a great Benefa­ctor to the infant Colony of Georgia, having given seve­ral Head of Cattle and other valuable Contributions to­wards the promoting it. This Person having come to Savannah to see how the Colony succeeded, after he had been there a few Days, being abroad some time af­ [...] it was Night, as he was going to his Lodgings was taken up in the Street for a Stroller, carried to the Guard-House, and threatned with the Stocks and Whip­ping-Post; the Terror and Fright of which (he being a mild and peaceable Man) threw him into a high Fever with a strong Delirium, crying out to every Person who came near him, that they were come to carry [...] to the Whipping-Post; and after lying two or three Days in this distracted Condition, he was carried aboard his Boat in order to be sent home, and died in the Way somewhere about Dawfuskee Sound.

Thus, while the Nation at home was amused with the Fame of the Happiness and Flourishing of the Colo­ny, and of its being free from Lawyers of any kind, the poor miserable Settlers and Inhabitants were exposed to as arbitrary a Government as Turky or Muscovy ever felt. Very Looks were criminal, and the grand Sin of with­standing, or any way opposing Authority, (as it was cal­led, when any Person insisted upon his just Rights and Privileges) was punished without Mercy. Nevertheless, we bore all these Things patiently, in full Hopes th [...] the Trustees Eyes would soon be opened, and then our [Page 36] Grievances be redressed, and still continued exhausting our Substance in pursuing an impracticable Scheme, namely cultivating Land to Advantage in such a Cli­mate with white Servants only, not doubting but that the parliament, who yearly repeated their Bounty, would make up our Damages: But alas! their Bounty was ap­plied in Georgia rather to the Hurt than Benefit of the Colony, as we shall here briefly relate. First, a Light­House was set about; but before the Frame was erected it was almost half rotten, and has not been carried on any further, nor never even covered, which has like­wise greatly contributed to its Decay; and now that lofty Fabrick, so highly useful to Vessels which make that Coast, is either fallen or must fall very soon. Log­Houses and Prisons of various Sorts were built and era­zed successively, and most Part of them were fitter for Dungeons in the Spanish Inquisition than British Goals, I­rons, Whipping-Posts, ^* Gibbets, &c. were provided to keep the Inhabitants in perpetual Terror; for Innocence was no Protection; and for some time there were more Imprisonments, Whippings, &c. of white People in that Colony of Liberty, than in all British America besides. Corn­Mills, Saw-Mills, Public Roads, Trustees Plantations, (as they were called) Wells and Forts, in different Pla­ces were all set about, but, as is evident from the E­vent, with no Design to serve the Publick, but only to amuse the World, and maintain some Creatures who as­sisted in keeping their Neighbours in Subjection; for few or none of these Things were ever brought to Perfecti­on; some of them were left off half finished, and of those that were finished some were erazed, (being found of no Service) and others fell of themselves for Want of proper Care. To carry on the Manufactures of Silk, and Wine, a Garden was planted with Mulberries and [Page 37] Vines, which was to be a Nursery to supply the rest of the Province: But this was as far from answering the proposed End as every Thing else was; for it is situat­ed upon one of the most barren Spots of Land in the Co­lony, being only a large Hill of dry Sand: Great Sums of Money were thrown away upon it from Year to Year to no Purpose. This was remonstrated to the Trustees, and they seem'd to be sensible of the Error, and gave Order to chuse another Spot of Ground; but the rul­ing Powers in Georgia took no Notice thereof. And now, after so great Time and Charge, there are not so many Mulberry-Trees in all the Province of Georgia as many one of the Carolina Planters have upon their Plantations, nor so much Silk made there in one Year as many of those Planters do make: Nor could they ever in that Garden raise one Vine to the Perfection of bearing Fruit. And here it may be observed, That the Silk Mr. Ogle­thorpe carried over for a Present to Queen CAROLINE, was most of it, if not all, made in Carolina. Tho' no proper Measures were ever taken for advancing the Silk and Wine Manufactures, yet private Persons made seve­ral Essay towards the Culture of European Grapes; but even such Attempts met with no suitable Encourage­ment from Mr. Oglethorpe, as will appear from the fol­lowing Fact. Abraham De Leon, a Few, who had been many Years a Vineron in Portugal, and a Freeholder in Savannah, cultivated several kinds of Grapes in his Gar­den, and, amongst others, the Port [...] and Malaga to great Perfection; of this he sent home an attested Ac­count to the Board of Trustees, proposing further, That if they would lend him, upon such Security as he offered, Two hundred Pounds Sterling for three Years without Interest, that he would employ the said sum, with a fur­ther S [...]k of his own, in sending to Portugal, and bringing [...] and Vinerons; and that he should be bound to re­pay the Money in three Years, and to [...] growing within the [...] F [...]ty Thousand such [...], which he would fur­nish the [...] at moderate Rates.

[Page 38] The Trustees were satisfied with the Security, and accepted the Proposal, and wrote him, That they had remitted the Two hundred Pounds by Mr. Oglethorpe for his Use; which he did not deny when applied to by the said Leon for the same, but said, that he could not ad­vance more than Twenty or Thirty Pounds, in regard he had other Uses for the Money; and so that Design dropt.

In February 1735-6 Mr. Oglethorpe arrived in Georgia for the second Time, with great Numbers of People, in order to settle to the southward, where he soon after carried them. Upon the Island of St. Simons he settled a Town, which he called Frederica; and about five Miles Distance from thence, towards the Sea, he placed the independent Company which he removed from Port­Royal in Carolina, their former Station. On one of the Branches of the Alatamaha he settled the Highlanders, in a Village which was called Darien. Then he settled a Fort on Cumberland, which he named St. Andrews; and some time after he caused a Garrison of about Fifty Men to be placed on a sandy Island (without fresh Wa­ter) in the Mouth of St. John's River, opposite to a Spa­nish Look-out, where Possession was kept for about six Months, and several Fortifications built; but at last he was obliged to abandon it, after several People had lost their Lives by the Inconveniencies of the Place, besides great Sums of Money thrown away in vain.

Whilst Things thus passed in the southern Part of the Province, Mr. Causton was not idle at Savannah; and one would have thought, that he made it his particular Design further to exa [...]perate the People of Carolina: He stopt their Boats who were going up to New-Windsor; and not content with that, he caused them to be search­ed, and whatever Rum was found therein was directly staved, in pursuance of an Act, as he alledged, entituled, An Act against the Importation of Rum into the Colo­ny of Georgia. To complain of this, and to represent the bad State of the Indian Trade, a Committee from [Page 39] the Assembly of South-Carolina arrived at Savannah in July 1736 where Mr.Oglethorpe then was: But their coming was of little Consequence; for after this the Differences and Animosities betwixt the two Provinces rather encreased than diminished; and we shall only ob­serve, that one Thing is certain, that ever since Mr.Oglethorpe intermeddled in the Indian Trade, it has de­cayed apace, and at this time is almost entirely good-for-nothing either to the one or the other Province.

Thus while the Province of Carolina resented the bad Treatment they had met with from the Leading Powers in Georgia, against the Colony in general; the poor In­habitants were doubly unfortunate, being ill look'd up­on by their nearest Neighbours and Friends, for the Act­ings of their Governors, while they themselves were still the greatest Sufferers by those very Actings.

Whil [...]t Mr.Oglethorpe staid in Georgia, great Com­plaints were made against the arbitrary Procee­dings of Mr. Causton; but to no purpose: Likewise several Per­sons endeavoured to shew the Impossibility of the Colo­ny's succeeding, according to its then present Constitution: But if this was done in his Hearing, he either al­ways brow-beat the Person or evaded the Discourse; if by Letters, he never made any Answer to them; ev­en altho' he had given publick Orders, that every Per­son should give in their Grievances and Complaints to him in Writing, and that he would consider and answer the same. But that we might not be entirely ignorant of his Thoughts, Mr. Causton, who always spoke his Sentiments, publickly declar'd, That we had neither Lands, Rights or Possessions; that the Trustees gave, and that the Trustees could freely take away: And a gain, when he was told, that the Light-house wanted a few Spike­nails to fasten some of its Braces which were loose, and which might occasion the Downfal of the Whole Fa­brick; he answer'd, That he would say as Mr. Ogle­thorpe said, It might fall and be d—d. Mr. Oglethorpe [Page 40] Staid in Georgia until November 1736, most of which Time he spent to the Southward, and then embark'd for England, leaving Mr. Causton with the same Authority he had formerly invested him with, and in the same Power he then exercised, and the Colony under the same Difficulties and Hardships.

In March thereafter we had Advice of the Spaniards Intentions of attacking the Colony from the Havannah. This put the whole Province in great Consternation, e­specially the Town of Savannah; they having neither Fort, Battery, or any other Place to Shelter themselves in, in case of any actual Attack: Therefore they imme­diately set about building a Wooden Fort, and all sorts of People labour'd continually until it was in some measure finish'd; only Mr. Causton never came to the Work, but did all he could to retard it, making light of the Information, altho' it was sent Express by Commodore Dent, with a Letter directed to the Commander in Chief of Georgia; and has since been put out of all manner of Doubt, the Spaniards having at that time Four thousand Men embarqued and ready to sail, if an extraordinary Accident had not prevented^* them. People now seeing the little Care that was likely to be taken in case of a real Attack; and likewise finding, to their Cost, that the Improvement of Land was a vain and fruitless Labour with white Servants only, and with such Restrictions and precarious Titles, many began to withdraw and leave the Colony, and very little was planted this Season.

And Now to make our Subjection the more compleat, a new kind of Tyranny was this Summer begun to be imposed upon us; for Mr. John Wesly who had come over and was receiv'd by us a Clergy­man of the Church of England, 1737. soon discovered [Page 41] that his Aim was to enslave our Minds, as a necessary Preparative for enslaving our Bodies. The Attendances upon Prayers, Meetings and Sermons inculcated by him, so frequently, and at improper Hours, inconsistent with necessary Labour, especially in an infant Colony, tend­ed to propagate a Spirit of Indolence, and a Hypocrisy amongst the most abandoned; it being much easier for such Person, by an affected Shew of Religion, and Ad­herence to Mr. Wesly's Novelties, to be provided by his Procurement from the publick Stores, than to use that Industry which true Religion recommends: Nor indeed could the Reverend Gentleman conceal the Designs he was so full of, having frequently declar'd That he ne­ver desir'd to see Georgia a Rich, but a ^* Religious Colony.

At last all Persons of any Consideration came to look upon him as a Roman Catholick, for which the following Reasons seem'd pretty convincing. Ist, Under an af­fected strict Adherence to the Church of England he most unmercifully damned all Dissenters of whatever Denomination, who were never admitted to communi­cate with him until they first gave up their Faith and Principles entirely to his Moulding and Direction, and in Confirmation thereof declared their Belief of the In­validity of their former Baptism, and then to receive a new one from him: This was done publickly on the Persons of Richard Turner, Carpenter, and his Son. An­other Instance was that of William Gaff, who had once communicated and always conformed to his Regulati­ons, but was at last found out by Mr. Wesly to have been baptized by a Presbyterian Dissenter, the same thing was propos'd to him; but Mr. Gaff not inclinable to go that length, was ever thereafter excluded from the Communion.

2dly, While all Dissenters (whereof a considerable Number was in the Colony) were thus unmercifully [Page 42] damned, and shut out from Religious Ordinances, con­trary to that Spirit of Moderation and Tenderness which the Church of England shews towards them; Person su­spected to be Roman Catholicks were received and caressed by him as his First-rate Saints.

3dly, A third Confirmation of this Suspicion arose from his Endeavours to establish Confession, Penance, Mortifications, Mixing Wine with Water in the Sacra­ment, and Suppressing in the Administration of the Sa­crament the Explanation adjoyned to the Words of the communicating by the Church of England, to shew that they mean a Feeding on Christ by Faith, Saying no more than "The Body of Christ; The Blood of Christ;" by appointing Deaconesses, with sundry other Innova­tions, which he called Apostolick Constitutions.

4thly, As there is always a strict Connexion betwixt Popery and Slavery; so the Design of all this fine Scheme seem'd to the most Judicious to be calculated to debase and depress the Minds of the People, to break any Spi­rit of Liberty, and humble them with Fastings, Penan­ces, Drinking of Water, and a thorough Subjection to the Spiritual Jurisdiction which he asserted was to be e­stablished in his Person; and when this should be ac­complished the Minds of People would be equally pre­pared for the receiving Civil or Ecclesiastical Tyranny.

All Jes [...]tical Arts were made use of to bring the well concerted Scheme to Perfection; Families were divided in Parties; Spies were engaged in many Houses, and the Servants of others brid'd and decoy'd to let him in­to all the Secret [...] of the Families they belonged to; nay, those who had given themselves up to his Spiritual Gui­dance (more especially Women) were obliged to disco­ver to him their most secret Actions, nay even their Thoughts and the Subject of their Dreams: At the Same time he gave Charge to Juries; gave his Opinion in all Civil Causes that came before the Court: Nor could we imagine what all this would end in: Complain we might; [Page 43] but to no purpose: And Mr. Causton and he went hand-in-hand.

But the merciful Providence of GOD disappoints fre­quently those Designs that are laid deepest in Human Prudence.

Mr.Wesly at this time repulsed Mrs. Sophia Williamson, Neice to Mr. Causton, from the Sacrament. This young Lady was by her Friends put under the Ghostly Care of Mr. Wesly, who was pleased to make Proposals of Marriage to her: These she always rejected; and in some little time married Mr. William Williamson of Sa­vannah, much contrary to Mr. Wesly's Inclinations: After the said Marriage Mr. Wesly used all Means to create a Misunderstanding betwixt Mrs. Williamson and her Hus­band, by persuading her, that Mr. Williamson had no Right to regulate her Behaviour as to conversing with him, or attending Meetings as formerly; but at last finding he could gain nothing upon her, and that Mr. Williamson had forbid him any conversation with his Wife out of his Presence; he took the foresaid Means, by repelling her from the Holy communion, of shewing his Resentment. Mr. Williamson thought himself well founded in an Action of Damages; and Mr. WESLY (being no longer supported by Mr. Causton, Who was highly nettled at the Affront put upon his Neice, and could now declaim as fluently against spiritual Tyran­ny as any Person) was indicated before a GRAND JURY of Forty four Freeholders, and Thirteen Indictments were found against him; one concerned Mr. Williamson and his Spouse; the others concerning the Grievances we felt by his Measures, and the Exercise of his Ecclesia­stical Functions, as above related: These last were given into the Magistrates, to be by them laid before the Trustees, that these our Grievances might in time co­ming be properly redressed, (we having no other juris­diction, either Civil or Ecclesiastical, that we could make Application to:) Then the Grand Jury began to [Page 44] consider and think, that as it was not probable a great­er Number of the better Sort of People could ever be le­gally met together; so this was a fit Time to represent their Grievances and Hardships to the Trustees: which they did in the following Manner.

The Original of this was signed by all the Forty four, and sent home; but was taken no notice of by the [...] stees for any thing ever we heard; and we hope it will appear evident to every judicious Reader, that his Jury was neither byassed nor intimidated by Causton, to the Pre­judice of any Person whatsoever, as Mr. Wesly asserts in his Journal printed at Bristol, 1739. He likewise says, there were a professed Atheist and Deist in the Number; but for our Parts we know of neither: But a Man of Mr. Wesly's Principles, who makes no Scruple of writing wilful Falshoods (as may be seen by any Body that compares this Narrative with his Journal) and of damning every Person of a contrary Opinion with himself, may, with­out Hesitation, give People what Appellations come in his Head: However this put an End to any further Pro­secution of Mr. Wesly's Schemes; for soon after this, he departed the Colony privately by Night, and went to Charles-Town, and from thence to England.

Mr. Wesly had Address enough (as he says in his fore­mentioned Journal) to persuade several Persons who were Members of the Grand Jury, to retract (by some Paper which he drew up for them to sign) their former Sentiments; but this, it is was at all, proceeded entire­ly from the solemn Assurances which he gave them, that his main Design home was to represent the Grievances and Oppressions which the poor Colony laboured under; and up­on this Account was charged with divers Letters and Papers from private Persons, relating to the Colony; which he undertook faithfully to deliver: But as we [Page 49] have since found, that all Mr. Oglethorpe's Interest was employed to protect Mr.Wesly, it is no Wonder those Promises were never fulfilled; nor indeed could it ever be ascertained that even the private Letters which he carried were so much as delivered.

On the other Hand Mr.Causton ever after bore a mor­tal Hatred to the Members of this Grand Jury, and took every Opportunity to shew his Resentment; and we doubt not but he prevailed upon three or four of them to make a Recantation, having either terrified or starv'd them into a Compliance: But we bore these Things the more patiently, as being satisfied the Trustees were Gentle­men who had our Interest at Heart, and who would hear and redress our Grievances in due Time, and that Mr. Oglethorpe might still be a Friends to the Colony; but at last we heard He had procured a Regiment for its Defence, of which he was made Colonel, and that He was likewise made General and Commander in chief over all his Majesty's Forces in South-Carolina and Geor­gia. This News was confirmed by William Stephens, Esq who was sent over as Trustees Secretary, to repre­sent the State and Condition of the Colony as it really was, and to assist and consult with the Magistrates: But Mr. Causton soon found the Means to bring over the old Gentleman to his Interest, or at least to acquiesce in eve­ry Thing he said or did; for he had still the Command of the Cash and Stores, and Mr. Stephens had nothing to live upon but his Salary, which he could stop the Pay­ment of at Pleasure; so our Secretary remained passive until Causton's Government ended.

At last Mr. Oglethorpe comes over for the third time, in September with the Remainder of his Regiment, the other Part having come with Colonel Cochran in May; but alas! this Regiment was of no Service, otherwise than to strengthen us in case of an Attack; for we could neither furnish them in Cloaths, Provisions, nor any one Thing they wanted: And to put us out of all Hopes of [Page 50] bettering our Condition, Mr. Oglethorpe was pleased to declare in the Court-house of Savannah That as long as he had any thing to do with the colony, there should neither be Allowance of Negroes, nor Alteration in the Titles of Land; and if any such thing should happen, he would have no farther Concern with it. The People thus seeing there was no Hope of Redress, left the Colony daily; and the Trustees Credit receiving a great Shock by their re­fusing Mr. Causton's certified Accounts, and an entire Stop being put to the publick Store, many poor Wret­ches died of Hunger; for at this Time Mr. Causton was turned out of all his Places, and the Store was ordered to be sold, in order, as was said, to pay off the Trustees Debts. One Thomas Jones, a Favourite of Mr. Oglethorpe, whose Character we shall have Occasion to give after­wards, was put in his Place as Cash and Store-keeper, only with a different Title, viz. that of Magazine-keep­er; for none but the Trustees Servants were to be sup­plied from it: But the contrary soon appeared; for the Sola Bills that were sent over were ordered to be issued out in the Names of William Stephens, Esq Mr. Thomas Christie and Mr. Thomas Jones, or any two of them; but the other two agreeing together entirely excluded Chri­stie, and paid them to whom, and for what purpose they thought convenient: They bought New-York Cargoes, and any other Commodities that could be got in Quan­tities, and put them into the Magazine, where they were sold out by Jones in Wholesale and Retail for ready Money, at [...]xorlitant Rates. This Trade they have car­ried on ever since to their vast Advantage, but to the no small Distress of the poor People, who are obliged to give at the Rate almost of cent▪ Per cent. for their Pro­visions. Thus, under the Colour of no Store, these two keep as open a one as ever Causton did; and by having the publick Money at their Disposal, the Payment of all Salaries and Pensions coming through their Hands, they are become as absolute; with this Difference, that Mr. [Page 51] Causton's Power in every Respect extended over the whole Colony, when it was most populous and Money most plenty; but theirs seems only to affect the wretch­ed Remains of Savannah.

We might have imagined that the Trustees were somewhat moved with our repeated Complaints, and that Mr. Causton's Removal was owing thereto; but alas! in this we were mistaken; nothing (as ever we could understand) was laid to his Charge on our Account; and it was of small Benefit to us whether the Misma­nagement of Money, which was the Reason of his Dis­mission, lies at his or Mr. Oglethorpe's Door: And we cannot but here take notice, that Mr. Causton's Cafe for­tifies the common Observation, That those who prostitute themselves to carry on illegal and oppressive Schemes, when they have once stack in the M [...]re, they are forsaken by their Employers, and despised by all the World besides.

Mr. Oglethorpe staid not long at Savannah, his com­mon Residence being at Frederica, where they had, in Imitation of us, built a few Houses, and cleared some Land; but finding Planting not answer, they left it off, and as soon as the Regiment came, almost every Body betook themselves to the keeping publick Houses; and in this Manner do the few that now remain live.

All the publick Work being put a Stop to, and clear­ing of Land being found impracticable, by which most of us had ruined ourselves, we were in a miserable Con­dition; and all Hope from Mr. Oglethorpe being at an End, we could hardly tell what to do: But still think­ing that the Trustees might be ignorant or misinformed of the present Condition of the Colony, we at last resolved to set forth our Grievances in a short and gene­ral Representation, to be signed by all the Freeholders in the Colony, of which the following is an exact Copy.

This Representation was signed with the greatest Wil­lingness by the above One hundred and seventeen Free­holders in the Country of Savannah, and only a very few of the General's Favourites declined to subscribe the same, so strong appeared to all of them the Truths therein contained, and the absolute Necessity of such an Application. The Jews applied for Liberty to sign with us, but we did not think it proper to join them in any of our Measures: We likewise did not allow Widows and Orphans to subscribe, because, as the Representat­ion contained the absolute Necessities of the Colony, it might be objected to us, that they were no proper Jud­ges. As for the People of Ebenezer, the Subscribers did particularly appoint some of their Number to wait upon Mr. Boltzius their pastor, and shew him the Represen­tation, which was done; and Mr. Boltzius declared, That the saltzburghers were equally dissatisfied with [Page 59] their Rights and Restriction as the other Freeholders, and he doubted not their Willingness to join petition­ning for Redress, engaging to consult them, and to bring their Answer, which he never did; and being thereafter questioned thereupon by Mr. Anderson (one of the Persons commissioned to commune with him as is above related) in the Presence of several Gentlemen, he the said Boltzius, after some frivolous Excuses, con [...]es­sed that the honourable Mr. Oglethorpe had both given them Satisfaction, and engaged him to write home to Germany for a further Supply of his Countrymen.

This Gentleman (we observe it with Regret) has been made the Instrument of imposing upon many British Sub­jects, by publishing Journals and Letters (to which we refer) most inconsistent with Truth.

Neither did we admit of servants to sign the same, lest it should be objected, that they were under the In­fluence of their Masters. By this our Conduct it will appear to every person of Impartiality how far we were from using Arts ^* to extort by Clamour a Redress of our Grievances.

A copy of the Representation was immediately sent to Frederica and another to Darien; the last was sent to Mr. John More M'Intosh, and under the same Cover a Letter to Mr. Benjamin M'Intosh but the first kept up the other's Letter, and sent his own with the Represen­tation to the General, who immediately dispatched Lt. George Dunbar (Who speaks the Highland Language, and has a very fluent and artful Way of talking) who, with the Assistance of More M'Intosh and Promises to the poor People of Cattle, (Which they afterwards got) with several other Considerations, soon perswaded them to sign a paper, the Design of which, they were told, was to oppose the People of savannah, who being Ene­mies to the General, were petitioning against him. As [Page 60] for their Leader M'Intosh, he was immediately set up in a Store, and plentifully supplied with all Kinds of Goods, and has often declared, That if, by acting as he did, he could live well himself, he did not care what be­came of the rest of the Colony; and as for his Children, they might go wander in the Woods with the Indians. As soon as it was heard that the Representation was come to Frederica, the Inhabitants were called together, and told, That the People of Savannah were going to throw off the Government of the Trustees, and had associated together for that Purpose; and therefore advis'd them to beware of any snare that might be laid by these People, which if they were caught in would ruin them. And thus was the De­sign of the Representation quash'd both in Darien and Frederica. Some time after this a Copy of the Repre­sentation was sent to Mr. Oglethorpe, together with the following Letter, which was wrote by an anonymous Author; which we think is partly an Explanation of the Representation, and likewise a true View of the Si­tuation of the Colony at that time, with the Character Mr. Oglethorpe then bore in it; and for these Reasons we here insert it: It was directed,

This Year there was promised a Bounty of Two Shil­lings Sterling on every Bushel of Corn, and One Shilling on every Bushel of Pease and Potatoes, raised in the County of Savannah: This induced some few to plant, but they were miserably deceived, for few or none of them ever received their full Bounty, and not many any Part thereof, (altho' if they had received it twice over it could not have answered the End.) People being thus, by a Chain of Disappointments and Miseries, most of them rendred incapable to subsist, and, toward the End of this Summer, beginning to despair of having any favou­rable Answer to their Representation, or Hopes of Re­dress, left the Colony faster than ever; and when the Answer (or rather Denial) came over, they went in such Numbers, that the whole Province of South-Carolina was overspread with them, and in and about the Town of Charlestown alone, this Autumn above Fifty Georgians died in Misery and want, most of whom were buried at the publick Charge.

In September a printed Paper, entitled, An Answer to the Representation, &c. was sent over, and arrived at Sa­vannah, and of which this is an exact Copy.

We shall not in this Place detain the Reader, to shew the Absurdity and Insufficiency of the Reasons made use of in the above Paper, or how improperly it is cal­led An Answer to the Representation, but refer them to the whole Tenor of this Narrative. With this Paper came over new Commissions for Magistrates, viz. Messrs. Thomas Christie, First, John Fallowfield, Second, and Thomas Jones, Third Bailiffs, and Mr. William William­son, Recorder: And, as if the Inhabitants had not been sufficiently punished before by the arbitrary Govern­ment of Causton, the Two Offices of Store-Keeper and Magistrate were again joined in One Person, which in­fallibly renders him, whoever he is, absolute in Savan­nah. And indeed if the Miseries and Hardships of the People could have received any Addition, they must have done so from the Person appointed to execute those Offices, namely, Mr. Thomas Jones Third Bailiff, as be­fore mentioned, who surpassed Mr. Causton in every Thing that was bad, without having any one of his good Qualifications: And that he might the more easily go­vern at Pleasure, Mr. Oglethorpe thought proper to su­persede the Commissions of Messrs. Thomas Christie and William Williamson, and continued Mr. Henry Parker as First Magistrate, being sure he was a Person that would always be in the Interest of Whoever was Store-Keeper; and having no other Magistrate to cope with but Mr. Fallowfield, they were certain of over-ruling him, tho' [Page 74] his Sentiments were never so just. And when the Gene­ral heard that some People justly complained that the Trustees Commissions were of none effect, he threatned an armed Force if they refused to comply.

William Stephens, Esq Messrs. Thomas Christie and Thomas Jones. were likewise appointed to inspect into Causton's Accounts; but Christie was altogether reject­ed by the other two; nor did they ever do any thing to the Purpose: Indeed Jones would sometimes hector and domineer over Causton, in as haughty a Manner as ever he had formerly done over the meanest Person in Sa­vannah.

Although the Trustees say in their Answer to the Re­presentation, That they should think themselves very unfit for the Trust reposed in them, should they, by an irrational Attempt, alter the Entail of Lands; yet not one Month after we had received the aforesaid Answer, over comes the following Paper, viz.

We believe this Paper will perplex most People, who have not throughly studied the Law, to make Sense of it; and as there were no Lawyers in Georgia, it would seem as if it had been sent over with no other End, than that it should not be understood; and indeed it rather tended to add to the Con [...]usions in the Colony, than to promote the Benefit of it: We can only assure the Rea­der, that it had no good Effect in Georgia, and that it was kept up there as much as possible from the People, only a fictitious Abridgment thereof, with the same Title and the same Way signed, being publickly exhi­bited in Writing: But this was needless Caution; for not One in Twenty of them would have understood any one Paragraph of it. In October 1739, the General is­sue, out his Proclamation for granting Letters of Marque and [...]; and the Inhabitants being called together in the Court-house , he there makes them a very elabo­rate speech, and , amongst other Things, tells them, [Page 89] That he was design'd against St. Augustine, and if he did not take it, he would leave his Bones before the Walls there­of: But he is now at Frederica, and, as we have too much Reason to believe this Castle is still in the Hands of the Spaniards. A little after this we had another In­stance how much our Benefactors had our Interest and Welfare at heart; for at this Time it was given out, That all the Cattle that were unmark'd belong'd to the Tru­stees as Lords of Mann [...]r; and Orders were given that they should be mark'd accordingly: But People [...]renuously insisting to the contrary, the Design was dropt for that Time. On the 4th of November Mr. oglethorpe departed from Savannah; and he now seems to have entirely forgot it: And it is certain, that ever since the Affair of the Representation, according to his own Words, the very Name of the Place is become hate­ful to him, as are all those who he thought were Ring­leaders in that Affair; some of whom he endeavour'd to threaten and bribe to a Recantation, but to little pur­pose; two or three being the most (to the best of our Knowledge) that he could gain, and even those, we be­lieve, never gave any thing under their Hands. One flagrant Instance of the indirect Practices he used to draw People into his Measures was as follows: ^* in Summer 1739, when it was thought the Representa­tion would have succeeded, Mes [...]rs. Grant, Douglass, Stirling and Baillie, who had been old Settlers in the Colony, and who had in a manner ruin'd them­selves, as others had done, either by Planting or Build­ing, wrote to the Trustees for an Island, and at the same time applied to Mr. oglethorpe for it; he appeared mighty glad at their Resolution, and told them, That if they would agree to what he had to propose, the granting of an Island should be nothing in respect to what he would do for them: They told him, They would do any thing [Page 90] that was consistent with their knowledge and Conscience: Then they were dismissed, and the next Day they were to know his Mind; that being come, two of his Emis­saries were sent separately with Proposals, which they afterwards wrote in order to be signed, but refused a Copy thereof: These Proposals were to the following Effect, viz. To acknowledge they were in the wrong for having any Hand in the making or signing the Re­presentation; to ask the General's Pardon for so doing; and to assert that they believed the Colony might flou­rish according to the then present Constitution: These Things complied with, they should have what Money they were pleased to ask for, with Horses, Cattle and every Thing else they wanted, together with the Gene­ral's perpetual Friendship and Assistance; if not compli­ed with, they might expect nothing but his highest Re­sentment. They answered, That they never expected, nor did they think they ever asked for any Favours from the Ge­neral; and as for his Resentment, they believed they had already felt the utmost of it. In whatever Shape the Ge­neral wrote home of this Affair is not known, but how­ever, from what he wrote, the Trustees thought fit at first positively to deny their Request, in a Letter which came to their Hands in July 1740, of which this is an exact Copy.

To this they returned the following Answer.

About the latter End of May 1740, Mr. Oglethorpe set out with his Regiment for Florida, and soon after the Carolina Forces, consisting of about Six hundred Men, joined him, with about Three hundred Indians, and Six­ty Highlanders Volunteers from Darien, who were buoyed up by the General with the mighty Hopes of Reward, besides several Stragglers and Boatmen from other Parts of the Province and elsewhere; so that, exclusive of Se­ven Men of War, there might be about Fifteen hundred effective Men assisting at the Siege, as it was called, of the Castle of St. Augustine. But we shall take no further Notice of this Affair, than as it has affected or may still affect the Colony of Georgia: The Place being alarm­ed, the Highlanders, with some others, making in all One hundred and forty one Men, were posted at Musa, (this was a [...]all Fort about a Mile distant from the Castle which had been abandoned by the Spaniards at the General's first Approach) where they were soon af­ter [Page 99] attacked by a Superior Force of the Enemy, and a miserable Slaughter ensued, scarcely one Third of the Number escaping, the others being either killed or ta­ken Prisoners. Thus these poor People, who, at the Expence of their Consciences, signed a Representation contrary to their own Interest and Experience, and gave themselves entirely up to the General's Service, by their Deaths at once freed his Excellency from his Debts and Promises, and put an End to the Settlement of Da­rien; for there are now in that Place not one Quarter Part of the Number who settled there at first, and that is made up chiefly of Women and Children; and a Scout-Boat is stationed before the Town to Prevent a­ny of them from going off.

This Siege was raised about the Beginning of July; the General with the Remainder of his Regiment re­turned to Frederica; the Carolina Forces were shipped off for that Province; the few Georgians that were left repaired, as soon as they were allowed, to their seve­ral Homes in a miserable Condition; and the Indians marched towards their respective Countries, very much weakned and discontented; the Cherokees returned, as they came, by Savannah, and of One hundred and ten healthy Men only about Twenty got to their Nation, the rest either perished by Sickness or were slain: And thus ended the Campaign in Florida.

During these Transactions Savannah decayed apace; and in August and September the same Year People went away by Twenties in a Vessel, insomuch that one would have thought the Place must have been entirely forsa­ken; for in these two Months about One hundred Souls out of the County of Savannah left the Colony; many others have since left it, and, we believe, more will leave it very soon.

The Boats with their Hands which the General em­ployed at that unfortunate Expedition he neither will pay, subsist, or let depart from that Place; however [Page 100] they are stealing away by Degrees ^*: And at this Time of about Five thousand Souls, that had at various Embarkations arrived in the Colony of Georgia, October 1740. exclusive of the Regiment, scarce as many Hundreds remain, and these consist of the Saltzburghers at Ebenezer, who are yearly supported from Germany and England; the People of Frederica, who are supported by means of the Regiment; the poor Re­mainder of the Darien; a few Orphans, and others un­der the Denomination, supported by Mr. Whitefield; to­gether with some Dutch Servants maintained for doing nothing by the Trustees, with Thirty or Forty necessary Tools to keep the others in Subjection: And Those make up the poor Remains of the miserable Colony of Geor­gia ^†

Having now brought down this Work to the Month of October 1740, being about the Time most of the Au­thors of this NARRATIVE were obliged to leave that fatal Colony, we shall conclude the whole with a geo­graphical and historical Account of its present State.

GEORGIA lies in the 30 and 31 Degrees of North Latitude: The Air generally clear, the Rains be­ing much shorter as well as heavier than in England; the Dews are very great; Thunder and Lightning are expect­ed almost every Day in May, June, July, and August; they are very terrible, especially to a Stranger: During those Months, from Ten in the Morning to Four in the Afternoon, the Sun is extremely scorching; but the Sea­breeze sometimes blows from Ten till Three or Four: The Winter is nearly of the same Length as in England; but the Mid-day Sun is always warm, even when the Mornings and Evenings are very sharp, and the Nights piercing cold.

[Page 101] The Land is of Four Sorts, Pine-Barren, Oak-Land, Swamp and Marsh. The Pine Land is of far the great­est Extent, especially near the Sea-Coasts: The Soil of this is a dry whitish Sand, producing Shrubs of several Sorts, and between them a harsh coarse kind of Grass, which Cattle do not love to feed upon; but here and there is a little of a better kind, especially in the Savan­nas, so they call the low watry Meadows which are usually intermixed with Pine Lands: It bears naturally two Sorts of Fruit, Hurtle-Berries much like those in England, and Chinquopin-Nuts, a dry Nut about the Size of a small Acorn: A labo [...]ious Man may in one Year clear and plant four or five Acres of this Land: It will produce the first Year from two to four Bushels of Indi­an Corn, and from four to eight of Indian Pease per Acre; the second Year it usually bears much about the same; the third less; the fourth little or nothing. Peaches it bears well; likewise the White Mulberry, which serves to feed the Silk-Worms; the Black is about the Size of a Black Cherry, and has much the same Flavour.

The Oak-Land commonly lies in narrow Streaks be­tween Pine-Lands and Swamps, Creeks or Rivers: The Soil is a blackish sand, producing several Kinds of Oak, Bay, Laurel, Ash, Walnut, Sumach and Gum Trees, a sort of Sycamore Dog Trees and Hickory: In the Choicest Part of this Land grow Parsimon Trees, and a few Black Mulberry and American Cherry Trees: The Common wild Grapes are of two Sorts, both red; the Fox-Grape grow two or three only on a Stalk, is thick-Skin'd, large ston'd, of a harsh Taste, and of the Size of a small Cher­ry; the Cluster-Grape is of a harsh Taste too, and about the Size of a white Curran. This Land requires much Labour to clear; but when it is cleared, it will bear a­ny Grain for three, four or five Years sometimes without laying any Manure upon it: An Acre of it generally produces ten Bushels of Indian Corn, besides five of Pease, in a Year; so that this is justly esteemed the most valu­able [Page 102] Land in the Province, white People being incapable to clear and cultivate the Swamps.

A Swamp is any low watry Place, which is covered with Trees or Canes: They are here of three Sorts, Cy­press, River and Cane Swamps: Cypress Swamps are most­ly large Ponds, in and round which Cypresses grow. Most River Swamps are overflown on every Side by the River which runs through or near them; if they were drained they would produce good Rice; as would the Cane Swamps also, which in the mean time are the best Feeding for all Sorts of Cattle.

The Marshes are of two Sorts; soft wet Marsh, which is all a Quagmire, and absolutely good for nothing, and hard Marsh, which is a firm Sand, but however at some seasons is good for feeding Cattle. Marshes of both Sorts abound on the Sea-Islands, which are very nume­rous, and contain all Sorts of Land, and upon these chief­ly near Creeks and Runs of Water, Cedar Trees grow.

We shall only add to the above, That considering no Land can be sowed (or at least what is sowed preserved) till the same is inclosed, that five Acres is the utmost a very able and laborious Man can propose to manage, this being the quantity allotted for the Task of a Ne­gro in the neighbouring Province, which Negro works four Hours each Day more than a white Man can do.

It must next be noticed, that with regard to the a­bove Returns, (suppose a prosperous Season without Disappointments, which is not the Case in such small Improvements as can be expected in an infant Colony one Year infive either Drought burns, or Rain drowns the Corn, and makes the Pease fall out of the Pod; Dear, which no Fences can exclude, devour those little Settlements in a Night; Rats and Squirrels do the same; Birds eat the Seed out of the Ground, and dig up the Blade after it is spired; and Variety of Worms and In­sects devour the one half of it: But let us suppose none of [Page 103] those Evils happened, let us view the Amount of the Produce valued at the highest Rate.

The Produce of five Acres of Pine-Land raised by one Hand the first Year.

The secondYear the same; the third less; the fourth little or nothing.

Best Oak-Land, five Acres, at 15 Bushels of Corn and Pease per Acre, is 75 Bushels at ditto Price, is 4 l. 13 s. 9 d. Sterling.

Let us next consider the Maintenance of every single white Servant per annum at the lowest Rate, and then the Reader will be able to judge whether white Peo­ple can get their Livelihood by planting Land in this Climate without Negroes; and the Allowance to the Trustees Dutch Servants being the least at which any white Servant could be maintained in Georgia, we shall therefore take our Estimation from it, which is Eight Pence Sterling per Day, or 12 l. 3 s. 4 d. Sterl. per an­num; so that at a Medium the Expence is three Times greater than the Produce, besides Tools, Medicines and other Necessaries.

We must likewise observe, that the Proportion of Pine-Barren to either good Swamp or Oak and Hickory Land, is at least six to one; that the far greater Number of the small Lots have none, or very little Oak Land; and if they had Swamp that would bear Rice, white People are unable to clear them if they are covered with Trees, and tho' only with Canes, which is the easiest to cultivate, it were simply impossible to manufacture the Rice by white Men, the Exercise being so severe, [Page 104] that no Negro can be employed in any other Work or Labour comparable to it, and many Hundreds of them, notwithstanding all the Care of their Masters, yearly lose their Lives by that necessary Work.

Savannah stands on a flat Bluff, (so they term a high Lands hanging over a Creek or River) which rises about Forty Feet perpendicular from the River, and commands it several Miles both upwards and downwards; and, if it was not for a Point of Woods which, about four Miles down the River, stretches itself out towards the South­east, one might have a View of the Sea and the Island of [...] The Soil is a white Sand for above a Mile in Breadth South-east and North-west; beyond this, east­ward, is a River Swamp; westward a small Body of Wood-land, (in which was the old Indian Town) se­parated by a Creek from a large Tract of Land, which runs upwards along the Side of the River for the Space of about five Miles, and being by far the best near the Town, is reserved for the Indians, as General Oglethorpe declares, as are also some of the Islands in the River Savannah, and the three most valuable Islands upon all the Coast of that Province, viz. Oss [...], St. Katharine and [...]. South-West of the Town is a Pine-Barren that C [...]ends about fourteen Miles to V [...]rn [...]n River.

On the East-Side of the Town is situated the Publick Garden, being ten Acres inclosed, on a barren Piece of Land, where it is hardly possible for what is planted to live, but impossible to thrive; and from this Garden [...] all the Planters to have been furnished with Mul­be [...], Trees, &c.

The plan of the Town was beautifully laid out inWards, Tithing, and publick Squares left at proper [...] for Markets and publick Buildings, the whole [...] an agreeable Uniformity.

The publick Works in this Town are, [...]being one handsome Room with [...]: This likewise serves for a Church [...] [Page 105] vice, none having been ever built, notwithstanding the Trustees in their publick Acts acknowledge the Receipt of about Seven hundred Pounds Sterling from charitable Persons for that express Purpose.

2dly,Opposite to the Court-house stands the Log-house or Prison, (which is the only one remaining of five or six that have been successively built in Savannah) that Place of Terror and Support of absolute Power in Georgia.

3dly, Nigh thereto is a House built of Logs, at a very great Charge, as was said, for the Trustees Steward; the Foundation below Ground is already rotten ^*, as the whole Fabrick must be in a short Time; for the Roof being flat, the Rain comes in at all Parts of it.

4th, The Store-house, which has been many times al­tered and amended at a very great Charge; and it now serves as a Store for the private Benefit of one or two, as before mentioned.

5th, The Guard-house, which was first built on the Bluff, soon decayed, as did a second through improper Management, this now standing being the third. Seve­ral Flag-staff's were likewise erected, the last of which, according to common Report, cost 50 l. Sterling.

6th, A Publick Mill for grinding Corn was first erect­ed at considerable Expence in one Square of the Town; but in about three Years Time, without doing the least Service, it fell to the Ground. In another Square of the Town a second was set up, at a far greater Expence, but never finished, and is now erazed and converted into a House for entertaining the Indians, and other such like Uses.

7th, Wells and Pumps were made at a great Charge; but they were immediately choked up, and never ren­dred useful, tho' this Grievance was frequently repre­sented both to the General and Magistrates, the want of Wells obliging the Inhabitants to use the River Water, [Page 106] which all the Summer over is polluted with putrid Mar­shes, and the numberless Insects that deposite their O­va there, together with putrified Carcases of Animals and corrupted Vegetables; and this no doubt occasion­ed much of the Sickness that swept off many.

Several of the House which were built by Freehold­ers, for want of Heirs-male, are fallen to the Trustees, even to the Prejudice of the lawful Creditors of the de­ceased, and are disposed of as the General thinks pro­per.

At least Two hundred Lots were taken up in Savannah, about One hundred and seventy of which were built ^* up­on; a great many of these are now ruinous, and many more shut up and abandoned; so that the Town appears very desolate, scarce one quarter Part of its Inhabitants being left, and most of those in a miserable Condition for want of the proper Necessaries of Life.

St. Simon's Island having on the East the Gulf of Flo­rida, on the other Sides Branches of the Alatamaha, is about One hundred Miles South of Savannah, and extends in Length about Twenty, in Breadth from two to five Miles; on the West-side of it, on a low Bluff, stands Frederica, having Woods to the North and South, to the East partly Woods, partly Savannas and partly Marsh.

The Soil is mostly blackish Sand; the Fortifications are augmented since the Retreat from Auguatine, and here [...]ly most of the Remains of General Oglethorpe's Re­giment. Frederica was laid out in Form of a Crescent divided into One hundred and forty four Lots, whereof about Fifty were built upon; the Number of the Inha­bitants, notwithstanding of the Circulation of the Regi­ment's Money, are not above One hundred and twenty, Men, Women and Children, and these are daily steal­ [...] [...] all possible Ways. On the Sea-Point, [...] South-east of the Town, were three Com­panies [Page 107] of the Soldiers stationed before the Attempt up­on St. Augustine, several pretty Houses were built by the Officers, and many Lots set off to the Soldiers, and entred upon by them, most, if not all, now desolate. Several of the Officers of the Regiment brought over Servants to cultivate Land, Col. Cochran 20 Servants, Lt. Horton at Jekyl 16 Servants, Capt. Gascoign at least as many, all gone, and, according to the best of our In­formation, about Two hundred of the Regiment are di­minished.

About Twenty Miles North-west from St Simon's is DARIEN, the Settlement of the Scots Highlanders; the Town is situate on the Main-Land, close to a Branch of the Alatamaha River, on a Bluff Twenty Feet high; the Town is surrounded on all Sides with Woods, the Soil is a blackish Sand: Here were upwards of Two hun­dred and fifty Persons settled, who in Spring 1736 built a large Fort for their own Protection; and the poor Re­mains of these are now no more than Fifty three, (above Two Thirds of which are Women and Children) besides eleven of the Trustees Servants inlisted as Soldiers, and stationed there under the Command of an Officer, in or­der to keep the others from going away, who are ne­vertheless making their Escape daily.

The southermost Settlement in Georgia is FORT ST. ANDREWS, Fifty Miles South from Frederica, on the South-west Side of Cumberland Island, upon a high Neck of Land which commands the River both Ways; the Walls are of Wood, filled up with Earth, round which are a Ditch and Pallisade; two Companies of General Oglethorpe's Regiment were formerly stationed there, but are now mostly drawn to Frederica.

Opposite to Frederica, on the Main, were settled Mes­sieurs Carr and Carteret, with above Twenty Servants, where they cleared a considerable Tract of Land; but that Plantation is now quitted, and their Servants either dead or dispersed. We have lately heard from Frederica, [Page 108] that the General having station'd ten or twelve Men up­on this Place, they were attacked by Spaniards or Spa­nish Indians, four were killed, four carried off, and two left wounded.

NEW EBENEZER, to which the Saltzburghers re­moved from their former Habitation at Old Ebenezer, consists of about One hundred Persons, under the Govern­ment of Mr. Boltzius their Pastor; they live and labour in a kind of Community, and never commix or associate with Strangers; they have been hitherto liberally sup­ported both from Germany and England, and their Rights and Privileges have been much more extensive than any others in the Colony: This Town lies six Miles East­ward from the Old, on a high Bluff upon the Side of Savannah River, and forty Miles from Savannah. Near to this Place, on a Creek of the same River, was built a Saw-Mill, which cost of the Publick Money above Fifteen hundred Pounds Sterling; but, like most other publick Works, is now entirely ruinous.

About ten Miles East of Ebenezer, on a Creek three Miles from the River, was the Village of ABERCORN; in the year 1733 there were ten Families settled there, and several afterwards: In the Year 1737, Mr. John Brodie with twelve Servants settled there: But all those are gone, and it is now a Heap of Ruins.

Four Miles below Abercorn, upon the River side is Joseph's Town, which was the Settlement of some Scots Gentlemen with thirty Servants; but they have now left it, most of their Servants having died there.

A Mile below, on the River Side, is the Settlement where Sit Francis Bathurst, with twelve in Family and Servants, was placed, now in Ruins, without an Inha­bitant.

A quarter of a Mile below was the Settlement of Walter Augustine with six in Family: Within this Set­tlement was another Mill erected, at the Charge of a­bove 800 l. Sterling, all now in Ruins, Without an In­habitant.

[Page 109] A Mile below is Landiloe, the Settlement of Mr. Ro­bert Williams, with forty Servants, who made large Im­provements there, and continued for the space of four Years, planting each Season with great Industry in va­rious Shapes, still expecting (with the other Settlers) an Alteration in the Constitution; but at last having sunk a great deal of Money, he was obliged to leave it, with the Loss of above Two thousand Pounds Sterling; and it is now uninhabited, and very much decayed. Next below that is the Five hundred Acre Tract belonging to Dr. Patrick Tailfer; which was settled, but found im­practicable to proceed upon, by reason of the Hardships and Restrictions in the Colony. Next to that is Mr.Jacob Matthews's Plantation (formerly Mr. Musgrove's) called the Cow-pen, who lived there some time with ten Servants; but has now left it, and keeps only two or three to look after his Cattle. Adjoining to this was Mr. Cooksey's Settlement, with five in Family; now entirely abandoned. Next to this was Captain Watson's Planta­tion, with a good House, now in Ruins. All these lie upon the side of the River. And upon the East and Southward were the Settlements of Young, Emery, Pol­hil and Warwick; all forsaken. Next upon the River side is the Indian Land before mentioned, separated from the foregoing Settlements by a Creek, and running all along to the Town. A little below this Creek is a Place called Irene, where Mr. John Wesly built a pretty good House for an Indian School; but he soon wearied of that Undertaking, and left it. A little below this is the Indian Town called New-Yamacra, where the Re­mainder of Tomo Chachi's Indians reside.

Five Miles South-west of Savannah, on a small Rise, Stands the Village of Highgate: Twelve Families were settled here in 1733, mostly French, now reduced to Two. A Mile Eastward of this is Hampstead, where se­veral German Families were settled in 1733, and some others since, now reduced to none.

[Page 110] Five Miles South-east of Savannah is THOUSAND­BOLT, where there was a good Timber Fort, and three Families with twenty Servants were settled; but it is now all in Ruins and abandoned.

Four Miles South of this is the Island of skiddoway, on the North-east Point whereof ten Families were set­tled in 1733; now reduced to none.

A Creek divides skiddoway from TYBEE Island, on the South-east Part of which, fronting the Inlet, the Light-House is built: Twelve Families were settled here in 1734, who have now forsaken it.

Twelve Miles Southward by Land from Savannah is Mr. Houston's Plantation, kept with one Servant. And,

About thirty Miles from that, up the River Ogeeche, was the Settlements of Messrs. Stirlings, &c. with twenty five Servants: This Place, when they went there, was the Southermost Settlement in the Colony, and very ^* remote; so that they were obliged to build at their own Expence and at a considerable Charge, a strong Wooden Fort for their Defence. And the said Messrs. Stirlings having resided there about three Years with the Servants, they were obliged to leave it, after having exhausted their Fortune to no purpose in the Experi­ment.

Twenty Miles above this, on a high Bluff on the same River, stands Fort Argyle: ^† 'Tis a small square Wooden Fort, Musket-proof: Ten Families were set­tled here and about it, now all gone; and the Fort itself garrison'd by oneofficerone Dutch Servant, and one Woman, who were lately surprized, in the Officer's Absence, by twoPrisoners that broke out of the Log­house in Savannah, and both murdered.

[Page 111] Near the Mouth of Vernon River, upon a kind of an Island, which is called Hope Isle, are the Settlements of Messrs. John Fallowfield, Henry Parker and Noble Jones: They have made some Improvements there, but chiefly Mr. Fallowfield, who has a pretty little convenient House and Garden, with a considerable stock of Hogs, and some Cattle, &c and where he generally resides with his Family. Near adjoining to this, upon a piece of Land which commands the^* Narrows, is a Timber Building called Jones's Fort; which serves for two Uses, namely, to support Mr. Noble Jones, who is Commander of it, and to prevent the poor People of Frederica from getting to any other Place, where they might be able to support themselves.

About three Miles south-east of Savannah, upon Au­gustine Creek, lies Oxstead, the Settlement of Mr. Tho­mas Causton, improven by many Hands, and at a great Charge, where he now resides with a few Servants. Be­twixt Oxstead and the Town of Savannah lie, Ist, Hermitage, the Settlement of Mr. Hugh Anderson, who had Seventeen in Family and Servants; but he was obliged both to leave that and retire from the Colony about two Years ago, upon account of the general Hardships. 2dly, The Settlements of Mr. Thomas Christi [...], and six others belonging to the Township of Savannah; all now forsaken. 3dly, The Settlements of the Germans of Count Zinzendorff, who were twenty Families; which are likewise now entirely abandon'd, they having all gone to other Colonies.

Upon the West-side of Savannah lie the Township Lots of the Jews, now deserted, they having all gone to other colonies, except three or four; as are all others on that Quarter, excepting one or two

About three Miles from Savannah, on the South, the [Page 112] Settlement of Mr. William Williamson is in the same Con­dition: And also,

The Settlement belonging to the Trustees adjoining to Mr. Williamson's; which was committed by them to the Care of Mr. William Bradly their Steward, to be cul­tivated and improved by him at their Charge, as an Ex­ample to others, and to satisfy themselves what Im­provements in Land were practicable by white Servants. The Event might have open'd the Eyes of any that would see: Upwards of twenty, sometimes thirty Ser­vants were employ'd; above Two thousand Pounds Ster­ling expended in the Experiment; and never so much of any kind of Grain raised from it, as would have main­tain'd the Numbers employed about it six Months: It now lies on a par with the most ruinous Plantation in Georgia. Part of their Dutch Servants have been em­ployed last Year by Mr. Thomas Jones, upon a new Plantation about a Mile to the Southward of Savannah: They were twenty five in Number, and maintain'd at the Expence of [...] d. Sterl. each per diem; and we have late­ly been credibly informed, the whole Produce did not exceed One hundred Bushels of corn.

The Orphan-House is situated about fourteen Miles South-east of Savannah: This famous Work was be­gun in March 1740; and during the Space of six Months there were about One hundred People, Men, Women and Children, maintain'd and employ'd about it; and, according to their own Calculation, they have expend­ed near Four thousand Pounds Sterling: But ever since Mr. Whitefield left Georgia the latter End of August, in the same Year, it has decayed apace; for, besides those he then carried to the Northward with him, a great ma­ny have since left them; and their Money growing short, they were soon obliged to discharge most of the Workmen; besides, of late, many Divisions have arisen amongst them: In short, the Design seems to be dra [...] ­ing near a Period, altho' at this Time the House itself [Page 113] is scarcely half finished: It is built upon a low Pine Barren, surrounded one Side with a large Tract of Salt Marsh, extending to Vernon River, to which they have a Passage by Water, when the Tides are up, for small Craft; on the other Side it is Surrounded with Woods: They have cleared about ten Acres of Ground, and have built several Houses and Huts. The Frame of the Orphan-House is up, the Roof Shingled ^†, and the Sides weather boarded: it is sixty Feet in length, for­ty Feet wide: It has two Stories besides Cellars and Gar­rets; the Cellars are built of Brick, which likewise serves for a Foundation to the whole Building: It would cer­tainly be a fine Piece of Work, is finished: but if it were finished, where is the Fund for its Support? and what Service can an Orphan-House be in a Desart and a for­saken Colony?

About three or four Miles from the Orphan-House, on the Side of Vernon River, William Stephens, Esq for­merly mentioned, has a Plantation with five or six Ser­vants, who have cleared about seven or eight Acres: However, if he reaps no Benefit from them, he is at as little Charge to maintain them ^*

As it would be too tedious to mention particularly the Township or five and forty five Acre Lots, being in all about One Hundred that were settled, we need only therefore in general say, that there are few or none of them but what are in the same Condition with those be­fore specified, viz. ruinous and desolate.

The last Place we shall mention is AUGUSTA, distant from Savannah two hundred Miles up the River, on the same Side: It was founded in 1737, at a consi­derable [Page 114] Charge, under the Direction of one Mr. Roger Lacy, being at that time Agent to the Cherokee Nation: It is principally, if not altogether, inhabited by Indian Traders and Store-keepers, the Number of whom may now be about thirty or upwards; and a considerable Quantity of Corn has been raised there. To account for this singular Circumstance, we shall only assign two Reasons; the first is the Goodness of the Land, which as so great a Distance from the Sea is richer than in the maritime Parts; the second and chief one is, that the Settlers there are indulged and connived at in the Use of Negroes, by whom they execute all the Laborious Parts of Culture; and the Fact is undoubted and cer­tain, that upwards of eighty Negroes are now in the Set­tlements belonging to that Place: We do not observe this, as if it gives us any Uneasiness that our Fellow­Planters are indulged in what is so necessary for their Well-being; but we may be allowed to regret, that we and so many British Subjects, who stood much more in need of them, should have been ruined for want of such Assistances.

Having now taken a [...] of the Colony of Georgia, we shall conclude this Treatise, by taking Notice of two or three of the most remarkable Transactions in it since Octoberlast.

On the 10th Day of November a Court was called at Savannah, where Colonel Stephens read a Paragraph of a letter, which he said was from the Trustees, desiring the Inhabitants to set forth their Miseries, Hardships and Difficulties in Writing, in order to have the Seal of the Colony annexed thereto, and to transmitted to the Trustees: Whereupon Mr. Stephens gave the Recorder a Paper to read, in which the Colony was represented in a most flourishing Condition, (in the Town of Augusta alone there we [...] represented to be 600 white People, and [...] Pack-horses belonging thereto, who were employed in the [...] Trade) enumerating the [Page 115] many useful, fine and curious Productions of it, such as Hedges with Pomegranates growing upon them, Wine, Silk, Oil, Wheat, &c. with many other Hyperboles. This Paper Mr. Stephens said he had been at great Care and Pains about, and which he took to a just An­swer to the Trustees Letter with the true State of the Colony: But the poor People seeing the Absurdity and Fal [...]eness of it, soon discovered their Dislike thereof by their leaving the Court-house, and only eighteen Persons signed the same, every one of whom were supported in one Shape or other by the Public. Mr. Fallowfield, then on the Bench, used what Arguments he could to per­swade him, that it was reasonable every Person should represent his own Case to the Trustees, and he appre­hended the Design of the Trustees was such; but Ste­phens in a Passion said, Except they would sign this, they should have the publick Seal to no other Paper; so it was to no Purpose what either he or the Recorder Mr. John Py could urge, who very soon left the Court, declaring their Dislike and Abhorrence of such Proceedings; but immediately they, with the rest of the Inhabitants, to the Number of above sixty, drew up a Remonstrance to the Trustees, in which they fully set forth the true State of the Colony, with their own miserable Condition in it: This Paper, and soon after a Petition to the King and Council &c. were lately transmitted to the Authors hereof, who immediately forwarded them for London; but as the Issue thereof is now depending, we do not think it proper to expose them to the Publick.

On the 2d of April last a Fire broke out by Ac­cident in the Smith's Forge in Savannah, which consum­ed almost one whole Square; and in the highest Rage of the devouring Flames Mr. Thomas Jones stood an idle Spectator with his Hands in his Bosom, and with the utmost Unconcernedness; insomuch that when he was applied to by several of the miserable People for a small Quantity of Gun-powder to blow up an adjoining House [Page 116] in order to prevent the Fire from spreading, his Answer was, I can do nothing in it, I have no Orders concerning such Matters.

We have lately been informed from Frederica, that the General having stationed twelve Men upon the Place which was the Settlement of Messrs. Carr and Carteret before mentioned, they were attacked by Spaniards or Spanish Indians, and four were killed, four carried off, and two wounded.

A good many of the People have come away from Frederica lately, and in order to get off were obliged to make use of Stratagems, such as going a hunting upon the Islands, &c. We are informed that some Differen­ces have happened betwixt the General and some of the Magistrates there, and that in the Place of one of them he has appointed one of his Waiting-boys. Several of the poor Remainder of the Darien People have likewise escaped, notwithstanding the Body of Forces stationed there to prevent them.

Having thus brought this historical NARRATIVE within the Compass proposed, and endeavoured to dis­pose the Materials in as distinct a Method and Series as the necessary Conciseness would allow, we readily ad­mit that the Design is far from being complete. to have acquainted the World with all the Hardships and Op­pressions which have been exercised in the Colony of Georgia, must have required both a larger Volume than we are capable of publishing, and more Time than we could bestow: We therefore satisfy ourselves that we have with care and sincerity executed so much of the Design as may pave the Way to any others who can descend more minutely to Particulars; and those who are best acquainted with the Affairs of that Colony will be most capable of judging how tenderly we have tou­ched both Persons and Things.

[...] Only remains that we in a few Paragraphs endea­vour to exhibite to the View of the Reader the REAL. [Page 117] Causes of the Ruin and Desolation of the Colony, and these briefly are the following.

1. the representing the Climate, Soil, . of Georgia in false and too flattering Colours; at least the not contradi­cting those Accounts when publickly printed and dispersed, and satisfying the World in a true and genuine Description thereof.

2. The restricting the Tenure of Lands from a Fie-sample to Tail Male, cutting off Daughters and all other Relations.

3. The restraining the Proprietor from selling, disposing of, or leasing any Possession.

4. The restricting too much the Extent of Possessions, it being impossible that fifty Acres of good Land, much loss Pine-Barren, could maintain a white Family.

5. the laying the Planter under a Variety of Restraints in clearing, fencing, planting, &c. which was impossible to be complied with.

6. The exacting a much higher Quit-Rent than the richest Grounds in North-America can bear

7. But chiefly the denying the Use of Negroes, and per­sisting in such Denial, after by repeated Applications we had humbly remonstrated the Impossibility of making Improve­ments to any Advantage with white Servants.

8. The denying us the Privilege of being judged by the Laws of our Mother-Country, and subjecting the Lives and Fortunes of all People in the Colony to one Person or Set of Men, who assumed the Privilege, under the Name of a Court of Chancery, of acting according to their own Will and Fancy.

9. General Oglethorpe's taking upon him to nominate Magistrates, appoint Justices of the Peace, and to do ma­ny other such Things, without, without over exhibiting to the People any legal Commission or Authority for so doing.

10. The neglecting the proper Means for encouraging the Silk and Wine Manufactures, and disposing of the liberal sums contributed by the Publick and by private Persons, [Page 118] in such Ways and channels as have been of little or no Ser­vice to the colony.

11. The misapplying or keeping up Sums of Money which have been appointed [...] particular Uses; such as building a Church, &c. several Hundreds of Pounds sterling, as we are informed, having been lodged in Mr. Oglethorpe's Hands for some Years by past for that Purpose, and not one Stone of it yet laid.

12. The assigning certain fixed Tracts of Land to those who came to settle in the Colony, without any Regard to the Quality of the Ground, Occupation, Judgment, Ability or Inclination of the Settler, &c &c &c

By these and many other such Hardships the Poor In­habitants of Georgia are scattered over the Face of the Earth; her Plantations a Wild, her Towns a Desart, her Villages in Rubbish, her Improvements a By-word, and her Liberties a jest; an Object of Pity to Friends, and of Insult, Contempt and Ridicule to Enemies.