kind, were groaning under the consequences of those misfortunes, and incapable of serving themselves or country at home: And lastly, to set a foot such new manufactures as might be most useful to support the colony, or tend to rectify the balance of trade of Great-Britain with neighboring nations-a design truly great, founded on the justest policy, and practicable. To suggest that any low private design was ever laid down, that might tend to make the adventurers slaves, or, at best, tenants at will; or that it was a concert to leave the industry and substance of the settlers exposed to satisfy the ambition or covetousness of an after governor, or any particular courtier or party; or to imagine that the honorable board of trustees or any of them, could be capable of such a concert; I say, sir, that such a thought were impious. What wonder then, if numbers of persons, encouraged by his majes ty's most ample rights and privileges, granted in his royal charter to the honorable trustees for the behalf of the inhabitants; from the beautiful des cription of the fertility of the soil and happiness of the climate; and lastly, from a view that Mr. Oglethorpe, a gentleman of the greatest humanity and generosity, was willing to sacrifice his ease, and all those pleasures and enjoyments which his easy circumstances in life intitled him to, in order to be the patron and father of the distressed, and the distinguished friend of his country, society and human nature: I say, sir, no wonder if num

bers upon those views, embarked their persons, families and fates, in such an adventure. Shall any thing then intervene to render such a noble design abortive, and frustrate those of their expected happiness, or your excellency of your de served honors? God forbid!

"This colony consists of two sorts of people; either those whom the public sent over, or volunteers;* who were not burthensome to the public; both now I look upon in the same light, as either party have exhausted their support or private stocks, in endeavoring to prosecute the intended plan; but it shall suffice for my argument, that so many of each kind have applied themselves to this purpose as are sufficient to confirm the experiment, that it is impossible for us, with British or foreign servants, to afford the lowest necessaries of life, much less to increase our stocks, or defray the many exigencies and disappointments that this soil and climate, are inevitably exposed to: this I take to be granted; and would to God the success of the colony depended on establishing the most satisfactory proofs of it! And as for persons who, from selfish views, have imposed upon the credulity of the honorable trustees, by representing things in colors distant from truth; it were superfluous to curse them. I do not say, but in time manufactures may be founded more suitable to the strength and constitution of British servants, that might support

Such as came at their own expense.

and enrich the colony; I heartily pray for that happy period; and should then condemn and dissent from any who would not be content with the present regulation; but as in the interim, production of necessaries is absolutely requisite, and under the present establishment impracticable; it follows of course, that either the scheme must be altered or the design abandoned. At the first it was a trial, now it is an experiment; and certainly no man or society need be ashamed to own, that from unforseen emergencies the hypothesis did misgive; and no person of judgment would censure for want of success when the proposal was probable; but all the world would ex, claim against that person or society, who through mistaken notions of honor, and positiveness of temper, would persist in pushing an experiment, contrary to all probability, to the ruin of the advenHow many methods may be found out by the wisdom of the trustees, for remedying this inconvenience, I know not; one only occurs to me, which is, the admitting a certain number of negroes, sufficient to ease the white servants from those labors that are most fatal to a British constitution; I am very sensible of the inconveniences of an unlimited use of them in a frontier colo. ny; but am as sensible that those inconveniences may be prevented by prudent regulations; and their admission for executing the more laborious parts of culture, made the means to attract numbers of white servants, who would otherwise fly

turers.

the place as a purgatory or charnel-house. If our labor and toil is not capable of providing mere necessaries by cultivation of land, much less by trade; for as all the neighboring colonies, by reason of their negroes, prosecute all branches of it at a sixth part of the expense we can; they would forever preclude us of any benefit therefrom: and supposing what cannot be admitted, that the nation would consent to give a perpetual fund for making up all those deficiencies, what benefit could we accrue to the nation? or what to the settlers, but a present bare subsistence? and what the certain consequence but the bequeathing a numerous legacy of orphans to the care of providence, since no period of time can be affixed when such a support would enable us to provide for ourselves? A second reason which disables us to improve either by land or trade, is our want of credit: You know very well, that both the mercantile and mechanic part of mankind, live more by credit than stock; and the man who has a probable scheme of improving credit, is naturally intitled to it: As we have no stock further to dispense, either in cultivation or trade, we are reduced to need the support of credit; which the present restrictions of our legal rights and titles to our land deprive us of. It is true, indeed the trustees have assured us, that those and other restrictions, are only temporary, and for the welfare of the first settlement, until a proper body of laws, which was upon the carpet, should be perfected;

and I am far from disputing the reasonableness of that resolution, while either the public support or private stocks, kept us from needing credit; but that now the case is altered, the necessity of moving those restrictions is arrived, to preserve the remains of the colony not yet dissolved, and far too late for hundreds, whom necessity has dispersed in other corners of the world: this is a truth sir, too obvious to need further enlarge

ment.

"Hence it is clear we can insist on demanding our privileges as British subjects, from the trustees promises; but we likewise claim them as law, justice and property. Your excellency was pleased in the court-house of Savannah, to use a comparison to satisfy the minds of the people, of a man who would lend his horse but not his saddle, which one refusing another accepted of: this I humbly take it, no way meets the case the king's majesty was owner both of horse and saddle, of the lands and rights, and gave us both in his charter; we ask but what is there given us. The reliance on the public faith brought us to this colony, and to endeavor to obviate or disappoint the effects of those promises which tempted us here, were to justify the decoying us to misery, under the sanction of the royal authority, than which nothing could be more injurious to the fountain of honor. I shall suppose, that were full and ample rights given, that some idle persons, who had no judgment to value, or inclina