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fhillings, dollars at 7/6-and the value of his manors and reserved lands at three hundred and twenty-feven thoufand, four hundred and forty-one pounds of the fame money.

*

VIRGINIA.

We have already, when treating of the difcovery of North-America, given a brief history of the fettlement of this State to the year 1610, when Lord Delaware arrived with fupplies for the colony of fettlers, and provifions. His prefence had a happy effect on the colony, order and confidence being foon reftored by him. The ftate of his health did not, however, permit him long to pursue his plans of improvement, for in the beginning of 1611 he was obliged to return to England, leaving about two hundred colonists, poffeffed of health, plenty and peace with their neighbours. After his departure the colony again declined; but his fucceffor, Sir Thomas Dale, arriving in May with more emigrants, cattle and provision for a year, things were again restored to order. This fame year the adventurers obtained a new charter, by which the two former were confirmed, and they had alfo granted to them all the islands fituated in the ocean, within three hundred leagues of any part of the Virginia coaft. The corporation was now confiderably new-modelled, and, in order to promote the effectual fettlement of the plantation, licence was given to open lotteries in any part of England. The lotteries alone, which were the first ever granted in England, brought twentynine thousand pounds into the company's treasury. At length, being confidered as a national evil, they attracted the notice of Parliament, were prefented by the commons as a grievance, and in March, 1620, fufpended by an order of council.

In April, 1613, Mr. John Rolf, a worthy young gentleman, was married to Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, the famous Indian chief. This connection, which was very agreeable both to the English and Indians, was the foundation of a friendly and advantageous commerce between them,

Three years afterwards Mr. Rolf, with his wife Pocahontas, vifited England, where he was treated with that attention and respect which she had merited by her important fervices to the colony in Virginia. She died the year following at Gravefend, in the twentyfecond year of her age, juft as fhe was about to embark for America,

See vol. 1. page 162 to 165.

She

She had embraced the Chriftian religion, and in her life and death evidenced the fincerity of her profeffion. She left a fon, who, having received his education in England, went over to Virginia, where he lived and died in affluence and honour, leaving behind him an only daughter. Her defcendants are among the most respectable families in Virginia.

Tomocomo, a fenfible Indian, brother-in-law to Pocahontas, accompanied her to England, and was directed by Powhatan to bring him an exact account of the numbers and strength of the English. For this purpose, when he arrived at Plymouth, he took a long stick, intending to cut a notch in it for every person he fhould fee: this he foon found impracticable, and threw away his stick. On his return, being asked by Powhatan, how many people there were, he is faid to have replied, "Count the stars in the fky, the leaves on the trees, and the fands on the fea fhore; for fuch is the number of the people of England."

In 1612-13, Sir Thomas Gates was dispatched with fix large fhips, carrying three hundred colonists, one hundred cattle and useful fupplies. He arrived in Auguft, and parties were fent out from James-town to form diftant fettlements. He returned the beginning of 1614, and the administration devolved once more on Sir Thomas Dale, to whom the Virginians owe the introduction of landed property. In 1615, fifty acres of land were granted to every emigrant and his heirs, and the fame quantity to every perfon imported by others. Dale failed for England in the beginning of 1616, giving up the truft to Sir George Yeardley, as deputy-governor, and in this year the cultivation of tobacco was introduced. Mr. Argal, a new deputy-governor, was fent out, who arrived in May, 1617. He pubJifhed a variety of edicts, and was guilty of thofe wrongs and oppreffions, that the treafurer and council appointed Yeardley captaingeneral, and empowered him to examine into and redrefs grievances. Sir George arrived in April, 1619, with feveral inftructions favourable to freedom, and foon declared his intention of calling a General Affembly, which gave the greatest joy to men who had been hitherto fubjected to the arbitrary orders of their prince, to the interested ordinances of an English corporation, or to the edicts of a haughty governor, and who enjoyed none of thofe liberties which Englishmen claim as their birthright.

I

In June, Yeardiey, pursuant to his inftructions from the company, iffued writs for the election of delegates, called burgeffes. The

colony

Colony had been divided into seven hundreds or diftinct settlements, which feemed to enjoy fome of the privileges of boroughs; and from this circumftance the democratic branch of the Affembly has been called to this day, the House of Burgeffes, though compofed almost entirely of the reprefentatives of counties. The Affembly, formed of the governor and council of state, who were appointed by the treasurer and company, and of the burgeffes chofen by the people, met together in one apartment, and tranfacted affairs like the parliament of Scotland of old, which mode continued till after the restoration of Charles II. Thus convened, and thus compofed, the legislature" debated all matters thought expedient for the good of the whole." The laws were tranfmitted to England for the approbation of the treasurer and company, without whofe confirmation they were of no validity. The introduction of an Affembly was attended with the happiest effects. The emigrants, for the first time, refolved to fettle themselves, and to perpetuate the plantation. The Affembly thanked the company for their favour, and begged them "to reduce into a compendious form, with his Majesty's approbation, the laws of England proper for Virginia, with fuitable additions;" giving as a reason, "that it was not fit that his subjects fhould be governed by any other rules than such as received their influence from him." This year the treasurer and council received a letter from government, "commanding them to fend a hundred diffolute perfons (convicts) to Virginia." They were accordingly tranfported," and were, at that period, very acceptable to the color nifts." The subsequent year, 1620, muft, on account of the introduction of African flaves into the colonies, be ftigmatifed as a much viler æra. The Hollanders were not then precluded by any law from trading with the colonies. A Dutch veffel carried to Virginia a cargo of negroes, and the Virginians, who had themselves just emerged from a state of flavery, became chargeable with reducing their fellow-men to the condition of brutes.

In July, the treasurer and company carried into execution a refolation formerly taken, for establishing a proper conftitution for the colony. The ordinance they paffed, declared, that there should be two fupreme councils in Virginia, the one to be called the council of ftate, to be appointed and displaced by the treasurer and company, and which was to advise the governor in governmental affairs; the other was to be denominated the General Affembly, and to confift of the governor and council, and of two burgeffes, to be chofen

for

for the prefent, by the inhabitants of every town, hundred and fettlement in the colony. The Affembly was to determine by the majority of the voices then prefent, and to enact general laws for the colony, referving to the governor a negative voice. They were to imitate the laws and cuftoms, and judicial proceedings ufed in England. "No acts were to be in force till confirmed by the General Court in England: on the other hand, no order of the General Court was to bind the colony till affented to by the Affembly." The company having offered territory to those who should either emigrate themfelves, or engage to tranfport people to the colony, found this policy fo fuccefsful, that upwards of three thoufand five hundred perfons emigrated to Virginia during this and the two preceding years.

This year, 1622, was remarkable for a maffacre of the colonists by the Indians, which was executed with the utmost fubtilty, and without any regard to age or fex. A well-concerted attack on all the fettlements, destroyed, in one hour and almost at the same inftant, three hundred and y-feven perfons, who were defenceless and incapable of making refiftance. The emigrants, notwithstanding the orders they had received, had never been folicitous to culti vate the good-will of the natives, and had neither asked permiffion when they occupied their country, nor given a price for their valuable property, which was violently taken away. The miseries of famine were foon fuperadded to the horrors of maffacre. Of eighty plantations, which were filling apace, only eight remained; and of the numbers which had been transported thither, no more than about one thousand eight hundred survived those manifold disasters.

Frequent complaints having been made to King James of the oppreffions of the treasurer and company, and the before-mentioned calamities being attributed to their misconduct or neglect, it was determined, that a commiffion should iffue to inquire into the affairs of Virginia and the Somer ifles, from the earliest fettlement of each. Upon the report of the commiffioners, the king concluded on giving a new charter, and required of the company the furrender of former grants, which being refused, a writ of quo warranto issued in November, 1623, against the patents of the corporation: and judgment was given by the Court of King's Bench against the treasurer and company, in Trinity term, 1624. Thefe proceedings "were fo conformable to the general ftrain of the arbitrary administration of that reign, that they made little impreffion at the time, though

the

!

the Virginia company was compofed of perfons of the first quality, wealth and confequence in the nation." The company, probably, would not have exercised so tame and fubmiffive a spirit, had they not been wholly difappointed in their vifionary profpects, and met with confiderable loffes, inftead of acquiring enormous profits. They had obtained from individuals, who sported in their lotteries from the hope of fudden riches, twenty-nine thousand pounds: but the tranfportation of more than nine thoufand English fubjects had coft them one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. They did not, however, abandon the colony in its diftrefs while they continued a corporation. Timely fupplies were fent from England to the Virginia fettlers, which fo animated them, that they carried on an offenfive war against the Indians, pursued them into their faftneffes, and drove them from the neighbourhood of thofe rivers, where they had fixed their own plantations.

As to King James, he "affuredly confidered the colonies as acquired by conqueft; and that they ought to be holden of his perfon, independent of his crown or political city; and might be ruled according to his good will, by prerogative: and he endeavoured, agreeably to the ftrange economy of his reign, to convert them into a mere private estate, descendible to his perfonal heirs."*

The Virginia company being diffolved, James took the colony under his immediate dependence, which occafioned much confufion. Upon his death, in 1625, King Charles, being of the fame judgment with his father as to the government of Virginia, determined to tread in the fame steps. In May he named a new governor and council for Virginia, and invefted them with an authority fully legislative and arbitrary. They were empowered to make and execute laws, to impofe taxes, and enforce payment. Neither the commiffion nor inftructions mentioned exprefsly, or even alluded to an Affembly, to the laws of England, or to the acts of the provincial legislature, as a rule of government. They were required to tranfport colonists into England, to be punished there for crimes committed in Virginia. This fyftem increased the colonial diffatisfaction, which continued for years, till the Virginians received a letter containing the royal affurance, that "all their eftates, trade, freedom and privileges, fhould be enjoyed by them in as extenfive a manner, as they enjoyed

See Chalmers's Political Annals under the head of Virginia, for many of the preceding and fubfequent articles refpecting that colony.

VOL. III.

C

them

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