of the United Provinces, was signed at Whitehall. There is not any thing in this treaty relating to the West Indies. The Dutch attacked the island of Margarita, burnt the town, and destroyed the fort built for its defence. 1663. The inhabitants of Barbadoes had sent Mr. Kendall as their delegate to King Charles, to plead against the claims of Lord Carlisle and Lord Willoughby. Mr. Kendall, in his zeal to get rid of the obnoxious patent, offered, in the name of the inhabitants, "That if his Majesty would be graciously pleased to take the island immediately into his hands, extending towards it his royal protection and care, the produce of all the estates should from henceforth be subject to an impost, to be levied on its real value, at a certain percentage, which, after supporting a governor, whom his Majesty should nominate and establish, should be at his Majesty's disposal." This offer was accepted, as an outline of the settlement. The inhabitants of Barbadoes refused to ratify what their delegate had proposed, and contended that he had gone beyond the boundaries of his delegated authority. The government was inexorable, and refused to relinquish the proposition, and finally prevailed upon the negociating planters to use their influence with their constituents to settle upon the crown such an impost as the condition of the island would allow, subject to the determination of the colonial assembly. The friends, creditors, and inheritors of the Carlisle interest in the island did all they could to prevent the closing of a negociation which would ruin their hopes for ever. The English government fixed that the impost should be four and a half per centum, to be paid in specie, on all such commodities as the island should hereafter produce, to be estimated prior to their being shipped. As a compensation to the inhabitants, they were given to understand that they were now fully placed under the royal protection; that they were from henceforward freed from all individual claims, through any former patent; and that they were to be fully confirmed in the possession of their respective estates, without having their titles called in question. To carry these plans into execution, Lord Willoughby repaired to Barbadoes. He was received with evident marks of dislike: the inhabitants were clamorous against the proposed arrangement. The assembly was called upon to pass the act to levy four and Long's Jamaica, vol. i. p. 340. Du Mont, tom. vi. partie ii. p. 422. Depon's South Coke's West Indies, vol. ii. pp. 100, 101, 103, 104. a half per cent. The opposition to the measure was formidable and violent. Colonel Farmer, the leading man of that party, was arrested for treason, and sent prisoner to England. The act was finally passed upon the 12th of September, 1663. So terminated the proprietary government of Barbadoes. The following account of the settlement of the claims of the Earls of Marlborough and Carlisle, and Lord Willoughby, upon the island of Barbadoes, is extracted from Lord Clarendon's invaluable history: "As soon as the King returned, the Lord Willoughby (who had then eight or nine years to come of his lease, formerly granted to him by the Earl of Carlisle, who was then likewise living, and ready to do any other act to the Lord Willoughby's advantage) resolved to return himself to the Barbadoes, and desired the King to renew his commission to him for the government; which his Majesty was very willing to do, as to a person he esteemed very much, and who had spent very much of his own fortune, as was notoriously known, in that service. But the Barbadoes itself was (by that confluence and resort thither, as was mentioned before) so fully planted, that there was no room for new comers, and they had sent very many of their people to the other islands to plant. Many citizens of London had raised very great estates there, and every year received a very great revenue from thence, and the King's customs from that one island came to a very great sum of money yearly. "All those men who had entered upon that plantation as a waste place, and had, with great charge, brought it to that perfection, and with great trouble, began now to apprehend that they must depend upon the good-will of the Earl of Carlisle and Lord Willoughby for the enjoyment of their estates there, which they had hitherto looked upon as their own. All these men joined together in an appeal to the King, and humbly prayed his protection, and that they might not be oppressed by those two lords. They pleaded, That they were the King's subjects; that they had repaired thither as to a desolate place, and had by their industry obtained a livelihood there, when they could not with a good conscience stay in England. That if they should be now left to those lords, to ransom themselves, and compound for their estates, they must leave the country, and the plantation would be destroyed, which yielded his Majesty so good a revenue. That they could defend themselves by law against the Earl of Carlisle's title, if his Majesty did not countenance it by a new grant of the government to the Lord Willoughby; and therefore they were suitors to his Majesty, that he would not destroy them by that countenance.' "At the same time, the creditors of the late Earl of Carlisle (whose debts were to be satisfied by the profits of that plantation, by the will and settlement of the said earl) petitioned the King, That they might be in the first place provided for their principal money, due to them at the death of the earl, amounted to no less than fifty thousand pounds, of which they had never yet received one penny; and, therefore, that the profits which should arise ought, in the first place, to be applied to them, there having been many families utterly ruined for want of their monies so due to them.' "The King appointed to hear all their several pretences at the council-board, where they all attended, with their counsel: and after his Majesty had spent three or four days himself in hearing the several allegations, finding new pretences and difficulties every day to arise (which shall be mentioned anon), the King appointed several lords of the council to consider of the whole matter, and to confer with the several parties, and, if it were possible, to make an end between them by their own consent; otherwise to report the several titles to his Majesty, with such expedients as, in their judgments, they thought most like to produce a general satisfaction, without endangering the plantation,' the preservation whereof his Majesty took to heart. "The chancellor was one of the committee, and took very much pains in reading the charters, grants, leases, and many other papers and dispatches which concerned that affair, and conferred with several of the persons interested; to the end that he might the better discern what could be done, having never understood or heard any thing of the matter, or that concerned the plantation, otherwise than what he hath before set down upon the dispatch of the Lord Willoughby to Holland; nor had he the least inclination or bias to any party. Upon hearing all the allegations before the lords, the several pretences and titles appeared to them to be those which they afterwards reported to the King. "The Lord Willoughby demanded nothing from the King but his commission to be governor for the remainder of the years which had been granted to him by the Earl of Carlisle; to the end that he might receive one moiety of those profits which should arise to the earl, and which had been assigned to him with the consent and approbation of the late King, and of his Majesty that now is; upon which he had undertaken that voyage, and spent so much of his estate. "The Earl of Carlisle, whilst this contention was depending, died, and by his will devised his interest in the Barbadoes to the Earl of Kinnoul, who likewise petitioned the King for the pre Life of Edw. Earl of Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 933. 3d Edit. 1791. Written by himself. servation of his right; but neither he, nor the person under whom he claimed, had any pretence till all the debts should be satisfied nor did the Earl of Kinnoul demand any thing till then, but believed the profit would arise yearly to so much that the debts would quickly be satisfied, and then the whole was to come to him. "There was another title that preceded the Earl of Carlisle's, which was that of the Earl of Marlborough, who alleged, and proved it to be true, That the Barbadoes, and those adjacent islands, were first granted by the King to his grandfather the Earl of Marlborough, who was then lord high treasurer of England, before the Earl of Carlisle had any pretence thereunto; and that the lord treasurer had afterwards consented that the same should be granted to the Earl of Carlisle, upon a full contract, that he should first receive for ever the sum of three hundred pounds by the year out of the first profits of the plantations; which sum of three hundred pounds had never yet been paid. And therefore the Earl of Marlborough desired, as heir to his grandfather, to have satisfaction for the arrears, and that the growing rent might be secured to him.' "The creditors were of two kinds. The first, and who had petitioned the King, as was said before, had an assignment made to them by the executors and trustees of the Earl of Carlisle upon his will, and who, at his death, owed them the full sum of fifty thousand pounds, or thereabouts. The other creditors consisted of several tradesmen and artificers, to whom the said earl was indebted for wares and goods which they had delivered for his use, and of several servants for their arrears of wages; and all those had, during the late troubles, exhibited their bill in Chancery against the executors and overseers of the late earl, and had obtained a decree in that court for their satisfaction out of the profits of those plantations (which decree stood confirmed by the late act of judicial proceedings); and, as he remembered, their debts amounted to thirty thousand pounds, or thereabouts. None of the creditors in general, of one or the other sort, had ever received one shilling, from the time that the earl had first assigned it. "The planters insisted positively, That the charter granted to the Earl of Carlisle by the King was void in point of law,' for which their counsel alleged many reasons; and having spent much time in argumentation, they concluded with two humble propositions to the King: 1. That his Majesty would give them leave to prosecute, in his name, in the exchequer, and at their own charge to repeal, that grant to the Earl of Carlisle, by which they would be freed from the arbitrary power and oppression which would be exercised upon them under the colour of that charter, and his Majesty might receive a great benefit to himself, by taking the sovereignty into his own hands, to which it belonged. And in that case they offered, in their own names, and for the rest of the planters who were in the island, tò consent to an imposition of so much in the hundred, which, they confidently averred, would amount, in the year, to ten thousand pounds at the least, out of which his Majesty's governor might be well supported, and his Majesty dispose of the overplus as he should think fit. "2. If his Majesty would not suffer the charter to be repealed, that he would leave those who claimed under the Earl of Carlisle's patent to their remedy at law, and leave the planters to their own defence, which they hoped, in justice, would not be denied to them, since they alone had been at the charge to settle the plantation which brought every year so great a revenue to the crown, when the earl had not been at the least expence thereupon; and if his Majesty should not assist their pretences with his royal authority, they must all quit the plantation.' "These being the several pretences of the several persons, and nothing being to be done by agreement between themselves, their interests being so distinct and inconsistent with each other, his Majesty thought fit, in the first place, to refer the consideration of the validity and legality of the patent to his council at law; who, upon full deliberation, and after the hearing of all parties, returned their opinion, That their patent was void, and that his Majesty might take the same into his own power.' This report was no sooner made to his Majesty, but that he very graciously declared, That he would not receive from hence any benefit or advantage to himself, until all their pretences had received satisfaction; and, therefore, that the Lord Willoughby should proceed in his voyage to the Barbadoes, and should receive, according to his bargain, a moiety of the profits; and that the other part should be disposed of for the satisfaction of the debts and other incumbrances.' In order to which, his Majesty appointed the same committee of the lords to meet again, and to adjust the several proportions. "When they met again, they had all the persons concerned with them ready to be called in upon any occasion; and they all appeared very glad that the King had taken the care and protection of the plantation upon himself, which was all the security the planters had or could desire. And the lords' first care was, to make some computation that might be depended upon as to the yearly revenue that would arise upon the imposition within the island. But the planters would not be drawn to any parti Life of Edw. Earl of Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 933. 3d Edit. 1791. Written by himself. |