this Maryland at are worthy of particular notice. The acts of the General Assembly and governor were of the fame force in their own province as acts of parliment in England, and could not be repealed without the concurring affent of the proprietary or his deputy, with the other two eftates.

In 1654, during Cromwell's ufurpation in England, an act was paffed reftraining the exercife of the Roman Catholic religion. This must have been procured by the mere terror of Cromwell's power, for the firft and principle ́inhabitants were Catholics. Indeed the power of Cromwell was not established in Maryland without force and bloodshed. His friends and foes came to an open rupture, an engagement enfued, Governor Stone was taken prifoner, and condemned to be fhot; this fentence, however, was not executed, but he was kept a long time in confinement.

In March, 1658, Jofiah Fendall, Efq. was appointed lieutenant-general of Maryland by commiffion from Oliver Cromwell; he diffolved the Upper Houfe, and furrendered the powers of government into the hands of the delegates.

Upon the restoration in 1660, the Honourable Philip Calvert, Efq. was appointed governor; the old form of government was revived; Fendall, and one Gerrard, a councellor, were indicted, found guilty and condemned to banifnment, with the lofs of their eftates; but, upon petition, they were pardoned.

In 1689, the government was taken out of the hands of Lord Baltimore by the grand convention of England; and in 1692, Mr. Copley was appointed governor by commission from William and Mary.

In 1692, the Proteftant religion was establifhed by law.

In 1699, under the administration of Governor Blackiston, it was enacted, that Annapolis fhould be the feat of govern

ment.

In 1716, the government of this province was reftored to the proprietary, and continued in his hands till the late revolution, when, though a minor, his property in the lands was confifcated, and the government affumed by the freemen of the province, who formed the conftitution now exifting. At the clofe of the war, Henry Harford, Efq. the natural fon and heir of Lord Baltimore, petitioned the legislature of Maryland for his eftate, but his petition was not granted. Mr. Harford eftimated his lofs of quit-rents, valued at twenty-five years purchase, and including arrears, at two hundred and fifty-nine thoufand, four hundred and eighty-eight pounds, five fhillings,

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

*

VIRGINI A.

We have already, when treating of the difcovery of North, America, given a brief hiftory 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 restored. by him. The flate of his health did not, however, permit him long to purfue his plans of improvement, for in the beginning of 1611 he was obliged to return to England, leaving about two hundred colonifts, poffeffed of health, plenty and peace with their neighbours, After his departure the colony again declin ed; but his fucceffor, Sir Thomas Dale, arriving in May with. more emigrants, cattle and provifion for a year, things were again reftored to order. This fame year the adventurers obtained a new charter, by which the two former were cenfirmed, and they had also 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 twenty-nine 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 after wards Mr. Rolf, with his wife Pocahontas vifited England, where he was treated with that attention and refpect which he had merited by her important fervices to the colony in Virginia. She died the year following in the twenty-fecond year of her age, just as f

Sce vol. 1. page 162 to 155

Crivelen

embark for America. 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 refpectable families in Virginia.

Tomocomo, a fenfible Indian, brother-in-law to Pocahontas, accompanied her to Englrnd, and was directed by Powhatan to bring him an exact account of the numbers and strength of the English. For this purpofe, when he arrived at Plymouth, he took a long ftick, intending to cut a notch in it for every perfon he should fee: this he foon found impracticable, and threw aw ay his stick. On his return, being afked by Powhatan, how many people there were, he is faid to have replied, "Count the ftars 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 difpatched 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 distant 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 Yeardly, 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 pablished a variety of edicts, and was guilty of those wrongs oppreffions, that the treasurer and council appointed Yeardly captain-general, and empowerd him to examine into and redress 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 subjected to the arbitrary orders of their prince, to the interefted ordinances of an English corporation, or to the edits of a haughty governor, and who enjoyed none of thofe liberties which Englithmen clain as their birthright.

and

In June, Yeardley, pursuant to his inftructions from the nony, iffued writs for the election of delegates, called

burgeffes. The colony had been divided into feven hundreds. or diftinct fettlements, which feemed to enjoy fome of the pri vileges 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 representatives 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 toge ther in one apartment, and transacted affairs like the parliament of Scotland of old, which mode continued till after the restoration of Chales 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 happieft effects. The emigrants, for the firft 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 compenduous 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 should be governed by any other rules than fuch as received their influence from him." This year the treasurer and council received a letter from government, "commanding them to fend a hundred difolute perfons (convicts) to Virginia." They were accordingly transported, "and were at that period, very acceptable to the colonists." The fubfequent 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 juft emerged from fate of flavery, became chargeable with reducing their fellow men to the condition

of brutes.

a

In July, the treasurer and company carried into execution a refolution 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 difplaced 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 chosen for the prefent, by the inhabitants of every town, hundred and fettlement in the colony. The Affembly was to detemine 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 imitate the laws and cuftoms, and judicial proceedings used 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 afsented to by the Affembly." The company having offered territory to those who fhould either emigrate themselves, or engage to transport people to the colony, found this policy fo fuccessful, that upwards of three thousand five hundred perfons emigrated to Virginia during this and the two preceding years.

This year, 1622, was remarkable for a maffacre of the colonifts by the Indians, which was executed with the utmost subtilty, and without any regard to age or fex. A well-concerted attack on all the fettlements, destroyed, in one hour and almost at the fame inftant, three hundred and forty-feven perfons, who were defencelefs and incapable of making resistance. The emigrants, notwithstanding the orders they had received, had never been folicitous to cultivate the good-will of the natives, and had neither afked permiffion when they occupied their country, nor given a price for their valuable property, which was violently taken away. The miferies 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 tranfported thither, no more than about one thoufand eight hundred furvived those manifold difafters.

Frequent complaints having been made to King James of the oppreffions of the treasury and company, and the before-mentioned calamities being attributed to their misconduct or neglect, it was determined, that a commiffion fhould 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 iffued 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 adminiftration of that reign,