[Sidenote] Resolutions of the House of Lords.
After reading this petition in the house of Lords, the Palatine desired to be heard by his council, which was granted, and the further consideration of the matter was postponed for one week. Then having heard what Lord Granville had to offer in his behalf, the Lords agreed to address her Majesty in favour of the distressed petitioners of Carolina. They declared, that, after having fully and maturely weighed the nature of the two acts passed in Carolina, they found themselves obliged in duty to her Majesty, and in justice to her subjects, (who, by the express words of the charter, were declared to be the liege people of the crown of England, and to have a right to all the liberties, franchises, and privileges of Englishmen), to come to the following resolutions: "First, That it is the opinion of this house, that the act of assembly in Carolina, lately passed there, signed and sealed by John Lord Granville, for himself, Lord Carteret and Lord Craven, and by Sir John Colleton, four of the Proprietors of that province, in order to the ratifying of it, entitled, An Act for the Establishment of Religious Worship in the Province according to the Church of England, &c. so far forth as the same relates to the establishing a commission for the displacing of rectors and ministers of the churches there, is not warranted by the charter granted to the Proprietors, as being not consonant to reason, repugnant to the laws of the realm, and destructive to the constitution of the church of England. Secondly, That it is the opinion of this house, that the act of assembly in Carolina, entitled, An Act for the more effectual Preservation of the Government of the Province, by requiring all persons that shall hereafter be chosen members of the Commons House of Assembly, and sit in the same, to take the oaths and subscribe the declaration appointed by this act, and to conform to the religious worship in this province according to the Church of England, and to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the rites and usage of the said church, &c. is founded on falsity in matter of fact, is repugnant to the laws of England, contrary to the charter of the Proprietors, is an encouragement to atheism and irreligion, destructive to trade, and tends to the depopulation and ruin of the Province".
[Sidenote] Their address to the Queen.
After which resolutions the house addressed her Majesty in the following words: "We your Majesty's dutiful subjects, having thus humbly presented our opinion of these acts, we beseech your Majesty to use the most effectual methods to deliver the said province from the arbitrary oppressions under which it now lies, and to order the authors thereof to be prosecuted according to law; at the same time we represent to your Majesty, how much the powers given by the crown have been abused by some of your subjects, justice requires us to acquaint your Majesty, that some of the Proprietors absolutely refused to join in the ratification of these acts. We humbly beg permission to inform your Majesty, that other great injustices and oppressions are complained of in the petition; but the nature of the fact requiring a long examination, it was not possible for the house to find time for, so near the conclusion of the session; and therefore we presume with all duty to lay the petition itself before your Majesty, at the same time we present our address. We cannot doubt but your Majesty, who from the beginning of your reign has shewn to great a concern and tenderness for all your subjects, will extend your compassion for those distressed people, who have the misfortune to be at so great a distance from your royal person, and not so immediately under your gentle administration. Your Majesty is fully sensible of what great consequence the plantations are to the crown of England, and to the trade of your subjects, and therefore we rest assured, that as your Majesty will have them all under your royal care, so, in particular, you will be graciously pleased to find out and prosecute the most effectual means for the relief of the province of Carolina."
[Sidenote] The Queen's answer.
To which address Queen Anne returned the following answer: "I thank the house for laying these matters so plainly before me: I am sensible of what great consequence the plantations are to England, and will do all in my power to relieve my subjects in Carolina, and protect them in their just rights." But as it likewise appeared that some of the Proprietors themselves had refused to approve of the acts, the matter was farther referred to the Lords of trade and plantations; who, after examination, found that all the charges brought against the provincial government and the Proprietors were well grounded; and represented farther to her Majesty, that the making of such laws was an abuse of the powers granted to the Proprietors by the charter, and will be a forfeiture of it, and humbly begged that she would be pleased to give directions for reassuming the same into her Majesty's hands, by a scire facias in the court of Queen's Bench. The Queen approved of their representation, and after declaring the laws null and void, for the effectual proceeding against the charter by way of quo warranto, ordered her Attorney and Solicitor-General to inform themselves fully concerning what may be most effectual for accomplishing the same, that she might take the government of the colony, so much abused by others, into her own hands, for the better protection of her distressed subjects. Here, however, the matter was dropt for the present, and no farther steps were taken against the charter of the Proprietors, or for the relief of the people.
In the mean time the distant colonists, though they had heard nothing of what had passed in England relating to those grievous acts, became daily more sensible of their oppressive nature and pernicious consequence. Several settlers had left the country on account of them, and moved to Pennsylvania. Archibald Stobo, a Presbyterian minister in Charlestown, who had warmly opposed this establishment from the beginning, had also convinced many who remained of the severities and hardships the Dissenters in England had suffered from the rigors of the Episcopal government. Several circumstances proved favourable to Stobo's opposition; he possessed those talents which render a minister conspicuous and respected, and the people that party-zeal which becomes violent from ill usage and persecution. To his treasures of knowledge and excellent capacity for instruction, he added uncommon activity and diligence in the discharge of the various duties of his sacred function. He had a natural aversion from the Episcopal jurisdiction, and no minister of the colony had engrossed so universally the public favour and esteem. The Governor and his adherents found it necessary to sow the seeds of division among his followers, and, from maxims of policy, to magnify his failings, in order to ruin his great power and influence.
But the Presbyterian party were not the only malcontents during these strange and unwarrantable proceedings of the legislature. Many wise and religious men of all denominations condemned them, as grievous and impolitical. They considered differences in religious opinion as improper objects of temporal punishment, and that magistrates had no business with them, unless they occasion danger and disturbance to the state. They looked upon religion as a personal affair, which lies between God and a man's conscience, and that it was the prerogative of the Supreme Being to judge of men's hearts, as he alone was capable of forming a right judgment. In such a case, doubtless every man had a right to judge and chuse for himself, as he alone, and not the church, must at last be accountable to God for the choice. In every country this is reasonable; but in Protestant countries it is the fundamental principle on which they ground their right of protesting against the rules and errors of any particular church. For which reason judicious men in Carolina opposed the acts of assembly, as unreasonable in themselves, repugnant to the principles of Protestants, and robbing many of the colonists of their most valuable privileges, for their difference in religious opinion. Even the society for propagating the gospel disapproved of them, and, at a meeting in St. Paul's Church, resolved not to send any missionaries to Carolina, until the clause relating to lay-commissioners was annulled. So that all impartial men, in some measure, condemned the acts, and seemed to detest both the factious men who framed them, and the method by which they had been promoted in the province.
[Sidenote] A project formed for invading Carolina.
At length from these domestic troubles the attention of the people was drawn off, and turned towards a more important object, their common defence against foreign enemies. The war between Great Britain and France and Spain still raged in Europe. The Governor received advice of a project framed for invading Carolina, and had instructions to put the country in the best posture of defence. The Spaniards pretended a right to it on the foot of prior discovery, considering it as a part of Florida, and had now determined by force of arms to assert their right. Sir Nathaniel Johnson, as a military commander, was well qualified for his duty, and formed to shine in a more conspicuous manner in that line than in any other. No sooner had he received intelligence of the designs of his enemy, than he set all hands to work upon the fortifications, appointed a number of gunners to each bastion, and held frequent musters to train the men to the use of arms. A storehouse was prepared, and a quantity of ammunition laid up in it, to be ready on the first emergency. A small fort, called Fort Johnson, was erected on James's Island, and several great guns mounted on it. Trenches were cast up on White Point, and other places where they were thought necessary. A guard was stationed on Sullivan's Island, with orders to kindle a number of fires opposite to the town, equal to the number of ships they might spy on the coast. In short, such prudent regulations were made, as to prevent any surprise from an enemy, and at what time soever they might come, to give them as warm a reception as possible.