[Sidenote] The colonists turn their eyes for protection to the crown.
During the time of this hard struggle with Indians, the legislature of Carolina had made application to the Proprietors, representing to them the weak state of the province, the deplorable dangers which hung over it, and begging their paternal help and protection; but being doubtful whether the Proprietor would be inclined to involve their English estates in debt for supporting their property in Carolina, in so precarious a situation, they instructed their agent, in case he failed of success from them, to apply to the king for relief. The merchants entered cordially into the measure for making application to the crown, and considered it as the most effectual expedient for retrieving their credit in England, lost by the dangers which threatened the country, and the pirates that infested the coast. They perceived at once the many advantages which would accrue to them from being taken under the immediate care and protection of the crown. Ships of war would soon clear the coast of pestilent sea-robbers, and give free scope to trade and navigation. Forces by land world overawe the war-like Indians, prevent such dreadful attempts for the future, and they would reap the happy fruits of public peace and security. The inhabitants in general were much dissatisfied with living under a government unable to protect them, and what rendered their case still more lamentable, prevented the interposition of the crown for their defence, and therefore were very unanimous in the proposed application to the crown.
About the middle of the year 1715 the agent for Carolina waited on the Proprietors, with a representation of the heavy calamities under which their colony laboured from the ravages of barbarous enemies, and the depredations of lawless pirates. He acquainted them, that the Yamassees, by the influence of Spanish emissaries, had claimed the whole lands of the country as their ancient possessions, and conspired with many other tribes to assert their right by force of arms, and therefore urged the necessity of sending immediate relief to the colony. But not being satisfied with the answer he received, he petitioned the House of Commons in behalf of the distressed Carolineans. The Commons addressed the King, praying for his kind interposition and immediate assistance to the colony. The King referred the matter to the Lords Commissioners of trade and plantations. The Lords of trade made an objection, that the province of Carolina was one of the proprietary governments, and were of opinion, that, if the nation should be at the expence of its protection, the government ought to be vested in the Crown. Upon which Lord Carteret wrote them a letter to the following effect: "We the Proprietors of Carolina having met on this melancholy occasion, to our great grief find, that we are utterly unable of ourselves to afford our colony suitable assistance in this conjuncture, and unless his majesty will graciously please to interpose, we can foresee nothing but the utter destruction of his majesty's faithful subjects in those parts." The Lords of trade asked Lord Carteret what sum might be necessary for that service, and whether the government of the colony should not devolve on the Crown, if Great Britain should agree to bear the expence of its defence. To which Lord Carteret replied, "The Proprietors humbly submitted to his majesty's great wisdom, what sum of money he should be pleased to grant for their assistance; and in case the money advanced for this purpose should not be in a reasonable time repaid, they humbly conceived that then his majesty would have an equitable right to take the government under his immediate care and protection."
[Sidenote] The project revived for purchasing the proprietary colonies.
The same year a bill was brought into the House of Commons in England for the better regulation of the charter and proprietary governments in America, and of his majesty's plantations there; the chief design of which was, to reduce all charter and proprietary governments into regal ones. Men conversant in the history of past ages, particularly in that of the rise and progress of different states, had long foreseen the rapid increase of American colonies, and wisely judged, that it would be for the interest of the kingdom to purchase them for the Crown as soon as possible. At different times administration, in the reigns of King William and Queen Anne, held treaties with the Proprietors for this purpose: but some obstacles always came in the way, or some accidents occurred, which prevented a final agreement. At this time while Penn was about selling the government of Pennsylvania, for twelve thousand pounds, to the Crown, he was seized with an apoplexy, and died before the deeds were executed. Lord Baltimore, the Duke of Beaufort, and Lord Craven, all minors, petitioned to be heard by counsel against passing the bill. The province of Massachuset's Bay petitioned against it, alledging that the charter they had received from King William placed them on the same footing with the different corporations in England, and that it would be equally hard and unjust to deprive them of their charter privileges, as to disfranchise the English corporations. The colony of Connecticut, whose charter was intended to be taken away by this bill, in like manner petitioned to be excepted out of it. These petitions, together with the reasons assigned in support of them, the committee of the House found some difficulty in answering, and therefore, instead of proceeding farther in an affair of such national concern, the design was entirely dropt.
It is remarkable, that the Proprietors of Carolina, at the time they obtained their charter, as is expressly mentioned in it were excited to form that settlement by their zeal for the propagation of the Christian faith among the Indians of America: yet, to their shame it must be confessed, that they have either never used any endeavours for this laudable purpose, or they have been utterly fruitless and ineffectual. At this time, indeed, the society incorporated for propagating the Gospel maintained several missionaries in Carolina, as well as in the northern provinces. The parishes of St. Helen's, St. Paul's, Christ-Church, St. Andrew's, St. James's, and St. John's were all supplied with ministers from this charitable corporation, who were instructed to use their best endeavours for spreading the Gospel among the heathens in their neighbourhood and received an annual allowance from the society for that purpose; yet we have not been able to learn that these heathens ever reaped the smallest advantage from them. The Spaniards, though they have often made use of the more severe and rough means of conversion, and erected the standard of the cross in a field of blood, yet they have also been exceedingly diligent and assiduous in teaching heathens the principles of the Catholic religion. In point of policy, this zeal was more praise-worthy than English negligence: for such barbarians would certainly have been much easier tamed and civilized by mild instruction than by force of arms. The Tumican and Apalachian Indians, before Governor Moore's inroads among them, had made some advances towards civilization, and paid, by means of instruction from Roman Catholic missionaries, strict obedience to the Spanish government at Augustine. Had the Proprietors of Carolina erected schools, for the instruction of young Indians in the language, manners and religion of the English nation, such an institution might have been attended with the most beneficial effects. For while the children of such savages were living among the colonists, they would have been like so many hostages to secure the goodwill and peaceable behaviour of their parents, and when they returned to the nation to which they belonged, their knowledge of the English language and customs would, for the future, have rendered all commercial treaties and transactions between them easy and practicable. Besides, they would have all the prejudices of education in favour of the English manners and government, which would have helped both to fortify them against the fatal influence of Spanish rivals, and to render them more firm and steady to the British interest.
[Sidenote] Differences occasioned by the war.
Although the Yamassee war had terminated much to the honour of the Carolinians, yet the fatal effects of it were long and heavily felt by the colony. Many of the planters had no negroes to assist them in raising provisions for their families, and these persons who had negroes, could not be spared to overlook them, so that the plantations were left uncultivated, and the produce of the year was trifling and inconsiderable. The men being more solicitous about the safety of their families than the increase of their fortunes, purchased bills of exchange at any price, to send with them to the northern provinces, in order to procure for them there the necessaries of life. The provincial merchants being much indebted to those in London, the latter were alarmed at the dangers which hung over the colony, and pressed them much for remittances. The Indians, who stood indebted to the merchants of Carolina for ten thousand pounds, instead of paying their debts, had cancelled them, by murdering the traders, and abandoning the province. No remittances could be made, but in such commodities as the country produced, and all hands being engaged in war, rendered them both very scarce and extremely dear. To answer the public exigences of the province, large emissions of paper currency were also requisite. Hence the rate of exchange arose to an extravagant height. The province was indebted no less than eighty thousand pounds, and at the same time obliged to maintain garrisons on the frontiers for the public defence, which served to increase the debt. While struggling amidst those hardships, the merchants of London complained to the Proprietors of the increase of paper money, as injurious to trade; in consequence of which they strictly ordered their Governor to reduce it. All those things served to aggravate the distress of the poor colonists, and caused them to murmur against their landlords for want of compassion, and to turn not a little disaffected to their government.
[Sidenote] Aggravated by the Proprietors.
The next step taken by the legislature of Carolina, served to widen the difference. The Yamassees being expelled from Indian land, the assembly passed two acts to appropriate those lands gained by conquest for the use and encouragement of such of his majesty's subjects as should come over and settle upon them. Extracts of these acts being sent to England and Ireland, and published among the people, five hundred men from Ireland transported themselves to Carolina, to take the benefit of them; which influx was a great acquisition at this juncture, and served to strengthen these frontiers against future incursions from barbarians. But the beneficial consequences of these acts were all frustrated by the Proprietors, who repealed them, claiming such lands as their property, and insisting on the right of disposing of them as they thought fit. Not long afterwards, to the utter ruin of the Irish emigrants, and in breach of the provincial faith to them, the Proprietors ordered the Indian lands to be surveyed for their own use, and run out in large baronies; by which harsh usage the old settlers, having lost the protection of the new comers, deserted their plantations, and again left the frontiers open to the enemy; as for the unfortunate Irish emigrants, having spent the little money they had, many of them, reduced to misery, perished, and the remainder moved to the northern colonies.