Thirdly, The guvernor and company of Connecticut, by the prior date of their charter, having the right of pre-emption to all the lands cuvered by the charter, could Mr. Penn acquire a title to any of the same lands by pre-emption?
On legal principles he certainly could not.
The only substantial ground of title which Pensylvania could hav to the controverted lands, waz, that Connecticut, by neglecting to purchase of the Indians, might forfit their right of pre-emption, and leev the territory open to any purchaser whatever; so that Mr. Penn or hiz heirs might acquire a good title by first purchase. Whether Mr. Penn actually acquired such a title or not, I am not possessed of documents to decide. That the first grant of New England actually extended to the Western or Pacific Ocean, cannot be denied; and congress hav admitted the claim, by accepting from Connecticut a cession of lands west of Pensylvania. Connecticut however stil holds a tract of one hundred and twenty miles, west of that state, which iz now for sale. The state of Massachusetts haz a similar claim to lands west of New York state; and the line between the two states haz lately been settled by commissioners. At any rate, the controversy between Connecticut and Pensylvania waz finally terminated by the decree of Trenton, and it iz to be wished no future altercation may disturb the states or individual proprietors.
The small state of Delaware resembles Pensylvania in respect to its history and guvernment.
Maryland waz settled by Roman Catholic emigrants, from England and Ireland, under lord Baltimore. Large grants of land were carved out to individuals, and slaves purchased from Africa to cultivate the soil. Some of the largest estates in America lie in Maryland. The guvernment waz formerly in the hands of the proprietary; but the peeple, at the revolution, assumed it. Mr. Harford, the natural son of lord Baltimore, inherited hiz property in Maryland; but being an absentee during the war, hiz estates were confiscated, and on petition, the legislature refuzed him even the arreerages of rent, du at the commencement of hostilities.[162]
The present constitution iz in general excellent; and particularly in the establishment of an independent senate. In a popular state, nothing contributes so much to stability and safety, az an independency and firmness in one branch of the legislature. This state however, like its nabors, iz remarkable for tumultuous elections; a malpractice that haz existed from its first settlement; a practice which wil sooner or later proov fatal to the attempts of merit in obtaining offices, and sap the foundation of a free guvernment.
The body of the peeple are ignorant. I once saw a copy of instructions given to a representativ by hiz constituents, with more than a hundred names subscribed; three fifths of which were marked with a cross, because the men could not write. Two or three colleges, and some academies and private skools, constitute the principal meens of instruction in this state, and most of theze are of a modern establishment. A few large towns only giv good encuragement to skools and the clergy.
Maryland continues to receev multitudes of emigrants from Europe, and many of them are of the poorest class. From several months rezidence in Maryland, I am inclined to beleev, there are more vagabonds in Baltimore and the vicinity, than in all New England. But Maryland must decide upon the public benefit derived from this unrestrained admission of foreigners.
Virginia waz settled eight yeers before New York, and fourteen before New England. This circumstance haz given the state the quaint appellation of the ancient dominion. The divisions of property are large, and the lands cultivated by slaves. Entailments of land were barred before the revolution; but real estate iz not liable for det upon an execution. It appeers strange at first view, that men should exempt their lands from this liability, and at the same time, suffer their persons to be imprizoned for det: The singularity however iz eezily accounted for, by their karacteristic attachment to large estates, or rather to the name of possessing them. When a man's consequence and reputation depend principally on the quantity of land and number of negroes he iz said to possess, he will not risk both for the sake of hiz creditors. The passion for the name of a planter, absorbs all other considerations. I waz once present at an entertainment, given by a yung planter in Virginia, who had much land and many slaves. He aroze at two o'clock next morning, pawned hiz knee buckles and some other articles, gave hiz landlord a note for about sixty dollars, and rode off without paying hiz hair-dresser. But he waz said to be a man of property. Many of the planters are indeed nominally rich; but their dets are not paid. I waz told by wel informed planters, that some whole counties in Virginia would hardly sel for the valu of the dets du from the inhabitants. The Virginians, it iz tru, owe immense sums to British merchants, and the difficulty of paying them might be a principal reezon for suspending the collection by law, at the cloze of the war; but that the real estates of a whole county would not discharge the dets of it, iz not to be beleeved.
A large part of the peeple in Virginia hav not the meens of education. The dispersed situation of the planters in the suthern states, renders it impossible for all to hav access to skools. The university of Williamsburg, and a few academies in large towns, constitute the principal meens of education in Virginia; and the same remark iz applicable to all the suthern states. But a small proportion of the white children can reep any advantage from theze institutions. Since the revolution, the legislatures of all the suthern states hav shown a dispozition to giv liberal encuragement to the education of every rank of citizens; but the local circumstances or habits of the peeple throw innumerable obstacles in the way of executing their patriotic designs. Gentlemen of property, reziding on their plantations at a distance from a village, wil sometimes hire a private instructor in their families; but theze instructors must be vagabonds, for the most part; az the gentlemen wil not admit that a skoolmaster can be a gentleman; in consequence of which opinion, most or all teechers are excluded from genteel company. While this iz the case, men of good breeding wil not be found to teech their children. An exception must be made of grammar masters, az they are called; for a man who can teech Latin, they suppoze, may be a decent man, and fit for gentlemen's company.