[721] Towards 1700, “about half of the Albemarle settlement was composed of Quakers.” (Hawks, ii. p. 89.) They had been, at an earlier day, driven from Massachusetts and Virginia. (Ib. p. 362.) They did not, however, at any time amount to 2,000, and constituted a small minority of the whole population in the colony (p. 369).
[722] It is said by historians that a sort of constitution had been given the colony at Albemarle, in 1667, when Stephens became governor. It is explained by Chalmers (“Political Annals,” p. 524, as cited by Dr. Hawks, ii. p. 147), and said not to be now extant, and that the provisions were simple and satisfactory to the colony. The Hon. W. L. Saunders, the present Secretary of State of North Carolina, has discussed this subject, and shows from the Shaftesbury Papers, which were unknown to Chalmers, that what has been considered a constitution was merely the “Concessions of January 7th, 1665,” a transcript of which had been sent to Governor Stephens. See pamphlet, 1885, p. 31, et seq.
[723] The revenue, collected by Miller in six months after he arrived, was about 5,000 dollars and 33 hogsheads of tobacco. Hawks’ North Carolina, ii. p. 471
[724] Bancroft, ii. pp. 161, 162, ed. 1856, views the Culpepper rebellion as an outgrowth of the spirit of freedom, not mere lawlessness. See documents in Hawks’ North Carolina, ii. pp. 374-377; also the “Answer of the Lords Proprietors,” p. 38 of North Carolina under the Proprietary Government, pamphlet, 1884. Compare this self-excusatory answer with the manly “remonstrance of the inhabitants of Pasquotank,” who wanted, first of all, “a free Parliament.” This manifesto has been ridiculed by Chalmers and Hawks; Wheeler appears to have the right conception of it.
[725] The histories of North Carolina—through lack of records—are deficient in explaining the political aims of the people. The lack of records of the popular assembly will be noticed hereafter.
[726] His commission as deputy governor was to come from the Executive in South Carolina. The governor there—Tynte—was dead, and Hyde’s formal commission delayed. In December, 1710, it was proposed among the Proprietors to appoint a separate governor for North Carolina. Hyde received the appointment, and was sworn in—the first “Governor of North Carolina”—in 1712. Abstracts, etc., N. C., p. 23. The population of the colony was at this time about 7,000, white and black.
[727] We can, to some extent, understand the aim, at this time, of the popular party, from letters of Gov. Spotswood (July 28th and 30th). The people demanded the repeal of certain laws. One of these was probably that which excluded Quakers from all offices for which oaths were a prerequisite, as no reservation was made for conscientious scruples; and another, that which imposed a fine of £5 on any one promoting his own election or not qualifying as prescribed. Perhaps the disaffection was more deeply seated. In 1717 the Rev. John Urmstone said the people acknowledged no power not derived from themselves. This opinion, at any rate, appears to be consistent with the tenor of events. See Hawks, ii. pp. 423, 426, 509, and 512; and N. Carolina under the Proprietary Government, p. 36 (pamphlet), 1884.
[728] Coll. of S. C. Hist. Soc., i. p. 176. This letter may be sarcastic, if the “great dislike” of rebellion applies to the people, but we are sure it is untrue in saying that the almost unanimous action of South Carolina was the action of “several of the inhabitants.” It is likely, also, to be untrue in intimating that the assembly joined in such an address. Hawks, ii. p. 561. See Yonge’s account of the way in which the affairs of the Proprietors were often transacted by their secretary. Some Proprietors lived away from London; others were minors and represented by proxy.
[729] Legislative document no. 21, 1883, informs us that among the historical material especially needed are “the Journals of the Lower House of the legislature prior to 1754.”
[730] About 1743, John Lord Carteret (Earl of Granville) was allotted his eighth part of the land, all other rights being conveyed to the Crown. This strip of land was just below the Virginia line, and extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific. From notices in Hewat’s “South Carolina” in Carroll’s Collections, p. 360, and S. C. Hist. Soc. Coll., ii. p. 284.