Of his successful repulse of the Spanish attack upon the island of St. Simon, the most spirited narratives are furnished in General Oglethorpe’s official report of the 30th of July, 1742, printed in the 3d volume of the Collections of the Georgia Historical Society; in the letter of John Smith (who, on board the war vessel “Success,” participated in the naval engagement), written from Charlestown, South Carolina, on the 14th of July, 1742, and printed in the Daily Advertiser; and in a communication on file in the Public Record Office in London among the Shaftesbury Papers.[867]
That harmony did not always obtain among the Georgia colonists, and that disagreements between the governing and the governed were sometimes most pronounced, must be admitted. While the Trustees endeavored to promote the development of the plantation and to assure the public of the progress of the province, malcontents there were, who thwarted their plans, questioned the expediency of their regulations, and openly declared that their misrule and the partiality of the Trust’s servants were the prolific causes of disquietude and disaster. That General Oglethorpe may, at times, have been dictatorial in his administration of affairs is quite probable; and yet it must be admitted that, amid the dangers which environed and the disturbing influences which beset the development of the province, an iron will and a strong arm were indispensable for its guidance and protection.
The publication, in the interest of the Trust, of the two pamphlets to which we have alluded, one entitled An Impartial Inquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia, London, 1741,[868] and the other, A State of the Province of Georgia attested upon Oath in the Court of Savannah, November 10, 1740, London, 1742,[869]—both exhibiting favorable views of the condition of the colony and circulated in furtherance of the scheme of colonization,—so irritated these malcontents that they indulged in several rejoinders, among which will be remembered A Brief Account of the Causes that have retarded the Progress of the Colony of Georgia in America, attested upon oath: being a proper Contrast to A State of the Province of Georgia attested upon oath and some other misrepresentations on the same subject, London, 1743.[870] The magistrates, both at Savannah and Frederica, were therein declared to be oppressors of the inhabitants. General Oglethorpe was accused of tyranny and partiality. It will be observed that most of the supporting affidavits were verified outside the limits of Georgia. A desire to sell forbidden articles, and to ply trades for which special licenses had been issued to others; opposition to the regulation which prohibited the owners of cattle and hogs from allowing them to run at large on the common and in the streets of Frederica; alleged misfeasance in the conduct of bailiffs and magistrates in the discharge of their duties; the unprofitableness of labor, overbearing acts committed by those in authority, and similar matters, formed the burthen of these sworn complaints. While they tended to distract the public mind and to annoy those upon whose shoulders rested the provincial government, they fortunately failed in producing any serious impression either within the colony or in the mother country.
Another Jacobinical tract was that prepared and published at the instigation of Dr. Patrick Tailfer,—a thorn in the side of General Oglethorpe, to whom, under the signature of “The Plain Dealer,” he addressed a communication upon colonial affairs full of complaint, condemnation, and sarcasm. He was the chief of a club of malcontents in Savannah, whose conduct became so notorious that they were forced, in September, 1740, to quit the province and seek refuge in South Carolina. When thus beyond the jurisdiction of Georgia, in association with Hugh Anderson, David Douglass, and others, he caused to be printed a scurrilous tract entitled A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America from the first Settlement thereof until the present period, etc., Charles-Town, South Carolina, 1741.[871] The epistle dedicatory is addressed to General Oglethorpe, and is full of venom. Craving rum, negro slaves, and fee-simple titles to land, such disaffected colonists hesitated not to malign the authorities, disquiet the settlers, and belie the true condition of affairs. Georgia was then in an embarrassed and impoverished situation. Her population was increasing but slowly. Labor was scarcely remunerative. Onerous were some of the regulations of the Trustees, and the Spanish war cloud was darkening the southern confines of the province. The impression, however, which Dr. Tailfer and his associates sought to convey of the status of the colony was exaggerated, spiteful, and without warrant.[872]
The visit of Tomo-chi-chi and his retinue to England is described in contemporaneous numbers of the Gentleman’s Magazine and of the London Magazine. It was also commemorated in what is now rarely seen, Georgia a Poem; Tomo-cha-chi, an Ode; A copy of verses on Mr. Oglethorpe’s second voyage to Georgia, “Facies non omnibus una, nec diversa tamen,” London, 1736. Twenty-two years afterwards appeared Tombo-chi-qui or The American Savage, a Dramatic Entertainment in Three Acts, London, 1758. Although printed anonymously, it is generally attributed to Cleland. The poet Freneau, at a later date, composed an ode to The Dying Indian Tomo-chequi. In the Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. x. p. 129, is an interesting letter describing the last moments and sepulture of this noted Mico. In his Historical Sketch of Tomo-chi-chi, Mico of the Yamacraws, Albany, 1868, the author of these notes endeavored to present all that is known of this distinguished chief, to whose friendship and aid the Colony of Georgia was indebted in a remarkable degree.
It was the custom of the Trustees to assemble annually and listen to a sermon delivered in commendation of the benevolent scheme in which they were engaged. Some of these discourses possess historical value, although most of them are simply moral essays.[873]
In December, 1837, the General Assembly of Georgia empowered the governor of the State to select a competent person to procure from the government offices in London copies of all records and documents respecting the settlement and illustrating the colonial life of Georgia. The Rev. Charles Wallace Howard was entrusted with the execution of this mission. He returned with copies of documents filling twenty-two folio volumes. Fifteen of these were made from the originals on file in the office of the Board of Trade, six from those in the State Paper Office, and the remaining volume consisted of copies of important documents included in the king’s library.[874] These MS. volumes are preserved in the state library at Atlanta. While they embrace many of the communications, regulations, reports, treaties, and documents illustrative of the colonial life of Georgia, they do not exhaust the treasures of the Public Record Office and the British Museum.
In private hands in England are several original MS. volumes, connected with the colonization of Georgia and detailing the acts and resolutions of the Trustees. Prominent among them are two quarto volumes, closely written in the neat, small, round hand of John Percival, the first Earl of Egmont and the first president of the Board of Trustees, containing the original manuscript records of the meetings of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America from June 14th, 1738, to the 24th of May, 1744.[875] They contain also an index of proceedings, June, 1737, to June, 1738, together with some memoranda relating to the proceedings of 1745-46. It is probable that there were antecedent volumes, but they are not now known.
In the Department of State, and in the Executive Department of Georgia, are some documents of great historical interest connected with the English colonization of Georgia. The Historical Collections of the Georgia Historical Society,[876] in four volumes, contain reprints of many of the early tracts already referred to, and other papers illustrative of Georgia history.[877]