43. Mr. Whitefield's Orphan-House (1739/40) BY SECRETARY COLONEL WILLIAM STEPHENS Stephens was resident secretary in Georgia for the trustees, and later president of the colony. His journal is of great value on account of its accuracy and minuteness. Bibliography: Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, V, 392-406; C. C. Jones, Georgia, 1, 400-419; Channing and Hart, Guide, § 103. — See below, No. 100. FRIDAY January 11]. Towards Noon arrived Mr. Whitfield, accom panied by three or four in his Travels; and it luckily happening, that Mr. Norris arrived Yesterday from the South, it was quickly seen with what Temper they met: When, to the Disappointment of some People, who are pleased best with Contention, upon Mr. Whitfield's shewing the Authority he brought with him, Mr. Norris, without the least Emotion, told him, that he should by no Means enter into any Disputes to disturb the Peace of the Church; nor had he ever wrote once to the Trustees concerning it, from the first Notice he had of what was in Agitation; wherefore it was far from his Intention to enter into any Controversy with him; but on the contrary declared, that his Ministry at Savannah ceased from that Instant, declining to officiate at Evening Prayer this Night, but left it to Mr. Whitfield to take Possession of the Church immediately; who accordingly did so, when a greater Congregation than usual most Days were met, many (I fear) more out of Curiosity than Devotion. He delivered to me in the Afternoon a Letter from Mr. Martyn, Secretary to the Trust, dated June 1, relating to the Land appointed for his Use, and whereon to set the Orphan-House, &c. which after I had read, he also did; and I told him I would not be wanting in any Thing on my Part to promote what the Trust appointed, and to give him what Assistance I could; but as to the five hundred Acres, Mr. Habersham, without conferring with me upon it, when the General was here, applied himself to him, who approved of the Place he had made Choice of, ordered it to be run out, and then signed a Warrant, which he directed me to give the Constable, empowering him to give Possession of it to Mr. Habersham; which was done accordingly in some short Time after: And that Mr. Habersham had already began fencing and clearing upon it. After his reading the Letter from Mr. Martyn, he desired me to let him take a Copy of it; which I would not refuse him. Saturday. Mr. Whitfield lost no Time in setting forward the Work which he professed to have much at Heart, about an Orphan-House; and rode out to view the Land which Mr. Habersham had taken Care to provide against his coming, consisting of five hundred Acres, that he had taken Possession of in his own Name; where Mr. Whitfield gave such Orders and Directions as he thought proper. Sunday. Mr. Whitfield's Name, which of late had made so much Noise in England, could not fail drawing all Sorts of People to Church, who professed Christianity, to hear what Doctrine it was that he preached : When both in the Morning and Afternoon, he made our Justification by Faith only, the Subject of his Discourse; taking those Words in St. Matthew for his Text, "What think you of Christ?" Which he pressed home with great Energy, denouncing Anathema's on all such as taught otherwise. . ... Tuesday. What I thought most worth present Observation, arose from the extraordinary Preparations making to build the Orphan-House, &c. wherein Mr. Whitfield indeed shewed himself much in earnest; and it may be presumed, he expected it would be finished in few Months; in order to which, there was hardly one Sawyer of any Value in Town, but all hired, and engaged by him to go over and work, where he meant to erect that Building: Most of our Carpenters, Bricklayers, &c. were likewise engaged by him, and a great Quantity of Scantling Timber, ready sawn, was coming (as I heard) for the more Expedition, from North-Carolina. The House that Mr. Bradley had lived in, being empty, Mr. Jones complimented the first Comers with the Use of, for the present; and Mr. Whitfield chose, upon his Arrival, to carry those Friends that came with him thither also, as well as to be with them himself, leaving Mr. Norris in Possession of the Parsonage-House (which could not hold more than two or three) till he could conveniently move what he had there, and carry it with him to Frederica: But the great House not being finished within, and incommodious on many Accounts, especially by letting the Rain come through the Roof, which was flat; Mr. Whitfield agreed with David Douglass for the Use of his House (much the largest of any private Lot in Town) at the Rent of 20%. Sterling for half a Year only. . . . Sunday. Mr. Whitfield did the Duties of the Day, with more than ordinary Diligence, by reading Prayers at Seven in the Morning; at Ten again, with a Sermon after it; at Three again, the same as at Ten; and a Lecture at Seven in the Evening; besides the Sacrament, which he administred to betwixt thirty and forty People after the second Morning Service: His Sermons both before Noon and after, in the same Manner as on Sunday last, were wholly on the Doctrine of Justification and Regeneration; which we hoped would ere long be followed by an Exhortation to the Practice of all Christian Duties, that so our Faith might be shewn by our Works; otherwise a dry and inactive Faith, it is to be feared, might prove a dangerous State. . . ... William Stephens, A Journal of the Proceedings in Georgia (London, 1742), II, 243-254 passim. 44. Need of Relieving Georgia (1749) Burke was a well-known English orator and statesman, who later sided with the colonies in their complaints of the home government. He is responsible for the book from which this extract is taken, though it was probably prepared by an unknown hack-writer. Bibliography: Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, V, ch. vi; Channing and Hart, Guide, § 103. LL these, and several other inconveniencies in the plan of the settlement, raised a general discontent in the inhabitants; they quarrelled with one another, and with their magistrates; they complained; they remonstrated; and finding no satisfaction, many of them fled out of Georgia, and dispersed themselves where they deemed the encouragement better, to all the other colonies. So that of above two thousand people, who had transported themselves from Europe, in a little time not above six or seven hundred were to be found in Georgia ; so far were they from increasing. The mischief grew worse and worse every day, until the government revoked the grant to the trustees, took the province into their own hands, and annulled all the particular regulations that were made. It was then left exactly on the same footing with Carolina. Though this step has probably saved the colony from entire ruin, yet it was not perhaps so well done to neglect entirely the first views upon which it was settled. These were undoubtedly judicious; and if the methods taken to compass them were not so well directed, it was no argument against the designs themselves, but a reason for some change in the instruments designed to put them in execution. Certainly nothing wants a regulation more, than the dangerous inequality in the number of negroes and whites in such of our provinces where the former are used. South Carolina, in spite of its great wealth, is really in a more defenceless condition, than a knot of poor townships on the frontiers of New England. In Georgia, the first error of absolutely prohibiting the use of negroes, might be turned to very good account; for they would have received the permission to employ them under what qualifications soever, not as a restriction, but as a favour and indulgence; and by executing whatever regulations we should make in this point with strictness, by degrees we might see a province fit to answer all the ends of defence and traffic too; whereas we have let them use such a latitude in that affair, which we were so earnest to prevent, that Georgia instead of being any defence to Carolina, does actually stand in need of a considerable force to defend itself. As for the scheme of vines and silk, we were extremely eager in this respect in the beginning; and very supine ever since. At that time such a design was clearly impracticable; because a few people seated in a wild country must first provide every thing for the support of life, by raising of corn and breeding of cattle, before they can think of manufactures of any kind; and they must grow numerous enough to spare a number of hands from that most necessary employment, before they can send such things in any degree of cheapness or plenty to a good market. But now there is little said of either of these articles, though the province is longer settled and grown more populous. But the misfortune is, that though no people upon earth originally conceive things better than the English do, they want the unremitting perseverance which is necessary to bring designs of consequence to perfection. We are apt suddenly to change our measures upon any failure; without sufficiently considering whether the failure has been owing to a fault in the scheme itself; this does not arise from any defect peculiar to our people, for it is the fault of mankind in general, if left to themselves. What is done by us is generally done by the spirit of the people; as far as that can go we advance, but no farther. We want political regulations, and a steady plan in government, to remedy the defects that must be in all things, which depend merely on the character and disposition of the people. At present Georgia is beginning to emerge, though slowly, out of the difficulties that attended its first establishment. It is still but indifferently peopled, though it is now twenty-six years since its first settlement. Not one of our colonies was of so slow a growth, though none had so much of the attention of the government, or of the people in general, or raised so great expectations in the beginning. They export some corn and lumber to the West-Indies; they raise some rice, and of late are going with success into indigo. It is not to be doubted but in time, when their internal divisions are a little better composed, the remaining errors in the government corrected, and the people begin to multiply, that they will become a useful province. Georgia has two towns already known in trade; Savannah the capital, which stands very well for business about ten miles form [from] the sea, upon a noble river of the same name, which is navigable two hundred miles further for large boats, to the second town, called Augusta; this stands upon a spot of ground of the greatest fertility, and is so commodiously situated for the Indian trade, that from the first establishment of the colony it has been in a very flourishing condition, and maintained very early six hundred whites in that trade alone. The Indian nations on their borders are the upper and lower Creeks, the Chickesaws, and the Cherokees; who are some of the most numerous and powerful tribes in America. The trade of skins with this people is the largest we have, it takes in that of Georgia, the two Carolinas and Virginia. We deal with them somewhat in furs likewise, but they are of an inferior sort. All species of animals, that bear the fur, by a wise providence have it more thick, and of a softer and finer kind as you go to the northward; the greater the cold, the better they are clad. [Edmund Burke], An Account of the European Settlements in America (London, 1760), II, 269–273. |