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ments, the fullest Rights and Properties, all the Immunities of their Mother Countries, and Privileges rather more extensive: By such Means indeed, these Colonies flourish'd with early Trade and Affluence; but Your Excellency's Concern for our perpetual Welfare, could never permit you to propose such transitory Advantages for us: You consider 'd Riches like a Divine and Philosopher, as the Irritamenta Malorum, and knew that they were disposed to inflate weak Minds with Pride; to pamper the body with Luxury, and introduce a long Variety of Evils. Thus have you Protected us from ourselves, as Mr. Waller says, by keeping all Earthly Comforts from us: You have afforded us the Opportunity of arriving at the Integrity of the Primitive Times, by intailing a more than Primitive Poverty on us: The Toil that is necessary to our bare Subsistence, must effectually defend us from the Anxieties of any further Ambition: As we have no Properties, to feed Vain-Glory and beget Contention; so we are not puzzled with any System of Laws to ascertain and establish them: The valuable Virtue of Humility is secured to us, by your Care to prevent our procuring, or so much as seeing, any Negroes, (the only human Creatures proper to improve our Soil) lest our Simplicity might mistake the poor Africans for greater slaves than ourselves: And that we might fully receive the Spiritual Benefit of those wholesome Austerities; you have wisely denied us the Use of such Spirituous Liquors, as might in the least divert our Minds from the Contemplation of our Happy Circumstances.

OUR Subject swells upon us; and did we allow ourselves to indulge our Inclination, without considering our weak Abilities, we should be tempted to launch out into many of Your Excellency's extraordinary Endowments, which do not so much regard the Affair in Hand: But as this would lead us beyond the Bounds of a Dedication; so would it engross a Subject too extensive for us, to the Prejudice of other Authors and Panegyrists; We shall therefore confine ourselves to that remarkable Scene of Your Conduct, whereby Great Britain in general, and the Settlers of Georgia in particular, are laid under such inexpressible Obligations.

BE pleased then, Great SIR, to accompany our heated Imaginations, in taking a View of this Colony of Georgia! this Child of your auspicious Politicks! arrived at the utmost Vigor of its Constitution, at a Term when most former States have been struggling through the Convulsions of their Infancy. This early Maturity however, lessons our Admiration, that Your Excellency lives to see (what few Founders ever aspired after) the great Decline and almost final Termination of it. So many

have finish'd their Course during the Progress of the Experiment, and such Numbers have retreated from the Fantoms of Poverty and Slavery which their cowardly Imaginations pictur'd to them; that you may justly vaunt with the boldest Hero of them all,

Like Death you reign

O'er silent Subjects and a desert Plain.

Busitis.

YET must your Enemies (if you have any) be reduced to confess, that no ordinary Statesman could have digested in the like Manner, so capacious a Scheme, such a copious Jumble of Power and Politicks. We shall content ourselves with observing, that all those beauteous Models of Government which the little States of Germany exercise, and those extensive Liberties which the Boors of Poland enjoy, were design'd to concenter in your System; and were we to regard the Modes of Government, we must have been strangely unlucky to have miss'd of the best, where there was the Appearance of so great a Variety; for under the Influence of our Perpetual Dictator, we have seen something like Aristocracy, Oligarchy, as well as the Triumvirate, Decemvirate and Consular Authority of famous Republicks, which have expired many Ages before us: What Wonder then we share the fame Fate? Do their Towns and Villages exist but in Story and Rubbish? We are all over Ruins; our PublickWorks, Forts, Wells, High-Ways, Light-House, Store and Water-Mills, &c. are dignified like theirs, with the same venerable Desolation. The Log-House indeed, is like to be the last forsaken Spot of your Empire; yet even this, thro' the Death or Desertion of those who should continue to inhabit it, must suddenly decay; the Bankrupt Jailor himself, shall be soon denied the Privilege of human Conversation; and when this last Moment of the Spell expires, the whole shall vanish like the Illusion of some Eastern Magician.

BUT let not this solitary Prospect impress Your Excellency with any Fears of having your Services to Mankind, and to the Settlers of Georgia in particular, buried in Oblivion ; for if we diminutive Authors are allow'd to prophesie (as you know Poets in those Cases formerly did) we may confidently presage, That while the Memoirs of America continue to be read in English, Spanish, or the Language of the Scots High Landers, Your Excellency's Exploits and Epocha will be transmitted to Pos

terity.

SHOULD Your Excellency apprehend the least Tincture of Flattery in any Thing already hinted; we may sincerely assure you, we intended nothing that our Sentiments did not very strict

ly attribute to your Merit; and in such Sentiments, we have the Satisfaction of being fortified by all Persons of Impartiality and Discernment.

But to trespass no longer on those Minutes, which Your Excellency may suppose more significantly employ'd on the Sequal; let it suffice at present, to assure you, that we are deeply affected with your Favours; and tho' unable of ourselves properly to acknowledge them, we shall embrace every Opportunity of Recommending you to higher Powers, who (we are hopeful) will reward Your Excellency according to your MERIT.

May it please Your Excellency,
Your Excellecy's

Most devoted Servants,

The Land-Holders of GEORGIA,

Authors of the following Narrative.

P R E F A СЕ.

THE Colony of Georgia has afforded so much subject of Conversation to the World, that it is not to be question'd but a true and impartial Account of it from its first Settlement to its present 'Period, will be generally agreeable; and the more so, that the Subject has hitherto been so much disguised and misrepresented in Pamphlets, Poems, Gazettes and Journals.

IF it it ask'd, Why this NARRATIVE has not been publish'd to the World sooner? We assign two Reasons, which (we doubt not) will be satisfactory.

FIRST, A Number of Honourable Gentlemen accepted the Charge of Trustees for executing the Purposes in his Majesty's most gracious CHARTER; Gentlemen, whose Honour and Integrity we never did, or yet do call in question: But, to our great Misfortune, none of that honourable Body, (excepting Mr. OGELTHORPE) ever had Opportunity of Viewing the Situation and Circumstances of the Colony, and judging for themselves as to the Necessities thereof. How far Mr. Oglethorpe's Schemes were consistent with the Welfare or Prosperity of it, will best appear from the following NARRATIVE.

WHEN Experience gradually unfolded to us the Alterations we found absolutely requisite to our subsisting, we made all dutiful and submissive Applications to these our Patrons, in whom we placed so much Confidence: This Course we judged the most proper and direct, and therefore repeated these our dutiful Applications, both to the Body of the Trustees and to Mr. Oglethorpe ; but alas! our Miseries could not alter his Views of Things, and therefore we could obtain no Redress from him; and the honourable Board we found were prejudiced against our Petitions (no doubt) thro' Misinformations and Misrepresentations; and this (we are confident) a further Enquiry and Time will convince them of.

THE inviolable Regard we paid to the honourable Board, kept us from applying to any other Power for Redress, whilst the least Hopes could be entertained of any from them: And we make no doubt, but that our Moderation in this respect, will recommend us to all Persons of Humanity.

A SECOND Reason is, That as we had daily Occasion of seeing our supream Magistrates, who ruled over us with unlimit

ed Power, exercising illegal Acts of Authority, by Threatnings, Imprisonments, and other Oppressions; therefore we had just Reason to apprehend, that any further Steps to obtain Relief, might subject us to the like Effects of arbitrary Power; so, until now, that a Handful of us have made our Escape to a Land of Liberty (after having made Shipwreck of our Time and Substance in that unhappy Colony) we had it not in our Power to represent the State of that Settlement to the World, or make our Application to higher Powers for Redress.

Them

WE are hopeful, that the Perusal of the following Sheets, will rectify two sorts of Readers in their Surprize in relation to the Colony of GEORGIA, viz. Those of GREAT BRITAIN, who have never known this Part of the World but by Description; and those of AMERICA: The First are no doubt surprized, to think it possible, that so pleasant and temperate a Clime; so fruitful a Soil; such extensive Privileges; all which were publickly given out; and such considerable Sums of publick_and private Benefactions, have not satisfied and enriched us: we refer to the following Narrative for Satisfaction The American Reader, on the other Hand, must be equally surprized to find that such Numbers should have been so fooled and blindfolded, as to expect to live in this Part of America by Cultivation of Lands without Negroes, and much more without Titles to their Lands, and laid under a Load of Grievances and Restrictions: And tho' these were redress'd, How could Persons in their Senses ever imagine, that Fifty Acres of Pine-Barren, not value Fifty Six pences in Property, (and whereof many Thousands may be purchased at half that Rate in the neighbouring Province) could maintain a Family of white People, and pay such Duties and Quit-Rents in a few Years, as the richest Grounds in Carolina, or other Provinces in America will never bear? To these last we shall only beg leave to observe, that such fatal Artifice was used, (we shall not say by whom) such specious Pretences were made use of, and such real Falsities advanced, and the smallest Foundations of Truth magnify'd to Hyperbole; that we, who had no Opportunity of knowing otherways, or means of learning the real Truth, and being void of all Suspicion of Artifice or Design, easily believed all these, and fell into the Decoy.

THE Mind of Man is Naturally curious and enterprizing; we easily feed our Wishes into Realities, and affect and look upon every Novelty in the most favourable Light; how easy then is it, for Cunning and Artifice to lay hold on the weak Sides of our Fellow-Creatures, as we catch Fish with a Hook baited to their particular Gout?

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