CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021032390 A SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY A SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY BY HUGH EDWARD EGERTON M.A. BARRISTEK-AT-LAW "the world's history is the world's judgment" METHUEN & CO. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON PREFACE In these latter days when the plague of book-making has taken its place; along with influenza, among the blessings of an advanced civilization, the appearance of any volume, not vouched by an author of eminence, requires a word of apology. Perhaps, however, the standpoint of the present work affords it some justification. There are, of course, various books dealing with various phases of Colonial Policy, or with such policy for some particular period, but there is no book which deals with the subject systematically on historical lines, while in the regular histories the subject of policy naturally takes a subordinate and incidental posi- tion. The point of view of the book explains its method. Where a narrative of events is concerned, it is the duty of the author to weigh his authorities, and from them to evolve his own story; but, where we are dealing with the history of opinions, it is desirable, as far as possible, to allow the authorities to speak for themselves. This must be my excuse for a plentiful employment of quotations : there appearing little advantage in the method which makes the text a bald summary and throws the living interest of a book into its footnotes. In dealing with the history of Colonial Policy, there is one preliminary objection which must be met. "Colonial Policy," it is said, " why— there is no such thing ! Great Britain has Vlll PREFACE merely blundered into the best places of the earth and means to keep them." If by "policy" be meant a premeditated advance to a definite goal, the criticism must be allowed. Nevertheless, behind the dim gaze and circumscribed horizon of each individual generation, we recognise forces at work fitting events, apparently fortuitous, into the scheme of a mighty system. The thoughtful student of the past finds himself somewhat in the position of yEneas, when, enlight- ened by his goddess mother, he recognised the deliberate work of the very gods in what at first had seemed the mere sport of fire and chaos. The following pages were in the press ^ before the arrival of the Colonial Premiers in England, and it has been there- fore impossible to deal with the lessons of this annus mira- bilis of Imperial history. This is the less to be regretted, as there can be nothing to add to what has been so well said by various persons of authority. In the face, however, of recent utterances of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and others on the subject of Imperial Federation, it may be well to add a word of explanation of the views maintained in the text. I have not denied — and no one, I think, can deny — that, if the Colonies come to demand Imperial Federation, Imperial Federation there will have to be.. Undoubtedly they have a formal and technical grievance in the subordinate position of their Executives and Legislatures with regard to Imperial questions, and, if they come to consider that grievance a real one, some remedy will have to be applied. Further, it is impossible to suppose that the present system can go on indefinitely when the respective proportions of population ^ In fairness it should be remembered that my introductory chapter was written more than a year ago; PREFACE ix and wealth in the Mother country and the Colonies have become materially altered. . All that I have ventured to maintain is that Imperial Federation, if it means a Federal Imperial Parliament, will have its own difficulties, its own occasions for misunderstanding and friction, and that it may after all turn out that the future has in store some more satis- factory solution of the problem to be solved.^ Moreover the Colonial Premiers themselves unanimously, with the excep- tion of the New Zealand and Tasmanian representatives, have agreed " that the present political relations between the United Kingdom and the self-governing Colonies are gener- ally satisfactory under the existing condition of things." ^ In spite of all that has been recently written on the South African question, I am not without hopes that the portion of this book relating to it may be of some slight iise. The subject has been generally approached either from the point of view of the experienced observer on the spot or of the partisan of some particular policy ; my aim has been to bring out from the Parliamentary Papers how largely the present is the heritage of the past. Pace Mr H. M. Stanley, it does not follow that because we are convinced that Great Britain must remain paramount in South Africa, we need therefore refuse any sympathy to Dutch grievances, which are largely due to the mistakes and hesitations of English statesmen in the past. In a volume which deals with a long period of time and many scattered events, there are doubtless mistakes and inaccuracies. For such I would pray pardon in anticipation. 1 Mr Chamberlain's suggestion of "a great Council " for purposes of consulta- tion must be noted. (Pari. Pap., 1897.) ^ Pari. Pap., 1897. X PREFACE With all its faults the book represents much reading and some thought. In writing what is, to some extent, a history of opinion, it has been implossible altogether to suppress my own individual opinions. I trust, however, that I have not seemed to attach importance to them. In dealing with the later periods, I remembered Sir Walter Raleigh's remark on the fate which awaits the treatment of contemporary history ; but obscurity may claim its compensations, and at least I am not conscious of having written under the bias of personal or party prejudice. Hugh E. Egerton. Sept. 1897. CONTENTS A List of Dates bearing upon Colonial Policy Introductory ..... FAGK xiii BOOK I THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III BOOK II THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 13 23 39 Chapter I . 57 Chapter II 67 Chapter III 86 Chapter IV 114 Chapter V 138 Chapter VI . 170 Chapter VII 187 Chapter VIII 20s Chapter IX 234 Chapter X BOOK III 256 THE PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION AND OF THE GRANTING OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT Chapter I ........ 281 Chapter II . . ... 302 Chapter III . . . .... 336 xii CONTENTS BOOK IV THE PERIOD OF THE ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER PRINCIPLES PAGE Chapter 1 . . . . 361 Chapter II . . 376 Chapter III . . . ... BOOK V THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN Chapter I ...... . APPENDIX A Bibliography ....... APPENDIX B On Colonial Administration .... Index 407 451 481 491 497 A LIST OF DATES BEARING UPON COLONIAL POLICY First expedition of Cabot . . . . 1497 Second Patent to Cabot ..... 1498 Formal possession taken of Newfoundland by Sir H. Gilbert . 1 583 Formal possession taken of Virginia 1584 First Charter of Virginia Company 1606 Second „ u 5; 1609 Bermudas settled ... 1609-1612 Settlement in New England of ^ay^ower Pilgrims 1620 Grant of Nova Scotia to Sir W. Alexander 1623 Barbados settled .... 1624-1625 Revocation of Charter of Virginia Company 1624 Charter of Massachusetts Bay Company . 1629 English capture of Quebec ... 1629 Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye ..... 1632 Grant of Maryland to Lord Baltimore . . 1632 Committee of Privy Council for administering Colonies . . 1634 Parliamentary Commissioners for administering Colonies . 1643 Navigation Ordinance . . . .1651 Conquest of Jamaica . . 1655 Navigation Act . . . 1660 Council for Foreign Plantations . 1661 Charter to Connecticut . . . . 1662 „ Rhodes Island . ... 1663 Charters of Carolina to Lord Shaftesbury and others . 1663 and 1665 Conquest of New Amsterdam (New York) . . 1664 Treaty of Breda (restoration of Acadia to France) 1667 Charter of Hudson's Bay Company . . 1670 Abolition of Cotmcil for Trade and Plantations . 1674 Committee of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations 1675 Charter to Penn of Pennsylvania . . . 1681 Revocation of Charter of Massachusetts 1683 Conquest of Port Royal by Phipps 1690 New Charter of Massachusetts 1691 XIV LIST OF DATES British Board of Trade . . . . • Peace of Ryswick (restoration of Acadia) Conquest of Acadia by Nicholson Abortive Canada Expedition of Hill Treaty of Utrecht (Acadia (Nova Scotia) becomes a Possession) . . . • Foundation of Georgia .... Outbreak ofWar between England and Spain . War of the Austrian Succession . Capture of Louisbourg by New England Colonists Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (restoration of Cape Breton to France) Albany Congress ....-• Disaster at Monongahela River Fall of Louisbourg ... . • „ Quebec „ Montreal ... Treaty of Paris . ... Stamp Act ... Duties upon Tea, etc. ..... Appointment of new Secretary of State for American AflFairs American Congress ..... Quebec Act .... . . Declaration of Independence Surrender of Burgoyne . ... „ Comwallis Battle of the Saints ..... Abolition of American Secretaryship and of Board of Trade Treaty of Versailles ..... Committee of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations . Foundation of New South Wales .... Canada Act .... . . First Conquest of Cape of Good Hope Formal junction of War and Colonial Departments Abolition of Slave Trade ..... Beginnings of Constitutional Government in Australia Van Diemen's Land separated from New South Wales Foundation of Western Australia ..... Land Regulations and Appointment of Emigration Commissioners Emancipation of Slaves Foundation of South Australia Exodus of Dutch Farmers . Land and Emigration Commissioners Annexation of New Zealand Canada Reunion Act 1696 1697 1710 1711 1713 1732 1739 1740 1745 1748 1754 I7S5 1758 I7S9 1760 i76r 176s 1767 1768 1774 i774» 1776 1777 1781 1782 1782 1783- 1784 1788 1791 179s 1801 1807 1823 and 1828 1825 1829 1831 1833 1836 1836 1840 1840 1840 LIST OF DATES XV Representative Government instituted and developed in New South Wales ... . . 1842 and 1850 Victoria separated from New South Wales . 1850 Annexation of Natal 1843 Free Trade .... 184.6 Assumption of Orange River Sovereignty . . 1848 Repeal of Navigation Acts 1849 Sand River Convention . 1852 New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 Cape Colony Constitution ... 1854 Abandonment of Orange River Sovereignty 1854 New Secretaryship of State for the Colonies . . 1854 Australian Constitution Acts (Responsible Government instituted) 1855 Merchant Shipping Act . . 1855 Foundation of British Columbia . 1858 Queensland separated from New South Wales 1859 British North America Act . • 1867 Cessation of Transportation to Austraha . 1867 Responsible Government in Cape Colony 1872 Annexation of Transvaal 1877 Pretoria Convention 1881 London Convention . . 1884 London Colonial Conference 1887 Charter to Royal Niger Company . 1886 „ British East Africa Company 1888 „ British South Africa Company 1889 Grant of Responsible Government to Western Australia . iSgo Grant of Responsible Government to Natal 1893 Ottawa Colonial Conference . 1894 INTRODUCTORY In the following pages an attempt is made to give an account of British Colonial policy. The scope of the book is limited by its title: it is not sought to compete with the many works of authority, which narrate the history of the separate Colonies, nor do even the events, which were the outcome of British policy, concern us, except indirectly, and so far as they illustrate that policy. Viewed from this stand- point, the subject seems to fall into certain main natural divisions which we may term the period of beginnings, the period of trade ascendency, the period of systematic coloniza- tion and of the granting of responsible government, the period of the zenith and decline of laissez-aller principles, and the period of Greater Britain. We have first the period of beginnings. A new strange (i.) Period thing is coming into being, viz: — Colonization as worked ^j^^"' out by the Anglo-Saxon race, and the Mother State is puzzled how to deal with it. The problem is how, in days before steam and telegraph, to maintain the authority of the Crown in countries, separate by thousands of miles of sea. In this stage, the first naive impulse is to give to the individual grantee full power to manage his own settle- ment in his own way, so long as he maintains, as far as possible, the English laws. As, however, the idea of colonization by Englishmen, as opposed to settlement by conquest of barbarians, becomes more apparent, the crudity of the early vie\v is recognised. For the moment, as in the Charter to the Virginia Company of 1606, the theory is held that legislative authority may remain in the Crown, executive functions being delegated to a local Governor; and we may note in passing what a powerful instrument of despotism well-managed Colonies might have been in the constitutional struggle of the seventeenth century 2 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY had the Stuart Kings understood statesmanship. Within 1609. less than three years, however, this attempt is found hope- less, and the theory is adopted of the Trading Company, the government of the Colony to be lodged in the hands of a Governor, appointed by a Council in England, with whom should also rest the modelling of the constitution and enactment of laws. Side by side with this, however, we find complaints of the practice of conferring powers of gbvernmeht on Trading Companies, and assertions of the need of governing the Colonies on a common plan. The grant of Maryland to Lord Baltimore, on the other hand, appears to be a return, with some modifications, to the cruder point of view of the days of Elizabeth. Altogether we have a sense of uncertainty, of feeling the way amidst strange surroundings, and the period may best be described as one of beginnings. (2.) Period At last, however, the inner meaning of colonization, aL'endU ^*^ ^"^^ cause, dawns on the historical horizon. The Navi- ency. gation Act, or rather Ordinance, of 165 1, it is true, only gave effective embodiment to a traditional policy; but the English merchant soon followed in the footsteps of the English shipowner and shipbuilder, and from 1660 downwards the theory for more than a hundred years holds the field that the raison d^itre of Colonies is to benefit the commerce of the Mother country. No doubt, in the application of this theory, honest efforts were made to compensate the Colonies by bounties on the export of raw products, for the trade restrictions, by which they were bound, and the attitude of England towards her Dep^dencies was much more friendly than was that of any other European power, yet the theory relegated the Colonies to a position of permanent subordination in the economic evolution of the Empire. Upon the whole, the broad theory of English policy towards the Colonies may be summed up in the words addressed to Penn^ by a leading English statesman " Take care you injure not the revenue and other matters ought to be ' Penn to Logan, 1703, Logan CorrespOfuUnce. INTRODUCTORY 3 left to your own satisfaction." It is true, that running counter to this main current, we find under Charles II. and James II. a narrow stream of Royal interference. The family failing of the Stuart dynasty was to reward their favourites by putting their hands in their neighbours' pockets, and the American Colonies were too tempting a sheep not to be shorn. But, serious as such action might have been in its consequences, the revolution of 1688 came too soon for those consequences to happen, and henceforth the formula, as I have stated it, holds the field. The great wars of the earlier half of the eighteenth century were trade wars : Ireland, the Colonies, War and Peace, were but pawns in the game, which was to win Great Britain commercial supremacy. From the eco- nomic point of view of the eighteenth century the policy may have been a wise one, but, as worked out, it involved the consequence that the interests of the Colonies were to be always sacrificed to those of the Mother country. So accus- tomed, however, had the Colonies become to this theory, and perhaps so easy were the opportunities for evasion, that pro- bably things might have gone on for long in the same manner, had not a crisis been precipitated by causes, with which we shall deal later on. When all allowance has been made for the special causes of the American revolution, it must still be admitted that the spirit which they evoked had been engende'red by the galling yoke of the Mercantile System. Monopoly brought forth its fruit, and that fruit was the disruption of the British Empire. , Even when she had lost her American Colonies, England did | not at first alter her commercial policy. At the same time, it j was in practice carefully safeguarded, so that the interests of the / Colonies should not suffer prejudice. Generally, on colonial) questions, the note of the period is one of extreme timidityj To smother popular aspirations with kindness, and gladly t^ pay the piper, so that the Colonies might not ask to choo^ the tune, was for a time the policy of English statesmen. Gradually, however, it begins to be recognised that a wholly (3.) The new way of regarding the Empire is coming into being. P^"°xV> Thuc. III. ch. xxxvii. 8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Greece caused, as we may read in Thucydides, such moral and material disintegration as could only lead to the general doom of the Hellenic States as direct factors in political history. The Roman Colonies were more complex in character, but, in their earliest and latest forms, they were methods of secur- ing the peace of districts by settling in them old soldiers with certain rights to land. The nearest modem equivalent to a Roman colonia is afforded by Cromwell's military settle- ments in Ireland.^ In modern times the Spanish Colonies were, in fact, de- pendencies, conquered by the forces of the Crown, and where a limited number of Spaniards found a new home. The Dutch Colonies, on the other hand, were trade factories, established on lines of which the British East India Com- pany's forts are the best known example. British Colonies differ from all these. Sir George Comewall Lewis, in his Government of Dependencies^ de£x\ts a colony as "a body of persons belonging to one country and political community, who, having abandoned that country and community, form a new and separate society, independent or dependent, in some district which is wholly or nearly uninhabited, or from which they expel the ancient inhabitants." If the aim of language be to make clear practical distinctions, the remark may be ventured that the above definition stands at once condemned. The Latin colonia, in all its phases, I think, connoted some kind of political dependence, and no advantage is gained by including the quite distinct connotation of the Greek airoiKia. According to Lewis' definition, the United States are a British Colony and Natal is not. Moreover, at the present day, we should not speak of colonists as "abandoning" the Mother country. For practical purposes, a colony may be defined as a community, politically dependent in some shape or form, the majority, or the dominant portion, of whose members belong by birth or origin to the Mother country, such persons having no intention to return to the Mother 1 Military settlements upon the same lines were attempted in Cape Colony and New Zealand, but were not upon the whole attended with much success. " p. I68, 1891 edition, with introduction and notes by C. P. Lucas. INTRODUCTORY 9 country, or to seek a permanent home elsewhere than in the Colony. This definition excludes the United States. According to common - sense notions, were Australia to separate, she would cease to be a British Colony. It ex- cludes India and most tropical settlements, because, in such, there is nearly always among Englishmen the animus revertendi. It excludes, for the same reason, Gibraltar and Malta, and the purely military Colonies or dependencies. It includes Colonies like Natal, where there is a bona-fide per- manently resident English community, whatever be the number of natives who surround them. It includes Cape Colony, where the original Dutch settlers and the English, who have emigrated thither during the last seventy years, are on the whole becoming fused into a common national type. It includes the West Indies, because, in spite of the climate. Englishmen have for generations found in them a permanent home. We might say that a Colony is a de- pendency administered by the Colonial Office ; but the reason why the affairs of Ceylon belong to a different department from those of India are historical and not logical. In the same way, English statutes, until the In- terpretation Act of 1889, carefully guarded themselves against defining a colony, except for the purposes of the particular statute, and the most generic definition included even India, which is clearly inadmissible for present purposes. Under the Act of 1889,^ the expression 'colony' means any part of the Queen's dominions, exclusive of the British Isles and of British India. Looking at the question practically, if we remember that, side by side with the question of Colonial expansion, there is always the question of Imperial power, with which we are here only indirectly concerned, it will be enough if we fix our attention for the most part on the great self-governing Colonies, past and present, in America, Australia, and South Africa, and on the West Indies, although the importance of these last is not as great at the present day cis it was in former times. ^ Tarring, Laws relating to the Colonies. Second edition, 1893. BOOK I THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 1497-1650 au yaf siri t^ 8ou\oi aW' s'ni ru o/ioioi roTg y.si'nt/tivoie ehai CHAPTER I The definition of a colony being thus settled, at what First steps date are we to fix the beginning of our Colonial system ? In cdontza a sense we may say that it dates from the grant by Henry tion. Vn. to the Cabots in 1498 of the lands discovered in the previous year.^ But no attempt was made to establish effec- tive occupation, and we must wait for more than a hundred years for the first successful English Colony. Nevertheless the importance of the Newfoundland fisheries as a nursery for seamen (attested as it is by an Act of Parliament of Edward VI.), which were the main practical? result of Cabot's efforts, helped very much in the direction of colonization. The Newfoundland trade was by far the greatest English enterprise in America in the middle of the seventeenth century. There were said to be employed ^ in it " 270 sail of ships," and " twenty thousand seamen." Raleigh's words may be cited,* " If thos should be lost, it would be the greatest blow that was ever geven to Ingland." Sir Clements Markham has shown that the Cabot voyages did not mark an epoch. " Voyages of discovery preceded them, and they also followed them in quick succession. Their importance lay in their success."* Nevertheless, so far as conscious effort on the part of rulers was concerned, it is not difficult to give . reasons why England was late in the ' The first land viewed would seem to have been the northern part of Cape Breton. Those who have not the inclination or leisure to pursue the very Copious Cabot literature, will find a summary of the learning on the subject in the essay in Vol. III. of Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of A?nerica. ^ Petition, Dec. 23, 1670, in Calendar of State Papers {Colonial Series), 1669- 1674, ed. by W. Noel Sainsbury. 5 Letter to Cecil, July 20, 1594, Edwards' Life of Raleigh, Vol. II. p. 95. * The Royal Navy, Vol. I. ch. xvi 14 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY field compared to Spain and Portugal. In the first place, the movement, towards the discovery of unknown lands, was part of that general movement we term the Renaissance, and England here, as in other matters, felt the impulse of the new movement late in date. It is significant that the first discoverer for England was a foreigner, and if his son Sebastian was born in England, the Venetian Records^ plainly show that he was no loyal Englishman. Moreover, so long as England remained Roman Catholic, the Papal Bull which claimed to divide the unknown world between Spain and Portugal must have greatly discouraged explora- tion. It is noteworthy, in this connection, that the letters patent to Cabot in 1498 only deal with lands above 44° N. latitude, thus by implication recognising the Spanish claim. Expeditions were indeed sent out, such as those 1527 and of Rut and Hore, but the results were trifling, and on *^^ ■ the whole the business of the reign of Henry VIII. was to begin the creation of that sea-power on the strength of which ultimately a Colonial Empire depends. Mr Oppenheim has borne striking testimony to the work of Henry VIII. in this respect." " For almost thirty-eight years nearly every year marked some advance in construction or administration, some plan calculated to make the navy a more effective fighting instrument. So far as numbers went he made it the most powerful navy in the world, remembering the limited radius within which it was called upon to act. ... He discarded the one mediaeval officer of the Crown and organised an administration so broadly planned that in an extended form it remains in existence to-day. ... He trod a path that some of his predecessors had indicated but none had entered. . . . His mistakes were those of the scientific ignorance and feudal spirit of his age, his successes were of a much higher order and informed with the statesmanship of a later time." Compare the words of the shrewd Venetian observers, who speak of Henry's navy as constantly keeping "the sea clear of Flemish and ' Calendar of Ven. Papers, Dec 1522. - The Administralion of the Royal Naroy, l509-i66a 1896, p. 98. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 15 Bretagne corsairs and especially the Scotch, who, being very needy, observe neither peace nor truce." ^ With the accession of Elizabeth, however, new and more severe demands fell upon the English navy. How little the men of the day were able to read the signs of the times is shown by the acquiescence of the English people in the marriage of Mary with Philip II. of Spain, and we may note, in passing, the irony of history which made Philip the patron of the English " Mysterie and Companie of Merchants adventurers for discoverie of regions, dominions, islands, and places unknown." The Spanish marri^e, however, which might have made England a mere appendage of the Spanish Empire, left traces of a very different kind. To Philip, England becoming again heretical, was the necessary object of another Holy War, although that war might be delayed for a time. Professor Seeley ^ has brought out very clearly the masterly inactivity of Elizabeth's foreign policy. Afterwards when war had become inevitable, there were not wanting counsellors who urged that an offensive war should be carried on against the Spanish possessions. It may be doubted, however, whether England was yet strong enough to maintain such a war against the Empire which in 1580 had absorbed the whole power and colonial possessions of Portugal. Elizabeth preferred generally a waiting game, although offensive operations were some- times undertaken, as in the capture by Sir Francis Drake of San Dbmingo. A Idnd of private war was for years carried on by English vessels against the Spanish commerce. Sir Richard Hawkins ^ explains how these differed from pirates in the fact that England and Spain were at war, and that the English captains had "all license either immediately from their Prince or from others thereunto authorised." At last, stung to the quick by heresy and privateering, Philip struck his great blow and sent forth the invincible Armada. Its fate, for the elements only completed what man had ' Col. of Ven. Papers, 1551. = Growth of British Policy, Vol. I. ' Voyage to the South Sea in 1593. (Hakluyt Soc). 1 6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY already begun, was the best justification for Elizabeth's policy. Of her it may be said with truth, "cunctando constituit rem." Thenceforward, Spain resembled some wounded wild beast which, while still powerful to hurt, carries about with it the seeds of death. It was because ^ of the decay of Spanish greatness that England was allowed to develop in peace its colonial settlements. The maritime greatness of Spain had always been an exotic. Her sailors were either Germans, Flemings, or strangers, "for the Spaniards," says Hawkins, " are but indifferently practised in this art. . . . The mariners are but as slaves to the rest to moil and toil day and night." It was not by such methods as these that the command of the sea was to be held. Englishmen, however, did not wait till the power of Spain was on the wane before attempting the work of colonization. Already in 1580 the English Government is found boldly asserting in answer to Spain, that "prescription without ^possession availed nothing." And more than one practical attempt had been, before this, made to give effect to this Circ.is63. claim. The dubious Florida^ scheme of the worthless Stuke- ley need not detain us, but in 1 565 we find the first traces of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's colonization schemes.^ Amongst the projects of a trading company established in that year to dis- cover a North-West passage to Cathay is the colonization of intermediate lands. A pamphlet afterwards written by him,* " A discourse to prove a passage by the North-West to Cataya and the East Indies," advocated colonization as a means of "settling there such needy people of our own which now trouble the Commonwealth." He is also found under the glamour of that El Dorado, which bewitched even the shrewd Raleigh. The pamphlet is said to have given directions to ^ Stukeley, though a dissolute adventurer, appears to have been a popular favourite. In " The City Gallant," Vol. XI. of Dodley's Old English Plays, 4th ed., a character is spoken of as " a Stukeley or a Sherley for his spirit, bounty, and royalty to men at arms." Stukeley was killed at the battle of Alcazar in Barbary in 1578. ^ See Doyle's English in America. Virginia, and Maryland. 8 Hakluyt, Vol. III. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 17 Frobisher's vague aspirations, which issued in three ^ expedi- tions in 1576, 1577, and 1578 to the Northern seas. We may note that Frobisher thought that he had found precious metals. The licence obtained by Frobisher to take criminals from the jails, with whom to garrison the land that he might discover, throws an ominous light on the failure of early schemes for colonization. A petition in 1574 of divers west March 22. country gentlemen to the Queen to allow of an enterprise for the discovery of certain rich and unknown lands " fatally and it seemeth by Providence reserved for England," whatever its immediate effect, received a practical answer in the patent granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578.^ He was em- powered to discover heathen lands, not enjoyed by any Christian Prince, and to hold and enjoy the same with all commodities, jurisdictions, and royalties both by sea and land. He was thus restricted by no geographical limitations. The usual one-fifth of gold and silver was reserved for the Crown. No one might settle, without his leave, within two hundred leagues of the place in which, during the next six years, he should make his settlement. Full powers were given of making laws or ordinances, "as near as con- veniently might be to the laws of the realm and not opposed to the Christian religion as professed by the Church of England." It may be well here to point out the necessity of these Import- letters patent, which we shall find continually recurring, ^^^^°a According to the common law, British subjects cannot take Grants, possession in their own right of a foreign country, but, what- ever they acquire, they acquire for the Crown. (The idea that the natives might have independent right to the soil was late in dawning.) Hence the necessity of a previous grant ; that that grant must come from the Crown follows from the rule that the sovereign is ultimate owner of all land. So far, the matter is plain enough, but a grave constitutional Constittt- question might have arisen with respect to the claim of the Q°"stion. 1 ' ' Much experience in ice navigation was gained during the last of these expeditions," Sir Clements Markhara in the Royal Navy, ch. xvi. « Sainsbury, Cal. of State Papers (Col. Ser.), June II. B i8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Crown to settle the form of Government. Colonies, becoming the dominion of the King, are necessarily subject to the legis- lative power of Parliament, and the Englishman, who settles in a colony founded by settlement, remains, at common law, as free and possesses the same privileges as Englishmen at home. As a question of constitutional law, it would seem then that Parliament had always the power to interfere with the rules for the management of Colonies. Thus, — according to the settled practice of the Tudors to waive the form while securing the substance of autocracy — we find in 1 584 a Bill in confirmation of Raleigh's patent passed through Parliament. It must be remembered, however, that at the time with which we are dealing, the respective positions of Parliament and of the Privy Council, as both having issued from the " Magnum Concilium " of the feudal kings, were far from settled, and a wholly different view of the constitution from the one which has prevailed could be plausibly maintained. Moreover, the Parliaments of the Stuarts had more practical questions, which absorbed their energies. We may note, however, that among the Bills to be offered to the next Parliament in 16 14 was an Act for the better planting of Virginia and supply thereof, and that it was declared in the House of Commons that the patent was against law, and the hope was expressed that the patent may be damned and an Act of Parliament passed for the government of the Colony by a Company. When,i afterwards, James sent down a message to the House of Commons not to concern itself with the affairs of the Virginia Company, because they were being settled by the Privy Council, his action was assented to with a general silence, " but not without soft muttering that any other busi- ness might in the same way be taken out of the hands of Parliament." And again, in 162 1, the New England Com- pany was the subject of debates in the House of Commons,^ and Parliament never waived the point that these grants might, at any rate, be within its jurisdiction, as monopolies. 1 1624, Sainsbury Cal., May 6th, Nethersole to Carleton. '^ Massachusetts Historical Society, 3rd ser., Vol. VI. Description of Sir Fer- '> dinando Gorges' pleading before H. of C. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 19 Before passing from the subject of these patents, we may observe the strange consequences to which they sometimes led. The tract conveyed might be a kingdom, but the English law persisted in treating it as " white acre," thus we find^ Lord Carlisle assigning the Caribbean Islands, which had been granted him, to his creditors. Note, too, the per- sistency with which English notions prevail. In the deed ^ by Sir H. Gilbert assigning his rights to Trustees " every one that shall be sent over by the general charge of the realm . . . shall have in lease for three lives 60 acres, besides com- mon in summer for so much cattle as they can keep in the winter, with allowance for housebote, hedgebote, and plough- bote . . . and after every death a best beast for a heriot." The first expedition of Gilbert was a complete failure, and in 1582* he associated Sir Thomas Gerrard and Sir Thomas Peckham in the privileges granted by the patent. In the same year,* however, we find an agreement between Sir H. Gilbert and certain merchant adventurers of Southampton- for a new expedition. Every adventurer of ;^5 was to have a thousand acres over and above the return of his adventure. Southampton was to be the staple port of the new Colony. A list is given of about fifty adventurers, which well illus- trates the general character of the new movement. Headed by Sir Francis Walsingham, it includes merchants, mercers, ironmongers, bakers, &c. The next year saw the apparent realisation of Gilbert's hopes, in the formal taking possession by him of Newfoundland in the Queen's name. The fates August 5th were, however, not yet favourable, and on the return voyage '^ ^' Gilbert was drowned.* The torch of colonization was now handed on to Raleigh. In 1584® he obtained a patent similar to that of Gilbert. His first step was to send out an expedition to report upon the country. Possession was taken of part of the mainland of America, which was named by Raleigh Virginia, after the ^ In 1609. Sainsbury Cal. under 1 64 1. ''July 8, 1582. Sainsbury Cal. ' June 6. Sainsbury Cal. * Nov. 2. Sainsbury Cal. ^ His last words were, " We are as near to heaven by sea as by land ! " « March 25. Sainsbury Cal. Addend., 1574-1674- 20 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Queen. We need not follow the unhappy experiences of Raleigh's first colonists. The fault of their failure was not in any way due to his neglect. Doubtless he was under the illusions of his day. He looked too much for gold as the product of the country, and he did not perhaps take care to secure the best kind of settlers. Nevertheless, if his great words have been fulfilled in a sense wider than he could have dreamed of, " I shall yet live to see it an Inglishe nation," ^ it was largely to the impulse that his personality gave to the movement that this result has been due. Over twenty years, however, were to pass by between Raleigh's first expedition and the permanent settlement of the English in Virginia. Several voyages were undertaken during the first years of the seventeenth century ; but the real history of the Colony begins with the formation of the Virginia Company in the year 1606. Chartered Upon the first appearance upon our scene of the Chartered pan°™/Company, an instrument which has played so great a part in the history of the Colonial policy of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, a few words must be given to the general question. Whatever be the arguments in favour of colonisation by companies at the present time, in the seven- teenth century such companies were an absolute necessity. It has been said ^ that their " encouragement springs from the timidity or caution of Governments, companies rush in where the messenger of Governments fears to tread." But in early times companies rush in where the messenger of Government cannot tread. Its continual pretensions to power must not blind us to the weakness of the mediaeval state ; the constant repetition of legislation on the same subjects is the most con- vincing testimony of the impotence of such legislation. When we reflect upon the fate which has attended Factory Acts, where, as in certain states of America, they have not been enforced by paid inspectors, we discover the weak point in the Tudor and Stuart systems. In the absence of credit, in the scarcity of revenue, and in the corruption which caused the ' Letter to Cecil, Aug. 21, 1602, in Life, Vol. II. p. 232, by E. Edwards. ^ Mr C. A. Harris in Palgrave's Diet, of Political Econ., art. Colonies. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 21 little to become quickly the less, it was out of the power of the State to carry through great undertakings such as the development of new Colonies. In theory, it is true, the mediaeval state was profoundly socialistic — if to identify the state and society be to be socialistic — ^but in history it de- veloped out of anarchy, and its poverty made its claims" brutum fulnten. If, then, the expansion of England was to take place, it must have been either through individuals, or through bodies of individuals, such as Chartered Companies. Now, the moral of the fable of the bundle of sticks was at a very early date laid to heart. The special feature, I suppose, of mediaeval history had been the part played by corpora- tions ; but the Trading Company is merely the application of old weapons to new needs. Especially in so risky and at best slow a work as the development of plantations, it was obviously necessary that no one person should risk his all, but that, by many risking something, the needful capital should be obtained. In the dawn of English colonization we seem to see glimpses of an idea that particular English localities should have their own Colonies. Sentimentally, the idea was a good one, and left its marks in names such as New Plymouth ; but the rush of the new tendencies poured in wider channels, and the economic unity of England was becoming too real to admit of colonization on such particu- larist lines. Just as the " regulated " companies resembled in principle the Town Trade Corporations, and were, as Adam Smith pointed out, "a sort of enlarged monopolies of the same kind," ^ so the Joint Stock Company marked a fresh stage in economic development. As compared either with the " regulated " company or the private co-partnership, its advantages were manifest. In a " regulated " company the directors had no particular interest in the prosperity of the general trade of the company. Indeed, the decay of the general trade might often contribute to the advantage of their own private trade ; whereas the directors of a joint stock company have no interests other than those of the common undertaking. Again, the directors of the "regu- 1 IVealth of NiUiotis, Book V. chap. i. 22 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY lated " company had the management of no common capital with which to work. The casual revenue of such undertak- ings arose from the admission fees and from the co-operative duties imposed upon the trade of the company. In this state of things it would have been obviously impossible to under- take the work of development. But while the convenience of the joint stock company over the regulated is thus ap- parent, it possesses two great advantages over a private co-partnership. On the one hand, shares can be transferred without obtaining the leave of the other members of the company, while, on the other hand, liability is limited to the extent of the holding. Viewed in this light, the Chartered Company appears to have played an indispensable part in the development of the British Empire, quite apart from the question how far its employment can be defended at the present day, a question which will occupy us at the close of this volume. CHAPTER II An exhaustive account of the reasons which induced the Coloniza- colonization of Virginia is given in the first chapter of vi^nia. Mr Bruce's Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. The persistency with which the same reasons are put forward in the various pamphlets and letters of the time attest the strength of the forces at work. The first and the strongest motive at work was the thirst for gold. The trea- sures obtained by Spain had dazzled the popular imagination, and every man seemed to hold El Dorado within his grasp. A second motive and one coupled by Lane,^ with the dis- covery of a gold mine, as the sole possible means of mak- ing the country in request in England, as a desirable place for Settlement, was the discovery of the North-west passage. An imperfect knowledge of geography led to the notion that there was little distance between Virginia and the Western sea. Could this hope have been realised, it is obvious of what importance Virginia would have been in the days before the thorough opening out of the Cape of Good Hope route to the Indies. The other main motives were of a less chimerical character.^ It was expected that Virginia would supply a large number of articles which the English people could at that time only buy from foreign nations ; tar, pitch, rosin, flax, cordage, masts, yards, timber, and other naval stores, besides glass and soap ashes might be furnished from a British Colony instead of from Russia and Poland. All kinds of difficulties, natural and artificial, stood in the way of the Baltic trade, but Virginia promised to fur- nish the products both of Northern and Southern Europe. 1 Hakluyt's Voyages, Vol. III. ^ ' Nova Britannia ' in Force's Historical Tracts, Vol. I. 24 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY "What commodities soever," wrote Lane, "Spaine, France, Italy, or these partes doe yeeld unto us in wines of all sorts, in oyles, in flax, in rosens, in pitch, frankinsense, coorans, sugers, and such like, these partes doe abound with the growth of them all." Nor was the benefit of being furnished from a Colony only that it ensured more certain and fairer treatment; according to the received opinions of the day it was a further benefit that the precious metals would not by this means be parted with to foreign nations. Moreover, the growers of these commodities would themselves become customers for English manufactures, and the coarse cloth which was the main English manufacture would find a sure market among the colonists and even the natives of Virginia. But if this commerce were to develop, it would be also of great benefit to English shipping. The raison d'etre of the subsequent Navigation Acts was recognised in the original foundation of Virginia. Little need be said of the stock argument always brought forward that Colonies would afford an outlet for the surplus population of the Mother country. More important was the claim that Virginia would raise a bulwark in America against the Spanish power. It would put ^ " a byt into the anchent enymye's mouth." But, if all these claims were to be made good, there was need of time. Smith, at least, recognised the truth of Bacon's words, " that a plantation is like the planting of woods, for you must make a count to lose almost twenty years profit and expect your recompense in the end.'' With justice then did the author of a paper entitled^ "Reasons for raising a Fund for the Support of a Colony at Virginia " say — that it was more to the honour of a State to have a great enterprise carried through by public concert than by private monopoly. Various arguments were given why a settlement depending on a public fund was preferable to one of a private character. " Private purses are cowlde compfbrters to adventurers and have been founde fatall to all enterprises hitherto undertaken by the English by reason of delaies and jeloces and unwilling- 1 Dale to Winwood, June 1616, Genesis of United Stales, by A. Brown, Vol. II. ^Printed in Brown's Genesis of the United States, Vol. I. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 25 nes to backe that project which succeeded not at the first attempt." The Virginia Company was a semi-public undertaking and realised in many ways the author's require- ments. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of those composing it. It has been reckoned ^ that the incor- porators consisted of 56 City Companies and 659 private individuals. Of these latter 21 were Peers, 96 Knights, II doctors, ministers, &c. ; 53 captains, 28 esquires, 58 gentlemen, 1 10 merchants, and 282 citizens and others. At least i(X) of them were at one time or another members of Parliament, and about 50 were members at the time of the granting of the Charter. Yet even the Virginia Company, started as it was on commercial lines, had not the patience to wait the necessary development, and the hostile critic might see in the excessive cultivation of tobacco, which involved the abandonment of some at least of the ideals under which the Colony had been started, a failure of the quid pro quo which had procured for it the aegis of state recognition. ^ Under the patent of 1606 to Sir Thomas Gates and others, 1606. the whole of North America between 34° and 45° N. latitude ^^'^^ was claimed by the King of England, and the whole of this Company, vast territory was placed under the management of one and the same Royal Council of Virginia. Particular portions of this great tract, comprising not more than about 20,000 out of 2,000,000 square miles were allotted to two Colonies, the southern of which was apportioned to the Virginia or London Company, and the northern to a Company of adventurers to be known as the Plymouth Company. The exact situation of each Colony was not defined, but the Colonies were to have all lands stretching fifty miles in each direction from the first seat of their plantation, except towards the mainland in which direction each Colony was to extend for one hundred miles. It was provided that no settlement in either Colony should be made within one hundred miles of any settlement belong- ^ Genesis of^ United States. ''■ The Charters are set out in numerous books. By far the most lucid and satisfactory account of them is in the Genesis of U.S. 26 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY ing to the other Colony, by which means it was intended to preyent the opportunities of collision. In addition to the paramount authority of the Royal Council of Virginia each Colony was to have its own Council resident on the spot, and consisting of thirteen members. In fact, however, the Plymouth Colony, in this form, never took shape, and need not therefore detain us. By the terms of the Charter, the patentees were allowed to impose a two . and a half per cent, duty on all English non-members of the Company trading in Virginia, and a five per cent, duty on all foreigners. The proceeds of such duties were reserved for twenty-one years-to the uses of the Colony, and afterwards were to go to the King. A special provision exempted personal goods of colonists, arms, furniture, &c., from any import duty for a space of seven years. Power was given to erect a mint, a provision which was not found in subsequent charters, doubtless owing to the fact that gold had not been dis- covered in the Colony. The resident Council was to govern and order all matters and causes "according to such laws, ordinances, and instructions as shall . . . pass under the privy seal." This provision has been severely criticised by Mr Doyle ^ : — " The difference between James and his great predecessor is well illustrated by the manner in which each dealt with the newly settled Colonies. Elizabeth had a full share of the despotic temper of her race. But, when she tyrannized it was with a tyranny which never stooped to petty interference and meddlesome dictation. If the nonconformists of her reign had sought to establish a settlement in the New World, they would probably have fared far worse with her than their successors did with James, but the narrow and sordid illiber- ality which would trust men with the task of founding a Colony, but would grant them no share in its management, found no place in the policy of the great Queen, and nowhere is the character of James's Government, so strong in asser- tion, so weak in fact, shown more clearly than in the history of Virginia. The absolute power claimed at the outset is '^English in America. Virginia, &c., p. 148. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 27 filched away piecemeal, without a shadow of resistance. The first constitution of Virginia made it a stronghold of despotism ; in less than twenty years it was in everything almost, save name, an independent State." Any stick is probably good enough for a modern historian to use against a Stuart king, but it is a little difficult to find in the patent of 1606 the excuse for this strong language. We have already stated the problem — to arrange for the government of Englishmen separated by thousands of miles of sea, surrounded by wholly new circumstances. There was surely nothing very extraordinary in the idea that such people could be best governed by laws enacted at home. The patents of Elizabeth had given very wide powers to private individuals. Doubtless there was present in the minds of those who drew up those grants, the idea of appro- priation by conquest rather than by settlement. The states- men of Elizabeth would have been surprised could they have been told that their action was intended to promote demo- cracy among the adventurers, whifflers, and criminals, who formed a large portion of the earlier settlers. A clearer recog- nition of facts led the advisers of James I. to attempt another solution of the question. We are able to gather James's inten- tions from the instructions issued in the same year as the Patent. The Royal Council of Virginia, or the most part of them, is to have "full power and authority at our pleasure, in our name and under us, to give directions to the Council for the Colonies for the good government of the people to be placed in those parts." The instructions declared that the President and Council of the said Colonies " shall and may lawfully from time to time constitute, make, and ordain such constitution, ordinances', and officers to the better order, government, and peace of the people of the respective Colonies, so always as the same ordinances and institutions do not touch any party in life or member ; which constitution and ordinances shall stand and continue in full force until the same shall be otherwise altered or made void by us, &c., so always as the same alterations may be such as may stand with, and be in substance consonant with the laws of England or 28 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the equity thereof." It is worth remarking that under these instructions trial by jury is established. \ When we consider that the Council of Virginia was to deal with a far larger area than the particular Colonies then established, it seems clear that the intention was to establish a new Privy Council for colonial purposes. So far from such being a retrograde step it was an attempt to realize an idea which was in the minds of men such as Bacon. The actual outcome of events — complete popular government — was at the time in the thoughts of nb one ; but, putting this out of the question, the scheme of government suggested by the first Virginian Charter was as wise a solution of the problem as could at the time have been suggested. That the idea was quietly dropped within a few years without complaint, so far as we know, having been made by any- one, is enough to show that it was part of no general scheme of petty tyranny. If, as is conjectured by Mr Brown, the patent was drawn by Chief Justice Popham, the charge be- comes the more untenable. \ 1609. Under the new patent of 1609, power was given to the *' VbeLk Virginia Company itself, acting through a Treasurer and Company. Council, to make, ordain, and establish all manner of orders and laws fit and necessary for and concerning the govern- ment of the said Colony and plantation, and to abrogate, revoke, or change the same. Also power was given to the governor and officers, to punish, according to orders established by the Council, so always as the said statutes, ordinances, and proceedings, as near as conveniently may be, be agreeable to the laws and statutes, government, and policy of this our realm of England. The Council to which these powers were given was to be chosen out of the Company of the adventurers by the voice of the greater part of the said Company of the said adventurers, in their assembly for that purpose, as vacancies might arise. It should be noticed that in one respect the second Charter was less liberal in its terms than was the first. Under it there was to be no council resident in Virginia, but the Governor, under the Council in England, was to THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 29 be sole and absolute. In all other respects, however, the second was a great improvement on the first. Under it the duties to be enforced from outsiders and foreigners were increased to five and ten per cent., the colonists were to be free of all subsidies and customs in Virginia for twenty- one years, and from all taxes and impositions upon any goods, either upon importation into the Colony or exporta- tion to England for ever, except only the five per cent, due for Customs, which being paid, they might export again without any fresh duty to foreign parts within thirteen months. It is stated that the second and third patents were drawn up by Sir Edwin Sandys, according to the received view, the most enlightened member of the Virginia Company, so that here, at least, the most captious critic can find no ground for the theory that James I. was from the first ill- disposed towards the Colony. Being without the gift of statesmanship he doubtless did not fo^-esee the part they might play in history, but they interested his versatile and dilettante nature. A flash of light is thrown on his manner of regarding them by a letter written in 1609^ by Lord Southampton to Salisbury, in which he reports that the king is very earnestly asking for a flying squirrel : — " I would not have troubled you but that you know so well how he is affected for these toys." A king of this kind had objects nearer at heart than the suppression of English liberties. By the 1609 Charter the extent of Virginia was greatly increased. Its limits now extended over an area of one million square miles, and from sea to sea. It was to reach two hundred miles north, and two hundred miles south of Cape Comfort, near the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. The intention of the founders of the Company was that its stock should be divided into shares of ;^12, los. each. Personal emigration in the service of the Company was to entitle to one share. Certain " extraordinary men," such as clergymen, doctors, etc., were to receive a certain number of shares. The money subscribed was to be spent upon the settlement, ' Sainsbury Cal, 30 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY and any surplus to be either divided or funded for seven years. During this period, all that the settlers made was to go to the Company, whilst the settlers themselves were maintained at the Company's expense. After the expiration of the seven years every shareholder was to receive a grant of land in proportion to the amount of stock held. Vigorous efforts were now made to push forward the Colony, and five hundred emigrants were got together for the expedition of 1609. This expedition is noteworthy as having on its way first settled the Bermudas. The old ill-luck, however, still dogged the footsteps of the Colony. The newcomers are described "as unruly gallants, packed thither by their friends to escape ill-destinies." Nor was the condition of things they found on their arrival such as to atone for their own deficiencies. In 1610 the condition of affairs was so alarming that it was intended to break up the Colony. The arrival of De La Warr in the spring of that year for a time improved the aspect of affairs. The main cause pf the mischief is clearly expressed in a letter written by De La Warr : ^ " Only let me truly acknowledge they are not a hundred or two of deboisht hands, dropped forth by yeare after yeare, with penury and leysure, ill-provided for before they come, and worse governed when they are heere, men of such distempered bodies and infected minds . . . that must be the carpenters and workers in this so glorious a building. But (to delude and mock the bewsiness no longer) as a necessary quantity of provision for a yeare, at least, must be carefully sent with men, so likewise must there be the same care for men of quallitie, and painestaking men of artes and practises chosen out and sent into the business." To a like effect wrote Dale, De La Warr's successor :^ — " As I am well to witness in a parcel of three hundred men which I brought with me, of which, well may I say, not many give testimonie beside their names that they are Christians. Besides of such diseased and crazed bodies as the sea hither 1 Council in Virginia to the Virginia Company, July 7, 1610. Genesis of United States. 2 Dale to Salisbury, Nov. 26, 1611. Genesis of United States. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 31 and this clime here but a little searching them renders them so unhable fainte and desperate of recoverie, as of three hundred not three score may be called forth or imploied upon any labour or service." To improve the fortunes of the Company at home a new 1612. Charter was obtained in 1612. By this the Bermudas or ^\^^dL°^ Somers Islands were added to the Company's domains. Company. Special provisions were made relating to the business of the Company, and it was empowered to increase its funds by establishing lotteries. No less a sum than ;^29,0C)0 was raised by this means. Meanwhile the state of things in the Colony slowly improved. De La Warr had brought out with him a code compiled from the martial laws enforced in the Low countries. To a modern reader it doubtless would seem merciless enough, but it must be remembered that at the time in England no less than three hundred separate offences were punishable by death, and that the material with which the Virginian Governors had to deal was very difficult. There seems good evidence to shew that the administration under De La Warr and Dale ^ was, on the whole, upright and wise. They had been themselves soldiers, and doubtless looked on the settlement too much in the light of a penal Colony. Thus, we find Dale^ urging that for three years condemned criminals might be reprieved for Virginia to supply the pressing need of two thousand men. This sever- ity, however, was relaxed under Dale's successor, Yeardly,® 1616. to whom belongs the credit of having first enfranchised the labourers who had served their three years indentures. 1617. Argall, his successor, was able to report great abundance in the Colony, and, at first, the new Governor seems to have adopted wise measures in the interests of agriculture. His private greed, however, led him to treat the colonists as so many instruments for his personal needs, and the years 1617 to 1619, during which he governed, have been described as memorable for the ill-treatment of the settlers. In 1619, however, Yeardley returned as Governor, and a new order of ^ See note on p. 220 of Vol. I. of Brace's Economic History of Virginia, &c. 2 Dale to Salisbury as ante. ' Econ. Hist, of Vir., Vol. I. p. 221 32 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY things was set on foot by the summoning of a popular ^ Assembly, which met on the 30th of July of that year. Hutchinson speaks of it as " breaking out," and Professor^ Seeley has repeated the expression. But, in fact, it was duly summoned by Yeardley, according to the instructions which he had received from home. The Assembly was to be com- posed of the Governor and his Council, together with Bur- gesses, elected by the freemen from each plantation, each county and hundred returning two members. The Assembly was to have power to make and ordain whatsoever laws and ordei-s should by them be thought good and profitable. Meanwhile the Company at home was not inactive. To check the over-production of tobacco, a new clause was inserted in all fresh grants of land, binding the holder to grow in part ^ staple commodities, e.g., " corne, wine, silke, silke grasse, hempe, flax, pitch, and tar, pot-ashes and sope- ashes, iron, clap boord and other materialls, not wholly and chiefly about tobacco and sassifras." A serious effort was made to improve the class of emigrants. " The men lately sent,"^ it is asserted in 1620, " have been most of them choise men, born and bred up to labour and industry." Among them we find forty ironworkers out of Sussex. It was intended further to introduce men skilled in hemp work from the East, vignerons from France and the Rhine, sawyers from Hamburg, olive-planters from Marseilles and Leghorn. The list* of adventurers published in 1620 includes about 800 names, and the capital subscribed amounts to over ^3S,ooo. Every adventurer of a share was entitled « to one hundred acres upon the first division and to a second hundred acres when the land of the first division had been sufficiently peopled. In addition he was entitled to a further fifty acres for every person transported thither before Midsummer 1625, and for a second fifty acres upon a second division; such ■>■ The best English authority on the first Colonial Parliament is Sainsbury in Antiquary, Vol. IV., July 1881. 2 Orders and Constitutions in Force's Historical Tracts, Vol. III. 3 "A Declaration of the state of the Colonies," Tune 1620 : Force's Hist Tracts, Vol. III. <■ Force, as ante. 5 Qrders and Constitutions, No. cxv. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS ^^ grants not involving the payment of any rent. New adven- turers were on the same footing, except that a payment of twelve pence was enforced for every fifty acres obtained by transporting persons thither. In all grants of land one-fifth of the gold and silver was reserved to the Company in addi- tion to the one-fifth belonging to the Crown. In spite of all this the situation was a serious one. The Virginia Virginia Company experienced the truth that, in the absence Company. of finds of gold or of trading monopolies, companies formed merely to develop new territories do not pay. Moreover, the Company was torn by internal divisions. Unfortunately the members of the party, which, on its own showing, was most favourable to the real well-being of the Colony, were personally disliked by James I. Another cause of quarrel lay in the vexed question of tobacco. The feelings of the Tobacco. King towards that plant are well-known, but he had better grounds for mistrusting a Colony " built upon smoke." ^ The danger of depending upon a single product has been often illustrated in the history of settlements. It is impossible to enter into the various disputes between the Crown and the Company on this vexed question.^ For a time the King shewed an inclination to favour Spanish tobacco, which, as the Virginian tobacco paid custom duties, was manifestly both unjust and impolitic. At other times he was en- deavouring to establish a monopoly of this article. It has been seen that the original intention was that Virginia should cultivate for the English market a variety of products. Within four years, however, of the first cultivation of tobacco by Rolfe in 1612, it had become a staple crop, and no royal prejudice or instructions to Governors could prevent it from becoming more and more exclusively the product of the Colony. Moreover, the customs duties obtained from it tended to weaken the objections of the English Government. That Virginian tobacco should be taxed, was not in itself unfair, especially as its cultivation was forbidden in England, and as its introduction from foreign countries was prevented. ^ The expression was Charles's. Cal. of S. P. in 1626. ^ Consult Bruce's Econ. Hist, of Vir. in I'jth Century. C 34 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY It was, however, manifestly unjust that the amount paid should depend entirely upon the quantity, and have no reference to the price at which it sold. Thus, at first, the same customs duty was paid by the inferior Virginian tobacco, as by the Spanish, which sold for a much greater sum. Afterwards, however, the duty was fixed at two shillings per pound on Spanish, one shilling on West Indian, and ninepence on Virginian tobacco. For a long time afterwards, up to 1685, the duty was sixpence on Spanish, and one penny on Virginian tobacco. After this date, it was one shilling on Spanish, and fourpence on Virginian. Although the amount of duty does not sound oppressive, it appears to have borne hardly on the Virginian planter. Thus we are told that in 1677 Virginia was paying into the English treasury a hundred thousand pounds, while at the same time the condition of the Virginian people was one of great depression. It was in vain that the Colony appealed to the English Government that measures should be taken artificially to raise the price. The policy which prevailed was that co'Ate que coiite the Royal revenue must be main- tained. Revoca- In treating of the question of tobacco, we have travelled far ChsucT" of ^'^°'" °"'' P'"^^^"*^ date, the importance of the subject in our Company, present connection being that it doubtless tended to exacer- bate the relations between James and the Company. Apart from this, the terrible massacre of the colonists by the Indians in 1622, filled the cup of the Company's troubles and the time may well have seemed ripe for the intervention of the Crown. It must be remembered that the air was thick with complaints, that the Privy Council was being constantly approached by persons alleging grievances against the Com- pany. It may be that the Company, or at least the party then dominant, had a good answer to all such claims, but the moral effect of them was none the less damaging. Contem- porary letters tell ^ of the meetings of the Company as scenes of discreditable wrangling and recrimination. " Rather cock- ' Chamberlain to Carleton, July 1623, Birch, Court and Times of James I., Vol. II. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 35 pits than courts." " If that society be not dissolved the sooner or cast into a new mould, worse effects may follow than the whole business is worth." A duel between the leaders of the rival factions was with difficulty prevented, and it may well have seemed reasonable that the Privy Council should inter- vene. A grave charge has been made against James's govern- ment, that the Company was suppressed in order to satisfy the Spanish Court. That the settlement of Virginia had given great dissatisfaction to Spain is of course certain. The very valuable collection of Simanca documents first collected in Mr Brown's Genesis of the United States, enables us to follow in detail the intrigues and plots of Spain against the young Colony, for the first. ten years of its existence. We now recognise that a ceaseless diplomatic war was carried on by Spain against the interests of the Colony. She is found screwing up her courage to make an end, once and for all, of the intruder, but for one reason or another postponing the effort. It was hoped in Spain that the death of Prince 1612. Henry would make the business grow cooler, while at another time, the Colony appears dying of itself. In 1613^ we hear of a formal claim made to Virginia under the Papal Bull, and a hot dispute between the English ambassador and, the Spanish Secretary of State.^ And an expedition from Lisbon to destroy the Colony was on the point of starting. The author of the pamphlet,* ' A perfect description of Vir- ginia,' published in 1649, states that "it is well known that our English plantations have had little countenances, nay, that our statesmen, when time was, had store of Gonde- more's gold to destroy and discountenance the plantation of Virginia ; and he effected it in a great part, by dissolving the Company, wherein most of the nobility, gentry, corporate cities, and most merchants of England were interested and engaged ; after the expense of some hundieds of thousands of pounds. For Gundemore did affirm to his friends that he had conimission from His Master to ruin that plantation. For, 1 Nov. 3, Sainsbury, Cal. ifS. P. Teb. 21, Sainsbury, Cal. Add. 1574-1674. ' Force's Hist. Tracts, Vol. II. 36 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY said he, should they thrive and gp on increasing as they have done, under the government of that popular Lord of South- atapton, my master's West Indies and his Mexico would shortly be visited by sea, and by land, from those planters of Virginia. And Marquis Hambleton told the Earle of South- ampton that Gtindemore said to King James that the Virginia Courts were but a seminarie to a seditious Parliament." The conclusioh one gathers from the papers collected by Mr Brown is that James I. showed himself a good deal more of a diplomat than of a statesman, though it was well that the strength of his real disposition was not put to the test. Happily for the World, the misfortunes of the Colony were such as to enable the Spanish power half to delude itself into the belief that it Was ralther the unimportance of Virginia than its own inherent incapacity, which allowed the egg to be hatched from which was to arise a cbckatricfe to Spain's American Ehipire. As, however, the charge of yieldirig^to Spanish intrigue is taken seriously by Mr Doyle,^ it is ne- cessary to aSk what benefit Spain got by the suppression of the Company. Goildemar was ho fool, nor Would he have assisted at so one-sided a bargain. To substitute the Royal supremacy fol- that of a Trading Company was in fact only further to commit England to a policy of expansion by Colonics. Moreover, if James was so under the influence of Spain, how came it that other charters were given to ot3ier trading Companies during this time to start new Colonies whieh would equalty interfere with the asserted rights of Spiaih ? . In truth, this view entirely tnisinterprets Jatnes' whole foreign policy. That policy was, as Professor Seeldy^ has shown, lat a time when dynastic relktions couhted for much, delib^i'ately to 'tti^i^ his daughter to the most zealous of PTOtestant sovereigtis,'and his sbh into the Hotise of Spain. Whatever Way be thbiight of the Wisddrti of such a policy there canbe no question that the motives actuating Jameswere not those of complete subserviency to the Spanish power. 1 English in America. Vit'ginia, &c., p. 227. 2 Growth of Br. Policy, Vol. II. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 37 Historians have written too much under the bias suggested by the relations of Charles II. with the Court of Versailles. Indeed, the motives actuating James appear plain enough. On the one hand he wished to avoid the factions, and what a contemporary terms the " popularness," ^ of the Virginia Co^npany. On the other hand, he may well have believed that the Colony would prosper more under the direct govern- ment of the Crown. Every care appears to have been taken not to interfere with the pecuniary rights of the members of the Company. In October 1623 an order of the Privy Council was made, resuming the Charter, and announcing a new con- stitution. The affairs of the Colony were to be managed by an English Council consisting of a governor and twelve assistants, itself dependent on the Privy Council, such Council being empowered to appoint a governor and twelve assistants to act in the Colony. The Virginia Company did not surrender without a struggle. It was not till July 1624 1624, that its patent was revoked in an action quo warranto, in which the decision was doubtless dictated by grounds of policy rather than of law. The case for the Crown was that the patent was bad on account of its unlimited character. Under the clause, permitting the transporting of as many loving subjects as were willing to go, it would be possible to denude England of all its inhabitants. It was to such reasoning that C. J. Ley ^ assented. On the merits of the question it is only fair to consider the solemn declaration,* in the form of an Act, drawn up by the colonists in 1640, in which, comparing the state of things under the rule of the Company and under that of the Crown, they say " that our present happiness is exemplified by the freedom of annual assemblies ... by legal trials by juries in all civil and criminal causes, by His Majesty's royal encouragement, upon all occasions, to address ourselves unto him by our humble petition, which so much distinguishes our happiness from that of the former time, that private letters to friends ^ Nethersole, July 3, 1624. Sainsbuiy, Cal. of S. P. ^ See Mass. Hist. So. Publications, 4th series, Vol. IX. « Force's I/ist. Tracts, Vol. II. 38 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY were rarely admitted a passage." It has been pointed out that the chief authority for the great improvement in the last years of the company's management is the testimony of interested parties, and certainly there is no evidence whatever that, so far as the interests of the colonists were concerned, the action of the Crown was in any way a retro- grade step. CHAPTER III It must be confessed that hitherto the amount achieved Character by English colonization had not been much. The main fault vif^nia lay probably, neither with Trading Company nor with royal settlers. treachery, but with the material out of which the Colony was formed. The theory which has wrought such misery in all times, that the new world is the fit resort for the failures of the old, had been tried and found wanting. The evidence as to the general bad character of the Virginia immigrants is from a variety of sources. Prisoners were released on condition of proceeding to the Colony. In 1618 ^ we hear of the City of London " shipping thither one hundred young boys and girls who lay starving in the streets," and young women were in some cases ' pressed ' to emigrate. As late as 1638 out of the hundreds who arrived every year, we are told ^ that scarcely any came but those " who are brought in as merchandise to make sale of." Sir Josiali Child's account has been often quoted ^ — " Virginia and Barbadoes were first peopled by a sort of loose vagabond people, vicious and destitute of means at home, being either unfit for labour, or such as could find none to employ themselves about, or had so misbehaved themselves by whoring, thieving, and debauchery, that none would give them work, which, merchants and masters of ships (being agents or ' spirits ' as they were called), gathered up about the streets of London and other places, to be employed upon Plantations." But, more striking is the contemporary testimony of the customer of the Port of London, who writes with regard to the Proclamation of 1637* — "Most of those who go to Virginia have ordinarily no habitation, can bring no certificate, and are better out than within the kingdom." ' Oct. 14, Sainsbury, Cal. of S. P. "^ Ap. 6, ibid. ' A New Discourse of Trade. 1698. ^ 1637. Sainsbury, Cal. of S. P. 39 40 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY On the other hand, there is much evidence^ to show that both the Virginia Company and the Colony afterwards were very jealous for the good character of the colonists sent out. It is very doubtful whether at least before 1650 there were any convicts transported, in whose cases there were not special mitigating circumstances. In 1663 we find the draft of a Bill in Parliament enacting that persons convicted of felony, who had. benefit of clergy, and women convicted of stealing money above the value of twelvepence and under that of ten shillings, should be transported to Jamaica, Virginia, or any other English Plantation beyond the seas, there to serve for not less than five nor more 22 and 23 than nine years. An, Act of 1670, making the arson of "■ \^ corn stacks and the malicious killing of cattle, capital offences, allowed persons convicted the alternative of being shipped to the Plantations. But the first bill never became law, and, partly no doubt in response to the protest of the Virginia Assembly, we find, in 1682, the Commissioners of Trade and Plantations declaring that no felon should be transported to any of the English foreign settlements unless he could give security in a hundred pounds that he would not return for four years. On the whole, it would seem that the greater number of convicts who were transported to Virginia were political offenders, who naturally belonged to a higher moral and social category. Another proof that the imported servants were not as a rule of ingrained bad character is to be found in their youthfulness. Information has come down as to the age of a great number of them, and it would seem to have generally averaged about twenty, an age at which, for the most part, bad habits would not have become second nature. The probability of these figures is vouched by the fact that the younger the servant the more profitable the bargain for the planter. Of those who went out as settlers and not under indentures there was doubtless a mixture of all classes. .Younger sons of good family and good character, in some cases men of means, jostled with adventurers and spendthrifts. The same causes, racial and 1 Collected by Mr Bruce, Econ. Hist, of Virginia in ijth century. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 41 economic, which have, in subsequent times caused a con- tinuous exodus of Englishmen to North America, Australia, and South Africa were already at work, and producing the same results. It is probable that, writing under the influence of New England prejudices, the tendency of historians has been unfairly to cry down the early Virginian settlers. And it is only right, and their bounden duty, that the writers of that State should be jealous for the fair fame and character of their forefathers. It is probable that the economic need for emigration at the beginning of the seventeenth century was less than it has been sometimes represented. The statements of preachers in sermons are not very high authority. It seems strange to speak of over-population at a time when England was just beginning her commercial history ; but in any case, if there was need for emigration, much at least of the kind of emigra- tion which went on to Virginia did not meet it. Upon the whole there was a serious risk that, if Virginia had remained the only English American Colony, sooner or later the game of persisting in it would not haye been considered worth the candle. And yet, had this course been taken, in Dale's vigorous language, " The English Government with its wisdom would have leapt such a gudgeon as England had not done the like since it lost France, Be not gulled," he continued, " with the clamorous reports of bad people. Be- lieve Caleb and Joshua. ... I have seen the best countries of Europe ; I protest unto you, before the living God — put them all together, this country will be equivalent unto them, it being inhabitant with good people." ^ The proud boast of the author of " Nova Britannia " would have come to naught, " We shall reare again such marchants shippes both tall and stout, as no forreine sayle that swimmes shall make them vaile or stoope, whereby to make this little northerne corner of the world the richest storehouse and staple for marchandize in all Europe." ^ Nor would the beautiful prayer have been fulfilled that "That merciful and tender God who is both 1 Dale to Sir T. Smith, 1613 ; Gen. of U.S., Vol. II. 2 Force's Historical Tracts, Vol. III. 42 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY easie and glad to be entreated, that it would please Him to bless and water these feeble beginnings, and that as He is wonderful in all His workes, so to nourish this graine of seed that it may spread till the people of this earth admire the greatnesse and seeke the shade and fruits thereof."! New Happily, however, for England and its colonial destinies ^^ ■ a new factor was to appear on the scene, fated profoundly -to modify the whole situation. In the year 1607 certain in- habitants of Scrooby, Nottingham, wearied at the annoyances to which Nonconformists in England were subject, took re- fuge first at Amsterdam and then at Leyden. After a ten years' residence in Holland, they decided to emigrate to 1619. North Virginia. Two years later they obtained a patent* from the Virginia Company, and on September 6th, 1620, memorable date in the annals of America, the Mayflower set sail from Southampton with about one hundred and twenty passengers. They landed at Cape Cod, and drew up a solemn compact of government, covenantingand combining themselves together into a civil body politic, " By virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws ... as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony." In the month of December they founded the Colony of Pl5anouth in New England. Inasmuch, howevCT, as their original grant had been from the Virginia Company, and they were now in the domains of the Plymouth Company, they were without legal right to their Colony. In November 1620 a charter had been granted to Ferdinando Gorges and others under the title of the council " established at Plymouth for the planting, ordering, ruling, and governing of New England in America." From this new company a patent Nov. 9, was, in 162 1, obtained for the Plymouth Colony. It was ■^^'' through no good-will to Nonconformists that the council for New England found themselves helping their interest. " It is not with us," wrote the leader of the Mayflower immigrants, " as with other men whom small things can discourage, or > " A trae and sincere Declaration," Dec. 14, 1609 ; Gen. of U.S., Vol. I. ^ The patent is not extant, nor its exact date known. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 43 small discontentments cause to wish themselves at home again." At the same time the Plymouth Colony had its own difficulties. They were financed by London Gallios, who cared nothing for points of doctrine, and whose only aim was to stand well in the eyes of authority. In 1624 the partnership of the company of adventurers of Plymouth was dissolved ; two-thirds of those in London withdrawing from their connection with the Colony ; and three years later the Colony bought up, for the sum of £iSoo, all the rights of the English adventurers. ThiSi_theivwas the .state of things at the death of James I. Colonial Virginia was under "thg" direct co iiUu l uf -the crown, the ^°n^at Ijermudas were under a Trading C ompi5jzZiiS5£ ^^^fj P'lr- death of chased them from the Virginia Compan y; another Tra ding J*""^^- Company was in n ominal possession of New England, while a small but active community wasTnTvTrtual fndependence at New Plymouth. New Scotland had Beeii granted, on paper, to Sir W. Alexander, but as yet no steps had been taken to enter into its possession. A formal grant of Newfoundland had been made in 1610 to Calvert. But in spite of Kirke's remark that the climate was good for all " except Jesuits and Schismaticks," the Colony was to remain for many years in a Shadowy, not yet embodied, form of life. The prospect was not a promising one. Well might a few years later Cotting- ton endorse on a state paper ^ " Romans, Spanish and Dutch conquer, not plant tobacco and puritanism only, like fools. If they had stayed at home they would have laboured in the Commonwealth to their own sustenance, now we must labour for them." Equally unsatisfactory had been the Colonial policy of the English Government. There had been, as has been shown above, neither consistency nor continuity, unless perhaps in the matter of religious toleration. Nor did the reign of Charles I. bring an improvement. Professor Seeley Policy of has remarked on the complete volie face in the foreign "^ ' policy of Charles. Starting as a lion, it soon becomes as meek as a mouse. It may be added that the same levity charac- terised his Colonial policy. Many modern readers will 1 June 20, 1638, Sainsbury, Cal. of S. P. 44 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY applaud the sonorous periods in which the Royal i Proclama- tion of 1625 speaks of private companies. " To whom it may be proper to trust matters of trade and commerce, but cannot be fit or safe to commit the ordering of state affairs be they never of so mean a consequence." The territories of Virginia and the Somers Islands, and also those of New England, are asserted to be part of our Royal Empire, de- scended upon us, and the resolution is proclaimed of having " one and uniform course of government in and through all our whole monarchy." Brave words, but within four years we find a charter granted to the Massachusetts Bay Company, on precisely the old lines which had been so solemnly abandoned. (It is true that, in the event, the Massachusetts Bay Company did March 4, not trade, but this was not at the time foreseen.) . The ^^' Charter ^ gave power to the freemen of the Company to elect annually, from their own number, a Governor, deputy Governor, and eighteen assistants ; and to make laws and ordinances, not repugnant to the laws of England for the government of the new Colony. No reference was made to conformity to the Church of England, so that toleration to dissenters was thus practically given. In another respect th e patent, so far as co mpanigs.wer& -eenG&r-ned, involved a b old innovation. In p reviaus-xharters-a prnvisrnn had been always contain ed, fixing the gO- Kexmmwtt-ef-the Company in EnglandTTilSuch a clausewas in the original draft of the Massachusetts Bay'lCanpaTiyVC-faarter, but was afterwards deribMutel y^'omltte gr if we""consider tKe "arguments used by Downing a few years later to show why New England could never aim at independence we shall recognize the importance of this omission.* "The whole trade of the plantation is maintained by such undertakers as remain in 1 Set out In Hazard's Historical Collection, Vol. i. p. 203. (The summary in Sainsbury does not give the language respecting Trading Companies.) ^ Set out in Hutchinson Mass. Collection of Papers. 3 In a paper on Arbitrary Government (1644) in app. Life and Letters of J. Winthrop. Vol. II. p. 441, Winthrop expressly states, "so this was intended and with much difficulty we got it abscinded." ^ Dec. 12, 1633, Sainsbury, Cal. of S. P. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINCxS 45 Old England, those that govern the whole plantation have both lands and children." But in fact the founders of Massachusetts were aiming at something different, at found- ing a community which should itself be independent of English connection, and yet this was the policy which the Imperial Charles found himself aiding and abetting. That the Colony was intended to promote certain definite views may be gathered from the instructions sent out to the Gdvernor Endacott. Among them it is directed that persons who may prove " not conformable to their government " or otherwise disagreeable shall not be suffered "to remain within the limits of the grant," but be shipped to England. Considering the case of the Massachusetts Bay Company Religious and the subsequent grant of Maryland to Lord Baltimore, it t°'"3t'°°- is impossible to resist the conclusion that colonial history has been largely written under the influence of English ex- periences. In the stock books on the subject, the Stuart kings stand as the embodiment of bigotry and intolerance. Professor Seeley on the other hand has remarked that their Colonial Policy was one of toleration. How far it may have been so consciously, at least in the case of the two first Stuart kings is doubtful, and an exception must in any case be made of the few years during which that policy was directed by Archbishop Laud. In the patents to Sir H. Gilbert and Sir W. Raleigh, in the clause as to government, are found the words, " and not against the true Christian faith or religion now professed in the Church of England." In the Virginia Charters no mention is made of the Church of England, while, in the 1609 Charter, the Oath of Supremacy is enforced, with a view to prevent such passing, as were suspected of the Church of Rome. It is true that in the Royal Instructions of 1606 the Christian" religion was to be preached amongst both colonists and savages, according to the doctrines and rites of the Church of England, and penalties were to be incurred by the withdrawing of people from this religion, but this did not involve intolerance towards Nonconformists, so long as the Nonconformists themselves did not attempt to convert other people. When 46 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY in 1620, delegates from the puritans resident at Leyden proceeded to England to obtain leave of settlement from the Virginia Company, their case was favourably presented by the Secretary of State, Sir Robert Nauriton. That the King preferred that their nonconformity should be connived at, rather than expressly recognized, is not surprising-; neither was the failure of the grant from the Virginia Company in any way due to religious objections. On the contrary, after the charter was granted to the Plymouth Company for, New England, the Mayflower emigrants obtained (as we have seen), without difficulty, frpm. that Company, a patent for the lands on which . they had settled. With respect to the Massachusetts Bay Company, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, one of the founders of the Plymputh Company, Tvrites, that when the action of King Charley} " took all hope of reformation of church government from many, not affecting episcopal jurisdiction, nor the usual practice of the common prayers of the Church . . . some of the discreeter sort, to avoid what they found themselves subject unto, made use of their friends to procure from 1628. the Council of the Affairs of New England to settle a Colony within their limits." In these circumstances in the following year, no diiiSculty seems to have been experienced in obtaining the Royal Charter, nor (as we have noted) is any mention made of religious conformity in the document itself In 1633, moreover, the Massachusetts Colony was arraigned before the Privy Council, one charge being that it had become wholly separate from the Church and laws of England, and yet at the termination of the proceedings the King said ^ that he would have " them severely punished who did abuse his governour and the plantation," and it was learned from members of the Privy Council, says Winthrog/ " that his Majesty did not intend to impose the ceremonies of the Church of England upon us ; for that it was considered th;at it was the freedom from such things that made people come over to us; and it was credibly informed to the 1 Gorges' " Briefe Narrative, &c.," Mass. Hist. So., 3rd ser., Vol. VI. '^ Winthrop, Hist. ofN. England, Vol. I. p. 123. 8 Vpl. I. p. 100. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 47 Council that this country would, in time, be very beneficial to England for masts, cordage, &c., if the Sound should be debarred." The policy |;ould not be more clearly stated, — the Colonies as a safety vdy€ Lfor,dissfinL.iM,^ii,ioatmni£nts for Jin glisli s hip pjng^nd trade. An interesting comment on this general"poRcy is afforded by the Masque^ of Caelum Britannicum, performed at Whitehall, in 1633, the King himself taking a part. Momus proposes to transport the\ vices to New England, " which hath purged more virulent \ humors from the body politicque than guacum and all the I West Indian druggs have from the naturall bodies of this/ kingdom." Jn the.saji U L. ^ tj ii it , wi t h o v r t ain> ciAip fess-recogni- tion of RomanismT^ charter wa§""~E6T1f6"rfea~tm»-Lor3' '- ftritrmgJ'er T'w^^ - Maryland the_gractlcare.grigt:lgC ! ! g! l ^i^^ to "alio w' the exercise of the Roman Catholic Religion. It is true that iTctause required all "cKm^cKes and places of worship to be dedicated and consecrated according to the ecclesiastical laws of the Church of England. But if, as has been maintained, this was not merely intended * to prevent the establishment by law of the Roman Catholic Religion, the clause was probably inserted with the view of satisfying English public opinion, and no steps were taken for its enforcement. We know from the contemporary account of the Jesuit Father Andrew White * that the first Colony did in fact consist to a great extent of Roman Catholics. In this connection we may note a remarkable despatch of Lord Baltimore, in 1678, wherein he states that his father* "had absolute liberty to carry over any from his Majesty's dominions willing to go. But he found very few but such as for some reason or other could not live in other places, and could not conform to the laws of England relating to religion. These declared themselves willing to plant in this province, if they might have a general toleration settled by a law, by which all, of all sorts, who professed Christianity in general might be at liberty to worship God in the manner most agreeable to their conscience ' By T. Carew, 1634. » See Doyle, Virg., &c., p. 374. ' Force's Hist. Tracts, vol. iv. * Fortescue, Col. of S. P., March 26. 1632. 48 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY without being subject to any penalties." The encouragement afforded to these two very different Colonies is of significance in considering Charles's general policy. Policy of In other respects that policy was much less satisfactory. Charles I. j^^ ^ j^^g^ important matter the Governments both of James and Charles were woefully at fault. Their dilettante patron- age did not prevent the Navy from becoming miserably inefRcient. It is true that, at the beginning of the reign of Charles, Buckingham attempted to deal with the malversa- tions which, like a dry rot, were eating away the strength of the fleet. But there was not money sufficient to put the Navy into a proper state, and the subsequent proceeds from ship money, though they effected something, were not enough to secure an efficient Navy.^ In spite of protests by the English Minister at the Hague, and schemes for founding a City of York in New Engljtnd,' the Diitch had been allowed to wedge themselves in between the English Colonies ; their settlement of New Amsterdaffl •y having been founded in 162^. N^ d ""''■<•- *^ti'^ rpa^nn why the D utch ^ we re-fle^ons^^e r at e d-lay p^Ct^y in the rHjgim i y ^"- ^ "-pdlitical temper of the New England colonists, which drew '-tftgrntoggar tETiyEcEr^ gBsa^^ rauKPs'"^!^ \f'nAiii^*~irr-f^''^p!f^i^:sn'pr~n^7Pr^^;^^ The home ^^fvf'rnrnftnt; ivni toi' wpaTf tn ax;t,.jgxc ept throu^nTtEgco Iori- vjsi^, an d those colonists, it m ust be remembered, were in part men to whom Holland ha3 Been' aTJaven'of refuge, and who , iiad"consid^ea ^eriousfy of findirig m"Dlltch--America * a per- - TtmTl'ai^3^er^n3K^e'*ar^^ best course for England was to follow the advice of the shrewd English Minister at the Hague. " To put forward their plantations and crowd on, crowding the Dutch out of those places where they have occupied." This (as has been pointed out by Mr Doyle 8) was rendered the easier by the vagueness of the ^ See Oppenheim, Admin, of Royal Navy. ^ Saiiisbury, Cal. qfS.P., 1623. ' It may be urged that the sea power of the Dutch insured the safety of their colonies, but it is doubtful how far their fleet would have been used for this purpose. * Doyle, English in America ; Puritan Colonies, Vol. I. p. 58. ' Ibid., Vol. I. p. 299. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 49 Dutch, claims. The, original charter granted by the Dutch Government fixed the northern boundaJy as Canada. In the face of the existence of New England this was an absur- dity. "But the, failure of their theoretical frontier left the Dutch without aifrontier, at all." To, the north of New England, France and England were The be- already rivals for the possession of what is now Canada. §^°t"e^* Port Royal was founded by the French in 1604, and in 1608 struggle the great Champlain, founded Quebec. Frlnceand A Charter of Charles renewed the grant to Sir W. Alex'- England ander 1 of New Scotland. It consisted of the present pro- ^^uf^"' vinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and a portion of Quebec, being bounded on the East by the river St Croix and on the North by the St. Lawrence. A serious effort was made by Alexander to, provide the funds for settlement, by the institution in 1625 of an Order of Knights Baronets. The payment of a thousand marks, and the furnishing six men, entitled to a grant from the Crown of ten thousand acres, along with the, title. The Knights Baronets were not obliged themselves to emigrate, and by payment of two thou- sand marks they could avoid the provision as to furnishing men. Between 1625 and, 1638 ninety-two such baronets were made, and funds were thus provided for the sending out a colony, which settled at Port. Royal after its capture by Argall. Although the! original French Colony had been destroyed, on the arrival of settlers sent f out by Sir W. Alexander, they found on the spot adventurers from all parts, besides many survivors of the, original settlement; The year 1627 witnessed the; granting of a (Charter to the company of New' France, which, : under the presidency of Richelieu^ was intended to mark a new departure in French colonial policy. The fort and settlement of Quebec, with all the; territory of New France, which, by; the way, comprised North America from Canada to - Florida, were conferred upon the new Company. In the same year a more modest company was formed in ^ See Slafter's Sir W. Alexander and Amer. Colonization, a very learned book. It must be confessed, however, that Mr Slafter takes his hero very seriously, D 50 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY England, which included amongst its purposes the founding of a settlement in Canada for the purpose of trading with the natives. The struggle for supremacy in the eighteenth century was thus being anticipated in the seventeenth.^ In successive expeditions, the capable Kirke reduced Port Royal and the the other French settlements and finally captured Quebec. What had been won by arms was, however, yielded bjr 1632. diplomacy, and by the treaty of St Germain-en-laye, Canada and Nova Scotia became again French possessions;' and Alexander's Colony returned to Scotland. A letter* froih » King Charles to Wake the English Ambassador in Paris, explains his motive in this surrender. He was hard pressed, for money, the Queen's dower had never been paid, and to obtain this payment, he was willing to yield Port Royal and Quebec. Carolana, In iSzQ a grant Wcis made to Sir Robert Heath ^ of a new st=' Colony to be called Carolana. The intention was that it should be largely recruited from French Hugenots, and yet we are told that it was to be a Church of England Colony.* In any case nothing substantial came of the scheme. It did not seem in the power of Charles I. ever to add any- thing to England's greatness. More successful, however, in its results, was the colonization of what were afterwards known as New Hampshire and Maine. The founders of these Colonies were Mason and the untiring Gorges. Mason, however, died before he could reap the fruits of his labours, and the Colonies planted in New Hampshire were afterwards absorbed by Massachusetts. Maine, on the other hand, Aprils, preserved for some years a separate history. In 1639 a Charter was granted by Charles, constituting Ciorges Lord / Proprietor ^_JPower of legislation w as giv«i_J:o. him, to be 1 ^jejcetc ked m conjunction with tfi elreeholders of the Province : \lhejisud_p^i«ons^ as"to the laws of England^ > See Conquest of Canada, by H. Kirke. '■* Biymner's Canadian Archives, 1884. » Sainsbury, Col. Add. IS 74- 1 674, Oct. 30. * Sainsbury, Co/., April 20, 1630. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 51 Gorges' political rights were subject to the control of thei Commissioners for Plantations, but his territorial rights were | to be independent. A monopoly of the trade of the Colony ' was granted him, and, in religion, conformity to the Church of England was to be enforced. A fantastic scheme ofj Government, wholly unsuited to colonial life, was established by Gorges. 4u^^ in theWest Indies. BarhadQS._3yhi.dLJaad. been ^■"''="- forrn^ftj^^-xlaimed as earl^^ to hja^j^^^een aiEEually^s.ettled about 1625.^ .ITI^med for a long time the ,g^Si^ of^l,e^l^documents drawn up by those who were in ignorance of the geography of the places with which they dealt. The rival claims of Lord Marlborough, Lord Car- lisle and Lord Montgomery need not further detain us here. St Kitts had been settled in 1623, but Nevis, Antigua, and Montserrat were colonized between 1628 and 1632. In 1630 a grant was made to the Earl of Warwick, Lord Saye and Seal, John Pym and others as the governor and company of adventurers for the plantation of the island of Providence,* etc., between 10° and 20° north latitude and 290° and 313° longitude. The Company only lasted for the space of eleven years, but the fulness of the records which have come down to us make it of interest in the history of colonization. Its business appears to have been managed discreetly andiv well, and the fact, that a company, of which John Pym was j a leading member, does not seem ever to have come into/ collision with the Privy Council, is a further proof of thay moderation on which we have previously commented. ^ It must be co nfessed, hnwf ^vpr , thai- thp fprrp mnde rafrinnVpnlir^. ^f does, not appFy tothe years during which Laud had the con- fl^»<3- ' ~" III Til iff I nil II III I i m iiii I . Ill II iiii --rn-ini-i i» M«'n ii iwn i ^ ii K.M ... l^.. ... I trol_ of_afeirg.^ We are not here called upon to appraise' eitKerhis character or his statesmanship, all that concerns us is his Colonial policy. That policy was one of " thorough " 1 See Lucas, ffisi. Geog. of Br. Cols., Vol. II., W. Indies, note at p. 169. ^ Note that this Providence was distinct from the New Providence, one of the Bahamas. 52 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY without the force \n4iich was behind the " thorough '' of Straf- > ford. Xte..ps»^^^' ^a 5 via l aa -g^^Siy»'-i»*^^ • penalt ii as-awH mpriaea— ment for ecclesiastical offence s, to remove and appoint m^gis- , tra^, laad 'finally- to revoke Chartei3^un3iny^ohtainedT* Siri Fr^rSrges, noting the way of the wind, asks whether it be not more than time that these people should be looked inta " They w;ould be capable," he asserts, "if a drunken governor were to be sent over, of putting him in the stocks and sending him back again." ' Meanwhile, New England was more and more enjoying the attention of "young men of rare gifts who cannot get any lawful entry, as also professors of good means who labour to keep themselves pure and undefiled." * Laudi recognised , that , the moment for action had arrived, and that measures must be taken to prevent the further increase of the obnoxious Colony. Proceedings were in 1635 taken by an action quo warranto ip: the King's Bench. Judgment was given jto. seize the franchises of the corporation and to take Matthew Craddock into custody for usurping the Govem- Sainsbniy. CaU of S. P., Feb. 4. 2 Feb. 28th, 1634. Sainsbury, Cal., Nov. 2, 1634. * CoU., May 8, 1634. THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 53 ment. In the case. howevjer^.t)f g ^il^t^in of tliejlefefiflantg, 'judgment appears not to have been givSirtnrTwo'~years "^"" ^e^cKarge was that the Colony had acted extra vires of ,the charter. On strict legal grounds there seems "kittle doubt but that the decision of the judges cancelling the charter was fully justified. Causes, however, were at work which prevented this judgment from having practical results. A proclamation forbade departure from the Kingdom, unless a license had been first obtained from the Commissioners of Plantations, accompanied by a Certificate that the intending emigrant had taken the Oaths of Allegiance and of Conform- ity to the Church of England. jEorrespo nHpTi(;f^ from i->i>» _jCQH any .±i fQ ETn f d T , aiid.l- . h ^t. ',' thg Mag^achuggtts .g^ty Colony ^^^w ould seem to mean revolt and e.rectiQ.a._sLaujaSML.£avern- V iHent, but_ in trulh-JJilSK^Jiay^Ukang.. skice.n:^GiaBdUQ^..gpend ) their blood in_maijat,aioing.thctf.-prcsent.,way ,5uui ijiOiour." ^ j» ^HTprocIamation * was issued appointing Sir F. Gorges Gover- nor of New England. It was at the same time intimated that conformity to the Church of England would be strictly enforced. ^The outbreak of the Scotch rebellion gave tJi e jJome Govemm^n <- '^th'"" <-^''";Tg <-" ^Viini^ "f After that a temporizing letter* had been returned by the Colony to an Order requiring the handing over of their Charter, the Com- missionerT^expressed themselves only anxious to assert their aQffioHty^"whiie leaving the liberty of the Colony practically as it wasT' "Hi ey explaine dJfcat^ljbiejQharter should be re- alaced b yi..a Iresh one, and that the Colonial Government should have all necessary powers pending the grant of the new Instrument. It thus appears that under Charles I. little had been done Results. for Colonial expansion. On the contrary, there was grave risk lest the important New England Colonies would be lost, so that the period of b^innings seems to end in gloom, and yet, to one who looks deeper, much already had been gained. ' See Hutchinson, Mass. Papers, p. loi. ^Sainsbury, Cal., Nov. 29, 1638. 'July 23, 1637. ■•Sept. 6, 1638. 'May 1639, Winthrop, vol. i. 54 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY The English colonizing faculty had been developed, and Englishmen started along a road on which there was to be no going back ; a " byt " had been put into the " anchent enymie's mouth." " Colonies," it was already dimly recog- nised, " are the foundation of great commonwealths ; it is the fruit of pride and folly to despise the day of small things." BOOK II THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 1651-1830 ds uWorpiourai. That baleful spirit of Commerce that wished to govern great Nations on the Maxims of the Counter. CHAPTER I Enough has been perhaps said to show how hesitatingWirtual and un(:^rta,in were the first steps of English. Coloniair°^=P™^" policy. So many ColoniesT— we may almost say — s_o manyJNew different types. Virginia, New England, Maryland, all cofonrel present special features, are all examples of a distinct method of treatment. But for whoever had eyes to read the signs of the times, there could be no question which type would, in the long run, prevail. As surely as the house" built upon the rock is firmer than the house built upon the sand, so surely would the New England character become the predominant one in the eastern states of the future. We| know how large were the powers in fact possessed by Mas- sachusetts. ^It^,.decjed its own governors ; it carried on its dom estic affairs in complete independence "oT^nglahd. We je^nTiMiriggngfJ^^WAJ:^^ witHout consult- ing the Home Government. When Connectic^ff^et up as a\ separate ^^ny, It did not ask the leave of England, New iHarnpshire, and at a later date Maine,^ were absorbed by Massachusetts in the. same independent fashion. When, irii^^ 1643, the four Colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecti- 1 cut, and Newhayen formed a confederation, as the United! Colonies of New England, no leave was asked of the Mother* country. It is true that, in the preamble to the Articles,! "those s^d distractions in England" are alluded to as to| some extent necessitating the measure; but the confederal tion in all, probability wquld have been formed in any case. . In the same spirit, Massachusetts set up its own Mint in 1652./ Nor; (did the New England Colonies qonfine themselves to the field of practice. They also maintained in theory what ) they claimed to be their rights. In 1646 the court of elders and assistants drew up a formal statement of their views. ' In 1641 and I652. 57 58 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Opinions were not quite unanimous, but the prevailing doc- trine was, as given by Winthrop, that " by our charter we have absolute power of government, for thereby we have power to make laws, to erect all sorts of magistracy, to correct, punish, pardon, govern, and rule the people abso- iutely." T^ieu^ allegiance only bound them to^the laws of ~ " ' il€-t"h^4wed"ia EnglanTf "lor the laws of the Parliament of England reach no further, nor do the King's writs under the Great Seal go any further." ^ Their depend- ence upon England lay in owing allegiance and fidelity. Such allegiance was shown by " the erecting such a govern- ment as the patent prescribes, and subjecting ourselves to the laws here ordained by that government." On the whole, the practical conclusion seemed to be that England had the right to interfere in the single case of the Colony acting in violation of the provisions of its charter. Attitude Such being the temper of Massachusetts, of the leaven Colonies '^^^^^ was to leaven the United States, the sequel of the story may well seem inevitable : but if we turn to a Royalist Colony, to Barbados, a West Indian Island, ^ " principally inhabited by men who had retired thither only to be quiet and to be free from the noise and oppression in England," we find the same 1651. note of independence. The declaration issued by Barbados protests against the doctrine that they should " be subjected to the will and command of those that stay at home." Two 1653. years later we are told that some persons had a design to make this place "a free State and not to run any fortune with England either in peace or war." Such being the /temper of men of both parties it is obvious how dangerous I for the future of English Empire were the distractions of the \Civil War. In the Bermudas, for a time, power was practic- ; ally in the hands of the ministers, who went " to such lengths ; as to make a man quite out of love with the government of the clergy." * We are not surprised that henceforth the Ber- mudas inclined to the royalist side. ^ Journal History of Massachusetts, Vol.JI., p. 352. 'Clarendon, Hist, of the Rebellion, book xiii. Sainsbury, 1574-1660. Feb. 1642. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 59 In the American Colonies there was in New England / naturally no royalist party, as the method of the colonists in I dealing with those who differed on fundamentals had been ' to put them on a ship and send them home again. In Vir- ginia parties were more divided. It is difficult to believe \ that among the Virginian settlers there were many who 1 really sympathised with Puritanism, but undoubtedly there I was a popular party, strongly represented in the house of ' Burgessfes, who saw in the success of the parliamentary party at home a means to improve their own position. In Mary-i^ land, on the other hand, there appears to have been little j independent feeling on the question, the one thought in the/ mind of its astute proprietor being how, whoever prevailed,[ he might feather his own private nest. In this state of things all seems drifting towards disruption, and yet what we find is the exact opposite, a definite Colonial policy first policy of deliberately adopted which was to prevail for more than a ?**'^"t hundred and fifty years. It has been often notjced how many o f the leaders of the Eong ParTiament had pa.ssed their "political apprenBF^SfltprJn~N«W'Engl»n4^'v-'The younger Sir ; ifeTr3r^'anH^aiid,„S-lVaaaanS'eiC.^^9" who could l5peaE^wTffi"~practical experience on colonial affairs, but the men who were now ruling England, whatever their faults, were not the men to cower before difficulties. Already in) 1643. 1643, Lord Warwick had been appointed Governor-in-Chief of all Plantations, as well as Lord High Admiral. Commis- Not. 24. sioners for the Plantations were, at the same time, appointed, V~ among whom we find the names of Lord Pembroke, Lord , Saye and Seal, Sir Henry Vane, John Pym, Oliver Cromwell,/ and S. Vassall, After the execution of Charles I., one of the/ first measures taken was to apprise the Colonies of the change of Government. When Barbados, Antigua, Virginia, and I Somers Islands, appeared to be still Royalist, an Ordinance 1 1650. of Parliament was at once passed, prohibiting trade with/ them. Qn the next year a Fleet was despatched against Bar- bados, and Commissioners sent to settle the affairs of Virginia. With regard to Barbados, the terms offered by Sir G. Ayscue, the Parliamentary Admiral, were very gener- 6o BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY ous. Liberty of conscience was allowed, except to such, whose tenets were " inconsistent with a Civil government," and an undertaking was given against the imposition of taxes, cus- toms and impositions, without the consent of the Colony. It is noteworthy that Barbados, which resisted, seems to have obtained better terms than Virginia, which at once yielded on the arrival of the Commissioners. j When the Articles signed by the Commissioners were pfesented to Parliament, those referring to the Charter and to the granting to Virginia as great privileges as to any plantation in America, together with the article guaranteeing freedom from all taxes, customs, and impositions whatsoever, without consent of the Grand , Assembly, were referred to the Committee of the Navy ; and in the Report^ of that Committee no mention is made of these questions thus referred to them. When we remember that the Colony had no less than four times solemnly asserted its exclusive right of imposing taxes the omission is note- worthy. The settlement in Maryland need not detain us, as it illustrated no question of principle. The art of statesman- ship has been compared to the walking on a tight rope, and no more triumphant exhibition of such statesmanship was ever given than when the Papist son of the StuarLfavourite was able to plead his fidelity to the Commonwealth as opposed to the stubborn Royalism of Virginia. Finally, the adroit schemer " without force or fraud, without one substantial sacri- fice, by the bloodless arts of diplomacy,"^ won back every position for which he had fought. Look where one will, one finds, in the dealings of Parliament, no thought of surrender- ing an inch of British territory. At the same time active brains are at work over the problem of the Empire. When Feb. 16, the ready-witted Colonel Modyford, anticipating later views, '^52- makes the " immodest " suggestion that Barbados should be allowed representation in the Imperial Parliament, the sug- gestion is approved by the Committee for Foreign affairs. Naviga- 'Meanwhile a more powerful engine for moulding the Ordinance Empire into one was to be fashioned. The Navigation Acts, ifiS'- 1 Force Hist. Tracts, Vol. II. ; ' Virginia and Maryland,' note to p. 30. '■^ Doyle, Virg. &fc., p. 416. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 6i as a whole, had two objects in view : the one, the encourage- I ment of English shipping ; the other, the encouragement of / English manufactures. It was with the former only that the Ordinance of 1651 was concerned. Tt is. of ^mirse, t.r iif> thai- \- thi s measure represented no new po licy. As early as the i timeof Richard II., an Act '^ to increase the Navy, which is S Ri<=- "• now greatly diminished," had made it compulsory for English '^' '^" subjects to export and import goods in English ships, having the majority of the crew British subjects. This Act, however, had remained a dead letter. In the reign of Edward IV. ancjther Navigation Act was enacted, but this lapsed at the expiration of three years. A further statute forbade the 4 H. vii. importation of foreign wines in any but English, Irish, or '^' '°' Welsh owned ships. As was to be expected, the legislature, during the reign of Elizabeth, was much occupied with the question. Old enactments were varied or renewed, in six different sessions, while an attempt was, at the same time, made to enforce stringently the law. According to the opinion of the time, these measures bore fruit in the large increase of merchant shipping. In 1624 a Proclamation was issued, followed at a later date by orders in council, prohibit- 1640. ing the use of foreign bottoms for the carriage of Virginian tobacco, and in 1641 a number of English merchants urged that these rules should be embodied in an Act of Parliament. T hat thg _ Qrdin ance of 1651 wasframed.,in .np sniritof hos- f ttlity to the^oIanifeS'is c lgarr'Trri646^e Long Parliament, with the double purpose of at once conciliating the Colonies and encouraging English shipping, had enacted, that no duty\ should be levied on goods intended for the Colonies, provided \ that they were forwarded by English ships. Under the measure of 1651, no goods were allowed to be exported to the Colonies or imported thence into England, except in English or colonial built ships, the property of English sub^ jects, having English commanders, and a crew three-fourths of whom were English. Attention should be directed to the\ provision allowing the use of ships built in the Plantations./ It may well have been expected that the great natural advan- tages of the Colonies would call into being an important ship- 62 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY building industry. That the Navigation Ordinance of the Interregnum led to the measure of 1660 is undoubted. But that, in itself, it contained the full mischief of the Mercantile system, cannot be fairly maintained. The object against which the measure was directed was the naval supremacy of Holland ; and it is by its success or failure in wresting the carrying trade from the hands of the Dutch that it must be judged. The opinion of the men of the Commonwealth with regard to the Dutch may be recognized in the words of Thomas Mun, who has been generally recognized as the earliest English exponent of that Mercantile system, which for so long dominated in the fields of practice and of thought. Anticipating the views of the next generation, we find him, as early as about 1628,^ breaking through the chains of politi- cal and religious prejudice and boldly asserting that Eng- land's true enemy was not the Spaniards or the French, but the Dutch,^ " who undermine, hurt, and eclipse us daily in our Navigation and Trade." The Navigation Acts have been generally condemned by modern economists, as having neither conduced to the naval nor commercial greatness of England, but this seems a diffi- cult thesis to maintain in the face of the well-attested fact that the carrying trade of England was, before their enact- ment, in the hands of the Dutch, and that afterwards, though of course not at once or at one bound, England became the great carrier of Europe. The secret of the success of the Dutch in the carrying trade lay in the greater cheapness with which they were able to transport goods. This was owing to the fact that they were able to build ships at a less cost and to navigate them with a smaller crew. The Navigation Acts gave the English the opportunity to make good the lost ground. To say that because the English mercantile marine has never flourished so much as since the repeal of the Navi- gation Acts, therefore these Acts must have been useless, is as though one should call crutches needless, because a man who is no longer lame can walk better without them. The ^ England's Treasure by Furraign Trade, pub. 1664, but written much earlier. ' 1895 ed., p. III. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 63 mischief of artificial protection is that too often it resembles not a crutch but a bandage, under which the muscles become atrophied ; but the modern history of English shipping is eloquent to show that no such charge can be fairly brought against the Navigation Acts. It is, of course, true that these Acts by themselves did not win England naval supremacy, but they were only a portion of a complete policy, which included the maintenance of the State Navy on a scale of organization and efficiency such as the world had never before seen. Whatever, however, be the truth as to this, we are here only concerned with the Navigation Acts, so far as they affected the Colonies, and here, undoubtedly, in their effects they represented a retrograde policy. In another and more surprising direction we find the vicA policy of torious Parliamentary party embarking in a spirited Colonial! P"''^- policy. If there were any who might be deemed bone of U^^ards their bone and flesh of their JSesh, they were the settlers in ^^ ^°^" that Massachusetts, the founders of which were so strongly represented in the Parliamentary party ; and yet we find that party granting a charter to Rhode Island against the wishes of Massachusetts, and in effect rebuking the parent colony for " the want of good feeling between men who had so much in common.'^ A more practical question had arisen, in 1644 as to the jurisdictioir"or~the Parliament over Massa- -efatrs'ieffsT'" A Bristol ship was CSptOffed in New England -waters by a captain holding a commission from Warwick, and the question arose whether the Parliamentary Commis- sion overrode the jurisdiction created by the patent. In the end the colonists yielded, but the fact that they hesitated is in itself sufficiently significant. In 165 1 Massachusetts was indirectly informed " that it was the Parliament's pleasure that we should take a new patent from them, and keep our Court and issue our warrants in their name." The Colony temporised with its answer, making it just when the Dutch War broke out, hinting thereby, as the New England historian complacently suggests,^ that there were other Protestant powers to which appeal might be made besides England. Certainly, ^ Palfrey's Jfist. of N. England, Vol. II. p. 401. 64 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the reluctance to, take part, in the Dutch War seems sig- nificant. The Colonial authorities gave formal leave for five hundred volunteers, if so many could be found to be enrolled ; but they did not throw themselves heart and soul into the cause of the Mother country. Policy of Considering all these things, we seem to find the clue to Cromwell, ^jj^t at first appears a strange proposal , of Cromwell, that Ireland should be settled by immigrants from New England. We have been so much accustomed to read of the long tale of Irish emigration to the United States, first that of the Protestant North, and then, later, that of the Celtic South, that it comes as a shock, to meet a, proposal for emigration in the opposite direction. But the motive influencing Cromwell may well have been this. He recognised the extreme diffi- culty of retaining in subjection against their will a community of the type of New England, and saw clearly the tendencies making for independence. If, in the green tree of common political and religious sympathies, the forces making for dis- union were so string, what would they become in the dry sticks of a possible Stuart restoration? Cromwell may well have tiiought that the only possible remedy lay in gradually split- ting up these formidable colonists. It must be noted that, from the triumph of the Parliamentary party, there was a complete cessation of emigration to New England. If Jamaica, conquered from the Spanish in 1655, and if Ireland could be largely populated by New Englanders, and if New England could be in turn supplied with colonists of a wholly different character, with Irish Tories and English "malig- nants," the permanence of English interests might be thereby secured. We must remember that, whatever else Cromwell was, he was, above all, a great imperial ruler, perhaps, the only Englishman who has ever understood in its full sense the yrord Empire. The leader who made Englandjfor the first , time and the last, at once the greatest naval and military pQwer in Europe, was not the man to let go an inch of English territory ; and yet consider the scandal of an English Puritan coercing Colonies, themselves the first fruits of Puritanism. The idea of Cromwell, like so much THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 65 that issued fi;otn that actfve brain, was to fall still-bom. Nevertheless, had it succeeded, the whole history of the American continent might have run on altogether different lines. But if in New England matters Cromwell evolved a subtle policy, the full significance of which has perhaps been generally overlooked, of his general Colonial policy there is no room for doubt. Here, though he shelters himself under " Queen Elizabeth of famous memory," he is really the successor of Raleigh.^ Like the great Eliza- bethan, his quarrel with Spain is twofold. On the side of Mammon, he covets Spanish treasure. On the side of God, he is opposing Anti-Christ, He must be a shallow critic, who finds in the strange, only half intelligible, expressions in his speeches, the note of hypocrisy. All, however, that we are here concerned with is the practical outcome of that policy in the conquest of Jamaica. At the time, it is true, the expedition seemed a failure. It was repulsed from Hispaniola, which had been its object, and the capture of a bare island, with only five hundred Spanish inhabitants, appeared a very poor compensation. Nevertheless in the long run, Jamaica proved as important an acquisition as would have been San Domingo. In judging of Cromwell's work, we must always remember the few years into which the events of his autocracy were crowded. He was proclaimed Protector in 1653 and he died in September 1658. "Time and I against the world," said Cromwell's great rival, Mazarin, but to Cromwell, the gods were less generous, and the necessary time was not given. On the subject of emigration, the ideas of Cromwell were not before his age. In the nature of things, he was much occupied with the transportation of political prisoners. Readers of Carlyle will remember the passage ^ in which he speaks of Cromwell as " very apt ' to Barbados ' an unruly man ; has sent, and sends us by hundreds to Barbados, so that we have made an active verb of it — ' Barbados you.' " ^ Seel^, Growth of Br. Policy, Vol. II. 2 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, Part IX., 1655. E i6c>. 66 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY In 1654 we find the draft of a bill for transporting vagrants Aug. i|, to the Western Colonies, and two years later a circular letter was addressed to the Majors-General and Commissioners for the different counties, ordering them to apprehend lewd and dangerous persons, rogues, vagrants, and those who have no way of livelihood and refuse to work, and to treat with merchants and others for the transporting them to the English plantations. The proceeds from the duty on the export of coals were to be appropriated to the carrying on of His Highness' affairs in America. CHAPTER II We have already noticed the remark of Seeley how com- PoUcyof pletely English constitutional experiences have dictated the ^g^t"' general history of English development. The reign of Charles Charles II. well illustrates his meaning. It is almost universally described as a time of disgrace and infamy, and yet, so far as both the administration and development of the*Colonies were concerned, it compares very favourably with the times which came before and which followed. The '/ policy it attempted to enforce may or may not have been wise, but, at any rate, we find in high quarters an enthusiasm | ^ with regard to the Colonies, and a superiority in the men who I have to deal with them, which makes the period a singularly \ interesting one. Even after the great men. Clarendon and/ Shaftesbury, are no longer at work, we find the Colonial! Committee of the Privy Council, still, so far as good inten-' tions and industry are concerned, meriting approval ; and, if their efforts were unavailing against the canker of jobbery and corruption which was eating at the roots of English public life, at least in colonial matters, as perhaps nowhere else, some attempt was made to withstand this jobbery and corruption. The last years of Charles, along with the short! rule of James, have been well described as a reign of terror,/! but even as late as i68ijwe find the sun of Charles' Colonial j policy setting splendidly ^witK the foundation of the great I Quaker colony of Pennsylvania. The presiding genius of the first period of Charles' reign Clarendon was, of course. Clarendon, and when greater England shall care to commemorate its makers, the great representative of the Via media will doubtless occupy a place by the side of Raleigh, Cromwell, Ashley, Pitt, Carleton, Sir George Grey, emd the many distinguished Englishmen, who have carried 67 68 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY forward the torch of colonial development. When offered oip as a victim to his enemies by the King, who resented his i respectability, Clarendon, in his defence,^ asserted that, "soon / after the Restoration, he used all the endeavours he could, to / bring His Majesty to have a great esteem for his Plantations, / and to encourage the improvement of them, and that he was confirmed in his opinion and desire by the entries at the Custom House, by which he found what a great revenue accrued to the King from these plantations ; inasmuch as the receipts from them had repaired the decrease of the Customs which the late troubles had brought upon the parts ^ of trade." An examination of the English Colonial policy, at the time of the Restoration, fully bears out this claims The first business of the restored monarchy, (and what more significant tribute could have been paid to the growii^ ihlportance of the trading interest?) was to re-enact the Naviga- Navigation Act, while at the same time, the scope of the 12 Ca^ a! Pleasure was greatly enlarged. The 165 1 Ordinance, as we c. 18. have already seen, was enacted in the interests of English shipping, the Act of 1660 extended its protection to English manufactures. The commercial attitude of England towards her Colonies had been, at the outset, a generous one. Under the charters, immunity had been, for the most part, given from all duties, except five per cent, for long periods of years. The pro- vision allowing the Colonies to re-export goods from England, free; of any fresh duty, at any time within twelve months, acted as an encouragement to colonial trade. Moreover, the readiness with which foreigners had been encour^ed to settle in the various Colonies, showed a generous solicitude for their advancement The spirit of this policy was now, however, to be changed. The Navigation Acts forged fetters wherein the Colonies were to be bound for many a long year. 1 There are nuinerous versions of this, Defence, but the only one I have found, vfhich contains the passage with respect to the Colonies, is in the Life of Lord Clarendon, Oxford ed. 1827, Vol. III. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 69 These Acts, and their successors, cannot be looked on as 1 isolated events in English economic history; in fact, they | were but particular manifestations of that general European / movement, which is known as the Mercantile system. The/ German economist, Schmoller, has maintained that mercantil- ism was a necessary step in the evolution of modern society.^ " In its innermost kernel it is nothing but statemaking . . . which creates, out of the political community, an economic community, and so gives it a heightened meaning." Accord- ing to this view, the essence of the system lies, not in any theory, as to the precious metals, balance of trade, or the like, but " in the replacing of a local and territorial economic policy by that of the national state." The Mercantile system has been, for the most part, in England, judged from the modem standpoint. Compared with the particularism of the Town or Territory, it opened out a wider field of commercial freedom. Be this as it may, it involved, as commonly held, the subordination of the interests of the Colony to those of the mother state. The Dutch, " so lauded by the naif free trader of our day, on account of the low customs-duties of their early days, were from the first the sternest and most warlike of monopolists." ^ " Their obstinate pursuit of monopoly," * the same writer asserts, " gave rise to Englcind's Navigation law, and Colbert's tariff, and attracted England and France themselves towards a like policy of pursuing narrowly mercantilist objects by force of arms." But if it is impossible with fairness to condemn the authors of the Navigation Acts in the manner of English, and especi- ally of American writers, it is none the less true that they mark the deliberate renunciation of an ideal, the putting forward of which might have led to much. If Mercantilism meant the national state as an economic community, as opposed to the Town or Territory, which had sufficed for the economic grasp of earlier times, might not a yet wider Mercantilism have gone one step further and substituted for the national State the national Empire ? The ideal, which finds expression 1 The Mercantile System (Econ. classics), p. 50. =* Ibid., p. 65. ' Ibid., p. 66. •JO BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY in the German ZoUverein, the ideal which still fascinates the Imperial Federationlst, is hot, as is that of the Free Trader, contrary to the ideal of Mercantilism, but rather that ideal carried one step further. The " marine Empire " afterwards advocated by Pownall,i wherein the "different members should stand to each other as do Yorkshire and Middle- sex," might have been "sua si bona norint" the last word of a more advanced Mercantilism. Since the first starting of Colonies two views with respect to their inhabitants had been struggling for the mastery. The one, sanctioned by the English common law, regarded colonists as merely Englishmen beyond the sea. In an early ; tract we find this view admirably put. " A state that intends to draw out a colony for the inhabiting of another country '. must look at the mother and the daughters with an equal f and an indifferent eye, remembering that a colony is a part and member of her own body." ^ The other view, which unhappily prevailed, thought and spoke of the Colonies as " foreign Plantations," and really confused, as has well be^i /brought out by Professor Seeley, the idea of settlement with the idea of possession. It is because the Navigation Acts marked for many generatioris' t l tt; ' findl tt iun lpKloTtEis theor^ Jjui tney cohiESfte a lanTlfflarlrin-iEnglish Colonial history. In the words of Burke, " It was the system of a monopoly. . . . The Act of Navigation attended the Colonies from their infancy, grew with their growth, and strengthened with their strength ; they were confirmed in obedience to it even more by usage than by law. They scarcely had remembered a time when they were not subject to such restraint."* The Navigation Act of 1660 forbade goods to be imported into or exported from British possessions, except in ships " as doe truly and without fraud belong onely to the people of England ... or are of the built of and belonging to " any of the said British possessions, "whereof the greater, and three-fourths at least, of the mariners are English." The ^ Administration of the Colonies. 2 The Planter's Plea— Force, Hist. Tracts, Vol. II. ' Speech on American Taxation, April 19, 1774. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 71 penalty was to be the forfeiture of both the ship and its I cai^o. The eighteenth clause forbade certain " enumerated " articles — ^viz., sugar, tobacco, cotton wool, indigo, ginger, fustic, or other dyeing woods, to be shipped to any country except England, or some other English plantation. The second clause prohibited foreigners from becoming merchants or factors in the Colonies. Governors were to be solemnly s|c. 2. sworn to do their utmost to put the Act into force ; and all ships loading in the colonies any of the enumerated goods were to give bonds that their destination was England or Sec. 19. Ireland. The Act of 1660 was strengthened three years i4Car. ji. later by an enactment which made foreign-built ships to c* ' ' ^^"^ be in all cases deemed alien. In the next year another '5 Car. ii. Act was passed,^ which further obliged European goods to ^ ^' ^^ be first landed in England before being exported to the Colonies. Another Act, " for regulating the plantation trade," 22 an^ 23 imposed upon governors the duty of making annual returns ^"' ^ '^ of all ships lading any commodities in the Colony, and also of all Bonds taken. In 1672 a further Act was passed, render- 25 Car. ii ing goods brought from one Colony to another liable to the ^" '• ^^■ same custom duties which they would have paid if brought to England. The provisions of the Navigation Act with regard to the " enumerated " articles were of far-reaching importance. It is true that among the non-enumerated articles there remained some of the most important products of America. Grain of all sorts was always excluded from them, and hides and skins were not included until the time of George III. The fisheries — a most important industry in New England — had all the encouragement which freedom could give them, and the trade both in lumber and rum was fostered by England. It was doubtless true, as stated by Adam Smith,* that " if the whole surplus produce of America, in grain of all sorts, in salt pro- visions and in fish, had been put into the enumeration and ^ Note language — " For the maintaining a greater kindnesse and correspond- ence ... it being the usage of other nations to keep their plantation trade to themselves." 2 fTea/M of Nations, Book IV., ch. 7. 72 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY thereby forced into the market of Great Britain, it would have interfered too much with the produce of the industry of our own people." England was thus actuated "not so much from any regard to the interests of America as from a jealousy of this interference." ^Nevertheless the good results to the ^' II I ,1 I ^„, I in I JIB IM^ III , ||- - -- ■ ■ -gJ— — -— — - — - . Colonies were the same,^,,Still,,jvfen all allowances have been Tflsa^'tKe rules as to tKeenumerated articles were the first definite statemenfoTnie theory that the Colonies only existed for the benefit of the Mother country ; so that, in the words of a later writer,^ " All advantageous projects or commercial gain in any Colony which are truly prejudicial to and incoQ^ sistent with the interests of the Mother country, must be understood to be illegal and the practise of them unwarrant- able ; because they contradict the end for which the Colonies had a being." Doubtless the germ of the Navigation Acts Afas found in previous practice. The Privy Council had in 162 1 issued an order ^ declaring that all Virginian tobacco, whether intended or not for Continental consumption, should be brought to England first In excuse of the English authorities, it must be remembered that, whatever may have been the case with regard to the New England Colonies, Virginia owed much direct aid and protection to the Mother ifcbuntry, and that the revenue derived from the custom dues was the only way in which she could make a return. '^Mo re » - .overr1EiT[g}a»d.jiot only prohibited ^ the cultivation of tobacco July 1624I pn_£nglish.Jgili,^fafeo-ex^udBdrf61teign-to^ from the- NEnglish market. It Tmiist be confessed, however, that the levying of high duties on tobacco before 1630 was in direct- violation of the clause of the 1609 Charter, which gave exemp- tion for twenty-one years from every form of custom duty, 1624. except the 5 per cent duty, and that the proclamation against the importation of Spanish tobacco was subsequent in time to the order dealing with the exporting direct to 1621. foreign parts. The instructions, to Wyatt in 1639 and to 1 Paper in Rec. Office, written in 1726 by (?) Sir W. Keith. * Sainsbury Cal., 1574-1660, Oct. 24, 1621. = Proclamations of James I. and Charles I., Ordinance of 1651, &c But the law was often evaded. See 22 and 23 Car. ii. c. 26. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY ti Berkeley in 1641, directed them strictly to enforce this order. It must not be supposed, however, that the policy of the Navigation Acts was silently acquiesced in at the time of their origin. I shall quote_S QoaJR-arrother context the opin- ions of some colonial governors, but writers, g.^.,CnVp.N Jiro- test^^^|str»agly^ against them. The marked ability of the peHfion 2 of John Bland, a leading London merchant, repre- senting Virginia and Maryland, has often been noticed. Not less noticeable is the extreme acrimony in which its language is couched. He speaks of the authors of an Act, which, after all, represented the considered opinion of the civilisation of the day, as knoiving " no more than children newly put out to prentice." One practical suggestion, however, he made of great importance. He recommended that English ships should pay in the Colonies the same customs as they would in England, or give bills payable in England, and then be allowed to go whither they pleased. The petition brings out very clearly the increase in prices caused by the operation of the Act But this increase tended to diminish, as English shipping developed under the shield of State encouragement. When all was said and done, however, it was one thing to pass Acts of Parliament and another to enforce them, and the State Papers are full of complaints on this subject *- Jj. th? '''^fifi ,,nf .thfi.. ^'^"^ Knf^jfJ']^ Colonies special ly, there^is jjauciu-evidenee-tOL^how thaFTRe Act- re- '-^^[^[i^^he most part a dead letter. ^We_a£eJLQld-±hat 1676. .._free.adi»JssiQiLwas allowed to the shipf^ofall nations. We find the English merchants affirming that New England had 1677- become the great mart and. staple of trade. Moreover, in the reply given by Massachusetts to the Royal Commissioners, May 1665. who went out in 1664, it is said that "they were not con- scious to themselves that they greatly violated,"* which can- not be taken cis a very strong denial. It was true that New England did not itself produce any of the enumerated ' A Discourse of Trade, 1670. ' Printed in Virginia Mag, of Hist, and Biog., Vol. I., 1893. •Palfrey, Vol. III. p. 614. 74 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY articles, but its trade lai^ely consisted in exchanging its own products for the sugar, tobacco, &c. of the West Indies and Virginia. Moreover, with such want of thought for the case of Massachusetts had the Navigation Act been drawn, that it proved practically unworkable in that Colony : contemplat- ing, as it did, its enforcement, by means of the oath taken by the Grovemor appointed by the Crown, an officer who was non-existent in the New England Colonies. Duties on At the Restoration a further line of- action appeared to be exports, contemplated,^ which if persisted in, must have caused great friction and trouble. The patent of 1663, constituting the office of Commissioners of Custom, empowered them to levy and collect a duty of four and a half per cent, ad valorem, on all dead produce exported from Barbados and other sugar islands, and from the Plantations in America. In the case of the Caribbean Islands, the grant of the four and a half per cent, duty was made by the inhabitants themselves, as the re- ^It of a compromise, the consideration obtained being the [cancelling of the rival proprietary rights over the Islands. In this state of things, Jamaica was never liable to the four and a half per cent, duty, and when, after the treaty of Paris, the attempt was made to levy the tax, on the "ceded" islands of Dominica, St Vincent, Grenada, and Tobago, it was held * in Campbell v. Hall that the tax could not be en- forced, on the ground, that the cession had been made, on the condition of preserving to theiiriiabitants afr the p^iviT^^en- jgye a-trndeeftr ea c h «n*le ?-MorE&vef ,no export duties were ever leylecl or attempted Jo[ be levred-from the AiSferifcan Colonies, go thatj£lhe.t erms of th s-patent ofjee^ indicated a distinct Wlicv. that policy must have been immediately abandoned.* Council At the moment of the Restoration the old committee of *°^ P°^ the Privy Council for Plantation affairs had been restored, "*^ tions. but, after the enactment of the Navigation Act, a new standing 'See Palgrave, Diet, of Politic. Economy.— Yx^t\s, duties on. "^ 21a State Trials. *It should be noted, however, that in 1671 it was proposed to increase the duty on sugar by an Act of Parliament. The measure passed the Commons but was defeated in the Lords through the exertions of Lord Willoughby. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 75 Council or Commission for dealing with Colonial affairs was Dec. 1660. set on foot. This Commission consisted of over forty members, and^ajiew_d^5iTOre^s made by the introduction of mer- chants, as colleagues of the Privy councillors, and by a recognition, in, theory^ of the representative principle.^ The royal instructions to the Commission denote the serious spirit in which the work was taken up. They are to inform themselves of the state of the Plantations, and by what com- missions they are governed ; to study their complaints, wants, growth, commodities, and trade, that all may be regulated upon equal ground and principle ; to adopt means for rendering those dominions and England mutually helpful ; to bring them into a more uniform government, and order the better distribution of justice; to enquire into the govern- ing of the Colonies of foreign states, and apply what is good and practicable ; to take a special care for the strict execution of the recent Navigation Act ; to consider how the Colonies may be best supplied with servants, so as at once to prevent forcible abductions and encourage those willing to go ; and to set on foot a system of transporting to the Colonies vagrants and those who remain here noxious and unprofitable. J Not the least important test of colonial administration Colonial is the selection of Governors. We have seen how, in the * Note the language of Bumet, :Hir/(i»y of his Own Times, Vol. II., 1833 ed., p. 102 : "And Coventry told Lord Essex that there was once a. Plantation- Cause at the Council board, and he was troubled to see the King espouse the worst side ; and upon that he went to him and told him secretly that it was a vile cause which he was supporting : the King answered him) he had got good money for doing it " ! THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 8i Virginia as Governor, it is said that " they cannot have a better example than their neighbours of New England, who have in few years raised that Colony to breed wealth, reputation, and security." It is, in truth, difficult for even the most devout worshipper at the New England shrine to find much to satisfy him in the story of Massachusetts at this period. In the first place, the founders of the Colony were now nearly all dead, and their successors were men moulded of coarser clay. Nor when we turn to the merits of the controversy do the claims of the Colony appeal to the sympathies of the impartial on- looker. The main points insisted on by Clarendon were that the Oath of Allegiance should be taken, that the adminis- tration of justice should be carried on in the King's name ; that toleration should be allowed to the use of the Church of England Prayer Book, and finally, that the right of voting should be extended to all freeholders " not vicious in conver- sation and orthodox in religion." With regard to the first two claims, all that was required was that allegiance to Eng- land should be honestly recognised. One cannot, of course, take for absolute truth the prejudiced statements of the Royal Commissioners, but it is probable that the Colony did hold that they were not bound to the King " but by civility," Dec. 14, and that they did hope " by writing to tire the King, the '^^" Lord Chancellor, and Secretaries." They had so often styled ) themselves "this State or Commonwealth" that they hady come to believe themselves one. Now, as to the equities 01 the case, it may well be that Massachusetts did not owe much loyalty to the House of Stuart, and if she had been strong enough to win her independence, from the point of view of. justice, little need have been said. But what does come as a\ shock is to find on paper the expression of the most abject \ loyalty — Massachusetts is the Mephibosheth ^ to Charles's \ David — while, in fact, the same men were aiding and abetting the escape of the regicides and doing nothing of what the King required. With respect to the other demands, the I Home Government were clearly in the right. ^ A ' ' ' gnd ofjfap rhriginal Chaslg ^^^ bee n liberty of conscience, • Letter of Gov. Endacott, Feb. nth, 1661. F 82 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY itj^^ in substance, refused to members of the Cfiurch Tin ^ Hmr jinnnt Fir h^m" It is difficult to form a judgment upon the extent of the grievance, which confined the right to vote to Church members, but there is evidence to show that there was an important and growing minority, especially in the commercial towns, who were, by this rule, shut out from any share in the government -Such^bgi ng th e state of the case upon its merits, the question was_ jiow to settle matters without either yielding essential jiointSrOr -exciting violent opposition. The manner in which the attempt was begun was adroit in the extreme. Jt will be remembered that the four confederated Colonies of New England consisted of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Con- necticut and Newhaven, and that Rhode Island had remained a virtual outlaw, looked down upon by its more orthodox neighbours. Clarendon remembered the maxim divide et itnpera, if we may use the word "rule" where moderation July 1663. was so conspicuous. Rhode Island received a Charter with complete religious toleration, the hope being expressed " that the same, by reason of distance, may be no breach of the uniformity in this kingdom." A significant clause was in- serted, sanctioning appeals to the Crown "in all public April 1662. controversies." Connecticut also received a Charter, but the business was managed with such Machiavellian skill that unhappy Newhaven found itself by the grant ab- sorbed in Connecticut, and, after an ineffectual resistance, was obliged to yield to facts. Of the four Confederate States, two were thus merged in one, and that one, from the nature of things, jealous of Massachusetts. Nothing was done in the case of Plymouth, probably because the senior Colony had by this time ceased to be of political importance Preparations being thus made, the next step was to send 1664. Commissioners to America. Their real business was to find out the state of affairs in New England, and report to the Home Authorities. In a paper which has been sometimes ascribed to Clarendon, it, was stated that the object to be ajmed at was the reduction^^ oFT^igw fe^land "bymeans of THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 83 insinuation " rather than of ." force." — In therr^ecret instruc- April 23, tion^-thg Xommissioners were enjoined to "frequent their ' *' churches, and be present at their devotions." A very plausible ground for sending the Commission lay in the numerous frontier questions, which existed between the various Colonies. Unfortunately the choice made of Com- missioners was an unhappy one. Their selection had been left to the Duke of York, who had doubtless little sympathy with the policy of his father-in-law. Colonel R. NicoUs was, indeed, a most capable officer, but the work of reducing New Amsterdam, of which we shall speak presently, left him little leisure to attend to New England affairs. Maverick appears to have been a man of honour and ability, but he was deeply prejudiced against the rulers of Massachusetts, and it was plainly wrong to appoint as Commissioner one who had been lately petitioning against those on whom he was now to sit in judgment. Nor did the very serious language with which Clarendon warned him against any show of partiality meet the mischief^ Sir R. Carr and Cartwright were frivolous placemen, little calculated to overawe the Massachusetts Government. The result of the Commission was such as, in these circum- stances, might have been expected. The Commi ssioners were, of course, made welcome in Rhode Island and Connecticut, but liTMassac&usetts they practically effected nothing. They do not seem by any means to have jnade the most of their own case. It "was oixe. thing- to maintain that, in the last Tesort, a right of appeal ,ah.Q«ld lie ta.^the. English Courts ; it [ was another for stray Coiamissu>ii«rs to claim to sit as^ Court | of Appeal in the.Colony, upon cases already decided by the Colonial courts. The Commissioners found themselves under the necessity of retiring from the country, and it was a fitting ending of such a hapless mission that the Commissioners' reports and papers should have fallen into the hands of a Dutch privateer. It was impossible for England to acquiesce in this termination of affairs. A peremptory letter was ad- April 10, dressed to the Colony announcing the King's displeasure, ' Documents relating to N. York, Vol. III. i 1666. 84 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY and ordering the sending of four or five accredited agents to England. A timely present, however, of masts ^ and of provisions for Bcirbados did much to mitigate the anger excited in England; and the fall of Clarendon, and the threatened outbreak of war with both France and Holland served to divert for some time the attention of statesmen, so that the inevitable struggle was for the present put off. Oct. 1666. Meanwhile we find NicoUs asserting that the eyes of all t hp nthpf r !n1ot>;pg are 4bent upon the strange deportment of Massaehusetts^and^advising that the Colony should be 1 deak^ with. not by force, but by a temp orary embargo on it§ trade^ It is pleasant to turn from this record of ineptitude and prevarication to the business-like and capable manner in which Nicolls carried out his instructions with regard to the Dutch Colonies. By the liberal terms offered, he was able to leave the Dutch Governor isolated with a garrison Aug. 1664. of some 150 men, and the reduction of New Amsterdam and Oct. 1664. Delaware to England was effected with little or no loss of life. The importance of this reduction cannot be overesti- mated. Henceforth the English Colonies, except for a brief interval, had a continuous seaboard along the Eastern coast, and the fear of a hostile power occupjdng the important position of the Hudson was removed. As a set-off to this, England under the Treaty of Breda 1667. again gave back to France Nova Scotia, which had been again conquered by Cromwell's lieutenant, Sedgwick. The cession of Acadia is further noteworthy as illustrating the vagueness in geography often displayed by statesmen. In the Order restoring it, it was expressly declared that full rights over Nova Scotia were to be maintained. But, un- fortunately, Acadia included Nova Scotia, so that the English Government were reserving to themselves a shadow.^ When, 1675. on the dissolution of the Council for Foreign Plantations, its secretary, John Locke, had to hand over to Sir R. Southwell, 1 Pepys" Diaty, Dec. 3, 1666, " Which is a blessing mighty unexpected, and without which, if for nothing else, we must have &iled the next year." « See Sainsbury, Preface to Co/., 1660-8. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 85 the new secretary of the Committee of the Privy Council, his papers, he accounts for these, but significantly adds a denial of knowledge of the maps and globes also asked for. It must be admitted, however, that Evelyn mentions^ the Council Chamber as furnished with maps, atlases, charts, globes, etc.; and in 1678 we find Blathwayt presenting an account for " books and maps bought by him at Paris. Their Lordships seem well pleased with the collection." ^ In any case English statesmen may Veil have thought that it was not unwise to have a French thorn in the flesh, threatening so independent a Colony as Massachussets was still showing herself to be, and possibly the same motive may have caused that toleration of the French settlements in Newfoundland, which has been so severely condemned by later writers. 1 Diary, May 26, 1671. - Fortescue, Cal., 1677-1680. CHAPTER III Shaftes- NEXT behind Clarendon in importance, if indeed at all ■""y* behind, must rank a statesman of a very different t3^e. Whatever be the clue to the illusive windings of Shaftesbury's domestic policy, his record in colonial matters is consistent and clear. Appointed from the outset a member of the Council for Trade and Plantations, he continued to be one of its most active members. In 1667 we find him proposing a new Committee for Trade, which in the following year made the important recommendation that the Customs authorities should maintain an officer in each Plantation, whose business it should be to administer the Oaths,^ required by the Navigation Act, to the several Governors. Before his fall Shaftesbury became the President of the Council for Trade and Plantations, and it was through him that the Oct. 1673. philosopher, John Locke, was appointed its secretary. Shaftesbury, however, in colonial matters, is best remem- Carolina. bered in connection with the foundation of Carolina. In 1663 a Charter was granted to Lord Clarendon, the Duke of Albemarle, Lord Craven, Lord Berkeley, Lord Ashley,* Sir G. Carterett, Sir J. Colleton, and Sir William Berkeley, of the territory lying to the south of Virginia. By the English this tract had been known as South Virginia, and by the Spanish and French as a portion of Florida. The attempt of the French to settle there had been foiled by the cruelty of the Spaniards, and the apathy of the French Government in protecting heretics. The area granted covered the lands already given by Charles I. to Sir R. Heath, but it was ' Note that in 1672 we find Six C. Wheeler, the Govemoi of the Leewaid Islands, complaining that he'suspects no other Governor has been sworn to the Act of Navigation but himself ; and for aught he can see masters and merchants punished by him can trade freely to other islands. * Afterwards Lord Shaftesbury. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 87 held that, no attempt having been made to occupy, the earlier grant fell to the ground. Of the eight proprietors, Ashley and Colleton were the most active. Under the Charter, as amended two years later, laws were to be 1665. enacted by the proprietors with the advice and assent of the free men, or of the greater part of them or their delegates or deputies. Such laws were to be consonant to reason, and, as far as possible, agreeable to the laws and customs of England. Power was given to confer titles of honour, but such titles were not to clash with those in use in England. Liberty from custom dues was granted for seven years, on certain exports, and the right was allowed after unloading goods to re-export them to foreign countries within one year, without paying more than the ordinary dues. The Colony was to be immediately subject to the Crown of England, and to be in complete independence of any other Colony. The preamble to the clause relating to religious toleration runs : " Because it may happen that some of the people cannot in their private opinions conform to the public exercise of religion according to the Church of England, or take or sub- scribe the oaths and articles made and established in that behalf, and for that the same by reason of the remote dis- tances of those places will, as we hope, be no breach of the unity and conformity established in this nation." And the clause itself allows liberty to the proprietors to grant such indulgences and dispensations as they think fit and reason- able. The principle of religious toleration and its grounds could not be more lucidly stated. The Charter being obtained, the next step was to develop the Colony. The aim of the proprietors appears at first to have been to establish a variety of separate and independent Colonies, each of which should have its own Governor, its own assembly, and its own customs and laws. In the extreme north a settlement had already been made from Virginia, and over this Sir W. Berkeley was to preside. It must be allowed that for many years Carolina was very far from a success, but this was due to no want of goodwill or good management on 88 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the part of the proprietors. On the contrary, they showed a most accommodating spirit in their efforts to assist the colon- ists. The failure has been ascribed to a variety of causes, to the unhealthiness of the climate, to the dispersion of the settlers over too large an area, and even to Locke's luckless Fundamental Constitutions. In fact, the truth would seem to be that the land was most suited to cultivation on a large scale, of such staple products as rice, and that therefore it did not attain full development until the Upas tree of negro slavery was in full bloom. Be this as it may, the letters of Shaftesbury on the Colony bear witness to his constant and assiduous care. No subject is too trivial to command his attention. We find him summoning home young men who had emigrated against the wishes of their relatives, writing letters of introduction for newcomers, warning the colonial authorities to keep strict secrecy as to the existence of mines, and in their letters to call gold " antimony " and silver " iron." He has always a good eye to the main chance ; " we find our- selves mightily mistaken in endeavouring to get a great num- ber of poor people there, it being substantial men and their families that must make the plantation, which will stock the country with negroes, cattle, and other necessaries, whereas others rely upon and eat us." His letters of rebuke are models of their kind. " If to take care of one, whatsoever becomes of us or the people; if to convert all things to his present private profit be the mark of able parts, Sir John^ is without doubt a very judicious man." Closely associated with Shaftesbury in his colonial labours was his confidential secretary and physician, John Locke. It is not possible in all cases to say what was written by the one and what by the other. Most interesting is it for a generation, to which such puffs have become terribly stale, to read an advertisement, drafted by a statesman and philoso- pher, in the youth of colonization. " Notice is hereby given to all ingenious and industrious persons that there is a new plantation begun two years since in the mainland between Virginia and the Cape of Florida. It is a climate most ' Sir J. Yeaman. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 89 desirable . . . they have two crops of India corn in one year . . . The privileges with which it is endowed make it yet more desirable. The principles whereof follow — 1. There is full and free liberty of conscience granted. 2. They shall choose, from among themselves, thirteen persons or some other odd number, one whereof the Lord proprietors will appoint for Governor, and half of the others for his Council, which Governor is to rule for three years and then learn to obey. 3. They shall choose from among themselves an assembly. . . . They are to have freedom of custom in England, for all wine, fruit, currants, almonds, oils, olives, and silk for seven years." 5- Every man and woman going before June 24th, 1667, was to have a hundred acres for himself, wife, and each child, and armed servant, and fifty acres for every woman, servant, and slave. 6. Every servant at the expiration of the four years' term of service was to have the same quantity of land as his master had already obtained because of him. In spite of these attractions, settlers did not come forward, and the North Carolina colonists contented themselves, in the way of legislation, with establishing a kind of Alsatia, where the debtor might rest from duns, and in constituting a marriage law which for crude simplicity it would be hard to beat. There is a curious irony in the fact that it was with material such as this that the first practical attempt at constitution making by a philosopher, at least in modern times, was to deal. The fundamental constitutions of Locke possess an interest in the fields of jurisprudence and thought, but they left little or no trace in the life of the Carolinas, except as an occasional cause for bickering, and, when they were formally annulled by the Proprietors in 1693, the life of the Colony went on just as before. They^now serve only to] point the trite moral that character and circumstances count for more in the development of constitutions than the best thought out a priori theories of the philosophic law- giver. Nevertheless, the constitutions represent an honest 90 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY effort to steer clear between the opposite dangers of abso- lutism and democracy. American writers view with disdain their attitude towards democracy, but precisely the same view was held by Governor Winthrop and the founders of Massachusetts. The strange titles of "landgrave" and " cacique " have served to give an air of the ludiprous to the whole proceedings, but it was no easy matter to find new titles. Parliaments were to be held biennially. The qualifi- cation for becoming a member of the Assembly was fixed as the possession of five hundred acres of freehold land. The qualification for a vote was the possession of fifty acres. In a country, which was to derive such lustre from its lawyers, it was solemnly declared, " it shall be a base and vile thing to plead for money or reward." To prevent the multiplication of laws, all statutes, at the end of lOO years, were to become repealed by efflux of time, and the strange regulation was inserted, forbidding all manner of comment on and exposi- tion of the Fundamental Constitution. No man could be a free man who did not acknowledge a God, and that God is publicly and solemnly to be worshipped. Any seven or more persons might constitute a Church, but they must be able to declare, besides the above two articles of belief, that it is lawful, and the duty of every man, to bear witness to the truth. No man over the age of seventeen not belonging to a church was to have the protection of the law. An express injunction forbade the speaking seditiously ageiinst the Government or Governor, or about State matters, in religious or other assem- blies. It must be remembered that the Fundamental Con- stitutions were the work of one who was not merely a great philosopher, but who also discharged the practical business of Secretary of the Council for Trade and Plantations. Colonial During the time of Shaftesbury and Locke, it is impos- admmis- sible not to recognise that we are breathing a more intellectual air. The Colonial agents of the Proprietors return answers charged with quotations from Bacon's essay on Plantations. Among the Commissioners were Evelyn, who received ;^500 a year, and the poet Edmund Waller.^ The Restoration, so ' Waller had been a Member of the Council from the first. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 91 far as colonial matters were concerned, compares very favour- ably with the the times which were to follow. In 1671 the Council for Foreign Plantations had been reconstituted, and in the following year the Councils for Trade and Plantations were again amalgamated. We learn something of the work done from Evelyn's Diary. He admits us to a discussion in which the affairs of New England were hotly debated. He notes ^ " the fear of their breaking away from all dependence on this nation," and "how some of our Council were for sending them a menacing letter which those who better understood the peevish and touchy humour of that Colony were utterly against." Evelyn is also good evidence to "show the seriousness with which the Council betook themselves to their duties. We hear of enquiries about improving the Plantations, by silks, galls, flax, senna, etc., and of discussions, how nutmegs and cinnamon might be obtained and brought to Jamaica, that soil and climate promising success. That the King took a genuine interest in the Colonies is proved by the meeting-place being moved to Whitehall so that " the King might come and sit amongst us and hear our debates." ^ In 1670 the Bahamas, which had been originally settled Bahamas, from the Bermudas, chiefly by persons dissatisfied with the in 1646 Church of England tenets of the parent Colony, were for- *" mally granted to six of the Carolina proprietors. The name Eleutheria which had been given to one of the islands marked the spirit in which it had been settled. At the time, how- ever, of the grant to the Carolina proprietors, the Bahamas, of which New Providence was the chief, were a kind of Noman's land, mainly infested by pirates and outlaws. And though the activity of Shaftesbury was here also busy at work, no great progress or settlement was made, and New Provi- 1680 or dence, towards the close of Charles's reign, was attacked and ' ^' laid waste by the Spaniards. In another branch of work Shaftesbury made himself Policy of worthily conspicuous. In 1661 the Lords of the Privy ^ury.^ Council, who were also members of the Council for Planta- tions, had discussed certain proposals for registering planters 1 Evelyn's Diary, May 26, 1671. - Ibid, June 26, 1671. 92 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY and servants going to the Colonies, and a Committee had been appointed to consider the best ways of encouraging and furnishing people for the plantations, and the powers to be given to Justices to dispose of felons, — condemned to death for small offences, — sturdy beggars, and other disorderly people. The Committee had also considered the question of a Registry Office, and how the stealing of women and children might be prevented. In spite, however, of the ap- pointment of a Commission to examine persons going to the plantations, and of the establishment of a registry, the mis- chief of " spiriting " was very frequent, and an Act of Parlia- 1670. ment was carried through by Ashley, whereby such " spiriting " was made a felony, punishable by death. The strikingly modem character of Shaftesbury's intellect has been noticed in other directions. We find him antici- pating a line of thought which has been worked out in Sir C. Dilke's Problems of Greater Britain. The Colonies may be r^arded as places wherein to try legislative experiments. Someone had su^ested a system of banks without money. The idea does not commend itself to the shrewd Ashley, but Nov. 1661. he adds the note, " Why not make an experiment thereof in Barbados?" Vitginia. With regard to affairs in Virginia, the first years of the Restoration are chiefly memorable as illustrating a danger to which Colonies were always subject under the Stuart dynasty. With the generosity of one alieni profiisus, Charles, in the first year of his nominal reign, had granted away about one-third of the whole of Virginia to some favourites without a word as to the rights and interests of the actual occupying owners. The patentees endeavoured at first to enforce their claim, but after a time the attempt was abandoned, and the grant resumed by the Crown. Untaught, however, by this, Charles proceeded to go even further, and actually signed a transfer Feb. 1672. conveying the fee simple of the whole of Vii^nia to Arling- ton and Culpepper. Happily these latter were men well ^ versed in colonial affairs, and not likely to proceed to ex- tremities. That, however, the Colony had to come to terms with them, involves deep disgrace on a Government in which THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 93 such a state of things could be. It was decided to maintain /^ an agency in London, with the view of protecting the interests > of the Colony in future. Such agents were therefore sent home, and a rough draft of a charter was apparently approved, confirming the existing constitution and containing the clause that no tax should be imposed on the colonists without the consent of the Governor, Council, and Burgesses. In the midst of these negotiations the outbreak in the Colony of \ what is known as Bacon's rebellion prevented the matter 1676. coming to a settlement, and rendered necessary the presence of English Commissioners, to arbitrate between the vengeance of the successful Governor and the reduced colonists. The selection and proceedings of this Commission must be set down to the credit side of Charles's colonial administration. In most difficult circumstances they behaved with remarkable tact and moderation. The story ^ of their experiences is very funny reading. A charitable view of the behaviour of the old Governor will suppose him to have been hardly respon- sible for his actions. His deafness and irascibility rendered personal interviews impossible, and the climax was reached when the Commissioners were furnished as their coachman with the common hangman ; Lady Berkeley grinning at them from behind the window curtains. The Commissioners were compelled to make use of the warrant they brought with them, reccdling Berkeley, and the old cavalier died soon after his return to England. His successor. Colonel Jeffreys, one of the Commissioners, is noteworthy as being the earliest in date of the long list of officers of the Standing Army who have been Colonial Governors. In Virginia a continual source of annoyance between the colonists and the Home Government was the existence of the Quit rent. This was a charge of twelve pence on every fifty acres. After the resumption of the Charter of the Company, a Treasurer was, for the first time, appointed in 1637, whose business was to collect this quit rent. For many years the quit rent was not enforced till possession of the land had been kept for some years. This privilege, however, was ' Fortescue, Ccd.^ 1677-1680. 94 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Maryland revoked by the instructions given to Berkeley by Charles II. Great difficulty was still found in the collection of this charge, and an Act was passed by the Colonial L^islature allowing it to be paid in tobacco instead of in coin. For many years this course appears to have been acquiesced in by the English Government, but in 1684 Lord Howard was ordered to collect the quit rent in money. After the revolution of 1688 the quit rents were generally paid in tobacco at the rate of a penny in the pound. The existence of these quit rents had led to much abuse; their proceeds being granted away to private individuals. In 168 r, however, the English Govern- ment promised that henceforth they should be exclusively appropriated to the public charges of Virginia. In Maiyland we note the persistence of ideas, opposed to the spirit of the age in colonial matters. In a Commission issued in 1666 by Lord Baltimore, he describes himself as the absolute lord and proprietor of the Province of Maryland. Not a word is said about the Crown, and, on paper, as in- dependent a position appears to be assumed as that assumed by Massachusetts. In fact, however, though no express change was made in Lord Baltimore's life-time, the powers he claimed were becoming more and more of an anachronism, and when, in 1689, his successor was deprived of all political authority, it was merely the formal accomplishment of what had for long become inevitable. Returning to the history of Massachusetts, we recognise how unbroken was the spirit of the Colony when we note that the time chosen to assume authority over Maine was just after the notification of the Royal displeasure. The 1675-8. years which followed were occupied by the Indian War, known as the War of Philip ; but no sooner was that war ended than the long-delayed stru^le with England b^an in earnest The history of English administration during the period of Charles is a record of the growing importance of the trading interest We have already noticed the new Council and the Navigation Acts. In 1667 we have seen Lord Ashley proposing a new separate Committee for trade purposes. In the following year we find the new Committee Massachu- setts. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 95 reporting that Governors have been wanting in their duty in not taking the oaths enjoined by law, and that the Navigation Acts have been evaded. The remedy they suggested is that an officer be retained by the Revenue Department in each Colony, whose business it should be to administer the oath to the several Governors. In this connection note the significant language used in 1677 by the Lords of Trade and Plantations : they " have forborne to frame any rules for New England, as they do not conform themselves to the laws, but take a liberty of trading where they think fit, so that until His Majesty comes to a better understanding touching what degree of dependency that Government will acknowledge to His Majesty, or that His Majesty's officers may be there received and settled, to administer what the laws require in respect of trade, suit- able to the practices in other plantations, their Lordships have not thought fit to offer any rules for passes in that place, but conceive it fit for His Majesty's service that some speedy care be taken to come to a settlement and resolution in this matter which is of so great importance to trade." In 1675 a proclamation was issued enforcing the Naviga- ^ tions Act, and an agent was afterwards despatched to Nfew England to collect the necessary information before measures were taken to bring the Colony under the direct control of the Crown. His report,^ though marked by strong prejudice, contained a clear and, in some respects, probably trustworthy account of the state of things in the Colony. The purport of Randolph's advice was that the same policy of divide et impera, which had been so successful in the case of the confederated Colonies, should be applied to the internal affairs of Massachusetts. A further suggestion was made by Randolph on his return to England — ^viz., that the Crown should confirm existing rights to land in Massa- chusetts on the payment of an easy quit rent, a proposal which struck, it will be seen, at the very roots of the Massachusetts charter. It serves to emphasize the fact how largely the dispute between Massachusetts and the ' Hutchinson, Collection of Papers relating to Massachusetts. 96 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY parent country was a trade dispute to remember that Ran- dolph, whom the instincts of New England have always recognised as its incarnate enemy, held a revenue office, having returned to the Colony in 1678 as Collector and Surveyor of Customs. Of the wisdom of such return, before any attempt had been made to deal with the question of executive power, there were serious doubts. The Com- mittee of Trade and Plantations had suggested to the King whether it " be not best to suspend the departure of any such officer until there be a final resolution taken." Negotiations had been carried on in England with Agents of the Colony, on whose presence the Home authorities had insisted. These agents strenuously maintained that they had no authority to act for the Colony, except with r^ard to certain specified Feb. 1679. matters, and " As the Lords have been diverted by the multi- plicity of affairs in Parliament and prosecution of the ' plot,' " it was " offered " that the Boston Government be ordered to send over two other agents. The old familiar demands were at the same time made, but, in the circumstances, they need not detain us here. During this time the attitude of the Colony had been one of moderation. While they still main- tciined the principle that the Acts of Navigation were an invasion of the rights of the Colony, inasmuch as the colonists were not themselves represented in Parliament, they were willing of their own accord to order enforcement of the Acts, and did, in fact, so do. There were two parties in the colonial Government, and the moderates prevailed so far as to secure the appointment of agents. It was difficult, however, to find men willing to accept the thankless post, and a defiant spirit 1680. can be detected in the reply finally sent "We beg His Majesty's excuse for not sending over other Agents, and the rather for that we understand His Majesty and the Privy Council are taken up with matters of greater importance." In spite of dwelling in a " wilderness," the colonists seem to have kept very close touch with English politics. The years 1680-83 were years of pause, during which Ran- dolph was vainly urging on the English Government the necessity of action. His own position in Massachusetts was THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY ^^ a most uncomfortable one. He wrote that it might be the last news of him, as he knew not whom to trust. He hoped 1680. " their Honours would remember him at that distance." At last, however, the moment for decisive action arrived. The frenzy of the anti-Papist outbreak had been followed by its inevitable reaction, and the Crown had nothing to fear in England. In the summer of 1683 proceedings were taken , against Massachusetts by a writ of quo warranto. Though, for some reason, this step was not proceeded with, a writ of scire facias was in its stead issued in the Chancery Court. The object ^ of this alteration appears to have been, either that the case might be heard by the Lord Keeper Guild- ford, or else that the Chancery Court was better able completely to disannul and cancel the Charter. In any case the proceedings were the merest farce. The hearing was avowedly postponed to give the Colony time to pkad, and yet the case came on before that it had been possible to communicate with Massachusetts ; so that judge- ment went by default. It must be remembered that the last years of Charles II. were really years of revolution, and it would be idle to look in them for the forms of justice. Henceforth the once independent New England lay a^ blank page, on which arbitrary government could write what^ it pleased. It may seem surprising that no attempt was made at resistance. In fact, however, the position of Massa- chusetts had undergone great alteration. The development of trade had given rise to a commercial class, essentially con- servative, and opposed to violent measures. Moreover, not only were the leaders of the popular party for the most part inferior men to the leaders of the past, but, for the first time in its history, the Colony was menaced by internal treason, and the presence of Dudley in the Government showed that amongst its foes were those of its own household. Added to these causes, Massachusetts was weak, owing to the vicinity of the French on the north and of the Crown Colony of New York on the south, so that it was altogether impossible for ' See note in Palfrey, History of N. ETiglattd, Vol. III., at p. 390. G 98 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY New England, even if it could have made up its own internal dissensions, to stand alone. The next Act of Charles boded ill for Massachusetts. Kirke was appointed Governor, than whom no worse choice could have been made. The death, however, of Charles, and the need for Kirke's services elsewhere, saved New England from his presence, and for a year nothing was done to enforce the Royal Supremacy. Nor when measures were at last taken did they appear of a violent character. The govern- ment was placed in the hands of a President, Deputy Presi- dent, and a Council of sixteen members; Dudley being appointed President. This arrangement, however, only lasted for some months, and towards the close of 1686 Andros landed as Governor. Liberty of conscience was to be allowed to all, but members of the Church of England were to receive special encouragement The Governor and Council had full authority to make laws agreeable to the laws of England, such laws to be transmitted within three months to England for allowance or disapprobation ; to impose taxes, and to act as a Court of Record in both criminal and civil causes. The Governor was to administer the Oath of AllegianOe. The lands held by the colonists were to be granted them again, upon such terms, and under such moderate quit rents, as should be afterwards appointed. Besides Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Plymouth were placed under the authority of Andros. On the news reaching America of the landing in England of William of Orange, the men of Massachusetts plucked up courage to rise against their Governor, who appears to have been the mildest mannered ruler who ever played the tyrant A counter-revolution was bloodlessly effected. The old constitution was restored in the four Colonies, and it seemed as though things might return to the old way. Colonial During the first fourteen years of the reign of Charles, " Colonial policy had been largely inspired by Clarendon and Shaftesbury, and it is natural that with the fall of the latter we should expect some change of policy. In December 1674 the Council of Trade and Plantations was abolished, adminiS' tration. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 99 and the work in the beginning of the following year trans- ferred to a Committee of the Privy Council. The motives actuating this step were possibly financial, or it may be it was intended to mark a less popular mode of administration. In effect, however, the change was immaterial, and trade considerations in Colonial matters continued to dominate. Indeed, as the mercantile interest grew stronger, trade qaes-f tions, as we shall find, tended more and more to shape Imperial policy. The closing years of Charles II. were marked by the Pennsyl- foundation of a new Colony which in some ways was the most ™>J»^ notable of all the Colonies. The Province of New Jersey had arisen through the grant made by the Duke of York of that portion of the former Dutch possessions to Lord Berkeley and Sir G. Carteret in 1664. Its western portion was purchased with a view to the establishment of a Colony of Quakers. William Penn was concerned in this business, so that his interest in America dated from as early as 1676. Some time later the idea occurred to him of obtaining a Charter for a new Colony to be formed between the Duke of York's territory on the north and Maryland on the south. The advantages possessed by Penn were great Although be- longing to a persecuted sect, and himself in the past the victim of persecution, he was the son of a distinguished sea admiral, who had done good service to England in the first Dutch War, to which the Duke of York, both as a sailor and as an enemy of Holland, must have looked back with especial regret. The position of the King and of his brother, — the latterjan avowed Roman Catholic, the former a Catholic in secret — led them to sympathise with those who were kept under by the dominant Anglican church. Moreover, the singular personal charm exercised by Penn seems to have attracted to him both Charles and James. The simplicity, which led Penn to become the dupe of others, had probably its| justification in the fact that, for the time being, while holding communion with him, men not only appeared but were, for the moment, better men. In these circumstances, Penn's application was regarded favourably. The Crown lOO BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY was actually indebted for money due to Penn's father, and the granting of the Charter was an easy and cheap mode of repayment. The main difficulties in the way were the re- spective claims, with regard to boundaries, of the Duke of York and of Lord Baltimore. The Duke of York, however, through his Agent, behaved in the most reasonable manner, and a compromise was forced upon Lord Baltimore, — a com- promise which, however, left room for much future dispute. We are told that the patent was referred to C. J. North to insert clauses respecting sovereignty and the maintenance of the Navigation Acts. The Charter^ was signed in March 1 68 1. What is striking is the extreme vagueness of some of its provisions. Difficult questions are avoided and left in silence. Thus Penn, being a Quaker, and the Colony being intended as a Quaker Colony, the enforcement of the Oath of Allegiance would have involved hardship, but no exemption is granted in express terms. The method by which the Colony was to be held in check was the presence in London of an Attorney or Agent, who should be made responsible for the conduct of the Colonial authorities. In the most important matter of all, the Charter was strangely silent. Everyone knows that the intention of the Pennsylvania Charter was the grant of religious liberty, and yet of religious liberty the patent does not expressly say a word. The only clause concerned with religion was one inserted by the Bishop of London, which gave any twenty colonists the right to demand for themselves from England a clergyman of the Established Church. When religious tolera- tion was allowed in Carolina, it was expressly enacted ih the Charter that English statutes to the contrary should not prevail in the Colony. The absence of such express enact- ment in the Pennsylvania patent might have led to serious results. At a later date when an Act was passed in England entitling Quakers to give affirmation in Law Courts, it was maintained by the Governor of Pennsylvania that inasmuch as the same Act forbade Quakers to hold such an office as justice of the peace, the new law overruled the existing ' It is set out in Vol. I. of Proud's Hist, of Penmyhiania. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY loi law of Pennsylvania with reference to Quaker Magistrates. Happily the trend of thoijght was in the direction of liberty, so that the shortcomings of the Pennsylvania Charter have only a theoretical interest. At the same time, they may serve to modify our respect for the authors of the document. Two other provisions • in the Charter are worthy of note. After following closely the provisions of earlier Charters with regard to the enactment of laws by the proprietor with the assent and advice of the freemen or of their delegates, it pro- vided that laws enacted in the Colony should be sent to England within five years of their enactment and should then be, if necessary, declared void by the Home Government — such veto to be exercised within six months of the receipt of the statute. On the question of taxation, the terms of the Charter were far less favourable than those which had been consistently claimed by the various Colonies. No tax was to be levied on the Colonies, except "with the consent of the Pro- prietary or Chief Governor or Assembly, or by Act of Parlia- \ ment in England." It is clear by the use of the word '■ or*^' ' in the last half of the clause, that the right of the English Parliament to impose taxes on the colonists, which had been continuously in theory resisted by the Colonies and never in practice enforced by England, was expressly maintained. It was natural that the Quaker, who had been hardly ad- mitted to the bare subsistence of daily human life, should require time before he could develop the appetite for the luxuries of complete civic equality. Having obtained this Charter, Penn's next step was to obtain settlers by the offer of very advantageous terms, and to publish a Frame of Government. The preface of this document con- 1682. tains a singularly valuable discussion on the theory of Government. The conclusion ^ is that any Government is free where the laws rule, and where the people are a party to those laws. ".And more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion." The administration was to be carried on by means of a Governor, Provincial Council, and General Assembly. The Council was. to consist of seventy -two ' The Frame of Gov. is set out in Hazard's Annals of Pennsylvania. I02 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY members, to be elected for three years, one-third going out in each year. A remarkable provision anticipated the views of the founders of the American constitution. No one was to continue a member of the Council uninterruptedly for more than seven years, so that political capacity might be as widely diffused as possible. The General Assembly was to consist the first time of all the freeholders, afterwards of 200 elected members, the number to increase to a maxi- mum of 500. A very small property qualification conferred the suffrage, and all elections and votes in the Council and Assembly were to be by ballot. Elections for certain offices, such as that of Justice of the Peace, were to be held for double the number of the number required ; the Governor being entrusted with the duty of selection from among those thus elected. In some of its provisions Penn's constitution was never put in force, but its marks are clearly traced in the development of later thought After the promulgation of the constitution, laws were agreed upon in England of which the most im- portant were concerned with religious liberty. A distinction was drawn between two classes. To hold any office, or to be an elector for such office, it was necessary to profess faith in Jesus Christ, and not to be " convicted of ill fame, or unsober and dishonest conversation " ; at the same time it was de- clared that " all persons living in this province who confess and acknowledge the one Almighty and Eternal God to be the Creator, Upholder, and Ruler of the World, and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall in no ways be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion or practice." The economic development of Pennsylvania does not con- cern us here. Upon the whole no Colony advanced with greater rapidity or ease. We are tempted to say that here, at any rate, the children of light showed themselves wiser than the children of this world, except for the fact that Penn himself sacrificed much of his own private fortune in his efforts to develop the Colony. Of course, with the founding of Colonies and the growth of population, America was a THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 103 very different place from what it had been at the first coming of the Vii^inian colonists or the Mayflower pilgrims. The stock word "wilderness" is still used in letters, but there seems a note of insincerity in its constant repetition. At the same time, Pennsylvania had largely to thank its own citizens for its rapid progress. It was pointed out with pride that such prosperity was achieved without the aid of staple products, as in Virginia, Maryland, and Carolina. In another respect the Colony was favoured in its beginning. Penn had been too closely connected with the Duke of York for his accession to the throne to have the note of menace which it \ / involved for the. other Colonies. A possible source of danger had been much minimised by the wise policy of Penn. No part of the Pennsylvania settlement is more worthy of ad- miration than the manner in which the native Indians were consistently dealt with. It is doubtful how far the tradition can be substantiated which represents Penn as having paid again to the Indians for the land he had obtained from the Crown, and there may be more of epigram than of truth in Voltaire's famous saying, that Penn's treaty with the Indians was the only treaty which was not confirmed by oath, and which was not broken. But in various ways Penn showed, for the first time in history, a clear recognition of the equality of the Indians as fellow-men. Their evidence could be taken in Courts of Justice. For the first time, we may almost say, the Gospel precepts had permeated into the social dealings and legislation of men. To turn from the New England Puritans, who left moderate persecution in England, to found a practice of far more systematic persecution in their new home, to these Quakers, who had endured far worse things than any Puritan, both in England and in America, but who were thereby only encouraged to put in complete force the law of love, is surely to contemplate a state of things which might have suggested pause to some of the historians of Massachusetts, and modified the pseans with which their pages abound. Whereas Pennsylvania was the outcome of the wisest New York, philanthropy, New York was in its origin the fruits of con- I04 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY quest Nevertheless, in his behaviour towards it, James did not show himself unreasonable. In the instructions to Andros, drawn up in 1674, he is enjoined to permit "all persons of all religfion soever quietly to inhabit within the precincts of your jurisdiction without giving them any disturb- ance whatsoever . . . provided they give no disturbance to the public peace, nor do molest or disquiet others in the free exercise of their religion." In the first constitution granted by James, l^slative power lay with the Governor and Council, together with the High Sheriff, and the Justices of the Peace, in the Court of the General Assizes. Trial by Jury was secured, and no laws contrary to the laws of England could be enacted. James himself was opposed to the introduction of a popular Assembly. He writes to Andros,^ "I think you have done well to discourage any motion of that kind." Redress of grievances could be ob- tained by petition at the General Assizes. At the same Jan. 1676. tim^ writing some months later, he said, " However, if you continue of the same opinion, I shall be ready to consider of any proposals you may send to that purpose." Finally, April 28. owing, it is believed, to the advice of Penn, in 1683 Colonel Dohgan was instructed to call a General Assembly, con- sisting of representatives elected by the freeholders. It would appear that in the expression of its claims, this first New York legislature somewhat exceeded its strict legal rights. Supreme legislative power was declared to reside in the Governor and Council and people met in General Assembly. Every freeholder and free man was declared able to vote for representatives without restraint. No tax could be assessed, on any pretence whatsoever, but by the consent of the Assembly. " No seaman or sailor shall be quartered on the inhabitants against their will." "No martial law shall exist" Considering the character of James, it is not strange that the "Charter of Franchise and Privileges" was not confirmed, and that the new commission to Dongui, May. in 1686, contained no mention of an Assembly. In fact, however, as we have already seen, the short reign of James » N. Y. Decs., Vol. III., Ap. 1675. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 105 was a period of lawless revolution and calls for little notice in a general account of British policy. Another grant of Charles II. was of a more questionable Hudson's character. By a Charter, dated May 1670, the King assigned company, to Prince Rupert and others, "the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, creeks, and sounds, lying within the entrance of Hudson's Straits, with all the lands, countries, and territories upon the coast and confines " of the above seas, etc. The objectionable feature in the grant was that it gave a monopoly to the grantees in visiting, frequenting or trading in the territory which was to be known as Rupert's Land. The grant was only of such lands as were not in the territories of another Christian prince; and the French claimed a portion of the territory under the grant by Henry IV. in 1598 to the sieur De la Roche. No attempt was made to settle or explore the country : the Company contenting themselves with merely building forts to which the furs were brought. In 1685 there were five of these forts, three of which were afterwards destroyed by the French. From the first, there were com- plaints against the Hudson's Bay Company; It was alleged that the consideration, in return for which they received their Charter, was that they should endeavour to discover a passage to the South Sea, and should search for minerals, whereas they neither did anything themselves in either of these directions, nor allowed others to make the attempt. An event of vital importance to England marked the clos- The ing years of Charles. The Frenchman, La Salle, by reaching ^'^^ the sources of the Mississippi and then descending by water America, to the Gulf of Mexico,^ opened out for France the great territory which became the Colony of Louisiana. Thus, in Amferica, while England possessed the greater part of the eastern seaboard, France had the command of the two great ' The priority of La Salle's discoveiy of the mouth of the Mississippi has been disputed (see Kingsford, Hist, of Canada, note at end of Vol. I.) ; but there is no question that it was his expedition which led to the development of the French Colonies. The leading authority on La Salle is Parkman's Discovery of the Great West. io6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY watersheds of the St Lawrence and the Mississippi, and the English Colonies seemed likely, in the future, to be wedged in by French possessions on all sides save that of the sea. Policy of Much scorn has been directed on the practice of marking kin*" *^* divisions of history by the reigns of kings. At the same time, in the case of times during which kings governed and did not merely reign, the practice possesses practical convenience, and, even when policy is not directly moulded by the reigning king, his influence on his ministers will generally be such that the policy of the reign acquires a distinctive character. In spite of larger influences at work we have noticed characteristic differences in Colonial policy during the reigns of James I., Charles I., and Charles II. The reign of James II. was too short and too stormy to have a separate character, except as carrying to their conclusion the revolutionary tendencies of the last period of Charles. Colonial It may be well, therefore, before entering on a new period, ^^rae of ^^^ '^^ accession of William and Mary, to take again stock reign of of England's Colonial possessions. Only one State is now James II. y^^ting of the fatal thirteen which were to found the United States of America. In the north the New England Colonies had not yet learnt to compose their private differ- ences. Nevertheless Massachusetts, — along with Maine and New Hampshire, — Connecticut and Rhode Island have features in common, which they do not share with the rest. Next come the States first acquired by conquest — New York, New Jersey, and Delaware — ^but wherein England is making the successful experiment of governing foreign populations, afterwards made in the cases of Lower Canada and Cape Colony. Along with these may be classed the favoured Quaker colony, the Cinderella, of whom hard things were doubtless thought and said in New England. To the south are Maryland and Vii^inia, each with separate and somewhat antagonistic interests, and again further south still, lie the Carolinas, which still exist mainly in expectation. Con- sidering the past of these Colonies, we have no reason to expect much love of the Mother country. At the same time, he is a poor judge of human nature who excludes the THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 107 influence of sentiment in forecasting the conduct of his fellow-men ; and more material forces are at work, which make for English interests. On the one hand, there are the jealousies and mutual antagonisms between the various Colonies. On the other hand there is the increasing need of assistance against the growing power of the French. It has been noticed that the restoration to France of Acadia may have been, in part, due to a desire to hold a hostage for the good behaviour of New England. At the same time it is but fair to say that at the moment the danger to New England from the French was much less than it subsequently became. In a letter from a bitter opponent of Massachusetts, we find the admission that they must be protected against the Indians, because, after all, they are Christians ; but it was just this community of interests as civilised Christians which the French in their behaviour practically ignored. Their policy was to hound on the Indians against the English settlements. It is satisfactory to note that such conduct had the success which it deserved. In the great wars which decided the fate of England and France in America, the men of New England fought with courage and enthusiasm by the side of the soldiers of the Crown. To the north of Acadia, England still preserved the New- Colony of Newfoundland. It was, however, the cause of much f°""<^'ao'J- controversy. The merchants of the west of England were largely interested in the Newfoundland Fisheries, and were unwilling that the profits should be shared with fishermen resident in the Colony. Certain unauthorised or semi- authorised settlements had been made and the question was whether the Colony should be further consolidated by the granting of a Governor, or whether the settlers should be removed and the island left to its own devices. On the one hand the settlers were able to point to the danger of France stepping in, in case of an abandonment by England. On the other hand the powerful argument was employed that the inhabitants mainly consumed the products of New England, and would in time tread the same steps to the loss of Eng- land. It would become, said Child, no more to His Majesty io8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY than Ireland. The influence of the west of England Adven- turers was great, and their interests were damaged by the existence of settlements^ In these circumstances, considering, moreover, the rigour of the climate and the infertility of the soil, it is not strange that the decision to abandon was resolved upon. So reluctant, however, were the colonists to remove that the Government did not persist in compelling them. The enforcement of the Order was delayed, and when the question was again considered, it was finally decided in 1680 that a Governor should be sent to the island, and that the "restrictions on masters to transport none but such as belonged to their ships apply in future only to the Adven- turers* fishing ships, and that free liberty be given to all others to go to Newfoundland in what capacity soever." ^ West Turning to the West Indies, we have seen that Jamaica In les. ^^ maintained, receiving especial favour. and care from the Crown. Barbados, that " little pearl " of the English Crown, continued to flourish in spite of the four and a half per cent, duty levied on its exports. The Leeward Islands were formed into a separate government in 1671. In spite of French naval superiority, the English in the West Indies were able to maintain the status quo. In 1680 the Charter of the Bermuda Company was cancelled : the Law Courts interfering to protect the settlers, whose grievances were many, against a body which had in their own words con- sidered the Somers Islands " to be no commonwealth but a private inheritance enclosed to the use of the purchasers."* Upon the whole, in the period in question, we note the wan- ings of Spanish Power in the West Indies, and the beginning of that rivalry between England and France for pre-eminence which was to occupy the next century. Bucca- The reign of Charles II. was, moreover, noteworthy as neers. being the time in which the buccaneers attained their great- est power. Originating out of the privateering war, carried on by the subjects of all nations against the gigantic mono- poly of Spanish' power, these pirates became sometimes the terror, sometimes the hope, of the British Colonies. " It is to the buccaneers," writes Long, " that we owe the possession of 1 Fort., Cal., 1677-80. 2 ntd. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 109 Jamaica at this hour," and Charles II. is insinuated to have been in partnership with them. At the same time the world was growing too civilised to recognise such methods of progress, and the power of Spain was no longer the lion in the path. Moreover, the exigencies of European diplomacy required that the buccaneers should be formally repudiated. In this state of things we find a kaleidoscope of action and of policy which is puzzling in the extreme. Thus Moi^an is found at one moment the reckless buccaneer carrying through the sacking of Panama ; 1671. at another he is the knighted servant of the Crown, holding the re.sponsible post of Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.^ We may notice also the beginnings of that conflict of .inter- est between the London merchants and the Colonial .planters, which has been so marked a feature in the history of the West Indies. Thus we find Sir J. Atkins bitterly complain- ing 2 of the priority of information and of the influence obtained by the London merchants. Upon the Continent of South America, England in 1673 abandoned to Holland the settlement of Surinam (which had been founded by Lord Willoughby) in return for the restora- tion of New York. In another quarter, and in a more sinister manner, the Slave reign of Charles afforded an example of Colonial develop- ^'^^^' ment. Already, in 161 8, the privilege had been conferred on Lord Warwick and others, of carrying on a traffic in slaves from the Guinea Coast ; and in 163 1 a Charter was obtained by an Association for the same purpose. In 1663 the Royal Africa Company obtained its Charter. Among the shareholders were the Queen Consort, the Queen Dowager, the King's sister, and the Duke of York. The latter became what would now be termed Managing Director. The Company employed in one year about forty ships : its main business being the furnishing of the plantations with negro servants. In the pursuit of this work they erected forts and factories along the coast of Africa ; their head factory being ' He was afterwards sacrificed to a change of policy in favour of Spain, and sent home as a political prisoner, where he seems to have died. — Lucas, fVest /ndies, note at p. 98. - Fort., Cal., 1677. no BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Cape Coast Castle, which was the residence of the Company's agent for the whole of Africa. Owing to "the machina- tions of the Hollanders," the Company was not financially a success, and in 1672 a new Charter was obtained for the new Royal Africa Company. The limits of the district worked by them began near Tangiers in South Barbary and ended at the Cape of Good Hope. A monopoly was conferred of the traffic in negroes, and we find numerous complaints from the West India Colonies of the manner in which the Company carried on their work. Jamaica was the chief market for negroes, and Barbados ranked next, though the trade of Virginia had come to be considerable. The fixed price for negro slaves was fifteen pounds for Bar- bados, sixteen pounds for the Leeward Islands, seven- teen pounds for Jamaica, and twenty-two pounds for Vir- ginia. In one year, several thousand slaves were shipped to the Colonies. With regard to Virginia, Bancroft has contended that negro slavery was forced upon a reluctant Colony by the callous Home Government, but later Ameri- can writers do not accept this view. It is true that in the interests of the Royal Africa Company, and of Eng- lish trade generally, the English Government might veto a duty placed by the Colony on their introduction, but assuredly the motives at work in America were not prompted by care for the negro. The New England merchant thought it no shame to go shares in a slave-importing transaction, and if slavery was hardly known in the Northern Colonies and persisted in in the Southern, the causes at work were economic and had nothing to do with the moral sense of the time. Without slavery, it has been conclusively shown, Virginia must have become a land of small proprietors; a condition of things to which it now seems tending. It was as much the interest of the dominant class in the Colony in the seventeenth century, as it was in the nineteenth, that this should not be, and therefore it seems a little far-fetched to lay this additional charge on the broad back of English misgovernment. In reading history no mistake is greater than to look THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY iii through the glasses of one's own age and prejudices, and it is a noteworthy fact that in the list of shareholders Sept. 1672. of the New Royal Africa Company occurs the name of John Locke. Nevertheless, few pages in human annals are so ghastly as the story of that Slave Trade, for the monopoly of which Christian nations fought, and about which they signed solemn treaties. A light-hearted and careless people, accustomed to idleness and sunshine, were herded in the foul darkness of ill-built holds, suffering the unknown horrors of sea- sickness, fed on the vilest food, the passage sometimes lasting for months, the rate of mortality passing belief. Compared to the horrors connected with the slave trade, the actual evils of slavery were " as moonlight unto sunlight, and as water unto wine." Bad, however, as the system was, it yet had its inevitable place in the artificial conditions of tropical cultivation, and therefore the lead taken in it by England — - whatever its moral deserts — did make for commercial and Colonial expansion, and cannot be ignored in a study of British Colonial policy. Upon the whole, an attentive study of the time does not PoUcy of bear out popular notions upon the subject. The general P^"°'^' opinion, which is supported by works of authority, is that our Colonies were for many generations almost wholly neglected — left to work out their own salvation in their own way. The opinions of those most competent to speak, Mr Sainsbury and Mr Fortescue, the learned editors of the Calendar of Colonial State papers, do not bear out this theory. Mistakes were of course made, and there was always the ever present risk that the advantage of the Colony should be sacrificed to the private gain of some Court favourite ; but, on the whole, if we compare the wis- dom which showed itself in Home politics and on Colonial questions, we shall find a marked superiority in the case of the latter. Mention has already been made of the attempt to deal with the abuse of the grant by the Crown of Patent offices. Good intentions were at least shown by the Order of the King and Council, in 1680, which forbade Governors to leave their posts, except with the written consent of the 112 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY King and Council. It is true that the abuse of absenteeism still persisted, but the evil lay rather in the general temper of the times, than in the special administration of Colonial matters. Neither do the facts warrant the general view of Charles's foreign policy, which has prevailed. It has been seen that war with Holland was an inevitable step in England's progress towards commercial supremacy. The quick-witted Ashley anticipated the verdict of history when he uttered his memorable " Delenda est Carthago" Though the advance of a Dutch fleet up the Thames caught deep hold of the popular imagination, in the long run it was not England which came off second best. With regard to the alliance with France, the French historian, Martin, has pointed out : * " It has been often repeated that Charles sold England to Louis XIV. This is true only of internal policy ... as to ex- ternal interests he did not sell them ; for the greater share of the profit in the ruin of the Dutch was to go to England." It is noteworthy in this connection that naval precedence was in effect yielded by France. But, if on these grounds Charles must be acquitted, he stands condemned for the neglect of the fleet during the last years of his re^. Inasmuch as those years witnessed a great development in French shipbuilding, the situation of England and her possessions became very serious. Happily, James II., with all his faults, was a sailor, and the few years of his re^n were busily employed in repairing the fleet. Otherwise the history of Europe might have run on different lines. There was a curious irony in the fact that it was due to James himself that his subsequent restoration became impossible. We may seem to be wandering from Colonial policy, but the truth that Colonial possessions must rest upon the com- mand of the sea, and that without that command they are only sources of weakness in the event of war, which was exemplified in the next century at the expense of France, was very nearly at this time being exemplified at the expense of England. ■Colonial In Constitutional matters the Colonies were more and more "^""tio^i assimilating to a common type, based on that of the English ' Quoted by Mahan, Influence of Sea Pmoer upon History. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 113 Constitution of the time. The Governor represented the King, and his Council was a pale imitation of the House of Lords. By the side of these was an Assembly, more or less popular in character, which had rights of legislation subject to the home veto. The question of the authority of the English Pcirliament was not finally faced and solved. We may notice that the omnipotence of Parliament, which became later an accepted doctrine, would hardly commend itself to lawyers brought up under very different notions of the Royal prerogative. There were already indications, however, that, if a struggle came, it would be on the question of taxation. We have noted instances where the Colonies showed an uneasy sense of the need for greater precision in the statement of their rights. It was only necessary that the spirit of compromise and tact should be absent for the sparks of friction to burst into a blaze. It has been said that the Colonies were assimilating to a common type, but from that type New England still held aloof in haughty isolation. We have seen the searchings of heart which her attitude caused at home. We have seen the revolution, which ended, for the time, her liberties, and the counter-revolution, which seemed to restore them. Nevertheless, under the pressure of domestic dissensions and foreign dangers, proud Massa- chusetts itself was to yield to British influences, and a Royal Governor to be admitted peacefully within the sacrosanct precincts of independence. H CHAPTER IV Colonies IN passing to the reign of William and Mary, we are entering conquest upoi 3- "Ew order of things. Hitherto the Colonies had been ; mainly founded by settlement ; in the times which will ensue they are mainly won by conquest. It is true that in the earlier period Jamaica and New York had been the fruits of conquest, and that in the later Georgia was settled, and Nova Scotia and Canada greatly developed by means of settlement; but on the whole the difference is obvious, nor is the reason of it far to seek. We are entering upon a long period of war with uneasy intervals of peace, wherein Colonies are regarded primarily as pieces in the war game, and to be dealt with accordingly. In this state of things we shall expect to miss the diversity of experiment which attracts us in the glowing youth of English colonization ; but, in fact, military exigencies influence Colonial policy far less than might have been expected. The magic of Macaulay's History has done its best to cast a spell over the period; but most people will agree with Hallam that it was in itself one of the least interesting in English history. Nevertheless, it was fraught with momentous issues for England. It opened out the great struggle for pre- eminence between England and Freince, which was to last more than a hundred years. It has been noticed how dis- gracefully the Navy had been neglected during the last years of Charles II., and how James had, partially at least, restored it to efficiency. William was both by necessity and choice a soldier, and his main business in the war was to preserve the existence of the Netherlands and of Protestantism upon the Continent from the aggressions of Louis XIV. Still, during the war, the English Navy did good service. The defeat, 1690. or partial defeat of Beachy Head, was much more than re- "4 THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 115 deemed by the glorious victory of La Hougue; although 1692. the maladministration of naval matters allowed a power to French privateering which need not have been. From the standpoint of Colonial policy, the war of the League of Augsburg has importance merely as the prologue of the drama which was to follow. Its significance is thus summed up by the historian of The Influence of Sea Power upon History'^: "France did not advance, but neither did she greatly recede. But this display of power was ex- hausting; it ate away the life of the nation, because it drew wholly upon itself, and not upon the outside world, with which it could have been kept in contact by the sea." The Peace of Ryswick, although it gave to the two sea 1697. nations substantial commercial benefits, restored to the belligerents the Colonial possessions held before the com- mencement of hostilities, so that Acadia, which had been 1690. conquered by Phip^s, became again a French possession. We have seen tnat even in the time of the Stuarts the Colonial manufacturing and trading interests, to a great extent, die- ^^ tated Colonial polic;*Nbut there were special reasons why, William under William, those interests should be regarded with ^^^" favour. The necessities of England required a National Debt, the funds for which could only be provided through the growing importance of the commercial classes. The interests of these classes demanded that England should become a great sea power, with a great sea-borne com- merce, and Colonies whose trade the home manufacturers might monopolise. In this state of things it was to be expected that the Navigation Acts should be consolidated 7 and 8 and strengthened. Henceforth governors were more strictly w. m., pledged to a diligent enforcement of these Atjts.* Custom House officers in the Colonies were established on a new footing,^ and the same powers were conferred on them as were possessed by revenue officers in England.* To give effect to this Act, Admiralty Courts were afterwards estab- lished in the Colonies. Another Act forbade the carrying, 10 w. not only to England, but also to any other plantation, of gg^J^" '^' 1 p. 199. 2 Sec. 3. ' Sec lo. < Sec. 5. ii6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY wool or woollen manufactures, being the produce or manu- facture of any of the English plantations in America. We learn from Nicholson's despatches from Virginia that more extreme measures were already advocated. He advised that the manufacture of woollens, even for colonial use, should be in every way discouraged. In the face of the strong feeling in the Colonies, such a measure, apart from its injustice, could never have been enforced. The English authorities contented themselves with disallowing Colonial statutes passed with a view to the encouragement of woollen manufactures. The Commissioners of Customs asserted that such measures weakened the dependence of the Colonies upon England, injured both English trade and navigation, enhanced the price of tobacco for the English consumer, and diminished the volume of the customs. Board of A change was made in 1696, from which, at the time, doubt- Trade, jggg^ great things were expected. The Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations was abolished, and their work transferred to a new Board of Trade and Planta- tions. This step has been represented*as the work of Lord Somers. It would appear from the Parliamentary History^ that it was forced on a reluctant Ministry by the majority of the House of Commons. The claim that Parliament should have the nomination of the Commissioners gave great offence to the King, being considered as an invasion of the Preroga- tive. Whatever may have been the intention of its founders, the new Board of Trade was not in its results an improve- ment Its business was merely to collect and convey infor- mation, while executive power lay with the Privy Council or the Secretary of State. The mischief which arose from the multiplication of authorities, all dealing with Colonial matters, can hardly be exaggerated. It is true that certain of the great officials were permanent members of the Board of Trade, but there was nothing to ensure their attendance at its meetings. Already in the lifetime of Penn we find him able to treat with indifference the disapproval of the Board 1 Vol. V, p. 977. See also Burnet's Hist, of His Own Time, 1833 ed.. Vol. IV. p, 294. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 117 of Trade, because of the more powerful influences befriending him. In this particular case the result was, of course, bene- ficial, but what could be done in one case could also be done in another. Some years later ^ we find the Board of Trade urging that they should receive notice when Colonial business was to be transacted at the Council, and that some of their members might be summoned to attend. In 1721 ^ they recommended that whoever presided at the Board of Trade should be "particularly and distinctly charged with Your Majesty's immediate orders in the despatch of all matters relating to the Plantations." Their report clearly showed the manner in which the system under which proceedings might be taken either before their Board or before the Privy Council or before the Secretary of State, led to "much delay and confusion." Nothing effectual, however, appears to have been done, and the confusion which resulted from the overlapping of authorities dealing with Colonial questions was, in some measure, the cause of that motion without progress, which sums up British Colonial policy during the first half of the eighteenth century. Meanwhile, with regard to all the Colonies, the old com- Colonial plaints were again and again renewed. . In 1696 we find Ran- Bellraiont dolph complaining of the proprietary governments. Their and Penn. Governors * are " indeed stewards only and always liable to be turned out at the pleasure of those who employ them." Lord Bellomont is found writing frequently both from Boston and New York on questions of general policy.* " Your lord- ships know the value of these plantations to England, though I am confident 'tis what is known to few besides. I am every day more and more sensible of it, and it is great pity the King is not made to have a right notice of their usefulness and advantage to the Crown." Bellomont's main recommen- dation was to foster a colonial industry of naval stores, so as both to be independent of the Baltic trade and to find employ- ment for the English soldiers, whose presence he considered necessary against French and Indian attacks. He strongly 1 MSS. in R. O., 1729. -^ N. Y. Docs., Vol. V., Sept 8, 1721. » MSS. in R. O. * N. Y. Docs., Vol. IV. ii8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY opposed the view that the Colonies should provide for their own protection. " It would be to put an opportunity in their hands for setting up for an independence of the Crown, which, it is much to be feared, all the plantations on this whole continent have too great a propensity to." Most rashly he predicted that one thousand regular troops, together with a fourth-rate man of war at Boston and a fifth-rate one at New York, would secure the Colonies in their allegiance to the Crown, "so long as the world lasts." Of greater interest were the, proposals made by Penn in 1697 and I7CX3. He proposed ^ that a congress should be held once a year, pre- sided over by a King's Commissioner, and consisting of two deputies from each province. Its business should be to hear and adjust all matters of complaint and difference between province and province, and to decide on the respective con- tributions to be made by the different Colonies for purposes of defence. In the presence, however, of the mutual jealousies of the American Colonies, greater statesmanship was needed to put such a scheme into practice than was at the service of the English Government. In his further proposals, Penn suggested the use throughout the Colonies of a single stan- dard or coinage, the opening of a mint, the enactment of a general law with regard to runaways, that naturalisation should be rendered easy, that appeals to the Privy Council in matters of less value than ;£^3CX) should no longer be allowed, and finally, that encouragement should be given to the apprehension of pirates, by informers receiving a proportion of the proceeds. The proposal as to runaways was especially necessary. It gives one a clear sense of the chaos that existed, to realise that a deserter from New York had only to go over the frontier into Connecticut and he was free.* PoUcyof To the Board of Trade, however, einother aspect of the s ^Tradf ""^"^'' appeared more serious. Writing in 1700, they say,' "This declining to admit appeals is a matter that you ought very carefully to watch against in all your govern- ments. It is a humour that prevails so much in proprietaries 1 N. Y. Docs., Vol. IV. a Despatch from Lord Combury. ' MSS. in R. O. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 119 and Charter Colonies, and the independency they thirst after is now so notorious that it has been thought fit that those considerations, together with other objections against those Colonies, should be laid before Parliament, and a Bill has thereupon been brought into the House of Lords for re- suming the right of government in these Colonies to the Crown." No attempt seems to have been made at this time to proceed further in the matter, owing probably to the death of the King and the outbreak of the war of the , Spanish succession, but in 1706 another Bill was decided lyot. upon, the draft of which is in the Record Office. Its pur- port is sufficiently shown by its preamble. "Whereas the severing of such authority and power from the Crown and placing it in the hands of subjects, hath, by experience, been found prejudicial to the Trade of this Kingdom and to the welfare of Her Majesty's other plantations in America, and to Her Majesty's revenue arising from the customs," etc. The Bill had been preceded by a solemn indictment ^ drawn up by the Board of Trade, setting out the various offences of the Charter and Proprietary Governments. They had not complied with the Navigation Acts. They had enacted laws repugnant to the laws of England, and had denied the right of appeal to the English Privy Council. They had been the refuge of pirates, and had protected deserters. They had promoted and encouraged woollen and other manufactures proper to England, instead of " applying their thoughts and endeavours to the production of such com- modities as are fit to be encouraged in those parts, according to the true design and intention of those plantations." They refused supplies for war, claimed Admiralty jurisdiction and reduced the value of their coinage by clipping and other means. About the same time, governors were warned not to 1706. pass laws "of an unusual or extraordinary nature and im- portance, without having first received the Queen's pleasure concerning them." In this connection, we may note the section of the statute already commented on, which en- 7 and 8 w III acted that all Colonial laws were illegal, null and void, to ^ 22. ' ' MSS, in R. O. I20 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY all intents and purposes whatsoever, which were repugnant to laws made or " hereafter to be made " in England " so far as such laws shall relate and mention the said plantations." New Passing to the affairs of the particular Colonies, it will be England, remembered how the peaceful counter-revolution, which synchronised with the accession of William and Mary, held out hopes to New England that its position of virtual inde- pendence was restored. On the other hand, apart from grounds of Imperial policy, there was much to stand in the way. Mr Doyle ^ has pointed out that Blathwayt, the secretary of the Committee for Trade and Plantations, re- mained in his old post, and everyone knows how much the policy of an office is influenced by its permanent officials. From the point of view, neither of Whig nor Tory, but of the ordinary decencies of official life, the record of Massachusetts was about as black as record could be. It was not as though the Colony complained of grievances which could be enquired into and put right; it simply adopted towards England, now openly, and now by equi- vocation, an attitude of " hands off." In the petty details of trivicd controversy, independence came perilously near to obstinacy, and obstinacy to sulkiness. Moreover, a new interest Wcis at work hostile to Massachusetts. Her natural allies would have been among the sturdy independent com- mercial classes, who were many of them Whigs in politics, and Dissenters in religion. The English merchants, how- ever, were seriously estranged from New England, because, the commercial interests of the two countries were (according to the generally accepted political economy of the day) hope- lessly at issue. A good deal has been already said of the Navigation Acts and of the continual complaints of their evasion. The method of procedure was as follows. The merchants, interested in some particular branch of foreign trade, complained to the Committee of Trade and Planta- tions. They were then required to attend at a meeting of the Committee and to substantiate their charges. The Agents of the Colony in question were then heard, and '^Puritan Cols.,Vo\. II. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 121 finally the Committee drew up a Report. In the absence of a proper English executive in the Colony to put the Acts in force, little improvement could be made, and the mere presence of a bold and interfering Commissioner like Ran- dolph, without force behind him, only served to embitter political relations, while it afforded little protection to com- mercial interests. It must be remembered also, as we have seen, that the merchants were daily growing in importance, and the economic theories, on which they relied, were be- coming more and more crystallised into a coherent system. Reference has been already made to Child's Discourse on Trade ; the book should be closely studied by whoever would understand the mercantile point of view. The bitter- ness with which he speaks of New England competition is the more noteworthy, from the sincere admiration with which he regards the New England character and Commonwealth. But even more important in the mind of a king like William than the views of the London merchants, must| have been the aspect of the situation in America from! the military standpoint. As early as 1678^ "many of the Lords " of Trade and Plantations " had inferred from these dissensions the great necessity for some general governor or supreme authority over the Colonies." Doubtless, William had some knowledge of the disastrous Indian war with Philip, and knew that behind the Indians there was the growing menace of the French. In this state of things, the tempta- tion must have been great to put the Northern Colonies under a single strong government, a change which would doubtless have"made for military efficiency. Against this course, there was the fact ^ that such had been the policy of James, and it would have been both unwise and ungracious to start the new regime with the impression that it was a continuation of the system under which Andros had been Governor. Moreover, the Colony was well served by its London agent. Increase Mather. He had been introduced to the Prince of Orange by Lord Whartdn, who warmly favoured the restitution of the New England Charters. On ^ Fortescue, Col., 1677-1680. ^ See Doyle, Puritan Colonies, Vol. II. 122 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the other hand, the Committee of the Privy Council reported in 1689 that "the present circumstances of relation in which the Colonies stood to the Sovereign of England was a matter worthy of the consideration of Parliament for the bringing of those proprieties and dominions under a nearer dependence to the Crown, as His Majesty's revenue in the Plantations was very much concerned." ^ In these circumstances a com- 1691. promise was adopted. A Charter was granted to Massachu- setts and it was kept separate from New York. But it was a Charter which altered materially the character of the Con- stitution. So far as the boundaries of the Colony were concerned, the terms were generous enough. New Plymouth, for the significant reason that it might be put " in a better condition of defence," and Maine, were included in Massachu- setts, as was also Acadia (which had been conquered in the 1696. previous year by Phipps), and the territory which afterwards became New Brunswick. New Hampshire was left separate, owing, it was afterwards allied by Lord Bellomont, to the fact that Blathwayt, the Secretary to the Committee for Plantations, had been bribed by Allen, who had acquired the alleged rights of Mason. Still, without New Hamp- shire, the Colony was a goodly heritage. Other portions of the Charter were not so favourable. There were to be a Governor, Deputy Governor, and Secretary, "appointed and commissionated by us, our heirs and successors." A Council of twenty-eight members was to be chosen by the Assembly, eighteen from Massachusetts, four from Ply- mouth, three from Maine, and one from Acadia. Annual Assemblies were to be held on a fixed day: such Assem- blies to consist of the Governor, Counsellors, and such Freeholders as had been elected by the freeholders ; each town returning two members. The qualification for voting t was to ^ssess land in ^freehold orTSe*~annuaf~varttte--of I 'f8|^"s^hillings 6r"p'ersonaity amounting to forty pounds. VjThe members of the Assembly were to take the oaths which had been substituted for those of Allegiance and Supremacy. The general Court or Assembly was given the power of ' Quoted by Palfrey, Vol. IV. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY [23 levying taxes, holding courts, and of enacting laws not repugnant to the laws of England. A right of veto was at the same time reserved to the Governor. After such enactment, laws were to be provisionally enforced, but they did not come finally into effect for three years, during which time they might be disallowed by the Home Govern- ment. Where the matter in difference exceeded three hundred pounds, a liberty of appeal was given to the Privy Council from the Colonial Courts, and, by an impor- tant provision. Admiralty jurisdiction was reserved to the Crown. Liberty of conscience was allowed in the worship of God to all Christians, except Papists. By the last clause, trees, fit for masts, not growing on land which had been already alienated, were reserved for the use of the Royal Navy. On looking back to the history of the long dispute be- tween England and the Colonies, it will be recognised how greatly the long exercised patience of the Mother country had been rewarded. The main original points on which com* plaints has been made were the refusal to take the Oath J of Allegiance, to recognise the English law courts, and to/ give the Franchise to other than Church members. On air / these points, the Mother country had won the day. And, in addition, it was secured that the Governor should be the nominee of the Crown. Henceforth, Massachusetts might win her independence in the broad light of day, but she could no longer flit among the shades of a vague ambiguous suzerainty. In some respects the terms were needlessly severe. It appears ^ that in the first draft neither the Deputy Governor nor the Secretary were Crown appointments. Another pro- vision, giving the Governor power to reject members of the Council, was the cause of much subsequent friction. Partly because they had never legally forfeited their rights, and partly, doubtless, because of their weakness compared with Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island were allowed to resume their Charters. At the same time, con- ' Hutchinson, Hist, of Massachusetts. 124 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY fusion arose from the Commission to the Governors both of Massachusetts and New York giving the right to take command of the Connecticut and Rhode Island militias. Connecticut resisted, and the claim was not pressed. The form of government for Massachusetts being thus settled, the next step was to appoint the new Governor. Doubtless the Home Authorities considered that they were 1691- showing great discretion in appointing Sir W. Phipps, a, '^^5" native of Massachusetts, a self-made man, who had started as a ship carpenter, and who had lately become famous as the conqueror of Acadia. But it is doubtful if the choice was really a wise one. Phipps' ignorance and inexperience of affairs prevented him from being able to guide the local legislature in its new course. Out of forty-five laws passed by the Colonial Assembly, no less than fifteen were after- wards disallowed by the Crown. The chief cause for con- tention, however, between the Crown and the Governor on the one side, and the Colony on the other, was on the question of voting a fixed salary to the Governor. For some years the unhappy Governors found themselves torn asunder — between the Home Government, which insisted that they should take nothing less than a proper salary, and the Assembly, which consistently refused to grant more than an occasional bounty. The New England historian waxes warm over this example of the spirit of John Hampden. But the impartial onlooker probably ' carries away a sense of the pettiness and sordid nature of the questions involved. The English Government sought in a very different quarter a successor to Phipps. Lord Bellomont was a brilliant Irish nobleman, with strong Whig convictions, which he took every opportunity to air. He came out as Governor both of New York and Massachusetts. In Massachusetts at least he laid himself out to be popular, giving way to his real opinions only in his letters and despatches. As an English statesman, the condition of things in Massachusetts filled him with concern. He re^ ports how some gentlemen of the Council expressed " great discontent at the Acts of Navigation, which restrained them THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 125 from an open free trade to all parts of the world. They alleged that they were as real Englishmen as those in England, and thought they had a right to all the privileges which the people of England had. That the London mer- chants had procured those restraining laws to be made on purpose to make the people of the plantations to go to market to them."^ In spite of Bellomont's genial manners he made no head- way with the Colony ; on the contrary, matters went from bad to worse. The Assembly refused to transmit their acts or to allow appeals. Moreover, the Colony stubbornly re- fused to build the forts, which were required against the Indians. In these circumstances, there was grave risk lest the Charter should be annulled. The national interests, it was alleged by the Committee for Trade, required that such independent administration should be placed by the legis- lative power of the kingdom in the same state of dependency as the Royal Governments. In 1701 Lord Bellomont died, and Massachusetts and New York became again under separate Governors. In Massachusetts, the new Governor, Dudley, with the zeal of a renegade, took up a sterner tone 1702- in addressing the Assembly. Not being so profitable to the '7i5- Crown in customs as the southern Colonies, he bluntly told them, they should make up the deficiency, by supplying England with naval stores and other commodities, there wanting. In fact, he found a spirit more stubborn than his own, and, from the English standpoint, there seemed reason in the strongly expressed opinion of the New York Ad- miralty judge, that no remedy would serve but the reduction of all the Colonies to one standard rule and constitution. There was, however, one grave objection to this course, which was put with great ability a few years later by Dummer. Dealing with the suggested desire in the Colonies for independence, he declares ^ " that they are so distinct from one another in their forms of government, in their religious rites, in their emulation of trade, and consequently in their 1 Quoted by Palfrey, 1700. Vol. IV. ' Defence of New England Charters. 126 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY affections, that they can never be supposed to unite in so dangerous an enterprise," and then goes on to show with convincing ability that the one thing required to unite them would be to bring them under a common rule and govern- ment Be this as it may, the time of war was not in any case one for the introduction of constitutional changes. In their hostility to France, the Mother country and Colony were heartily at one. The old quarrel concerning the re- fusal to vote a salary to the Governor remained the same, and English officials are found bitterly complaining that the Crown ^ " can never hope for justice here where judge and jury are offenders." But of necessity such matters, for the time, took a secondary place. As early as 1704, we find Dudley* urging the Home Authorities to set on foot an expedition against Quebec and Nova Scotia. He draws a graphic picture of the discontent of Massachusetts, which had to bear the burden of attack, while the other provinces sat quiet. All the greater was the disappointment at the 17 1 1, failure of the expedition commanded by Hill. Great things had been expected : the campaign being intended as a Tory counterblast to the Whig triumphs on the Continent of Europe. But the betrayal of Marlborough found here its just Nemesis. There was, of course, plenteous bickering as to the causes of failure. The English officers ascribed it to the delay of the Colony in furnishing transports, while the Colonies were naturally sore at the incapacity and weakness of the English general. It was recognised by all that the failure must tend* "to depopulate their frontier, to diminish their trade, and discourage all people, by the constant wars they must now be obliged to maintain, from settling among them or improving the lands." In these circumstances, Dudley reasonably asked that another ex- pedition might be sent the next year. The signing, however, 1713. of the Treaty of Utrecht put an end for the time to any such project. Under that Treaty, Nova Scotia, which had 1 7 10. been again conquered by Nicholson, remained English. The French abandoned all territorial rights in Newfoundland, • MSS. in R. O., 1705. ^ MSS. in R. O. s /^^_ THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 127 and recognised the right of the Hudson's Bay Company to the territories claimed by them. France, however, still retained, besides Canada, Cape Breton Island, with its Port Louisbourg, the key to the Gulf and River of St Lawrence. Although Flacentia in Newfoundland was handed over to England, the French retained the right to catch fish and to dry them on land in certain portions of the coast ; a pro- vision which became the source of much future trouble. Although, from a purely American point of view, the gains^ to England under the Treaty did not appear very great, in reality her position had been enormously strengthened. Her naval pre-eminence was triumphantly secured. Holland, her ■ old rival and subsequent ally, was left hopelessly behind. The secret of Holland's failure lay in her Continental position. Forced by it to take part in wars by land, she was not strong enough to burn the candle at both ends. France emerged from the war with her navy and shipping ruined. The Eng- lish trade, we are told, increased rather than diminished dur- ing the war. " Before that war England was one of the sea powers. After it, she was the sea power, without any second. This power also she held alone, unshared by friend and un- checked by foe." ^ The privilege of carrying negro slaves to Assiento. the Spanish Colonies was further obtained under the Treaty. England engaged to furnish four thousand eight hundred slaves annually, and in return was entitled to send two ships every year to the Spanish possessions. The privilege was granted for thirty-three years. Although Massachusetts was still the leading northern New Colony, its position was seriously threatened by the new and ^°'''" growing Colonies of Pennsylvania and New York. In New York there had been at first a readiness to accept whatever Government should gain the upper hand. After the success, however, of William and Mary, the Whig faction, under the leadership of one Leisler, usurped the Government, and appear to have used their power with great intolerance. In none of the Colonies does party feeling seem to have run so high as in New York, and nowhere were parties so evenly 1 Mahan, Influence of Sea Power upon History, p. 225. 128 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY divided. Colonel Sloughter, who was appointed Governor in 1689, unfortunately died in 1691, and his successor, Fletcher, appears to have thrown himself into the party politics of the Colony, aiding and abetting in every way the Tory faction. 1696. In 1696 he was superseded by Lord Bellomont, who came out, as we have seen, as Governor of New York, Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire. If Fletcher had shown Tory sjnnpathies, Bellomont was as aggressively Whig. His in- structions are worth noting as illustrating Colonial policy.* " Whereas," they run, " the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament, upon consideration of the great abuses prac- tised in the Plantation trade, have . . . lately presented the importance it is of, both to His Majesty and the Plantations in America, that the many good laws which have been for the Government of the said Plantations, and particularly the Act passed in the seventh and eighth years of His Majesty's reign ... be strictly observed, which abuses must cirise, either from the insolvency of the persons who are accepted for security, or from the remissness or connivance of such as are or have been Governors in the several Plantations, who ought to take care that the persons who give bond should be duly prosecuted in cases of non-performance," etc. The state of things found by Bellomont with regard to illicit trading was very striking. " The observance of the laws of Trade was so great a novelty that it gave as great discontent as if it had been an infringement of their Charter." Again, " They say I have ruined the town by hindering the privateers, for so they call pirates, from bringing in a hundred thousand pounds since my coming." Bellomont was a man perhaps given to some exaggeration, but in favour of his contention was the fact that, though New York had increased greatly in size and importance since 1687, the revenue from Customs had actu- ally declined. He draws a striking picture how a Custom House officer appointed by him came and begged he might resign, "telling me that though most of that town were his near relations and several of them of his name, yet he was threatened by them to be knocked on the head, and he had I iV. Y. Docs., Vol. IV. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 129 already suffered many abuses, insomuch that he was in fear of his life." Credit must be given to Bellomont for putting his finger on the root of the evil. The Boston Collector " has been in England above two years. I believe a full one-third of the trade of Boston and this place (New York) is directly against law, and if your lordships will not keep a strict hand over your collectors, the trade of England must suffer accord- ingly." It would seem that Bellomont's predecessor, Fletcher, had been intimately associated with illicit trade. It was his practice to sell commissions to privateers, and he was in the habit of frequenting the company of a notorious pirate. When remonstrated with by the Home Government, his explanation was that he wished to reclaim him from a vile ('iabit of swearing ! After this we are not surprised to find that the New York Council consisted of merchants who were for the most part interested in illegal trading. On another subject we find Bellomont speaking out with with no uncertain voice. "That which is the very soul of Government goes upon crutches in this province." The Chief Justice "is no sort of lawyer, having been bred a soldier; he is a man of sense, and a more gentlemanlike man than any I have met in this province, but that does not make him a lawyer. So far from being barristers, one of them (the judges) was a dancing master, another a glover." He therefore recommends that English judges and King's Counsel should be sent out " to mind the interests of the Crown." He declared that " an honest, able judge and Attorney-General " would be of greater service than a man- of-war or soldiers " for the suppressing of piracy and unlawful trade " ; and added bitterly, " they are all in a piece at New York." His advice was taken, and a Chief Justice and Attorney-General were appointed in England. Unfortun- ately, however, the new Chief Justice was so devoid of ^ tact and fitness for the post that almost the first act of the new Governor, Lord Cornbury, was to suspend him 1701. from his duties. In passing from Lord Bellomont to Lord Cornbury, we feel at once that we are breathing a lower moral air. Bellomont I I30 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY had his faults, and nothing could have been more ill-advised than his foolish employment of Kidd to suppress piracy, but his despatches impress one as those of an upright and able man. Doubtless there was truth in his assertion: "I disr courage all I can those distinctions of Dutch and English . . . and I tell them those are only to be acknowledged as Englishmen that live in obedience to the laws of Eng- land." It is noteworthy of the state of things prevalent that in 1703 a Royal letter was issued to the various Colonies, pro- hibiting the receiving of presents by the Governors. In Lord Cornbury's case, an additional six hundred pounds was added by the Home authorities to the salary of six hundred pounds granted him by the Colony. A little later we find the first mention of a subject which was to agitate deeply the mind of 1706. the Colony. In a despatch from the Board of Trade to Lord Cornbury, they say: "In other Her Majesty's plantations the Assemblies do not pretend to the sole right of framing money bills, but admit of the Council's amendments to such Bills." Henceforth the relations between the Governor and the Colony were to be as strained as those between the Governor and people of Massachusetts, so that it becomes impossible to say that the difficulty in governing the latter was solely due to the peculiar independence of the New England character. It is noteworthy, however, that there appears to have been a considerable emigration from New England into New York. "The officers of the Government,"^ writes Governor Hunter 2 in 1709, "are starving, the forts on the frontier in ruins, the French and French Indians threatening us every day ; no public money, nor credit for five pounds on the public account; all the necessary expenses of the Government supplied by my proper credit." The amount of revenue which had been voted expired in 1709, and the Assembly steadily refused to vote fresh supplies. They refused to vote the Governor a salary, on the ground that the preparations for the expedition against Canada had ' MSS. in R. p. a Appointed in 1709. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 131 "sunk them so low." The Governor pathetically laments^ that the Act allowing a salary to Assembly men had made the office of representative a trade, so that " the most ready way of securing popularity was to make a boast of economy." The Colonies were " infants sucking their mothers' breasts,"^ but such as would wean themselves when they came of age. The pretensions of the Assembly already rivalled those of the English House of Commons. The Governor wjis obliged to return to them in an informal way a money bill which contained some verbal error, because they would never have tolerated its alteration by the Council. " This conduct, how unparliamentary soever, I was obliged to follow, or baulk the expedition." Hunter's disposition, however, was by no means conciliatory. "In the infancy of the Colonies," he writes, "the Crown was lavish of privileges, as necessary for their nursing; but a full-grown boy makes commonly but in- different use of that indulgence requisite towards a child." He considered that the putting of all North America under one uniform government would most certainly be a sure remedy, but one "too lingering for your present exigency." His own proposal for securing the necessary money was to impose a quit rent of two shillings and sixpence upon every hundred acres of land in the Colony, and for the English Parliament to place duties on all goods imported and ex- ported from the Colony. In other words, he advised the imposition of taxation upon the Colony by England. In fact, the situation was a serious one. The claim as- serted by the Colonies, and for the most part asserted with | success, merely to vote annual grants to the Governor and other civil servants, involved far-reaching consequences. It rendered the Governor and all the other servants of the Crown dependent on the Assembly. But the claim of the Colonies did not end here. They further put forward the claim to appropriate supply, to assume in the words of PownalP — "the actual executive part of the Government, than which nothing is more clearly and unquestionably settled " MSS. in R. O., 1710. ^ Ibid., 171 1. ' Administration of the Colonies. 132 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY in the Crown. In the Colonies the Treasurer is solely and entirely a servant of the Assembly or General Court, and although the mone3rs granted and appropriated be, or ought to be, granted to the Crown on such appropriations, the Treasurer is neither named by the Crown nor its Governor, nor gives security to the Crown or to the Lord High Treasurer — which seems the most proper — nor in many of the Colonies is to obey the Governor's warrant in the issue, nor accounts in the Auditor's office, nor in any one Colony is it admitted that he is liable to such account In consequence of this supposed necessity for the assemblies taking upon them the administration of the Treasury and revenue, the Governor and servants of the Crown, in the ordinary revenue of Government, are not only held de- pendent on the Assembly, but all services, where special appropriation is made for the extraordinaries, which such services require, are actually executed and done by Com- missioners appointed by the Assembly, to whose disposition such appropriations are made liable." From this passage, from a work of authority, written just before the Ameri- can War of Independence, we see how in this case, as in others, the determination of the colonists wore down the persistency of the Home Government, and came out victor. The practical excuse for the New York Assembly lay in the conduct of the English Governors. Hunter himself^ admitted that it was to the " misapplications in Lord Combury's time we owe that there never will be another revenue settled by Act of Assembly." The appointment of a Treasurer by the Assembly in 1705 was due to the same cause. Meanwhile, the Board of Trade again and again pro- tested. A Bill was actually drafted in 171 1, granting a standing revenue to defray the necessary expenses of the Government of New York. Writing two years later, Hunter* seems to doubt whether this measure was ever seriously intended, and in 1715 a modus vivettdi was found, under which a revenue was granted by the Colonial Assembly for five years. > MSS. in R. O. a md. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 133 It is a strange irony which has fastened the epithet English tyrannical on the conduct of England towards her Colonies. p°}°^'*' Incapable, weak, causing the maximum of friction with the minimum of result. Colonial policy may have been, but to call it tyrannical is to travesty either language or facts. The situation, perhaps, permits of a general reflection. The government of the Colonies, as the government of the Mother country before the complete evolution of party government, may be defined as one possessing representative institutions but not responsible government. Now it may be safely affirmed that of all governments such an one is the most difficult to carry on. Order is possible under absolutism and under popular government. But the tertium quid, which confers power while refusing responsibility, generally, and, we may almost say, inevitably results in anarchy. In England such logical issue was avoided by the organised employment of bribes, and by the defective character of Parliament, from a representative point of view ; but the Colonial Assemblies were of not sufficient importance to be sought as Danae by the metropolitan Zeus, while they did represent the people of the Colony. Consequently in their case there were no retarding influences, and the impossible character of such government was completely brought out. It is probable that, in the case of the American Colonies, there were special circumstances at work, which, in time, would, in any case, have caused separation, but there can, I think, be little question but that the form of the constitu- tion did much to promote dissension, as was seen, at a later date, in the case of Lower Canada. From the leading cases of Massachusetts and New York, it will have been gathered what were the main difficulties between the Home Government and the American Colonies. There was a general recognition that "no government in Pennsyi- America was so well settled or blessed with so industrious a ^^'"*' sort of people " ^ as was Pennsylvania. Penn's Charter had been disallowed in 1692 on the ground of neglect and mis- carriage in the government, and of the absence of the Pro- 1 MSS. in R. O. 134 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY prietor. But it was restored in 1694, and we find Penn in equal favour with the new Government as he had been with that of the Stuarts, though it is only fair to remark how very costly a business such favour is shown by his correspondence^ to have been. He clearly, however, recognised that the ten- dency of things was against the continuance of proprietary governments ; and negotiations were on several occasions entered into with the view of disposing of his proprietary rights. For one reason or another no settlement was made. Meanwhile in the Colony the same state of things which we have seen elsewhere prevailed ^ ; " the Assembly," reported Quarry in 1707, "resolved to have all the government and powers in their own hands. They insist to have the regula- tion of all courts, and the nomination of all officers ... so that they have banished all prerogative and government but what is lodged in the Assembly. . . . When it is contrary to their wild notions, then it will not oblige them, unless the Queen will allow them to send their representatives to sit in the Parliament of Great Britain." In Pennsylvania a special difficulty arose from the mixed character of the population. It is true that a large immigration from all quarters, attracted by the special advantages of the province, tended to reduce very greatly the proportion of the Quaker colonists. At the same time, acting as they did together, they were politically of importance, although, we are told,' the generality of the most knowing thought government ill-fitted to their prin- ciples. In the case of the alarm of war from Indians upon their frontiers, the Quakers of course refused to bear arms, and the non-Quakers, for political purposes, supported them 1709. in opposing the grant of a money equivalent. When in 1709 the other Colonies freely granted the Crown supplies of men, and the Jerseys voted instead ^'scxao, the utmost that the Pennsylvania Assembly would grant was ;^SOo. In 171 1, however, they made a grant to the Crown of ;^2000, the scruples of the Quakers being overcome by pretending ignor- '^, Logan Correspondence, Vols. IX. and X. of publications of Hist. See. of Philadelphia. « MSS. in R. O. 3 Logan Corr. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 135 ance of the object of the grant. The clearest heads recog- nised that what was required was a law for a militia, " which shall oblige all to serve who can, and those that cannot to contribute a due proportion to the expense." Speaking generally, the Pennsylvania Assembly yielded to none of the others in its pretensions, whilst between it and the proprietor there was the added bitterness which arose from a cash nexus. Inasmuch, however, as the affairs of the proprietary govern- influence ments did not come in so direct a way before the Board of "^ ff,*"^ * Trade, it is unnecessary to dwell further on these contro- Wietary versies. We may note in passing, however, how the continued i^entsT" existence of provinces, wherein the Governors became more ; and more ex necessitate rerum the creatures of the Assembly, ■ tended to foster a spirit of independence in the other Colonies, | which at least nominally were in more direct subjection to i the Crown. I In Virginia, the accession of William and Mary caused Virginia, little change. The corrupt and Papist Lord Howard of Effingham was, in fact, suffered to remain as Governor. The Order restricting the franchise to freeholders was formally re-enacted. Means were taken to secure that the Home Government should be kept in touch with what was happen- ing in the Colony, and the power of suspending Councillors was carefully restricted. Mr Doyle ^ sees in the clear recog- nition by the Crown of the right of taxation as vested in the Assembly, an "acknowledgment of those rights for which the Virginians did battle eighty years later." But surely it is one thing to admit that the Colony had right of taxation, and another to maintain that there was not at the same time a concurrent jurisdiction in the English Parliament. The Instructions of Governors were concerned with the case as it affected the Crown, and not as it affected Parlia- ment The mischief of Howard's appointment was minimised by his receiving leave of absence : the government being carried on by the able and industrious Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson. In his despatches he advocates a union of the 1 Virg., etc., p. 353. 136 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Colonies for military purposes under the headship of the loyal Colony of Virginia, whilst he did all in his power to suggest efficient measures to the local authorities of the other Colonies. Already in the Instructions to Howard, in 1685, the English Government had abandoned its long settled prac- tice of enjoining the culture of a variety of products,^ and now we find Nicholson urging that the whole energies of the Colony should be concentrated on the staple product, tobacco. To allow of this, however, it would be necessary that exports from England of all necessary articles should be carefully kept up ; as otherwise, the Colony would be driven to manufacture in self-defence. In 1696 Nicholson received the just reward of his labours by at last being appointed Governor. The difficulty in Virginia lay not as elsewhere in the democratic instincts of the people^ but in the haughty arrogance of the ruling oligarchy, who, looking at the other Colonies, did not care that others should outdo them in pre- tensions. It was jealousy of New England in the main which provoked the Vii^inian Assembly "to claim all the rights and privileges of an English Parliament." The natural disposition of the people was to be " quiet and easy," * but here, too, in addition to the emulation of the other Colonies, the same motive was at work, the desire of the deputies to recommend themselves to the people by opposing everything that required expense. In Maryland the chief result of the Revolution was to de- prive Lord Baltimore of his political autliority on the ground of his being a Roman Catholic. This course was taken through an exercise of the prerogative sanctioned, though not advised, by a legal opinion of C. J. Holt. At the same time, Baltimore's pecuniary rights as proprietor were carefully preserved. Henceforth, although in 17 15 the proprietorship was nominally restored, the fourth Lord Baltimore being a Protestant, Maryland became for all practical purposes a Colony under the direct administration of the Crown. ^ Bruce, Vol. II., Econ. Hist, of Virg. etc. 3 MSS. in R. O. Gov. Spottiswood in 1696. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 137 Somewhat strangely,, in a Colony which had been in its origin Roman Catholic and the favourite resort of Quakers and dissenters of all denominations, we find the Church of England established by law. An Act to this effect was passed in 1692, and it was made operative in 1700, through the im- position of a Church rate by means of a duty on tobacco. The latter measure had been passed in 1698, but for two years was vetoed by the Crown, the measure having tacked to it a wholly irrelevant clause declaring that the Colonies should henceforth be governed according to the fundamental laws and statutes of England. In Maryland the same cause which has already been adverted upon, viz. : the scandal- ous manner in which Colonial appointments were too often made, brought about the same result. The Colony which, according to Quarry,^ had been the freest from all factions and parties of any of the Colonies, "is now, by the ill- conduct of the late Governor, run into as great extrava- 1709- gancy as any of the rest." An event happened in the reign of Queen Anne, fraught Union with important consequences for British colonization. In g^o^iand 1707 the Act of Union with Scotland was passed, which 6 Ann., threw open to the Scotch the commercial privileges hitherto '^' "' jealously reserved to England. Historians are agreed that the profound disappointment with the failure of the ill-fated Darien colonization scheme and the recognition that Scotland was not strong enough to stand alone in commercial matters, were the prevailing motives which reconciled the, Scotch to a measure at first sight so much opposed to their patriotic instincts. Hitherto the Scotch, except by an exercise of the Royal prerogative or by sufferalnce, had had no part or parcel in English Empire. This work deals with British Colonial policy, but hitherto that policy had been strictly English. And yet it was already recognised that the Scotch made the most admirable colonists. An early petition ^ from Barbados speaks of them " as the general travailers and soldiers in most foreign parts." And as a curious commentary on this, we find Long, writing about a hundred years later,* saying that in ' MSS. in R. O. ^ Sainsbury, Ca/., 1660-1668. ^ Jlisi. of Jamaica. 138 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY 1762 about one-third of the European inhabitants of Jamaica were either Scotch by birth or by descent. In this connec- tion we may note the expectation expressed by Logan ^ to Penn that the passing of the Union would double the value of land in Pennsylvania. Minor Enough has already been said about the Navigation Act statutes, pagsed in the reign of William and Mary. Some minor 3 and 4 Acts of the reign of Anne may here be noticed. In 1705 S, sec. 14! "^^ ^^^ molasses became enumerated articles. By an Act 3 and 4 passed in the same year " for encouraging the importa- 10 (con- tioii of naval stores," a bounty was given on their importa- tinued bjr tion into England from the American plantations. A few c. 9. See years later an Act Tvas passed which exempted mariners also 8 trading to America from being impressed by English naval c. 14).' officers and suspended during the continuance of the war, 6 Ann., the rule that three-fourths of the crew of vessels must be c. 04, sees. 9 and 19. English, substituting the proportion of one-fourth in its stead. In 1708 an attempt was made to settle the difficult qiiestion of the value and kinds of money in the Colonies 6 Ann., by the passing of an Act "for ascertaining the rates of '^' 57- foreign coins in Her Majesty's plantations in America." As an example of the truth that statutes, no less than books, 9 Ann., habent sua fata, we may note that a statute passed in 1710, "^" "' establishing a general post-office for the Colonies, and de- claring that any surplus should be expended on colonial defence, passed without any protest from the colonial legislatures. ' Logan Corr. CHAPTER V The long period which elapsed between the signing of the Great Treaty of Utrecht and the outbreak of the Seven Years' War and the was, so far as Colonial policy was concerned, singularly dull American and uneventful. The old controversies remained, and new between ones were added to their number. But no permanent solu- '713 and tion of difficulties was in any way arrived at. It is true that, regarded through the moonlight of memory, the time ap- peared to the next generation of colonists as one of unbroken contentment and calm ; and so high an authority as Mr Lecky has stated^ that while "for some years before the English Revolution, and for several years after the accession , of William, the relations of the Colonies to England had been extremely tense ... in the long period of unbroken Whig rule which followed, most of the elements of discontent had subsided." But an inspection of what actually occurred hardly bears out this statement. It is true, of course, that colonial questions were more and more shirked by the Home Government. For twenty-four years in succession the Duke of Newcastle was Secretary of State for the Southern De- partment, which dealt with the Colonies; and Newcastle's ignorance and incapacity became a bye-word among men. " Annapolis, Annapolis ! Oh, yes ! Annapolis must be de- fended," he is reported to have said. " To be sure, Annapolis should be defended. Where is Annapolis?"* It was said of him that he always appeared to have lost half an hour in the morning, and to be running after it all the rest of the day. But, with regard to colonial matters, he did not even try to overtake the past. Inasmuch as he discouraged all measures that might arouse opposition, he might, in a sense, be described as a safe Colonial Minister. But his procrastina- ' Hist, of England in the Eighteenth Cent., Vol. IV. p. 8. 1892 ed. ^ H. Walpole, Memoirs of the last ten years of George II. I40 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY tion solved nothing. The old sores, which, it must be remem- bered, were caused more by the relations between the Colonial Governors and the Colonial Assemblies than they were by the relations between the Colonies and the Home Govern- ment, went festering on. It can with no justice be claimed that the Whig regime of the early Georges contained in it any solution of the problems which had gone on puzzling statesmen since the first starting of the Colonial Empire, We have the authority of Horace Walpole^ for the statement that, during the administration of his father, the Board of Trade had almost lapsed into a sinecure. So far as results went, this was doubtless true ; but they appear to have gone on, with tolerable regularity^ making the same reports which nobody read, and the same recommendations, which nobody heeded. At the outset a new cause of quarrel meets us. It has been seen how the difficulty with regard to the voting of a revenue by the New York Assembly was at last overcome by the granting of a revenue for five years. Further trouble, however, arose through the action of the Assembly in impos- ing a two-and-a-half per cent, duty on all goods imported from Great Britain. For a time, though not without protest, the English authorities allowed the imposition. In former Acts of Revenue similar provisions had been passed without complaint. In 1724, however, an Order in Council was issued,* advising the vetoing of an Act imposing a two per cent, duty on European goods imported in English bottoms. The same cause of quarrel arose in the case of other Colonies. Acts had been passed by the Massachusetts and Virginia legislatures, laying duties, the one on imported goods, the other on the importation of liquors and slaves. It was felt that resistance must be made, and the Acts were disallowed. On another question the English authorities en- deavoured to establish a clear rule. In particular cases, the Colonial legislatures had claimed to approach the English Government independently of their Governors. The Virginia ' Memoirs of last ten years of George II. , Vol . I. 2 N. Y. Docs., Vol. V. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 141 legislature had done so in 1701, Barbados in 1705, and in 1 7 16 Jamaica followed the example of Virginia. It was decided ^ that such a course was only allowable where com- plaint was made of the personal conduct of the Governor, and that in all other cases the Governor must be the conduit pipe through which the Colony should approach the Home Government. " We cannot but take notice," the Board of Trade significantly adds, " that not only the Assembly of Jamaica, but of several other Colonies in America, have of late pretended to assume new privileges and powers, which, if not prevented, may tend to the weakening of His Majesty's prerogative in those parts." Meanwhile the mind of the Navy Board was seriously exercised by the question of naval stores. The Act of Anne expired in 1726, but a new Act was passed in 1729, under which encouragement 2G. Il.,c. was given to the production of all naval stores. The growth 35 (c™- and culture of raw silk, and the making of pot-ashes, were 24 G. II., also encouraged by being admitted into England free of "^^ S?)- ' 23 0-. li.., duty. c. 20, and In other directions, however, the influences at work were ''^^' ^^'' not so favourable. The English mercantile interest was becoming of increasing importance, and what it demanded Parliament had to grant. In 17 19 the House of Commons resolved " that the erecting of manufactures in the Colonies tended to lessen their dependence upon Great Britain." In the same year a Bill passed both Houses, forbidding the American Colonies to manufacture iron of any kind. Under this, no smith would have been able to make so much as a bolt, a spike, or a nail. No forge could have been erected for making " sows, pigs, or cast iron into bar or rod iron." ^ The opposition aroused, however, by this measure was so great that it was dropped, but duties were imposed on all American iron imported into England. In 1750 these were 23 G. II., modified, and pig and bar iron were allowed a free admission to '^' ^^" the English market. At the same time it was provided * that " no mill or other engine for slitting or rolling of iron, or any 1 MSS. in R. O. '•' Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, Vol. III. ' Sec. 9. 142 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY plateing forge to work with a tilt hammer, or any furnace for making steel," should be permitted in the Colonies. A yet more striking instance of trade jealousy was given in SG. II., 1732. North America was the land of furs, and therefore '^' *^' it was natural that a hat industry should come into being. An Act was thereupon passed, forbidding the export of hats not only to England, or to foreign countries, but from one colony to another, and providing that no colonist should pursue the trade, unless he had served a seven years' ap- prenticeship and should himself employ two apprentices or should teach the industry to negroes. Nor was it merely in the interests of English manufacturers that Parliament interfered. The American Colonies had been in the habit of carrying on a profitable export trade to the French West Indies, and of bringing back, in return, rum, sugar, and molasses. A Bill was introduced into the House of Commons, directed against this trade, and, after much dispute, and the defeat of the Bill in its original shape, it 6 G. II., was enacted in 1733, that a duty of ninepence per gallon •=• '3- should be paid upon all rum and spirits made in the plantations not subject to Great Britain, on their importa- tion into any of the British plantations : that sixpence a gallon should be paid on all foreign molasses and syrups imported, and five shillings on every hundredweight of sugar. As a matter of fact, it was found impossible to enforce this law, and therefore the practical grievance of the colonists was slight, but it was none the less a sign of the spirit in which colonial affairs were considered. About the same time 3 G. II., permission was given first to Carolina and then to Georgia 8 G*! il' *° ®^'P "^^ ^° ^^y P°'^ south of Cape Finisterre, and a few c. 19! years later the same privilege was conferred on West India *^ ^c/30; sugar, provided that it was carried in British-built ships navigated according to law. Relations It will be seen from the foregoing summary that, so far J ^Mother *^°"^ *^^ P^"°'^ *'^. question being one of peace and goodwill '^ country towards the Colonies, it was a time wherein fresh links were Colonies'! "^""^ continually added to that chain of commercial legisla- tion which did so much to alienate and disgust the Ameri- THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 143 can Colonies. Mr Lecky himself observes^ that "to a sagacious observer of colonial politics two facts were becom- ing evident. The one was that the deliberate selfishness of English commercial legislation was digging a chasm between the Mother country and the Colonies, which must inevit- ably, when the latter had become sufficiently strong, lead to separation. The other was that the presence of the French in Canada was an essential condition of the maintenance of the British empire in America." He then goes on to quote the famous passage, wherein the Swedish traveller Kalm, writing, it must be remembered, many years before George Grenville's Stamp Act, declared ^ "these (commercial) oppres- 1748. sions have made the inhabitants of the English Colonies less tender towards their mother land. This coldness is increased by the many foreigners who are settled among them. For Dutch, Germans and French are here blended with English, and have no special love for Old England. Besides, some people are always discontented and love change, and exceed- ing freedom and prosperity nurse an untameable spirit. I have been told, not only by native Americans but by Eng- lish emigrants, publicly, that within thirty or fifty years the English Colonies in America may constitute a separate State entirely independent of England. But as this whole country towards the sea is unguarded, and on the frontier is kept uneasy by the French, these dangerous neighbours are the reason why the love of these Colonies for their metropolis does not utterly decline. The English Government has therefore reason to regard the French in North America as the chief power which urges their Colonies to submission." In the foregoing passage one sentence has generally escaped notice. Bancroft quotes it in full, but in fact it is an author- ity against his main thesis of English tyranny. " Exceeding freedom and prosperity," such is the verdict of the shrewd foreign observei". A yet more remarkable prophecy, made so early as 171 1, is quoted by Mr Parkman.* An anonymous ^ Hist, of England, 1892 ed.. Vol, II. p. 241. 2 Pinkerton's Travels, Vol. XIII. » Half Century of Conflict, Vol. I. p. 155. 144 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY French paper affirms that the result of the French Colonies falling would be " that these different provinces will become united, and, shaking off the yoke of the English monarchy, will form themselves into a democracy." On the other hand, it must be remembered that the very different character bf the English Colonies from that of the French, led the latter to exaggerate points of difference between the Mother country and the Colonies. In this connection we may note the lan- guage of the author oi The Importance of the British Planta- tions in America to this Kingdom, xj^fX. " The writer of this hath lived and traded about fourteen years in those parts, and sincerely wishes that disaffection and general discontent may never appear, there or in these Kingdoms, but if such things should happen, which God forbid, he is persuaded that the people in our Plantations would be the last of all His Majesty's subjects to be deservedly charged with either." War with After a long period, during which Walpole had successfully ^^Franre^ resisted at once the inclination of the English people and the tendencies of events, war broke out again in 1739 between England and Spain. The trivial matter of "Jenkins' ear" served as a cloak to its real purpose, the command of the trade of the West Indies. Under the Assiento contract, England had the right to a certain defined trade with the Spanish Colonies. Under the cover of this a great contra- band trade had sprung into being. In the attempt to stop such smuggling, Spain was led to exceed her strict legd rights, and to board and search English ships on the high seas. For our present purpose the war is chiefly noticeable for the attempt to employ American troops in a West Indian expedition, and for the reduction by the New England militia of Louisbourg. Neither matter served to increase the prestige of the Mother country. The attempts upon Cartagena and Santiago de Cuba in 1741 and 1742 were miserable failures, owing mainly to quarrels between the Admiral and the General, whilst the capture of Cape Breton Island, accom- plished as it was by colonial troops, although supported by 1748- the Royal Navy, taught the colonists self-confidence. More- over, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which restored Cape THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 145 Breton to France in return for Madras, was a bitter pill for the New England colonists. Doubtless, from the point of view of the Empire, the exchange was a profitable one, but the Colonies could not be expected to see things in the same light. All that they saw was that their own trouble and valour had been given in vain, and that others entered into the fruits of their success. It is only fair to add, however, that in these circumstances the English Government made what reparation it could. A very liberal money grant was given towards the expenses of the expedition, with the help of which Massachusetts was able to put its currency on a sound footing. In 1748 the Duke of Newcastle at last gave up the Southern Department, and was succeeded by the Duke of Bedford. Bancroft seems to date from this event the beginning of a regular conspiracy against the liberties of the American Colonies. I do not know whence his political estimate of the Duke of Bedford is derived. It would probably have surprised very much the Duke of Bedford's own colleagues. According to Pelham and Lord Hardwicke, who were Bedford's friends in the Ministry, he fancied he performed the duties of his office when he did little or nothing. " It is," wrote Pelham,^ " all jollity, boyishness and vanity ; he persuades himself that riding post from London to Woburn and back again is doing a great deal of business." Again, "his total negligence and inability for office was far from being known to mankind in general till this year." King George II. remarked, " He does not much trouble his head about business. Never man had an easier office than he has." It must, of course, be admitted that under Halifax, who became its head in 1748, the Board of Trade showed greater activity than it had for many years past. Horace Walpole, while he admits that Halifax showed "great application to raise the credit of his employment, and as much as he could counteract the supineness of the Adminis- tration," represents him as actuated by motives of ambition ^ Coxe's Memoirs of the Pelham Administration. Illust. corr. at end of Vol. II. Pelham to Duke of Newcastle and to Mr Stone in 1750. K 146 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY to be nominated a third Secretary of State for the West Indies. But, in fact, it did not require the motive of ambi- tion for a long-sighted man to consider that the separation of the Board of Trade from the Secretary of State's depart- ment, and its clear recognition as a distinct and independent department, was absolutely necessary, if the failure and neg- lect of the last fifty years was to be avoided. It must at the same time be admitted that, if its consequences weire perceived, a clause (which was afterwards dropped) in the 24G.'JI., Bill of 1751 relating to paper money, which declared that ®" ^^' Royal Instructions to Governors should have the force of Statutes, was a very unwarrantable extension of the Preroga- tive : but on the whole it is abundantly clear that the English Statesmen of the time lived merely from hand to mouth, and that Bancroft has greatly overestimated the intelligence with which they went to work. Massa- J have spoken of peace and goodwill. Assuredly, these Cn 11 Sett S qualities are not conspicuous when we turn to the particular cases of the leading Colonies of Massachusetts and New York. General Shute became Governor of Massachusetts 1716- in 1 7 16, and from the first he was embroiled in fierce ^'^^'^- controversy with the Assembly, A few years later, matters had gone to such lengths that Shute proceeded to England, to lay formal complaint against the Assembly. His charge against the Colony contained seven counts. There was the question of disobedience to the provision in the Charter respecting masts for the Royal Navy. There was the question of the Speakership : the Assembly claiming to appoint, independent of any interference from the Governor. This point, at least, was settled by the issue in 1725 of an explanatory Charter enforcing the Governor's rights. A kind of shadowy reflection of the past lay in the proposed revival of church synods, which were forbidden on the ground that Episcopalians at home might not meet in convocation. The Governor further complained of the Assembly taking it upon themselves to adjourn to a distant day. More impor- tant, however, as directly interfering with the province of the Crown, was the conduct of the Assembly in dismantling forts, THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 147 suspending military officers, and appointing Committees to direct and muster Colonial forces. It is obvious that such claims, if made good, tended to reduce the Crown Governor to a mere figure-head. Whatever, however, the practice, it was impossible to make good such pretensions in the uncon- genial air of the Privy Council. A contemporary letter^ from a New England correspondent, of most cautious and conservative disposition, gives an interesting account of the arguments. His conclusion is — "I am really concerned 1724. when I think seriously of these things (having children who must, in all likelihood, spend their days there), that, through the ill-nature and stubbornness of a few men, the country will lose so many valuable privileges as no people else under the British Crown enjoy." He greatly under-estimated, however, the vis inertice, the unalterable caution of British officialism. There was the usual and now well-nigh stereo- typed grumbling, but, except with regard to the Speaker- ship, nothing effisctual was done. Shute was succeeded by Burnet, whose excitable nature appears literally to have 1727- worn itself out within two years in conflict with the '^^5* Assembly. In choosing a successor, the English Government made an honest attempt to bring about a more satisfactory state of things. Belcher, who received the appointment in 1740, had i73°- been reported, by loyalist gossip, a bitter opponent of the '^*°" Prerogative. Speaking of the rights of the Colony, he was stated ^ to have termed ''felo de se the worst kind of murder." In any case, his interests were all bound up with those of Massachusetts. However, in office, he behaved much as other Governors had behaved. Once more we hear the entreaty that naval stores may be encouraged, so as to pre- vent the emigration of colonists, and avert the setting up of Colonial manufactures. The House of Representatives was continually running wild.^ Their attempts at assuming the whole legislative as well as executive power were not to be endured with honour to His Majesty. Every day Belcher 1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections, first ser.. Vol. II. 2MSS. inR. O. ^ IHd. 148 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY was expecting that they would vote the Council a useless part of the legislature. Matters seemed hastening to a crisis. There was no pay for the officers and soldiers ; and in all probability they would desert their posts. All this and more, Belcher reported, and the Duke of Newcastle made no sign. In New Hampshire things were even worse. Inspired, according to Belcher, by Dunbar, the Lieutenant-Governor and Surveyor of the Woods, the Assembly refused to vote a penny for the public service. As time passes, however, Belcher reports a better spirit in the Massachusetts As- sembly. They passed Acts for the encouragement of hemp land pot-ash, and generally showed a more conciliatoiy' 1735.1 spirit. In the year 173S, a long-standing controversy was inclosed, by the complete victory of the Colony. Henceforth the Governor was empowered to accept an annual grant, and the attempt to obtain a permanent salary finally abandoned. Consider the figure of the average Colonial Governor^ as he shows himself in the actual colonial records, no longer posing as the Verres of the American school-book. His salary is strictly confined by the Assembly to a single year's grant, while his instructions from England forbid him to accept anything less than a regular fixed salary. So, each year he has to apply for leave to accept the money, and each year the solemn farce is gone through, of giving him leave for this once only. Meanwhile, he has the agreeable con- sciousness that, besides losing the interest of his money, he is being directly fined by the delay. The ;£^3C)00 currency (paper) money voted will not be worth more than about ^2550 currency, by the time he receives it. Often he will have advanced ;6"3000 or ;^4000 of his own money before touching his salary. In this state of things, a vacancy to some appointment occurs, and he thrusts into it his son or son-in-law. But the supreme jobbing authority is at work, and he finds his relative must hand over the place to some nominee of the Duke of Newcastle. Thus to suffer in one's lifetime, and to be damned by order to posterity, surely is a 1 The particular case I have in mind is that of Belcher, as drawn by his despatches in the R. O. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 149 hard fate. Of course, there were additional pickings to be got. But what is to be said of a system under which, with- out such pickings, no ordinary man of the world could have accepted a governorship ? Moreover, the few official appoint- ments rendered more difficult the position of the Governor. The seekers far outnumbered the posts, and every appoint- ment left behind it a scum of resentments and jealousies. If the Governor looked after the interests of his own kith and kin — and who in the eighteenth century did not .' — he was bound to make enemies, and such enemies ipight be dangerous. Thus, we find Shirley, who afterwards suc- ceeded Belcher, at first his friend, but, estranged through some question of this sort, henceforth his determined and formidable enemy. During this time a further cause of controversy had been Question at work. The expei-ience of modern times has again and c^y*'jg„<,y again justified Hutchinson's wise remark ^ that the influence that a bad currency has upon the morals of a people is greater than is generally imagined. On this subject it is not for Englishmen to throw stones. The difficulties of the Ameri- can Colonies with regard to the currency were largely due to the artificial action of English laws. The Mercantile theory, which attached a special value to the precious metals and which considered trade profitable only so far as it showed an excess in gold and silver, threw, of course, every obstacle in the way of the export of bullion to the Colonies. It must be remembered, moreover, that the export ^ of bullion frotti Eng- land was expressly forbidden before 1663. If the trade of the Colonies was to be monopolised by the Home Govern- ment, and if their share of returns was to be strictly limited to English manufactures, it was obvious that there must be a scarcity of coin. Of course, as a matter of fact, trade was not confined to the home country, and the precious metals found somehow an entry. Still there was a serious scarcity, and this scarcity was undoubtedly, in great measure, caused by the action of English legislation. It is difficult, however, I Hist, of Mass., Vol. II. ^ See Weeden's Social and Econ. Hist, of N. England, Vol. I. I50 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY exactly to estimate the real extent of this influence, because in the West Indies, where there was plenty of Spanish and English coin, a system of barter was found prevailing as late as 1672. Still, the difficulty of obtaining coin from England undoubtedly added to the financial difficulties of the Colonies. In these circumstances, they became the natural hunting- ground of that most mischievous of all heretics, the currency quack. Readers of Macaulay will remember the trenchant language with which he deals with the hapless originator of the scheme of a Land Bank, one Chamberlain. The circum- stances of New England were such, however, as to lend much greater plausibility to such a scheme. The earliest advocate in America of some kind of Land Bank was the younger Winthrop. He conceived of a currency ^ " which should have something of the credit and expansive power of paper money without its convertibility into specie. He would maintain the credit of his bills by some ingenious hypothecation of lands or commodities." We find forms of land banks in 1671, 1681, and 1686, but the first appearance of regular paper money dates from 1690. In 17 12 the Legal Tender Act was passed, making Bills of Credit good money, except when the Contract expressly stated otherwise. All the Colonies, with the exception of Virginia, appear to have suffered from the disease of a depreciated currency. It is true that in Virginia tobacco was no longer, as throughout the seventeenth century, the recognised money of the Colony, but the scattered character of the settlements and the absence of towns averted the dangers of paper money. In New England the actual depreciation of the redeemable paper currency began in 1712 or 1713. An Act of 1727 regulated the price of silver for debts previously contracted. Eight shillings per ounce being the par of exchange, the value was fixed for 1710-1711 at eight shillings. Its value was fixed higher for each year until it reached the value of seventeen shillings for 1724-7. In private inventories prices went up steadily. In 1719-20 silver was at ten shillings to eleven shillings per oz. and gold at ;^8 per oz. In 1745 the • Weeden, Social aiid Ecotiomic History of New England, Vol. I. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 151 respective prices were thirty-three to thirty-six shillings and £z^. A clergyman, writing in 1747, gave the advance in price of a long list of household supplies from his private accounts for a space of forty years. Quantities, which at the earlier date were worth _^i, los. 6d., were then worth the enormous sum of £\ 5, 2s. 6d. in paper money. How ineffectual had been the proclamation of Anne which purported to regulate the currency of the Colonies, appears, from a return given by Anderson 1 for 1740, of the value oi £\oo sterling in the different States. According to this return, while in New York and the Jerseys ;£^ioo sterling was worth £\6o currency, in Pennsylvania £170, and in Maryland ;£'2do ; in New Eng- land it was worth ;£'S2S, in South Carolina £?ioo, and in North Carolina ;^I400. Besides the proclamation of Anne, which had proved ineffectual, an English statute was enacted " for restraining several unwarrantable schemes and under- takings in His Majesty's plantations." The instructions to Governors, moreover, contained elaborate provisions as to regulating the amount of paper money to be allowed in cur- rency to the actual expenses of the year. But, in fact, the economic deluge was too serious to be dealt with by the Mother Partington mops of the Board of Trade, and a fertile cause of moral and economic disintegration continued busily at work. How demoralising the effects must have been of this depreciation of the currency it is impossible to say, but an impartial judgment \vould probably find in this, and in the smuggling which went on by the side of it, the most serious grounds for condemnation of British Colonial policy. Such, however, was not the light in which things presented them- selves to the English statesmen of the day. The Mercantile system was to them part of the natural order of the universe, and to lament its consequences would have seemed as idle as to cry for the moon. Where they are to be condemned is that they did not act up to their own lights. Thus in 1729 we find the Board of Trade again asserting ^ that " nothing can cure these evils but the repeal of their Charters and the ' Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, Vol. III. ^ MSS. in R. O. 152 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY providing some other way a salary for their Governor, which may render him independent of so stubborn and seditious a people." And yet no attempt was made to put these views into practice. It is not necessary to sympathise with the point of view, or to approve the epithets, to recognise how necessary it was in the interests of England that colonial officials should recognise that their interests were not all tied up with the approval or disapproval of the Colonial Assembly. Shirley, In 1 74 1 Shirley became Governor, and to the relief of the 1740- student a new spirit breathes in his letters. At first, there is the same note of lament. The mere mention ^ of a sus- pending clause attached to a money Bill is enough at once to take away the disposition of the Assembly for the public service, whatever the private views of members. The feeling of the people was so strong against voting a fixed salary that the representatives (" who by being annually elected are rendered entirely dependent upon the humour of their con- stituents ") would never consent to vote for such a measure.^ " If ever it is effected, without the intervention of Parliament, it seems to me it must be done not by dint of dispute . . . but at some unexpected juncture, when their settled affection for a Governor may give the representatives courage to venture upon a short settlement at first, out of personal regard for him, which may be followed by a settlement during the administration, from which precedent it might be difficult for the people to recede upon the appointment of a new Governor." More important questions soon, 1744. however, occupied Shirley's attention. To him belongs the credit of having first suggested the attack on Louisbourg, and 1745- of having arranged its carrying out in the following year. The manner in which the land and sea forces co-operated— a point in which the expeditions of the time were apt to fail — reflected the highest credit on all concerned, and the June, surrender of Louisbourg was one of the most important achievements of the war. Whatever the faults of the men of Massachusetts, it must be admitted that they always rose 1 MSS. in R. O. s m^. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 153 to great occasions. Ill to drive, under capable leadership they could be guided easily. Whereas one gathers that in New York political opposition was to a great extent factious, and based on selfish considerations, in Massachusetts politi- cal opposition was fierce, but was not incompatible with con- duct of large generosity. It must be admitted that Shirley showed himself no unworthy Governor of such a Colony. When he heard reports that the services of the colonial forces were being depreciated in London, he expressed^ himself stoutly on their behalf. On another matter, he showed independent judgment. A plan was on foot to banish the French inhabitants of Acadia. Shirley at once protested against such a proceeding. He showed that, if the Acadians had mistaken their position, and assumed a greater neutrality than the provisions of the Treaty ad- mitted, they had been misled by the promises of English officials, and that their position was one of extreme difficulty, placed, as they were, between two fires. Upon the whole the history of the part taken by Massa- chusetts in the war, which closed with the Peace of Aix-la- 1748. Chapelle, together with its happy epilogue, in the voting by the English Parliament of the contribution which was applied (at the wise advice of Hutchinson) to redeeming the depreciated paper currency, affords one of the most pleasing pages in the history of English and American relations. Even here, however, there was the fly in the amber, when the Colony found that, after all its exertions. Cape Breton was to be restored to France. Assuredly, whatever might be said on this matter, no blame attached to Shirley. Again and ^ain he had termed Louisbourg ^ " the key " of both the French and British Northern Colonies. "Which, by its vicinity to the British Colonies, gives the Crown of Great Britain a most absolute hold and command of them, if ever there should come a time when they should grow restive and shake off their dependency upon their Mother country ; the possibility of which, I must freely own, seems to me, from the observations I have been able to make upon the spot, at the ' MSS. in R. O. = Ihid. 154 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY distance of some centuries further off than I have heard it does to some gentlemen at home ! " In spite, however, of the restoration of Cape Breton, Hutchinson is probably right when he asserts^ that the people of Massachusetts were never in a more easy and happy situation than at the close of the war with France. Difficulties there were, doubtless, in the way. The system of town meetings made New Eng- land a genuinely democratic community, and democracy had not much in common with the England of the eighteenth century. A riot which occurred in 1747 about impressments was very nearly assuming dangerous proportions. The Eng- 6 Ann., lish Law Officers held that the Act of Anne against such "' ■*■ impressments in America had expired. Whatever, however, the strict legal position, it was most inexpedient to attempt the enforcement of impressment in a community which had done so much for the service of England as had Boston. The town militia at first refused to obey the call to arms, and, but for the coolness and promptitude of Shirley, it is possible that the matter might have had a different ending from the satisfactory one which he was able to report. New In New York the English Executive found itself confronted , "'• with the same difficulties. To this important mercantile community the Navigation Acts were especially distasteful. Thus we find Clinton reporting ^ that the faction opposed to him chiefly consisted of merchants who were interested in the breach of the Navigation Laws. They therefore " make officers sensible that the only way for them to prosper or to be rewarded is by a neglect in their duty, and that they must suffer by a performance of it. These attempts extend from a judge to a constable and from a Governor to a tide-waiter."^ Mr Weeden* has collected some striking instances in the^ neighbouring New England Colonies which well illustrate this text. Thus we find an obituary notice of a deceased Boston' Customs' collector, wherein it is said how "with real humanity' he took pleasure in directing masters of vessels how they ought to avoid the breach of the Acts of Trade." A yet- * Ifist. of Mass., 1749-1774. 2 JV. y. Docs., Vol. VI., Oct. 4, 1752. s Vol, II. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 155 more remarkable example is a letter from a Boston offi- cial, " deliberately warning a community of respectable law- breakers that they will suffer the legal penalty if they ship their goods by a particular captain." " They must not (afterl. such notice of my design) think hard of me, as what I may- do will be to punish said Ober and not them." In 1716,' because the King's officers hindered the people from a full freedom of illegal trade, the Boston mob took the wine and stove the casks in the open street, while the English Execu- tive looked helplessly on. The New York Assembly had become " a dead weight - against the other branches of the Legislature." We have seen how, under a compromise, a revenue had been from time to time voted by the New York Assembly for five years. But they soon repented of such moderation, and reverted to the plan of only making a grant for the year. The colonial Treasurer gave no account of the revenue to the Governor or the Council, but was the mere creature of the Assembly. The King had not one farthing of his revenue at his command for the support of Government. In a paper ^ drawn up by Governor Clinton, enumerating the encroachments of the Assembly since 1743, it is stated that they tacked on grants for extraordinary services (such as writing libels on the Government !) ; that they assumed th^ right to pass the muster roll of troops; to have charge of the gunpowder ; to erect forts ; and to decide how they were to be raised and by whom. The militia, he further asserted, refuseq to obey the Governor's orders unless confirmed by Act of Assembly. A young woman was unfortunately shot by a gun fired from a British man-of-war. The seaman was arrested by the Colonial officers and his discharge refused, although the offence, having occurred at sea, was clearly triable in the English Courts. Such a state of things obvi- ously required the exercise of the greatest wisdom and statesmanship. The evidence of Clinton is of course ex parte, and he does not seem to have himself shown any great discretion or tact. At the same time, the substance of his 1 N. Y. Docs., Vol. VI. 156 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY charges was in effect admitted by the Assembly, and it is only fair to recognise that he began with the most concilia- tory intentions. The opposition was probably to some extent fictitious and made to order. Thus we find C. J. Delancey, who, according to Clinton, had been the main conspirator against the Government, quite prepared, when the wheel of fortune made him acting Governor, to support the Preroga- tive which he had so stoutly resisted. The mention of this suggests one constant cause of weak- ness. Whatever may have been the reasons, one is struck by the great number of Colonial Governors who died ; many of them during the very beginning of their period of office. In such cases, and in the case of vacancies brought about by other causes, the Lieutenant-Governor acted as Governor. But the Lieutenant-Governor might be, as was Delancey, interested in the factions of the Colony, and, in any case, as a local man, he was less likely to resist the encroachments of the Assembly. Clinton rightly or wrongly ascribed his own difficulties in great measure to the conduct of Lieutenant- Governor Clarke, who acted as Governor from the death of Cosby in 1738 to the arrival of Clinton in 1743. Be this, however, as it may, and whosesoever the fault, the situation between Clinton and the Assembly had become critical. In vain, however, he appealed to the Home Authorities. " The spirit of faction," he wrote in 1749, " is kept up by not having any Orders on the subject-matter, of the present public dis- sensions." He had determined to make a stand, to resist the encroachments which had been made by the Assembly on the province of the Executive. He refused to pass Bills in the form which had become customary. When, however, no approval came from England, he lost heart and yielded. " For two years I have declined the passing of such laws, hoping His Majesty's directions on that head, but as no directions came I conceived that I could not justify any longer delay." Meanwhile the authorities at home were not sleeping. The delay, they explained, arose from the import- ance of the subject. At last the report of the Board of Trade was ready, and was made to the Privy Council. If ever there THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 157 was a case of nascetur ridiculus mus it was this. Not a word was said to assist the solution of the real problem at issue. The deus ex machind, who was to mend matters, was to be a new Governor ; while the pious hope was expressed that a perpetual revenue might be voted, as had been voted in j Jamaica. New Instructions ^ were issued to the various \ Governors in 1752, under which a digest of existing laws \ was ordered to be prepared, and no new laws were to be ; passed without a clause preventing their taking effect till the ', pleasure of the Crown could be known. This course was i intended to meet the practice of the New York Assembly, who were accustomed to make laws of a short duration, which might come into effect before the English authorities had had notice of them, and be then held up as " precedents for after laws of the like nature." No attempt, however, was made to settle what was the real crux of the matter, viz., the respective functions of the Executive and of the Legislature. Another modest alteration of the same date was a distinct improvement. Hitherto it had been the practice of Colonial , Governors to send reports both to the Board of Trade and to i the Secretary of State. It was decided that henceforth all March ordinary accounts of proceedings should be directed to the ^^^'^• Board of Trade. Some overlapping and confusion was thus doubtless avoided. It may be said that the caution of the English Government in interfering with the Colonial As- semblies lay in its respect for colonial liberties, and should therefore be approved. Unfortunately, however, its conduct hardly bears out this view. When, according- to a view which has at all times been popular, the New York people believed that economic ills could be cured by political remedies, and that a more frequent meeting of Assemblies would increase : population and revive trade, the English Government dis- 1738. allowed the Act enforcing triennial Assemblies. And yet, ; if ever there was a matter clearly of domestic interest, and '; on which a self-governing Colony should have been allowed to decide for itsefr, it was this. To strain at the gnat and swallow the camel, — such, during the first half of the eigh- » N. Y. Docs., Vol. VI., March 12. 158 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY teenth century, was the invariable course of British Colonial policy. To anyone who has closely followed the dealings of the English Governors with the Colonial Assemblies, and their practical impotence before the bodies clothed with the power of the purse, it is amusing to read Horace Walpole's remark, and the admiring comment of his editor, Lord Holland. Horace Walpole writes of the Duke of Newcastle: "The prerogative was strained unwarrantably over the Assemblies. 1753. Instructions to Sir Danvers Osborne, a new Governor of New York,^ seemed better calculated for the latitude of Mexico, and for a Spanish tribunal, than for a free, rich, British settlement, and in such opulence, and of such haughtiness, that suspicions had long been conceived of their meditating to throw off their dependence on their Mother country." His editor adds : " If this was written at the time, it is a very remarkable passage." But, in fact, the instructions to Sir Danvers Osborne,^ who was appointed Clinton's successor, were, in the main, the usual instructions to Governors, with the additional points mentioned above, and a clause enjoining him to obtain from the different Colonies the quotas to a common fund, prescribed in the time of William and Mary. As, however, there was no means of making this Order effectual, it remained a dead letter. Moreover, the instructions were drafted several years after the Duke of Newcastle had ceased to be Secretary for the Southern Department. Indeed, whatever were the causes of the loss of the American provinces, it was assuredly not due to the despotic action of their Governors. The Americans were already a remarkably wide-awake people, and were well content that the Home authorities should be amused with the shadow of authority, so long as they themselves were able to secure the substance of power. S. Caro- From South Carolina came the same tale of woe. The lina. interests of seven out of the eight proprietors had been ' d. in Aug. of same year. 2 See Representations of the Lords of Trade on these instructions, N. Y. Docs., Vol. VI. p. 788. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 159 brought up in 1727, but things did not run much more smoothly under the Government of the Crown. The pompous and didactic Glen, who bombarded the ducal Secretaries of State with long Latin quotations and views on international law, declared^ that "little by little the people have got the whole administration in their hands . . . Almost all the places of profit or trust are disposed of by \fiie Assembly. The Treasurer, the person that re- ceives and pays away all the public moneys, is named by them, and cannot be displaced but by them." The Assembly had the nomination to all livings, and, hardest cut of all, the Governor found himself in the unhappy position of not being prayed for in Church, while the Assembly was! The As- sembly claimed the right to settle what places should have representatives, and what the number of such representatives was to be. The members of the Council lived at a distance and seldom attended. Altogether, the elaborate Glen found himself wallowing in face Romuli. / The history of the proprietary governments only throws Pennsyl- light indirectly on British Colonial policy. Whatever were **"'*• the failures of the Royal and Chartered governments, they were as nothing compared to the failure of the proprietary government in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, both for him- self and for his Colony, the negotiations of Penn with the Crown, for the acquisition of his rights, never came to a satisfactory conclusion, and the disputes between the pro- prietors and the Colony went on, becoming worse year by year. Penn's successors were of inferior clay, although doubtless there were faults on both sides. As Franklin shrewdly remarked,^ " Proprietaries must have a multitude of private accounts and dealings with almost all the people of their provinces, either for purchase money or quit rents. Dealings often occasion differences, and differences produce mutual opinions of injustice. If proprietaries do not insist onfsmall rights, they must, on the whole, lose large sums ; and if they do insist on small rights, they seem to descend ; 1 MSS. in R. O. 2 Works, "Cool thoughts on the present situation," 1764. i6q BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY their dignity suffers in the opinion of the people, and, with it, the respect necessary to keep up the authority of Govern- ment." In this state of things, mobs and riots were of fre- quent occurrence. Government was weak, and truckled to the lawless. An outrageous custom had grown up of Gover- nors refusing their consent to Bills, unless they were ac- companied by presents to themselves. The proprietary's family, by virtue of a secret bond which they obtained from the Governor at his appointment, shared with him the sums so obtained. Thus the practice of purchasing laws became interwoven with the proprietary government. A certain improvement was effected by the decision that the proprietaryt estates should be taxed in due proportion for the defence of theX^olony, but any measure less than a complete resumption of the authority of the Crown was recognised to be a mere palliative, and, in spite of all its shortcomings, it speaks well for British government that so wise and cool an observer as Franklin did all he could to bring about that consummation. Georgia. The Colony of Georgia 1 was started in 1732. Its founda- tion is noteworthy, because it affords the first example of State-aided emigration as a remedy for distress at home. We have seen that in practice the Colonies had been freely used as dumping grounds for the undesirable and the worth- less, but Georgia was the first Colony systematically based on charitable lines. " Whereas," nms the preamble of the Charter, " many of our poor subjects are, through misfor- tunes and want of employment, reduced to great necessity, inasmuch as by their labour they are not able to provide a maintenance for themselves and families ; and if they had means to defray their charges of passage and other expenses incident to New Settlements, they would be glad to settle in any of our provinces in America." The failure of Georgia is no occasion for surprise. Experience has abundantly proved that assisted emigration can only be made successful by the use of the most careful sifting ; and the State is the * Some interesting Tracts relating to Georgia may be found in Force's ffist. Tracts in Vol. I. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY i6i body least likely to carry through such sifting with success. We are happily here not concerned with the details of the squalid controversy. The attempt to convert the unem- ployed into a kind of Roman Colony, who should both work and act as a frontier guard against the Indians, was fore- doomed to failure. The provisions in the Charter, excellent in themselves, against the introduction into the Colony of negroes and of rum, only served to increase the discontent. The fifty acres allotted to a family appeared insufficient, and the law which limited succession to land in tail male proved unpopular. In one respect the Georgia Charter — doubtless because of the material with which it had to deal — involved a new departure. In previous Charters some form of popular assembly had been contemplated from the first. But in that of Georgia the Trustees were given autocratic power for twenty-one years, after which time the government was to revert to the Crown, who would then decide as to its future constitution. The unlucky undertaking of Oglethorpe has for the most part fallen into oblivion, but it represents in a singularly naive and crude form a theory of Colonial policy which is not without its advocates to-day. With regard to Newfoundland, the policy pursued is best New- stated in the words of Knox (one of the Under Secretaries of fo^ndland. State) in 1793.^ " The Island of Newfoundland has been con- sidered in all former times as a great ship moored near the banks during the fishing season for the convenience of Eng- lish fishermen. The Governor was considered as the ship's Captain, and those, who were concerned in the fishery busi- ness, as his crew, and subject to naval discipline while there, and expected to return to England when the season was over. In 1728 the first regular naval Governor was appointed, but it was not till nearly the end of the century that an Act of Parliament was passed giving the Colony a legally ap- pointed Court and chief justide." It has been seen that under the Treaty of Utrecht, Nova Nova Scotia became an English possessfon. For many years, Scotia. however, little was done in the way of settlement. The ^ Evidence before Pari. Com. L 1 62 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY name of Port Royal was changed to Annapolis, and a small body of New England soldiers was stationed at that place. Considerable difficulty was experienced in dealing with the French inhabitants of the province. The alternative was offered them of either becoming English subjects, with the free enjoyment of their religion, or of leaving the country within one year. Negotiations for their removal to Cape Breton broke down, and they stayed on, while refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. The Government was vested in the Governor ; a Council being added a few years later. At length a great proportion of the French were induced to take the Oath. A kind of shadow of representative govern- ment was given them, by their being allowed to vote for deputies, who acted as Arbitrators in small matters of con- troversy between the inhabitants, an appeal l)nng to the Governor and Council. That the English rule was in no way tyrannical is shown by the fact that no rent or taxes were ever exacted from these people. Meanwhile, efforts were made, by liberal offers of land at easy terms, to introduce settlers from New England. The unsettled character of the country, however, and the probabilities of a renewal of war prevented the acceptance of such offert. In fact, so far as America was concerned, the Treaty of Utrecht gave no hope of permanent peace. The French, as has been said, were left in possession of Cape Breton, and made of Louisbourg a fortified stronghold. They encouraged the Indians to harass the English settlers, and, when war was again formally proclaimed, the difference to the English was not great. In the ensuing war the New England colonists won, as we have seen, great glory by the capture of Louisboui^. The plan for its reduction "had a lawyer for contriver, a merchant for general, and farmers, fishermen and mechanics for soldiers." ^ In the period which ensued after the Peace of Aix-la- Chapelle, more successful efforts were made to settle Nova Scotia. The Board of Trade and Plantations, under the presidency of Lord Halifax, put forth a scheme of coloniza- 1 Parkman, quoting a contemporaiy, Dr Douglas of Boston. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 163 tion whereby the officers and men of the army and navy should receive grants of land on favourable terms. Money was voted by Parliament, and about 4000 settlers, with their families, were thus obtained, by whom the town of Halifax was erected. Meanwhile, the French were at work in another way. Under the Treaty of Utrecht the term Acadia had been used, but no attenipt had been made to define its limits. Under that of Aix-la-Chapelle, Commissioners were appointed to settle the boundaries. It has been already seen ^ how at an earlier date the ignorance of English statesmen sought to establish a distinction between Acadia and Nova Scotia. An attempt was now made to hoist them with their own petard. The French now maintained that Acadia was only a portion of the peninsula, in complete defiance of their past claims and contentions. The English, on the other hand, asserted that Acadia included all the terri- tory bounded by the river St Lawrence on the north, by Pentagoet on the west, and by the Atlantic on the south and east. It would seem that the extreme claims of neither party could be made good, but the French were the more clearly in the wrong. However, another war was necessary, before the relations of France and England in the New World could be satisfactorily determined. We have already mentioned the discovery of La Salle Louisiana, of the mouths of the Mississippi. After the failure of his scheme, for some years nothing was done, but in 1697 and 1698 serious efforts were made to settle the country. Happily for England, Louis XIV. had not the wisdom to imitate the Stuart policy, and replied, to a proposal for a Huguenot Colony, that he had not expelled heretics from France in order that they should set up a republic in America. To Louis XIV., the important point in colonizing was to find mines. In 171 2 a grant was made of Louisiana to Crozat. At this time the total population of the Colony, including troops, government officials and clergy, consisted of 380. Nor did Louisiana thrive better under Crozat. In 1717 it was restored to the Crown, but was soon after 1 Supra, p. 84. 1 64 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY handed over to the new Mississippi Company. The bursting of the Mississippi bubble threw the unfortunate Colony again upon the hands of the Crown. Hitherto its prospects had not been bright. It was reckoned that the King, Crozat, and the Mississippi Company had spent between them eight million livres on Louisiana, and the return had been nil. At last, however, Louisiana began to be more or less firmly rooted, and French rulers were at liberty to begin working out their favourite scheme of connecting the two extremities of New France, by a chain of forts, which should give them the command of the west, and enclose the English within the Alleghany Mountains. Niagara held the passage from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. "Detroit closed the entrance to Lake Huron, and Michillimackinac guarded the point where Lake Huron is joined by Lakes Michigan and Superior."^ The various routes to the Mississippi were guarded by La Baye and other forts, and "even if, in spite of these obstructions, an enemy should reach the Mississippi by any of its northern affluents, the cannon of Fort Chartres would prevent him from descending it." Contrasted It must be obvious to whoever has followed with any po^''^"*^ attention the history of the English Colonies, how impossiblie and French it was for them to oppose to the French any such organised Colonies, system. The building of Oswego on Lake Ontario was indeed a highly creditable achievement on the part of Burnet: effected, as it was, in spite of the short-sighted opposition of the New York Assembly. It became the great centre of Indian trade, and was rightly much feared by the Canadian authorities. Upon the whole, however, the remark made^ on one occasion that while the English Colonies "were quarrelling for the bone, tlie French ran away with it," was generally true, and the rivalries, between Cdony and Colony, and Assembly and Governor, prevented all concerted action. Nor was it merely moral grounds which were at fault. The actual physical configuration . of the French Colonies was also much in their favour. In a very ' Parkman, Half Century of Conflict, Vol. II. p. 76. ^ Mitchell, Contest in America, quoted by Parkman. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 165 able paper ^ at the Record Office, Pownall pointed out that, whereas the St Lawrence and the Mississippi gave a compact unity to both the French Colonies, the English Colonies, on the other hand, were served by no one common watershed. In this state of things, all that Pownall could suggest was "a real and stable alliance with the Indians." But here, again, the French stood at an advantage. The Indians were warriors and hunters, and it was as hunters and warriors that the French appealed to them. Their Colonies were not farms nor settlements of farmers, but forts and settlements of soldiers. The particular trade in which the French were interested, the fur trade, was one which concerned the hunter rather than the ordinary merchant. The English, on the other hand, came to oust the Indian from his land, and thus aroused his hostility. Moreover, the charm of the French manner has always had its fascination for uncivilised people. In spite of all these advantages, there was still on the side of the English the weight of numbers. Their true policy, undoubtedly, was to open up the west and thus prevent a junction between Canada and Louisiana. The Five Nations, alarmed by the building of Detroit, had conveyed the whole country, from Lake Ontario northwards to Lake Superior, and westwards as far as Chicago, to King William III., but no steps were taken to make good the Eng- lish claim. At a later date, it was seriously intended by Lord Halifax and the Board of Trade, after the Peace of Aix-Ia- Chapelle, to open the Ohio country, but here, again, the English found themselves forestalled by the French. To judge from the past it is almost certain that but for the new spirit, which entered upon the scene with Pitt, France would have been, at least for the time, successful in the struggle with England for the dominion of America. The loss of fort after fort, the disaster of Braddock at the Monongahela, were due to deep- seated causes. The absence of a general plan of concerted action can be made good by no compeftsating adviahtages. In the long run, generalship prevails, and, but for the entering upon the scene of Pitt, it is more than doubtful 1 MSS. in R.O. Indies 1 66 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY whether the better generalship would have been on the side of the English. West In passing to the West Indies, we at once recognise that we are, so far as general Colonial policy is concerned, in comparatively quiet waters. The Englishman settled in the West Indies was, it is true, of the same stubborn stock which was giving such ti^ouble upon the Continent of America. But special causes were at work which prevented him from ever taking a genuinely independent line. In the first place the situation of the West Indies, as the natural cockpit of the European nations in the struggle for hegemony, rendered it idle for these islands to hope to be independent of one or other of the great powers. In the second place the great increase of negro population caused the English settlers to be less inclined to break away from the mother country. Alongside of economic influences promoting the importation of negroes, there was always latent in the minds of the white settlers the blind dread of a negro rising. Fear rather than deliberate cruelty prompted legislation of which the following is a sample^: "Whereas slaves are, for the brutishness of their nature^, no otherwise valued or es- teemed among us than as goods and chattels, therefore our prudent neighbours, as Barbados, &c., have thought fit to make laws to prevent the penalty and forfeiture in case of killing a negro, be it enacted that if any person . . . shall in the deserved correction ... of his slave . . . acci- dentally happen to kill such slave . . . that the aforesaid owner . . . shall not be liable ... to any penalty or for- feiture whatsoever . . . provided always that if any person . . . shall maliciously and wilfully kill or destroy . . . any slave . . . the aforesaid person . . . shall forfeit and pay . . . the full sum of ten pounds current money to be employed for and towards the support of the Government of these Islands and the contingent charges thereof." Nor do we find that the Home Government, which was so jealous where its own interests were concerned, had a word to say against legislation such as this. Conscious as we are of this * Quoted by T. Southey, Chronological History of West Indies. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 167 dark backgr<>und, it is a little difficult to take seriously the attempt of a small oligarchy to take on its lips the outraged name of constitutional liberty. Still the same questions, more or less, whidh agitated the American Colonies, found their feeble counterpart in the West Indies. Thus the question of a fixed annual revenue is found for years agitating the public mind of Jamaica, until it was finally settled in 1728 by the granting by the Colonial Assembly of a permanent revenue of ;g'8ooo, without regard to the quantity of produce, either raised or exported. The quit rents of the whole island, estimated at about fifteen hundred pounds, were to be considered as part of this ;^8ooo. In the same year we find the Barbados Assembly bitterly com- plaining to the Governor that if they had not been obstructed by long adjournments and prorogations they would have des- patched the public business. They complain of the ruinous condition of the forts and say that they cannot support the load of any new taxation, the annual excise excepted. They therefore pray that " the Governor will, out of the taxes paid for his use, apply a part thereof to repair the forts " : a petition not very likely of acceptance by an eighteenth century Governor. Another question, which we have seen bulked large in the American Colonies, also arose in Jamaica. In 1753 the Assembly, in a money Bill, thought fit to appoint another officer, instead of the Crown Receiver General, to receive and issue the money ; and in some other Bills they left out the clause suspending the execution of them till His Majesty's pleasure should be known. Upon this the Governor refused his consent to the Bills, whereupon the Assembly resolved that they had an undoubted right to raise and apply money for the service of the State, and to appoint whom they pleased to receive and issue it. They further claimed that all laws and ordinances made by the Assembly and assented to by the Governor, were immedi- ately in full force and effect, and continued to be so until they were disannulled by the Crown, The answer to these claims belongs to a somewhat later date, but it may be dealt with here. The House of Commons Committee naturally 1757- 1 68 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY found that the first claim of the Assembly of Jamaica was " illegal, repugnant to the terms of the Governor's cSammission, and derogatory of the rights of the Crown and people of Great Britain. That the other resolutions proceeded on a manifest misapprehension of the King's instructions to his Governor, requiring him not to give his assent to any Bill of an unusual or extraordinary nature or importance, wherein His Majesty's Prerogative or the property of his subjects might be prejudiced, or the trade or shipping of the kingdom any ways affected, unless there should be a clause inserted suspendii^ the execution of such Bill until His Majesty's pleasure should be known ; that such Instruction was just and necessary, and no alteration of the constitution of the Island, nor in any way derogatory to the rights of the sub- jects of Jamaica." When all was said and done, however, there was probably little real meaning at the back of all this constitutional boasting. We have seen that the real griev- ances of the American Colonies were economic and not political, and that the Mercantile system, not any straining of the Prerogative, was mainly responsible for the state of things which finally issued in separation. But, from the point of view of the Mercantile system, the West Indies were a virtuous community, whose staple products in no vfay competed with those of England, while the islands afforded a valuable market for English manufactures. The climate of the West Indies, moreover, forbade in most cases that Englishmen should make them their permanent home in the manner that the American Colonies were the homes of the settlers ; so that Very often the money made in the West Indies was spent in England. Moreover, the West Jndian merchants were a strong and well organised body, and could bring powerful pressure to bear upon the English Parliament. In this state of things, it is not strange to find that the interests of the West Indies were pre- ferred to those of the Americans, as in the case of the ill-fatied Sugar Act, to the attempted enforcement of which so much of the subsequent trouble is due. What, however, is surprising is to find those West Indies, who THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 169 had done so much to sow the wind, afterwards solemnly petitioning in favour of the Americans. These slave- holders, whose consciences could have told them what slavery really meant, were found "deploring and behold- ing with amazement a plan almost carried into execution for the reducing of the Colonies into the most abject state of slavery." CHAPTER VI Congress THE general agreement of American authors has attached of 1 754- great importance to the Congress of representatives from the different Colonies which met at Albany in 1754. Even so cool and cautious a writer as Mr Weeden remarks,^ " a larger organism of state, a better co-operation and autonomy, which should articulate into itself the town or parish meeting and the rude Colonial assembly, began to work in the minds of men. This sentiment found its first political expression in the assembly in 1754." But, in fact, this assembly was suggested and directed by the English Qovemment, and, although its conclusions were arrived at with tolerable unanimity, it was at the same time generally recognised that the mutual jealousies of the various Colonial Assemblies would prevent those conclusions from beiftg generally ac- cepted. The evil to be met was of course an old one. 1746. During the last war, Shirley had called serious attention to "the difficulty of uniting five or six different Governments «7S4- in acting for their common safety and interest." * In the very year of the Congress we find him writing that it would be impossible to obtain proper contributions from the different Colonies unless the English Government gave peremptory 1754. directions. De Lancey bore similar testimony.' " A general union becomes every day more necessary, the necessity more visible, for in the present disjointed way in which the Colonies act, and some will not act at all, nothing is done." At the same time De Lancey clearly recognised that such union could never take effect except by interposition of the British Parliament "to oblige the Colonies." Dinwiddle from Vir- ginia is found * advising an Act of Parliament to compel each Colony to raise a proportional quota for a general fund, ' Vol. II. p. 668. 2 MSS. in R. O. ' N. Y.. Docs., Vol. VI. * MSS. in R. O. 170 THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 171 by a poll tax of one shilling or by some other means. Nor were such opinions confined to Governors and persons in authority ; the colonists themselves clearly recognised the difficulty. Massachusetts was sore because the contributions of the other Colonies in men and money had been grossly insufficient, and the Assembly assured Shirley "Your Ex- i7S4- cellency must be sensible that an union of the several Governments for their mutual defence and for the annoyance of the enemy has long been desired by this province." The separate Colonies were slow to intervene on each other's behalf, though they might rise to the occasion of a general war. Especially the rich and populous state of Pennsylvania shirked its natural obligations, and the majority, who were non-Quakers, concealed their meanness by crouching behind the cloak of the Quaker's honest scruples. We find Franklin forwarding^ to a correspondent an emblem of a serpent which May 1754. has its parts — beginning with the head, Massachusetts, and ending with the tail, South Carolina — disjointed, while the motto is affixed, " Join or Die." A few years later, in the very middle of the war with France, the dispute between New York and Massachusetts, i7S7- concerning their boundaries,^ was carried to such indecent lengths as to have been the occasion of riot and bloodshed. To the Board of Trade at home,* the important points 1754. appeared to be that there should be established a systematic mode of raising levies from the different Colonies, in case of attack, that the necessary forts should be obtained under a general plan, and that there should be a Commander-in-chief for America. The last matter lay entirely with the Home 1753. Government, and General Braddock was appointed such Commander-in-chief. Bancroft sees in this a measure of tyranny, but, in fact, the all-important point being that a " common fund " should be provided, General Braddock's instructions* merely enjoined him " to give all the advice and assistance you can towards effectuating this." Upon another point it was possible to make some improvement. Little has ' MSS. in R. O. * M Y. Docs., Vol. VII. ' N. y. Docs., Vol. VI. * MSS. in R. O. 172 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY been said here of the colonial relations with the Indians. But it must be remembered that throughout all this period the American Colonies were in the position of the South African Colonies of to-day^ with large bodies of natives on their flanks, who were further rendered very dangerous by the continual influence of French intrigue. In this state of things Indian aflairs were, as far as possible, withdrawn from the Colonial authorities and put under the charge of special Commissioners. As time passes the Colonial records be- come increasingly occupied with accounts of parleyings with Indian chiefs.^ There was, as is always the case where European settlers come in contact with savage natives, the risk lest the Indians should be unfairly dealt with. Stringent instructions were forwarded to the Governors forbidding all private purchases of land from Indians, unless a proper licence had been previously obtained. Upon the whole. Sir William Johnson, who was for many years the English Commissioner, appears to have done his work very well, and it is noteworthy that in the War of Independence the sympathies of the Indians seemed to have been generaflly upon the side of the English Government. So far then as the appointment of a Commander-in-chief and the settlement of Indian affairs were concerned, England could take the initiative, but with the question of Colonial defence there was bound up a question of flnance, which opened out every kind of difficulty. It was in every way desirable that on this point the Colonies should evolve their own plan, and the recommendations * of the Congress of 1754 were an honest attempt to meet the difficulty. The scheme was due to the active brain of Franklin, and is in several respects noteworthy. It proposed that there should be a presiding General appointed; and maintained by the Crown, and a Grand Council chosen by the Assemblies of the different Colonies. The Colonies were to be represented upon the Council, according to the amount of their respective contributions. But, at the start, Massachusetts was to have seven members, Connecticut five, Rhode Island two, New 1 See in N. Y. Docs., passim. 2 W. Y. Docs., Vol. VI. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 173 York four, New Jersey three, Pennsylvania six, Maryland four, Virginia seven, North Carolina four, and South Carolina four. Elections were to be held triennially. The business to be entrusted to this body included the management of all matters relating to the Indians, and of all military affairs, such as the building of forts, raising of troops, etc. For these purposes power was given to make laws and to levy such general duties upon imports and taxes ^ "as to them shall appear most equal and just, considering the ability and other circumstances of the inhabitants, with the least inconveni- ence to the people, rather discouraging luxury than loading industry with unnecessary burdens." Laws made by the Congress were to be remitted to England, and, if not dis- approved within three years, were to remain in full force. It was decided that application should be made for an Act of the British Parliament to establish such a single general government in America. Afterwards Franklin asserted ^ that his plan was probably a just one, inasmuch as it was repudiated on the one hand by the Colonial Assemblies and on the other by the British Board of Trade ; on the opposite grounds that it showed too much or too little deference to the Prerogative of the Crown. But, in fact, whatever had been the attitude of the English authori- ties, the prospect of any such scheme proving acceptable to the Colonies was very slight. When we remember how diffi- cult it proved, even after common interests and fellowship in arms had strengthened the ties of union, to raise the general taxes, we may well recognise that at the time any such union was impossible. It was found that Massachusetts was the only Colony which had given its delegates definite power to agree to any plan. The result of the Congress was, according to Shirley,* to put on record the formal recognition by repre- sentative men from the different states, of the necessity for union, and to prove the impossibility of such union without a British Act of Parliament. He considered that it showed the necessity, not only of a parliamentar)? union, but also of taxa- tion by Parliament for the preservatiph of His Majesty's 1 MSS. in R. O. ^ In his AutQbiography,. ^ MSS. in R. Q. ' 174 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY dominions, "which the several assemblies have in so great April 14, a measure abandoned the defence of." And the Governors I75S- expressed to Braddock an unanimous opinion in favour of a common fund and a Parliamentary interference to bring it about. This recognition that it was hopeless to look to the American Colonies themselves for common measures on behalf of their common defence is of importance, as giving the key to what followed. For the time being, however, the failure of the Congress was acquiesced in, the actual out- break of hostilities giving English statesmen other things ^ to think of. The In America the actual outbreak of war had preceded its betvreen formal declaration in 1756. The occupation by the French England of the sources of the Ohio had led to the commencement of France ^he struggle for the West. As usual, in spite of the vigour of 1753- Dinwiddle, the French forestalled their adversaries. The destruction of an English fort and the erection of Fort Duquesne was met by the despatch of Washington to Fort 1754. Necessity. The necessary abandonment of this fort decided the wavering Indians to adopt the French side. In 1755, on the arrival of Braddock, operations were resumed on a greater 1755. scale, but the disaster at the river Monongahela, due mainly to the ignorance of the British regulars of the Indian methods of warfare, rendered the position of the English very critical. Banish- About this time there had occurred an event which showed ment of j^ ^ painful manner the strained nature of the situation. The Acadians. * French inhabitants of Acadia were forcibly removed ^ from their homes and distributed among the different Colonies. Doubtless there was much excuse for what was done. The war waged by the French against the English was an unfair war, wherein savages were employed, and which was attended with the horrors inevitably accompanying such employment The neutral French naturally s}mipathised with their country- men, and, in individual cases, sympathy found vent in deeds. To have sent them all to Canada would have been to I The best account of this matter is in Parkman's Manicalm and Wolfe, Vol. I. chap. viii. Bancroft is, of course, violently anti-English, and Dr Kingsford may be' accused by some as prejudiced in the other direction. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 175 strengthen the hands of the French. Nevertheless, when all has been said in palliation, we recognise that the dispersioil of these simple people was an act of violence, which was alto- gether alien to the general spirit of British Colonial policy. Moreover, if the dispersion was necessary, at least suitable arrangements might have been made beforehand. As it was, the Colonial Governments had not been notified,^ so that in some cases the exiles were refused admission. Braddock was succeeded as Commander-in-chief by the Results of arrogant and inefficient Lord Loudoun, but, with the entrance veare' upon the stage of Pitt ^ as Secretary of State, a change took War. place everywhere. In 1758, Lord Amherst being now Com- 1758- mander-in-chief. Fort Duquesne, the key of the West, yielded to the brave Forbes,' and Cape Breton was once more reduced, this time by British troops. I7S9 and 1760 witnessed the captures of Quebec and Montreal. To recognise the full effect of this brilliant record of triumph upon the imagination of the Americans, we must recall to memory the past history. During the long period since the outbreak of William III.'s first war with France, the supremacy of England upon the sea had been steadily advancing, and upon land there had been the victories of Marlborough. But it so happened that in America England's record had been far from a glorious one. The conquest of Port Royal in the first war, and of Louisbourg in the last, had been accomplished by New Eng- landers, and the main business of the Mother country appeared \ to be to lose by diplomacy what others had gained by arms. ' The abortive Canada expedition of 17 11 had been an object- lesson in the result of Government by Court favourites, and the Colonies had seen the lives of their kinsmen uselessly squandered in the fruitless West Indian Expeditions men- tioned above.* To a proud people nothing can have been more exasperating than this sense of failure, for which they ^ Much correspondence will be found on this in MSS. in R. O. * Pitt became Secretary of State in Dec. 1756 ; he resigned in April 1757, and was reappointed June 1757. ^ The name of Forbes, who ranks next to Wolfe in the story of the conquest of French America, is omitted in the Did. of Nat. Biography. * Supra, p. 144. 176 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY themselves were in no way responsible. But the Seven Years' War altered all this. We are not here concerned with the deeds which converted in the East a few factories into an Empire, but the results in America were no less glorious. Treaty of Under the Treaty of Paris, signed February lo, 1763, *"^ France renounced all claim to Canada, Nova Scotia and all the Islands of the St Lawrence. Along with Canada, she ceded the valley of the Ohio and all her territory on the east side of the Mississippi, with the exception of the City of New Orleans ; while Spain gave up Florida in return for the restoration of Cuba.^ In the West Indies England restored to France Martinique and Guadeloupe, but retained Grenada. Of the four islands which had been neutr^d, St Vincent, Tobago, and Dominica became British possessions; while St Lucia was given to France. Upon the wisdom of the Treaty of Paris different opinions may fairly be held. Upon the one hand, there seems little doubt but that jealousy and fear of Pitt were the motives prompting the English Ministry in the negotiations. More- over, the difficulties, which have constantly occurred with re- spect to the Newfoundland fisheries, seem to have justified Pitt in insisting on the abandonment of the French rights. The conduct of Spain in 1762 further showed the accuracy of Pitt's information, with respect to the existence of a secret treaty between that coimtry and France. On the other hand, however, those who have witnessed in our own times the mar- vellous recuperative powers of France, will agree with the Duke of Bedford* that "the endeavouring to drive France out of any naval power is fighting against Nature." The im- mense strain which had been put upon the resources of Eng- land and the rapid increase of the National Debt imperatively called for peace, and Pitt, who could win for his conntiy empires, was the least fitted of men to provide for their cost, w. Pitt. It is the tragedy of this particular period of English htst;orj'- how largely the misfortunes of England were mixed up with the failings of this great man. At a time \rfien ' On this see Frewen Lord's Lost PossessiotK of En^tmd. ' 2 Bedford Con:, Vol. III., July 1761. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 177 English party politics had reached their lowest level, when the great historic Whig party had become severed into dis- tinct squads of individual partisans of particular persons — the Duke of Bedford, Rockingham, or the Grenvilles — ^hang- ing together by nothing except personal ties, Pitt pursued the will-o'-the-wisp of a patriotism which should rise above party, and thus fell an easy victim to such Boeotian Machi- avels as Lord Bute and George III. Pitt's own sister said of him that he knew nothing accurately, except Spenser's Faerie Queene. The kindness and goodness of his real nature were enveloped in such a cloud of attitude and affectation that it was only at rare intervals that the real man could be seen. The bitterness with which Burke thought and wrote of him is lamentable enough, but it had its excuse in con- sequences of Pitt's failings, which were even more far- reaching than those which Burke was regarding. To the history of Colonial Policy, the retirement of Pitt General from the ministry in 1761 was an event little short of after calamitous. Whatever were his faults, they were not such as Treaty of to be recognised at a distance, and there is good ground for saying that in no war had the relations between England and her Colonies been so satisfactory, as in that which was closed by the Treaty of Paris. Massachusetts, as a rule the most inclined to find fault of all the Colonies, distinguished itself by its protestations of gratitude and loyalty. Without the assistance of England, the Colonial Represerrtatives asserted, they must have fallen a prey to the power of France, and, without the compensation granted to them by Parliament, the burden of the war would have been insupport- able. At the same time they fully recognised the satisfactory character of the terms of peace. In England there were not wanting at the time clever people, who maintained that it would have been good policy to restore Canada, and to obtain an equivalent for it in the West Indies. Such might have called in aid, had they known them, the prophetic words of Montcalm ^ written just before his death, " But in this I console myself that the loss of this Colony, this defeat, ^ Hist. MSS. Com. Dartmouth Corr. M 178 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY will one day be of more service to my country than a victory, and that the conqueror in aggrandising himself will find a tomb even in that." In 1757 Montcalm had already written that " England will be the. first victim of her Colonies," and in the following year he had added, " the several advices I daily receive assure me England will one day lose her Colonies. As to the English Colonies, one essential point should be known, it is that they are never taxed. They keep that to themselves, an enormous fault this, in the policy of the mother country. She should have taxed them from the foundation, I have certain advice that all the Colonies would take fire at being taxed now." Probably, however, the cunning of such a policy of suspicion would have in any case overreached itself. If the predominance of England over her Colonies could only be maintained by " a balance of power in America," what was to prevent France and the English Colonies coming to terms as against England ? In all probability the maintenance of the French power in Canada would not have preserved her Colonies to England while it would have made the remote outlook infinitely more gloomy. To have met the Colonies in such a spirit of petty cunning would have been an insult, which history would have known how to avenge. Be this, however, as it may, the good-will excited by the triumph over France afforded just the needed opportunity for England to set her house in order with regard to Colonial matters. It was, indeed, a pity that Pitt had left the Ministry. The pathetic story ,1 which describes the Great Commoner June, after the failure to form a Ministry in 1765, addressing Temple with the words: — " Exstinxti me teque, soror, populumque, patresque Sidonios, urbemque tuam," covers a deep meaning. But if, even after the mischief of the Stamp Act, the presence of Pitt in the Ministry might have brought back confidence to America, what might have been his influence before that fatal step had yet been taken ? 1 GrenviUe Corr., Vol. III. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 179 Even without Pitt, however, the opportunity was very favour- able. It was afterwards said by a shrewd cynic ^ that " Mr Grenville lost America because he read the American de- spatches, which his predecessors had never done." But he must have read history to little purpose who finds in it such excuse for procrastination and inaction. In truth, there was urgent need that the despatches from America should be read, learnt and inwardly digested, and the urgency for some change of policy was very pressing. For what was the state of things revealed in those despatches ? From the point of view of English statesmen, by far the most serious question was the continually asserted weakness of the Executive. In the last resort Government must either depend upon consent or coercion ; but England went on blindly pursuing a path, which made consent more and more impossible, while, at the same time, it neglected the necessary precautionary methods. In a modern society what are the forces upon which the established state of things depends? As a first line of defence, there are the police, judges, magistrates, soldiers, etc., all of whose interests are closely bound up with those of their emplpyers ; while behind you have ranked all those who have anything to lose. But, in the American Colonies, the power of the Executive, as we have again and again seen, tended more and more to fall into the hands of the Assembly, whose interests might very well be contrary to those of the Mother country ; while those who would be the natural ad- herents of the established Government, the owners of property, were seriously alienated by that Mercantile system which either sacrificed their interests to those of the English merchants, or else obliged them to resort to a new morality, wherein smuggling was no longer an offence. To one, then, who should have taken serious stock of the situation, the necessity for doing something must have been apparent Of course, it may be said that nothing could have availed. The destinies of the United States had to be accomplished, and certainly, in a sense, this is true. But the parting assuredly might have been delayed, and, when it happened, it might ' Lord Essex. Lord Albemarle's Life of Rockingham, Vol. I. i8o BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY have been unaccompanied by that bitterness which has cast a dark trail along subsequent history. It is a matter of no little difficulty to realise the real feel- ings of the Colonies at the time. The subject has been largely, of course, dealt with by Americans, who find it difficult to conceive of a time at which American patriotism had not come into existence. I have already quoted the words of the Swede, Kalm ; but Kalm wrote, to some extent, under the influence of prejudice. He grudged the loss to Sweden of Delaware. Nor, because a prophecy is fulfilled, does it follow that at the time the prophet was justified. In public and private affairs, the English race loves to grumble, and the foreign observer probably did not make sufficient allowance for the national failing. Probably the truest estimate of the situation is to be found in the language of Franklin ^ : " The seeds of liberty are universally found there, and nothing can eradicate them. And yet, there re- mains among the people so much respect, veneration and affection for Britain that, if cultivated prudently, they might be easily governed still for ages without force or even con- siderable expense." Even as late as 1775 John Adams, who from the first had merited the character of " decided," afterwards ® given him by Lord Howe, could write, " If public principles and motives and arguments were alone to deter- mine this dispute, it might be settled for ever in a few hours." ^ Note, too, the language in the same year of Jefferson, one of the most determined opponents of English rule : " I wish no false sense of honour, no ignorance of our real intentions, no vain hope that partial concessions of right will be accepted, may induce the Ministry to trifle with ac- commodation, till it shall be put out of our power ever toj accommodate ... to risk our accepting of foreign aid, which may not be obtainable but on a condition of everlastilig avulsion from Great Britain." * ' It must always be remembered that an American patriotism was a plant of slow growth. Indeed it never came to its 1 Works, Vol. VII. 2 In 1775. Works, Vol. III. p. 80. 2 Writing as ' Novanglus,' Works, Vol. III. * Hist. MSS. Com. Dartmouth Cor. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY i8i full bloom till its roots had been fed on kindred blood shed in the lifetime of men not yet old. It was not merely the burden of Governors and courtiers that the Colonies were, more distinct from each other than from England. " Differ- ent forms of Government," wrote Franklin,^ " different laws, different interests, and, in some of them, different religious persuasions and different manners. Their jealousy of each other is so great that, however necessary a union of the Colonies has long been for their common defence and security against their enemies, and how sensible soever each Colony has been of that necessity, yet they have never been able to effect such a union among themselves, nor even to agree in requesting the mother country to establish it for them. If they could not agree to unite against the French and Indians, who were perpetually harassing their settle^ ments, burning their villages, and murdering their people, can it reasonably be supposed that there is any danger of their uniting against their own nation . . . with which they have so many connections, and ties of blood intercourse and affections, and which it is well known they all love much more than they love one another ? " We may note * that even the wise Washington perhaps showed in the first years of his public life some slight traces of this narrow particularism. The pertinacity with which he opposed the route to Fort Duquesne, selected by Forbes, may have been in some measure due to the prejudices of a Virginian, opposing the rival interests of Pennsylvania. The deep-rooted love of England is attested in many ways. " To be an old England man," acknowledged Franklin,^ " was of itself a character of some respect, and gave a kind of rank among us." In the life of Otis it is remarked that in American business letters, the word " home " * was always used for England. Moreover, at this time the feeling of personal loyalty felt for the King was ' Canada Pamphlet. IVoris, Vol. IV. 2 See Dr KingSford's I^ist. of Can., Vol. IV., p. 197. 3 Ev. before H. of C. Com., Feb. 1766. Works, Vol. IV. * Tudor's Life of Otis. V 1 82 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY something very great. Franklin was a man of the world and a philosopher, but he shows in his letters as late as 1768 a kind of loyalty, which nowadays you would not often find. Mr Greene,^ who writes strongly from the American patriotic standpoint, has himself admitted that it was difficult for people who had wasted such loyalty on King George to take kindly to the rule of King Congress. In truth, the difficulties which beset the infant American Republic are all accounted for by the fact that the American Revolution had owed nothing to national aspirations. It seems to me that a recognition of this truth brings the deepest condemnation on the English politicians, who yet caused that Revolution to become inevitable. To whoever believes in progress, along the slow but sure lines of natural evolution, the breach between the two great branches of the English-speakmg race, which never seems thoroughly able to heal, must always appear one of the most calamitous events in the world's history. But it may be said what practical measures could have been taken in 1763 ? Unhappily the one measure needful could not, in the then state of English public opinion, have been taken. To treat the English across the seas as English men, with all the commercial rights of Englishmen, would have been a policy which would not have secured a single vote in the House of Commons. And yet, at the time of which we are treating, a course was suggested which might have met the difficulty. To Governor Pownall belongs the credit of having proposed in his very able book on Adminis- tration of the Colonies an Imperial zoUverein. The Navigation Acts regarded English America as mere Plantations, tracts of foreign country, employed in raising certain staple products. But these Plantations had, in fact, become important trading communities. In this state of things two courses were alone possible. Either to " narrow the bottom of our commercial interests to the model of our plantation laws, or we must enlarge the spirit of our commercial laws to that latitude to which our commercial empire does extend." In other words, ' Hist, view ofAmer, Rev. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 183 there must arise " a grand marine empire." The importance of Pownall's position lies in the fact that he clearly adopts and expounds the ; commercial doctrines of his day. The wisdom of a trading nation is to gain as many customers as possible. Those, however, gained in foreign trade, we possess under restrictions and difficulties, and we may lose them in the rivalship of commerce, while those, that a trading nation can create within itself, it deals with under its own regula- tions and makes its own, and cannot lose. The valuable consideration which Colonies give to the Mother country, in return for the grants, charters, privileges and protection which they receive, is the exclusive right to the external profits of their labour and to their custom. In dealing with the principle of the Navigation Acts, I suggested the ideal at which they might have aimed, and the Mercantile system found its genuine accomplishment. Pownall was, however, a voice crying in the wilderness, and the course of English policy went on unheeding. -J But if this, which was the main sore, could not be healed, it does not follow that minor measures, themselves useful, could not have been taken. The first necessary step was to form a just estimate of the situation. There was almost constant conflict between the Governors and the Assemblies, and the reasonable British course should have been to send out a strong Commission to i^eport upon the spot. We have seen how, at an earlier date, this course had been adopted, and had only failed through the unfortunate choice of Com- missioners, and yet, when the need was far more urgent, no such proposal was ever, so far as I am aware, made, except by the irresponsible Quaker, Dr Fothergill.^ It is true that at a later date, Onslow^ suggested that Grenville and himself should go out as Commissioners, but the proposal was made in joke, to lead to the point that the event would conduce' to the future quiet of both countries ; and English statesmen appear to have felt no doubts in deciding upon a case, which they had never diagnosed. ' Hist. MSS. Com., Dartmouth Corr. 2 Franklin's Works, Vol. VII., Letter of Dec. 19, 1767. 1 84 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY There were other measures, relating to the executive, which should have been possible. It has been seen how much ill-feeling arose about the position of the judges. Upon the one hand, the Assemblies refused to pay them a proper permanent salary, and kept them at their beck and call dangling for their money. Upon the other hand the Crown maintained that the status of the Colonial judges did not justify their appointments being made for life, and that they must still continue, in the position of English judges before the Revolution, " during the pleasure" of the Crown. Surely there was here room for compromise. If the distinct proposal had been made, that the judges should be placed in the position of English judges, if the Assemblies would secure to them a proper permanent salary, in all probability the matter might have been arranged. Take the yet more burning question of the Governor's salary. We have hitherto looked at it mainly through the doleful spectacles of the Governor's complaints, but assuredly there was another side to the shield. Unhappily, in the one colony where the salary of the Governor was a permanent charge on the colonial quit rents, the bad practice obtained ,of the Governor living at his ease in England, while the work was performed by deputy. How complete was the absence of a proper public opinion in this matter is shown by the following case. Nothing aroused greater indignation in the mind of Pitt than the dismissal in 1768 of Amherst from the Government of Virginia, but what were the facts ? He was informed that, it being necessary in the present state of affairs in America for Governors to reside in their province, he must choose between returning to Virginia or retiring. He treated the suggestion that he, who had been Commander-in-Chief in America, should return there as the Governor of a single province as an insult. He indignantly refused a pension, but it never occurred to him, or to his patriotic friends, that to be paid for work one does not perform involves all the faults of a pension, while it cannot be defended upon the separate grounds upon which pensions may be most expedient. In any case, the example of a man of high merit and unim- THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 185 peached honour, like Amhergt, serves to explain the jealousy of the Colonial Assemblies. But here again, what was to prevent some kind of compromise ? If the English had enforced, if necessary by Act of Parliament, the necessity of Governors residing in their provinces, and if their commis- sions had been for a term of five or six years, not to be renewed except on the express petition of the Colonial Assembly, in all probability the question of a salary might have been settled. Then again, undoubtedly, the Governors were right when they urged that, in the interests of the Crown, their position in the filling up of offices and posts should be strengthened. Surely there were enough jobs open for a Minister in England without the Colonies being further flooded with the scum of English corruption. Years before the Board of Trade had very wisely recom- mended^ that Colonial appointments should, as far as possible, be given as rewards to well-deserving colonials, but nothing effectual had been done in this direction, and the people were never encouraged to look up to the Royal Governor as the fountain of honour. While the English Government showed such little respect and trust in their officers, how could it expect them to obtain the respect and trust of the people ? In the state of things which had come about, it was of the utmost importance to secure the services of the most capable men possible for the post of Governor. And yet no sense of this seems to have dawned on English politicians. There was one other matter of extreme difficulty, in which something might have been attempted. No one who was not blinded by prejudice could doubt of the splendid fighting material shown by America during the late war with France. Whoever has observed the extreme attraction exercised over the minds of a militia by regular troops must admit that, if wise precautions had been taken, and all risk avoided of appearing to act against the constitutional rights of the Colonies, it might have been possible to attach to the service of the Crown a Colonial army, which might have rendered 1 1715. N. Y. £>oc.,Yol.y. i86 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the immediate course of history; very different. Any project to use an American army against American liberties would undoubtedly have failed, but had moderation ruled in politics, the presence of a loyal American army might have been a force, making for British interests, the importance of which could not be exaggerated. So far was the British Govern- ment from attempting this that by a most unwise regulation ^ I7S3. all commissions in the royal Army above the rank of Captain took precedence of all commissions in the Colonial I7S7- service. And when this rule was modified by the policy of Pitt, Colonial officers, however senior, were still counted inferior to all regular officers of the same rank. It was rules such as these that would have lost to England the ser- vices of Washington, but for the wisdom of Braddock and Forbes in offering him staff appointments. Moreover, the effect of such rules was greatly aggravated by the supercilious attitude generally assumed by the British officers. Most lamentable, from this point of view, was the death, at the ill- >7S8. fated attack on Ticonderoga, of the gifted and beloved Lord Howe, the Marcellus of British interests in America. When one contrasts his untimely end with the manner in which his brother was carefully preserved to be the Empire's executioner, one recognises that the stars in their courses were fighting against Great Britain. 1 MSS. in R. O. CHAPTER VII The moral of the American despatches being two-fold, the Policy oi weakness of the Executive and the need of a fixed American ^iUe/^"' revenue, Grenville completely disregarded the first, which was by far the more pressing of the two, and embarked with a light heart on the course, which was to end with the coming into being of a new great world State. Before, however, entering upon this melancholy chapter of English history, we may note some other suggested solutions of the American difficulty, William Knox, who had been in America and had acted as agent for Georgia, and who, after- wards became Under Secretary of State, was convinced that the evil arose largely from the want of balance in the American Constitution, afforded in England by the House of Lords. He desired therefore — and Governor Bernard seems to have shared the wish — the creation of an American aristocracy ; but in fact, aristocracies, like the college lawns admired by the American tourist, cannot be brought into sudden life. An aristocracy in name only is the weakest of social bulwarks, and any such attempt in America would have been almost certainly foredoomed to failure. A more dangerous sugges- tion must be noted. It was thought that the wings of the more unruly Colonies might be clipped by the setting up of a uniform government over the different Provinces. Any attempt to thrust, from outside, a hard and fast Constitution on all the Colonies, any scheme, which did not allow for their differences in history and character, would have aroused at least as much opposition, and been fraught with as serious consequences, as was the attempt directly to tax them. A more serious proposal deserves detailed notice. A variety of writers, from a variety of reasons, ranging from the strict Grenvillite Knox, to the liberal Pownall, and including the 187 1 88 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY master economist whose fame was to eclipse the ephemerioi of party politics, advocated the admission of American repre- sentatives to the House of Commons, as the only way out of the imbroglio. The position of Governor Bernard was pecu- liar.^ Deeply impressed with the weakness and impotence of the Colonial Government.recognizing that their springs were so relaxed that they " never can recover their tone again by any power of their own," and that " the weak patchwork govern- ment of the country had no power to defer separation one hour after the people had resolved on it," he therefore proposed that Colonial representatives should be admitted to the British Legislature for the purpose of considering and forming a new American Constitution, that then, being functi officio, they should permanently withdraw. The proposal is mainly note- worthy as throwing light on the character of Bernard. Adams honestly believed ^ that Bernard,^ Oliver, and Hutchinson were in solemn league against the liberties of America. In fact, rightly or wrongly, the English officials in America con- sidered themselves to be acting in strict self-defence. So far from wishing to interfere with other people's landmarks, they honestly believed that the ground was slipping from under their feet. Bernard seems to have been pompous, narrow and unsympathetic, but his letters show him to have been a man of strict legality. Be this as it may, the proposal had little in it of an encouraging character, but, if we consider the more general proposal, will the verdict be more favourable ? Inasmuch as, writing in 1766, Franklin said,* "the time has been when the Colonies would have esteemed it a great ad- vantage as well as honour to be permitted to send members to Parliament . . . the time is now come when they are in- different about it . . . though they might accept it if offered them, and the time will come when they will certainly refuse it " ; it is clear that, if such a scheme could ever have been carried into successful effect, it should have been after the ^ Select letters on Trade and Government of America. ^ Works, Vol. II., Diary, Nov. 1774. * Bernard was Governor from 1760 to 1769. He succeeded Pownall (1757-1760)- « Works, Vol. IV., Letter, Jan. 6, 1766. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 189 Treaty of Paris in 1763. Grenville himself had no objection to American representation, and his follower Knox was, as we have seen, its strenuous advocate. But would it really have made for peace and amity ? One thing is clear. The Americans were far too clever to assent, on the grounds silently held by most of its English advocates. If the main object was that the sheep should be sheared according to constitutional precedent, they would not have followed meekly into the pinfold. The real question was — was or was not England prepared to treat these Englishmen beyond the seas on the full footing of political and commercial equal- ity ? If she was, well and good, constitutional difficulties would soon find their remedy. But if she was not, to tanta- lise a high-spirited people with a semblance of power would have only served to aggravate the situation. It must be remembered also, that if intelligent interest in public affairs be a sign of civilisation, the Colonies, at least the New Eng- land provinces, had far outstripped the Mother country, and would have felt nothing but disgust for the state of things prevailing in England. Franklin had lived for some years in England, and had come into intimate relations with all that was best in English society, but hear Franklin on a general election.^ " In short, the whole venal nation is now at mar- ket, and will be sold for about two millions, and might be bought ... by the very devil himself." Had there been American representatives in Parliament, one of two things would have happened. Either they would have themselves fallen victims to corruption, which was the view^ held by John Adams, in which case they would have formed a kind of provincial cohort in the party of the King's friends, or else, and this is what I expect would have happened, they would have maintained their independence and stood aloof, in grim and sullen isolation, from the squalid intrigues of English political life. Consider the risk of a dozen American Wilkeses, who were themselves sincere Wilkites. In my humble judg- ment the whole proposal illustrates the fundamental fallacy 1 Works, Vol. VII., Letter, March 13, 1768. ^ Works, IV., Novanglus, p. 139. I90 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY of political theorising, namely, the idea that organic mischiefs can be remedied by mechanical appliances. The Governor Bernards of every generation have called aloud for the settling of Constitutions in black and white, but experience has shown that under the strain of popular excitement the strongest Constitutions snap like thread, while the weakest ties are amply sufficient to bind where goodwill and good humour are present. Whatever, however, be the rights on this subject, the ques- tion of Colonial representation never came within the sphere of practical politics. Instead, the campaign was opened which was to secure for England a revenue, and which lost her an Empire. However difficult it may be, in the face of subsequent events, the attempt must be made to look at the question from the point of view of George Grenville. His character has been once and for all drawn by Burke.^ "A masculine understanding, a stout and resolute heart, an application undissipated and unwearied," the full measure of his offending is perhaps found in Disraeli's memorable say- ing, ' Let us rise above Nisi Prius.' Bred to the law, he showed no knowledge of men. The aim of his policy was threefold ; ^ to improve and enforce the laws relating to trade with the Colonies, to establish a British Army for their pro- tection, and for this purpose to obtain a settled revenue. With regard to the first branch of this work, Grenville un- doubtedly looked upon himself as a Reformer. Much may be said for Free Trade. Something may be said for laws interfering with trade which can be enforced. But one is at a loss to imagine what may be said for laws which interfere with trade but which produce nothing. It is true that Burke declared that " it is the nature of all greatness not to be exact, and great trade will always be attended with considerable abuses. The contraband will always keep pace in some measure with the fair trade. It should stand as a funda- mental maxim that no vulgar precaution ought to be ^ Speech on American taxation, 1774. ^ See the masterly discussion of the subject in Lecky, Vol. IV., 1892 ed. chap. xi. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 191 employed in the cure of evils which are closely connected with the cause of our prosperity." But perhaps Burke's ingrained conservatism carried him away, as when he found that taxes returned as the rain clouds to water the earth. To Grenville, at least, a state of things did not seem satis- factory,^ under which it cost between ;^7000 and ;^8ooo a year to collect a revenue of from ;^iooo to ;£^2000. The principal cause of this lamentable state of things was said to be the absence in England of the customs officers, and they were promptly ordered back to their posts. An interesting light is thrown on the state of things prevailing by a letter * from Lord Holland in the Grenville correspondence. His niece had eloped with an actor O'Brien, and the couple were taking up their residence at New York. Lord Holland calmly proposes that O'Brien should be made Controller of the Customs in that city. Unfortunately Grenville was not content with a stricter enforcement of existing laws ; he also endeavoured to strengthen them. Undoubtedly it was the connection * between the assertion of abstract rights and their unexpected enforcement which especially alarmed the Colon- ists. Bernard declared * that " the publication of orders for - the strict execution of the Molasses Act has caused a greater ', alarm than the taking of Fort William Henry in i7S7."_J There was force in Knox's remark ^ made in 1769 that it is " this new invention of collecting taxes which makes them burdensome." Nevertheless, the policy of Grenville involved a distinct departure, though its consequences were not at first fully recognised. By an important measure the Sugar Act 4 G. Ui., of George H., which had been at first enacted for five years '^- '5- and had been renewed from time to time, was made perpetual. The amount of duties on various articles was modified and improved and the duty on molasses reduced to threepence per gallon. The preamble of the new Act contained the ominous statement that it "is just and necessary that a ' Grenville Papers, Vol. II. 2 Ibid. ' Knox, The Contrauersy betweifn Great Britain and her Colonies. * Select Letters on Trade and Government of America, " The Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies, 1769. 192 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY revenue be raised ... in America for . . . defending, pro- i tecting and securing the same," and " that the Commons of Great Britain ... desirous to make some provision towards raising the said revenue in America, have resolved to give and grant unto Your Majesty the several rates and duties hereinafter mentioned." This language did not pass without a protest The Massachusetts Agent ^ was instructed to remonstrate against these measures, and, if possible, to obtain a repeal of the Sugar Act, and prevent the imposition of any further duties or taxes on the Colonies. It was not, however, till the following year that the taxation of the American Colonists was directly enforced. In the March of 1764 Gren- ville had brought forward fifty-five resolutions with regard to America ; one of which stated that for further defraying the expense of protecting the Colonies it may be proper to charge certain stamp duties in the said Colonies. Further measures were put off for a year, in order that the Colonies might have the opportunity themselves to raise the required revenue; thereby rendering unnecessary the interference of Parliament That Grenville really desired a friendly settlement is attested' by good authority, and is not contradicted by the facts. The Colonies, however, were in no yielding mood. They simply considered* the proposal to amount to no more than this, that if the Colonies will not tax themselves as they may be directed, the Parliament will tax them. No compromise was 5 G. iii., therefore arrived at, and in 1765 the Stamp Act was passed, "^" '^' arousing in its passage little interest and less opposition. At the same time, it was sought to conciliate the Colonies 4 G. iii., by a further grant of bounties upon certain exports. In the •=■ ^^- preceding year a bounty had been granted upon the importa- tion of hemp or undressed flax from the British Plantations, 5 G. iii., and now further bounties were granted upon the importation c- 45- of wood from America. The eflfect of the Stamp Act has been doubtless exaggerated. Macaulay, with characteristic 1 Mauduit, A skortmew of the history of the City of Massachusetts Bay. 2 See account in Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies, p. 199 J and Annual Register, 1765. ^ Txy^ox's Life of Otis. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 193 hyperbole, declared that it found two millions of Americans as loyal as Kent and Sussex, and left them rebels. But, in truth, unless the soil had been got ready by the long prepara- tion of the Trade laws, the plant of dissatisfaction would not have so suddenly burst into full life. If the Stamp Act alone had been of such supreme importance, its repeal must have also been of more consequence than in fact it proved. About the expediency of an American revenue, if it could be obtained, there would appear little doubt. Its object, it must be remembered, was the maintenance or at least the partial maintenance of a small standing army in America. That such an army was desirable could hardly be doubted by those who had experienced the horrors of the Indian War, which broke out in 1763, and there was a general feeling throughout the Colonies that France would not for any long time acquiesce in the loss of Canada. There is a passage in Franklin, written in 1764, which is of great significance.^ — " It is very possible that the Crown may think it necessary to keep troops in America thenceforward, to maintain its conquests and defend its colonies, and that the Parliament may establish some revenue arising out of the American trade to be applied towards supporting those troops. It is possible too that we may, after a few years experience, be generally very well satisfied with that measure.'' Con- sidering the strain which had been put upon the resources of England, considering the dangerous increase of the National Debt, it was obviously fair that the Colonies, rapidly growing as they were in wealth and population, should pay their due proportion of Imperial charges. Nor was this at all denied by the Colonists themselves. The grievance lay in the manner in which payment was required. According to Franklin,^ the old system had worked perfectly satisfactorily. The Governor, acting on instructions from England, called on the Assemblies to vote the necessary supplies, and the demand was at once cheerfully satisfied. But, in fact, the real state of things had been very different. In the last war, 1 fforis. Vol. IV., Cool Thoughts, p. 89. 2 VFor&s, Vol. IV., Evidence before H. of C, 1766. N 194 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY it is true, the Colony of Massachusetts had especially dis- tinguished itself by the amount and value of its exertions. But Massachusetts could with reason boast that it had done more in proportion for the general service than had any other 1759. colony. "We are told that we are the leading province; we have been so for many years past, and we have been as long unequally burdened. We have borne it patiently, although we have seen our inhabitants leaving us and removing to other Governments to live more free from taxes, and a few years ago, for this reason alone, four of our prin- cipal towns refused any longer to submit to our jurisdic- tion, and another government found a pretence for receiving them, and they are not yet returned to us." ^ Splendid as had been the conduct of Massachusetts, its Assembly sdways required the most delicate handling. The provisions of the law, which enabled soldiers to leave the service after the expiration of the period for which they had enlisted, and rendered impossible the sending militia outside their own province, led to every kind of difficulty. But if this was so in New England, where there was an intelligent appre- ciation of the general situation, the case was far worse with respect to the Southern Colonies. Maryland and the two Carolinas practically did nothing ; more interested in their petty local squabbles than in the question whether there was to continue an English America. The Gover- nor of haughty Virginia had to confess * " our people want a martial spirit," while bitterly complaining that " the pro- prietary governments have been a great obstruction to con- ducting the expedition with spirit." The Pennsylvania Legis- lature would only grant a militia, when the Lieutenant- Governor had yielded the point as to taxing the proprietor's land, even although their delay excited the keen resentment of the inhabitants of Philadelphia and of the districts affected by the Indian attacks.* ""Hearing so much concerning privilege and right, we are in the meantime deprived of that most essential right and great first privilege of de- ' MSS. in R.O. 2 Dinwiddie, Dec. 1755. MSS. in R.O. ' MSS. in R.O., 1756. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 195 fending our lives and protecting our families." After the most cursory perusal of the contemporary records, he would be rash who should agree with Franklin, that the existing state of things was perfectly satisfactory. It was, in every case, far more easy to obtain grants to assist the Mother country than to defend the interests of another colony, and we have already seen how deeply Franklin himself had been possessed with the necessity for some controlling authority over the different Assemblies. The crux of the whole matter was recognized by Grenville when he asked the Colonial agents if they could " agree on the proportion that each Colony should raise." Of course, they were unable, and hence the excuse for the intervention of Parliament. Neither can it be admitted that no prac- tical evil had resulted from the old system. There is good reason to believe that the disasters which ushered in the late war might have been ^ avoided had the Virginian Assembly been willing to vote men and money at the beginning, and there were continual difficulties from the independent and mutinous character of several of the Colonial militias. In truth, the Colonial governors were not so many theoretic constitution-mongers but practical men of business when they unanimously reported to Braddock the necessity of a central fund. " Such a fund 1755. can never be established in the Colonies without the aid of Parliament. Having found it impracticable to obtain, in their respective governments, the proportion expected by His Majesty towards the expenses of his service in North America, they are unanimously of opinion that it should be proposed to His Majesty's ministers to find out some method of compelling them to do it and of assessing the several governments according to their respective abili- ties."* A more detailed plan had been drafted by Shirley in the following year.* "The only effectual way . . . will 1756- be by an Act of Parliament in which I have great reason to think the people will readily acquiesce. . . . That the 1 MSS. in R.O., 1757. " W- Y- Docs., Vol. VII. ' See Controversy bet. Gt. B., &'c. 196 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY proper method of doing it by Parliament will be to assess each colony in a certain sum proportioned to its abilities. That, for the general satisfaction of the people in each colony, it would be advisable to leave it to their choice to raise the sum assessed upon them, according to their own dis- cretion, whether by a stamp duty, excise upon rum, or any other tax." Who it was that first suggested the imposition of a stamp duty I do not know. The earliest suggestion of it which I have found is in a paper in the Record Office, dated 1726, stated to be by Keith. The same proposal was put forward by him at a later date, when it is said to have elicited from Walpole the famous 1739. answer,^ — " I will leave that to some of my successors who may have more courage than I have." A Bill,^ drafted by one MacCuUoh, in a trembling handwriting, entitled "Proposals with regard to a Stamp Duty in America," had been submitted to Lord Halifax in 1755. H. Walpole fathers the Stamp Act on Jenkinson, but Pitt stated that proposals of a like nature were made to him when he was Secretary of State. In truth, however, no great originality was required to suggest taxes, the difficulty lay in enforcing them. The plausibility of the case for American taxation having, it is hoped, been established, there remains the question of its legality, and here the position of its opponents under- went great changes. At first the opposition view was that put forward, in most emphatic language, by Pitt and Camden. Pitt, who had been ill at the time of the enactment of the Stamp Act, poured forth the volume of his eloquence upon the question of its repeal.* " It is my opinion that this kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. At the same time I assert the authority of this kingdom over the colonies to be sovereign and supreme, in every circum- stance of government and legislation whatsoever. . . Taxa- tion is no part of the governing or legislative power. The 1 See Coxe's Life of Sir R. WcUpoU. The authority is Lord Hardwicke. See also Annual Register, 1765. 2 Gn,^iig Papers, Vol. II. ' Chatham Correspondence, Vol. II. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 197 taxes are the voluntary gift and grant of the Commons. . . . We may bind their trade, confine their manufactures and exercise every power whatsoever, except that of taking their money out of their pockets without their consent." Camden, out-Heroding Herod, went still further. Taxation and repre- sentation were morally inseparable.^ " This position is founded on the laws of nature, nay more, it is itself an eternal law of nature. For whatever is a man's own is absolutely his own. No man has a right to take it from him without his consent, either expressed by himself or by his re- presentative. Whoever attempts to do it attempts an injury. Whoever does it commits a robbery." The strength of the position rested on the principle of no taxation without repre- sentation. But, in fact, when once the bubble of " virtual " representation was pricked, in what sense could the great majority of the tax-payers of 1765 be said to be represented ? Even in our own times, in the case of the numerous and important body of unmarried females possessed of property, this form of injury and robbery goes cheerfully on. It was for no such vague and difficult doctrine that Hampden died and the Civil War was fought, but to maintain the very differ- ent principle that the Commons are the only channel by which the Crown can approach the people in asking aids. Doubt- less, apart from dry legality, the Colonies stood in a different position from unrepresented classes in England, and any attempt to tax them, except under such ^ restrictions as those suggested by Knox, was morally unjustifiable, but we are here dealing with legal and not with moral rights. It will have been noticed that Pitt's and Camden's contention lai^ely depended upon the distinction between external and internal taxation. No one put higher than Pitt the absolute right of England to regulate all matters of trade, but it was soon recognised that, from the Colonial point of view, the important distinction was, not between internal and external taxation, but between taxation for revenue and taxation for trade purposes. The amended doctrine, therefore, became, that duties were legal, if enacted for merely trade purposes, 1 Par. Hist., Vol. XVI. 2 Extra-official State Papers. 198 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY but illegal if they intended a revenue. But consider the practical difficulties to whic^ such a contention leads. Lawyers have doubted how far the preamble may be con- sidered in interpreting the clauses of a Statute, but here it may depend upon the terms of the preamble to decide whether or not a Statute should be obeyed. The intention of the original Sugar Act had been prohibitive, to give a bounty to the English West Indies by shutting out the French sugars. The new Act lowered the duty from six- pence to threepence, no longer hoping to exclude French sugar, but intending a revenue. The first Act had been per- fectly legal, as regulating trade ; so that the absurd position is reached that an Act reducing duties by one half might be ultra vires of the English Parliament, and therefore inopera- tive. As the controversy thickened, and able minds applied themselves to the matter, there seemed more and more to be said for Franklin's position.^ " The more I have thought and read on the subject the more I find myself confirmed in opinion that no middle doctrine can be well maintained, I mean not clearly with intelligible arguments. Something might be said for either of the extremes, that Parliament has a power to make all laws for us, or that it has a power to make no laws for us . . . supposing this doctrine established, the Colonies would be then so many separate states only subject to the same king, as England and Scotland were before the Union." Dickinson had^ maintained that "we are as much dependent upon Great Britain as one per- fectly free people can be on another." But Franklin very pertinently remarks that he can give this no meaning. " I know not what the Boston people mean by the subordination they acknowledge in their assembly to Parliament, while they deny its powers to make law for them, nor what bounds the farmer sets to the powers he acknowledges in Parliament to regulate the trade of the Colonies ; it being difficult to draw a line between duties for regulation of trade and those for revenue, and if the Parliament is to be the judge it seems that establishing such principles of distinction will amount to ^ Works, Vol. VII. Letter, March 10, 1768. 2 Partner's Utters. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 199 very little." To a similar effect wrote John Adams,^ " Our provincial legislatures are the only supreme authorities in our Colonies. Parliament, notwithstanding this, may be allowed an authority supreme and sovereign over the ocean, which may be limited by the banks of the ocean or the bounds of our charters ; our charters give us no authority over the high seas. Here is a line fairly drawn, between the rights of Britain and the rights of the Colonies, namely, the banks of the ocean or low water mark, the line of division between Common law and Civil or Maritime law." Now, these are express and clear claims with which it is far easier to deal than with the declamation of orators. The answer to the claim must be found in history, and in the history along which we have endeavoured to travel. We have seen that the pretensions of the New Englanders and Virginians of the middle of the seventeenth century were, in fact, the pretensions of their descendants. The language of Franklin and Adams would have seemed very familiar to the men who held that their allegiance did not bind them to the laws of England any longer than while they lived in England, " for the laws of the Parliament of England reach no further." But at the same time, we have seen that this claim was never for an instant allowed ; that on this point Kings, Parliaments and Protector were agreed ; that however natural it was that Crown lawyers, jealous for the Prerogative, should not have gone out of their way to assert the rights of Parliament, even in those days Colonial matters had not been able to be kept entirely out of the range of the interference of Parliament. We have seen how Penn's Charter, which was granted after the beginning of the new system, had contained express words recognising the independent power of Parliament to tax the Pennsylvanian colonists. Between the times of Win- throp and of Adams there lay the new Charter of William and Mary, which had materially altered the position of Massachusetts. If the sole connection of the Colonies with England lay through the Crown, inasmuch as the title of the Brunswick family to the throne of England rested entirely '■ Works, Vol. IV., Novanglus. 200 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY on the force of a British statute, how anomalous must have been that title in Colonies in no ways bound by British statutes. In the case of Scotland before the Union, the difficulty had been met by express enactment, but where were the American statutes regulating the succession to the throne? In order to take away the paramount claim of Parliament, express enactment was necessary; but such enactment was nowhere to be found. There was no evidence of an original contract between England and the Colonies, such as Franklin and Adams pretended. More- over, if such had really been the legal position, how strange that in the period between the earliest and the latest times it had become so entirely forgotten. As late as 1758 the Massachusetts .Assembly, in defending themselves against the charge of ignoring British statutes, said " The authority of all Acts of Parliament which concern the Colonies and extend to them are ever acknowledged in all Courts of Law, and made the rule of all judicial proceedings. There is not a member of the general court, and we know no inhabitant within the bounds of this Government that ever questioned this . . . authority." ^ Surely, with these words before them, English ministers might well have said habemus confitentem reum. The position of the Colonies was not without difficulties and anomalies ; but upon the whole the legality of Grenville's proceedings appears tolerably certain. But when the admis- sion has once been made that it was highly desirable to obtain an American revenue, and more than doubtful if it could be obtained except by the intervention of Parliament, there remains the question how far it was wise to persist when once the feeling in America had become clear. When all was said and done, the words of Dummer continued fully to the point: "It's true the Legislative Power is absolute and unaccountable, and Kings, Lords and Commons may do what they please ; but the question here is not about power, but about right, and shall not the supreme legislature of all the nation do right? One may say that what the Parliament 1 MSS. in R. O. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 201 can't do justly they can't do at all, in maximis minima est licentia." ^ We have seen that it was said that America was lost through reading the American despatches j but had Grenville read a despatch from Clinton,^ written in 1744, it might have given him pause. Clarke, the Lieutenant Governor, had shown to Clinton some proposals for estab- lishing by Act of Parliament a duty upon stamp paper and parchment in all the British Colonies. Clinton re- marks, "The people of North America are quite strangers to any duty but such as they raise themselves, and was such a scheme to take place without their knowledge it might prove of dangerous consequence to His Majesty's interests." Inconvenient as might be the system under which the English Government had to deal with many separate Colonies, it was at any rate preferable to one which should at last unite them under the bond of a common grievance. To have proposed the Stamp Act may or may not have been a blunder; to persist in it when the feeling in America was once apparent, was, without doubt, politically a crime. In fact, the very step meant to be conciliatory, the giving a year's notice to the Colonies, greatly aggravated the situa- tion by allowing them the time and opportunity to organise a combined opposition. To anyone who had eyes to read the signs of the times, the Continental Congress of 1765 was the handwriting on the wall, admonishing England to set its house in order. The success of the non-importation agree- ment revealed a power of acting together which no one hitherto could have believed possible to the different Colonies. Unhappily, Grenville, though possessed of many great gifts, the courage which could welcome the hisses of the mob, the independence which could invade with long lectures the royal closet, was wholly without that intuitive sense of the trend of events, which is, in the last resort, the touchstone of statesmanship. Had he continued in office the struggle with America must in all probability have come about ten years before its actual outbreak. As it was, the unimportance attached to colonial matters afforded a 1 Defence of N. England Charters. " N. Y. Docs., Vol. VI. 202 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY welcome breathing space. Had the issue deciding a change of Ministry been the Stamp Act, George III. and his friends would have naturally been on the side of Grenville. The dishonouring and clumsy manner, however, in which the Ministry dealt with the King on the question of the Regency, finally disgusted George III., and in the inability of Pitt to form a Government, there was no course open to the King, except to appeal to that section of the Whig party which was most inclined to favour the American Colonies. That the Rockingham Ministry was weak both in experience and following is doubtless true, but their manner of dealing with the difficulty was, on the whole, wise. After some 6 G. III., hesitation, they repealed the Stamp Act, while at the same ^q\ii' time they carried through a declaratory act maintaining the c. 12.' rights of England to tax the Colonies. The latter Act was in any case inevitable owing to the exigencies of English politics, but there is every reason to believe that, "it caused no allay of the joy, and was considered a mere naked form." ^ The real seriousness of the situation lay elsewhere. However righteous, and indeed inevitable,' may have been the repeal of the Stamp Act, the manner in which it had been effected offered a very dangerous pre- cedent. It had been once for all established that England, great at menace, would yield if seriously resisted, and doubt- less the experience of this time had a great influence upon future events. I have already endeavoured to lay stress upon the extreme weakness of the Executive in the Colonies, and the state of mob rule in 1765 ought surely to have brought this home to the consciousness of English states- men. According to Colden,^ the opposition in New York had at first been largely fostered by the wealthy merchants and lawyers, who had obtained extravagjmt grants of land, and were apprehensive of a tax upon land while unimproved. He soon, however, recognised that it was a question " whether the men, who excited this seditious spirit, have it in their power to suppress it." He gives a vivid description how the mob burnt his carriage, while the " gentlemen " of New ' Hutchinson, ffist. of Mass., 1749-74. " ^- Y. Docs., Vol. VII. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 203 York and the garrison looked complacently on. The burn- ing of Hutchinson's house at Boston, containing valuable papers, is well known, nor were the efforts of English states- men, to obtain compensation for the sufferers in the riots, attended at the first with much success. It is melancholy to read the letters, both public and private, wherein the colonists were implored to show proper gratitude to their Whig benefactors. Only thus, it was asserted, could English public opinion be satisfied. But in truth what cause had the Colonists to feel gratitude ? Whatever may have been the motives prompting Rockingham and Conway, it is clear that it was no goodwill towards the Colonies, but fear^ of the English merchants trading with America, and of the English manufacturers affected by the non-importation agree- ment, which influenced the great majority of the House of Commons. In this state of things, the one course advisable would have been, while repealing the Stamp Act, to con- ciliate the propertied classes by a radical reform of the Trade Laws, and to have made use of the occasion to strengthen the hands of the Executive. Undoubtedly by many in the Colonies, the lesson of mob rule had been taken seriously to heart. A little wisdom might have enlisted openly on the side of England many who remained for years half- hearted till a final decision was forced upon them. Shel- burne and Conway seemed to have had a dim recognition of the truth. We find the former writing,^ "it would be well for the country to be back where it was a year c^o. I even despair of repeal effecting that, if it is not accom- panied with some circumstances of a firm conduct and some system immediately following such a concession." In the letter, which announced the repeal of the Stamp Act and the enactment of the Declaratory Act, Conway* added that a revision of the late American Trade Laws would be the immediate object of Parliament, Some small salutary changes were indeed effected, but not such as to ' See H. Walpole's Memoirs of the reign of Geo. III., Vol. 11. ; and Lord North in Cavendish Debates, Vol. I. ^ Chatham Corr., Vol. II. 3 N. Y. Docs., Vol. VII. 204 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY strike the imagination of the American people.^ The duty on 6 G. III., molasses was lowered to one penny a gallon, and promptly *^' 5^- produced a satisfactory revenue. The duties imposed on coffee and pimento from the British Plantations and on foreign cambrics and lawns imported into America were, Sec. 30. at the same time, lowered. As a set-off, however, under the same Statute, the non-enumerated articles of export were confined to the same lines as were the enumerated. 6G. III., Under other statutes free ports were instituted in the West ^^c. 47 Indies, and additional duties laid on foreign brandies.- ' It would appear that the fault did not lie with the Rockingham Ministi;. Burke states that Lord Rockingham "scarcely b^;an to open the ground" when " a violent outcry was raised against any alteration." c. CHAPTER VIII Unhappily, whatever the upright Conway might will, The power lay elsewhere — with the King and his Parliamentary ^cha? m3^midons. The Rockingham administration was an acci- ham and dent, due to the royal disgust at Grenville. As soon as ^[^^^ another Ministry could be got together, Rockingham was North. contemptuously dismissed. It is one of the most melancholy facts of English history that the Ministry, which did more by their incapacity and blindness" to ruin England than any Ministry before or since, should have entered office under the mighty wing of Pitt. Grenville was doubtless mistaken ; but at least he knew his own mind, and the Stamp Act wears a dignified aspect compared to the patch-work of shilly-shally legislation which finally lost America. It must be remem- bered, however, that at- first the new Ministry appeared as one favourable to the American colonists. Its chief opponent was Grenville, their implacable enemy. In America the fame of Pitt smelt as sweet under the name of Chatham. Conway contihued in the Government, though the American depart- ment was undertaken by Shelburne. As late as the beginning of 1768 we find Franklin saying that there had been a talk of getting him appointed Under Secretary to Lord Hills- borough.^ But just' in proportion as their intentions were good, was the result insidious. When all is said and done, the most, malignant policy is less mischievous probably in its results than a policy of drift. But it was a policy of drift, tempered by royal obstinacy, which ended in the Declaration of Independence. The fountain and origin of all the evil that followed lay in the extraordinary attitude of Chatham. It is impossible, I think, to account for his conduct on any hypothesis, except that he was for the time practically insane, I m>ris, yol. VII. Letter, Ju. 9, 1768. 205 2o6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Some remedy, which drove the gout into his system, may well have affected his nerves, so as to make him hardly re- sponsible for his actions. We have already noted his fatal affectation of superiority to the party system. His plan of forming a Ministry has been inimitably described by Burke : " Here a bit of black stone and there a bit of white, patriots and courtiers, king's friends and republicans, Whigs and Tories, treacherous friends and open enemies." With this kind of administration it was obvious that the only bond of union could be the presence of a master mind, and yet this was the moment chosen by Chatham to fly from his colleagues to neglect all business, and, in effect, to insult his King. The consequences could easily be foreseen, and the wretched spectacle was witnessed of Pitt remaining a sleeping partner in a firm which openly avowed that taxation of America, the opposition to which his own eloquence had so greatly inflamed. In January 1767 Charles Townsend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, one of those dangerous prodigies who conceal by their inexhaustible readiness and brilliancy their total absence of all depth and consistency of thought, surprised the House of Commons and his colleagues by jauntily describing the distinction between external and internal taxation as ridiculous, and by pledging himself to find a revenue in America. It is clear that now, if ever, was the time for the friends of America in the Government to act, and, by insisting on either themselves resigning or on Townsend recanting, they might have forced the hands of the King, and modified subsequent history. The news, however, from America was serious, and served to 6G. III., complicate the situation. TheQuarteringAct.asatfirstdrafted, c- 18. jj^(j empowered officers to quarter their soldiers in private houses. This provision was omitted to gratify the colonists, but a clause was substituted, enacting that empty houses, barns, &c. should be hired for the troops in the Colonies, and that the Colonies should pay these expenses and furnish firing, &c. This, of course, presumed that the Colonial Assemblies would pass laws to raise the money. The Pennsylvania Assembly complied, but New York obstinately refused. In THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 207 this state of things, even Chatham ^ foresaw that the " torrent of indignation in Parliament would become irresistible." For this reason, or without reason, no attempt was made to check Townsend, and in May he introduced the measures which were to make good his promise. The Act dealing with the particular case of New York requires little comment. It may be doubtful how far, even though Parliament had an absolute and superintending power to take any measures itself, it was within its rights in dictating to the Colonial legislatures the measures to be takeil by them. But it was obviously impossible to allow defiance, and the Act for "re- 7G. III., straining and prohibiting the Governor, Council, and House of Representatives of New York, until provision shall have *^" ^^' been made for furnishing the King's troops with all the necessaries required by law from passing or assenting to any Act of Assembly, vote or resolution, for any other purpose " was justified by its practical success. Something might also be said for the Act establishing a Board of Commissioners in 7 G. III., America, with extensive powers for the enforcement of the '^' *'' execution of the laws relating to trade. How lucrative the business of smuggling still continued may be shown by the following case. Colden affirms ^ that his grandson on becom- ing Surveyor of the Port of New York, was given to under- stand that if he would not be officious in his duty he might depend upon receiving fifteen hundred a year. It never occurred to English politicians to reflect that, when public opinion is wholly against the enforcement of laws, they will somehow or other be evaded. If, however, the trade laws were to remain upon the statute book, the Ministry can hardly be blamed for yet another attempt to render them effectual ; though the measure, by its interference with trial by jury, and its foisting upon the Colonies a new body of civil servants, did almost as much as anything to foster the growth of discontent. Nothing, however, but condemnation 7 o. ill., is deserved by the Act which purported to secure an American '^- ^^• Revenue. Duties were imposed upon glass, red and white lead, painters' colours, and tea imported into the Colonies. ' Chatliam Correspondence. ^N. Y. Docs. Vol. VIII. 2o8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY So improvidently were the duties chosen that they were all, 1770. except the duty on tea, afterwards taken off by Lord North, on the ground that they interfered with English manufac- tures. No greater sum than ^1^40,000 per annum was expected to arise from these duties, which sum was to be devoted primarily to secure the salaries of the Governors and judges, thereby, of course, rendering these officers additionally unpopular. Hutchinson afterwards pointed out that, if these duties had been paid on exportation from England and applied to the same purposes, there would have been no opposition made to them in America. ^ Never from first to last was any business so hopelessly mismanaged. Never was there so striking an illustration of Aristotle's maxim ylyvovrai fjiev at arTOLcreK ov irepi /jLiKpcov aW e/c fiixpwv, crTaaia- tova-i Se Trepi fjLeyaXmv, than the case of the Boston tea. The duty upon tea had been fixed at threepence per pound, and it was excused the duty of nearly twelvepence a pound paid in England, so that the practical effect of the measure was that people in America drank tea for three shillings a pound for which people in England gave six shillings. Leonard,^ some years later, stated that a calculation had " been lately made both of the amount of the revenue arising from the duties, with which our trade is at present, charged, and of the bounties and encouragements paid out of the British revenue, upon articles of American produce, imported into England, and the latter is found tb exceed the former more than four- fold."* And yet it was to achieve this amazing result that ^ ^ist. 0/ Masi., i'/4.g-i'/J^, ^Wiitiag as MassoscAmAettensis. ' We have already noted some of these bounties. Additional ones were granted in 1769 upon the importation of raw silk (9 G. III. c. 38) and in 1771 upon the importation of pipes, hogsheads, barrel staves (11 G. III. c. 50). In the matter of 'drawbacks,' the commercial Policy of England compared very favourably with that of other nations. Having assumed the exclusive right of supplying the Colonies with European goods, Great Britain might have forced them to receive such goods loaded with the same duties which they paid in England. ' But, on the contrary, till 1763, the same ' drawbacks ' were paid upon the exportation of the greater part of foreign goods to our Colonies as to any independent Foreign Country.' The statute 4 G. III. c. 15, to some extent altered this, but even afterwards A. Smith affirms that some sorts of foreign goods might be bought cheaper in the Colonies than in England. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 209 England estranged her colonists, lost America and well-nigh ceased to exist as a great Power. Having set the match to the stack, Townsend died in the following September, leaving to his successors to deal with the fire. He was succeeded by Lord North, an able man, but from whose entry into an important office dates the final triumph for fifteen years of George the Third's policy. Within a short time, Conway, Shelburne, and Chatham resigned. In 1768 Lord Hillsborough became Secretary of State for the American department, and the opposition to America in the Ministry was further strengthened by the accession to office of members of that Bedford party, which had always advocated strong measures against the Colonies. A very hostile account is given of Lord Hillsborough by Franklin,^ but his despatches seem to testify to the substantial accuracy of Franklin's picture. He appears to have belonged to that very numerous class of politicians who seek to disguise their real weakness under a fluttering assumption of firmness. By a curious irony, this time, when the American Colonies were so soon to be a thing of the past, was the time chosen for the definite appoint- ment of a separate Secretary of State for American affairs. We have seen how, from its first inception, the absence of independent authority in the Board of Trade had led to delay and confusion, and we have noticed some complaints on the subject. We have seen also how, in 1752, the difficulty had been partly met by some extension of the functions of the Board of Trade. The settlement of 1752 had been again modified in 1761, and in 1766 the old plan of Colonial authori- ties, corresponding both with the Secretary of State and the Board of Trade, was once more revived. In that year there had been some question of a separate Secretary of State for America, and we find Lord Chesterfield writing to Lord Dartmouth,^ " If we have no Secretary of State with full and undisputed powers for America, in a few years we may as well have no America." At the time, however, the King was opposed to such a change. 1 IVoris, Vol. VII., Letter of Feb. S- '77'- " Hist. MSS. Com., Dartmouth Corr. O 210 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Pownall, who, as an ex-Governor, spoke with authority, gives a striking picture ^ of the confusion which resulted from the absence of a separate Colonial department. The military corresponded with the Secretary of State — the Civil, in one part of their office with the Secretary of State, in another, with the Board of Trade ; the navy corresponded with the Admiralty in matters not merely naval ; the engineers with the Board of Ordnance ; and the revenue officers with the several Boards of that Branch. It was no one's business to collect into one view all these matters of information.* " Until an effective administration," he writes, " for Colony affairs be established by Government, all plans for the governing of those countries under any regular system of policy will be only matter of speculation and become mere useless oppro- bious theory. All official information given by those whose duty it is to give it, will, as accidents shall decide, or as the connections of party shall run, be received or not; nay, it may so happen that those officers who should duly report to Government the state of these matters, will, as they find themselves conscientiously or politically disposed, direct that information to those who are in or who are out of administra- tion. Every leader of every little flying squadron will have his own runner, his own proper channel of information, and will hold forth his own importance in public by bringing his plan for American affairs before it. All true and regular knowledge of these affairs, being dispersed, will be evaporated. Every administration, even Parliament itself, will be distracted in its Councils by a thousand odds and ends of propositions, by a thousand pieces and parcels of plans, while those surely who are so deeply concerned as the Americans themselves are, will not be excluded from having their plan also ... if, therefore, we mean to govern the Colonies, we must pre- viously form at home some practical and efficient adminis- tration for Colony affairs." The appointment, then, of a new Secretary of State for American affairs was clearly a right step, though the usual ill-luck of Ministers dogged them in their selection of Lord ' Administraticn of the Colonies. ^ Ibid, THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 211 Hillsborough. I suppose that the years which elapsed be- tween the virtual eclipse of the elder and the rise of the younger Pitt were the most shameful to be found in English history. Abject abroad and insolent at home, the English Government, while it encouraged the House of Commas, to jwage foolish war against the City of London and the printers, would have blundered, but for the fortunate dismissal of Choi- jseul, into a war with France and Spain combined. We now [know 1 that the momentous decision to retain the^duty on tea, {whilst repealing the other duties imposed by Charles Town- isend, was only arrived at in the Cabinet by a majority of one. For the repeal there voted the Duke of Grafton, Lord Cam- den, Lord Granby and General Conway ; against. Lord RocTi- ford. Lord North, Lord Gower, Lord Weymouth and Lord Hillsborough. ,"> The minute of the Cabinet, according to Lord \ Hillsborough,' was to the following effect : — " It is the unani- 'mous opinion of the Lords present . . . that no measures should be taken which can in any way derogate from the Legislative authority of Great Britain over the Colonies, but that the Secretary of State in his correspondence and conversation be permitted to state . . . that it is by no means the intention of Administration, nor do they think it expedient, or for the interest of Great Britain or of America, to propose or consent to the laying of any further taxes upon America, for the purpose of raising a revenue, and that it is at present their intention to propose, in the next Session of Parliament, to take off the duties upon paper, glass and colours imported into America, upon consideration of such duties having been laid contrary to the true principles of commerce." Camden and Lord Grafton objected to the word "unanimous," but a more serious cause of complaint lay in the wording of Lord Hillsborough's circular to the Colonial Governors, founded on the Minute. Although based on that Minute, it displays a note of querulous complaint eminently calculated to undo the good effects of its conciliatory promises. Lord North seems to have held the most extraordinary views as to ' Duke of Grafton's Journal, published at end of Walpole's Gtor^ III. 212 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the taxation of the Colonies. There had been the old view that duties were imposed for the regulation of trade. There had been the recent view that they might be em- ployed to raise a revenue, but North seems to regard them as methods of rewarding or punishing the Mother country's naughty children.^ "Would to God," he exclaimed, with marvellous nalvetd, "that I could see any reason from the subsequent behaviour of the Americans to grant them further indulgence." Yet more amazing was his cynical avowal of the absence"^ anf sysfefti.* " We repealed the Act when America was in flames, we laid on a new tax when America was calm. It is easy to see what sort of opinion such conduct must have given the Americans of the wisdom and authority of this Government." Again,* "I have seen America punished and I have seen her rewarded, but I have never yet seen the people of Great Britain of one mind." In this state of things Colonial policy was what one might expect. We have already seen the dangerous weakness of the Executive in the Colonies. In Massachusetts civil government by England was practically a thing of the past* Governor Bernard called urgently for two measures, the forming of a plan of civil government and its support by troops. The Ministry attended to the second part of his proposal while neglecting the first. Troops were sent, but on their arrival they found no magistrates vWUing to employ them. If the intention was to govern by the aid of military force, the troops sent out were too few, on any other hypothesis they were too many. In this way it was left to a subordinate officer practically to decide the question whether or not there should be civil war. No men should have been placed in the position of these unfortunate soldiers. An officer,^ who had served in America, afterwards stated 1 Cavendish Debates, Vol. I., p. 485. " P. 486. ' P. 487.- ' Note the striking language of G. Grenville in the last speech he made in the House of Commons, May 9, 1770, Cavendish Debates, Vol. H., p. 35. " Look at Goveraor Bernard's letter. First he calls for a plan of civil government ; then he calls for troops. Is it proper to take only half of a man's plan ? " < " Col. Mackay, Cavendish Debates, Vol. I., p. 493. ,f THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 213 that he had known cases of soldiers being sold into slavery. " By the law of that province if any man has committed any felony, the accuser brings his charge for such a sum of money ; the man is found guilty, and the decree passes that, if he does not pay the money by a certain day, he is to be sold." It is a curious comment on the alleged tyranny of England that such proceedings were meekly borne. The officers, who wished to be friendly, found themselves sub- jected to a social boycott. In any case the loose manners and speech of the English soldiery must have caused grave scandal in a community which still remembered its Puritan origin. Upon the whole, considering the inflammable material on both sides, it is a matter for congratulation that nothing more serious happened than the trifling affray, which has March 5, come down to posterity under the imposing title of " The '7^°" Bloody Massacre." It was not the first case or the last, wherein the good sense of Englishmen abroad has covered the blunders of Englishmen at home. Hillsborough's pompous incapacity was especially con- spicuous in the case of New York. New York had thrown cold water upon the proposal of the Boston merchants for entering into a combination, concerning the non-importation of British manufactures, and an Assembly had been returned — though not without difficulty — more favourable to the English connection than had been the last. The acting Governor had given his assent to some Bill. Hillsborough remarks : ^ " Although the King considers the preserving the colonies in tranquillity as a very desirable and commendable object, yet his Majesty can never approve of any Governor seeking the attainment of it at the expense of his instructions." The Assembly was strongly in favour of judges not being allowed to serve in the Assemblies. An act to this effect was sent home and promptly disallowed. It has been asserted by Bancroft that New York was naturally anti- English, as being so largely Dutch, but we find Golden expressly stating : ^ " The most active among them (i.e., the opposition) are Independents from New England, and 1 JV. y. Docs., Vol. VIII. i2 N. Y. Docs., Vol. VIII. 214 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY educated there, and are of republican principles. The friends of the Administration are of the Church of England, Lutherans, and the old Dutch congregation, with several Presbyterians." That the English party did not increase in New York was largely due to the policy of the English Government. For example. Lord Dunmore was appointed Governor with a salary of ;f aocxj a year, secured to him out of the duty upon tea ; whose only act, before he was transferred to Virginia, was to claim from the Lieutenant Governor half the salary accruing since the date of his commission ; the enforcement of such claim having been generally waived by previous Governors. Everjrwhere tlie British Ministry showed itself equally tactless and incap- able. We have seen that, from a strictly legal point of view, England was in all probability justified in taxing the "Colonies. Indeed, the right is treated as beyond argument by the American historian, Mr Channing. But there is grave doubt how far Lord Hillsborough's circular was constitu- tional,^ wherein he instructed the Governors that, unless the Assemblies took certain measures, they should be at once dissolved. The right of dissolution in the Colonies, as in England, of course, lay with the Crown. But a threat of this kind would have been deeply resented by the English House of Commons. Moreover, the threat showed complete ignorance of Colonial ways. In England a General Election was a serious matter, because of the cost. But no Colonial Assembly objected to a new election,^ and the only result was to return members more deeply pledged to oppose in every way English interference. Another step decided upon, though never put in practice, was to enforce against the Americans the provisions of an obsolete law of Henry VIII., " concerning the trials of treason committed out of His Majesty's dominions." Considering that at the time this statute was passed there had been no Colonies, and that America was certainly part of His Majesty's dominions, it was at least doubtful how far the statute applied. But * See opinion of G. Gienville in speech quoted above. ' See paper of Franklin, IVeris, Vol. IV. p. 530. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 215 to threaten and then not to perform was to combine all the disadvantages of a policy of vigour and of conciliation. Meanwhile, affairs in America went simmering on. In new communities there is always latent a lawless element which comes to the surface in times of trouble, and the riots in North Carolina, and the affair of the Gaspee, in Rhode Island, may, to some extent, be thus accounted for, though the English Attorney-General considered the busi- ness of the Gaspee as " five times the magnitude of the Stamp Act."^ More serious was the step taken in 1772, and repeated in 1773, of appointing committees with a view of mutual correspondence between the vari- ous Colonies. Their business was to collect and publish Colonial grievances, and procure authentic information of what measures were intended in England. The idea of such committees had originated with Samuel Adams, but at first it had not been taken up by the other Colonies. The Royal Commission, however, appointed to enquire into the affair of the Gaspee, alarmed the Virginian Assembly, and, under the influence of Patrick Henry and J. Jefferson, they persuaded Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and South Carolina to join in appointing Com- mittees of Correspondents. As early as 1 769 the Virginian Assembly had unanimously agreed to resolutions which claimed the sole right of imposing taxes, the right of petition and the illegality of trying accused men elsewhere than in their own Colony. The passage of Burke has often been quoted, wherein he notices the extreme love of liberty shown by the owners of slaves. Perhaps a truer and less para- doxical statement of the case would be that those who are accustomed to domineer are naturally unwilling themselves to be domineered over. In any case, the race between Virginia and New England for pre-eminence in champion- ing the cause of the Colonies, became for England an unpleasant feature in the situation. Upon the whole, how- ever, considering the attitude of the English Parliament, one is struck with the extreme reluctance of the American people ' Hist. MSS. Com. DartmyHth Carr. 2i6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY to proceed to extremities. That the dread of Farliamoltaiy taxation was genuine and well-nigh universal is, I think, clear. Tryon reports in 1775 : " The American friends of Government are in general beside themselves between Scylla and Charybdis, that is the dread of Parliamentary taxation and the tyranny of their present masters." ^ In 1772 Lord Hillsborough had resigned, on account of his views with respect to the Ohio Company not being supported by the Cabinet. He was succeeded by Lord Dartmouth. At an earlier date this appointment might have been at- tended by good results, Lord Dartmouth being much respected by the American colonists. When, however, matters had gone to such lengths, the appointment of an amiable and kind-hearted man like Dartmouth only served to make the situation more impossible. Governor Tryon was doubtless right in condemning " his Lordship's plan of holding out the olive branch in one hand and the rod of chastisement in the other." ^ Half measures would not do. Delay was still more dangerous. Two courses were alone possible, either the " removal of stumbling blocks or vigorous measures." In the year 1773 an event occurred, on the surface of no great importance, but which proved far-reaching in its conse- quences. Franklin had been always the determined advocate of the claims of his countrymen. At the same time he was bound to England by the closest ties of intimacy and sur- roundings, and his influence undoubtedly was one making for peace and compromise. At this time, however, he saw fit to send to America private letters* of Hutchinson, and Oliver, which had somehow or other come into his posses- sion. His motive even now remains obscure. It is impos- sible to credit his own story * that he wished to render the 1 N. Y. Docs., VoL VIII. a Hist. MSS. Com., Dartmouth Corr. ^The letters were published under the title, Cofy of Letters sent to Great Britain by T. Hutchinson, A. Oliver, and others. The passage which gave the most offence was, "There must be an abridgement. of what are called British Liberties. . . . I doubt whether it is posable to project a system of government, in which a Colony 3000 miles distant from the parent State^ shall enjoy all the Uberty of the parent State." f Works, Vol. IV., pp. 405-455. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 217 American people kindly disposed to English statesmen by showing them that their real enemies were the authorities in America who misled English Ministers, Probably Franklin, who was conscious of the distrust of him felt in New England, wished to increase his reputation there for energetic " smart- ness." It is hardly fair to judge Franklin's action by modern notions on the subject. To us the inspection of private letters and the forwarding them to Amerfca, even though their publication was never intended, seems dishonourable conduct ; but we must remember that Franklin lived at a time when statesmen thought it fair game to open the letters of their political opponents, and Franklin may well have con- sidered that he was therefore justified. Be this, however, as it may, the result was most unfortunate. Franklin^ who with all his merits combined a good deal of vanity, and who had been accustomed to bask in the sunshine of popularity, never forgot or forgave that scene in the Privy Council, when he was, for an hour, the object of Wedderburn's violent invec- tive, and of the coarse jeers of English Privy Councillors. To Wedderburn such abuse was part of his day's work, but to Franklin it was bitter earnest. No other American at the time possessed a European reputation, and it is very doubt- ful if any other American could have carried through success- fully the negotiations with France. The episode of the letters caused Franklin to break violently with his past, and threw the most enlightened and clear-sighted of Americans into the arms of the bitter adversaries of England. Other influences served greatly to complicate the situation. The Colonies had altogether misunderstood the meaning of the repeal of the Stamp Act. They knew that the friends of America in England were important in ability and repute, and did not realise how miserably few they were in number, Americans did not understand that the Rockingham Minis- try had been an accident, due to the disgust of the King with George Grenville, and that the return to power of the Whigs was for the time out of the question. In the state of opinion prevailing in England, the great body of moderate Americans were in fact pursuing a shadow, and, in the cir- 2i8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY cumstances, it is no wonder that the victory lay with the men, who knew what they were aiming^ at, and how it was to be gained. The destruction of the Boston Tea and the re- pressive measures taken in consequence, hardly belong to the domain of policy. They were acts of war, and as such, to be 14 G. III., judged by their results. The closing of the Port of Boston, *4S, and ^^^ remodelling of the Massachusetts Charter, and the send- c 39- ing for trial to England, of persons indicted for murder or any other capital offence, in cases where it should appear to the Grovernor that the incriminated act was committed in aiding the magistrates to suppress tumults and riots, and that a fair trial could not be held in the province, may or may not have been necessary measures. They were, in any case, measures which English Ministers should have known would involve war. Temper And yet it was with no light heart that the American ColOTieT Colonies entered upon the struggle. No one can have read the learned arguments, by which Massachuchettensis and Novanglus supported the rival causes of the Crown and the Colony, without a feeling of admiration for a community wherein such writings could be popular. The plant that grows to swift luxuriance withers as soon. The Colonies were like trees, whose growth is difficult and i^eluctant, but whose roots are lodged deep in the past. Consider the instructions to the delegates to the Congress of 1774. The Massa- chusetts del^ates were enjoined " to determine on measures for the restoration of unity and harmony . . . most ardently desired by all good men." The New Hampshire del^fates were " to restore that peace, harmony, and mutual confidence, which once happily existed between the parent country and her colonies." The Pennsylvania delegates were " to consult upon the present unhappy state of the colonies ... for establishing that union and harmony ... so indispensably necessary for them both. . . ." The Vii^inian and Maryland del^ates were " to procure the return of that harmony and union ... so indispensably necessary to the welfare and happiness of both." The Congress itself cheerfully consented " to the operation of such Acts of Parliament as are hoak fide THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 219 restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpose of securing the common advantage of the whole empire to the mother country and the common benefit of its respective members, excluding every idea of taxation, internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects of America without their consent." Such being the attitude of America what was England's reply? It found expression in George III., who may be Policy of taken at this time as the exponent of English Colonial policy. 11*1°'^'^ " I am not fond," ^ he writes in December 1774, " of the sending commissioners to examine into the disputes. This looks so like the mother country being more affraid (st'c) of the continuance of the dispute than the Colonies, and I cannot think it likely to make them reasonable. I do not want to drive them to despair but to submission." The magnitude of the long struggle with Napoleon, which occupied the later years of his reign, the purity of his private life, and the melancholy of his fate have served to drive into the shade the shortcomings of George III.'s Colonial policy. But, from the point of view of this book, he is the worst of English kings. Especially is it to be remembered that his taking upon himself the practical part of kingship was wholly gratuitous. The Stuarts were the inheritors of a difficult, if not impossible, situation, which the extreme tact and ability of the Tudors had deferred ; and there is a real sense in which Charles I. may be called a martyr. But, by the time of George III., the English Constitution had settled down into a frame which, if not ideal, served fairly well. The Venetian oligarchy, against whom the loud-voiced patriots could say so much, had not prevailed to keep from power the Minister chosen by God and the people, when the moment of need arrived ; and there was something ludicrous in the position that the first act of a king, whose boast it was that he was born and bred a Briton, should have been to plot against the great master-builder of British Empire. George III. aspired to be king, in fact, and not merely in name. For this he sacrificed truth and honesty, con- 1 Donne's Corr. »f Gea. HI. and Ld. Ntrih, Vol. I. 2 20 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY descended to double dealing, and spent large sums in debauching the legislature. With the constitutional ques- tions arising we have here nothing to do ; our business is merely with the use he made of his power. The story of the American War of Independence is the best commentary on his statesmanship. It has been often said, and by persons of great authority, that after all the breach with America was, sooner or later, inevitable, and that it was, in fact, a blessing in disguise, because thereby the development of America was secured far earlier than could otherwise have been possible. But surely, however inevitable may have been the final conclusion, the manner of its coming to pass makes all the difference. God forbid that even in thought one should cabin and confine the United States of the future within the four corners of the British Empire. But the parting might have been under very different circumstances. Two kinsmen have lived to- gether. For good reasons they decide to live apart. Surely it makes some difference whether they part in amity and mutual respect, or whether the one leaves the house a flight of stairs at a time, his last tender recollections being of the mark of his kinsman's boot It is but too plain that through all the dreary years, from the coming into office of the shadow of Pitt to the final Declaration of Independence, the great obstacle to reconcilia- tion and compromise was the King. He had early recognised the gravity of the situation. Writing to Conway about the repeal of the Stamp Act, he had said,^ " it is undoubtedly the most serious matter that ever came before Parliament. It requires more deliberation, candour and temper than I fear will be met with." To anyone of sense it must have been clear that the question might end in war. From 1768 on- wards, at least, George III. was his own Minister, most ill- advised as we must recognise him. He had a free hand to make tfie necessary preparations, and yet in 1775 what did Burgoyne find.* " After a fatal procrastination, not only of > Albemarle, ti/e of Lord Rocki^iam, Vol. I. ^ Hist. MSS. Com., SackmlU Corr. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 221 vigorous measures but of preparations for such, we took a step as decisive as the passage of the Rubicon, and now find, ourselves plunged at once in a most serious war without a single requisition, gunpowder excepted, for carrying it on." It gives a good idea of the wisdom of the general policy to find that the year 1774 was the time chosen for reducing^ the number of seamen from 20,000 to 16,000. A striking picture of the state of feeling in America at the American time of the outbreak of the war was given by Galloway in his '^='">e- evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons in 1779. He spoke, of course, as a loyalist, and was saying smooth things to an English audience. At the same time, the truth of his statement is shown by independent evidence. He reckoned that at the beginning of the struggle not one- fifth of the people had Independence in view. The great majority of the rebel army were newcomers, mainly Irish. The reason of this state of things, which was also noticed by Tryon,^ has been already hinted. To secure enthusiasm there must be present a dominating idea, such as stirred the hearts of the American people in ,the Civil War. But, at first at any rate, there was no idea underlying the action of the American Colonists. What had happened was this, that an active minority of cool-headed and cautious men had come, a few gladly but the most of them reluctantly and with much heart- burnings, to recognise that the way of safety lay in a course other than the one along which the Mother country had been leading them. The note of patriotism was conspicuous by its absence, and so fighting was, to a large extent, left to indented servants, criminals and adventurers. In 1776 J. Adams ^ found the army " a scene of indiscipline, insubordi- nation and confusion." Even so late as the Congress held in 1774, the rival scheme for establishing a British and Ameri- can Legislature for the administration of American affairs had been on the point of being carried. Although it may be quite true that the separation of the American Colonies could not have been indefinitely delayed, it is, I suppose, also true 1 Note in George III.'s Coirespondence with Lord North, quoting Adolphus. 2 N. y. Does., Vol. VIII. » IVoris, Vol. III. 222 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY that there was not a moment before the signing of the Treaty with France, which bound America not to make peace with- out obtaining Independence, at which timely concessions could not have obtained for England some kind of rec(^;nition of sovereignty. The disgust with T. Paine, shown in several passages of J. Adams' works, throws a vivid light on the temper of even advanced Americans of the day. Even so clear a critic as Sir Henry Maine ^ has, it would seem, regarded the Declaration of Independence too much in the light of subsequent French experience. Proper Such being the aspect of affairs, it is surely not difEcult to *^^Sf '*d ^^y what should have been the conduct of England. We are to adopt, here only indirectly concerned with militaty policy, but it is obvious that if there were a strong body of public opinion in America in sympathy with England, English policy lay in doing its utmost to localise, as far as possible, the disturbed area. Melancholy as should have been the fact to whoever had considered the splendid services to the Empire of Massa- chusetts, it was none the less true that under the pressure of events. New England had become the enemy. The middle States of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were much divided, but the majority appear to have been English in their sympathies. Whatever the feeling in the South, it is doubtful how far rebellion would have persisted after the reduction of New England. In this state of things the policy of England was to act with vigour and full force against New England, whilst doing all in its power to conciliate the Middle States. The high authority of Captain Mahan can be adduced for the proposition that* "it seems impossible to doubt that active and capable men wielding the great sea power of England could so have held that river (the Hudson) and Lake Champlain ... as to have supported a sufficient army moving between the head waters of the Hudson and the Lake, while themselves preventing any intercourse by water between New England and the States West of the River." The effect of this would have been * See criticism of Mr Channing, The United States cf America, p. 87. * Injlutnce of sea power upon history, p. 342. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 223 to reduce New England to the position of an island, when its fall in all probability must have ensued. Instead of this, nothing great was attempted against New England, while the method of carrying on the war deeply alienated the Middle States. A letter from Philadelphia states— ^" The burning of towns, seizing of ships, with numerous acts of wanton barbarity and cruelty . . . has prepared men's minds for an independency that were shocked at the idea a few weeks ago." But if the conduct of the war was faulty, it was largely due to the temper of the Ministry at home. We know now that Lord North, who seemed to his contemporaries a mere holder of the spoils of office, in his own words — ^ " Year after year entreated the King to be allowed to resign but was not allowed," that Lord Barrington,^ the Secretary for War, found himself under the hateful alternative of either supporting measures which he dis- approved, or of voting with men whom he abhorred. No man was more cordially disliked by the Opposition than Lord George Germaine, and he is reckoned amongst the extreme advocates of an aggressive policy. These are his words, written to an intimate friend on his becoming Secretary for America in January 1776 — *"I have tried and cannot avoid it. Pity me, encourage me, and I will do my best" What wonder that, starting in this, mood, we find him four years later writing* "what you hear of confusion in America among the leaders of rebellion is true. What consequence it will have, God knows, for we seem to take no advantage of things which ought to operate in our favour." And yet for this state of things it was Germaine himself who was largely responsible. What would be thought nowadays of a Colonial Minister who presumed to dictate to generals their military operations ? In Germaine's - case, the result was the more unfortunate as no statesman of his time was so deeply tarred with the brush of party animosities. Probably arrogance rather than cowardice had 1 Hist. MSS. Com., SackvilU Corr. - Corr. of Geo. III. and Lord North. » Life of Lord Rockingham, Vol. II. « Hist. MSS. Com., Sackville Corr. » Hist MSS. Com., SaekvilU Corr. 224 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY I759. been the secret of his conduct at Minden, but the fact remained that he had been judged by a Court-martial, and had been condemned. The deciding disaster of the war appears to have been altogether due to him. I gather from the language of Captain Mahan that Burgoyne's expedition was thoroughly justified on one condition, and that on this condition being fulfilled, it would, in all probability, have brought about that isolation of New England, which was es- pecially desirable. The advance of Burgoyne from Canada was a mere act of madness, unless he was to receive the co-operation of Howe from the South. Inasmuch as the Oct. 17, surrender at Saratoga decided the action of France, and "777- thus indirectly decided the war, the question why such co-operation was not given is one of the greatest import- ance. It would seem that the plan of the campaign had been rightly laid in the mind of Germaine, whose faults did not lie in any lack of ability. In fact, however, the instructions never reached Howe. The astounding reason must be given in the words of Lord Shelbume. Lord George ^ " having, among other peculiarities, a particular aversion to be put out of his way on any occasion, had arranged to call at his office, on his way to the country, in order to sign the despatches. But as those addressed to Howe had not been fair-copied, and he was not disposed to be balked of his projected visit into Kent, they were not signed then, and were foi^otten on his return to town." At least democracy cannot afford a parallel to the fact that such conduct was rewarded by a seat in the House of Lords. All this may seem to be concerned with military and not Colonial policy. Colonial policy for better or for worse had done its work, and there was nothing left but the arbitra- ment of the sword. In truth, however, general and military Policy were so closely interconnected, that it is impossible' to deal with the one without the other. We have seen how, with regard to the course to be adopted towards New England, the teaching of scientific strategy is strictly in ' Lord E. Fitz-Maurice, Life of Lord Skelbume, Vol. I., p. 358. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 225 accord with the conclusions of unaided common sense. The operations in the south were to be severely condemned on both grounds. If there was a strong loyalist party in the south, then, when once New England was reduced, the task of pacification elsewhere would be easy enough. If there was not, then expeditions carried on far from the base of operations were still more unadvisable. Again, considering the circumstances of the struggle, it was in the highest degree inexpedient to occupy towns, which had afterwards to be evacuated. Thus Boston should either have been aban- doned at once at the outbreak of the war, or else a far more serious effort should have been made to avert such abandon- March 17, ment. A yet more flagrant blunder was made in the case of g^^" ^e, Philadelphia, To occupy one year only to abandon the next i777 a^^ was to give an object lesson in the weakness of England, J"'^'^' which even the most loyal could not but lay to heart. That, in spite of generals like Howe and admirals like Graves, that in spite of the continual neglect by the English generals ever to take advantage of successes, there yet remained a loyalist party, is the best apology that can be made for the mis- takes and errors of the past. The behaviour of the English in America could not assuredly have raised the opinion of them, held by thoughtful Americans. The departure of Howe from Philadelphia was made the occasion of a ftte, beginning with a tournament of knights who tilted in honour of the Philadelphia beauties. Another capital blunder was made by the English authori- ties. It is doubtless true that exaggerated stress has been laid on the circumstances relating to the employment of Hessian troops.^ The lesser German States were really interested that England should not fall under the dominion of France, and with the then population of England the em- ployment of mercenaries may have been inevitable. None the less, however, was it a grave error of tact to use foreigners in the settlement of what was a dispute between English kinsmen. The King, who tried to win popularity at his suc- cession at the expense of his grandfather and great-grand- ' See Kingsford, Hisi. of Canada, Vol. VI., Book xx. ch. i. P 226 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY father, by boasting himself to be born and bred a Briton, might at least have avoided this mistake. When, however, full allowance has been made for all the blunders and mistakes of English statesmen, the conviction is borne home upon one, that nothing but the extreme incapacity of Howe could have prevented the success of the British. It is no reflection on the generalship of Washington that he re- quired time to develop his army of raw and ill-disciplined recruits into a fighting machine, but it is just this time which a capable English commander would have denied him. It may be that the resolution of Howe, who was a Whig, was sicklied o'er by doubts as to the justice of his cause. We know how Chatham, patriot, if ever there was one, considered in any case the event as ruin. " Be the victory to which ever host it pleases the Almighty to give it poor England will have fallen upon its own sword." ^ And Fox, with character- istic recklessness considered the announcement of an English victory " as terrible news." ^ If this view were correct, and if the failure of English generalship lay in a sense of guilt, the moral would be a profound one. " The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices " " Make instruments to plague us." But, in fact, there was much to be said on the English side, and soldiers are not casuists, but plain men, whose duty it is to obey orders, so that the moral to be learnt from the War of Independence is merely the trite one that there is no advantage which an incapable general cannot throw faway. Meanwhile, what is most noticeable in the conduct of the Ministry is the untimely character of each one of its pro- posals. In February 1775, at least a year too late, Lord North had carried a conciliatory resolution that "when the Governor Council and Assembly shall propose to make provision for contributing their proportion to the common defence . . . and shall engage also to make pro- vision for the support of the civil government and administra- tion of Justice, it will be proper ... to forbear ... to levy any 1 Grenville Papers, Vol. IV. ^Life of Lord Rockingham, Vol. 11. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 227 duty tax or assessment, except for the regulation of com- merce, the net produce of which shall be carried to the account of such province, colony or plantation." In 1778, just when France was embarking on the struggle on the express condition that the Colonies should make no peace which did not recognise their absolute independence, North put forward proposals which, in effect, conceded everything except independence. Commissioners were sent to America with full powers to yield everything save this. At the same time, measures were introduced into Parliament restor- 18G. HI., ing the Massachusetts Constitution and repealing the duty ^'n"' '^' on tea. Parliament further engaged to impose no fresh taxes for the sake of revenue, and undertook to apply such duties as were necessary for the regulation of commerce in the Colonies in which they were levied in such a way as the Colonial Assemblies should determine. The statute ap- pointing Commissioners gave them full powers to grant pardons to all descriptions of persons, and to suspend the operations of all Acts of Parliament relating to the American Colonies which had been passed since February 1763. The Commissioners went even beyond their instructions, inasmuch as they promised that no British troops should be again sent to America without the consent of the local Assemblies, and further offered an American representation in the British Par- liament. A majority of the American people would probably have been in favour of accepting such terms, but the engage- ment with France stood in the way, and Congress was in the hands of the more extreme party. The story of disaster was to run its course, and the surrender of Cornwallis at York Town Oct. 19, to be added to the long list of British failure and ignominy. ''^'" The war of 1778 well illustrates a danger to which a world Empire like the British is peculiarly exposed. " England was everywhere outmatched and embarrassed, as she has always been as an Empire by the number of her exposed points." ^ In this state of things the same high authority describes the course which should have been taken. " In the first place, it should have been determined what part of the assailed * Fnjltieme of Sea Potuer upon History, p. 392. 228 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Empire was most necessary to be preserved." ^ In the then . state of public opinion with regard to the respective ad- vantages of the West Indian and the American Colonies there was doubtless something to be said for the policy suggested by the King.^ " It might be wise to strengthen the forces in Canada, the Floridas and Nova Scotia, with- draw the rest from North America, and without loss of time employ them in attacking New Orleans and the Spanish and French West Indies ... at the same time continue destroy- ing the trade and|'ports of the rebellious Colonies." We are so much accustomed to regard the present United States as one country that we find it difficult to realise that a policy might have been successful which should have aimed at con- fining the revolted Colonies between a British Canada and a British Florida and Louisiana. Granted that the develop- ment of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and generally of the North- Western States must have fallen to the revolted provinces, Texas, and possibly the States on the western sea- board, might have become British Colonies. It is by no means clear, however, that in 1778 there was any necessity to abandon the attempt to reduce the American Colonies. Under a bold, offensive policy, which should have risked the loss of the West Indies, the nominal superiority of France and Spain would probably have vanished into thin air, as the French superiority did at a later date through Rodney's Battle of great victory. The real fear with respect to Colonies is that ' Aprtr/z', *h^y should desire independence ; but the West Indies are 1782. so situated that they must be, in the nature of things, de- pendent upon^one or other of the great sea-powers. Whatever happened in the meantime, after a successful war England must havelagain obtained her proper share of these islands ; whereas, if the general result were unfavourable, captured islands would probably have to be restored. Rodney has been severely blamed for remaining at St Eustatius in 1781. In fact the fault lay in the attempt to achieve the impossible, to stretch "a thin line everywhere inadequate over an immense, ' Influence of Sea Power upon History, p. 393. 2 Corr. of Geo. III. and Ld. North, Vol. II. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 229 frontier." The one chance of safety lay in boldness, in taking 3 the great line." Unhappily, these were not the days of great lines, and Nelson was, as yet, an obscure post-captain.^ However this may be, the negotiations regarding the peace Treaty of which followed the war of independence more closely concern "^' ^^' us.^ Lord Shelburne was singularly unfortunate in his selec- tion of a negotiator. The foolish Oswald was mere clay in the hands of Franklin. He meekly approved proposals sug- gesting the cession of Canada and of Nova Scotia to the United States. This precious representative of Great Britain informed Franklin that her " enemies have the ball at their feet, and that the hope was that they would use the power with moderation and magnanimity." He added that in this desperate situation the people of England looked upon Franklin as the means of extraction from ruin. In fact, the situation was by no means a desperate one. It was, of course, gloomy enough, but what had really come to its last gasp was the King's elaborate system of underground government. The war could not be continued, not because the resources of England were exhausted — it is probable that the resources of the Colonies and of their European allies were in a yet more exhausted state — but because the days of Lord North's Ministry were numbered and the masterly statesmanship of George III., aided and abetted as it was by the brilliant recklessness of men like Fox, had brought about that the enemies of Ministers were also the enemies of England. Party government had for the time been killed, and so the Whig leaders, suddenly snatched, after years of irresponsible faction, to ministerial office, were like men whose sight is dazed by long years spent in darkness, and fell the easy victims of the dissensions, doubtless encouraged by the King, between them and the Jesuit ^ of Berkeley Square. ^ He became a post-captain in June 1 779. 2 The subject is dealt with at length in Kingsford's Hist, of Canada, Vol. VII.; and in Life of Lord Shelburne, Vol. Ill, ch. iv. and vi. ^ The distrust and dislike felt for Lord Shelburne by political men of all parties affords a curious contrast to the esteem in which he was held by men like Bentham. The explanation may be the following. The practical politician is of necessity, for better or worse, the mirror and epitome of his own particular 230 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY In justice to Fox we may note that he treated the proposal to cede Canada as outrageous, but the record of Oswald's folly was not to end here. In drawing the boundaries be- tween Canada and the United States he accepted a boundary which would have abandoned to the States the whole south- western portion of the present province of Ontario. In a similar spirit he was willing that the river St. John should be the southern boundary on the North-East. Instead of this, the river St. Croix was substituted at the suggestion of Strachey. The exact meaning of this was not settled till years later. Upon the whole question of boundaries there , appeared no recognition of the fact that Canada was a great and* growing portion of the Empire, and that it was necessary that her future interests should be carefully safe-guarded. The one aim of the English negotiatoFS-was peace at almost any price. Another provision of the Treaty of Versailles laid the seeds of future trouble. The engagement was entered into that the coast of the Island of Newfoundland should remain unsettled from Cape St. John to the Straits of Belle Isle, and thence continuing down the whole west coast of the island, a grievance the 6nerous nature of which is year by year more felt in Newfoundland. Under the separate Treaty with the United States of November 1782, it was agreed that creditors on either side should meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the full value in sterling money of all bond-fide debts. It was further agreed that Congress should earnestly recommend to the State legislatures to provide for the restitution of the property of British subjects which had been confiscated. A further clause provided that there should be no further con- fiscations or prosecutions by reason of the part taken in the war. It has been asserted that these provisions were never intended to be carried out. " The American Commissioners," writes Hildreth, " made no secret of the certain futility of all generation, but Shelburne was, in his views and methods of thought, in advance of his times. Hence the need for a circumspection and an " economy," which' puzzled his contemporaries and still puzzles the student. The nickname was given by George III. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 231 such recommendations." It is clear, however, that the Eng- lish Government intended them seriously, and the long delay to give up the western posts abandoned ifnder the Treaty was occasioned by the non-fulfilment of these conditions. No British minister had been sent to the United States prior to the arrival of J. Adams in England in 1786. So far as intention was concerned, the statement in the King's speech of 1783 was doubtless made good. "I trust you will agree with me that a due and generous attention ought to be shown to those who have relinquished their pro- perties or their possessions from motives of loyalty to me or attachment to the mother country." Unhappily, however, the wheels of official routine move slowly, and it was not till 1788 that the final report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into loyalist claims was issued. In any case the work of examining over 2,2CX) claims must have taken time. The total amount originally claimed was over ;£'io,ocxD,ocx) and the sum actually paid nearly ;^4,ooo,ooo. Under the Treaty of Versailles, both the Floridas were re- stored to Spain. In the West Indies, England gave up to France St Lucia and Tobago, while- France yielded to Eng- land Grenada, St Vincent, Dominica, St Christopher's, Nevis and Montserrat. In closing this page, the most shameful in English history. Lesson of it was for a long time customary to point the moral, which ^^\l^^^ saw in the failure of England the results of despotism. On American this point enough has been already said. At the present *^'°'"*S", time, when the average reader, American and English, is, for the most part, shaking himself free from the fumes of the escaping gas of Bancroft's eloquence, the lesson is substituted " behold the consequences of excessive interference." Inter- ference, of course, there was, and assuredly mischievous enough, but it might with equal plausibility be held that the failure was due to careless neglect. In considering carefully the matter, one seems to apprehend a lesson, perhaps as trite but at least more practical, than the one generally drawn^ The task of the maintenance of a Colonial Empire must be, in any case, one of danger, and difficulty. Not by any means 232 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY to every people is reserved this crowning proof of overflowing vitality. But there were special circumstances connected with the origin of the American Colonies, which made the task in their case exceptionally difficult. In these circum- stances, the Mother country had need to secure the services and energies of the most able Englishmen. Unhappily the miserable jobbing eighteenth • century system confined honours for the most part to second rate men. According to Lord Shelburne,^ who had good opportunities for knowing. "There was not literally a single office in the kingdom which was not worn out with corruption and intrigue. All the executive offices were sold to the enemy by inferior persons in each department." The brilliant comets, which flashed across the firmament, a Pitt and a Wolfe, only served to make darker the general gloom, and the treatment accorded to Wolfe, in his lifetime, and, after his death, to his mother, strengthens the argument. In this state of things, England was like some man of delicate constitution. In ordinary times things went well enough, but when the strain came there was not the strength to resist it. Some recognition of the truth here hinted at seems to have dawned upon the con- sciousness of Parliament Among the most useful of the 22 G. III., measures of the short-lived Rockingham Administration of ** ^5- 1782 was an Act " for preventing certain offices in the planta- tions from being executed by deputy or granted for life." Lord Shelburne* asserts that it had been the practice for Secretaries of State to give Colonial offices which produced from ;f 1000 to ;^3000 a year to their near relatives, who executed such office by deputies, who in turn recouped them- selves by means of fees. At the time of the passing of the Act younger sons of Lord Egremont and Lord Sackville were thus provided for. The judgment of history, it would seem, cares very little for constitutional questions, and turns with a grim indifference from conflicts of principles and parties. In that final Court of Appeal the decision depends upon the answer to the question, has there or has there not prevailed that equality ^Life by Lord E. Fitzmaurice, Vol. III., p. 332.; ^Life, Vol. III. p. 337- THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 233 of opportunity, that "carri^re ouverte aux talents," the presence of which alone keeps the air of public life fresh and wholesome. The recognition of this principle belongs to no one form of government. None was more faithful to it than the despotism of the first Napoleon, and it is by no means a necessary consequence of popular government It is because, in the England of to-day, this equality of opportunity prevails under democracy, far more than it ever did under other forms of government, that many, who approach it without predilections and not without misgiv- ings, are still forced to subscribe themselves convinced democrats. CHAPTER IX Canada In the foregoing summary of American affairs, one potent conquesf ^^"^^ °^ colonial dissatisfaction has been purposely omitted. 14G. III., The Quebec Act of 1774 must be considered in connection •^^ ^3- with the general question of Canada. We have already noted how the long struggle for pre-eminence between France and England ended in the final triumph of the latter, and how the genius of Pitt and Wolfe decided that whatever might be the political future of North America, at least it should not fall under French dominion. The government of French Canada was a new experiment in British Colonial history. It is true that Jamaica had been acquired by conquest, but Jamaica, so far as settlement was concerned, was a tabula rasa, on which England might write what she pleased. ^The peculiarity of Canada was Ithat it possessed a French population, enjoying French customs and French laws. The total population at the time of the treaty of Paris was about 62,000 and for many years the number of English immigrants was very small. The French were concentrated in the present province of Quebec, there being no French settlers in]^Ontario. In this state of things, the problem of obtaining both security to the Empire and liberty to the subject was one of no little dijfficulty. ^The keynote of British policy was given in 'Amherst's instructions to Gage* — "These newly-acquired Nsubjects, when they have taken the oath, are as much His Majesty's subjects as any of us, and are, so long as they remain deserving of it, entitled to the same protection." The period between 1760 and 1764 is known as the "R^gne Militaire," but, in fact, the government introduced had nothing in common with martial law. French Canadian 1 Kingsford ^»rf. of Can., Vol. IV., p. 441. 234 THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 235 writers have themselves ^ admitted the wisdom and dis- cretion with which the administration was carried on. There was no attempt to introduce English laws. The regimental officers were, it is true, the administrators of the law, but they respected and followed, so far as possible, the ancient laws and customs of the country. On the death of George II. the citizens of Montreal^ expressed their sense of the protection which they received under the British Government. Amherst had " behaved to us as a father rather than a conqueror." It must be remembered that all this was before the signing of the Treaty of Peace, which secured religious privileges to the Canadians. There were other considerations which rendered easier the progress of British influence. The French Canadian Government had been a despotism, reaping where it did not sow. In Canada the ancien regime had meant govern- ment corvdes, enforced military service, and the complete absence of all political rights. It is noteworthy that printing was for the first time introduced into Canada after the English conquest. By means of proclamations, full in- telligence was given to the people of what was expected from them. An honest effort was made to prevent their simplicity from being taken advantage of Nor was this wisdom and moderation confined to the English Governors in Canada. The Secretary of State in 1762 expressly* approved of the whole language and behaviour of Amherst regarding the Canadians ; and the provincial Governors were to receive the most precise and express orders to forbid any insult to be addressed towards the language, dress, fashions, customs or religion of the French inhabitants. With justice Gage was able to boast that * " no invasion of 1762. their property or insult on their persons had gone unpunished. . . . No distinction has been made betwixt the Briton and Canadian, but equally regarded as subjects of the same prince. The soldiers live peaceably with the inhabitants, and they reciprocally acquire an affection for each other." » Hist, of Can., Vol. IV., p. 43S. 2 /^jV/., p. 445. - Ibid., p. 450. ^ Ibid., p. 455. 236 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY In this state of things the work of conciliation went on- apace, and Haldimand^ was able to assure Amherst that '"^' there was nothing the Canadians dreaded so much as the return of French rule. Two causes, however, of discontent remained unsatisfied. The first related to the paper money held by the inhabitants. With regard to this, the action of the English Governors was straightforward. As soon as possible they issued proclamations, cautioning the in- habitants against its use, and when, through the action of British diplomacy, the French in the Treaty of Paris ad- mitted a liability, another proclamation was at once issued, cautioning the people against sacrificing the paper money in their possession at a rate below its proper value. Of course, in such a state of things it was inevitable that bargaining and cheating should go on. But the blame of it cannot be fairly laid on the shoulders of the English administration. The other cause of discontent was of a more serious nature. It arose out of the fear naturally felt by the Canadians for the future of their religion. The Church of Rome has been too generally accustomed to mean by "militant" concerned in the mundane squabbles of national politics. But it has, perhaps, seldom sinned more deeply against what plain men must hold as the spirit of Christianity than in its behaviour in the 17th and i8th centuries in Canada. In the terrible Indian warfare of early days, it had been priests who had hounded the savages on against their fellow-Christians. It was of vital importance that the Canadian Chufch should not be a mere rallying ground for anti-English sentiment. Fpr this purpose it was necessary that the close alliance between France and the Canadian Church should be severed, and that the bishops and clergy of Canada should be bom and bred Canadians, approaching political questions from a Canadian and not a French point of view. Such then was the double task of the English government. To secure for the Roman Catholic Church the full exercise of all its privileges and rights, while at the same time taking due care that such ' HUt. of Can., Vol. IV. p. 448. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 237 •privileges and rights should not be worked in a manner hostile to British interests. Perhaps the best comment on the success of the attempt is the present attitude of the Canadian Roman Catholic Church towards Imperial interests. Dr Kingsford^ has called attention to one very remark- able proof of Canadian feeling. In spite of loose and unsubstantiated assertions, it would seem that neither after the conquest nor after the peace was there any large emi- gration of Canadians to France. Of course a certain number who held military or civil employments under the French king naturally left. But there can be found no trace of any general exodus of the Canadian upper classes. Although the Treaty of Paris was signed in the February of 1763, no change in the government of Cana,da was made for another eighteen months. Murray was appointed Gover- nor in October, and in August 1764 the proclamation arrived which was to remodel the form of government. Under this, four new " distinct and separate governments " were estab- lished, namely Quebec, East Florida, West Florida, and Grenada. Dr Kingsford has^ commented on the obscurity of the boundaries ascribed to the provinces, "evidently written by some subordinate clerk ignorant of the subject, an incident by no means entirely unknown at this date." The Governors, "so soon as the state and circumstances of the said colonies will admit thereof," were to " summon and call general Assemblies within the said governments respectively, in such manner and form as is used and directed in those colonies and provinces in America, which are under our immediate government. . . In the meantime and until such Assemblies can be called, as aforesaid all persons in- habiting in or resorting in our said Colonies, may confide in our Royal protection for the enjoyment of the benefit of the laws of our realm of England." Courts of law were to be erected by the Governors, with the advice of their councils, to hear and determine "all causes as well criminal as civil, according to law and equity and as near as may be agreeable to the laws of England," with liberty to 1 Hist, of Can., Vol. IV. p. 464. > Vol. V. p. 135. 238 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY appeal in civil cases, "under the usual limitations and restrictions" to the Privy Council. Full powers were given to the Governors and Councils to dispose of the lands "upon such terms and under such moderate quit rents, services, and acknowledgments, as have been ap- pointed and settled in other colonies, and under such conditions, £is shall appear to us to be necessary and ex- pedient for the advantage of the grantees, and improve- ment and settlement of our said Colonies." Grants of land were promised to officers and soldiers who had served in the late war ; socx) acres to field officers, 3000 to captains, 2000 to subalterns, 200 to non-commissioned officers, and 50 to privates. The same privileges were conferred on the officers and seamen of the Royal Navy. So far, there was nothing in the Proclamation whicli could excite criticism. But the additional provisions with regard to the Indian lands undoubtedly caused grave dissatisfaction in the American Colonies. We have already seen how urgent it was, both in the interests of the Empire and of the natives themselves, that Indian affairs should not be left in the hands of the Colonial legislatures. Un- doubtedly "the cruelty and injustice with which they had been treated with respect to their hunting-ground " was the most active cause of Indian discontent Probably the lords of Trade were perfectly right, when they asserted in 1761 ^ "that the exorbitant grants of land which Governors and others have heretofore made, greatly to the benefit of themselves, but very much to the prejudice of the in- terests of the Crown and of the people in general, have long been the subject of great complaint." In Johnson's Sept. 10, words,^ "the effectual redressing those complaints strikes '^S^- at the interests of some of the wealthiest and most leading men in this province (New York), and I fear that that influence, which may be necessary to succeed, will be employed to obstruct." In this state of things, it became necessary, however invidious, for the Home Government to interfere, and instructions were sent to the Governors 1 N. Y. Docs., Vol. VII. 2 /4^__ Vol. VII. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 239 of Nova Scotia, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia, forbidding them to grant lands or make settlements, which might interfere with the Indians bordering on their Colonies. The Canadian Proclamation was thus part of a general policy. Under it all the land not included within the limits of the territory granted to the Hudson's Bay Company was reserved to the Crown. "As also all the lands . . . lying to the westward of the sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from the West or North-West," and settlement could not be made without special leave from the Crown. All persons, wilfully or inadvertently settled on such lands, were " forthwith to remove themselves." Under a pro- vision, which cut at the knot of the real difficulty, no private person was allowed to make any purchase of lands from Indians, and the only way that the Indians could dispose of their lands was by sale to the Crown "at some public meeting or assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that purpose." That the proclamation was received with disfavour by those, whose dealings it sought to check is no proof of its want of wisdom. Dr Kingsford is able to boast that^ "the principle thus laid down has always been acted on in the Queen's dominions. In the North-West at this date it is in force. It is from the observance of this just and righteous provision that tumult and turmoil have been avoided since the Conquest." From the first beginnings of settled Government under the terms of the Proclamation, a difficulty arose from the be- haviour of the small Protestant population. In 1764 they numbered 200, and by the end of 1766 they had not increased beyond 450. Small as they were in number they had inherited the old New England traditions, and looked upon the Roman Catholic population around them as so many hewers of wood and drawers of water. The present- ments of the Quebec Grand Jury in 1764 were the first overt sign of their views. In 1766 a petition was signed by twenty-one persons asking for a House of Representatives ' Vol. V. p. 140. 240 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY to be elected, as in the other Provinces. The effect of this would have been to make it consist of Protestants only ; so that four hundred Protestants would have dictated laws to some eighty thousand Catholics. The extravagance of this claim called forth an answer from Murray, which did not err on the side of soft speaking. " Magistrates were to be made and juries composed from 450 contemptible suttlers and traders. It is easy to conceive how the narrow ideas and ignorance of such men must offend any troops, more especi- ally those who had so long governed them and knew the meanness from which they had been elevated. It would be very unreasonable to suppose that such men would not be intoxicated with the unexpected power put into their hands, and that they would not be eager to show how amply they possessed it. As there were no barracks in the country the quartering of the troops furnished perpetual opportunity of displajdng their importance and rancour. The Canadian noblesse were hated because their birth and behaviour entitled them to respect, and the peasants were abhorred because they were saved from the oppression they were threatened with."^ In the face of the feelings aroused by the Quebec Act, and the declamation to which it has given rise, it is necessary to remember what was the real attitude of the new immigrants towards their Canadian fellow- subjects, and how far more liberal, both with regard to the French Canadians and to the Indians, was the British policy, than the policy which would have commended itself to the American colonists. Upon another point mentioned in Murray's letter it is im- possible to feel the same satisfaction. We find him solemnly affirming that " the improper choice and the number of the civil officers sent over from England increased the disquietude of the Colony. Instead of men of genius and untainted morals the reverse were appointed to the most important offices, under whom it was impossible to communicate those impressions of the dignity of Government, by which alone men can be held together in society. The judge, pitched 1 Aug. 20, 1766, set out in Hist, of Can., VoL V., p. 188. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 241 upon to conciliate the minds of 75,000 foreigners to the laws and government of Great Britain, was taken from a gaol, entirely ignorant of civil law and the langua.ge of the people. The Attorney-General, with regard to the language, was not better qualified. The offices of the Secretary of the Province, Registrar . . . were given by patent to men of interest in England, who let them out to the best bidders, and so little considered the capacity of their representatives that not one of them understood the language of the natives. As no salary was annexed to these patent places the value of them depended upon the fees, which, by my instructions, I was ordered to establish equal to those in the richest ancient colonies. This heavy task and the rapacity of the English lawyers was severely felt by the poor Canadians, but they patiently submitted ; and, though stimulated to dispute by some of the licentious traders from New York, they cheer- fully obeyed the Stamp Act." Murray left Canada for good in 1766 and the government was taken over by Carleton who was formally appointed Governor-General in 1768. The name of Carleton is indis- solubly connected with the early history of British Canada, and to his ability and honesty the new Province was more indebted for its prosperous beginning than to any other cause. The question was then greatly exercising men's minds as to whether English or French law should be en- forced. The Proclamation of 1763, it has been seen, anti- cipated the prevalence of English law. But in fact, such a change bore hardly on the French population. In 1766 a Report of the English Attorney and Solicitor General, Yorke and de Grey, affirmed that "there is not a maxim of the common law more certain than that a conquered people re- tain their ancient customs till the conqueror shall declare new laws . . . Wise conquerors . . . indulge their conquered subjects in all local customs, which are in their own nature indifferent, and which have been received as rules of property or have obtained the force of laws. It is the more material that this policy be pursued in Canada because it is a great and ancient colony, long settled and much cultivated by Q 242 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY French subjects who now inhabit it to the number of 80,000 or 100,000." They therefore recommended that in all actions on contracts, whether of a mercantile or other nature, and in actions on torts, seeing " that the substantial maxims of law and justice are everywhere the same . . . the judges "... should " look to those substantial maxims." They recom- mended that, in all suits or actions relating to titles to land, the local law and customs should prevail. " To introduce at one stroke the English law " of real property would be " to occasion infinite confusion and injustice." The adoption of the English criminal law was at the same time recom- mended. It will thus be seen that . three courses were, in fact, possible. The English law might have been enacted en hhc. A code of laws, embracing the best part of the English and French systems, might have been drawn up ; or lastly, the arrangement, which ultimately prevailed, was possible, under which the French Canadians retained their own French law unchanged. The second course would have been, in the abstract, the best, but the practical difficulties in the way were insurmountable, while the first course would have in- volved injustice to the French population. The objection to the course finally adopted was that it helped to keep alive that sense of separate nationality, which for so long a time proved an obstacle to Lower Canada becoming really part and parcel of the British Empire. Time, however, has at last vindicated the practical' wisdom of the policy which prevailed. Its most powerful advocate in Canada was Carleton. In a Nov. 20, letter^ to Hillsborough he recognised that a feeling of •768. attachment to France must continue, so long as French Canadians were excluded from all employment under the British Government, and he went on to say that to make no mention of " the fees of office and the vexations of the law, we have done nothing to gain one mem in the province by making it his private interest to remain the King's subject." At the same time a determined effiart was made to improve the administration of the law. It had become a settled prac- ^Vol. V. p. 209. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 243 tice for men of broken fortunes to make a living through the enforcement of legal proceedings against the inhabitants. In order to remedy this state of things, an ordinance was enacted, Feb. i, taking away the power of the magistrates in cases affecting property. Inasmuch as " there was not a Protestant butcher or publican that became a bankrupt, who did not apply to be made a justice,"^ the Ordinance was of course received with indignation by the Protestant colonists. The business of imposing " fines which they turned to their own profit," was too lucrative to be lost without a struggle. Doubtless the existence of this grievance sharpened the appetite for the enjoyment of some form of representative Assembly. Petitions were again set on foot, demanding the fulfilment of the promises held out by the 1763 Proclamation. In order to conciliate the Roman Catholics, the petition put forward in 1773 asked for an Assembly to be constituted " in such manner and of such constitution ... as in the Royal wisdom should seem best adapted to secure peace, welfare and good government." It was however obvious that, at the time, the strong Protestant feeling prevalent, both in the Mother country and in the American colonies, rendered an Assembly to be composed of Roman Catholics out of the question, and the French Canadians very wisely refused to co-operate in an agitation the success of which would have placed them under the yoke of the aggressive, though small, Protestant minority. It thus appears that all parties were dissatisfied. The Roman Catholics because they were under English law ; the Protestants because of the nature of the government. In this state of things some decision was necessary, and that decision was made by the Quebec Act of 1774- The Quebec Act has been represented as a counterblast to Quebec the independent attitude of the American Colonies. But the •*^'^'" considerations which inspired it related almost wholly to Canada. It was founded on reports made by Thurlow and Wedderburn, the Attorney and Solicitor-General. Wedder- burn dwelt upon the difficulties of establishing a House of ' Ap. 1770, quoted Vol. V. p. 214. 244 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Assembly. He therefore advised in its stead the institution of a Council with power, under limitations, to enact laws. He urged that the Roman Catholic religion should be main- tained by law. On the question of which law was to prevail, Wedderbum seemed to favour a new code. Thurlow's opinion was less definite. But he advocated as little interference as 14 G. II f., possible with the existing civil laws. The Quebec Act, intro- '^' ^' duced late in the session of 1774, was opposed by the Opposi- tion as part of the general arbitrary policy of the ministry, and it is melancholy to find the great Chatham appealing to the basest Protestant prejudices and ranting at the measure as " cruel, oppressive and odious, tearing up justice and every good principle by the roots." ^ It is strange to compare with this language the actual provisions of the Act After frankly admitting that the Proclamation of 1763 and the measures taken to give it effect had been found to be " inapplicable to the state and circumstances of the said province, the inhabi- tants whereof amounted at the conquest to about 65,000 persons professing the religion of the Church of Rome, and enjoying an established form of constitution and system of laws," it expressly revoked and rendered null and void sudi proclamation and measures. The enacting clauses allowed the Roman Catholic inhabitants to profess their religion, sub- ject to the taking of a simple oath of alliance. Their clergy were also allowed to " hold, receive, and enjoy their accus- tomed dues and rights, with respect to such persons only as shall profess the said religion." Canadian subjects — ^"the religious orders and communities only excepted" — were allowed to hold and enjoy their property, " together with all customs and usages relative thereto." In matters of controversy resort was to be made to the laws of Canada. Power was, however, given to alienate property by will, either according to Canadian or English law. The Engli^ criminal law, on account of its " certainty and leiiity," was continued in the province. With regard to the political Constitution, a Council, to con- sist of not more than twentyrthree or less than seventeen 1 J^rl. Hilt., Vol. XVII. p. I40Z. THE PERIOD OF TRADE ASCENDENCY 245 members, was to be appointed by the Crown, with power to " make Ordinances for the peace, welfare and good govern- ment " of the province. The Council was not to be empowered to levy taxes, " such rates and taxes only excepted as the in- habitants of any town or district may be authorised by the said Council to . . . levy ... for the purpose of making roads, erecting and repairing public buildings, or for any other purpose respecting the local convenience and economy of any such town or district." Ordinances were to be laid before the Privy Council within six months of their enact- ment, and, if disallowed, were " to cease and be void." Ordinances touching religion, or by which any punishment might be inflicted greater than fine or imprisonment for three months, were not to come into force until they had received the Royal approbation. Looking at these provisions, it is obvious how benighted they must have appeared to the American claimants for full Parliamentary privileges. At the same time, given the peculiar circumstances of Canada, they were probably the wisest possible at that date. After all, it was the Canadian people which was mainly interested, and in Canada the Quebec Act was received with gratitude. Another provision of the Act was far more questionable. It extended the province of Quebec to include the whole country west of the boundaries of Pennsylvania and Virginia ; so that it was bounded on the north by the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company, on the south by the Ohio, and on the west by the Mississippi. Whatever may have been the moral claims of England to the Western country — and, un- doubtedly, they were great — it was obviously both inexpedient and unjust to apply the provisions of an Act, the reason for which lay in the prevalence of the Roman Catholic popula- tion, to territories wholly outside French Canada. There can be no question but that this proceeding excited great indig- nation in the American Colonies. In the address to the people of England by the delegates in 1774, it is said, " The Dominion of Canada is to be so extended, modelled and governed as that by being disunited from us, detached from our interests, by civil as well as religious prejudices, by their 246 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY number swelling with Catholic emigrants from Europe, they might be fit instruments in the hands of power to reduce the ancient free Protestant colonies to the same state of slavery as themselves." In similar language, the Declaration of Independence speaks of, " Enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies." Canada, and the opening out of the country west of the American Colonies, were two separate questions, and no good could result from mixing the two together. When so much has been said, however, there is little to be opposed on its merits to the English contention. So far as their own boundaries were concerned, the men of New England had toiled valiantly and strenuously on their own behalf. But with regard to the opening of the West, it was the Mother country and not the adjoining Colonies which had borne the heat and burden of the day. Even after Forbes' brilliant cap- ture of Fort Duquesne, all that the Pennsylvania Assembly could recognise was " the disagreeable necessity of represent- ing that the teemsters were unpaid for their services, and the owners of the waggons and horses remained unsatisfied for their loss." When the Indian War broke out in 1763, Bouquet, the Commander of the English troops, reports him- self as " utterly abandoned by the very people I am ordered to protect" ^ In these circumstances, an effort might well have been made to preserve for England the lands opened out by English blood and money, cmd the territory westward towards the Ohio might have been constituted a separate Government under English law. It is pretty certain, how- ever, considering the class of people who colonized Illinois and Ohio, that such a province would have thrown in its lot with the other American Colonies rather than with Canada. In any case, the provision of the Quebec Act was the least expedient method of dealing with the subject. Attitude of Whatever its incidental failures, the main efficien9iS.393 acres sold from the foundation of the Colony till 31st Oct. 1876 for ;f8,ioi,8S9, the enormous proportion of ;fS>39Si°°° ^'^ been received by Canterbury and Otago for less than 4,500,000 acres. For about the same land as that sold by Auckland, Canterbury had received thirteen times as much money." '^ Afterwards Lord Grey, PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 283 for ready money only. Afterwards, Wakefield inveighed strongly against the mode of selling by auction,^ and insisted upon the necessity of a single uniform price. But it must be confessed that such a practice led to absurdity, where, as in South Australia, town lots were surveyed and laid out by the Government for sale, and it would certainly appear that, so far as the main advantages of the plan were concerned, the question was one of detail rather than of principle. The net revenue arising from the sale of colonial lands was to be ap- plied to the encouragement of the emigration of females. The need for women was especially felt in the Australian Colonies ; a sum of over ;£'42,ooo was expended for this purpose between 1832 and 1836, and nearly 3000 females were sent out. Some assistance was also given to the emigration of married artisans. Emigration commissioners were appointed in 183 1, to superin- tend generally matters relating to emigration. The annual exodus to Canada after the Peace attained great proportions. The average annual emigration for some years was twenty thousand, and in one year as many as fifty thousand persons emigrated to Canada. Terrible revelations as to the treat- ment endured by emigrants on board ship had been made, and Government officers were appointed in the different ports for their protection. It would appear, however, from Lord Durham's Report that the measures taken were not very 1839. successful. In this state of things, when the theories of Wakefield were already beginning to bear fruit, the whole subject was carefully considered by a strong Parliamentary Committee. The Report^ was evidently framed under the influence of Wakefield's convincing evidence. It advised that the whole of the arrangements connected with the sale of land should be placed under the charge of a central land Board, resident in London, and made responsible either to some existing department of Government or to Parliament directly. That this Board, acting through Local Boards in the Colonies, should be charged both with the superintendence of the sur- veying department and with the duty of "so directing the ■ ^ See Letters L. LI. of View of the Art of Colon. ' Pari. Pap., 1836. !i84 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY stream of emigration as to proportion in each case the supply of labour to the demand." The net proceeds of the land sales should be employed as an emigration fund; each Colony being furnished with emigrant labour in exact proportion to the amount of its own land sales. The Committee considered that it would be "perfectly practicable to raise, upon the security of the future land sales, the funds necessary to set on foot a plan of systematic emigration, upon a scale suffi- ciently large to meet the exigencies of the Colonies and of the mother country." In accordance with these recommenda- tions. Lord John Russell ^ appointed a Land and Emigration Commission, prescribing the nature of their duties in instruc- tions, which, as Charles BuUer afterwards asserted,* contained ■' an admirable view of the general duties of a Government with regard to colonization." Lord John Russell was, how- ever, unsuccessful in the attempt to introduce the system of sale, at the uniforni price of ^ i an acre, into the Port Phillip district of New South Wales. The Governor, Sir G. Gipps, a singularly strong man, was no believer in the Wakefield system, and against his combined knowledge and obstinacy the despatches of ministers knocked in vain. Views as With regard to the general view of the Colonial lands, as *° *knds ^^^^S ^^ heritage held in trust for the common purposes of the Empire, there was at the time no division of, opinion among English statesmen. The most eloquent statement of this view is to be found in Lord Durham's Report.* " The country which .has founded and maintained these Colonies at a vast expenditure of blood and treasure, may justly expect its compensation in turning their unappropriated resources to the account of its own redundant population ; they are the rightful patrimony of the English people, the ample appanage, which God and nature have set aside ih the New World, for those whose lot has assigned them an insufficient portion in the old. . . . Under wise and free institutions these great advantages may yet be secured to your Majesty's subjects, 1 Pari: Pap., 1840. " " Speech on Colonization," 1843, republished in Wakefield's View, etc. ' Keport See Rusden, ffist. of New Zealand, Vol. I., p. 241. The annexes quoted by Mr Rusden appear omitted in the English Blue Book. Pari. Pap. 1845. * Pari. Pap. 1844. Rep. of Com. on N. Zealand. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 295 bad to the Commissioner, appointed to investigate titles. On the other hand, Lord John Russell had agreed that, in consideration of the Company surrendering its lands to the Government, it should receive as many acres as should be "equal to four times the number of pounds sterling," expended in purchasing lands, despatch of ships, build- ings, &c. What was the meaning of this agreement ? Lord Stanley strenuously' maintained that it only referred to such lands as the Company could show a just title to. But, in any case, it was hardly possible to allow settlers, who had bona fide paid for their lands to the company, to be dispossessed, and a compromise was assented to by Lord Stanley. The conviction is forced home to one that, in the interests of the Maories themselves, it was desirable, that some modi- fication should be made in the Treaty of Waitangi, to prevent the deadlock which was its natural outcome. Meanwhile, such deadlock was well illustrated by the action of the House of Commons Committee of 1840,^ wherein the majority, disagreeing with the proposed Report of the chairman, which was to some extent in favour of the New Zealand Company, put forward no rival Report, but merely reported the evidence to the House of Commons. Four years later, another Committee * arrived at more definite results. Their Report, drafted by the Chairman, Lord Howick, contained nineteen resolutions. After sacri- ficing to law and order, by a condemnation of the Company, in sending out settlers, " not only without the sanction, but in direct defiance of the authority of the Crown," it went on to condemn the Treaty of Waitangi, to declare that under the treaty there was no acknowledgment of property " in all wild lands," and that the British , Government ought to claim all lands "not actually occupied and enjoyed by natives." It further admitted the right of the New Zealand Company to the lands awarded them by the accountant, who had investigated their expenditure. It is one of the ironies of party government that the confused affairs of the 1 Pari. Pap., 1840. 2 pg^i, Pap., 1844. 296 BRITISH COLONIAL POUCY New Zealand Company fell under its sway, so that, for the most part, Whigs were found voting in its favour, and Tories against it. When Lord Howick became Colonial 10 and II Secretary he secured from Parliament better terms for the jj^ Company than some considered that it deserved. Lord Howick also endeavoured by instructions to enforce his view of the Treaty of Waitangi, but the tide of opposition was too strong for him, and he discreetly yielded. But even with the assistance of the English Government, the New Zealand Company was unable to prosper, and finally, in 1850, it resigned its Charter into the hands of the Crown. The story of the Colonization of New Zealand has aroused keen interest. It has been written under the indignation excited by the wrongs of a singularly interesting and romantic race. It has been written under the smart of financial jeal- ousies. The case of the Crown versus the New Zealand Company had its colonial counterpart in the case of Auck- land versus Wellington. All this, however, cannot detain us here. For us the moral of the story lies in the danger of not knowing one's own mind, of being afraid to take in hand a definite policy. The Colonial Office wanted to be just to the natives, wanted in a mild way to develop British colonizatioi^ but it never took the trouble to work out how the two objects were to be reconciled. The Nor were other consequences of this controversy of trifling ^!^g^°^ importance. It was not well that the reformers of 1830 School, should have become alienated and embittered, and have declared that never again, after their experiences at the Colonial Office, would they take in hand the work of colonization. Whatever their failings, they were not the mere land sharks which they have too often been repre- sented. There was some truth as well as much bitterness in the powerful pictures of the Colonial Office drawn, by Gibbon Wakefield and C. Buller. " Our colonial system of government," ^ wrote the former, " is the bureaucratic, spoiled by being grafted on to free institutions ... it is like a tree without roots, all stem and branches apt to be bent any way. ' VUw of the Art of CoUmisation, p. 235. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 297 ... It sets off in one direction, and takes another the moment some interest or clique or association strongly objects to the first course. At one time the West Indian body in England suggests what it shall do, at another the Anti-Slavery society impels it . . . conscious of feebleness arising from the want of a public on the spot to sustain it in doing right and pre- vent it from doing wrong, — fully aware of its own unpopu- larity as a bureaucratic institution in a free country, — well acquainted with the facilities which the free press and the free institutions of this country afford for pressing it disagree- ably, the Colonial Office but faintly resists anybody who may choose to make a business of pressing it." (Such, however, had hardly been the experience of the New Zealand Com- pany in its dealings with Mr Stephen.) C. Buller's description of Mr Mother Country is famous.^ " In some back room . . . you will find all the Mother country which really exercises supremacy, and really main- tains connection with the vast and widely scattered Colonies of Britain. We know not the name, the history or the functions of the individual, into the narrow limits of whose person we find the Mother country shrunk ... he has a modest home in the outskirts of London, with an equally modest establishment, and the colonist, who is on his road to the office, little imagines that it is the real ruler of the Colonies that he sees walking over one of the bridges, or driving his one horse shay or riding cheek by jowl with him on the top of the short coach, as he comes into town of a morning." (When the Secretary of State was a cypher like Lord Glenelg there may have been truth in this picture ; but C. Buller had himself good reason to know that when strong men were in the saddle it made a difference whether one had to deal with a Lord Stanley or a Lord Grey.) Again, " There are rooms in the Colonial Office with old and meagre furni- ture, book-cases crammed with colonial gazettes and news- papers, tables covered with baize, and some old and faded chairs scattered about, in which those who have personal applications to make are doomed to wait until the interview ' Reprinted in Wakefield's View of the Art of Colonization, pp. 279-296. 298 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY can be obtained. Here, if perchance you shall some day be forced to tarry, you will find strange, anxious- lookii^ beings, who pace to and fro in feverish impatience or sit dejected at the table, unable in the agitation of their thoughts to find any occupation to while away their hours, and starting every time that the door opens, in hopes that the messenger is come to announce that their turn is arrived. Those are men with colonial grievances. The very messengers know them, their business and its hopelessness, and eye them with pity as they bid them wait their long and habitual period of attendance. No experienced eye can mistake their faces, once expressive of health and energy, now worn by hopes deferred and the listlessness of prolonged dependence. One is a recalled Governor, boiling over with a sense of mortified pride and frustrated policy ; another a judge, recalled for daring to resist the Compact of his Colony ; another a merchant, whose whole property has been destroyed by some job or oversight ; another the organ of the remonstrances of some colonial Parliament ; another a widow, struggling for some pension, on which her hopes of existence hang; and per- haps another is a man, whose project is under considera- tion. Everyone of these has passed hours in that dull but anxious attendance, and knows every nook and corner of this scene of his sufferings . . . and, if by chance you should see one of them at last receive the long-desired summons, you will be struck with the nervous reluctance with which he avails himself of the permission. After a short conference you will generally see him return, with disappointment stamped on his brow, and, quitting the Office, wend his lonely way home to despair, or perhaps to return to his Colony and rebel. These chambers of woe are called Tlte Sighing Rooms, and those who recoil from the sight of human suffering should shun the ill-omened precincts." It must of course be remembered that these are the words of a partisan, but in their general indictment of bureaucratic government, and in their desire that, so far as internal ques- tions were concerned, Colonies should be as far as possible independent self-governing communities, time has abundantly PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 299 justified the wisdom of the views held by Wakefield and BuUer. In fairness to Wakefield, we must remember that his theory consisted of two branches, and that the part con- nected with municipal government appeared to him no less important than the part relating to the disposal of public lands. In another direction, the efforts of the school were noteworthy. Recognising that in the past, the most success- ful emigration had been closely allied with religious in- fluences, they sought to enlist the aid of the churches in their undertakings. In founding Otago, they co-operated with the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, and they settled Canterbury under the auspices of the lead- ing English churchmen of the day. By this means, a better class of emigrant was obtained than the kind of people who had, for the most part, emigrated since the New England Colonies were founded by non-conformity. Upon the whole, taking into consideration the founding of South Australia and New Zealand, and the influence exercised by it upon public opinion on such questions as the disposal of the Crown lands, responsible government, transportation, &c., the importance of the movement of 1830 can hardly be exaggerated. Even if, judging by tangible results, its immediate effect was limited, the ideas underlying it were big with the promise of a better day.^ The period with which we are here dealing is remarkable Re- on various grounds. Not only did it initiate a new mode sponsible ffovern- of dealing with Crown lands, and witness some attempt ment. at colonization on systematic lines, it also solved the ques- tion what was to be the future mode of government in the British Colonies. Moreover, to it belongs the final victory of Free Trade in the British Legislature. It has been often said that responsible government ' As an example of how little the true moral of the loss of the American Colonies had been laid to heait under bureaucratic government, we may cite the well-known letter of O'Connell to one of his "tail," who had got himself banished from decent society in this country, saying in effect, "Though I can do nothing for you here, if you will retire from Parliament for the sake of the credit of our party, I will get you a place in the Colonies." Wakefield, View, etc. p. 145. 300 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY was conferred upon the British Colonies as a half-way house to peaceful separation, but much may be said against this view. The earliest and ablest advocate among British statesmen, of full responsible government, was Lord Durham, through every page of whose famous Report there breathes a passion of Imperial patriotism, strange enough at the time. It so happens that the Minister who was mainly concerned with the granting to the Colonies of responsible government, has left behind him (a rare case with English politicians) his considered opinions on the relations between the Mother country and the Colonies. In Lord John Russell's great speech^ in 1850 may be found the refutation of any such charge, though it must be admitted that there was a sting in the tail of Lord John's otherwise admirable speech. After dealing in the most satisfactory manner with present questions, he most unnecessarily concluded with predictions about the remote future which, as we know from Lord Elgin,* deeply disturbed the mind of Imperial patriots. That the generation with which we are here dealing had much confidence in the permanence of the colonial connection is not pretended, but it does not follow that statesmen were not therefore anxious to postpone as long cis possible what they believed to be ultimately inevitable. So far as Lord Durham and the Wakefield school were concerned, it seems something of a paradox, as pointed out by Merivale,^ that the same men should have been strongly in favour of preserving to the Empire the benefit of the colonial lands, and should also have been the strenuous advocates of granting to the Colonies full powers of govern- ment, amongst which it would be difficult to withhold the control of the public lands. But there can be no question of the honesty and intensity with which both opinions were held. Listen to the language of Lord Durham : " I cannot 1 Hans. N.S., Vol. CVIII., p. 535. * Letters and Journals of Lord Elgin, ed. by T. Walrond, p. 115. " Alas for that sting in the tail ! " ^ Note at p. 435 oi Lectures on Colonisation and Colonies. 1861 ed. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 301 participate in the notion that it is the part either of prudence or honour to abandon our countrymen when our government of them has plunged them into disorder, or our territory, when we discover that we have not turned it to proper account. The experiment of keeping Colonies, and govern- ing them well, ought at least to have a trial ere we abandon for ever the vast dominion, which might supply the wants of our surplus population, and raise up millions of fresh con- sumers of our manufactures, and producers of a supply for our wants." ^ Note, too, the language of Lord John Russell in the Despatch^ conveying the Queen's assent to the new Australian constitutions : " The colonists ... by their avowed desire to assimilate their institutions as far as possible to those of the Mother country, have proved that this sympathy was not merely the expression of a common sentiment arising from common origin, but connected with a deliberate, attach- ment to the ancient laws of the community from which their own was sprung. Whilst continuing, therefore, to pursue their present independent course of progress and prosperity, I have the fullest confidence that they will combine with it the jealous maintenance of ties thus cemented alike by feeling and principle." ^ Report on Can., p. 244. "^ Pari. Pap., 1855. CHAPTER II Canada. RETURNING to the history of Canada, it has been already- seen in what circumstances of gloom the period opened. In Lower Canada the long conflict between the Assembly and the Executive was hastening to a crisis. The ultimate aim of the Assembly was doubtless to assert a Canadian nation- ality against the progressive intrusion of the English race, but the unhappy condition of the Constitution enabled it to fight at an advantage. " Having no responsible Ministers to deal with, it entered upon that system of long enquiries, by means of its Committees, which brought the whole action of the Executive immediately under its purview, and trans- gressed our notions of the proper limits of Parliamentary interference. Having no influence in the choice of any public functionary, no power to procure the removal of such as were obnoxious to it on merely political grounds, and seeing almost every office in the Colony filled by persons in whom it had no confidence, it entered on that vicious course of assailing its prominent opponents individually, and disqualifying them for the public service by making them the subjects of en- quiries and consequent impeachments, not always conducted with even the appearance of a due regard to justice; and when nothing else would attain its end of altering the policy or the composition of the Colonial Government, it had re- course to that ultima ratio of representative power, to which the more prudent forbearance of the Crown has never driven the House of Commons in England, and endeavoured to dis- able the whole machinery of government by a general refusal of the supplies." ^ The practice of passing the most important laws in a temporary form was reduced to a general system, so that by "tacking" their own proposals to necessary measures, the majority might compel the Governor and ^ Lord Durham, Rep, on Can., p. 57. 302 PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 303 Council to agree to the former. Another provision of the Constitution led to calamitous results. It was not necessary, as in Parliament, to obtain the previous consent of the Crown to money votes. Hence ensued a perfect scramble among the members of the Assembly to get as much as possible of the public funds for their respective constituents. The revenue was dispensed by Commissioners named by the Legislature, and this patronage was turned by the Assemblies to their own account In Upper Canada the same constitutional difficulties were at work, although not aggravated by race distinctions. The " family compact " was opposed by a party of reformers, while, in addition, there was a very numerous body of British new-comers, whose sympathies swayed about according to their view of the principle at stake. In this state of things. Lord Gosford, Sir C. Grey, and 1835. Sir G. Gipps were appointed Commissioners to settle matters, Lord Gosford being appointed Governor. The Commis- sioners' instructions were of a most conciliatory character, and Lord Glenelg was able to affirm in the following year 1836. that "no single complaint has been alleged which has not been either promptly removed or made the subject of im- partial enquiry." Some difficulty^ arose from the behaviour of William IV., who had not taken to heart the moral of his father's proceedings. Death, however, intervened before it could be known how far his obstinacy would have carried him. In spite, however, of conciliatory measures no good resulted. The ignorant and easily-led Lower Canadian people had thrown themselves into the arms of the vain and shallow Papineau, and in 1837 rebellion broke out. In Upper Canada the rebellion was a very small affair, and even in Lower Canada it was easily quelled. But the more difficult question remained what was to be done. In 1838 the Canadian Constitution was suspended, and Lord Durham appointed "High Commissioner for the ad- justment of certain important questions. . . . respecting the form and future government " of the two Provinces. I have ^ See Melbourne Papers, p. 349. 304 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY already freely quoted from the peiges of his Report.^ Its extreme ability surprised the London world, which had hitherto seen in Lord Durham only the enfant terrible of the Whig party. It is hardly too much to say that this Report is the most valuable document in the English language on the subject of Colonial Policy. Its final recommendations involved the union of the two Canadas, the constitution of a plan of Local Government by elected bodies, and the establishment of a general Executive on improved principles. "The responsibility^ to the United Legislature of all officers of the Government, except the Governor and his Secretary, should be secured by every means known to the British Constitution. The Governor . . . should be instructed that he must carry on his govern- ment by heads of departments, in whom the United Legis- lature shall repose confidence; and that he must look for no support from home in any contest with the Legislature, except on points involving strictly Imperial interests." Other important recommendations dealt with the Legislative •Council, the Public Revenue, the securing the independence of the Judges, and the adoption of the r\ile that no money votes should be allowed to originate without the previous consent of the Crown. On the disposal of the Crown lands and on emigration, Lord Durham put forward the views to be expected from a powerful supporter of the Wakefield theory. That Lord Durham's mission was a brilliant success few Canadians have ever doubted. Unhappily, however, in the measures he took after the rebellion, while doing sub- stantial justice and satisfying Canadian public opinion, he went beyond the letter of the law, and so, under the party system, could be pounced upon by his adversaries. Attacked by Lord Lyndhurst, by Lord Brougham, and by the Duke of Wellington, who for once seems to have preferred party ' I am aware that contemporary gossip credited C. Buller with the authorship of it, but the conclusive answer to this is that the style is quite different from that of C. BuUer's own Report as assistant Commissioner. 2 p. 241. The expression " responsible government" first occurred, I believe, in a petition from Upper Canada presented to Piirliament by Mr Stanley in 1829. See MacMuUen's Hist, of Canada. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 305 to British interests, he was practically deserted by the Government, and threw up his office in a huff. In any case he had done the work entrusted to him, and it was by a happy decision of fate that his own son-in-law should have been the Governor, who, by his success in working out fairly Lord Durham's views of government, should have made "the real and effective vindication of Lord Durham's memory and proceedings." ^ Meanwhile, at the time of his resignation, matters were far from clear. The House of Commons had added to the difficulty by passing a resolu- tion^ in 1837, at the instance of Lord John Russell himself, which denied to Canada responsible government on the English model. That Minister now adopted a kind of half-measure. In his instructions to Poulett Thomson,® Lord Durham's successor, he wrote : — " You will under- stand, and will cause it to be generally known, that here- after the tenure of Colonial offices, held during Her Majesty's pleasure, will not be regarded as equivalent to a tenure during good behaviour." * On this question nothing can be more instructive than to compare the different views of Lord Sydenham, Lord Metcalfe, and Lord Elgin, all men of first-rate ability. The difficulty for Poulett Thomson, who had been an active member of Parliament, to adopt the role of a Governor, who reigns but who does not directly govern, Wcis immense.^ " I have told the people plainly,'' he wrote, "that, as I cannot get rid of my re- sponsibility to the Home Government, I will place no responsibility on the Council ; that they are a Council for the Governor to consult, but no more. Either the Governor is the Sovereign or the Minister. If the first, he may have Ministers, but he cannot be responsible to the Government at home, and all colonial government becomes impossible. He must, therefore, be the Minister, in which case he can- not be under the control of men in the Colonies." Lord Sydenham's own way out of the difficulty was to plunge 1 Letters and Journals of Lord Elgin, p. 41. ^ Hans. N. S., Vol. 36, p. 1305. s Afterwards Lord Sydenham. * Pari. Pap., 1839. 5 Memoir of Life of Lord Sydenham, by G. P. Scrope. U 3o6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY boldly into the strife of politics, and by dint of his own powerful personality, to carry one side to victory. In his own opinion his success was complete, but shrewd ^ onlookers were of opinion that, had he lived, his system must very soon have broken down. Under the short government of of his successor, Sir C. Bagot, responsible government ob- tained fairer play, but difficulties again arose with the appointment of Sir C. Metcalfe.^ In spite of his great ability and high character, it may be doubted whether Metcalfe was quite the right man in the right place as Governor General of Canada. His Indian experience weighed too heavily on him. He was wont to compare his position to that of an Indian Governor,* who should have to rule through the agency of a Mahometan Ministry and Parliament, a strange comparison in the mouth of the Governor of a free British Colony. In his mind the conflict was not between rival parties, but between loyalist and rebel. He did not foresee the saving virtue which attends the sense of rfesponsibility. The period of his government was a heroic struggle with disease and death ; yet, with all his greatness of character, as a colonial statesman, he must be clcissed amongst those of little faith. Very different was the case of his successor, Lord Elgin. Frankly and freely adopting responsible government, he yet clearly demonstrated that, under responsible govern- ment, there was still a great part, which a Governor might play.* " Incessant watchfulness and some dexterity " were needed to prevent Governors " from falling into the niant of mock sovereignty or into the dirt and confusion of local factions," but he showed in his own person that it could be done. He was the first great colonial Governor who realised the Governor's special business, as the missioner of the Greater England idea. " You must renounce the habit," ^ he declared, "of telling the Colonies that the colonial is a provisional existence. You must allow them 1 Pamphlet by (?) Wakefield, A View of Sir C. Metcalfe's Government, 1844. ■•' Afterwards Lord Metcalfe. ' Life of Metcalfe, by Kaye. * Letters and Journals, p. 41. ° March 23, 1850, p. 116. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 307 to believe that, without severing the bonds, which unite them to Great Britain, they may attain a degree of per- fection and of social and political development, to which organized communities of free men have a right to aspire." Again,^ " I have been possessed (I use the word advisedly, for I fear most persons in England still consider it a case of Possession) with the idea that it is possible to maintain, on this soil of North America, and in the face of a Republican America, British connection and British institutions, when you give the latter freely and trustingly. Faith, when it is sincere, is always catching, and I have imparted this faith, more or less thoroughly, to all Cana- dian statesmen, with whom I have been in official rela- tionship, since 1848, and to all intelligent Englishmen, with whom I have come in contact since 1 850." " I believe it is equally an error to imagine with one old fashioned party, that you can govern such dependencies as this, on the antiquated bureaucratic principle, by means of rescripts from Downing Street, in defiance of the popular legislatures, and on the hypothesis that one local faction monopolises all the loyalty of the Colony; and to suppose with the Radicals that all is done when you have simply told the colonists to go to the devil their own way." He recog- nised ^ that, after that the bonds formed by commercial pro- tection, and the disposal of local offices, were severed, it was especially desirable that the prerogative of the Crown, as the fountain of honour, should be employed, as a means of attaching the outljnng parts of the Empire to the throne. It is not the least of Lord Grey's services to his country that he should have selected Lord Elgin,* at the time, a political opponent, for the government of Canada. In dealing with the question of responsible government 1 Sept. 1852, p. 126. " Despatch, Feb. i8, 1853, p. 114. ' Carlyle's language as to Colonies in "The New Downing Stxeet" Latter Day Pamphlets, illustrates in a remarkable manner both his strength and bis weakness. On the one hand he recognises to the full the value of Colonies : " we propose through Heaven's blessing to retain them a while yet ! " On the other hand, through ignorance of the facts, he is most unfair to Lord Elgin : " Majesty's Chief Governor in fact 'seldom appearing on the scene at all, except to receive 3o8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY we have travelled ahead, but must return to the imme- diate measures, taken in consequence of Lord Durham's 3 and 4 Report. The Reunion Act, passed in 1840, came into '%^ force in February 1841. At the time there seemed good reason for the view that, in the long run, either Lower Canada must be converted into a British Colony, or else it would be lost to England ; and on this assumption the Reunion Act was a necessary measure. Indeed, from emy point of view, it appeared, for the time being, necessary. At the same time, it would seem that, here again, the true view was that put forward by Lord Elgin :^ — "Let them feel that their religion, their habits, their prepossessions, their prejudices if you will, are more considered and re- spected here than in other portions of this vast continent, and who will venture to say that the last hand which waves the British flag on American ground may not be that of a French Canadian ? " These things, however, were on the knees of the gods. The immediate necessity was to secure for the combined provinces such an Assembly, as might be trusted not to intrigue against the English connection. With regard to the Legislative Council, the Act of 1840 proceeded on the old lines. It remained nominated, and no attempt was made to revive the idea of creating a hereditary aristocracy. With the passc^e of this measure, and the granting by a subsequent statute to the Canadian Legislature the complete control over the whole expenditure of the Colony, Colonial policy with re- gard to Canada entered upon a new phase. Henceforth the old regime of bureaucratic interference was at an end, and under responsible government the Colony was to work out, to its own great advantage, its own salvation. The Act of 1867, which established the Confederate Dominion, was the fit consummation of the labours of the men of an the impact of a few rotten e^s on occasion, and then duck in again to his private contemplations." In truth, Lord Elgin's was just the character Carlyle should have admired, but the prophet could seldom see good in a contemporary until he had offered incense at the Chelsea shrine. ' Letters and Journals, p. 54. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 309 earlier day. Lord Durham and Lord Elgin would have rejoiced to have seen this realization of their own best hopes. In closing the chapter of Canadian history, which deals-^ with the working of the Union, it will be well to recall the emphatic language^ of Sir Edmund Head written in 1857. The inestimable value of the Union appeared to him to lie in the moral discipline it had given. " If it is difficult for any statesmen to steer their way amid the mingled interests and conflicting opinions of Catholic and Protestant, Upper and Lower Canadian, French and English, Scotch and Irish, con- stantly crossing and thwarting one another, it is probably to the action of these very cross interests and these conflicting opinions that the whole united Province will, under Provi- dence, in the end, owe its liberal policy and its final success. In such circumstances, constitutional and Parliamentary government cannot be carried on except by a vigorous atten- tion to the reasonable demands of all races and of all religious interests." We thus see how that Union, which, as at first adopted, was a mere counsel of despair, proved an indispensable training ground, in the practice of tolerance, and of those qualities, in the absence of which free government either results in anarchy or in a veiled despotism. It is not proposed here to deal with the boundary ques- ,. tions, settled by the Ashburton Treaty or by the Oregon ** Agreement. Directly as those questions affected Canadian interests, it was foreign policy not colonial policy, which dictated the action of England. One cannot help noting, however, the extreme inconvenience of such questions being settled, without the party most affected having a word to say in the matter. The American States, interested in the boundary question, were repreisented by their own Com- missioners, and received a money compensation for the territory of which they were deprived. But no such vigil- ance was shown on behalf of Canadian interests. The con- sequences might have been foreseen. To this day, there is no Canadian, who does not honestly believe that Lord i^or/. Pap. 1857-8. 3IO BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Ashburton shamefully gave away Canadian rights. Had Canada been herself represented, the case would have been different. It is at least unfortunate that the Mother country did not anticipate, when Canada was comparatively weak, the course she afterwards adopted, when the Colony had become of much account. Hudson's Mention has already been made of the Charter to the Bay Hudson's Bay Company, and of the recognition of its rights in the Treaty of Utrecht. As, however, we find so generally to have been the case, no attempt was made to fix the exact boundaries between Canada and the territories of the Com- pany. A distinction has to be drawn between the trading and the territorial rights of the Hydson's Bay Company. With regard to the trade monopoly, the general opinion of the highest legal authorities appeared to be that however wrong the original grant may have been, as against the statute forbidding monopolies, the long acquiescence of the English Parliament rendered it practically impossible to question the grant. With regard to the other question, — did or did not Ruperts land include the fertile belt from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains ? — the law officers of the Crown carefully refrained from expressing an opinion. Upon the whole it would appear that whatever may have been the original intentions of the French, English law regarded Canada as bounded on the West by the Mississippi, or a line drawn extending it, so that, to whomsoever this district be- longed, it hardly belonged to Canada. It was not, however, on dry legal rights that the question came up ultimately for settle- ment While the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company may be defended, as on the whole favourable to peace, and to the interests of the Indians, it was, from the nature of things, opposed to the opening out and settlement of the country. A new departure had indeed been made in 1811, when a vast tract of land was sold to Lord Selkirk for the purposes of the Red River settlement. But this experiment was a disastrous failure, and in 1838 the Company repur- chased the land. So far as trading rights were concerned, the Hudson's Bay Company was able to fortify its position PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 311 by amalgamating with the powerful North-West Company 1821. which had been formed as its rival. A grant of right of 1805. exclusive trade over practically the whole North-West was obtained for twenty-one years, and renewed in 1838 for a second term. As time went on, however, and the settled provinces of Canada grew in population and importance, it became more and more recognized that a state of things, under which vast tracts of land were practically sealed up, could not be much longer endured. In 1857 the whole subject was carefully considered ^ by a Parliamentary Com- mittee. Observe the tone of the Company's witnesses. The Red River Settlement had been " an unwise speculation " and "had failed." " The climate is not favourable." The Saskat- chewan was a country capable of settlement only " when the population of America became so dense that they are forced into situations less fit for settlement than those they occupy now." The Report of the Committee proved a colourless document, and, in effect, postponed the decision of the question. A more practical way of dealing with the matter had been proposed by Mr Gladstone, and only lost by the casting vote of the Chairman. He proposed that the country capable of colonization should be withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Hudson's Bay Company, and that its rights should rest henceforth on the basis of statute. The Report of the Committee, at least, showed the direc- tion in which opinion was moving, and when in 1858 the discovery of gold caused an influx of settlers into " certain wild and unoccupied territories . . . commonly known as New Caledonia, henceforth to be known as British Colum- bia," the greatest care was taken that the new Colony should be free of any claims to monopoly from the Hud- son's Bay Company.^ " All claims and interests," wrote Sir E. B. Lytton, " must be subordinated to that policy which is to be found in the peopling and opening up of the new country, with the intention of consolidating it, as an integral and important part of the British Empire." " You will keep steadily in view," he added, " that it is the desire of 1 Pari. Pap., 1857. a p^^l, Paj,., 1859. 312 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY this country that representative institutions and self-govern- ment should prevail in British Colonies, when by the grovrth of a fixed population, materials for those institutions shall be known to exist ; and to that object you must, from the commencement, aim and shape your policy." When one compares this action of Sir E. B. Lytton with the ready acquiescence with which a few years earlier Lord Grey had conferred Vancouver Island on the Hudson's Bay Company, one recognizes the importance of the growth of opinion in moulding policy. Australia. In turning to Australia, we note the same tendency to progress. Whatever may have been the fears of the genera- tion which witnessed the American Revolution, and of their immediate successors, such fears were now a thing of the past. Lord John Russell and Lord Grey, the special inheritors of the Whig tradition, could hardly advocate England playing the autocrat towards her own Colonies ; and the Tory states- man, who in his stalwart old age was to dish the Whigs, was not the man to be guilty of political timidity. It is a curious coincidence that the Minister, who, under the influence of Disraeli, was twenty-five years later to launch England on the stream of democracy, was also the creator in Australia of those popular institutions which have gone so far. The 5 and 6 measure introduced by Lord Stanley, and passed by both "^_g Houses of Parliament without a dissentient voice, created a new legislative council for New South Wales. It was to con- sist of thirty-six members ; of whom twenty-four were to be elected, and twelve to be appointed by the Crown. Not more than half of the nominated members were to be offi- cials. Electors were to be freeholders in land, or tenements of the value of ;£^200, or householders occup)dng houses of the value of ;^2o. An unfortunate provision sought to force local government down the throats of the colonists, by empower- ing the Governor to incorporate the inhabitants for purposes of local government and to appoint the first local bodies. Half of the expense of the police establishment of the Colony was thrown on the district rates, and powers of distress and sale were conferred on the central authority as against a PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 313 defaulting district ; and thus a measure which was intended as a boon became a cause of heartburning and of struggle, in which the colonists resisted, with ultimate success, the resolute Gipps. Here again a sermon was preached on the difficulty of settling internal colonial affairs in Downing Street Van Diemen's Land was included in the title of the Act, but no attempt was made to introduce representa- tive institutions in a community where convicts and ex-con- victs still outnumbered the rest. Another Act dealt with the case of South Australia. Its s and 6 provisions were partly financial, settling, to a great extent, gj ' the liabilities of the Colony ; but, by a curious clause, power was given to establish any one of three different forms of government. The legislature was to consist either of the Governor, a nominated Council, and an Assembly, to be elected by the freeholders and other inhabitants, or of the Governor and a mixed Council, as in New South Wales, or else— which was the course adopted — of a Governor and a nominated Council. Lord Stanley not unnaturally con- sidered that, before introducing the element of popular representation, it ^ " should be made evident that the inter- nal resources of the Colony are fully adequate to provide for its own expenditure, and also that permanent provision should be made for certain fixed and definite expenses, on account of the civil government of the Colony." The case of Western Australia was met by a short bill con- tinuing the existing Act for its government. An elaborate and ambitious scheme for the government of New Zealand was put forward by Lord Grey in 1846. New Zealand was to be divided into two provinces, each having a Lieutenant Governor and provincial Assembly. The provincial Assem- blies were to consist of nominated Councils and representa- tives elected by municipalities, which were now to be created. A general Assembly for the Colony was to consist of a nomin- ated Council and of representatives elected by the provincial Assemblies. The Maories were practically excluded from the franchise for municipalities, by a provision which obliged 1 Pari. Pap., 1842. 314 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY electors to be able to read and write English. It is not worth while to waste time over this statute, as in fact its provisions were never put in force. Luckily, a strong man was at the helm in New Zealand, and Captain Grey, in effect, reported that the Statute was unworkable. Lord Grey at once yielded, and a Bill was passed suspending the Constitution for five years, and practically enabling the Governor to deal with the matter as might seem best to him. The idea of making municipalities the constituent bodies for the representative Assemblies appears to have been a favourite one with Lord Grey. In 1847 we find him proposing so to act in the case of the Australian Colonies. He was, however, met with such a storm of disapproval that he at once withdrew the proposal. He "had no wish to impose upon the inhabitants ... a form of government not in their judgment suited to their wants." ^ Warned by past failures, Lord Grey proceeded circum- spectiy. He revived the ancient practice of calling upon the Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Planta- tions to act as a deliberative body (its functions having for a long time become merely nominal so far as colonial ques- tions were concerned). With this object the Board of Trade was strengthened by the addition of Lord Campbell, Sir E. April 4, Ryan and Sir J. Stephen. The Report* was drafted by 1849. Stephen, and set out the lines on which the Constitution Act of 1850 was based. It recommended the establishment of Port Phillip as a separate Colony. On the question of a single or bi-cameral l^slature, it pronounced in the abstract strongly in favour of the latter. At the same time, the single chamber system held the field in New South Wales. Custom appeared to have attached the colonists to it All, therefore, that could reasonably be done was " to leave to the L^fila- tures now to be established the power of amending their own constitutions by resolving either of these single Houses of Legislature into two Houses." The Legislatures should be entrusted " with the power of making any other amendments in their own constitution, which time and experience may 1 Pari. Pap., 1847. ' Ld. Grey's Col. Pol., Appendix A, Vol. 11. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 315 show to be requisite." At the same time, no Act in any way enlarging, retrenching, or altering the constitution of that Legislature ought to be valid, until expressly confirmed and enacted by the Queen in Council. The Committee were strongly convinced of the necessity of municipal bodies. In order to induce the Colonies to establish them, they recom- mended that a portion of the Land Fund should be placed at the disposal of the District Councils for subjects of local concern. On the question of the tariff, they foresaw grave inconvenience if there should be various distinct tariffs within Australia, and they therefore recommended the es- tablishment of one tariff, common to them all. This should, in the first instance, be fixed by the Imperial Parliament, and afterwards should be one of the ten subjects^ reserved for the decision of a General Assembly to be elected by the Legislatures of the diflTerent Australian Colonies. (It is very significant of the tone of thought of the day that among these ten subjects the question of common defence is not mentioned.) In advocating a Federal Australia, the Com- mittee were in advance of public opinion, whether English or Australian. The clauses dealing with this subject were withdrawn from the Bill. In other respects, the measure, 13 and 14 as passed, gave substantial effect to the recommendations of Yj*^' *^' the Report. Port Phillip was constituted a separate Colony under the name of Victoria, and the Act applied to all the Australian Colonies. Its effect was undoubtedly greatly ^ The ten subjects were : — 1. The imposition of duties. 2. The conveyance of letters. 3. The formation of railways, etc., traversing more than one colony. 4. Erection and maintenance of beacons. 5. Shipping charges. 6. Establishment of a Supreme Court. 7. Determining its jurisdiction. 8. Regulation of weights and measures. 9. The enactment of laws affecting Colonies represented on any other subject on which the General Assembly should be desired to legislate by addresses from the Legislatures of all those Colonies. 10. The appropriation to any of the preceding objects of such sums as may be necessary, by an equal percentage from the revenue raised in all the Australian Colonies, in virtue of any enactments of the General Assembly. 3i6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY to enlarge the powers of the New South Wales Legislative Sec. 14. Council. The appropriation of the whole of the colonial revenue, with the exception of the proceeds of land sales, was henceforth placed under the local Grovemment, and full Sec. 27. power was given to impose custom duties, provided they were not of a differential nature. All salaries, except those of the Governor and Judges, were placed under the ordinary con- trol of the Legislature. In the words of its Parliamentary draftsman, " The Bill, in effect, proposed one resolution, viz., that it was expedient to leave the form of their institutions to be dealt with by the Colonial Legislatures." ^ In spite of all this, the measure was met by the New South Wales Legislative Council with an address of in- dignant remonstrance, in which, under the guise of consti- tutional objections, they perhaps concealed their chagrin at Sec. 32. the loss of the rich district of Port Phillip. The provision of the measure which invested the Legislative Councils with the most ample power of amending their own constitutions, was of far-reaching importance. Under it, when the time was ripe for responsible government, its introduction came to pass without friction, and with no opposition from English statesmen. N.Zealand The question of the constitution of New Zealand was 15 and 16 settled in 1852 by an Act introduced by Sir J. Pakington. ''■yjl The measure adopted the recommendations of Governor Grey. Six Provinces were created, each of which was to have a Superintendent, chosen by election, and a Provincial Council, consisting of not less than nine members. The qualification of members and of voters was the same, viz., the possession of freehold of the value of ;^SO, or of lease- hold of the annual value of ;^io, or the occupation of a house of the annual value of ;^io in a town or of £i in country districts. The District Councils were restricted from legislat- ing on thirteen specified subjects, and power was given to the Governor to disallow Bills passed by tiie Provincial Councils. The General Assembly was to consist of the Governor, a Legis- lative Council and House of Representatives. The members ' Mr Coulson in Pari. Pap,, 1850. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 317 of the Legislative Council, consisting of not less than ten members, were to hold their seats for life. The qualification of voters for the House of Representatives was to be the same as for the Provincial Councils. " Whereas it may be Sec. 71. expedient that the laws, customs and usages," of the Maoris, " should for the present be maintained for the government of themselves . . . and that particular districts should be set apart within which such laws, usages and customs shall be preserved," power was given to the Crown to make provision for the purposes aforesaid, "any repugnancy of any such native laws ... to the law of England . . . notwithstand- ing " ; and this power was delegated to Governor Grey. For the first time in Australasia the right was conferred by Statute Sec. 72, upon the colonial authorities to deal with the public lands as they might see fit. In another respect, the New Zealand Statute had important consequences. Wakefield was now a New Zealand colonist, and at his instigation the Assembly claimed from the acting Governor the full grant of responsible government Applica- tion was made to England, whence, in December 1854, the answer came that the Ministry " had no objection whatever to offer to the establishment of the system known as respon- sible government." ^ The Imperial Government had " no desire to propose terms, or lay down restrictions, except . . . the making provision for certain officers who have accepted offices on the equitable understanding of their permanence." Legislation was not necessary, except for the purpose of securing the pension of retiring officers. This reply has been severely handled,* upon the ground that it amounted to a virtual betrayal of the Maoris ; and it is certainly strange that the despatch contained no reminder of the rights of the natives under the Treaty of Waitsmgi. At the same time, any attempt to keep native affairs out of the hands of the Colonial Executive must have ended in constant friction ; and on the dry, constitutional aspect of the question, it is difficult to show that the Home Government were in the I Pari. Pap., 1855. Sir G. Grey was the Secretary of State. " See Rusden's Hut. of N. Zealand, Vol. II. ch. ix. 3i8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY wrong, although the New Zealand Act did not on its face contemplate responsible government. Removal There is one pleasant feature in connection with the history "^nrari^ of the question of Australian self-government. Both the ftom party great English political parties were agreed on a policy of arena, jjjjgj.^^ concession. It is true that Mr Gladstone has as- serted^ that Liberal Administrations gave the Colonies " popular and responsible government," but this assertion is, at best, most misleading. In fact, so far as the harmony between the Mother country and the Australian Colonies was, at the time disturbed, it was through the action of the Whig Minister, Lord Grey. With all his great gifts both of head and heart, Lord Grey proved singularly unhappy in his management of the Colonies. At the slightest pretext he would discharge a constitutional homily, which, what- ever its merits as literature, did not tend to promote good feeling. No one, I think, can have read carefully his history, without, while recognising the excellence of his intentions, also recognising something of the reason, why those good intentions had often such unhappy results.^ Shortlived as was Sir John Pakington's connection with the Colonial office, it was long enough for the New South Legislative Council to date from it the commencement of " a new and auspicious era" in the government of the Australian Colonies.* The remonstrances which had been met by Lord Grey with didactic snubbings received a friendly treatment The revenue from the gold fields was at once 3delded to the colonial legislatures. While "unable to concede the claim advanced on behalf of the administration of the waste land as one of absolute right " Sir J. Pakington agreed,* " that 1 Midlothian AddiesR, 1880. * " Lord Grey was possessed with the idea that it was practicable to give repre- sentative institutions, and then to stop without giving responsible government — something like the English Constitution under Elizabeth and the Stuarts. He did not understand either the vigorous independence of an Anglo-Saxon commun- ity, or the weakness of an executive, which represents a democracy. So events took their course and left his theories behind." — Lord Blachford (writing in 1885). The Letters of Lord Blachford, ed. by G. Marindin, p. 297. = Pari. Pap., 1854. « Pari. Pap., 1852-3. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 319 under the new and rapidly changing circumstances of New South Wales, the time is come at which . . . the adminis- tration of those lands should be transferred to the colonial legislatures, after those changes in the Constitution, which are adverted to in the Petition." On the question of the Con- stitution, the Conservative Government recognised that " the rapid progress of New South Wales in wealth and population renders it necessary that the form of its institutions should be more nearly assimilated to that prevailing in the Mother country." No direct mention is made of responsible govern- ment, but, in expressing agreement with the view that the new Constitution should be in its outlines similar to that of Canada, Sir John Pakington in effect foreshadowed such government. It was reserved for later times to find in these transactions the material for party boastings ; when the Duke of Newcastle succeeded to the Colonial Office, he was content ^ " cordially " to adopt the conclusions of his Tory predecessor. What is especially striking in the English statesmen of the day is their attitude of caution. The Statute of 1850 had very wisely left it to the colonial legislatures, to make or mar their own constitutional future, and it was gener- ally recognised that the less England meddled in the matter the better for all parties. When the colonial Bills dealing with the question arrived in England, it was found that only the Bill from Van Diemen's Land could be assented to at once : the New South Wales and Victoria Bills requiring the omission of clauses entrenching on the prerogatives of the Crown. The English Parliament, 18 and 19 however, while making the necessary omissions, was careful Y"^' ^ in all other respects to retain the ipsissima verba of the colonial measures. When Sir R. MacDonell, the much- contriving Governor of South Australia, suggested a new scheme of constitution, with only a single chamber and with- out responsible government, the Secretary of State, Mr Labouchere, was ^ " anxious to place it on record, that Her Majesty's Government are themselves no parties to such a ' Pari. Pap., 1852-3. 2 p^ri. Pap,^ 1856. 320 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY deviation from what was originally intended." At the same time, " if the legislative Council were of opinion that respon- sible government was not in accordance with the wants or sentiments of the South Australian community, they were no doubt at liberty to take such steps as might have the effect of postponing or rejecting it" The keynote of English policy is found in the wise words ^ of the Duke of Newcastle, "it appears to me therefore that^ while public expectation is as yet but little excited on the subject of responsible government, it is very desirable that we should prepare ourselves to r^[ard its introduction as a change, which cannot be long delayed and for which the way should be smoothed as far as possible." Victoria. No on^ I think, can doubt, who has studied the his- tory of the early years of Victoria, but that, had English statesmen shown less sagacity, the consequences to the Empire might have been serious. A community, largely recruited from the most restless and lawless classes of Europe and America, found itself working out its own salvation under the solemn shelter of English constitutional precedent Who can doubt but that, had not the most prescient antici- pation of the Governor Sir Charles Hotham been verified, and " the popular anger directed, not against the connection with the old country, or against the Governor, but against their own chosen Government, and their disputes and political animosities exclusively confined to themselves," * the English people might have woke one morning to hear that a Victorian republic had been proclaimed. In no community was it more nefcessary that the Queen's representative should be above and beyond parties. As it was, the abortive insur- rection at the gold fields, which had been merely directed against the payment for licences, -was not succeeded by a more dangerous kind of constitutional sedition; and the battle of political faction, it must be admitted fierce enough, was carried on in the broad light of day, and with the check, which the possibility of attaining to power, must always impose on the most reckless demagogue. 1 Pari. FUp., 1854. « Pari. Pap., 1856. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 321 In this state of things, and when the moulding of their New Con- constitution had been wisely left to the colonists themselves, it scarcely belongs to the story of British Policy to deal with the constitutions thus created. It is strange to read in the Report of the Committee of the New South Wales Legisla- ture drafted by Wentworth, perhaps the most interesting and powerful personality which Australian political life has yet produced, the words, " They have no wish to sow the seeds of a future democracy."^ It was proposed to establish a hereditary order of baronets, from whom might be chosen the members of the Legislative Council. It was not, however, given to Wentworth to succeed where Pitt had failed, and the proposals to this effect were abandoned in deference to a general public opinion. The Bill, however, as sent to England, contained a more workable conservative provision, which it is strange to find eliminated at the instance of English statesmen. It proposed that a majority of two- thirds of both Houses should be necessary to sanction any alteration in the constitution. It is unnecessary to criticise the involved reasoning* by which Lord John Russell arrived at the result, but the fact remains that by the Imperial Act it was, in effect, enacted that the pro- vision with regard to a two-thirds majority should be abandoned whenever a bare majority of the New South Wales Legislature so demanded. In these circumstances, considering the state of English public opinion at the time on political questions, there was considerable force in Went- worth's^ "surprise and regret that the loyalty and attach- ment of the inhabitants of New South Wales to the institu- tions of their forefathers should be met by what appears a general desire to force upon them . . . new and untried forms of democracy. ... I sincerely hope that these ex- perimental democracies may not prove reactionary on British institutions, and that the unsettled masses . . . may not come to the conclusion, sooner or later, that forms of government which are thought good enough for ^ Pari. Pap., i&S'i- - "^ Pari. Pap., i^^6. 3 See Rusden, Hist. ofAust., Vol. III. p. 105. X 322 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Englishmen abroad might be introduqed with advantage at home." Whatever may be thought of Wentworth's fears, it is yet strange that years before English politicians had undergone education on the question, they were content with a light heart to see their colonial kinsmen "shoot Niagara." Probably the explanation is to be sought in that determination not to meddle, which, on the whole, was attended with such happy results. Trans- Closely connected with the subjects of constitutional portataon. government and the disposal of the waste lands, was the burning question of transportation. If the Australian Colonies were to receive genuine self-government, it was clear that the convict element could not be indefinitely increased, while if this artificial source of labour was to be stopped, some other means must be devised to furnish the colonists with the necessary hands. Naturally, there- fore, the three causes were closely intertwined, and the same men were found advocating responsible government, the Wakefield system for the disposal of lands, and the abandonment of transportation. When Sir William Moles- worth, a leading member of the party of colonial reformers, was appointed chairman of the Committee which con- sidered the subject of transportation in 1837 and 1838, the battle was virtually won. It was impossible that the system should long survive an enquiry initiated under such auspices. The Report* freely admitted the advan- tages of the system in the past so far as economic con- siderations were concerned. " As slave Colonies have more rapidly and generally increased in wealth on account of the forced combination of labour ... so in these Colonies of criminals and bondage, where the free settlers were not only provided with slaves free of expense but likewise with an excellent market, a larger amount of wealth has been accumulated in a shorter space of time than perhaps in any other community of the same size in the world." Granting, however, all this, there was force in the next sentence of the Report, "But will this prosperity con- 1 Pari. Pap., 1838. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 323 tinue ? " It was becoming altogether impossible to send convicts in proportion to the expanding demand for labour in the Colonies. The only remedy for the dearth of labour lay in the adoption of the Wakefield system. "If. . , transportation be discontinued, it would be absolutely necessary to raise the minimum price of land to at least one pound an acre, and eventually it would probably be found advantageous to carry it considerably higher still, for it is obvious that by raising the price of land, the tendency of population to an undue dispersion over an almost unlimited territory, which is the cause of the want of labour, may be checked." The Report recommended that transportation to New South Wales and the settled dis- tricts of Van Diem en's Land should be discontinued as soon as possible, and that convicts punished abroad should be compelled to leave the settlement within a limited time after the expiration of their term of punishment. It is curious, in view of present colonial opinion on the subject, to find the recommendation that convicts who had been punished in England and had given proofs of good behaviour should be encouraged to emigrate to the Colonies. In truth, apart from the Reports of Select Committees, and the prejudices of statesmen, the transportation question was rapidly settling itself. The theory that the Australian Colonies were merely convict settlements, that, as to the free emigrant, " que diable voulait il faire dans cette galere," the theory, which breathed in the despatches of Governors, and especially in the behaviour of MacQuarie, was fast yielding to the logic of facts. It was becoming clear that Australia was reserved for better things than to be a kind of vast penitentiary. Here and there a voice, such as that of the very able Governor, Sir W. Denison,^ might be heard, sounding the note of the past, but nothing could avail against the stream of tendency. New forces were at work among the settlers. So long as the immigrants were merely land-owners, their interests were of course bouncl up with a system, which gave them an abundance of cheap ^ See Varieties of Viceregal Life, by Sir W. Denison. 324 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY labour, but, with the gro^vth of towns and the introduction of a mechanic and artisan class, cheap labour no longer appeared so unmixed a blessing. Already in the forties were heard faint murmurs of the cry which was subse- quently to attain such volume, directed against immigra- tion, so far as it might affect the local rate of wages. In these circumstances, it was clear that however convenient the system of transportation might have been in the past, some other mode of dealing with criminals must now be substituted. The British Government proceeded to give partial effect to the recommendations of the Committee. In 1840 an Order in Council made Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island the only places in the South Seas, to which convicts might be sent Lord J. Russell declared that in " August 1840 transportation to New South Wales would cease for ever." Meanwhile it had previously been announced that "settlers must be prepared for the imme- diate diminution of assignment and the speedy discontinu- ance of it altogether." It might reasonably have been expected that such a change would subject the Colony for a time to grave econ- omic difficulties. Unfortunately, just when the Colony was beginning to accommodate itself to its new circumstances, the question was again re-opened by Mr Gladstone in 1846. A vote of the House of Commons in 1841 had urged that the change of policy should not be continued, and that a laige number of the convicts who had been detained in England should be sent abroad. In consequence of this vote, the resources of Van Diemen's Land, as a receptacle for con- victs, had been severely strained. Between 1840 and 1844. more than 40,000 convicts were landed in that Colony. Negotiations for a new convict Colony to be called North Australia had come to nothing, and in this state of things Mr Gladstone invited the Legislative Council of New South Wales "to concur in the opinion that a modified and carefully regulated introduction of convict labourers . . . may under the present circumstances be advisable." A Committee of the New South Wales Legislature recom- PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 325 mended the Council, upon terms, to agree with Mr Glad- stone's proposals. " If it were placed at the option of the colonists whether they would at once and for ever free themselves and their posterity from the further taint of the convict system, doubtless a large majority would give the proposal for renewed transportation an unhesitating veto."^ As, however, it was clearly the intention of the Home Government not to discontinue transportation alto- gether, the question was whether New South Wales should receive convicts, directly and on equitable terms, or whether they should come indirectly through other Colonies, and without any attendant compensation. The conditions under which the revival of transportation might be accepted were that a free emigrant should be sent out at the same time for every convict transported, and that for every male con- vict, a female, whether convict or free, should be also sent. Although the Report of the Committee was not at the time formally adopted by the Legislative Council, a despatch was sent from England announcing that transportation would be renewed under conditions which substantially followed the Committee's recommendations. The Local Government as- sented to this course. Unfortunately, however, these con- ditions were not fulfilled. Lord Grey's explanations,* while they established the goodness of his intentions, also proved how completely he was out of touch with the feelings of the colonists on this question. The English Ministry appear to have been under the impression that a thorn under another name would cease to prick, and that by splitting punish- ments into three stages,^ — a limited period of separate im- prisonment ; a term of employment on public works, either abroad or at home; and, lastly, a period of exile to the Colonies, — the objections to transportation might be removed. The system in itself may have been excellent. Its object was to assimilate the condition of the ticket-of-leave man to that of the assigned servant of former days; "except in those particu- lars in which the system of assignment was open to objection." * 1 Pari. Pap., 1847. 2 Col. Policy, Vol. II. p. 44- ^ Vol. II. p. 17. * P. 25. 326 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY The Crown, which had by law a property in the service of sentenced criminals, made over that property to the man himself, subject to the condition of his submitting to a certain annual deduction from his wages, for the payment of which his employer was made responsible. All this might be in theory admirable, but there was one insuperable objection, and that was that colonial public opinion barred the way. Doubtless the failure of the English Government to fulfil the terms of their bargain was merely the pretext which caused the Legislative Council in 1849 ^ protest " against the adoption of any measures by which the Colony will be degraded into a penal settlement." The real blunder lay in the failure to appreciate the force and strength of the anti-transportation sentiment, a failure which is no- where more apparent than in the pages of Lord Grey's own 1849. book. However, the Order in Council making New South Wales a place to which convicts might be sent was again revoked, but in a most grudging and ungracious manner. Just as with the disposal of the waste lands, so with the transportation question, the cause which finally decided the issue of events was the discovery of gold. It is true that Lord Grey, with characteristic obstinacy, refused to recognise that this made any difference, but his successor. Sir J. Pak- ington, admitted that "Her Majesty's Government are unable to resist the force and justice of these remonstrances . . . they propose altogether to discontinue transportation to Van Diemen's Land." Henceforth, so far as the Eastern Colonies in Australia were concerned, the question had merely a historic interest ; and Van Diemen's Land, to emphasize its break with the past, entered in 1855 upon a new life under the name of Tasmania. It should give pause to the confidence of theorists to note that the Colony, which was the most deeply saturated with the criminal taint, has been on the whole the most orderly and conservative of all the Australian Colonies. So true does it seem that the anti-social forces of crime and vice are in their nature sterile and suicidal, and that evil far more than happiness " dies in its own too much." Probably the most permanent effect of PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 327 transportation has been that State socialism, which (as Mr Jenks has pointed out^) was inevitably fostered by the early circumstances of the Australian Colonies. Meanwhile, just when the elder Colonies were beginning to push from them the accursed thing, Western Australia, which had been expressly founded as a Colony of free settlers, began to cast longing eyes on a system, which, whatever its moral objections, seemed productive of economic good. For some years the Colony had received lads from the Parkhurst Peni- tentiary under the euphonious name of Government Juvenile Immigrants. In 1849 application was made to the Home Government to declare Western Australia a place to which convicts should be transported. The delight with which Lord Grey acceded to the request can be imagined. He notes* with pride how those who have obtained tickets of leave have readily found employment . . . that the Colony is prosper- ing in every respect . . . while the Governor states " that the amount of crime as yet committed in this Colony among all classes is so slight, that I do not feel it necessary to make any unfavourable remark whatever." In discussing the subjects of the disposal of the waste lands, port of the constitution, and of transportation, we have dealt ^^'^V- with the main lines of Imperial Policy, so far as it affected Australia during the period in question. A word may be added as to the settlement of Port Phillip in 1835. On this subject, the policy of the Home Ministry was ex- plained in a despatch of Lord Aberdeen in 1834.* "His Majesty's Government are not prepared to authorise a measure, the consequences of which would be to spread over a still further extent of territory a population which it was the object of the recent land regulations to concen- trate." In the abstract this sounded reasonable enough, and when it was necessary to modify principles under the changing circumstances of particular cases, the Colo- nial Office did not show itself obstinate. Lord Glenelg realised that "the principle of counteracting dispersion, ' Si'st. ofAust. Col., p. 149. « Col. Pal., Vol. II, p. 63. * Pari. Pap., 1835. 328 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY when reduced to practice, must unavoidably be narrowed within the limits which these physical peculiarities of the Colony dictate and require." Perhaps, indeed, the settlers at Port Phillip had "given birth to undertakings which deliberate reflection would have recommended rather than discouraged." To the South Australians, who complained bitterly that emancipists from Port Phillip might cross the boundary into the Colony devoted to free men, Lord Glenelg plaintively remarked that there were no soldiers or policemen to keep in check the Port Phillip settler^ nor in any case would it have been possible to use force for such a purpose. Upon the whole, the Colonial Office would seem to have taken as their model the wise Gamaliel Free The story of the triumph of Free Trade belongs to Trade, general English history. We are here only concerned with it so far as it affected Colonial policy. It was inevitable, however, that this great economic revolution should pro- foundly modify the relations existing between the Mother country and her Colonies. Again and again it has been noticed that for well-nigh two centuries the great object of all European nations, in seeking to obtain Colonies, had been the gain supposed to accrue from the Mono- poly of their commerce. Although this policy had been considerably modified, yet "the principle of placing the trade with the Colonies on a different footing from that of other countries had been maintained up to the year 1846, and was generally regarded as one of unquestioned pro- priety and wisdom." * At this time the principal exporting Colonies were the West Indies and Canada ; the main pro- ducts being sugar, timber, and wheat Colonial sugar still 8 and 9 possessed a virtual monopoly in the British markets, only Vic, c. 5, slightly relaxed in favour of sugar the produce of countries in which slavery did not exist To destroy this monopoly was in any case a serious measure, but there were special circum- stances which rendered the change peculiarly obnoxious. The West Indian planting interest had deeply resented the emancipation of their slaves, and had by no means been content * Ixjrd Grey, Col. Pol., Vol. I. p. 7. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 329 with the compensation given. The modified slavery, termed apprenticeship, had broken down, under the pressure of English public opinion, which exacted such checks upon the power of the masters to enforce compulsory labour, as to make it of little use. The establishment of stipendiary magistrates in Jamaica had been, in the words of Metcalfe,'^ " extremely grating to the landed interests, and, added to the abolition of slavery, became a second revolution in the island." In this state of things, the Jamaica Assembly "having taken into mature consideration the aggressions which the British Parliament continue to make on the rights of the people of this Colony, and the confusion and mischief which must result from the present anomalous system of government," determined to " abstain from any legislative function, except such as may be necessary to preserve in- violate the faith of the island with the public creditor." The reply of the English Ministry was to introduce a Bill sus- pending the Jamaica constitution. This Bill was, however, ultimately withdrawn, being the occasion of the constitutional struggle over the " Bedchamber." In all seriousness, the Jamaica constitution needed altera- tion. It was not there required, as in the Mother country, and as under the subsequent amended constitutions of Canada and of the Australasian Colonies, that grants of money should be recommended by the Crown's representa- tive, nor was there any one person responsible for preparing an estimate of the receipts and expenditure of the Colony, and taking care that the latter should be covered by the the former. Nor did the mischief end here. "By various local Acts, most of them of somewhat remote date, the col- lection and application of the revenue had been almost entirely taken out of the hands of the Governor " ^ and trans- ferred to certain Commissioners of public accounts. But these Commissioners were the members of the Assembly under another name, so that the same body audited the accounts which it had previously voted. Moreover, there was no check possessed by the Crown by means of a threat ^ Life and Letters, by Kaye. ^ Lord Grey, Col, Pel., Vol I. p. 175. 330 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY of dissolution, as the Commissioners were authorised by law to act, notwithstanding the prorogation or dissolution of the Assembly. Under the new electoral law a great number of emancipated slaves might by registration acquire the fran- chise, so that, while a narrow oligarchy was neglecting its own business, and passing its time in framing pompous indictments of the British Parliament, there seemed opening ahead the Curtian gulf of a black democracy. In all prob^ ability, if the step advocated by Lord Grey had been taken, much of the economic evils of emancipation might have been avoided. The measure for the abolition of slavery was de- fective, in that it contained no provisions for impelling the emancipated slaves to work for hire. Lord Grey's own sug- gestion,^ made as early as 1833, was that the negroes should be stimulated to industry by the imposition of a tax on their provision grounds. During the period of slavery, the greater portion of the food consumed by the negroes had been derived from these provision grounds, so that, unless a much higher standard of living could be established, or an artificial stimulus imposed, there would be no adequate motive to work for wages for more than a small portion of the week. In this state of things, the natural economic result followed. Labour became a scarce article, and thus fetched a scarcity price, quite apart from the profits of the planter. "The principal causes of diminished production and consequent distress are the great difficulty ... in obtaining steady and continuous labour, and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken and indifferent work which they are able to procure." * When one reflects that the taxation, ad- vocated by Lord Grey, would have been spent on education, religion and the general improvement of the negroes, the case for the measure, which the' Jamaica l^slature obstin- ately rejected, becomes overwhelming. If, however, the West Indian interest did not know the way that led to their own peace, that was no reason why Lord Grey should not persevere in his settled course. One of the earliest and most uncompromising of free traders, > Vol. I. p. 76. 2 H. of C. Com. Rep.. 1842. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 331 he had no doubt but that every form of monopoly must curse him that takes as well as him that gives. He was willing to do all he could to promote assisted immigration to meet the planters' needs, but on the question of monopoly there could be no paltering. When in the beginning of Sir Robert Peel's commercial reforms, the tariff of 1842 contained provisions by which various new protected in- terests would be created in the Colonies, Lord Howick, as he then was, met them with a hostile resolution, based on the broad ground that " duties ought not to be levied on the importation of any article, which would meet in our market articles of the same kind produced in the Colonies, and not subject to an equal amount of taxation." One is struck by the hesitation and uncertainty shown for many years by most English statesmen on the question of trade relations with the Colonies. As Lord Elgin wrote ^ : " You cannot halt between two opinions ; Free Trade in all things, or general Protection. There was something captivating in the prospect of forming all the parts of this vast British Empire into one huge zollverein, with free interchange of commodities and uniform duties against the world without. . . . Undoubtedly, under such a system, the component parts of the Empire would have been united by bonds, which cannot be supplied, under that on which we are now entering, though it may fairly be urged, on the other side, that the variety of conflicting interests, which would, under this arrangement, have been brought into presence, would have led to collisions, which we may now hope to escape." Be this, however, as it may. Lord Grey at least knew 8 and 9 his own mind. "The object of the Act of 1846," he tells J''=-' "=• us,* " was to provide for the immediate reduction, and the entire abolition at any early period, of the heavy differ- ential duty. . . on foreign sugar . . . and further, to put an end ... to the distinction between foreign sugar, the produce of countries in which slavery does or does not prevail." Its details were altered by an amending Act, 1848. ' Letters ami Journals, p. 6l. * Col. Pol., Vol. I. p. 51. 332 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY but the policy remained the same. On the other side, the Colonies were enabled to admit foreign goods on the same terms as British goods. Hitherto there had been, in addi- tion to the duties imposed by colonial laws, certain differ- ential duties imposed by a British statute upon articles of foreign origin. The Navigation laws were repealed in 1849. The various restrictions, from which the colonial sugar-growers were now relieved, had been in 1830 esti- mated by the Committee of West Indian planters and merchants as equivalent to a charge of no less than five shillings per hundredweight on colonial sugar, so that the relief given was not trifling. Unhappily the West Indian planters were in no mood to consider these things. More- over, they were not without powerful allies. The convic- tion is forced upon the historical student that the wrongs of the West Indian planter afforded a very useful rod for an active Opposition to employ in the cudgelling of the Ministry. When, however, the great champion of the West Indies attained to power the figures wore a very different aspect. Between 185 1 and 1852 British production of sugar had increased by one and a quarter million hundred-weights, and foreign production had decreased by six hundred thou- sand hundred-weights, and so Mr Disraeli ^ was ready to be called a traitor or a renegade, but could not recommend a differential duty to prop up a prostrate industry, " which is actually commanding the metropolitan market." To the West Indies the moral of the story was the old moral. Put not your faith in rulers. Doubtless the energy employed over petitions and lobbying, if applied to the economic needs of the Colony, would have supplied Mr Disraeli with even yet more favourable figures. Nor, so far as Jamaica was concerned, does the situation seem to have been really a cheerful one. Sir H. Barkly,^ reporting in 1854, affirmed that, "in all classes, mortgagees, proprietors, public officers, planters and labourers are equally alarmed at the pro.spect of overwhelming ruin. . . . Successful sugar cultivation may be said to be confined to three or four districts of limited 1 Hans., N.S., Vol. CXXIII. p. 850. » Pari. Pap., 1854. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 333 area possessed by peculiar advantages; elsewhere it would seem to be at the lowest ebb." Jamaica was especially unfortunate by reason of its poli- tical constitution ; power being lodged in the hands of the small freeholders, who were opposed to the one remedy possible, immigration. Offers of assistance in this way from the British Government were again and again refused by the short-sighted Assembly ; at last, with the bait of the promise of an Imperial loan, Sir H. Barkly induced the Assembly to adopt a new constitution. Under this the Legislative Council was re-organised, and made to consist mainly of unofficial members. An Executive Committee was established, consisting of three members of the Assem- bly and one member of the Legislative Council, who, in effect, were to discharge the duties of responsible Ministers. Although, with respect to the general trade policy of the Empire, the die had been cast, there was still room for a great difference of opinion on the point how far English theory and practice were to dictate the theory and practice of the Colonies. In Lord Durham's Report, the regulation of trade with the Mother country, the other British Colonies, and foreign nations, had been stated as among the points on which the Mother country required a control. So too, in C. BuUer's famous speech in 1843, he had said: "Of the fiscal policy of the different portions of your own Empire, you can always make sure, and may rely upon being met by no hostile tariff on their part." Yet more emphatic, more suo is the language of Lord Grey. When Parlia- ment adopted Free Trade "it did not abdicate the duty and the power of regulating the commercial policy, not only of the United Kingdom, but of the British Empire. The common interest of all parts of that extended Empire re- quires that its commercial policy should be the same throughout its numerous dependencies, nor is this less im- portant than before because our policy is now directed to the removal instead of as formerly to the maintenance of artificial restriction upon trade." ^ 1 Vol. I. p. 281. 334 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY The first Colony in which this new cause of conflict was fought out was New Brunswick. The Legislature of that Colony passed an Act granting a bounty on the cultivation of hemp. As the Act was of limited duration it was pro- visionally allowed, but the Lieutenant-Governor was in- structed to refuse his assent to' any Act having a similar object. The Assembly claimed that the question was "purely local," and that the prohibition of bounties by the Imperial Government was a capricious interference with the right of the Colony to r^ulate their own taxa- tion. Lord Grey was not the man to yield when he con- sidered that the sacred cause of Free Trade was at stake, and it was perhaps well for the general peace of the Empire that the seals .of office had passed into more pliable hands before the question was ultimately decided. Apart, however, from the general question how far England was to dictate the fiscal policy of the Colonies, special circum- stances complicated the introduction of free trade into Canada. 6 and 7 As recently as 1843, ^ British statute had allowed Canadian "^2Q wheat and flour to be admitted to the British market at a nominal duty ; the Canadian legislature having on their side imposed a duty of three shillings per quarter on foreign wheat. As the result of this legislation, much capital had been expended in Canada in the erection and working of flour mills for dealing with American wheat. Under the 9'and 10 Free Trade Act of 1846, all the advantages, because of '*^22" which this capital had been attracted, were swept away. Well might Lord Elgin say,^ " It is the inconsistency of Imperial legislation, and not the adoption of one policy rather than another, which is the bane of the Colonies." It is now clear that during these years Canada passed through a terrible time of trial, so far as loyalty to the Empire was concerned. The mercantile and commercial classes, the natural bulwarks of law and order, were "thor- oughly disgusted and lukewarm in their allegiance."* Poli- tical discontent, properly so-called, there was none. Com- ' Letters and JaumaJs, p. 60. " Lord Elgin, Aug. 18, \%t^, ibid,, p. 62. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 335 mercial embarrassments were the real difficulty, and there was always the risk lest the Colony, not yet attained to full national manhood, should seek protection within the broad portals of that great Republic, whose unequalled physical position allows her to combine, with protection against the outside world, the fullest and freest inter- change of the most varied products of every soil and climate. How strong was the temptation can only be surmised. That it was resisted was due in the first place to the engrained loyalty of the Canadian people, and next to Lord Elgin. English statesmen at home could certainly claim no credit in the matter. A more serious cause of quarrel than the New Brunswick bounties threatened to arise when, on the petition of Sheffield manufacturers, the English Ministry seemed inclined to dis- allow the tariff imposed by the Canadian legislature in 1858. The Home authorities finally gave way, but there was an ominous ring in the language of the Canadian Minister which threatened trouble in the future, if the claims of the Mother country, as put forward by Lord Grey, were to be persisted in.^ " Self-government," wrote Mr Gait, " would be utterly annihilated if the views of the Imperial Government were to be preferred to those of the people of Canada." » Pari. Pap,, 1858. CHAPTER III Cape The difficulty of arranging the diverse and varied doings of Colony. ^ •virorld-embracing empire under the formulae of any particu- lar theory is especially illustrated by the case of South Africa. It has been seen that, taking the Empire at large, the period in question was one of achievement. Mistakes were doubt- less made ; practice* lagged behind theory, and theory itself was but half-understood. But, if we compare the position of the Colonies in i860 with their position in 1830, we are struck with the progress. How comes it that South Africa alone appears to some extent an exception? that here British Colonial policy seems always attended by failure; that even, when the measure was right, it was taken at the wrong time, and that a heritage of future trouble was laid up, the final outcome of which puzzles even now the shrewd- est of political prophets. In one sense it is, of course, pos- sible to exaggerate the importance of such failure. As years went on, there was in the Colony great moral and material development, and it was no slight triumph that, amongst a population so different in origin and tradition, representative government should have been peacefully introduced, and have worked on the whole so quietly and well. Neverthe- less, it is the dark side of the shield which must mainly detain us. The great source of trouble has been already mentioned. Public opinion at home, — meaning by public opinion the opinion of the few people who took interest in the subject, — and colonial public opinion were at hopeless issue on the question of the treatment of the natives. The fixed idea of English public men was that the constant prac- tice of the Dutch colonists was to enslave and tyrannise over the natives. In accordance with this view, Lord Goderich directed that Dutch farmers should not be allowed to settle in the new frontier districts. It was in vain that Governor 336 PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 3^7 after Governor sought to combat English prejudice. Thus Sir Lowry Cole wrote with regard to the alleged ill-treatment of the coloured people,^ "It might suit the views of some writers to hold up the local government and the colonists to the detestation of mankind . . . and to represent the native tribes as the most injured and innocent of human beings, but those who have the opportunity of taking a dispassionate view of the subject would judge differently." More striking is the testimony of D'Urban. He went out in 1834 to administer a new policy. The civil establishments were to be greatly reduced, the expenditure was to be brought within the revenue, and the balance scrupulously applied to the payment of the public debt The system of dealing with the natives was to be altered, and friendly alliances were to be formed with KafSr chiefs. D'Urban started with the sin- cere belief that the colonists were wholly in the wrong, but facts on the spot soon led him to alter his views. The ex- perience of the Kaffir War, which broke out at the end of 1834, taught him the value of the idyllic picture of the Kaffir, as drawn by the missionaries. After the close of the war, he considered it necessary to annex to the British possessions the tract of countrj' between the Keiskamma and the Kei. The despatch announcing his intentions was thus answered by Lord Glenelg : " In the conduct which was pursued to- Dec. 26, wards the Kaffir nation by the colonists and the public ' ^S- authorities of the Colony through a long series of years, the Kaffirs had an ample justification of the war into which they rushed with such fatal imprudence . . . urged to re- venge and desperation by the systematic injustice of which they had been the victims, I am compelled to embrace, how- ever reluctantly, the conclusion that they had a perfect right to hazard the experiment, however hopeless, of extorting by force that redress which they could not expect otherwise to obtain." In these circumstances "the claim of sovereignty over the new province . . . must be renounced. It rests upon a conquest resulting from a war in which , , . the original justice is on the side of the conquered, not of the victorious » Quoted at p. 377 of Theal's History of South Africa, 1795-1834. Y 338 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY party." Lord Glenelg further announced that a Lieutenant- Governor would be sent out for the eastern district, and that an Act was being drafted to enable Courts of Law to take cognisance of offences committed by British subjects beyond the borders of the Colony. The new Lieutenant-Governor proved to be Captain A. Stockenstrom, whose main title to distinction at the time was that he had just been bringing the strongest accusations against his fellow-countrymen be- fore a Committee of the House of Commons. The com- position and findings^ of that Committee indicated very clearly the tone of -the English public opinion of the day. Mr Powell Buxton was its Chairman, which was very much as though the Committee on the South African Chartered Company had been presided over by Mr Labouchere. The Report appears to have been drawn up under the inspiration of Dr Philip.* The opinion of men like Sir Rufane Donkin, who had had actual experience of the Colony, went for nothing, although many now-a-days will agree in his preference for missionaries, who did not intermeddle "with the politics, either internal or external, of Colonies." Frontier The new Lieutenant-Governor, in accordance with his in- Policy. structions, negotiated treaties with the chiefs, under which the two parties were placed on a footing of perfect political equality. " Colonists were to have no more right to cross the boundary eastwards without the consent of the Kaffir chiefs than the Kaffirs to cross westwards without the consent of the Colonial Government. White people, when in Kaffirland, were to be as fully subject to Kaffir law as Kaffirs, when in the Colony, were to be subject to Colonial law." * The result of all this was plain enough. In D'Urban's words, the new and reckless policy had " sufficed to dispel the salutary fear of our power ... to shake — if not altogether to alienate — the respect and confidence with which we have been regarded by our friends, to banish the flower of the frontier farmers, and to leave those who yet remained in a state of the most fearful insecurity." D'Urban, at least, was not wanting in ' Pari. Pap., 1836 and 1837. 2 See sttpra, p. 270. » Theal, Hist, of S. Africa, 1834-J854., PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 339 the courage of his opinions. His reply to Lord Glenelg's indictment of the colonists was to demand compensation for " faithful subjects who had been visited with calamities rarely paralleled, undeserved by any act of the sufiferers." No wonder that in the following year the Governor was informed May 183; that the King had thought proper to dispense with his services as Governor of the Cape Colony. The old frontier policy had been the rough and ready one of punishing native raids by commandos on the part of the settlers. The new policy was to trust to the promises of treaties, and to a frontier police of forty Kaffirs, a goodly proportion of whom were in the pay of the native robbers. In the language of D'Urban's successor,^ Sir G. Napier, him- self a chivalrous friend of the natives, and an advocate of Lord Glenelg's policy,^ the effect of the treaties was to bear "hardly and unjustly upon the colonists, to tend rather to encourage than to discourage stealing upon the part of the Kaffirs." Although he recognised that " the good faith and equality upon which treaties are based are and must ever be wanting in treaties with barbarous tribes " ; nevertheless, the policy must be continued, because " the effect of force would 1843. be to postpone the great object of these treaties, viz., to raise the Kaffirs in the scale of civilisation by appealing to their sense of justice." Lord Glenelg himself admitted* that "time and experience alone can reduce to a satisfactory test the 1837. conflicting expectations of Sir Ben. D'Urban and myself." What was the answer of time and experience will abundantly appear in the sequel. In a yet more important way, the doings of these few years Boer were to leave permanent traces on the whole future history exodus, of South Africa. Whatever may have been its causes, the exodus of the Dutch farmers, which began in 1836, has ^ Pari. Pap., 1851. "Extracts of corr. relating to Kaffir tribes between 1837 and 1845." - Sir G. Napier lived to change his mind. He told a H. of C. Committee " on the Kaffir Tribes," in 1851, that he had been prejudiced against feeling in favour of D'Urban's policy, "but common sense told me that I was wrong." 3 Pari Pap., 1851. 340 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY had more far-reaching results than any other event in South African history. What, then, were its causes? To the omniscient Lord Glenelg they seemed clear enough. Nov. 28, " The motives of the emigration were the same as had in 1837- all ages impelled the strong to encroach upon the weak, and the powerful and unprincipled to wrest hy force or fraud from the comparatively feeble and defenceless, wealth or property or dominion." In a similar spirit, he afterwards wrote that the proceedings of the emigrants must be checked " in order to put an end to the scenes of havoc and destruc- tion which have hitherto attended their course." ^ To D'Urban, on the other hand, who was on the spot, and had the opportunity of testing theory by fact, the causes of the exodus were, the insecurity of life and property occasioned by the recent measures, " inadequate compensa- tion for the loss of the slaves, and despair of obtaining recompense for the ruinous losses by the KafEr invasion." The view of the emigrants themselves was thus stated * — " We despair of saving the Colony from those evils which threaten it, by the turbulent and dishonest conduct of vag- rants who are allowed to infest the country in every part . . . We complain of the severe loss ... by the emancipa- tion of our slaves and the vexatious laws which have been enacted respecting them. We complain of the continual system of plunder, which we have for past years endured from the Kaffirs . . . We complain of the unjustifiable odium which has been cast upon us by interested and dishonest persons under the name of religion. . . . We are resolved that wherever we go we will uphold the just principles of liberty, but, whilst we will take care that no one is brought by us into a condition of slavery, we will establish such regulations as may suppress crime and pre- serve proper relations between master and servant . . . We quit this Colony under the full assurance that the English Government has nothing more to require of us and will -allow us to govern ourselves without its interference in > Pari. Pap., 1851. Corr. between 1837 and 1845. ^ Hist. ofS. Africa, 1834-1854, p. ga PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 341 future." It may be said that evidence on one's own behalf counts for little, but by the side of this statement should be placed D'Urban's assertion that the Dutch farmers who were leaving the Colony were " a brave, patient, industrious, orderly, and religious people — the culti- vators, the defenders, and the tax-contributors of the country." It is often said that the emigration was mainly due to the emancipation of the slaves. It is true, of course, that the regulations with regard to their treatment had caused much heart-burning and friction, and that the manner in which emancipation was carried out, the inadequacy of the compensation, and the fact that claims had to be substantiated in London had caused much dissatisfaction and suffering among the owners. Mr Theal, however, has pointed out^ that, whilst 56 per cent, of the total slave population belonged to the districts of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, 98 per cent, of the emigrants were from the districts of Beaufort, Graaffreinet, Somerset, Albany and Uitenhagen, wherein there had only been 16 per cent, of the slave population. In these circumstances, it is im- possible to connect the emancipation of the slaves and the emigration as cause and effect. Another opinion main- tained is that the emigration was merely a continuation of what had been going on since the beginning of the eighteenth century, but there is all the difference in the world between the movement necessitated by defective methods of agriculture and the need of new lands, and the deliberate exodus of masses of people who abandoned or sold for small sums some of the choicest land in South Africa, and who left the Colony with the avowed deter- mination to set up independent communities. It would seem that the runaway debtors and rogues who afterwards sheltered themselves within these loosely-governed republics were not partakers in the original exodus. The English Government found themselves confronted with a most difficult question. The strict legal aspects of the case might be clear enough. The maxim " nemo potest ' Hist. ofS, Africa, 1834-54, p. 91. 342 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY exuere patriam" applied no doubt to the case of subjects who had become such by conquest But when the case was transferred from the grounds of dry law to its merits, every kind of difficulty stood in the way. In the first place, the emigrants could not be detained. The Attorney-General recognised that " it seemed next to an impossibility to pre- vent persons passing out of the Colony, by laws in force, or by any which could be framed." The emigrants must there- fore be allowed to leave, but it seemed equally clear that the new country, to which they might proceed, must not be claimed as British territory. On this point, of the necessity of no further extension, all English statesmen were agreed. It was not merely the feeble Glenelg who was deeply per- suaded of the " inexpediency of acquiring any further en- largement of territory in South Africa." His successor. Lord Normanby, agreed to the fullest extent with his immediate predecessor ; and Secretary of State after Secretary of State breathed the same spirit. It is true that the tendency of things was too strong for English statesmen to resist and that extension had in a grudging and half-hearted way again and again to be allowed ; but it was impossible to frame policy beforehand with a view to such extension. But, if the emigrants were to remain British subjects, while the country in which they lived remained native territory, it was clear that they were subject to all the duties of citizenship with- out obtaining any of its advantages. It might be easy for lawyers and politicians to put forward such claims, but tried by the logic of facts they broke down. The State, which abjures responsibilities, will in the long run find itself to have lost r^hts. It may be said, however, that if the British Government were determined against expansion, whatever the abstract theory, practical difficulties need not arise. Against this, however, important considerations stood in the way. In the first place, English statesmen frankly recog- nised that they were trustees on behalf of the interests of the native races of South Africa, and, according to the received view of the Dutch emigrants, their action would almost certainly imperil those interests. Moreover, in a direct PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 343 fashion, the doings of the emigrants might affect Cape Colony. Their relations with the natives might result in the pressing southwards upon the Cape frontiers of masses of native tribes ; a danger to the Colony which must at all costs be averted. Be this as it may, the action of the emigrants in taking Annexa- possession of Natal precipitated events. The history of the ^°^° exodus is one of continually renewed dispersions, owing to dissensions between rival leaders. Already we detect the note which was to be of such importance in subsequent history, viz., the inability of the Boer, when left to his own devices, to carry on civil government. Thus, the separate settlement in Natal arose out of quarrels between rival leaders, the other party remaining some in what is now the Orange Free State, and some in the country beyond the Vaal. Natal had been for some years the resort of English adventurers. The ques- tion of its occupation as a British settlement had been mooted and decisively answered in the negative by Lord Glenelg. When, however, the Dutch emigrants proceeded to take pos- '^3S- session of the Port of Durban, the hands of Napier were forced, and an occupation, however " temporary and purely military," of Durban became inevitable. Whatever the words of statesmen, the English Imperial spirit was not dead through sleeping, and the material interests of Cape Colony would not allow that an independent republic should be established upon the coast with a harbour, through which access would be given to the interior. British Colonial Secretaries, however, could not yet recon- cile themselves to facts, and so in 1840, Napier, believing " that the colonization of that country would never be sanctioned," " felt the further retention of the port might jan..22, give rise to hopes or even fears which it was probably '^^' the wish of Her Majesty's Government not to foster." The withdrawal of the English troops from Durban was almost simultaneous with the great victory of Panda, the ally of the [an. 30, Boers, over Dingan's army. The result was that Pretorius ^^^' was able to issue a Proclamation taking possession of a territory more extensive both to the north and the south 344 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY than is the present Colony of Natal. The description^ given by Mr Theal of the condition of things in the Natal Republic is very suggestive. " The result was utter anarchy . . . public opinion of the hour in each section of the com- munity was the only force in the land." A loose kind of alliance had been formed between the Natal Volksraad and the Government of the settlers in the districts of Winburg and Potschefstroom. Roughly speaking, the Winburg district corresponded to about half of the present Orange Free State, the Potschefstroom district to the present South African Republic, while, between the Vet River and the Oremge, there were several parties of emigrants acting independently. The Natal Volksraad proposed to send Com- missioners to the Cape Colony to treat for "acknowledgment of their independence with the rights of British subjects ! " Meanwhile English public opinion was moving, and in 1840 Lord John Russell wrote that he was favourable to the settlement of Natal as a British Colony, though not prepared to expend large sums of money in conquering the country from the emigrant farmers. The precarious state of affairs on the eastern frontier of Cape Colony prevented, for some time, any attempt to enforce this policy, and it was the action of the Boers in pressing the Pondos southward which finally caused the interference of the English. At the close of 1840 Napier issued a Pro- clamation declaring that the Queen would not recognise the emigrants as an independent state, and that he was about to resume military occupation of Port Natal. It is impossible not to sympathise with the Boers under the shilly-shallying treatment they had received from England. In their distress they looked for help from Holland, and deluded themselves with vain hopes which throw a certain light on more recent events. Even as late as 1842 Lord Stanley struggled with the inevitable. He believed that little advantage would ensue from the establishment of Natal. For many years it would be costly to the Mother country. It would tend still further to disperse population ' Hist. ofS. Africa, 1834-1854, p. 321. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 345 and would bring Great Britain into new and hazardous relations with the natives. However, Lord Stanley was open to conviction, and in answer to Napier's urgent appeal, finally agreed ^ to take the inhabitants under the protection of the Queen. Accordingly, in May 1843, Natal was pro- claimed a British Colony. When the British Commissioner arrived at Maritzburg he found ^ " the machinery of govern- ment at a complete standstill; there was not a sixpence in the treasury. . . . The sentences of the law courts were in most instances completely disregarded. . . . There was hardly one who had been in office but who candidly admitted that the Republic of Natal was a failure." The Natal Volksraad submitted ; the more violent section of the farmers retiring beyond the Drakensberg Mountains to their kinsmen on the other side. Mr Cloete next came to terms with Panda, the Zulu king, obtaining the formal cession of St Lucia Bay ; by which means the farmers were prevented from obtaining the seaport they coveted. Natal was to be a dependency of the Cape, though separate for judicial, financial, and executive purposes. The Lieutenant- Governor was to be aided by an executive Council. The Lieutenant-Governor and Council might recommend laws to the Cape Colony authorities for their enactment Lord Stanley was urgent ^ that national preferences should be, as far as pos- sible, indulged. Notwithstanding these good intentions, the rule that actual occupation for the twelve months preceding the enquiry must be shown to give a good title to land, pressed hardly on the Dutch and was the cause of a new emigration. Feelings were further embittered by the refusal of the Gover- nor, Sir H. Pottinger, to see the Natal envoy Mr Pretorius. Sir Harry Smith, who became Governor in 1847, had a 1847. genuine liking for the Dutch, and was convinced that he could bring them to terms. He had already served in South Africa and won all hearts. He assumed the government with a fully matured plan for the settlement of affairs north of the Orange. A new British Colony inust be formed, and 1 Pari. Pap., 1847-8. ^ Hist. ofS. Africa, 1834-1854, p. 356. 5 Pari. Pap., 1847-8. 346 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Orange a general control exercised over the native chiefs. For this ^^^. purpose Sir H. Smith proceeded to Bloemfontein. The pic- e^ty. ture which he gave in his despatches, of the state of feeling among the Boers, is very vivid. "Jealous to a degree of what they regard as their rights," " constantly at variance with one another," " the world has at no period produced a race of men so prone to give credit to evil reports, however mon- strous and impossible their nature, as the Dutch emigrant Boer." He frankly recognised that " it must not be expected that perfect cordiality can at once be established among men who have for so many years led so unsettled a life as these emigrant farmers." ^ In many ways Sir H. Smith was well suited to the task of conciliation. Unfortunately he was in a great hurry, and his passage through the country, as was afterwards said, was like that of a meteor. , He was anxious to reach Natal so as to prevent any further exodus of the Dutch from that Colony, an object in which he was success- Feb. 3, ful. As a consequence of this hurry, the Proclamation under which the government of the Orange River Sovereignty was carried on contained provisions which caused future trouble. Especially the clause which required every able-bodied man to turn out in defence of the Queen and her allies, whenever called upon to do so, became, as interpreted by the British Resident, Major Warden, a fertile cause of mischief Under it the lives of European settlers might be risked in pursuing the quarrels of native chiefs. In any case, however, the assumption of sovereignty was at first, upon the whole, un- popular. It had reluctantly been assented to in England on the ground that the black people required protection from the Dutch, and that the better disposed farmers, being in a condition of anarchy, would gladly submit to a settled government. For the moment, however, the more violent spirits obtained the upper hand, and it was necessary to use force to maintain the sovereignty. Upon the defeat of the Boers, the most anti-British of them moved over the Vaal, while fresh immigrants from the Cape Colony filled their places. According to a statement* drawn I Par/. Pap., 1851. » Pari. Pap., 1854. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 347 up by the inhabitants in 1851, "no sooner had your Excel- lency extended the authority of the Queen than order and subordination were established, the confidence of the peace- ful and well-disposed revived . . . flourishing villages sud- denly sprang up, and the apparently waste land of a year or two previous became studded with substantial homesteads." Doubtless other considerations had to be borne in mind. It is unfair to rail at the disinclination of English Ministers to extend British possessions in South Africa. It must be re- membered that South Africa was a casket which jealously hid its riches to the last For long it was a continuous source of expense to the Empire, with no apparent corres- ponding advantages. It is possible, indeed most probable, that a bolder policy would have in the end been cheaper, and some at least of the trouble had been caused by the blunders of English Ministers. Still, in the circumstances, English policy was, it must be admitted, natural enough. That policy was not merely the policy of busy politicians living from hand to mouth. It received authoritative support from the considered opinion, issued in 1850, of the Com- mittee of the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations. " Very serious dangers are inseparable from the recent and still more from any future extension of Her Majesty's do- minions in South Africa. That policy has enlarged, and, if pursued further, may indefinitely enlarge the demand upon the revenue and the military forces of the kingdom, with a view to objects of no perceptible national importance. By these repeated extensions. . . . Your Majesty's colonial subjects have as repeatedly been brought into contact with new tribes of barbarous people with whom it has been found impossible either to obtain any protracted peace or to wage any war which has not been at once costly, inglorious, un- profitable, and sanguinary. The eflfect of such extension of territory has not been to arrest the emigration of the dis- affected colonists, but to induce them to emigrate into yet more distant regions, into which they have carried a warfare revolting to humanity and disgraceful to the British name." Such being the views of English statesmen, the Sand River 348 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Sand Convention, signed in 1852, was probably inevitable j though Con^J^ care should have been taken to define the exact limits of the tion. Republic. It is surely always right to recognise facts as they are. If Great Britain was prepared at all costs to resume authority over the emigrant farmers, well and good ; but if not, what possible good was gained by keeping open old sores and treating as under a ban those whom there was no intention to coerce ? The assistant Commissioners appointed by Lord Grey were doubtless right in holding that the best way to detach the Transvaal Boers from the disaffected in the Orange River Sovereignty, was frankly to recognise the in- dependence of the former. There was surely a better chance of the Transvaal at some future time becoming British, if, in the meantime, the main cause of friction was removed, and if the Orange River Sovereignty could have given an object lesson in the capacity of the British system of government to permit within its confines a self-governing Dutch community. That the policy as a whole never had a fair trial was not the fault of the framers of the Sand River Convention. Under the terms of the Agreement, the Commissioners " guaranteed in the fullest manner on the part of the British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River, the right to manage their own affairs, and to govern them- selves according to their own laws, without any interference on the part of the British Government ; and that no encroach- ment should be made by the said Government on the terri- tory north of the Vaal River ; with the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British Government was to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse with the emigrant farmers then inhabiting, or who might hereafter inhabit, that country ; it being understood that the system of non-interfer- ence was binding upon both parties." By other clauses Her Majesty's Government disclaimed "all alliances whatsoever and with whomsoever of the coloured natives north of the Vaal River," while the Boers covenanted that no slavery should be " permitted or practised by the emigrant fanners." The political effects of the Convention on the Orange River Sovereignty were at once apparent The disaffected PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 349 farmers in the southern province were informed that, while a cordial welcome would be given to any who should decide to cross the Vaal, it was impossible for the Transvaal Boers to aid and abet intrigues against the British Government. Unhappily, the decision was soon arrived at which rendered Abandon- the good effects of the Sand River Convention of no practical omnee use. As early as February 1852 Lord Grey had written ^ River that " tlie ultimate abandonment of the Orange River Sover- ^J^'y^ eignty should be a settled point in our policy." It is but fair, however, to Lord Grey to note that, while no statesman was more ready to form and to express strong opinions, none was more ready to modify such opinions when they were in con- flict with the judgment formed upon the spot by an officer in whom he had confidence. During the brief tenure of office by Sir John Pakington, the question of retention or abandon- ment was stated to be still open. Matters, however, were brought to a climax by the outbreak of the war with the Basutos. In England it was believed that this war had been undertaken on behalf of the Dutch settlers, and their neglect to defend themselves was loudly blamed. In truth, it would seem to have been due to the action of the Imperial repre- sentative, who had acted against the opinion of the English as well as of the Dutch settlers. In the circumstances, the action of the Home authorities was natural enough. The real responsibility seems to lie with the Colonial officials. In the spring of 1852 Sir Harry Smith, who, for various reasons, had given displeasure to Lord Grey, was superseded by General Cathcart. The views put forward by Cathcart * on constitutional questions, assuming that they ran in the family, cause a sense of relief that Lord Grey appointed Lord Elgin in his brother's stead Governor of Canada, so that it did not fall to his lot to cariy through the experiment of responsible government. When a meeting of delegates had, while demanding free institutions, declared strongly in favour of the retention of British authority, General Cathcart's amaz- 1 rarl. /V-j 1854. ^ The conspicuous gallantry shown by Sir G. Cathcart in the Crimea need not forbid criticism of his actions as Civil Governor. 350 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY ing comment was as follows ^ : — " The expression of the wants and wishes of the delegates are so decidedly in favour of un- compromising self-government that it would be gracious in Her Majesty to grant them even more than they ask, viz, independence." " I have reason to think," he adds, " in that event Mr Pretorius would become president of a United Republic, and its natural independence might then be re- cognised. As you justly observe, the principle is the same whether the Vaal or the Orange River be the named bound- ary." With this kind of statesmanship to represent British interests the result was inevitable. It was doubtless true that the faults of Sir H. Smith's original settlement of the question had been faults of detail, and were capable of remedy ; that it had been these matters of detail and not the principle itself of British sovereignty which had caused such trouble and friction as there had been ; that much of this trouble and friction had been fur- ther due to the manner in which the particular British Resi- dent had carried out his duties, but no authoritative voice was raised to report all this to the British Government, and able statements, such as that drawn up by Mr Green * (who was appointed Warden's successor), pointing out exactly what required remedy, remained unheeded. As soon as the news of the Cadmean victory over the Basutos reached England, the Duke of Newcastle wrote that " Her Majesty's Govern- ment had decided to withdraw from the Orange River Sovereignty." Even now, however, the responsibility must mainly lie with Sir George Clerk,^ the Special Commis- sioner appointed in 1853 for "the settling and adjustment of the affairs of the Orange River Sovereignty " ; because the Duke of Newcastle distinctly informed him that, al- though the determination of the Ministry, as at present advised, was to withdraw, still it was open to modification on sufficient grounds being shown. Sir G. Clerk, however, was not the man to alter the Government's policy. He went out prepared to find certain things, and found them. » />(»■/. /"a/., 1854. ^ Pari. P^, l^Si- ° Cariously enough, Sir G. Clerk was a personal friend of Sir Bartle Frere. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 351 When the elected delegates of the people, both Dutch and English, declared for the maintenance of British supremacy,^ it was due to " delusions practised on the inactive Dutch by greedy English land speculators." It gave him no pause that the capable Chairman of the delegates solemnly affirmed that there had been " hitherto no separation of interests between the Dutch and English inhabitants." To Sir George Clerk it was plain that the Dutch must be casting longing eyes on their fellow exiles, "living contentedly and peaceably across the Vaal." To anyone who cares for English honour the story of the abandonment of the Orange River Sover- eignty must be bitter reading. How an Assembly, con- sisting of seventy-six Dutch and nineteen English members, were denounced as "obstructionists," because they clung to the British connection ; how the " well-disposed " were those who wished for independence ; and how the loyal were either tired out or soothed by gifts of money ; all this forms a dreary chapter in the dreary story of British failures in South Africa. The time and manner of the abandonment, just when the power of Moshesh, the Basuto king, appeared most threatening, were especially calculated to fill the loyal with disgust and dismay. They declared * that they would nail the British ensign, festooned with crape, half-mast high, and hold out until the British Par- liament should decide their fate. To look to Parliament, however, was to depend upon a broken reed. When Mr Adderley moved* in the House of Commons an address to Her Majesty that she would be pleased to reconsider the Order in Council, renouncing Sovereignty over the Orange River territory, he received no support from either party. The royal Proclamation withdrawing the Sovereignty had been signed on January 30th, 1854, and the Convention, carrying out the Agreement, was signed in the following month. Under this convention the Special Commissioner guaranteed the future independence of the country and of its Government. He renounced any alliance witli any ^Parl. Pap., 1854. - Theal, Hiit. of S. Africa, 1834-1854. » Sans., N.S., Vol. CXXXIII. 352 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY native tribe or chief north of the Orange River, with the ex- ception of the Griqua chief, Adam Kok. The Orange Free State was to have the right to purchase arms in any British possession in South Africa, and the Commissioner promised to recommend to the Colonial Government that jprivileges of a liberal character, with regard to import duties, should be allowed. A British agent was to be stationed near the frontier, to promote mutual facilities and liberty to travellers and trade. The new Grovemment further covenanted that no vexatious proceedings should be adopted towards those who had been loyal to the Queen, and that slavery and the slave trade should be illegal in the territory. PoUcy of The independence of the Orange Free State having been *^^^ thus thrust upon it, against the wishes, to use Sir George Grey's words, ^ " of nearly all the wealthy and influential inhabitants," there followed that which might have been expected to follow. Within three years, the Government of the Orange Free State became "in a very distracted state." ^ The fellow exiles across the Vaal, instead of "living peaceably and contentedly," were themselves rent asunder by two hostile factions. The stronger of these two factions, led by a son of Pretorius, claimed to absorb the Orange Free State, and in its extremity the latter appealed to Sir George Grey, to be allowed to enter into a treaty of alliance with England, against its usurping kinsfolk. Sir George Grey saw to the root of the matter. He saw * that " by a federal Union alone, the South African Colonies can be made so strong and so united in policy and action, that they can support themselves against the Nov. 19, native tribes." In the following year, on the invitation of Sir 1858. £ g Lytton, he wrote an elaborate explanation of his policy.* He declared that the root of the mischief had been the want of faith shown by English statesmen in the future destinies of British South Africa. Their view had been that Simon's Bay was the only thing really worth caring about ; that the > Pari. Pap., i860. « Pari Pap., 1857-8. » Pari. Pap., 1857-8, March 1857. * Pari. Pap., i860. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 353 expenditure of British money during wars had made the fortunes of the colonial inhabitants; that the European settlers beyond the Orange River had been indeed really rebels. Under this belief the union of the Transvaal and Orange River Free State had been deliberately advised, because, when it became necessary to punish them, "it would be only requisite to deliver one blow at one point in- stead of several blows at two or more points." But this policy of isolation involved a great danger, the full force of which time has demonstrated. After all, the Dutch population in South Africa were of one stock, and there could be "no doubt that in any great public popular or national question or movement the mere fact of calling these people different nations would not make them so, nor would the fact of a mere fordable stream, running between them, sever their sympathies, or prevent them from acting in unison." The policy thus powerfully pressed upon the British Government was the same policy of confederation, which at a later date an English Minister was ineffectually to attempt to impose from without. In 1858 the moment was singularly opportune for its success. In the December of that year the Orange River Volksraad recognised ^ that " Union or alliance with the Cape Colony, whether on the basis of federation or otherwise, is desirable." Had such a federation been then established, complete self-government being jealously pre- served to the Dutch farmers, sooner or later, in all prob- ability, if no untimely threats of coercion had been employed,"^ the Transvaal emigrants themselves would have seen the advantages of such union, and the problem of British South Africa might have been satisfactorily solved. The prejudices of British statesmen bjured the way. Such prejudices were natural enough, but they were none the less calamitous. To the earlier despatches of Sir George Grey, Mr Labouchere replied that the policy of abandonment had been deliberately adopted, and must be maintained.^ " Even the danger of one of these States being annexed by the other through fraud or violence would not furnish sufficient reasons for any interfer- 1 Pari. Pap., i860. 2 p„l Pap., 1857-8. 354 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY ence." When Sir E. B. L3^on invited Sir G. Grey's opinion on the general question of federation, there seemed a ray of hope ; but the result was only the more disappointing. Un- fortunately, with all his great merits as statesman and man of action, Sir G. Grey had pre-eminently the defects of his qualities ; he scarcely took the trouble very often to disguise his contempt of his ofhcial superiors. Certainly the provo- cation given by him on this occasion was great The Orange Free State being an independent community, he discussed, in his opening speech to the Cape PeU-liament, the question of confederation with that State, without waiting for instruc- tions from the Home authorities. In these circumstances the Jan. 18591 conclusion arrived at in England was probably inevitable.^ " You have so far compromised the Government and endan- gered the success of that policy which they must deem right and expedient in South Africa, that your continuance in the administration of government can be no longer of service to pubUc interests." Sir George Grey has himself stated * that the Queen and Prince Albert realised the wisdom of his general policy; but, although he was reinstated on the ac- cession to office of the Duke of Newcastle, it was only on the distinct understanding that he should leave alone the question of confederation. Sir Geo^e While, however, on the most important of South African '^^' questions Sir Geoi^e Grey was before his time, there was no difference of opinion as to his admirable management of the Kaffir difficulty. We have seen how contradictory and vary- ing had been the frontier policies of successive Governors. At one time the Fish River, at another the Keiskamma, and at another the Kei had been considered the best boundaries. At one time the policy had been to break up the native tribes, at another to deal with them as sovereign powers on a perfect footing of equality. Sir G. Grey found that, however expedient it might be to govern through the chiefs, it would not do to allow native laws and customs to prevail, when they were revolting to humanity. Henceforth, therefore, the chiefs » Pari. Pap., i860. * Pari. Pap., 1890-1, speech at National Aust. Convention. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 355 exercised their power under the advice and direction of capable English magistrates. The policy of making the frontier country a kind of No man's Land was abandoned, and immigration thither actively promoted. The country was opened up by roads which the natives themselves made. The natives were taught the rudiments of agriculture, and extensive missions were started on the frontier, together with industrial schools. A native Village police was set on foot, and an organisation of medical relief established. It is touching to read years after, in a native address to Sir Bartle Frere, of Sir G. Grey,^ " a good Governor, good to tie up the hands of bad men, good to plant schools, good to feed the hungry, good to have mercy." The wisdom of Grey's pro- ceedings was fully proved when in 1857 the rumours of the renewal of the Kaffir war came to naught. Minor matters in connection with that policy caused trouble. The subject of the German legion ^ (and, by the way, it is curious to note that forty years ago British South Africa was to be strengthened by means of German immigration), provoked much irritation. In justice to the Home authorities, it must be allowed that it does not very clearly appear how the introduction of a thousand German families, with young children, would have met the difficulty of the German soldiers not being accompanied by wives. These, however, were details, the main point was that Sir G. Grey while, as an interlude, helping to save India, did more to consolidate Cape Colony than had been done since the time of the first occupation. Not again, until the time of Sir Bartle Frere, was Cape Colony to have a really great Governor, but Sir Bartle Frere, as we shall see, was yet more unfortunate than his predecessor, in being thwarted by Ministers and circum- stances. So much space has been occupied by questions of policy, Cape which involved the very existence of British South Africa, Colony that there remains little room to deal with constitutional tioiif questions. Cape Colony having been obtained by cession, 1 Life of Sir Bartle Frere, by J. Martineau, Vol II., and ed., p. 397. ^Parl. Pap., 1857-8. 356 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the business of settling its form of government lay, not with Parliament, but with the Crown. This fact, however, had no practical effect in delaying the grant of free Institu- tions. The question of the future government was referred to the Committee for Trade and Plantations, and their Report was adopted in 1850. In that Report they decided against the division of the Colony, on the ground that those with local knowledge were of opinion "that the means do not exist of forming two separate legislatures with advantage." They had no hesitation in recommending a bi-cameral Legis- lature. With regard to the L^islative Council, they held, against the opinion of the Cape Colony Executive, " that, if it is desired to give to the L^slative Council strength to act in any degree as a balance to the Assembly, the elective principle must enter into its composition." They regarded responsible government "as altogether unsuited . . . because we believe it to be one which can never work with advantage except in countries which have made such progress in wealth and population that there are to be found in them a considerable number of persons who can devote a large proportion of their time to public affairs." ^ The Com- mittee wisely recommended that " the main and leading pro- visions of the constitution . . . should alone be laid down, and that power should be given to the existing l^rislative council to pass Ordinances, subject to Your Majesty's appro- bation, for regulating all the subordinate arrangements, of which we are of opinion that cis large a share as possible should be thus left to be determined on the spot." Noth- ing could have been more conciliatory than these recom- mendations, and they were at once adopted by the British Ministry. Unfortunately, the temper of the colonists had been excited by Lord Grey's ill-advised attempt to foist con- victs on Cape Colony, and much unnecessary bickering and dispute ensued before the final settling of the new constitu- tion. At last, however, the Ordinances were approved by the Privy CouncU, and the new constitution came into force in July 1854. The grave and dignified language of the des- ' Cape Colony did not, in &ct, obtain responsible government until 1872.. PERIOD OF SYSTEMATIC COLONIZATION 357 patch ^ which accompanied the constitution brings home to us that, whatever blunders and mistakes might be made, they were in no sense due to want of sympathy. " In trans- mitting . . . Ordinances which confer one of the most liberal constitutions enjoyed by any of the British possessions, Her Majesty's Government are actuated by an earnest desire to lay the foundations of institutions, which may carry the blessings and privileges, as well as the wealth and power, of the British nation into South Africa, and, whilst appeas- ing the jealousies of some times conflicting races, to pro- mote the security and prosperity not only of those of British origin but of all the Queen's subjects, so that they may com- bine for the great common object, the peace and progress of the Colony." iPor/. Pap., 1854. Note. — Attention should be called, as indirectly bearing upon Colonial Policy, to the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1855, which, as amended and re-enacted by subsequent Acts, — the most recent of which was in 1894 — may be termed the Magna Charta of the Emigrant. The Act promoted the comfort and safety of emigrants by stringent regulations as to the seaworthiness of emigrant ships, the provision on board of proper accommodation, good food and medicines, and the protection of emigrants s^ainst imposition. Emigration officers were stationed at the various ports to enforce the Act. (An excellent summary of the 1894 Act will be found in the Emigration Statutes and General Handbook, ed. by W. B. Paton, issued by the Emigrants' Information Office.) BOOK IV THE PERIOD OF THE ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER PRIN- CIPLES. 1861-188S " Keep you to yourselves ; " " So loyal is too costly ! "Friends — ^your love " " Is but a burden : loose the bond and go." • a • • • " The loyal to this Crown " " Are loyal to their own far sons, who love " " Our ocean-empire with her boundless homes," " For ever broadening England." CHAPTER I Where tendencies, not events, are being considered, divisions The by time must, in the nature of things, be somewhat rough ^^ ° and arbitrary. No one can say the exact hour when the affe*" Zeitgeist is found pointing in a particular direction. More- colonial over, it must be confessed that during the time we have been Policy, considering there was already much of the spirit abroad which we have called laissez-aller. Note the language of Sir F. Rogers^ in 1854. Speaking of a "Legislative declaration of Independence on the part of the Australian Colonies,"* he goes on, "The successive Secretaries of State have been bidding for popularity with them by offering to let them have their own way. . . . What remains to complete colonial independence except command of the land and sea forces I don't quite see. I shall be interested to see what comes of it. It is a great pity that, give as much as you will, you can't please the colonists with anything short of absolute independence, so that it is not easy to say how you are to accomplish what we are, I suppose, all looking to, the eventual parting company on good terms." The view, which regards the granting of complete self-government to the Colonies, as part of a general policy of cutting them adrift, has been already noted. In 1872 Mr Disraeli asserted that " there had been no effort so continuous, so subtle, sup- ported by so much energy, and carried on with so much ability and acumen, as the attempt of Liberalism to effect the disintegration of the British Empire." "Those subtle views," he alleged, "were adopted by the country under the plausible plea of granting self-government."* The at- tempt has been already made to vindicate the memory of 1 Afterwards Lord Blachford. ^ Letters, p. ifji ed. by G. Marindin. ' Speeches, ed. by T. E. Kebbel, Vol. II. p. 530. \ V^ 361 362 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Lord John Russell on this question, and we have seen how complete was, in fact, the continuity of policy amongst states- men of both the great parties. Nor was Mr Disraeli very clear in his suggestions as to what British policy should have been. "Self-government . . . ought to have been conceded as part of a great policy of Imperial consolidation. It ought to have been accompanied by an Imperial tariff, by securities for the people of England for the enjoyment of unappro- priated lands . . . and by a military code, which should have precisely defined the means and the responsibilities by which the Colonies should be defended, and by which, if necessary, this country should call for aid from the Colonies themselves." Now, with regard to an Imperial tariff, if what was meant was an Imperial zollverein, of course much might have been said for such a policy. It was not, however, through indif- ference to the Colonies, but because, rightly ox wrongly, English public opinion was in favour of simple free trade, i| that such a policy was not adopted. But if it b6 meant that I the Mother country should have dictated to the Colonies theii* i fiscal policy, then there is little doubt but that such a course ' would have wrecked the Empire. In fact, it was strenuously' advocated ^ by the Whig doctrinaire, Lord Grey, and its in- expediency was clearly shown by one who had himself been a Tory Under Secretary for the Colonies. With regard to the Land question, we have already seen that all English statesmen started with the firm intention to retain the control of the Crown lands in the hands of the Mother country, but the practical difficulties in the way proved insurmountable,* and, in fact, it was a Tory Secretary of State who first yielded on this point to the colonial demands. Question The Subject of military defence opens out a wide question. drfence. It has been maintained that the policy of gradually reducing the number of troops quartered in the Colonies was part of a ^ See controversy in Nineteenth Cent, in 1877, between Lord Grey and Sir C Adderley. 2 On this, note that in the Western Aust. Act of 1890 it was found impossible to retain to the Mother country the control of the public lands, and sec. iii. pro- vides that " the entire management and control of the waste lands . . . shall be vested in the Legislature." ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 363 general scheme of disintegration; but, in fact, that policy- may well be defended on better grounds. It is not necessary to agree with the historical theory' again and again put for- ward by Lord Grey and the statesmen and officials of the day. This theory held that the American Colonies had, in the old time, defended themselves unaided against aggres- sion, and had even taken part in expeditions outside their own limits. While this state of things had lasted all had gone well, it was supposed, with the Empire. The theory took, perhaps, its most extravagant form in the language of Mr Godley, a recognised authority on colonial matters, who gravely informed ^ a Parliamentary Committee that the send- ing of English troops to America under Braddock was in- directly the cause of the future separation. Assuredly, as things were tending, without the presence of British troops in America, such separation would not have happened, be- cause in a very short time there would have been no British America to separate. The theory appears based on a hasty generalisation from the single case of the New England Colonies. As a matter of fact, after there was a regular standing army at home, troops were furnished to some at least of the Colonies, as a matter of course. Thus, in 1679, we find ^ an annual expenditure of over £y)00 in each of the Colonies of Virginia, Jamaica and the Leeward Islands upon English soldiers, and £1000 was at the same time devoted to the maintenance of forts in New York. If, as in the case of the troops afterwards quartered in New York, such companies in a short time only existed upon paper, the fault lay with the dry rot of corruption, and was not due to any elaborate theory. Moreover, as we have already seen, the despatch of troops from the Mother country, to assist the Colonies in special expeditions, had been proposed and made on many occasions before the time of Braddock. Apart, however, from history, and merely upon its merits, there would appear much to be said for the almost un- animous conclusion of the Committee, which carefully con- sidered the whole question in 1861, that the main object 1 Pari. Pap., 1861. « Fortescue, Cal., 1677-1680. 364 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY should be to encourage local efforts and local organisation ; that therefore "the responsibility and cost of the military defence of such dependencies ought mainly to devolve upon themselves." And this " not merely with a view to diminish Imperial expenditure, but for the still more important pur- pose of stimulating the spirit of self-reliance in colonial communities." It was not necessary to agree with Mr Lowe, who, having boxed the political compass in New South Wales, lost no opportunity in England of traducing the community where he had passed his political apprentice- ship, that a Government of the kind of New South Wales was not " fit to be entrusted with the disposition of Her Majesty's troops for any purpose whatever," to recognise the extreme difficulty of reconciling complete local inde- pendence with Imperial control of the military forces. Everyone must agree with Sir W. Denison^ that "Useful- ness must attend upon that unity of action which can only result from unity of administration . . . there must be no shuffling of responsibilities." But, under these necessary conditions, there was a grave risk of friction between the local and Imperial authorities. In this connection we may note the circumstances under which the last detachment of Imperial troops was removed from Victoria. The British Government were willing to leave, and the Colonial Govern- ment desired to have the services of a small body of men "to assist in fortifying and to aid in organising local volunteers." ^ The Colonial Government was willing to pay the cost, but insisted on a guarantee that under no circum- stances should the troops move from the Colony. This guarantee the Imperial authorities were unable to give, 1870. and so the troops were removed. Apart, however, from the complications introduced by the existence of responsible governments, the subject bristled with difficulties. It was easy enough to maintain in theory that Great Britain should protect her Colonies from attack by European powers, but that the resources of the Colony should be sufficient for small frontier wars; the difficulty Pari. Fap., 1861. 2 Rusden, Hist, of Aust., Vol. III. p. 400. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 365 lay in the practical application. To a very great extent the Mother country might have dictated the policy which issued in war. Thus, in the case of Cape Colony, most colonists would adopt the view stated by Mr Owen.^ "Directly there was any difficulty between the Colony and the blacks, the missionaries stepped in, and some philan- thropists got up a tale here, and then we sent out troops to take care of the Kaffir, and we pampered him ... we took such care of him that he made himself strong enough to fight us." Again, in New Zealand, the colonists strenu- ously maintained that the troubles were in great measure due to British interference. In this state of things, the one thing clear was that it was practically impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule. On the whole, the course taken has been justified by its results. In 1859 there had been^ 15,000 British troops quartered in British North America, Australia, and South Africa, at a cost to the Mother country of over one million one hundred and ninety thousand pounds. The number and the cost were steadily reduced. In 1862 the House of Commons resolved without a division that "Colonies exercising the rights of self-government ought to undertake the main responsibility of providing for their own internal order and security, and ought to assist in their own external defence." Mr Adderley, in his book. Colonial Policy and History, asserts that thence- forward the principle, embodied in the above resolution, was adopted by every successive Administration as the settled policy of the Empire. "Accordingly," writes Todd,* "in debates upon this subject . . . from 1867 to 1870 Ministers were in a position to state that the troops were being gradually withdrawn from all the leading Colonies . . . until in 1873 t^^ Under Secretary of the Colonies was able to announce that the military expenditure for the Colonies was now almost entirely for Imperial purposes." In connection with the new policy, which required the Colonies to undertake the responsibility of their own defence, 1 Evidence before H. of C. Com. of 1861. ^ p^^i p^p^^ jggj ' Pari. Gob. in the Br. Colonies, p. 297, 366 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY 28 Vic, an Act was passed, in 1865 which empowered the Colonial '^" '^" Legislatures to provide vessels of war, seamen and volun- teers for their own defence, and to place at the disposal of the Crown ships of war and seamen for Imperial service. Although no very important results ensued upon the passing I of this measure, the fact' of its passage serves to show that 'the attitude of the Home Government was not that attitude I of callous indifference which it has been sometimes repre- sented. In the same spirit, while the Home Government maintained that the Colonies should be able primarily to protect themselves, they were ready and willing to put at the service of the Colonies the best professional advice on questions of defence. In accordance with this undertaking Colonel Jervois in 1863 and 1864 was sent to report upon the state of defence of the British North American Colonies, I and to confer with the Canadian Government on that sub- ject. In 187s the same distinguished engineer, along with Lieut-Col. Scratchley, performed the same service for the Australian Colonies. Colonial The importance, in dealing with questions of policy, of th"^!* °^ freeing one's self from the idols of the forum must be the Chester excuse for dealing at such length with Mr Disraeli's criti- School. cism. It remains to justify the division of the subject here adopted. Hitherto English parties had not been divided on the question of the Empire. It so happened that, in the years between 1830 and 1850, many of the most energetic supporters of colonial expansion belonged to the Liberal party. Lord Durham, C. Buller, Sir W. Molesworth, are names which at once occur to one, and Grote had been among the original promoters of South Australia. In passing, we may note how different might have been the future of English Radicalism, had Sir W. Molesworth been a stronger man both physically and intellectually. As it was, his accession to the Colonial Office in 1855 was cor- dially welcomed throughout the Empire, and he was able to set an excellent precedent in promoting a Canadian to high office in the West Indies. From the death of Sir W. Molesworth, however, there dates the triumph, I think, of ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 367 a wholly different school of Radicalism. The opinions of Bright and Cobden had as little in common with those of Lord Durham and C. Buller, as they had with the later State Socialist Radicalism of to-day, but it was from about i860 that the ascendency of the Manchester school must be dated. The Crimean War and the Chinese War had been object-lessons in the incapacity of Whigs and Peelites, while the Tory party were still feeble from the effects of the great disruption. In this state of things, the importance of the one party in Parliament, which knew its own mind, cannot be overestimated. The influence of the Manchester school extended far wider than amongst its nominal sup- porters. The late Lord Derby did not nominally break with the Conservative party till many years later, but it would not be difficult to show that, during his whole politi- cal life, he was in reality a disciple of Bright and Cobden. Lord Granville was by birth and breeding a Whig of Whigs, but in his economic and political convictions he will be found the fine flower and product of the Manchester school. Moreover, during the period on which we are enter- ing, the personality of Mr Gladstone bulks large, and — whatever may have been, on occasions, his doubtlessly honest professions — most persons have instinctively recog- nised that his genius and the genius of Greater Britain stood opposed.^ As showing the convictions underlying the outward con- duct of the statesmen of the day, note the remarkable language used by Lord Blachford writing many years later. He was a loyal servant of the Crown, and would have cut off his right hand rather than bring about by any act of his a day earlier than need be the eventual separation, but all the more striking are his words ^ : — " I had always be- ' " I had a long conversation on the 23Td with Mr Gladstone, in which I told him that he had often been charged in Australia, both in the newspapers and in speeches, with being indifferent, if not inimical to the preservation of the con- nection between the Colonies and England. He was visibly surprised at what I told him, and said I was authorised to say that he had never at any time favoured such views." — Fifty Years in the Making of Ami. Hist., Vol. II. p. 103, by Sir H. Parkes. '^ Letters, p. 299, ed. by G. Marindin (written in 1885). 368 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY lieved, — and the belief has so confirmed and consolidated itself, that I can hardly realise the possibility of anyone seriously thinking the contrary, — that the destiny of our Colonies is independence ; and that in this point of view the function of the Colonial Office is to secure that our con- nection, while it lasts, shall be as profitable to both parties, and our separation, when it comes, as amicable as possible." When one considers that, from i860 to 1871, Sir F. Rogers was permanent Under Secretary of State ; that his influence with successive Colonial Secretaries was notorious ; and that, in fact, to a very great extent, he, during these years, guided the policy of England, there is surely room for thought If Lord Elgin was right on the saving virtues of faith, it was undoubtedly a serious matter that this distinguished and upright public servant, " the most gifted, the most talented, and of the most wonderful grasp of mind," of Newman's friends, was on this question among the faithless. The subtle weakening of sympathy thereby engendered was really more dangerous than the boisterous assertions of open foes. In truth, opposition to colonial expansion was no new thing. It is curious to note that one of the earliest and most able advocates of a Little England was the high church Tory, Dean Tucker. In numerous writings, he preached the doctrine that — "The totEil separation from America" would be "one of the happiest events that has ever happened in Great Briteun." ^ " France without Colonies ... is almost invulnerable, but whenever she is seized with the epidemical madness of having distant Colonies, she will be as vulnerable as her neighbours." Again in 1823 Mr D. Hume had maintained in the House of Commons that " the Colonies, instead of being an addition to the strength of the (country, increased its weakness,"^ and suggested that they i should be freed from their allegiance and become their own [ masters. No great stress need therefore be laid on the constant use of such language by politicians of the school of Mr Bright. The important point was how far more moderate statesmen had become imbued with such views. 1 Cui bono, letter addressed to M. Necker. 2 ffans., N.S., Vol. VIII. p. 2Sa ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZALLER 369 Upon the whole, I think that we shall be on firm ground in recognising that about the sixties, tendencies which had been for long floating in the air, began to assume more dis- tinct shape : that these tendencies grew in force for some twelve years or so; that then opposite tendencies begin to become more clearly recognised, tendencies representing forces which had been long silently at work, until about 1885 we recognise that a new view of regarding colonial relations has become popular, so that the permanent official of the future, when he looks back upon his past experience, will probably express himself in very different language from the passage I have quoted from Lord Blachford. Be this, however, as it may, the student is abruptly recalled British N. from the field of abstract theory in returning to the actual ^"™K7 details of colonial administration. Point the Zeitgeist whither / it may, the task of English statesmen is to carry through, as V well as possible, the actual business in hand. We have now reached a time at which the full effects of responsible govern- ment had become apparent. It is Canadian not British Policy, which primarily dictates the British North America Act of 1867. It is true that the passing of that Act has greatly subserved British interests, but it would have been out of the question for the initiative on the measure to have been taken by the Mother country. Most fortunately, colonial and Imperial interests were at one. Imperial defence, no less than the material interests of Canada, required confederation, and so when in 1865 Canadian delegates were sent to confer with Ministers on these and other questions, the very satisfactory result, in the words of the delegates themselves, was to " inspire more just views as to the position and feelings of the Canadian people, and to draw closer the ties that have so long and so happily attached our provinces to the Mother country." ^ The British North America Act, 1867, embodied in an Im- 30 and 31 perial Statute the resolutions which had been agreed upon ^"^•> <^- 3- at a meeting of representatives from all the provinces, held at Quebec in 1864. The Confederation was to be known as » Pari. Pap., 1867. 2 A 370 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the Dominion of Canada. It was to consist of Canada,. Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. On addresses from the Parliament of Canada, and the respective legislatures of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia, these latter Colonies, or any of them, were to be admitted into the Union, and Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory, or either of them, were to be admitted on address from the Canadian Parliament A 34 Vic, later Act empowered the Dominion Parliament to establish c. 28. jjg^ provinces and provide for the constitution and adminis- tration thereof, and to alter the limits of provinces with the consent of their legislatures, and to legislate for territory 49 and so not included in any province. Finally in 1886 the Dominion Vic.c. Parliament was empowered &Dm time to tinie to make provision for the represeqJaiHon in itself of any territories, forming part of the Dominion, but not included in any province. Under the British North America Act the Executive Power over the Dominion lay in the Queen and Privy Council constituting the Ministry. Legislative power lay in a Parliament, consisting of the Queen, a Senate, and a House of Commons, each House to possess such privil^es, immunities and powers as might be defined by Act of Parlia- ment, but so as not to exceed the privileges, immunities and powers exercised " at the passing of this Act " by the British House of Commons. The members of the Senate were to be nominated for life by the Governor-General. To prevent a reckless increase of the Senate for party purposes, it was enacted that the Governor-General should have the power Sec. 26. to summon three or six additional senators, " representing equally the three divisions of Canada," but in such case no Sec. 27. other person might be summoned " except on a further like direction by the Queen on the like recommendation," until each of the three divisions was represented by no more than twenty-four senators. In no case was the total number to exceed seventy-eight. The House of Commons was to con- sist at first of one hundred and eighty-one members, of whom eighty-one were to be elected for Ontario, sixty-five for Que- ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 371 bee, nineteen for Nova Scotia, and fifteen for New Brunswick. At each decennial census the representation of the four pro- Sec. 51. vinces was to be readjusted according to proportionate popu- lation : Quebec keeping the fixed number of sixty-five mem- bers, and the other provinces having their numbers readjusted in proportion. The duration of Parliament was to be five Sec. 50. years. The practice of the English Parliament as to money Sees. 53 Bills was closely followed. Under the statute the Governor- *" ^' General had power either to assent to colonial measures, to Sec. 55. withhold his assent, or reserve them for the signification of the Queen's pleasure. In the case of Bills reserved, the assent of the Queen in Council must be announced within two years from their presentation to the Governor-General. Bills assented to may be disallowed by the Queen in Council Sec. 56. within two years after their receipt by the Secretary of State. The British North America Act further contained elaborate provisions with regard to the provincial governments and legislatures. It is impossible to enter here into the careful distribution of powers between the Dominion and Provincial Part Vll. authorities. It is sufficient for our purpose to note the broad °'^'^'- Pari. Pap., 186S-9. 2 /jjrf. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 409 which may be made, to bring these States {i.e., the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic) in some form or other under British authority." With respect to Basutoland the policy of annexation was sanctioned, although the parti- cular method of carrying out the annexation advised by Wodehouse was not approved.^ The final arrangement ^ with regard to the Basutos, under which a part of Basutoland was incorporated in the Orange Free State, was far from satisfying the philanthropic party in England. They would not recognise that the Orange Free State could fairly claim some compensation in territory for having been restrained just in the moment of victory. In Sir P. Wodehouse's words, " They " {i.e., the Aborigines April 18, Society) "speak as if they were wholly unaware of the '°''°" fixed determination for years past of the British Govern- ment and people to treat with the coldest indifference the struggles of other peoples, not absolutely and immediately affecting themselves. They seem to think that I, as the Governor of a Dutch population, with a Legislature largely pervaded by the Dutch element, acting under the certainty that I should not be supported in so doing by Her Majesty's Government, ought to have pushed matters to an extremity with a Dutch Republic, inhabited by the nearest kinsmen of the Cape Colonists, ought to have incurred an immediate risk of great disasters, and sown the seeds of bitter and lasting animosity."* Sir P. Wodehouse had already pro- claimed Basutoland British territory and for the present it was left to be administered by the High Commissioner. He, however, had no separate funds with which to enforce his authority, and the employment of the Cape frontier police in Basutoland caused some friction with the Cape Legislature ; many members considering that their Dutch kinsfolk had been hardly dealt with by England on the question of the annexation. Sir P. Wodehouse was suc- ceeded by Sir H. Barkly at the close of 1870, and in the * The Home authorities were in favour of annesing Basutoland to Natal. Moshesh, however, refused to agree to this. * Treaty of Aliwal North, Feb. 12, 1869. ' Pari. Pap., 187a 4IO BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY 1871. following year a Bill annexing Basutoland to Cape Colony- was passed by the Cape Parliament.^ Relations Whilst the relations between the British Grovernment and T s^^ ^^ Orange Free State were thus becoming more and more strained, separate causes of trouble were at work in the Transvaal. We have already noted the character of the government. "It Wcis," writes Theal,^ of the years 1854 to 1857, "so weak that to many persons it must seem a mis- nomer to call it a government at all. Practically it had no revenue. There was no police, yet there was very little crime, and neither person nor property was in danger, ex- cept from tribes of Africans." A remedy was hoped from the formal adoption of a Constitution in 1856. The pro- ceedings of the Potschefstrom delegates were at once, how- ever, met with protests from the Lydenburg and Zoutpans- berg districts, and an independent Lydenburg Republic was proclaimed. Nor were things made better when nominal union was secured. In 1861 we find civil war imminent, two acting Presidents and two rival Governments. Indeed, anarchy was only averted by the determined measures of Mr Paul Kruger, and even then peace was not obtained without civil bloodshed, nor a satisfactory settlement arrived 1864. at until May 1864. "The treasury," Mr Theal writes,* "was empty, and salaries were in arrear ; taxes of all kinds were outstanding and practically irrecoverable. The Republic had lost the confidence of the outside world, no one any longer believed in its stability." Such being the condition of affairs in the Transvaal, we need not be surprised at the reported occurrences which startled the conscience of Englishmen and did much to foster ill-feeling against the Boers. From more than one quarter it was reported * that it was the practice for Boers to kidnap destitute native children and to sell them into virtual slavery, though the proceedings were termed " appren- ^ After the long and troublesome war, which arose out of the attempt to en- force the Disarmament Act, it was separated from the Cape Colony in 1884 and became a Crown Colony. « mst. ofS. Africa, 1854-1872, p. 25. ' Ibid., p. 143. * Pari. Pap., 1868-9. ZENITH AND DECLINE 0¥ LAISSEZ-ALLER 411 ticing." It must, I think, be admitted that from the time of Lord Glenelg downwards a strong undercurrent of prejudice against the Dutch is to be observed in the behaviour of the British Colonial Office, a prejudice which is remarkably ap- parent in the cool and sober Lord Blachford. I cannot find that there is any trustworthy evidence to connect the Trans- vaal authorities with any acts of direct cruelty. At the same time, when the central Government was virtually an anarchy, it was not likely that the acts of the more reckless and law- less Boers would be held in check, while there can be no question but that public opinion in the Transvaal regarded offences against the natives in a very different light from what they were regarded in England. For better or for worse, upon the whole for worse, the Boers belonged to another generation, and to other modes of thought. It was impossible to apply New Testament codes of morality to a people which belonged to the Old: — it is something really to hold by any code at all. — Admirers of the Boers would have done well to rest content with such general considerations. Mr Theal, however, carries the case further, and appears^ to hold that it was fortunate for the children to exchange their native custodians for Boer masters. He does not, however, attempt to deal with what W2is really the ugly feature in the matter. How came it, it was asked, but never, I believe, answered, that while in their frontier wars the English had never come across these numerous orphan destitute children, wherever the Boers went they became of importance? The theory was that they were the child- ren of natives whose parents had been victims in war, but there were suspicious circumstances pointing -to the conclu- sion that in some cases at least the manufacture of orphans by the Boers had become a regular trade. Be this as it may, the Transvaal Government appears honestly to have endea- voured to stop the evil by rendering illegal the sale of such children. They admitted the existence of isolated cases, but denied in toto that they in any way tolerated the trade. Much correspondence took place about the matter. The ' Hist. o/S. Africa, 1854-1872, p. 154. 411 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Foreign OflSce was put in motion, and appealed to the Colonial Office. Sir P. Wodehouse, who was no friend of the Boers, put little faith in their denials. At the same time he insisted that there was no way of arriving at the truth, and that idle protests, which could not be enforced, were a mere waste of words. While the Boers were thus arousing against them that philanthropic sentiment which has always been of such power especially with the great middle classes, a Procla- mation^ of their President in 1868 excited the indignation of those who maintained that in spite of the failures and errors of the past, Great Britain must be still the paramounic Power in South Africa. The boundaries of the Republic were largely extended on the north, west,, and east. On the east the claim was put forward to access to the sea in the direction of Delagoa Bay. Whatever may have been the vague expressions of Mr Owen or the tacit agreements of Sir G. Clerk, considerations both of native rights and of Imperial responsibilities barred the way to the admission of such claims, and Sir P. Wodehouse at once notified to Mr Pretorius that the Proclamation must be withdrawn. The Transvaal Government yielded, but no doubt with sullen discontent, and it was in this atmos- phere of mutual distrust and dislike that the parties were living, who, within a few years, were to become closely linked, and then again rudely divorced, with consequences so disastrous to the good name of England, to the character of the Transvaal administration, and to the well-being of South Africa generally. Already in the sixties, in the claim of the South African Republic to have its Consul at Berlin, in the loose boasting about an Afrikander nation, we see the answer of history to the challenge of Lord Glenelg for the future to decide between him and Sir B. D'Urban. The well- meaning caution of the Colonial Office and its determined resistance to a policy of expansion, had already hatched the egg from which it is not yet clear whether there may not emerge a cockatrice to British South Africa. 1 Pari. Pap., 1868-9. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 413 Returning to the affairs of the more enlightened southern Orange Republic, unhappily we do not find ourselves in much less o'Jf^ll^*' troubled waters. It has been already seen that, whatever of Dia- may be said in favour of the annexation of Basutoland from 5^°^^ an Imperial point of view, the manner and time of annexa- tion was such as grievously to wound the Free State burghers. It is the Nemesis which waits upon the re- nunciation of duties, that generally lost ground has to be made good at the most inopportune moment. But, bad as appeared the business of the annexation of Basutoland, the manner in which Great Britain acquired the Diamond Oct. 1871. fields seemed infinitely worse. It is impossible in a general sketch to deal with the complicated details of this difficult question. It would appear, if we may trust the authority of Mr Theal,^ that the title of Waterboer, through whom the English claimed, was bad, though the sum of ;^90,000 afterwards paid by Lord Carnarvon to the Orange Free State was paid^ without prejudice to the rights of the case. But whatever might be abstract rights, here again the fact remained that the real justification for annexation lay in the responsibilities involved by the position of the paramount Power. Lord Kimberley caused needless irri- tation by a despatch wherein he stated * that " Her Nov. 17, Majesty's Government would see with great dissatisfaction ^^^°• any encroachment on the Griqua Territory by those Re- publics, which would open to the Boers an extended field for their slave-dealing operations, and probably lead to much oppression of the natives and disturbance of peace." But an inkling of the true position of affairs leaked out in the peremptory refusal to admit of the reference of the dispute to the head of some foreign country, than which, if the South African Republics were really in all senses independent of Great Britain, no proposal could have been more reasonable.* 1 See ch. xiv. of ffist. of S. Africa, 1854- 1872. Mr Theal is careful not to express an opinion, but he leaves no doubt as to his views. » Pari. Pap., 1876. ^ Pari. Pap., 1871. * On July 20, 1871, Lord Kimberley wrote — " It seems to me that to admit the action of .foreign Powers in these South African questions might lead to very serious embarrassments." 414 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY In truth, the respect which gave Lord Kimberley pause was in no wise the rights of the Orange Free State, but the importance of not being "a party to the annexation of any territory which the Cape Colony would be unable to govern and defend by its own unaided resources." ^ May i8, Assuredly " not without reluctance," he agreed to accept '*7i- the cession offered by Waterboer, if only the Cape Parlia- ment would bind itself to undertake the responsibility of government and the maintenance of any force which might be necessary. The attitude of the Cape Parliament on the question brought out very clearly the standing danger of South African politics. There was general agreement that the acquisition of the Diamond fields would be of advantc^e to Cape Colony, and that it was advisable to accept anything that Waterboer could really cede, but there was a strong disinclination to interfere in any way with the rights of the Orange Free State, and a desire to postpone the considera- tion of the question till the legal position of the parties could be determined. The utmost that Sir H. Barkly could obtain was the adoption of a proposition sanctioning measures for the maintenance of order ^ pending the adjust- ment of the boundary disputes. Nov. 4, Formal possession was taken on the 4th of November 1871. '^^''- Lord Kimberley had been careful to explain that, whilst it July 24, seemed necessary " to accept Waterboer's proffer of allegi- **^'' ance in order to prevent the disorders which must result from the prolonged absence of a settled government at the diamond diggings, . . . the question of limits should be determined with due regard to the claims of the Free State." For this purpose he again proposed arbitration by another servant of the Queen. President Brand protested, but in vain. We may note, too, the language of the Volksraad : " Few in num- ber, and surrounded by hostile and powerful coloured tribes, these white inhabitants were reluctant to take its government upon themselves, but, constrEiined by Her Majesty's Pleni- potentiary, . . . they accepted the government of this terri- 1 Despatch, Jan. 3, 1871. Pari. Pap., 1871. 2 Sir H. Barkly to Lord Kimberley, Aug. 15, 1871. Park Pap., 1872. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 415 tory."^ Whether or not the annexation of the Diamond fields might have been made in such a manner as not to excite this sense of injustice is difficult to say. Mr Theal asserts* that "in 1870 and 1871 there was an opportunity for statesmen in British South Africa to bind together the diverse elements of society, and, with little difficulty, to ex- tend the influence of England in the interior . . . but the man was not at hand to take advantage of it." Mr Theal, however, does not give his reasons for this opinion, and his own narrative shows the serious difficulties which lay in the way. The question with regard to the claims of the Orange Boundary Free State to Griqualand West had its counterpart in the Question question with regard to the claims of the South African xiLosvaal. Republic to the diamond fields north of the Vaal, and to the territory on the west of the Transvaal occupied by the Barolong and Batlapin tribes. The Transvaal Government proved more accommodating than their southern kinsfolk, and agreed that the question should go to arbitration, the Lieut.-Governor of Natal to be the umpire. When, however, the award proved to be in favour of the natives, the Trans- vaal Volksraad attempted to repudiate the action of their President, on the ground that the terms of the Constitution had not been complied with. The firmness of Sir H. Barkly prevented further trouble, and upon the whole the reader gathers that the real grievance was not so much that the paramount Power should interfere, but that, having inter- fered, it did not assume the responsibility of its action. According to a Boer newspaper, the British Government "having done so much " with regard to Bechuanaland, " will and must do more."* For the time being, however, the English Government refused to accept the submission of the Bechuana Chiefs, so that the only result of the award was to bring about a state of anarchy on the western frontier of the Republic, the Transvaal authorities, of course, not 1 Quoted by Theal, History of S. Africa, 1854-1872, p. 395. ^IUd.,-p. 376. ' Sir H. Barkly to Lord Kimberley, Dec. 18, 1871. Pari. Pap., 1872. 41 6 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY caring to interfere in a district which had been declared to be outside their jurisdiction. Re- It has been already noticed that Cape Colony did not ob- ^^eorcm- ^^^^ responsible government until 1872. In fact, colonial ment. public opinion with respect to it was very far from being enthusiastic in its favour, as had been Australian public opinion. In the Cape, responsible government was pressed upon the Colony by the Home authorities. The reason why the Colony distrusted the offered boon was that they feared it would be accompanied by the withdrawal of British troops. From 1867 onwards there had been serious efforts to diminish the drain upon the Imperial military resources caused by the needs of Cape Colony. In that Jan. 26, year Lord Carnarvon, while pointing out that the Colony '^^'' contributed the small sum of ;£^io,ooo towards the allow- ances of the Imperial troops,^ announced an elaborate scheme of gradual reductions, under which after 1872 the Colony should pay for Imperial troops at the same rate as was paid by the Australian Colonies, viz., ;£'40 a year for every infantry soldier, and £yo a year for every artilleryman. In vigorously criticising the despatch, on the grounds that there should be sufficient Imperial troops or none quartered in the Colony, J\dy 16, Sir P. Wodehouse had stated ^ that " if they contemplate '^'" . . . forcing the people of the Colony to set up responsible government . . . then the troops ought all to be withdrawn." The Governor himself was no friend of responsible govern- ment. We have already noticed how different was the attitude of different men, equally able and equally honest, towards this great change. Perhaps no Governor expressed himself with greater emphasis upon this question than did Sir P. Wode- house. Witness his despatches and especially the speech Jan. 25, with which in 1870 he opened the Cape Parliament.* 1870. « People in England, knowing little of the Colonies, and to whom their proper position was not brought home, were fas- cinated by the notion of extending British institutions. . . . They did not perceive that the very principle of responsibility was opposed to existence as a Colony . . . that the day 1 Pari. Pap., 1871. 2 /^^^ 3 7^^. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 417 must come for a collision, that . . . the issues might be delayed, but, sooner or later, it was inevitable ; that this form was suitable only to communities who desired or looked for- ward to a severance at no distant day from the motJur country, whether by transfer to another power or by the establishment of an independent State ; that, when such a severance was not coveted or contemplated, party government was inexpedient. Rightly or wrongly, I have always held this view, and I can- not see that the course of events has tended to controvert it." Other causes were at work, hostile to responsible govern- ment. There was the distrust of the English minority, lest the Dutch should thereby secure ascendency. There was the discontent of the Eastern districts, which feared that their interests might be sacrificed to those of Cape Town. There was the doubt of the philanthropists, whether, under respon- sible Colonial government, the natives might not be ill-treated. In this state of things, the task awaiting the new Governor, Sir H. Barkly, who, at the close of 1870, succeeded Sir P. Wodehouse, was by no means an easy one. He had, how- ever, this in his favour, that he thoroughly believed in the policy which he went out to enforce. Moreover, the course of colonial politics showed the urgent need of some change. As Lord Granville had put it in 1 869,^ " If the colonists will not allow themselves to be governed ... it follows that they must adopt the responsibility of governing," but the Cape Parliament showed no inclination to follow meekly the lead of the executive. A measure for conferring responsible government was introduced in 1871, and passed through the Assembly. It was, however, thrown out by the Legislative Council. Its passage in the Lower House was doubtless assisted by the willingness * of Lord Granville in the pre- April 7, ceding year, to delay the withdrawal of the troops,* " and for '^^o. the present at least to leave a regiment * in the Colony." In 1872 the measure was passed through both Houses and be- June 1872. came law, although, not without, for a time, considerable pro- test from the Eastern districts. 1 Dec. 9. 1869, Pari. Pap., 1871. ' Pari. Pap., 1871. = Pari. Pap., 1873. * In addition to the laments allotted for garrison duty. 2 D 41 8 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Con- Closely connected with the question of responsible govem- federation. jjjgj,^. ^^s the subject of Confederation, which, in South Africa, has had so unfortunate a history. It is often represented that Lord Carnarvon, elated with his success in piloting through Parliament the Canadian measure of 1867, started, in 1874, the subject of South African Confederation of his own mere motion. But, in fact, the question had been for some time within the sphere of practical politics. Thus we find, in 1871, Nov. 16, Sir H. Barkly writing strongly in its favour, and Lord Kim- '^*" berley, both concurring yrith. his views, and authorising him to convene delegates from Natal and the Dutch Republics, " for the purpose of considering the conditions of union." ^ At that time there was good reason to believe that the Orange Free State was willing to enter into such a union. In opening the Cape Parliament in 1872, Sir H. Barkly April 18, spoke of " the objections to a voluntary union in such con- '^72. federation of all the territories which now form, or have at any time formed, portions of the British possessions," as by no means " insuperable." * " The benefits which would accrue therefrom in respect of uniformity of legislation, simplifica- tion of legal procedure, facilitation of postal and telegraphic communication, as well as of the construction of bridges, rail- ways and other public works, are too obvious to require com- ment. Neither need I enlarge on those higher moral ends which would be promoted by the reunion of communities owning a common origin, and still closely connected by ties of relationship or of race. If federation tended, as it undoubtedly would, to promote a milder and less encroach- ing policy towards the native races on the north of the Orange River, and to put an end to the much-to-be-regretted disputes with the South African and Orange Republics . . . its accomplishment should form, independently of all other advantages, the object of the warmest aspirations of every humane and patriotic mind." It must be admitted that the practical difficulties in the way were great Still, in the mind of Sir H. Barkly, responsible government and con- federation were closely connected. He regarded the former 1 Pari. Pap., 1872. 2 Pari. Pap., 1873. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 419 as "paving the way for a redistribution of representation among the different districts, extending to them the greater powers of self-government which are so urgently needed, and eventually establishing a system of federal union, in which all the provinces of South Africa shall be, sooner or later, embraced."^ Confederation being thus in the air, it might have been hoped that the advent to power of an able Colonial Secre- tary, its enthusiastic advocate, might have given force to the movement Nothing could have been more conciliatory than Lord Carnarvon's attitude. He expressly stated that he had no desire to dictate, and that the "action of all parties, whether the British Colonies or the Dutch States, must be spontaneous and uncontrolled." ^ Unhappily, Lord Carnarvon took another step to push on Confederation, which was followed by results very different from those which he in- tended. In the autumn of 1874, and again in the summer of 187 s, Mr Froude went to South Africa, on a kind of informal mission, "employed in a special service without remunera- tion," the Colonial Office not being " responsible for all his movements." Whether, however, he was the accredited envoy of the Colonial Office, he was undoubtedly the envoy of Lord Carnarvon, and it was impossible for Cape politi- cians not to hold the Home Government responsible for his behaviour. In his first visit, it is true, he emphatically de- clared himself to be but " a private man of letters, travelling for my private amusement." On his second visit, however, when he, in effect, appealed to the Cape colonists against the action of the Ministry in cavalierly putting aside the courteous proposals of Lord Carnarvon, he expressed him- self somewhat differently. However unconstitutional may have been the attitude of the Cape Ministry in denying the Mother country a voice in the settlement of the Con- federation question, it was clearly wrong that an envoy of Lord Carnarvon should be, in effect, stumping the Colony against its responsible Ministers, and no doubt the personal ' Sir 11. Barkly to Lord Kimberley, June 17, 1872, Pari. Pap., 1873. 2 Pari. Pap., 1875. 420 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY bitterness thus aroused did much to render Confederation, for the time, hopeless. Mr Froude has been further credited^ with having called into being the Frankenstein of a South Africa for the Afrikander. It must be remembered that Mr Froude's position was a curious one. He was, of course, selected by Lord Carnarvon as an ardent Imperialist, but as, above all, a disciple of Carlyle, he was bound to respect an Old Testament people when he met one. Hence in Cape Colony he was supported by the Eastern and more English districts ; while in the Orange Free State he appeared as the eulogist of the Boer as against the Englishman. Assuredly, the language quoted from his speeches at Bloemfontein reads strangely in the mouth of an Imperial emissary. " The inde- pendence of South Africa will come when you can reply to these Powers by shot and shell. ... I know and admire the achievement of national independence, because it can be achieved only by courage and self-denial."* Again, at Worcester, in Cape Colony, speaking in the name of Lord Carnarvon, he said : " At present you are in your nonage, but a time will come when you will arrive at maturity. ... If you wish to leave us and the British Empire, we shall regret your loss, but we shall not oppose your inclination." Now, all this may have been perfectly true, but it is doubtful how far, addressed to somewhat ignorant and very self-willed audiences, it furthered the objects of Mr Froude's mission. I do not myself suppose that Mr Froude's language had anything to do with creating the idea of an independent South Africa. The slow-witted but shrewd Boer is not the kind of man to draw inspiration from the after-dinner oratory of a brilliant English man of letters. The serious consequence of Mr Froude's mission was that, with the best intentions in the world, he called forth, wherever he went, personal feelings and jealousies, and thereby retarded the the cause of union. If, indeed, personal issues could have been forgotten, it would have been through the unfailing good temper of Lord ' By Mr Greswell in Our Sotitk African Empire, Vol. I. " Quoted in Greswell's Our S. Af. Empire, Vol. I. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 421 Carnarvon. He now proposed that a Conference should be held in London instead of in South Africa. President Brand was in London, and the negotiations with respect to Griqualand were about to come to a satisfactory issue. It was impossible for the President to attend a Con- ference on Confederation ; a resolution of the Orange Free Volksraad having refused leave on the ground^ "that the independence of this State might thereby be endangered." Mr Brand, however, was willing ^ to attend a Conference on the subject of the treatment of the natives and of the sale to them of fire-arms. The Cape Premier, who was also in Eng- land, was precluded ^ by a vote of the Assembly from attend- ing the Conference even when thus limited ; and its proceed- ings, in the absence of a Cape Colony representative and with Mr Froude to represent Griqualand West, whose population he had severely criticised, had some appearance of unreality. However, Lord Carnarvon believed that personal discussions with Mr Brand and Mr Molteno had cleared the air in favour of Confederation. Replying to a Cape Colony deputation, in October 1876, he expressed * himself hopefully on the subject. He believed that the Orange Free State was only resolved against a form of Confederation which should attack its inter- nal independence. At the same time he recognised that " no precipitate action should be taken." Further to prepare the way. Lord Carnarvon caused a Bill to be drafted " for the union under one form of government of such of the South African Colonies and States as may agree thereto, and for the govern- ment of such Union." In the winter of 1876 this Bill was S. Africa forwarded to South Africa for observations thereon. The .q'^j Ii measure of the following year, which embodied some of these Vic, c. recommendations, closely followed the North America Act, '^^' 1867. The power of disallowing provincial Statutes might, however, in certain cases, be reserved to the Home authorities. Sec. 38. a provision doubtless intended in the interests of the natives. Meanwhile events had been happening in the north of Delagoa South Africa which, while they clearly proved, the necessity ^^' for some kind of union, in their results threw such union back > Pari. Pap., 1876. '' Ibid. = Jbid. * Pari. Pap., 1877. 422 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY to the Greek Kalends. The extravagant claims of the South African Republic to the country to the north and east, reaching to the seaboard, have been already noticed. These claims, at least, forced on the settlement of the question who Wcis the rightful owner of Delagoa Bay. In 1872 the rival claims of Portugal and England were submitted to the arbitration^ of the President of the French Republic. The English claim was based on a grant in 1823 by independent chiefs of the country south of the Lorenzo Marques river. Portugal relied greatly on the fact that the names Lorenzo Marques and Delagoa Bay were used as equivalents. Before the publication of the award British diplomacy achieved a distinct triumph. Portugal undertook, in case the award was in her favour, not to part with Delagoa Bay to a third Power.* In the hands of Portugal Delagoa Bay is at least powerless to hurt. When we consider that but for this timely precaution it might in the winter of 1895-96 have been a German port, we can appre- ciate the full importance of Lord Derby's action. That by the decision of Marshal MacMahon one important terminus of the South African railway system should be in the hands of the Portuguese is bad enough, we may yet be thankful that matters are not still worse. Zulus. In the beginning of 1876 the Natal Government was dis- turbed * by the prospect of immediate war between the South African Republic and the Zulus. On the one hand the Boers were occupying territory, which the Zulus claimed as their own, and were enforcing the payment of a tax from the native inhabitants; on the other hand, Cetywayo was longing "to wash his spears." The position of the British authorities was one of no little difficulty. They bad been carefully holding Cetywayo back^ and now the Boers were proceeding to act as judges in their own cause. Dan- ger, however, was for the time averted by the outbreak of hostilities in the north-east of the Republic : the Boers for the present neglecting to enforce their claims on the south- east. The expedition against Sekukuni was a military 1 Pari. Pap., 1875. ' The right of British pre-emption was given by a subsequent Treaty. ^ParLPaf., 1877. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 423 failure, and loud complaints^ were addressed to the British Government by the Lydenburg miners, who alleged that gratuitous trouble had been brought to their doors by the rash and unjust policy of the Boer authorities. Meanwhile Affairs in the condition of affairs in the Transvaal went from bad to Transvaal, worse. Sir H. Barkly wrote, " The whole state of things Oct. 1876. borders very closely upon anarchy. . . . The machinery of administration is everywhere all but paralysed, and the Re- public seems about to fall to pieces through its own weak- ness." ^ A Transvaal newspaper, which had supported the Government, wrote, "An empty treasury, an unsuccessful war, an increasing debt, a total loss of credit, an obstinate President, a discontented people."* There was even a danger that postal communication between Pretoria and Kimberley would come to a standstill, because the contractor was unable to negotiate bills for ;£8oo received in payment from the Transvaal Government. In fairness all this must be remembered in judging what followed. Again and again in 1876 we find Lord Carnarvon seeking an issue from an impossible impasse. The President at one time was to be informed that the English Government could " not consent * to view passively ... the engagement of the Republic in foreign military operations, the object or necessity of which have not been made apparent." Later on we find him writing, " It is obvious my inclination in favour of continuing to co-operate with the Transvaal as a separate State may have to be modi- fied." ^ In this state of things, the best course appeared to be to send out Sir T. Shepstone, in whose "wisdom and evenly balanced mind " * Lord Carnarvon had " great confidence," with discretionary powers to act should the necessity arise. Meanwhile, apart from the general com- plaint that the Boers were sowing the wind from which the British power might reap the whirlwind, there was every sort of minor grievance. Charges of cruelty abound in the Parliamentary papers, while British sub- i Pari. Pap., 1877. = Ibid. " Ibid. *nid. ^Uid. *im. 424 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY jects found themselves commandered to the frontier to fight in a war which they believed to be unjust The President, during a tour in Europe, had made Conventions protecting the citizens of other States, but no such Convention had been made with the paramount Power, and Great Britain had to be content with an undertaking that until such a Con- vention could be arranged, British subjects should be let alone. Nor was trouble with the Boers the only danger. During 1876 it became apparent^ that Cetywayo, whatever may have been his original disposition, was no longer to be con- Sir H. trolled by British influence. He had been " not only pre- OD'^on^ P^""S fo'' war but had been sounding the way with a view to a combination of the native races against the white men." " Go back and tell the English," he said, "that I shall now act on my own account, and if they wish me to agree to their laws, I shall leave and become a wan- derer ; but before I go, it will be seen, as I shall not go without having acted." * Nor was the Zulu king content with words. We hear of him "as putting people to death in a shameful way, especially girls." It should be noted that these outrages took place before the appearance upon the scene of Sir Bartle Frere. SirBartle The ill-fortune which had throughout dogged the foot- '"''■ steps of British policy in South Africa culminated in the years 1877 to 1881. If ever there was an ap- pointment from which much good might have been ex- pected, it was the appointment of Sir Bartle Frere as Governor of Cape Colony and High Commissioner. It is true that in offering him the post Lord Carnarvon used the unhappy phrase that he was selected to carry " my scheme of confederation into effect."* But Sir Bartle Frere could be trusted not to act as the mere creature of Downing Street. In many ways he was singularly fitted for the post Not merely was he an administrator of tried capacity and a statesman of far-reaching views, » Pari. Pap., 1877. ^Ibiti. ' LeUer of Lord Carnarvon to Sir B. Frere, Oct. 13, 1876, quoted in Life of Sir Bartle Frere, by J. Martineau, Vol. II. p. 162, 2nd ed. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 425 such as South Africa had not seen since the departure of Sir G. Grey, he was also, as a man, eminently suited for his new position. He combined with much charm of manner a transparent simplicity of character and an old- world devoutness which were just the qualities to attract the Dutch people of South Africa. It was said of him by a Boer farmer,' " As for this Governor of yours he might be a • regt Dopper ' " {i.e., a Boer of the Boers). He was able to recognise, as unhappily Englishmen have not sometimes recognised, the strong points in the Boer char- acter. " No people," he wrote,* " could have done what the Trek Boers have done during the past thirty years without having the materials of a great people among them ; but they have hitherto had scant justice done them by either friends or detractors." So far from being, as has been asserted, the enemy of responsible government, he was its most convinced advocate. We find him con- demning "the hybrid affair which here (Natal), as at Kimberley, lets in just enough of independence to check the best of despots but not enough to make the indepen- dents feel responsible for any part of the mischief they may do." ^ Following Sir G. Grey, he recognised from the first the policy which the position of paramount Power of necessity involved. "Your object is not con- quest but simply supremacy up to Delagoa Bay. This will have to be asserted some day and the assertion will not become easier by delay."* Again, "you must be master, as representative of the sole Sovereign Power, up to the Portuguese frontier, on both the east and west Coasts. . . . All our real difficulties have arisen and still arise from attempting to evade or shift this responsibility." * Had his advice been taken there would have been no German South- West Africa. The wisdom of the measures he advocated * Life, by J. Mardneau, Vol. II. 2nd ed., p. 308. » Dec. 2, 1878, to Sir M. Hicks Beach. ' Jan. 1879, Uft, Vol. II. 2nd ed., p. 240. * Dec. 19, 1877, to Lord Carnarvon. ° Aug. 10, 1878, to Sir M. Hicks Beach. 426 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY with regard to the settlement of the native question is now generally recognised, and even the one step he took on the expediency of which there may be a reasonable division of opinion, viz., the forcing the hands of Cetywayo, was probably in the long run a blessing to South Africa. And yet, though time has already vindicated him, the imme- diate results to Sir Bartle Frere of these years were dreaiy enough. His policy thwarted, himself recalled, a great reputation offered on the altar of party exigencies, the reckless calumnies of opponents, the half-hearted excuses of so-called friends, such were the rewards to Sir Bartle Frere, of having accepted a position which he did not covet, and of having given up to the public service the leisure and rest which he had so fully earned. It is among the ironies of history that this was the man whom an Afrikander writer describes as the Proconsul " under whom force and fraud were rampant, peoples were de- prived of their constitutional rights . . . and the country deluged in blood." ^ Annexa- It might be true, in the words of Lord Carnarvon, that TnuMTaai. "the war between the Transvaal Republic and the natives has gradually ripened all South African policy " ; ^ but it by no means followed that it brought " us near to the object and end for which I have now been for two years steadily aiming — the union of the South African Colonies and States." In fact, whether or not the annexation of the Transvaal was necessary, it in no wise advanced the cause of confederation. For this annexation Sir Bartle Frere was in no way responsible. We have seen that Sir T. Shepstone had been sent out to South Africa with an independent commission, and that he was in no way required to con- sult the High Commissioner before acting. Sir Bartle 1877. arrived at the Cape on the 31st March, and the Proclama- tion annexing the Transvaal to the British Empire was issued on the 12th April. Looking back in the light of subsequent events it is easy to criticise this step, but at ^ Molteno, A Federals. Africa. ' Letter of Lord Camarron, Oct. 13, 1876. ZENITH AND DECLINE OF LAISSEZ-ALLER 427 the time it may well have seemed inevitable. Shepstone explained^ at great length the reasons of his action. In effect they amounted to this, that the "material to maintain independence did not exist in the country, and that Her Majesty's Government dared not suffer a neighbouring white State to become subdued by the coloured races." For the situation, from the standpoint of the Transvaal Govern- ment, we may consult the language held by that very enigmatical individual, President Burgers. "Are you pre- pared," * he asked the Volksraad, " for the self-sacrifice which your independence demands ? " " They have not amongst themselves enough men of knowledge and ability to govern them." "He could tell the Raad that within the last few years the Cape had been more of a Republic than the Transvaal." The Government, he admitted, was a mere anarchy, while the Volksraad promptly rejected any pro- posal of reform. "You may resolve," said the President, "that you will have nothing to do with Confederation, but let me tell you. Confederation has a great deal to do with us." At a later date, it is true, the attempt was made to discredit all this as the utterance of an enthusiast, but at the time no voice was raised to give Burgers the lie. It seems then clear that for the time being the Transvaal Government had broken down, and the only question there- fore was, did such a state of things involve a danger to the British Colonies. It is easy to make light of a danger when it is past, but at the time there was hardly anyone in South Africa who did not recognise that the presence of Cetywayo's armed forces on the frontiers of the European settlements was a standing menace to civilisation. The military system of the Zulus,' as was afterwards stated, " must be looked upon as an engine constituted and used to generate power." It is true that had English officials been the Machiavellis they appear to the foreign journalist, it might have been a tempting policy to allow the Zulus to " wash their spears " among the obstinate Boers, nor is it prob- able that in the circumstances of the time the latter would 1- Pari. Pap., 1877. " Ibid. » Pari. Pap., 1878. 428 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY have shown the fighting qualities which Englishmen after- wards learnt to their cost. Granted that it had been "a Natal weakness rather to pet the Zulus as one might a tamed wolf who only devoured one's neighbour's sheep,"* that weakness did not and could not go the length of betraying their Dutch kinsfolk. In this state of things, with anarchy within and Cetywayo without, annexation may well have appeared unavoidable. It is, however, more difficult to approve the manner of it Sir H. Bulwer, some days before the annexation, had re- marked, "It is difficult for outsiders to reconcile Burgers' proceedings with his promises and utterances, and I should be half afraid of him myself, but Shepstone appears to have no doubt he is acting in perfect good faith with him."* It would seem that Shepstone was fairly outwitted by the Boer leaders. In private they encouraged him, while they issued public protests against the time when their native and financial troubles should be surmounted. The President may have been " bound to make a protest," but there was neither wisdom nor dignity in an English officer being an aider and abettor of such double dealings. On the whole, it appears that the annexation was eagerly welcomed by a minority who recognised the gravity of the situation or were English in their sympathies, and that it was bitterly opposed by another small minority consisting for the most part of Hollanders, although there were amongst them genuine Boer patriots, such as Mr P. Kruger. Between these two extremes there was the great body of the farm- ing population, who had little time to spare for politics, and who acquiesced cheerfully in the annexation, so far as it meant protection against Zulu inroads. It is impossible that the cordial reception of the troops, of which we hear so much, could have existed only in the imaginations of the numerous witnesses who agree in their report.* The im- mediate advance of ;^i ^^^ Ottawa Conference of 1894 in some ways pos- 1894! sessed yet greater interest. That such a conference between the self-governing Colonies should be held, with an Imperial representative present, merely to show the approval and sympathy of the Mother country, and to give information when necessary, spoke volumes for the healthy state of Im- perial relations. Well might Lord Jersey " record his con- viction that the sense of connection and cohesion . . . has been of late years steadily growing stronger. The great dis- 1 Pari. Pap., 1887. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 453 cretion which has been observed at home . . . has inspired, and is continually augmenting, a feeling of confidence in and respect for the Mother country, which is economically and politically beneficent." The Conference was occupied with three subjects : the construction of a submarine cable between Vancouver and Australia, the establishment of a quick mail service between Great Britain and Australia, via Canada, and lastly, the trade relations of the Colonies with Great Britain and with one another. On the last subject the Conference, after declaring that any impediments by Treaty or otherwise in the way of reciprocity between the different portions of the Empire should be removed, resolved,* "Whereas the stability and progress of the British Empire can be best secured by drawing continually closer the bonds that unite the Colonies with the Mother country, and by a continuous growth of a practical sympathy and co-operation in all that pertains to the common welfare. And whereas this co-operation can in no way be more effectually promoted than by the cultivation and extension of the mutual and profitable interchange of their products. Therefore . . . this Conference records its belief in the advisability of a Customs arrangement between Great Britain and her Colonies, by which trade within the Empire may be placed on a more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign countries . . . that until the Mother country can see her way to enter into Customs arrangements with her Colonies, it is desirable that, when empowered so to do, the Colonies of Great Britain . . . take steps to place each other's products . . . on a more favourable Customs basis * than is accorded to the 1 Pari. Pap., 1894. ^ An explanation may be given of the difficulties in the way of inter-colonial differential treatment. With regard to the Australian Colonies, the prohibition against differential treatment was contained in their Constitution Acts, and the Customs Act of 1873 only removed that prohibition, so far as the inter-colonial trade between the Australian Colonies themselves was concerned. An Imperial statute was therefore necessary before Victoria could put Canada on the same footing as she might New South Wales. In the case of Canada and of the Cape there was no Imperial statute barring the way, and, as a matter of fact, the Home authorities readily assented to the Cape Colony statute giving differential treatment to the Orange Free State under the South African Customs Union. 454 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY like products of foreign countries." More remarkable in some ways than these resolutions was the langu^e em- ployed by the various speakers. Again and again there was shown a complete apprehension of the point of view of the Mother country. Men, who believed in protection in the Colonies, avowed that in England they would be Free Traders. It was openly recognised that while Great Britain was continually enlarging the value of its imports of colonial productsi, the Colonies were by no means respond- ing with an equal increjise of imports of British manufactures. Imperial A notice of the Colonial Conferences of 1887 and 1894 tf^" naturally leads to some discussion of the larger question of Imperial Federation, of some form of which these con- ferences may be regarded as the precursors. No candid observer can deny that the Imperial Federation League did good service in the cause of creating more friendly relations between the Mother country and the Colonies. Just as, in the darkest hour of the night of laisses-aUer, the Colonial Institute was started to resist the policy of drift, so, in the dawn of the daytime of Greater Briteiin, the Imperial Federation League was formed to give a practical embodiment to the vague aspirations of the time. Neither is it possible to exaggerate the importance of the indirect work of the League. It preached a most needed sermon on the text of the old Dutch proverb — onbeketul inaaks onbemind. In a variety of ways it sought to bring out the underlying unity of the different portions of the Empire. The appointment of colonials to positions of trust outside their particular Colony was one of the mea- sures urged by the Imperial Federation League. Commis- sions in the army are now reserved for young colonials, and a movement is at the present time on foot in Canada to put again upon a territorial basis the Prince of Wales Royal No difficulty would seem to arise from the provisions of Imperial Commercial Treaties, so far as the preferential treatment is limited to the inter-colonial trade, ^d does not .extend to the trade of the Mother country. The prohibition against differential treatment of other Colonies was removed by the Australian Colonies Duties Act, 1895 (S8 and 59 Vic, c. 3). THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 455 Canadian Regiment,^ by which means the connection between the regular army and the military forces of Canada would become closer than has been hitherto possible.* In this and in other ways, such as the introduction of Colonial judges into the Privy Council, the feelings called forth by the Im- perial Federation League have played a great part. More- over, its founders were no mere dilettante amateurs, they consisted for the most part of statesmen well versed in practical politics; and, in passing, we may note, that not the least of the good results of the League was that it broke the vicious tradition, under which, for the last twenty years or so. Liberalism had seemed identified with an atti- tude of indifference, if not hostility, towards the Colonies ; * the League counting among its most prominent supporters Lord Rosebery. When, however, we pass to an examination of particular proposals of the League, we are on less firm ground. So many forms of Federation have been proposed, and there is room for such wide difference of opinion between advocates of different plans, that it is impossible to discuss the subject in detail. The underlying assump- tion, however, on which all such proposals are based, is that things cannot go on as they are, either the ties con- necting the different portions of the Empire must be drawn closer and become mpre regulated, or else, sooner or later, we may hope later, buf(jnevitably, the Empire will dissolved » Now, with regard to this, very little is to be learnt from history. The British Empire of to-day, it cannot be too often repeated, is without a precedent in the past. Even this, indeed, hardly expresses the truth. Consider the case of Sir G. Comewall Lewis. He was both a very shrewd man of the world, and also a deeply learned student of the past, yet, writing not many years before the new departure in British Colonial policy, he was so far from anticipating the kind of independent dependency, which now ' The looth Prince of Wales Royal Canadian Regiment was raised in the Dominion in 1858. It, however, subsequently lost its territorial connection and became linked to an Irish battalion. ^ On this subject note the su^estions of Mr Chamberlain at the meeting with the Colonial Premiers. Pari. Pap., 1897. 456 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY prevails in the case of the self-governing Colonies, that apparently he did not conceive its possibility even in thought. Moreover, whosoever remembers how very different have been the consequences arising from the granting of responsible government from those anticipated by the men best qualified to judge, will hesitate before embarking upon prophecy. So far, however, as experience does help, it seems to point in a direction the opposite to that of formal systems of Federation. The interminable discussions over Home Rule have at least shown the grave practical difficulties in the way of federal systems. It would seem ^ that a Federation of distinct communities can only naturally be brought about from the fear of some external danger. In this state of things, it is for the advocates of \change to show its necessity. As I understand, Imperial JFederation is advocated mainly on two general grounds. On the one hand, it is contended that the present state of things involves the Colonies in subjection, because they have no voice in directing the Foreign policy of the Empire. Upon the other hand, it is alleged that it entails upon the Mother country an unfair shcire of the burden of common defence. Now of course it is perfectly true that Foreign policy is settled by the British Cabinet, and to this extent there is a technical grievance. But how much voice has the ordinary British elector in the Foreign policy of the nation ? He has indeed a vote, which may go to return a member, who in turn may move a vote of want of confidence, which may result in the overthrow of a Ministry. At the same time, under the Constitution, executive power primarily lies with the Crown's Ministers, and any change which tended ^ to throw the direction of policy more into the hands of a deliberative body would be, in the opinion of many, a change for the worse. But the alternative is an Imperial • Cabinet existing side by 'side with the British Cabinet, a state of things which, under democracy, could not, I expect, survive a single month's trial. Moreover, the original argument is a two-edged sword. Because, if the Colonies ' See Freeman, Greater Greece and Greater Britain, p.'S4. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 457 were going to discuss questions of Foreign policy in a spirit y[ of antagonism, it is easy to foresee what friction and trouble might result. Take the question of the Mediterranean. The Australian representatives might insist that Great Britain should loose her hold of the Mediterranean, so as to acquire a stronger grasp of the Pacific. In the present state of things, as to population, etc., could it be endured that the policy of Great Britain, as to India, should be dic- tated even by kinsmen so near to us as are the colonists? I do not say that such a temper would manifest itself, but neither do I believe that the colonists feel the grievance which is put into their mouths. Doubtless, as the Colonies grow in wealth and population, they will need to have a voice in the direction of Imperial policy, but such a voice could far better find expression in an improvement in the status of the Colonial Agents-General and in their being admitted as Privy Councillors to Cabinet Councils on particular occasions, than in throwing into a Medea's cauldron the whole constitutional relations of the Empire, the final issue of which no man could predict. But if the first argument in favour of Imperial Federation is somewhat fanciful, the second is surely somewhat danger- ous. The Colonies, it is suggested, do not sufficiently tax tliemselves for the purpose of Imperial Defence, therefore let a brand new body take the subject in hand. But this entails the fallacy that mere representation is enough to satisfy practical men. Really and truly, the underlying assump- tion, which causes the rule of the majority to be meekly borne, is that the minority have the expectation of, some day or other, becoming the majority. If that hope be taken away, that very complicated and artificial system, govern- ment by Parliamentary majority, tends to break down. But, where money questions are concerned, nothing can be more certain than that, under a federal system. Provincial repre- sentatives will stand side by side. A remarkable object- lesson in this truth has been lately afforded in Ireland, where men, divided by all that can most keep apart, by race, by religion, by memories of blood feuds, found themselves stand- 458 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY ing side by side under the pressure of common financial interests. I can imagine no more serious strain upon friendly relations than that a Federal Parliament should impose bur- dens upon a particular Colony, against the united efforts of its representatives. A popular Colonial Assembly will al- most certainly vote generous contributions, — especially in these days when the taxes are largely paid by those who have little voice in imposing them, — but the dreary history of the '; past would be repeated, were an attempt to be made to en- force contributions against the will of the people. The subject of Imperial Defence has been carefully excluded from these pages, because it should be and is abundantly treated by experts, but there appears a fallacy in the arguments of I Imperial Federalists upon this question. What is wanted, is that there should be a common organisation for putting the defences of the Empire into the best possible con- dition. The Mother country and each Colony should state what amount it is prepared to contribute, and then the organisation belongs to the naval or military expert From the language sometimes used, it would seem as though effective organisation were impossible under the present system. But is this really so, or would Imperial Federa- tion remedy the difficult cases which now occur? The rough and ready rule is that each self-governing Colony should provide for its own proper defence, and that Great Britain should undertake the fortification of purely Imperial positions and coaling stations. The difficulty arises in the "^ case of places ^ which can be regarded in either light. But in such cases it is difficult to see how Imperial Federation would mend matters. What is required is patience, and time, in the end, solves many difficulties. Thus Western Australia, growing in wealth and importance, will be as ready to provide for its own defence, as are New South Wales and Victoria. The suggestion of Sir C. Dilke that the Colonies should be " represented on the general staff, which is to constitute tlie 1 Note the discussion on King George's Sound at the Colonial Conference of 1887, Par!. Pap., 1887. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 459 brain of the nation on military questions," appears most valuable, but when it is asserted to be "a remarkable in- stance of past Imperial carelessness, that the very principle upon which the burden of defence should be divided between ourselves and the Colonies, and the proportions in which it should be borne, have never been settled," the retort seems obvious, that the circumstances of those Colomes^aye been so changing, that it has been hitherto impossible to enact any cut and dried scheme of adjustment of burdens, which should continue fair over a term of years. L If this is so, the omission has been due not to carelessness but to an honest recognition of the difficulties in the wajM I have dealt with some aspects of the question of Imperial Federation, but a preliminary objection remains to be stated. If the present relations between Great Britain and the Colonies were unhealthy, you would expectJfo find bad results. " A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a cor- rupt tree bring forth good fruit" But compare those relations to-day with what they were at periods of ten years' interval since the self-governing Colonies settled down to the full enjojmnent of responsible government. If you compare the state of things in 1877 with what prevailed in 1867, you find great improvement, from 1877 to 1887 you find further im- provement, and careful observers are agreed that the rate of improvement has increased during the last ten years. I have quoted the emphatic language of Lord Jersey, who, as having been Governor of New South Wales, had good opportunities of judging. More recently, Mr T. A. Brassey, who visited Australia in 1896, and who was mainly occupied with the thorny question of Imperial Defence, has borne testimony to the greater cordiality towards the Mother country, which is now felt than was felt some ten years ago. It would seem as though some, at least, of Imperial Federationists altogether misread the signs of the times. There is in the Colonies, I gather, abundant loyalty to the Queen and to the British flag, but there is little loyalty to the Imperial Parliament, while there is no desire to set up any substi- tute in its stead. Already under Confederation, in Canada 46o BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY it is necessary, and we trust soon in Australia it will be- come necessary, to find competent members for two elected bodies, and the strain might well seem intolerable if, in addition, an Imperial Parliament had to be provided for. By Imperial Federation is here meant some form of popular Council or Parliament, which shall represent the scattered portions of the Empire. But, even if, as an ultimate goal. Imperial Federation may seem a Will-o'-the-Wisp, here, as so often, the chase may still prove more profitable than the quarry. For example, the pregnant su^estion of Sir F. Pollock is open to none of the objections I have laboured. "Why should there not be a Colonial and Im- perial Committee of the Privy Council, on which the in- terests of the various parts of the Empire might be repre- sented, without the disturbance of any existing institution whatever, and whose functions might safely be left to a large extent to be moulded and defined by experience? ... It might be summoned to confer with the Cabinet, the Foreign or Colonial Minister, the Admiralty or the War Office, at the discretion of the Prime Minister or of the Department concerned ; and its proceedings would be confidential. ... It is hardly needful to mention the Agents- General of the self-governing Colonies as the kind of persons who should be members of the Committee here su^ested, being, of course, first made Privy Councillors. ... I believe that such a Committee might give us something better than a written Constitution for the British Empire; it might become the centre of an unwritten one." ^ Australian Whatever, however, be our opinion as to Imperial Federa- tio"^" tion as the best way of attaining that union of hearts and hands about the need of which we are agreed, there can be little question as to the expediency of Australian Federation, both from a Colonial and from an Imperial standpoint. That such Federation must come in time seems certain, but there have been special causes, which have postponed its accomplishment. In the first place, Australia is not confronted like Canada by a long line ' In an article quoted by Mr Parkin in Imperial Federation. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 461 of foreign frontiex-. Unless Canada was to be absorbed into the United States, Confederation or Union was a matter of necessity. Moreover, the jealousies between the rival Australian Colonies have been perhaps more diffi- cult to allay, just Jaecause they have no valid basis in the history of the pzist. In this state of things, although the full significance of the Imperial Act of 1885 was at once 48 and 49 recognised by Australian statesmen, the full fruits of the gp^'* *^' measure have not yet been reaped. " The exercise of Imperial authority had been transferred to the statesmen of Australia by conferring on them the power to legislate on matters beyond their own territorial limits." ^ " By unit- ing us in one solid body we become a buttress of that Empire, whose history we are all delighted to recall, whose glories we are all proud to share, and whose Sovereign rules in the hearts of all British peoples throughout the world." Australia would doubtless gain by being able to speak in the Councils of the Empire with one voice. " The embryo of a great consolidated Dominion, which must hereafter be paramount in the seas of the Pacific," will have to be reckoned with in the moulding of Imperial policy. But the benefit to Great Britain under the new system would be equally great. With one Governor-General for Aus- tralia, appointed by tlie Crown, and with one Australian High Commissioner in London, the chances of friction would be nmch diminished. Consider the unpleasant wrangling which took place over the claim of the Queensland Govern- ment* to have a voice in the selection of their future Governor, or the more recent disputes over the salary* of the Governor of South Australia. All this would have been avoided under Australian Federation. It would be ho longer necessary to send from England six men of first-rate position and ability, since the Provinces would be left to choose and to regulate the salaries of their own Lieut.- Govemors. The somewhat petty view that England has an3rthing to gain by the divisions or weakness of her 1 ParL Pap., 1886, speech of Mr Service. ^ Pml. Pap., 1889. ' Pari. Pap., 1895. 462 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Colonies has been once and for all proved wrong by the leading case of the Canadian Dominion. Be this as it may, it must be admitted that Australian Federation is a plant of most reluctant growth. New South Wales and South Australia stood aloof from the first Aus- tralian Federal Convention. New Zealand, although its point of view has occasionally varied, upon the whole, finds, as has been well said, a thousand reasons for not joining, in the thousand miles of sea which separate it from Australia. May 1897. Even now, when elected delegates have framed a Federal Constitution vesting the exclusive power of imposing and collecting customs and excise, and the exclusive military and naval control in the Federal Parliament, and proposing that trade and intercourse between the federated Colonies sheill be absolutely free, it is still doubtful whether some hitch may not occur, occasioned probably by the clauses relating to the powers of the Upper House in the Federal Parliament Sooner or later, however, Australian Confedera- tion will be accomplished, and another link forged in the chain which binds Great and Greater Britain. An In treating of Imperial Federation, all mention was pur- ^^u- posely omitted of the question of an Imperial ZoUverein. verein. Imperial Federation might take place, and yet there might be no common Customs Union, while there might be a ZoU- verein, although the different parts of the Empire remained under their distinct Parliaments. This is not the place to discuss the general question of Free Trade, but the remark may be ventured that, while the present generation of Englishmen are less inclined to regard Free Trade as an ultimate law of nature, admitting of neither question nor argument, the practical difficulties in the way of any form of protection do not tend to diminish with the passing of years. The most recent experience would seem to show that, while Protection may in good times force the pace of prosperity. Free Trade supplies the means for weathering periods of de- pression in a way unknown to protectionist communities. In this state of things it does not seem probable that Great Britain will soon abandon the system she deliberately THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 463 adopted in the past. It must be remembered that in the Colonies the difficulties in the way of even inter-colonial Free Trade are great. The revenue in many of them is so largely made up of the proceeds of Customs Duties that it might be impossible to introduce such Free Trade without the imposition of new taxes, a step which would hardly con- duce to the popularity of the Imperial connection. The most that is offered, so far as responsible statesmen are con- cerned, is that the Mother country should receive some kind of preferential treatment. In the arguments on the subject, it used to be generally assumed that this could only be given in return for similar treatment by England. But the cases are wholly different. Supposing the tariff of a Colony to average 20 per cent., English goods might be admitted at say 1 5 per cent, but, in return for this, England, which now admits colo- nial and foreign goods free, would have to impose a duty of S per cent, upon foreign goods, and to disturb its whole fiscal system. It is unnecessary to labour the point, because the Colonial representatives at the Ottawa Conference recognised that, as things are now, the proposal, to use a common expres- sion, was not good enough, and that the consideration of the matter must be postponed until the proportion of colonial as against foreign imports into Great Britain has altered con- siderably. Of course, it is tempting to hope by a retaliatory tariff at once to punish the American manufacturers and to- benefit the Canadian and Indian wheat-grower, but the practical difficulties in the way are great, and by no means limited to the existence of commercial Treaties with foreign nations. Moreover, there is a further point to be considered. We have seen how colonial questions were for a long time outside the controversies of party ; how then, most unfortun- ately, they fell into the hands of party, and how lastly, in great measure owing to the personality of Lord Rosebery, they were again rescued from its clutches. It is difficult to conceive any more disastrous fate for the cause of Greater Britain than that it should be plunged into the Maelstrom which boils around questions of fiscal policy. Those, at least, who have observed the facility with which a rise in 464 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY the price of bread can be used for party capital, will no' care that it should be open to anyone to tell audiences of English workmen that the cost of the necessaries of life had been increased for them by the preferential treatment of the Colonies. It may well be that Mr Rhodes was right in the opinion that " it is a pity that when responsible government was given to the Colonies provision was not made at the time that duties should not exceed a certain amount " ^ ; and it is quite possible that the Colonies might have remained con- tent with a system which allowed them to obtain a revenue by Customs Duties, but which prevented an artificial foster- ing of manufactures. It is, however, too late in the day to retrace our steps, at least in this direction. Be this, however, as it may, a very important new departure has been taken this year by the Canadian Government in the direction of preferential treatment of the trade of the Mother country. The Conservatives had always been in favour of such treatment, while at the same time demanding a quid pro quo ; the Liberals, on the other hand, were sup- • posed to favour reciprocity with the United States. Pro- voked, however, by the Dingley Tariff, and anxious to give expression to their Imperial patriotism, the Liberal Ministry determined to give preferential treatment to such countries as admit Canadian products practically duty t.free. In fact, England and New South Wales appear the only countries to which at the present time such a clause can apply. The matter, however, was complicated by the provisions of the Belgian and German Treaties, giving to the imports from those countries the " most favoured nation " treatment in the colonial markets. It would ap- pear to be impossible to support the distinction between preferential treatment caused by the non-acceptance by another Power of a particular offer, and preferential treatment caused by the offer itself being addressed exclusively to the Mother country. The question, however, has become of mere academic interest since the decision of the British Govern- ment to denounce the German and Belgian Treaties "by which 1 Pari. Pap. 1894. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 465 I am prevented from making with my Colonies such fiscal arrangements within my Empire as seem to me expedient."^ The period of Greater Britain has other problems to chartered solve besides the settlement of the future relations between Com- the Mother country and the self-governing Colonies ; it has ^^'"''" also to find an answer to the question how to recognise the necessity of development and expansion without laying a heavy burden on the present generation of taxpayers. The answer has been found in the revival of the system of Chartered Companies, a system which played so great a part in past colonization. The recent unpleasant experi- ences in connection with the British South Africa Company have surrounded the subject with an atmosphere of suspicion and controversy, from which it is most desirable to escape. At the outset we may note the happy coincidence which produced at the right moment the right men to retrieve the mistakes of Governments. So far as Uganda and Nigeria* are concerned, it seems clear that but for Sir W. Mackinnon and Sir George Goldie they would have been lost to Great Britain. The question with regard to Rhodesia is less clear, though its development would as yet hardly have b^un but for the action of the British South Africa Company. It is certain that in 1885 an agent ^ of the German Government was in Matabeleland, doubtless with some ulterior object in view, and the Boers were continually hankering after expansion towards the north. At the same time, so far as the Boers were concerned, a definite policy had been arrived at, which would assuredly have been maintained, quite apart from the action of the Chartered Company, and the Treaty concluded* by ' Queen's Speech in proroguing Parliament, Aug. 6, 1897. The curious may consult for arguments against such a denunciation Lord Ripon's circular despatch to the Colonies {Pari. Pop., 1895). 1° '^93 ^'^ exports to Germany from Great Britain had been about ;f4l,ooo,ooo, and to all the self-governing Colonies together about ;f 35,000,000. ^ The date of the Charters to the Royal Niger and British East Africa Com- panies were July 1886 and September 1888. ' Pari. Pap., 1886. * Pari. Pap., 1888. 2 G 466 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY Feb. II, Mr Moffat with Lobengula should have been sufficient to '***■ keep out German interference.^ In discussing the gataral question of developmeat by means of Chartered Companies, a broad distinction must be drawn between Companies administering lands who-e Europeans can only go and trade, as on the Niger, and Companies administering lands where tlie climate permits European immigration, as in Rhodesia. The main business of the former is trade |and, like the East India Company, they become rulers only in consequence of trade. In their case, there seems no question as to the usefulness of the system of Chartered Companies. Their "true work" is, in the words of Sir George Goldie, " the establishing of a state of things which would oflFer sufficient security for the creation of a vast commerce with, and the much needed means of communication in, the ridi r^ons of the Central Soudan. When that work was completed, the time would have ar- rived for the absorption of the Company by the Imporial Government" Since these words were spc^en, however, an important forward movement has been taken as the in- evitable consequence of the Niger Campaign of February 1897. The Capture of Bida has been compared in its prob- able consequences to the Battle of Plassy. So fkr as Southern Nup6 is concerned, the Royal Niger Company have now undertaken the direct work of government For some years, in spite of this, the Company may remain an excellent example of the uses of Chartered Companies.* ' Under this Treaty Lobengula undertook not to enter into any coireqxmdence or treaty with any foreign State or Power to sell, alienate, or cede, or permit, or countenance such alienation or cession of the whole or any part of the Amandabele country without the previous knowledge and sanction of the British authorities. I observe that Mr Rhodes' biographer asserts this Treaty to have been insufficient because under the Berlin agreement occupation must be effective to count. But this provision only applies to occupation along the sea-coast It may be, as "Imperialist " also asserts, that Mr Rhodes was the real author of the Lobengula Treaty. If so, before the Charter of the British S. Africa Company, he tad already saved Rhodesia for Great Britain. ^ Since the above was written. Lord Salisbury has declared that some change has become necessary in the position of the Royal Niger Company, and Sir G. Goldie has made the important suggestion that it might retain its diarter, whilst discontinuing to ac^as a Trading Company. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 467 In such cases, we may accept Mr Lucas' language,^ "As skirmishers in front of the main body of organised British possessions, let Trading Companies go on and do their work, to be absorbed hereafter in the fulness of time." As I under- stand the matter, the British East Africa Company under- took more than it was able to perform. It did, however, a valuable work, in forcing the hands of Lord Rosebery's Ministry. But when the other kind of Company is in question, the answer is more difficult. It is easy to draw false conclusions from the conspicuous case of the British South Africa Company.* It will not happen once in a thousand years that a Chartered Company has behind it, concentrated in one person, the wealth and capacity of Mr Rhodes. Consider what must have happened, apart from that wealth and that capacity. Conceive the thirty thousand shareholders, saddled at the most trying moment with the cost of an expensive war. In the feverish atmosphere of the Stock Exchange, alarm must have bred panic, and panic disaster, until, in the general digrin- golade, the British Government must have stepped in to carry on the cost of administration. It was not merely Mr Rhodes' money-bags which saved the Chartered Company, it was the tacit recognition that, in the moment of danger, there was the master-mind, ready and willing to fulfil the responsibilities of generalship. Amidst the calumnies of in- terested enemies and the flatteries of interested friends, it is difficult to form a clear conception of this remarkable man. It would seem, however, that Mr Rhodes is one of those puzz- ling persons who pursue great and simple objects by methods which certainly sometimes appear tortuous. We have seen his attitude towards Mr Mackenzie and Sir C. Warren. It does not follow, however, that he was really actuated by anti-Imperial motives. His immediate task was to bujld up a majority, for himself and his ulterior views, in the Cape Parliament, and for this purpose he had presumably to concil- ' Introd. to G, C. Lewis' On ike Gov. of Dependencies, p. xxiii. * The date of the Charter was Oct. 29, 1889. 468 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY iate the prejudices of the Afrikander Bond. The ;£'io,ooo given to the cause of Home Rule was dictated probably more by a desire to make friends with the most troublesome portion of the British Parliament, than by any speculative views on Im- perial Federation. It is needless to comment upon his recent behaviour, behind the backs of his colleagues and. of the High Commissioner. Make all allowances you may. Grant the reality of the Uitlanders' wrongs. Grant that the High Com- missioner had been apparently appointed for a second term in his old age to fulfil the purposes of his great Prime Minister, still the conviction comes home thatjMr Rhodes, in his public life, has too often done violence to his own best sel£/ By nature an idealist, a dreamer of dreams, a seer of visions, he has perhaps not shown sufficient faith in the power of ideals in influencing men, and for the moment, at least, he would seem to have " o'er-leapt " himself, and so far as the main body of the Dutch colonists is concerned, to have " fallen on the other." Distasteful as must be to every be- liever in the expansion of England, the task of prjang into the faults and failures of this great master-builder of Empire, it yet becomes necessary, in considering what should be the future of the vast territories known as Rhodesia. Were Mr Rhodes the Stock Exchange manipulator he is sometimes represented, or were the rule of the British South Africa Company the licensed infamy it appears to the excited brain of Olive Schreiner, the matter would be simple enough. But there is nothing to point to the conclusion that Mr Rhodes' motives are sordid ones, while the management by the Com- pany of the native question, in spite of grave errors in the past, upon the whole need not in the future compare un- favourably with the management of this question in the other portions of South Africa. Doubtless in a war, wherein the first European sufferers were women and children, re- prisals took place, as at the time of the Indian Mutiny, in themselves horrible enough. But it does not appear that charges of cruelty have been brought home against the regular administration of the Company's officials ; whilst in its treatment of the Liquor question the Company has set THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 469 an excellent example to the other Governments in South Africa.^ Of course in the abstract there is very much to be said for the direct administration of the Crown. We may well believe that, just as the State is— according to old-fashioned views — especially ill-fitted to carry on the business of trade, so Trading Companies are wise in leaving to the State its own peculiar province of administration. We have already seen in the past the friction and antagonisms caused by the combination in thefsame individuals of private and pro- prietary rights and public and political powers.j The words of Franklin, already quoted, have still their application. Moreover, it is hardly possible that a private Company should be able to secure the same general level of excel- lence in its officers, as can the State. Some of the greatest Englishmen of the past were servants of the East India Company, but there is little doubt that the type of the average official has greatly improved since the abolition of the Company. Be this as it may, we must not confuse things as they are and as we may think that they ought to be. There is one argument in favour of continuing the present adminis- tration which seems conclusive. It has been already pointed out that the British South Africa Company is by no means an ordiucuy example of a Chartered Company, and that, but for an extraordinary combination of circumstances, it would have been by this time a thing of the past. But given this extraordinary combination of circumstances, there can be no question but that the work of development is being far more rapidly carried on than would be possible under Imperial administration. The key of the whole situation is to be found in Sir H. Robinson's words : " Hitherto ' There can, I suppose, be little doubt but that compulsory labour was exacted by the Company, in the sense that ' Indunas ' were called upon to supply labour, and, in the event of their failing to do so, the native police ' collected ' it ; the pay being los. per mens. The main practical grievance appears to have been the exaction of labour from the ' Abezansi ' or higher-class natives as well as from the ' Holes ' or lower-class. (See Evidence of Native Commissioners contained in Sir R. Martin's Report on the native administration of the British South Africa Company. Pari. Pap., 1897.) 470 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY annexations and protectorates seem to have been decided on, only to be followed later by a perpetual wrangle with the Treasury for the means of maintaining a decent ad- ministration." ^ The British Treasury would never have sanctioned the expenditure of an annual sum sufficient to develop the country, and, in the absence of a system under which the lands might be opened out, by means of a loan guaranteed by England, to be repaid by a sinking fund, coming into force (say) seven years from the date of the loan, British control must have spelt stagnation, at least for some years. Again, there is a further consideration. The fame of the wealth of Matabeleland and Mashonaland had been bruited abroad, and it is not necessary to s)mapathise with the British South Africa Company, to recognise that the last state of Lobengula might have been even worse, had he been left to be the prey of rival concession-mongers in their thirst for gain. ;6^ioo per month and one thousand Martini-Henrys, along with ammunition,^ may not seem a very great consideration for the virtual loss of a kingdom, but it must be remembered that this concession gave no right to the land and that it was necessary to buy up the concession already granted to Mr Lippert before the Company could assume territorial rights. Upon the whole, it would appear that Mr Mackenzie, whose animus against Mr Rhodes is natural and justifiable enough, is beating the air in his attack upon the Chartered Company.* The alternative was not between an ideally administered British Crown Colony and the rule of the Chartered Company, but between things as they are and the continucince of a savage despotism, interference with which would at first have been limited to the exclusion of German and Boer claims, while the vultures of the concession seekers were gathering around, to assist at ,the devouring of the Mata- bele carcase. Mr Rhodes, on more than one occasion, has ' March 1889, Pari. Pap., i8go. ^ Agreement of October 30, 1888, between Lobengula on the one part and Messrs Rudd, Maguire & Thompson, on the other. * Contemporary Review, March 1897. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 471 taunted the British public with its love for philanthropy on the cheap, and there can be little question but that, unless and until, on occasion, the public conscience is thoroughly aroused, the charge is well founded. But if this is so, we can hardly afford to throw away, unless com- pelled, an instrument such as the British South Africa Com- pany, which is willing to undertake the work of the Empire, more especially, now that its claws have been cut, by the control of its military forces being placed under an officer directly responsible to the Imperial Grovemment. Special circumstances may well have contributed to the outbreak of the recent war, but in any case it is doubtful how far a great military power, such as that of the Matabeles, could pass away, without some ground-swell of war and blood- shed; and with regard to the future, which after all is what really matters, Mr Rhodes has shown himself especi- ally qualified to bring about satisfactory relations with the natives. Turning for a moment to a more general consideration British of British South Africa, we recognise that its history is a ^^^ drama wherein the last acts have yet to be written. Yet there are certain conclusions which it is impossible to escape. The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and so, in due course, the children's teeth are set on edge. Or we may shift the metaphor and compare South African poli- tics to a maze, wherein, at each critical point, England has taken the wrong turning, and so, naturally, it has be- come difficult to find the outlet. Let us once more re- capitulate those wrong turnings. First there were the methods adopted to carry through slave Emancipation. Then there was Lord Glenelg's policy, with its attendant Boer exodus. Then there was the treatment of the exiles, the hesitation between a policy of expansion and the frank recognition of independent Dutch communities. Even then, however, the fates were forgiving, and, with the assumption of the Orange River Sovereignty, England had the opportunity to wipe out past mistakes. That Sovereignty, however, was only assumed to be promptly 472 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY abandoned. Even then, Sir George Grey's policy of Con- federation offered yet another opportunity, which was at once refused. Henceforth, the problem became tenfold more difficult; the time being given to the Dutch republics to cultivate an independent patriotism. In spite, however, of sentimental considerations, the material and economic forces making for the union of South Africa were so strong that it seemed, at the beginning of the seventies,, that that consum- mation might soon come to pass. But then, the annexa- tion and the subsequent retrocession of the Transvaal inter- vened to make peaceful Confederation more distant than ever. If this is at all a faithful summary of past history, there is room for more than one capable Secretary of State or Colonial Governor, were they heaven-bom, to give the final answer to the riddle of the: South African Sphinjc;' On the other hand there is everjr ground for hope. The European population of South Africa belongs to kindred stocks. In Natal and in Rhodesia there would appear to be no racial antagonism, and in Cape Colony it requires to be flogged into being by the enei^es of politicians.^ In this state of things, the need for caution is obvious. Any policy, how- ever apparently right, which should have the consequences of driving the Dutch Cape colonists into line with their kins- folk in the Republics, would be disastrous in the extreme. Dutch patriotism, it is clear, is largely fostered by opposition. Mr Kruger is, it must be remembered, an old man, and in 1895 there were not wanting signs, pointing to the ultimate triumph of progressive views. The excitement caused by the unhappy Raid, strengthened, as was only natural, the hands of the party of reaction, and of the Hollanders, who make use of reaction to encourage anti-English sentiments. But even the Raid will soon be forgotten, and, just as, when the blood is in a healthy condition, a wound gradually heals, even though foolish fingers, by touching, retard recovery, even so the natural human relations between Dutch and English will, ' Since the above was written, the Cape Pailiament, by a nearly unanimous vote, decided, without attaching any, conditions, to provide an addition to the strength of the Imperial Navy. THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 473 we may hope, in the end prove stronger than the forces making for enmity. To keep in touch with the sentiments of the Dutch Cape colonists — not of the leaders of the Afrikander Bond, but of the general body of the law-abiding Dutch community — ^while at the same time, not shocking the English colonists by any show of the white feather ; to keep the command of the sea, and to ensure that no other Power, save Portugal, shall possess a South African port ; such appears the utmost at which British statesmanship, at the present time, can aim. It may be said that the manner, in which appeal is being constantly made to the terms of the London Convention of 1884, amply refutes the view maintained above of that document. But the importance of the Convention lies not so much in its actual provisions as in the fact that it remains the only outward and visible sign of the pre- eminence of Great Britain in South Africa. It is not of course suggested that Great Britain should relinquish her claim to be paramount, or that, in the present circumstances, it would be possible to abrogate the Convention. It may still be contended that the London Convention pursues a desirable end in the most doubtful and dangerous manner. The fire- eaters, whose one desire is to avenge Majuba Hill, will regard the question from another standpoint, but, in the eyes of those who believe that war in South Africa, undertaken in defi- ance of the feelings of the Dutch Cape Colonists, would be — whatever its immediate military results — a disastrous blunder, the provisions of a Treaty, under which the alternative might be thrust upon us of either submitting to a humiliating dip- lomatic reverse, or else of being forced into a quarrel about some minor matter, seem fraught with danger. They fur- nish a useful instrument for the hands of the Transvaal politician, hostile to this country, and tend to keep sores always open. It is true, of course, that there are limits be- yond which it is impossible to allow the South African Republic to pass, in its dealings with foreign States, if Great Britain is to remain paramount in South Africa. But in the 474 BRITISH COLONIAL POUCY present European situation, the sanction of such limits lies, not in Article IV. of any Convention, but in the answer to the question whether the sea power of England is great enough to render any interference with her possessions over the sea a vain venture. Article XIV. of the Convention is open to criticism on other grounds, even while we may rejoice at Mr Chamberlain's diplomatic victory. At first sight it seems plausible enough that the paramount Power should secure that all persons other than natives'* should have full power to reside in the Republic, but assume, as is stated to be the fact, that a large influx of Russian Jews has been taking place into the Transvaal, is it reasonable that Great Britain should be able to enforce their admission, while she would have none of the responsibility, were economic and social difficulties to be occasioned by such admission ? Of course, the sting of the action of the South African Republic lay in the fact that it appeared directed against British subjects, many of them in every way qualified to become good citizens, except from the Hollander point of view. In these circumstances it is impos- sible to say beforehand at what point England ought to inter- fere. It may be said, however, that, while under conceivable circumstances she might be called upon to interfere quite apart ^ from the provisions of any Treaty, yet, unless substan- tial wrong was being done, it might not be expedient to insist upon the letter of the agreement. Fortunately for British interests the msmagement of the matter is in the hands of a Minister, who is at once firm and conciliatory, and doubt- less he fully recognises the need for the aid of time,* in curing a malady which is the outcomte of at least fifty years of wrong treatment. West Space forbids to discuss colonial policy with r^ard to the Indies, \yest Indies under the period of Greater Britain. Circum- stances have hitherto prevented Mr Chamberlain from devot- ' Note Mr Chamberlain's tel^ram of Nov. i, 1896, "Independently of con- ventional rights, . . . the closing of the drifts (>.&, fords) ... is so unfriendly an action as to call for the ^avest remonstrance." ' Note Sir J. Gordon Sprig's words in Cape Pari., April 30, 1897. " Modera- tion and patience— everlasting patience — in fact, patience seemed to him to solve almost every question in South A&ica." THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 475 ing that attention to the " undeveloped estates " of the Empire, which he promised at his accession to office. To a great extent, however, the burden of the West Indies is not want of development but over-development in a particular direction. Once more the familiar moan of the West Indian sugar grower has been heard, and his grievous state 1897. has been once more enquired into, this time by a Royal Commission. Never, certainly, has his situation appeared so serious, since it is now doubtful whether, under the most favourable conditions of economic production, the West Indian grower can hold his own, confronted as he is, not merely by hostile European bounties, but by a public taste which prefers a more attractive-looking, though less good article. It would seem as though, if the West Indies are ever to prosper, new products and industries will have to supersede, over large areas, that sugar cultivation which was largely the outcome, the htereditus (damnosa as things have turned out) of negro Slavery. So far as the cost of administration is concerned, economies may probably be made by reducing the number of separate governments, but it must be confessed that the general outlook is gloomy in the extreme. There would be no profit in attempting to deal in a few lines with the boundary question between British Guiana and Venezuela. A very ordinary incident in the experience of a world-Empire became suddenly of extreme importance through the appearance of President Cleveland's message. The original Monroe doctrine^ was "that the American continents, by the free and independent con- ditions which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power. . . . With the exist- ing Colonies or dependencies of any European Power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the Governments, who have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have on great consideration and on just principles acknowledged, we ^ Message to Congress, Dec. 1823. 476 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY could not view any interposition, for the purpose of op- pressing them, or controlling in any other manner this destiny, by any European Power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United States." It is obvious how wide is the gulf between this doctrine and the claim that the United States have a controlling voice in every dispute, of whatever char- acter, between an American community and any American dependency of a European Power. Meanwhile, the settle- ment of the Venezuela boundary concerns in itself more closely the history of Foreign than of Colonial Policy. Con- The task undertaken has been fulfilled, although inade- dusion. qyg^jeiy jnd jejunely enough. We have traced the history of Colonial Policy from its tentative b^innings, through the confident claims of the Mercantile system, through the disappointment which followed on the failure of that system, through the revival of interest in colonization aroused by the men of 1830, through the granting of responsible government, through the years when Free Trade and the creed of the orthodox economist appeared to represent the whole duty of political communities, until at last we seem to have emerged into a clearer air. The story has been largely a chronicle of mistakes and failures, sins of omission and commission, for some of which we are suffering to-day. But behind the mistakes and failures of individuals and generations, there grows upon us, as we study the history, the sense of an unseen superintending Pro- vidence controlling the development of the Anglo-Saxon race. Through the vistas of the ages the voice is heard, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth." And to this latest generation the secret^ has been revealed, ^ The consideration of the important subject of the eSfect upon the relations between the Mother country and the Colonies of the discoveries of science must be briefly noticed. The first r^ular steamer between England and America ran in 1838. The first steamer from England to Australia did not run till 1852. Direct tel^pcaphic coimnunication between England and America b^;an in 1866 ; be- tween England and Australia in 1872 ; between England and New Zealand in 1876; and between England and South Africa in 1879. The importance of the THE PERIOD OF GREATER BRITAIN 477 that the fulfilment of this destiny need not mean the loss of a single element of common nationhood, or the waste of a single link in the chain, which binds us to a common past. Wiser in this than our fathers, we recognise that the tie which unites us under a common Crown is not "the slight and temporary thing" it seemed to Merivale.^ Wiser in submarine telegraph in the work of Imperial Defence cannot be overrated. On the other hand it is sometimes complained that the effect of constant communica- tion with England may be to weaken the efficiency and paralyse the sense of responsibility of Imperial officials. But with complete knowledge of the facts, it is less likely that statesmen, if reasonable men, and most statesmen in office are reasonable men, will interfere with the discretion of the man on the spot. Cer- tainly, such study as the present writer has been able to make of the past does not lead to any exaltation of its proceedings at the expense of the present. The effect of scientific discovery in diminishing the time of transit, in cheapening the cost of travel and of postage, should be all in the direction of keeping together the scattered portions of the Empire. Although, for reasons which have been emphasized, it does not seem likely that colonials will ever care to attend an Imperial Parliament, the effect of scientific discovery is to keep them in touch with the Mother country in a way which was impossible even thirty years ago. Compare the present fixed and regular steam-service with the irregular and spasmodic intercommunication of the days of sailing vessels. There is nothii^ in the public life of to-day which need fear the " fierce light " which beats about the throne of King ' Demos', and it would seem that with increased knowledge the English Press throughout the Empire will play an ever-increasing part, in com- bating the narrow provincialism which is largely the product of ignorance. ' The passage to which allusion is made closes Merivale's Lectures, and is the more noticeable from the usual reserve of his style. " Rash, indeed, would he be who would presage more than a temporary duration for that calm of prosperity and contentment which our Colonial Empire now enjoys. We can count but little on the permanence of common interests; on the permanence of fiiendly tempers and considerate feelings hardly at all. As the wealth of earth and the flower of human strength fedes, so, says the tragic poet, decay leagues and alliances. Kai Tauri B^fi^aa el ravSv eirififfKi KoiKus Kot irpis ire, fivplas 6 fivplos j(p6vos TeKvo&rai vvicras iniipagr Uiv, iv aXs TO. yvv ^v/npojva Se^iiij/jUiTa ey Sopl Sia(rKeS<2au> ck . 53. 86, 106 II., 3, 67, 81, 92, 94. 97, 98. 99. 106, 108, 109, 112 Chartered Companies, 20-22, 465-71 Chesterfield, Lord, 209 ChUd, J., 107 Clarendon, Lord, 67, 68, 81, 82, 86, 98 Clarke, Lt.-Gov., 156, 201 Clerk. Sir G., 412 Clinton, Gov., 154, 155, 156, 158, 201 Colbert, 69 Colden, Lt.-Gov., 202, 207, 213 Cole, Sir Lowry, Gov., 337 Colleton, Sir J., 87 Colonial Assemblies, claims of, 104, 131-2, 13s. 136. 140. 141. 146, 147. 152, 155, 156, 159, 167, 200, 252, 254. 25s. 302, 303. 329 Assembly, earliest, 32 Conference 1887, 451-52 Judges, position of, 184 Militia, position of, 185-6 Protective tariffs, 403 represent, in Imp. FarL, 60, 188-90 Colonies, Dutch, 8 Greek, 7 Roman, 8 Spanish, 8 Colonization Society, 281 Commercial Treaties, German and Belgian, 464, 465 Commissioners, Board o^ for Am, Tr., 207 " Compact, Family," 261 Congress of 1754, 170-3, 218-19, 221 of 1765, 201 of 1774, 245, 247 Connecticut, 57, 82, 83, 98, ic6, 118, 123, 124, 172 Conway, Gen., 203, 205, 209, 211, 220 Combury, Lord, Gov., 129, 130, 132 Comwallis, Lord, 227 Council for Trade and Plantations, 75, 86,98 Cromwell, 8, 59 policy of, 64-6 Crown Lands, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 299, 300, 304, 317, 318, 319, 362 Crozat, 163, 164 Culpepper, 92 Currency, question of, 138, 149-51. 153 Dale, Gov., 30, 31, 41 Dalhousie, Lord, Gov., 254 Darling, Sir C, Gov., 378-80 Dartmouth, Lord, 209, 216, 247 Darwin, C, 264 Deakin, Mr, 452 Delagoa Bay, 412, 421-2, 425, 446 Delancy, Lt.-Gov., 156, 170 Delaware, 84, 106, 180 De La Warr, Lord, Gov., 30, 31 Denison, Sir W., Gov., 323, 364, 377. 387 Derby, Lord (15th Earl of), 399. 400, 402, 422, 441, 445 D'Estrees, Ad., 79 Detroit, 164, 165 INDEX 499 Diamond Fields, 413-15 Diclvinson, J., Farmer's Letters of, 198 Differential duties, 404-5, 453 and iwte, 463, 464, 465 Dilke, Sir C, 92, 451, 458 Dinwiddie, Gov., 170, 174 Disraeli, Mr, 332, 361, 362 Dissolution of Col. Paris., 214, 385-7 Dominica, 74, 176, 231 Donkin, Sir R., Gov., 338 Dorchester, Lord, see under Carleton, Gov. Dudley, Gov., 125, 126 Dufferin, Lord, Gov., 374-5 Dummer, J., 200 Dunmore, Lord, Gov., 214 Duquesne, Fort, 174, 175, 181, 246 D'Urban, Sir B., Gov., 337, 338, 339, 340. 341 Durham, Lord, 253, 259, 261, 284, 300, 303-4. 30s. 309. 333, 366 Elgin, Lord, Gov., 300, 305, 306, 307, 309. 331. 334. 33S. 368, 373 opinion of, on French Canadians, 308 Elizabeth, 2, 15, 65 Emancipation of Slaves, 277-8 Evelyn, J., 85, 90 Executive, Colonial, weakness of, 179, 185, 187, 202, 212, 260 Exodus of Dutch farmers, 339, 343 Exports, duties on, 74 Eyre, Gov., 405 Fiji, 396-7, 399 „ , , Fisheries, 13, 71, 108, 127, 161, 176, 2S9 FitzRoy, Gov., 285 Fletcher, Gov., 128, 129 Florida, 176, 228, 231, 237 Forbes, Gen., 175, 181, 186, 246 Fox, C, 226, 229, 230 Franklin, B., 171, 172, 173, 180, 181, 182, 188, 189, 195, 200, 205, 209, 216, 217, 229, 469 opinion of, with regard to British troops in America, 193 on working of old system, 193 on rights of Cols., 198 Free Trade, 299, 328-35, 462 Frere, Sir B., Gov., 355, 424, 426, 431, 432, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 443, 444 Frontier Policy in Cape Col., 339 Froude, Mr, 419, 420 Gage, Gen., 234, 235, 247 Gait, Mr, 335 Gaspee, the, 215 Germaine, Lord G., 223, 224, 232, 248 German S. W. Af., 443-6 E. Af., 448 George III., 71, 177, 202, 209, 217, 219, 220, 228, 229 Georgia, 114, 142, 160, 161, 239 Gerrard, Sir T., 19 ' Gilbert, Sir H., 16, 17, 19, 45 Gipps, Sir G., Gov., 284, 286, 303 Gladstone, Mr, 318, 324, 325, 367, 433 Glen, Gov., 159 Glenelg, Lord, 292, 297, 303, 327, 328, 337, 338, 339, 340, 342, 343, 4", 471 ' Goderich, Lord, 281, 336 Goldie, Sir G., 465, 466 Gondemar, 35, 36 Gordon, Sir A., Gov., 397, 398, 399,400 Gordon Sprigg, Sir J., 436 Gorges, Sir F., 46, 50, 52, 53 Gosford, Lord, Gov., 303 Governor, question of salary of, 148, 152, 184 position of, 259, 266, 271 Granville, Lord, 367, 393, 394, 395, 396, 401, 417, 445, 446, 448 Graves, Ad., 225, 247 Grenada, 74, 176, 231, 237 Grenville, G., 179, 183, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, 195, 200, 201, 202, 205, 217 Grey, Lord, 256, 282, 285, 287, 288, 292, 295, 296, 297, 307, 312, 314, 318, 325, 326, 330, 331, 333, 334, 335, 348, 349, 362, 363, 403 Grey, Sir C, 303 Grey, Sir G., Gov., 290, 314, 316, 317, 352. 354, 355. 386, 387. 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 402, 407, 425, 434. 471 on S. Af. Confed., 352-3 Guadaloupe, 76 Haldimand, Gov., 236, 249 Halifax, 163 - " Halifax, L<)rd, 145, 146, 162, 165 Hawkins, Sir R., 15, 16 Head, Sir E., Gov., 309, 376 Heath, Sir R., 50, 86 Henry VHL, 14 Henry, P., 214 Hessian troops, 225 Hicks Beach, Sir M., 429, 436, 438 Higginbotham, Mr, 382 Hill, Gen., 126 500 INDEX Hillsborough, I^ord, 205, 209, 211, 213, 214, 216 Hobart, Lord, 264 Holland, Lord, 191 Hore, 14 Hotham, Sir C, Gov., 320 Howard, Lord, Gov., 94, 135, 136 Howe, Lord, 186 Howe, Lord, Ad., 180 Howe, GeiL, 224, 225, 226 Hudson's Bay Co., 105, 127, 239, 245, 310-12, 372, 373 Hunter, Gov., 130, 131, 132, 266 Hnskisson, Mr, 257, 258, 281 Hutchinson, Gov., 188, 203, 208 Imperial Federation, 438, 439, 451, 452, 454-60 Impressment of Amer. seamen, 138, 154 Independence, declaration o^ 220, 246 Indian lands, 238, 239 Indians, attitude of, 165, 172 Iron, manufacture of, 141, 142 Jamaica, 64, 65, 74, 77-9, no, 114, 138, 141, 167, 234, 329, 332, 333, 405-6 James L, 18, 3.5, 36, 37, 106 James II., 3, 67, 104, 106, 112, 121 JefiFerson, J., 180, 214 Jeffreys, Col., Gov., 93 Jersey, Lord, 452, 459 Johnson, Sir W,, 172, 238 Kaffir Wars, 337 Kalm, opinion of, 143, 180 Keith, Sir R., 196 Kimberley, 395, 413, 414, 418 King, Gov., 266 Kitk, SirJ., 448 Kirke, Gov., 43, 50 Capt., 98 Knox, W., 187, 189, 191, 197 Kruger, P., 428, 429, 438, 472 Labouchere, Mr (Lord Taunton), 319, 3S8 Laisses-aller principles, 4, J, 361 Land and Emig. Commission, 284, 289 Lanyon, Sir O., 430, 432 La Salle, 105, 163 Latiobe, Supt, 288 Laud, Archb., 45, 51, 52, 53 Leeward Is., 108, no Leonard (Massachuchettensis), 208 Lewis, Sir G. C, 9, 455 Lobengula, 466 Locke, J., 84, 86, 88, 90, iii London Convention, note on 434 and 43S. 473-4 Loudoun, Lord, 175 Louisbourg, 127, 144, 152, 153, 162, 175 Lomsiana, 105, 163, 165 SSifey Lower Canada, 106, 243, 250, {254, 261, 302, 308 Lynch, Sir T., Gov., 77, 78, 79 Lytton, Sir E. B., 352, 354 M'CuLiocH, Mr, 387 MacDonell, Sir S.., Gov., 319 Mackenzie, Mr, 440, 441, 468, 470 Mackinnon, Sir W., 465 McQuarie, Gov., 266, 323 Maine, 50, 57, 94, 106, 122 Manchester School, 367 Maimers Sutton, Gov., 330 Maori Lands, qn&tion of, 390, 391 Martinique, 176 Maryland, 2, 45, 47, 57, 60, 94, 106, 136. 173. 194 Massachusetts. 53, 57, 58, 63, 73, 74, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 106, 113, 120, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 133, 146, 147, 152, 153. 171, 172, 173. 177. 194. 212, 214, 215 Charter of 1691, 122-3, '99 revocation of ist Charter of, 97 revocation of 2nd Charter of, 218 Bay Co., 44, 45, 46 Mather, J., 121 Mauritius, 259 Maverick, 5, 83 Mercantile System, 3, 69, I2I, 142-3, 151, 183, 203, 204, 207, 256, 257, 258, 328 Merivale, H., 264, 300, 477 Metcalfe, Lord, Gov., 305, 306, 329 Military defence of Cols., 118, 121,362- 6, 388-90, 394 Milnes, Gov., 252 Mississippi Co.,. 163 Molesworth, Sir W., 322 Monongahela, R., 165, 174 Montcalm, 177, 178 Montsertat, 51 Morgan, H., 109 " Mother Country, Mr," description of, 297-8 Murray, Gov., 237, 240, 241 Murray, Sir G., 274 Napier, Sir,G., Gov., 339, 343, 345 Natal, 418, 446, 451, 472 Naval stores, 117, 125, 138, 141, 147 Navigation Acts, 2, 60-3, 68-73, 76. 77. INDEX 501 86, 9S. "S. «2o. »24i I2S. 128, 138, 1S4. iSS. 182-3, 249, 258, 332 Nevis, SI Kew Amsterdam, 48, 83, 84 New Eranswick, 122, 251, 334, 335, 370 Newcastle (under Lyme), Duke of (ist Duke), 139, 14s, 148, 158 (Sth Duke), 3S0, 388 New Ei^land, 42, 43, 52, 53, 57, 64, 73, 81, 82, 95, 98, 107. 113, 120, 194, 215, 222, 223, 224, 225, 246 Newfoundland, 13, 43, 85, 107-8, 126, 127, 161, 230, 259, 370 New Gtiinea, 396-402 New Hampshire, 50, 106, 122, 128, 148, 215, 239 New Haven, 57, 82 New Hebrides, 398, 400, 402-3 New Jersey, 99, 106, 173, 222 New Orleans, 176 New Providence, 91 New Scotland, 43, 49 New South Wales, 262, 263, 265, 286, ^ 287, 288, 312, 313, 324, 325, 388, 397, 458. 462 constitution ot 266-7 New York, 97, 103-S, 106, 109, 114, llj, n8, 122, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 153, IS4, 171. 173, 207, 213, 214, 222, 239, 241 New Zealand, 286, 290-6, 299, 313, V 314. 388, 389, 390, 393. 396, 402, 407 Company, 291, 292, 293, 294, 29s, 296 Nicholson, Gov., 116, 126, 135, 136 NicoUs, Col., Gov., 83, 84 Normanby, Lord, Sec. of State, 293, 342 Gov., 386 North, Lord, 209, 211, 212, 223, 226, 227, 229 North, C. J., 78, 100 Nova Scotia, 84, 114, 126, 161, 163, 176, 228, 229, 239, 249, 251, 370, 38s Oglethorpe, Gen., Gov., 161 Ohio Company, 116 country, 165, 176 OUver, A., 188, 216 Ontario, 234, 349, 251 Orange Free State, 352, 407, 408, 409, 413, 418, 420 River Sovereignty, 346, 347, 471 abandonment of, 351 Osborne, Sir D., Gov. 158 Oswald, 229, 230 Otis, J., i8i Ottawa Conf., 1894, 452-4 Pakington, Sir J., 288, 316, 318, 319, 326, 349 Panda, 343, 345, 446 Pans, Treaty of, 176, 177, 178, 189, 259 Peckham, Sir T., 19 Pembroke, Lord, 59 Penn, W., 2, 99, loi, 102, 103, n6, «i8, 133, 134, 138, 199 Pennsylvania, 67, 93-103, 106, 127, 133, 134, 138, 159, 171, 173. 194, 222, 245 Philanthropic movement, growth of, 270, 273, 274 PhiUp, Dr, 270, 274, 338 PhiUp IL, 15 Philip, War of, 94 Phillip, Gov., 264, 265, 290 Phipps, Sir W., Gov., 122, 124 Pitt, W., 165, 175, 176, 177, 179, 184, 186, 196, 197, 202, 205, 206, 209, 211, 220, 226, 232, 234, 274 Placentia, 127 Plymouth, 57, 82, 98, 122 Pollock, Sir F., 460 Popham, C. J., 28 Port Phillip, 284, 288, 315, 316, 327-8 Port Royal, 49, 50, 162, 175 Pottinger, Sir H., Gov., 345 Powlett Thomson, see under Syden- ham, Lord Pownall, Gov., 182, 183, 187 opinion of, on need for a sep. Col. Dep., 210 Pretoria Convention, 434 Pretorius, Mr, 343, 345, 350 Prince Edward I., 370 Proprietary Govts., position of, 159, 160 influence of example of, 13S Providence, 51 I>i. J-, 51. 59 Quartering Act, 206 Quebec, 49, 50, 126, 175, 234, 243-6 Act, 234 Queensland, 388, 398, 399 Raleigh, Sir W., 13, 18, 19, 20, 45, 65 Randolph, 95, 96, 97, 117, 121 Red River Settlement, no, in Religious toleration, 45-48, 87, 100, 103 Responsible Government, 133, 252, 261, 299, 204, 305, 306, 307, 316, 502 INDEX 317. 318. 319. 320. 322. 356. 388. 416, 417, 451 Rhode Island, 63, 82, 83, 98, 106, 123, 172, 21S Rhodes, Mr, 437, 441, 464, 467, 468, 470 Rhodeaa, 465, 472 Richmond, Duke of, Gev., 254 Robinson, Sir H., Gov., 397, 398, 434, 441, 442, 444, 469 Rodcingham Ministry, the, 202, 205 Rodney, Ad., 228 Risers, F., see under Blachford, Lord Rosebory, Lord, 455, 463, 467 Royal Af. Co., 109, no, in Royal Niger D>., 466, 467 Roy-Beaulieu, P. le, 264 Rupert's Land, 105, 370 Russell, Lord J., 2S4, 295, 300, 301, 305. 312. 32it 344. 362, 376 Rut, 14 Ryswidc, Peace of, 1 15 St Christophbr, 331 St Germain-en-laye, Treaty of, 50 St Kitts, 51 St Lucia, 79, 176, 231, 259 Bay, 345, 446 St Vincent, 74, 176, 231 Salisbury, Lord, 452 Sand River Convention, 348 Sandys, Sir E., 29 Santis^o de Cuba, 144 Saratoga, 224 Saye and Seal, Lord, 51, 59 Sec of State for Am., 209, 210, 256 for War and the Cols., 256, 260 Sekukuni, 422 Seven Y^re" War, 139, 178, 176 Shaftesbury, Lord, 67, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92-8 Shelbume, Lord, 203, 205, 209, 224, 229, 232 Sbepstone, Sir T., 423, 426, 427, 428, 429. 430. 437 Shirley, Gov., 149, 152, 153, 154, 170, »7l. 173, 19s Shute, Gov., 146, 147 Sidney, Lord, 263 Sierra Leone, 274 Slave Trade, 109-11, 274, 275, 276 Slaves, treatment of, in West Indies, 166 Sloughter, Col., Gov., 128 Smith, C. J., 250 Smith, Sir H., Gov., 345, 346, 349, 350 Somers Islands, see under Bermudas South African Confederation, question of, 418-21, 432, 440, 471, 472 South Australia, 287, 288-90, 299, 313, 388, 462 Southampton, Lord, 29, 36 SouthweU, Sir R., 84 Stamp Act, 178, 192, 196, 20i, 202, 241 repeal ik, 202, 203, 205, 217, 220 Stanhope, Mr £.,451 Stanley, Lord (14th Earl of Derby), 295, 297. 312, 3«3. 344, 34S Stapleton, Sir W., Gov., 76, 79 Stockenstrom, Lt.-Gov., 338 Stukeley, 16 Sugar, duties on, 142, 168, 191, 192, 198, 204, 275 Swan River Settlement, 268, 269 Sydenham, Lord, Gov., 305 Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), 326, 388 Taxation of Cols, by Pari., loi, 131, 173. 19s. 196, ^9^ 199. 201, 202, ao6, 211, 212, 214, 216, 227 Tea duty, 207-8, 211 repeal of, 227 Ticonderi^a, 186 Tobacco, 116, 136 Tobago, 74, 176, 231, 259 Townsend, C, 206, 207, 209, 211 Trade, Board of, 116, 117, 118, 119, >30. 132, 140, 146. IS». 156. »S7. 162, i6s, 171, 173, 185, 209, 210, 238, 258, 274 Transportation, 17, 31, 40, 65, 66, 262, 264, 299, 322-7, 387-8 Transvaal (South Af> Rep.), 410, 415, 418, 422, 423, 43S, 437. 443 annexation of, 426-9 character of govt, of, 410 retrocession of, 433 Tryon, Gov., 216 Tucker, Dean, 368 Tui^ot, 3 Union with Scovc'-'J, 137 Upper Canada, 250, 254, 261, 303 Upper Houses in Cols., position of, 377-84 Utrecht, Treaty of, 126, 139, 161, 162, 163 Vancouver I., 312, 372 Van Diemen's I^d (Tasmania), 266, 267, 286, 313, 324, 326 Vane, Sir H., 59 Vassall, S., 59 INDEX 503 Vaughan, Loid, Gov., 78 Venezuela, boundary question, 475 Versailles, Treaty of, 230-1 Victoria, 315, 320, 458 Virginia, 18, 19, 23, 24, 29, 30, 39, 40, 57, S9. 60, 74, 81, 92, 93, 94, 106, no, 116, 13s, 141, i73> «84. 194. 215. 239. 24S. 263 Company, I, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32. 33. 34. 43 suppression of, 37 Council for, 25, 27, 28 Waitangi, Treaty of, 293, 295, 296, 317 Wakefield, E. Gibbon, 4, 263, 269, 281, 282, 285, 286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 299, 317 Theory, 282, 296, 322 influence of, 282-5 Walfisch Bay, 443 WaUer, E., 90 Walpole, Sir R., 144, 196 H., 196 Warren, Sir C, 441, 442. 460 Warwick, Lord, 51, 59, 63, 109 Washington, G., 174, 181, 186, 226 Weld, Mr, 391 Wellington, Duke of, 290, 304 Western Australia, 269, 313, 327, 288, 4SI. 458 West Indies, 9, 74, 79, 108, 144, 166, 167, 168, 177, 228, 275, 276, 328, 332, 474 Wharton, Lord, 121 Whateley, Arch., 263 William IIL, 114, 120, 127, 139, 165, 175 IV., 303 Willoughby, F. Lord, Gov., 76 W. Lord, Gov., 76 Windsor, Lord, Gov., 78, 79 Winthrop, Gov., 58, 90, 199 Wodehouse, Sir P., Gov., 407, 408, 409, 412, 416, 417 Wolfe, Gen., 232, 234 Woollen Manufactures, 116 Wyatt, Gov., 72 Yeardly, Gov., 31, 32 York, Dttke of, 83, 99, 100, 103 Town, 227 Young, Sir J., Gov., 377, 378 ZOLLVEREIN, 6, 70, 182, 33I, 362, 462-4 FRINTED BV TUHNBULL AND SPEAKS, EDIKBORGH A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF METHUEN AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS : LONDON 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. CONTENTS PAGE FORTHCOMING BOOKS, 2 POETRY, ... 8 BELLES LBTTKES, ANTHOLOGIES, ETC., . . g ILLDSRTATBD BOOKS, . lO HISTORY, ..... II BIOGRAPHY} . .14 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY, 15 NAVAL AND MILITARY, . I? GENERAL LITERATURE, 18 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,^ . . 20 PHILOSOPHY, ... 20 THEOLOGY, . . =1 FICTION, . . 24 BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, ■ • 34 THE PEACOCK LIBRARY, . 34 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES, • 35 SOCIAL Q0ESTIOKS OF TO-DAY - 3^ CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS . • 37 EDUCATIONAL BOOKS, • • • 37 OCTOBER 1898 October 1898. 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Great as is _the_ merit of Mr. Hannay's historical narrative, the merit of his strategic exposition is even greater.' — Times. C. Cooper King. THE STORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY. By Colonel Cooper King, Illustrated. Demy Zvo. 'js. 6d. ' An authoritative and accurate story of England's military progress.' — Daily Mail. * This handy volume contains, in a compendious form, a brief but adequate sketch of the story of the British army.' — Daily News. R. Southey. ENGLISH SEAMEN (Howard, Cliflford, Hawkins, Drake, Cavendish). By Robert Southey. Edited, with an Introduction, by David Hannay. Second Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. 'Admirable and well-told stories of our naval history.' — Army and Navy Gazette. * A brave, inspiriting book.' — Black andWhite. W. Clark RusseU. THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD COL- LINGWOOD. By W. Clark Russell, With Illustrations by F. Brangwyn. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. ' A book which we should like to see in the hands of every boy in the country.' — St. James's Gazette. ' A really good hook.'—Satvrday Review. E. L. S. Horsburgh. THE CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO. By E. L. S. HORSBURGH, B.A. With Plans. Crown 8zio. ^s. 'A brilliant essay — simple, sound, and thorough.' — Daily Chronicle. A3 1 8 Messrs. Methuen's List H.B. George. BATTLES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. ByH. B. Georgb, M.A., Fellow of New College, Oxford. With numerous Flans. Third Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. ' Mr. George has undertaken a very useful task — that of making military affairs in- telligible and instructive to non-military readers — and has executed it with laud- able intelligence and industry, and with a large measure of success.' — Times. General Literature S. Baring Gould. OLD COUNTRY LIFE. By S. Baring Gould. With Sixty-seven Illustrations. Large Crown %vo. Fifth Edition, ds. ' " Old Country Life/' as healthy wholesome reading, fall of breezy life and move- ment, fiill of quaint stories vigorously told, will not be excelled by any book to be published throughout the year. Sound, hearty, and English to the core. ' — World. S. Baring Gould. HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S. Baring Gould. Fourth Edition. CrozunSoo. 6s. ' A collection of exciting and entertaining chapters. The whole volume is delightful reading.* — Times. S. Baring Gould. FREAKS OF FANATICISM. By S. Baring Gould. Third Edition. Crown 8»o- 6s. ' A perfectly fascinating book.' — ScotOsk Leader. S. Baring Gould. A GARLAND OF COUNTRY SONG : English Folk Songs with their Traditional Melodies. Collected and arranged by S. Baring Gould and H. F. Sheppard. Demy 4/0. 6j. S. Baring Gould. SONGS OF THE WEST: Traditional Ballads and Songs of the West of England, with their Melodies. Collected by S. Baring Gould, M.A., and H. F. Sheppard, M.A. In 4 Parts. Parts /., II., III., 3J. each. Part IV., 55. In one Vol., French morocco, l^s. ' A rich collection of humour, pathos, grace, and poetic fancy.' — Saturday Review. S. Baring Gould. YORKSHIRE ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S. Baring Gould. Fourth Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. S. Baring Gould. STRANGE SURVIVALS AND SUPER- STITIONS. By S. Baring Gould. Crown &vo. Second Edition. 6s. S. Baring Gould. THE DESERTS OF SOUTHERN FRANCE. By S. Baring. Gould. 2 vols. Demy Svo. 321. Cotton Minchin. OLD HARROW DAYS. By J. G. Cotton MiNCHlN. Crown Svo. Second Edition, ^s. * This book is an admirable record.* — Daily Ckrorticle. Messrs. Methuen's List 19 ^- w *S**l^**>°®- THE SPEECHES OF THE RT. HON. ^■^ S- GLADSTONE, M.P. Edited by A. W. Hutton, M.A., and H. J. Cohen, M.A. With Portraits. Vemy Svo. Vols. IX. and X. 12J. 6d. each. E. V. Zenker. 7^. dd. \ ^«"-wriKen, and full of shrewd comments.'— TVie Speaker. Horr Zenko- has succeeded in producing a careful and critical history of the growth Z. V^S^ theory. He is to be congratulated upon a really interesting work.'— ANARCHISM. By E. V. Zenker. Demy 8vo. By Horace H. G. Hutchinson. THE GOLFING PILGRIM. G. Hutchinson. Crown %vo. 6s. iSr" °*^"^^0'' information with plenty of good stories.'— 7"rKemy Svo, 21s, * The most important contribution to English philosophy since the publication of Mr. Bradley's "Appearance and Reality." * — Glasgvw Herald. ' A brilliantly written volume.' — Titnes. W. H. Fairbrotlier. THE PHILOSOPHY OF T. H. GREEN. By W. H. Fairkrother, M.A. Crown 8otf. y. 6d. * In every way an admirable book.' — Glasgmju Herald. F. W. BusseU. THE SCHOOL OF PLATO. By F. W. BussBLL, D.D., Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. Demy &vo. los. 6ti. * A highly valuable contribution to the history of ancient thought.' — Glasgow Herald. * A clever and stimulating book, — Manchester Guardian. Messrs. Methuen's List 21 F. S. Granger. THE WORSHIP OF THE ROMANS. By F. S. Granger, M.A., Litt.D., Professor of Philosophy at Univer- sity College, Nottingham. Crown %vo. 6j. * A scholarly analysis of the religious ceremonies.beliefs, and superstitions of ancient Rome, conducted m the new light of comparative anthropology."— 7"i"»<«. Theology 1ban5boo??s of G^beologg. General Editor, A. Robbrtson, D.D., Principal of icing's College, London. THE XXXIX. ARTICLES OF THE CHURCH OF ENG- LAND. Edited with an Introduction by E. C. S. Gibson, D.D., Vicar of Leeds, late Principal of Wells Theological College. Second and Cheaper Edition in One Volume. Demy %vo. 12s'. 6d. ' Dr. Gibson is a master of clear and orderly exposition. And he has in a high degree a quality very necessary, but rarely found, in commentators on this topic, that of absolute fairness. His book is pre-eminently honest.' — Titnes. * After a survey of the whole book, we can bear witness to the transparent honesty of purpose, evident industry, and clearness of style which mark its contents. They maintain throughout a very high level of doctrine and tone.'— Guardian. ' The most convenient and most acceptable commentary.' — Expository Times. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. By F. B. Jevons, M.A., Litt.D., Principal of Bishop Hatfield's Hall. Detny 8vo. los. 6d. 'Dr. Jevons has written a notable work, which we can strongly recommend to the serious attention of theologians and anthropologists.' — Manchester Guardian. ' The merit of this book lies in the penetration, the singular acuteness and force of the author's judgment. He is at once critical and luminous, at once just and suggestive. A comprehensive and thorough book.' — Birmingham Post. THE DOCTRINE OF THE INCARNATION. By R. L. Ottley, M. a. , late fellow of Magdalen College, Oxon., and Principal of Pusey House. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. i^s. * Learned and reverent : lucid and well arranged.' — Record * A clear and remarkably full account of the main currents of speculation. Scholarly precision . . . genuine tolerance . . . intense interest in his subject— are Mr. Ottley's xasxxKs.'^htardian. Zhe, Cburcbman's XtbtatB. Edited by J. H. BURN. B.D. THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH CHRISTIANITY. By W. E. Collins, M.A., Professor of Ecclesiastical History at King's College, London. With Map. Crown 8vo. y. 6d. An investigation in detail, based upon original authorities, of the_ beginnings of the English Church, with a careful account of earlier Celtic Christianity. Some very full appendices treat of a number of special subjects. * An excellent example of thorough and fresh historical work.' — Guardian. SOME NEW TESTAMENT PROBLEMS. By Arthur Wright, Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge. Crown 8z/o. 6s. ' Bold and outspoken ; earnest and reverent.' — Glasgow Herald. 22 Messrs. Methuen's List S. R. Driver. SERMONS ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT. By S. R. Driver, D.D., Canon of Christ Church, Regius Professor of Hebrew in the Uni- versity of Oxford. Crown Svo. 6s. * A welcome companion to the author's famous ' Introduction.' — Guardian, T. K. Cheyne. FOUNDERS OF OLD TESTAMENT CRITI- CISM. By T. K. Cheyne, D.D., Oriel Professor at Oxford. Large crown Svo. Js. 6d. A historical sketch of O. T. Criticism. ' A very learned and instructive work.' — Tunes, H. H. Henson. DISCIPLINE AND LAW. By H. Hensley Henson, B.D., Fellow of All Souls', Oxford; Incumbent of St. Mary's Hospital, Ilford ; Chaplain to the Bishop of St. Albans. Fcap. Svo. 2s. 6d. ' An admirable little volume of Lent addresses. We warmly commend the general drift of Mr. Henson's book.' — Guardian, H. H. Henson. LIGHT AND LEAVEN : Historical and Social Sermons. By H. Hensley Henson, M.A. Crown %,vo, ' They are always reasonable as well as vigorous.' — Scotsman. W. H. Bennett. A PRIMER OF THE BIBLE. By Prof. W. H. Bennett. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 2s. 6d. 'The work of an honest, fearless, and sound critic, and an excellent guide in a small compass to the books of the Bible.' — Manchester Guardian^ 'A unique primer.' — English Churchfiian. O.H.Prior. CAMBRIDGE SERMONS. Edited by C. H. Prior, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Pembroke College. Crown %vo. 6s. A volume of sermons preached before the University of Cambridge by various preachers, including the late Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Westcott. Cecilia Robinson. THE MINISTRY OF DEACONESSES. By Deaconess Cecilia Robinson. With an Introduction by the Lord Bishop of Winchester and an Appendix by Professor Armitage Robinson. Crown Svo. y. 6d. ' A learned and interesting book, combining with no ordinary skill the authority of learned research with the practical utility of a descriptive manual of parish work.' — Scotsman. E. B. Layard. RELIGION IN BOYHOOD. Notes on the Religious "Training of Boys. By E. B. Layard, M.A. iSmo. is. W. Yorke Fausset. THE BE CATECHIZANDIS RUDIBUS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. Edited, with Introduction, Notes, etc., by W. Yorke Fausset, M.A. Crown Svo. ss. 6d. An edition of a Treatise on the Essentials of Christian Doctrine, and the best methods of impressing them on candidates for baptism. F.Weston. THE HOLY SACRIFICE. By F. Weston, M.A., Ciirate of St. Matthew's, Westminster. Foit Svo. is. A small volume of devotions at the Holy Communion, espeoally adapted to the needs of servers and those who do not communicate. Messrs. Methuen's List 23 A Kempis. THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. By Thomas A Kempis. With an Introduction by Dean Farrar. Illustrated by C. M. Gere, and printed in black and red. Second Edition. Fcap. Svo. Buckram. 3x. 6rf. Padded morocco, t,s. 'Amongst all the innumerable English editions of the "Imitation," there can have been few which were prettier than this one, printed in strong and handsome type, with all the glory of red initials.'— G/aagvra/ Herald. J.Keble. THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. ByJOHNKEBLE. With an Introduction and Notes by W. Lock, D.D., Warden of Keble College, Ireland Professor at Oxford. Illustrated by R. Anning Bell. Second Edition. Fcap. %-oo. Buckram, ^s. 6d. Padded morocco, t^s. ' The present edition is annotated with all the care and insight to he expected from Mr. Lock. The progress and circumstances of its composition are detailed in the Introduction. There is an interesting Ai>pendix on the MSS. of the " Christian Year," and another giving the order in which the poems were written. A " Short Analysis of the Thought" is prefixed to each, and any difficulty in the text is ex- plained in a note.' — Guardian. Zbe Xlbrarg of Devotion. Pott 8vo. 2s.; leather, 2s. 6d. net. 'This series^ is excellent.' — The Bishop of London. ' A very delightful edition.' — The Bishop of Bath and Wells. * Weil worth the attention of the Clergy.' — The Bishop of Lichfield. *The new " Library of Devotion " is excellent.' — The Bishop of Peterborough. * Charming.' — Record. ' Delightful.'— CAarrA Sells. THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. Newly Translated, with an Introduction and Notes, by C. Bigg, D.D., late Student of Christ Church. ' The translation is an excellent piece of English, and the introduction is a masterly exposition. We augur well of a series which begins so satisfactorily.' — TiTnes. ' No translation has appeared in so convenient a form, and none, we think, evidenc- ing so true, so delicate, so feeling a touch.' — Birmingham Post. ' Dr. Bigg has made a new and vigorous translation, and has enriched the text with a luminous introduction and pithy notes.' — Speaker. THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. By John Keble. With Intro- duction and Notes by Walter Lock, D.D., Warden of Keble College, Ireland Professor at Oxford. ' No prettier book could be desired.' — Manchester Guardian^ ' The volume is very prettily bound and printed, and may fairly claim to be an advance on any previous editions.' — Guardian. ' The introduction is admirable, and admirers of Keble *ill be greatly interested in the chronological list of the poems.' — Bookman' THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. A Revised Translation, with an Introduction, by C. Bigg, D.D., late Student of Christ Church. Dr. Bigg has made a practically new translation of this book, which the reader will iiave, almost for the first time, exactly in the shape in which it left the hands of the author. . . ' The text is at once scholarly in its faithful reproduction in English of the sonorous Church Latin in which the original is composed, and popular in the sense of being simple and intelligible.' — Scotsman, 24 Messrs. Methuen's List %tatin0 oC Heliffion Edited by H. C. SEECHING, M. A. H^itA Poriraits, crown Sva. y. 6d. A series of short biographies of the most prominent leaders of religious life and thought of all ages and countries. The following are ready — CARDINAL NEWMAN. By R. H. HuTTON. JOHN WESLEY. By J. H. Overton, M.A. BISHOP WILBERFORCE. By G. W. Daniel, M.A. CARDINAL MANNING. By A. W. HUTTON, M.A. CHARLES SIMEON. By H. C. G. Moule, D.D. JOHN KEBLE. By Walter Lock, D.D. THOMAS CHALMERS. By Mrs. Oliphant. LANCELOT ANDREWES. By R. L. Ottley, M.A. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY. By E. L. Cutts, D.D. WILLIAM LAUD. By W. H. HUTTON, B.D. JOHN KNOX. By F. M'CUNN. JOHN HOWE. By R. F. HORTON, D.D. BISHOP KEN. By F. A. Clarke, M.A. GEORGE FOX, THE QUAKER. By T. HODGKIN, D.C.L. JOHN DONNE. By AUGUSTUS Jessopp, D.D. THOMAS CRANMER. By A. J. Mason. Other volumes will be announced in due course. Fiction SIX SHILLING NOVELS Marie Corelli's Novels Crown &V0. 6s. each. A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS. Eighteenth Edition. VENDETTA. Fourteenth Edition. THELMA. Nineteenth Edition. ARDATH. Eleventh Edition. THE SOUL OF LILITH Ninth Edition. WORMWOOD. Ninth Edition. BARABBAS : A DREAM OF THE WORLD'S TRAGEDY. Thirty-second Edition. ' The tender reverence of the treatment and the imaginative beant^r of the writing have reconciled ns to the daring of the conception, and the conviction is forced on us that even so exalted a subject cannot be made too familiar to us, provided it be presented in the true spirit of Christian faith. The amplifications of the Scripture narrative are often conceived with high poetic insight, and this " Dream of the World's Tragedy" is a lofty and not inadequate paraphrase of the supreme climax of the inspired narrative.' — Ihtblin Review. THE SORROWS OF SATAN. Thirty-ninth Edition. ' A ver^ powerful piece of work. . . . The conception is ms^^ificent, and is likely to win an abiding place within the memory of man. . . , The author has immense command of language, and a limitless andacity. . . . This interesting and re- markable romance will live long after much of the ephemeral literature of the day is forgotten. ... A literary phenomenon . . . novel, and even sublime.' — W. T. Stead in the Review of Reviews. Messrs. Methuen's List • 25 Anthony Hope's Novels Crown Svo. 6s. each. THE GOD IN THE CAR. Eighth Edition. ' A very remarkable book, deserving of critical analysis impos^ble wttbin our limit ; brilliant, but not superficial ; well considered, but not elaborated ; constructed with the proverbial art that conceals, but yet allows itself to be enjoyed by readers to whom fine literary method is a keen pleasure.'— The World, A CHANGE OF AIR. Fifth Edition. 'A graceful, vivacious comedy, true to human nature. The characters are traced with a masterly hand.' — Times. A MAN OF MARK. Fourth Edition. ' Of all Mr. Hope's books, " A Man of Mark " is the one which best compares with "The Prisoner of Zenda.'" — if atiomtl Observer. THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT ANTONIO. Third Edition. * It ts a perfectly enchanting story of love and chivalry, and pure romance. The Count IS the most constant, desperate, and modest and tender of lovers, a peerless gentleman, an intrepid fighter, a faithful friend, and a magnanimous foe.' — G%uirdiaH. PHROSO. Illustrated by H. R. Millar. Third Edition. ' The tale is thoroughly fresh, quick with vitality, stirring the blood, and humorously, dashingly told.' — St. James's Gazette. ^ ^ ^ _ . . o t ' A story of adventure, every page of which is palpitating with action. Speaker. ' From cover to cover ' ' Phroso " not only engages the attention, but carries the reader in little whirls of delight from adventure to adventure.'— /4<:a^&\^f^^\^^X rional leople, are dr4wn and coloured with artistic force. Add to this that his d^pWs k scenes and scenery are painted with the loving eyes and dc lied hands of a master of his art, that he is always fresh and never dull and it is no wonder that readers have g^ned confidence in tis power of amusmg and satisfying them, and that year by year his popularity widens. -Court Circular. ARMINELL. Fourth Edition. URITH. Fifth Edition. IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA Sixth Edition. MRS CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN. Fourth Edition. 26 Messrs. Methuen's List CHEAP JACK ZITA. Fourth Edition. THE QUEEN OF LOVE. Fourth Edition. MARGERY OF QUETHER. Third Edition. J ACQU ETTA. Third Edition. KITTY ALONE. Fifth Edition. NOEMI. Illustrated by R. C. WOODVILLE. Third Edition. THE BROOM-SQUIRE. Illustrated by F. Dadd. Fourth Edition. THE PENNYCOMEQUICKS. Third Edition. DARTMOOR IDYLLS. GUAVAS THE TINNER. Illustrated by F. DADD. Second Edition. BLADYS. Illustrated. Second Edition. Gilbert Parker's Novels Crown Sao. 6s. etui. PIERRE AND HIS PEOPLE. Fourth Edition. ' Stories happily conceived and linely executed. There is strength and genius in Mr. Parker's style.' — Daily Telegraph. MRS. FALCHION. Fourth Edition. ' A splendid study of character.' — Aikeneeum. * But little behind anything that has been done by any writer of our time.* — Pall Mall Gazette. ' A very striking and admirable novel.' — St. James's Casette. THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE. ' The plot is original and one difficult to work out ; but Mr. Parker has done it with great skill and delicacy. The reader who is not interested in this original, fresh, and well-told tale must be a dull person indeed.' — Daily Chronicle. THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. Illustrated. Sixth Edition. * A rousing and dramatic tale. A book like this, in which swords flash, great sur- prises are undertaken, and daring deeds done, in which men and women live and love in the old passionate way, is a joy inexpressible .' — Daily Ckromcle. WHEN VALMOND CAME TO PONTIAC : The Story of a Lost Napoleon. Fourth Edition. 'Here we find romance — ^real, breathing, living romance. The character of Valmond is drawn unerringly. The book must be read, we may say re-read, for any one thoroughly to appreciate Mr. Parker's delicate touch and innate sympathy with humanity.' — Pall Mall Gazette, AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH : The Last Adven- tures of ' Pretty Pierre.' Second Edition. *The present book is full of fine and moving stories of the great North, and it will add to Mr. Parker's already high reputation.' — Glasgow Herald. THE SEATS OF THE MIGHTY. Illustrated. Ninth Edition. * The best thing he has done ; one of the best things that any one has done lately.' — St. James's Gazette. ' Mr. Parker seems to become stronger and easier with every serious novel that he attempts. He shows the matured power which his former novels have led us to expect, and has produced a really fine historical novel.' — Athenaum. * A great hoc^L'^Black and White. *One of the strongest stories of historical interest and adventure that wehave read for many a day. ... A notable and successful book.' — Speaker. Messrs. Methuen's List 27 THE POMP OF THE LAVILETTES. Second Edition, y.dd. * living, breathing romance, genuine and unforced pathos, and a deeper and more subtle knowledge of human nature than Mr. Parker has ever displayed iefbre. It is, in a word, the work of a true artist.'^Po// Mall Gazette. Conan Doyle. ROUND THE RED LAMP. By A. Conan Doyle. Sixth Edition, Crown Svo. 6s, ' The hook is far and away the best view that has been vouchsafed us behind the scenes of the consulting -room. ' — Illustrated London News. Stanley Weyman. UNDER THE RED ROBE. By Stanley Weyman, Author of ' A GenUeman of France.' With Illustrations by R. C. Woodville. Fourteenth Edition. 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' A delightful tale in his best style.'— .S/foAw. 'Mr. Crockett at his best.'— Literature. ' Enjoyable and of absorbing interest. —Scotsman. Arthur Morrison. TALES OF MEAN STREETS. By Arthur Morrison. EiftA Edition. Crown 8wo. 6s. , . , ,. .Atrf£^^&r.r.thodisa™ly^^^^^^^ a^^linV^ iiieslt 'biriTit^'Ster^t. It is hum-- =Jso ! without humour if ?TOuld not make the mark it is certam to make. -World. Arthur Morrison. A CHILD OF THE JAGO. By Arthur Morrison. Third Edition. Crown ivo. 6s. ' The book is a masterpiece.'-i'<««.i^a// &«««'.■ .._,,„ ' Told with great vigour and powerful simpbcity. -A theiizum. 28 Messrs. Methuen's List Mrs. Clifford. A FLASH OF SUMMER. By Mrs. W. K. Clif- ford, Authoi of ' Aunt Anne^' etc Second Edition. Crown &vo. 6s. ' The story is a very beaatiful one, exquisitely told.' — Speaker. Emily Lawless. HURRISH. By the Honble. Emily Law- less, Author of ' Maelcho,' etc. Fifth Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. Emily Lawless. MAELCHO : a Sixteenth Century Romance. By the Honble. 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