1736. Oct. 14. be their guardians and secure their redress." Ben The MoheUncas, the Mohegan Sachem, "declared that he gan Indians. doth embrace the Christian religion, which is the only instance of any of the chiefs of the natives in this Colony becoming Christian, though much pains have been taken with them;" and "the Assembly, being willing to encourage so good a beginning, desired his Honor the Governor to procure for the said Sachem a coat made in the English fashion, and a hat, and also a gown for the said Sachem's wife."1 Legislation. 1729. The government of Connecticut was adminis- Administered frugally. The pay for Assistants was, for tration and attendance on the General Assembly, "nine shillings and sixpence per diem, exclusive of the May 8. Sabbath days," and "fourpence per mile for their travel to and from the Assembly; that of Deputies was seven shillings per diem, exclusive of the Sabbath days, and threepence per mile for their travel." 2 3 The paper currency was only kept by the prudent vigilance of the government from occasioning the same embarrassments and mischiefs as in Massachusetts. A corporation. which had been created under the name of the "New London Society, united for Trade and Commerce," presumed to issue notes similar to the colonial bills of credit. Governor Talcott convoked the Assembly in a 1733. special session, and the society's recent proceed- Feb. 15. ing was declared to be illegal, and punishable like forgery Conn. Col. Rec., VII. 300, 378, your Lordships that about three 519; VIII. 72. 2 Ibid., VII. 246. thousand pounds of loaned bills were drawn in for interest for the year 1740; and that the whole of the said loaned bills will be discharged by the year 1742; and that the bills then outstanding, that were issued to defray the charge of government, are near or quite sunk by the taxes of the years 1738 and 1739. (Ibid., VIII. 357, 358; comp. Trumbull, II 3 May 21, 1740, the Lords of Trade called on the Assembly of Connecticut to transmit, with a printed copy of their laws then in force, "an account of the tenor and amount of the bills of credit created and issued in this government, which are now outstanding," &c. The Assembly were able to reply: "We acquaint 48.) May 10. or counterfeiting, and its charter was repealed. It applied for a renewal of the charter, and for a loan of money from the Colony, in order to its extrication from the embarrassments in which it was involved by this decision; but the Assembly, with exemplary wisdom, “resolved that such a society of merchants, whose undertakings are vastly beyond their own compass, and must depend on the government for their supplies of money, and must therefore depend on their influence on the government to obtain it, is not for the peace and health of the government." 1 Vice and laziness were not leniently dealt with in Connecticut. At New Haven, Hartford, and New London were Houses of Correction, "for suppressing and punishing of rogues, vagabonds, common beggars, and other lewd, idle, dissolute, and disorderly persons, and for setting them to work.” Punishment was to be applied “by putting fetters or shackles upon them, and by moderate whipping, not exceeding ten stripes at once, . . . . . . to be inflicted at their first coming in, and from time to time in case they be stubborn, disorderly, or idle, and do not perform their task, and that in good condition." Lotteries were strictly forbidden, first by a proclamaJan. 22. tion of the Governor, and then by law. The legal profession was not in good repute. “Whereas many persons of late had taken upon them to be attorneys at the bar, so that quarrels and lawsuits were multiplied, and the King's good subjects disturbed," it was May 14. enacted that there should be "allowed in the Colony eleven attorneys and no more;" namely, three in Hartford County, and two in each of the others. But whether it was that the law was not found to avail against the dexterity of the discountenanced profession, or for some 1728. May 9. 1730. 1 Conn. Col. Rec., VII. 420-422, 449 comp. 454, 478. Ibid., 147, 161, 172, 173. ♦ Ibid., 279. 2 Ibid., 127-130. 1731. Oct. 14. 1734. May 9. 1732. In other reason, it was repealed after a short experiment.1 The Assembly thought it prudent to have Oct. 14. the Governor assure the Board of Trade 2 that they had not "by any premium encouraged any manufactory in this Colony." But the alarm was no sooner over than they established liberal bounties for the production of silk and of hemp, and for manufacturing "canvas or duck," and "fine linen cloth." cases of epidemic disease, the law gave power to two justices to authorize constables to impress May 11. nurses, as well as to provide "other necessaries for the accommodation of the sick."5 The necessities of the anticipated war with Spain led to an improved military system. The Governor was declared to be Captain-General, and the Lieutenant-Governor to be LieutenantGeneral of the Colony's forces, and the militia, in which the highest officers as yet had been but majors, was arranged in thirteen regiments, each with the three field officers of a regular regimental organization. The Assembly voted the sum of four thousand pounds for bounties for volunteers in the expedition to the West Indies, and they provided for the victualling and transportation of troops, and for the apprehension and punishment of deserters." 6 1739. Oct. 11. 1740. May 8. July 8. Oct. 9. 1741. May 14. Acts for the further regulation of the militia, and "for the encouragement and better supporting the schools," were passed in the last session of Governor Talcott's service. He died in the following summer, and the Assembly, at its regular Talcott. 1 Conn. Col. Rec., VII. 358. 8 Ibid., VII. 354. • Ibid., 277-279. Death of Governor It fell to Talcott's lot to give his Legislature a practical lesson as to the paramount claims of public station. His wife died suddenly after a morning's session of the Houses, which had taken a recess till the afternoon. By the Constitution they could not transact business without autumnal meeting, chose Lieutenant-Governor Oct. 8. Jonathan Law, of Milford, to serve as Governor, and Roger Wolcott, of Windsor, as LieutenantGovernor, till the legal time for the popular election in the spring. Then, at the regular annual meeting, May 13. the choice was renewed. 1742. In the first years of King George the Second, the history of Rhode Island was uneventful. The Colony was growing, though scarcely as fast as the rest of New England. the presence of the Chief Magistrate or of his Lieutenant, and the Lieutenant-Governor chanced to be absent and out of reach. So the stout old Governor went from his house of mourning, and finished his darkened day in the hall of council. "May it please your Honor," said the law-makers in an address of condolence, "we, the Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut, in General Court assembled, humbly take leave, with one heart and mind, to address your Honor under the sore and awful rebuke of the Almighty, who has, by his holy and wise providence, removed from you that dearest part of yourself, the desire of your eyes, and the greatest comfort of your life, by a sudden and unexpected death; and to let your Honor know that we esteem ourselves sharers in your loss, and afflicted by your affliction, and that we do affectionately condole your Honor's lonely and widowed state, and desire with your Honor to take notice of the Divine rebuke, and to quiet ourselves with the consideration that the Almighty Lord of Hosts, all whose works are done in truth, hath done it; and would not complain of, but mourn under a sense of the heavy stroke of his holy hand; especially when we consider the subject of our present mournful meditations in the relation of a worthy consort to your Honor, or that of a mother, a mistress, a Christian friend or neighbor, in all which we should fall short of doing justice to her memory, if we should fail of pronouncing her to be virtuous, affable, tender, kind, pious, charitable, and beneficent." And more in the same devout and tender strain; to which the revered mourner replied: "To MR. SPEAKER AND GENTLEMEN REPRESENTATIVES: "As every spark adds to the fire, so every fresh mention made to me of my departed companion is a fresh wound to my bleeding heart; and upon the sight of your address in condolence in the loss of her makes such impressions on me that I cannot express myself, nor speak a word, but only, with a trembling heart and hand, thankfully acknowledge your kind respects and honor done both to the living and the dead. I wish I could, in a more suitable manner, express myself to you on this solemn occasion. I hope that, in consideration of my present pressure of grief, you will cover all my infirmities with a mantle of charity; for I am, gentlemen, yours to serve, in all things that I may, to the utmost of my power." (See Mass. Hist. Col., XXI. 246-248; comp. Conn. Col. Rec., VIII. 186. 173). Population and indus Island 1731. 1736. A census, made ten years since the last enumeration, ascertained the population to consist of fifteen thousand three hundred and two whites, sixteen hundred and forty-eight negroes, and nine hundred try of Rhode and eighty-five Indians.1 Nineteen hundred men constituted the militia. There were five thousand tons of shipping, and four hundred sailors." Such a population and such a commerce demanded facilities of interior communication, and the General Assembly licensed "Alexander Thorp, livery-stable keeper, October. and Isaac Casno, saddler, both of Boston, to set up the business of keeping stage-coaches for the transporting of goods to and from this Colony and the Massachusetts government," and gave them an exclusive patent for "improving two stage-coaches for the space of seven years, in regard of the great charge and expense they must be at." Though most of the trade of Rhode Island passed through Boston, two vessels came every year direct from England, two from ports of Holland and Spain, and ten or twelve from the West India Islands. The value of annual exports was computed at ten thousand pounds sterling, and the ordinary yearly expenses of the government at two thousand pounds in currency. A division was made of the Colony into three counties, and to this dis- 1729. tribution the judicial system was adjusted. Newport County was constituted of the towns of Portsmouth, Newport, Jamestown, and New Shoreham; King's County (formerly King's Province), of Westerly, and North and South Kingston; and Providence County, of Providence, Warwick, and East Greenwich. The towns of Smithfield, Scituate, and Gloucester consisted of terri- 1731. tory set off from Providence a little later.5 3 'Callender, Historical Discourse, 93, 94. 2 Arnold, History of Rhode Island, II. 101, 106; Staples, Annals of Providence, 194, 198. 8 R. I. Rec., IV. 527. June. February. 4 Ibid., 427; Arnold, II. 97. Ibid., 102; R. I. Rec., IV. 443. Before 1674, Portsmouth, Providence, Newport, Warwick, and Westerly |