A short history of Rhode IslandGreene, George Washington
History
A short history of Rhode Island
Greene, George Washington
Rhode Island -- History
The next attempt was more successful. A fleet of twelve ships of war
and twenty-four transports sailed from Nantasket roads on the 18th
of September, reached Port Royal in six days and took it after a
short siege. The colonists were very happy. The name of Port Royal
was changed to Annapolis, the city of Anna. The martial spirit of the
colonies was roused and in the following year, 1711, they eagerly
entered into the plans of the English ministry for the invasion of
Canada. But although the greatest exertions were made the expedition
failed.
Meanwhile the Assembly still continued its labor of legislation. The
Court of Trials adopted the course which had been established two
years before by the Court of Appeals, and began to charge a fee before
entering a case upon the docket. Education was a subject of legislative
interest. In Newport the public school was placed in charge of the
town council, and provision made for opening a Latin school under
Mr. Galloway. Various other minor incidents show the progress of the
Colony. Public highways were a subject of general attention in Newport.
Providence, which lay on the bank of a navigable river, was more
directly interested in bridges. Names were given to the streets and
alleys, and, as an element in the growth of the Colony, it may not be
uninteresting to know that the first town crier was appointed in 1711.
As an encouragement to commerce all "river craft trading as far as
Connecticut" were exempted from custom dues, and no fees were exacted
for free goods. The profits of the navigation act, as has already been
stated, had been seriously affected by clandestine traders. To guard
against this evil a law was passed requiring "all persons resident for
three months in the Colony and intending to leave, to advertise their
intention ten days before hand, so that their creditors might have due
notice."
CHAPTER XVII.
PAPER MONEY TROUBLES.--ESTABLISHMENT OF BANKS.--PROTECTION OF HOME
INDUSTRIES.--PROPERTY QUALIFICATIONS FOR SUFFRAGE.
The treaty of Utrecht gave peace to England and her dependencies,
leaving them free to follow out the peaceful development of commerce
and manufactures. War had brought on paper money, which was first
issued to meet the expenses of the second expedition against Port
Royal. This first issue was of five thousand pounds in bills of from
five pounds to two shillings, equal in value as far as legislation
could make them so, "to current silver of New England, eight shillings
to the ounce. They were to be received in all payments due the
treasury, to be redeemed in specie at the end of five years," and
meanwhile were secured by an "annual tax of a thousand pounds." To
counterfeit or deface them was felony. Further issues of eight thousand
pounds were made by the end of the war, and secured by new taxes. Thus
was opened the great gulf which was to swallow the fruits of much
laborious industry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account