It will be seen by the date of their removal to St. Augustine that the unfavorable comments of Romans and the Englishman whose letter he quotes upon the population of the town at the cession to Great Britain, could not have referred to the immigrants who came over under contract with Turnbull. It will also be seen that Williams speaks in very complimentary terms of these people and their descendants. I am pleased to quote from an earlier account a very favorable, and, as I believe, a very just tribute to the worth of these Minorcan and Greek settlers and their children. Forbes, in his sketches, says: “They settled in St. Augustine, where their descendants form a numerous, industrious, and virtuous body of people, distinct alike from the indolent character of the Spaniards and the rapacious habits of some of the strangers who have visited the city since the exchange of flags. In their duties as small farmers, hunters, fishermen, and other laborious but useful occupations, they contribute more to the real stability of society than any other class of people: generally temperate in their mode of life and strict in their moral integrity, they do not yield the palm to the denizens of the land of steady habits. Crime is almost unknown among them; speaking their native tongue, they move about distinguished by a primitive simplicity and purity as remarkable as their speech.”[28] Many of the older citizens now living remember the palmetto houses which used to stand in the northern part of the town, built by the people who came up from Smyrna. By their frugality and industry the descendants of those who settled at Smyrna have replaced these palmetto huts with comfortable cottages, and many among them have acquired considerable wealth, and taken rank among the most respected and successful citizens of the town. [1771.] CHAPTER XV. ADMINISTRATION OF LIEUT.-GOVERNOR MOULTRIE.--DEMAND OF THE PEOPLE FOR THE RIGHTS OF ENGLISHMEN.--GOVERNOR TONYN BURNING THE EFFIGIES OF ADAMS AND HANCOCK.--COLONIAL INSURGENTS CONFINED IN THE FORT.--ASSEMBLING OF THE FIRST LEGISLATURE.--COMMERCE OF ST. AUGUSTINE UNDER THE ENGLISH.--RECESSION OF THE PROVINCE TO SPAIN.