Untitled - the Digital Library of Georgia

GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 187
thorpe treated them with so much candor and tact that they readily
ceded to the English the lands desired and entered into a treaty of
friendship and commerce.* For the weak and struggling settlement, the
friendship and assistance of the natives was worth more than fortifica
tions or troops; and nobody could have heen more successful than was
Oglethorpe in bringing about the cordial relations.
These were the most valuable achievements of the leader of the
Georgians, but there were a number of things besides which occupied
his attention. He provided for the defense of the Town of Savannah
by planting a battery and establishing a few outposts like Fort Argyle
and Thunderbolt. He laid out the town into convenient wards and tith-
ings. He explored the lower coasts of the province and made notes of
the best methods of fortifying it. Just before leaving Georgia for Eng
land, he accompanied the newly arrived Salzburgers for the purpose of
selecting a site for their town; in this he was not so fortunate as in his
choice of a location of Savannah, but for the time being the Germans
were well pleased with it. When he finally set sail on March 23, 1734,
the people could hardly restrain their tears, because he had cared for
them much like a father both by night and by day for more than a year, t
On the whole, Oglethorpe was most useful to the colony and very suc
cessful in managing its affairs during his first stay in Georgia. He
showed industry, foresight, good judgment, tact, and sympathy for the
people. To this point certainly, the province would have been no bet
ter off if it had had a regular governor of the best caliber. The princi
pal error, it seems to us, that had been made hitherto was in failing to
establish the magistrates in office at the very beginning. During the
first five months, he kept to himself all authority of every sort. $ There
is little doubt that he was a better judge and a wiser magistrate than
any who had been appointed by the trustees; but he could not exercise
all the authority satisfactorily, and he would not be in America con
tinuously, so that it would have been better to allow the appointees of
the trustees to enter at once upon their duties. One of the greatest handi
caps the province had was lack of respect for its officials; and this was to
a great extent due to the general impression that they were dependent
for power on Oglethorpe and that he could veto or alter their actions.
It could not be foreseen perhaps that bad results would follow the post
ponement of inducting the officials into office, and so it was due to an
error rather than to a fault that it was not done immediately.
Before he left Georgia, Oglethorpe had been remonstrated with by
the trustees for drawing bills on them without sending letters of advice
to explain the necessity of the draft. Several such drafts were sent;
and the matter became so troublesome that on February 6, 1734, a reso
lution was passed to the effect that no bill drawn by any person whatso
ever be accepted or paid by the trustees unless it be accompanied by a
proper letter of advice. This was not enforced with entire strictness
against Oglethorpe, however, for they later paid some of his drafts which
*C. E. Ill: 381.
t Von Reck, Extract from "Journal" 18, cited by Wright 80.
J Wright 73.