Untitled - the Digital Library of Georgia

268 GEOEGIA AND GEORGIANS
over, English, subjects in the wilds of North America were held to be
entitled to the .same rights and privileges as English subjects in the
environs of London. But action upon the resolution was delayed. It
appeared that some of the upper parishes were not represented and it
was desired to give the whole province an opportunity to be heard. Con
sequently, an adjournment was'taken until August 10th, but, in the
meantime, a committee was appointed to raise funds for the Boston
sufferers. William Ewen, William Young, Joseph Clay, John Houstoun,
Noble W. Jones, Edward Telfair, John Smith, Samuel Farley and An
drew Wells were given this task to perform, and in due time 600 barrels,
of rice and several bags of money were forwarded to Boston.
On August 10th the assemblage met again, but the counteractive
agencies of Governor Wright were apparent; and only five out of eleven
parishes were represented. It was known that heroic measures of redress
were sought. This deterred many parishes from sending delegates, espe
cially since the royal governor had issued warning proclamations. More
over, some of the delegates who responded to the call thought it best
to be conservative. It has already been stated that the Sons of Liberty
were, with few exceptions, young men whose fathers were staunch old
royalists; and some of them were doubtless held in check by the fear of
parental displeasure. Besides, it must be added that the growth of the
Revolutionary doctrines had been much more rapid in the towns than in
the rural districts; and the colony had recently undergone an expansion
which considerably increased the area of the latter. Savannah and Sun-
bury were the chief incubators of liberty, while the new parishes, which
Governor Wright had lately opened up, were almost wholly the abodes
of conservatism. Consequently, th'e utmost which could be done was to
adopt the resolutions above mentioned, and even this mild course was
disapproved by the stern elders who thought that Georgia was ill-requit
ing the royal benefits. If some of the wealthy aristocrats were upon the
side of liberty, most of the landed gentry still posed as the bulwarks of
the Crown. Yet, even among the poorer classes, there was an inclination
toward the reigning sovereign whose father was the Brunswick prince for
whom the colony was christened and whose name was George III.
Indignant because the most radical action was not taken by the
provincial assemblage, the representatives from St. John's Parish with
drew. This left the patriotic body still feebler, and it was decided to
adjourn until the Legislature should meet, the idea being to get the
Lower House, which represented the whole province, to elect delegates
to the Continental Congress. But the plan failed to work. Governor
Wright thwarted the designs of the patriots by adjourning the Legis
lature at the critical moment, and the provincial assembly was forced
either to adjourn without further ado or to go through the mock for
mality of choosing delegates whose credentials would be comparatively
worthless. It was decided to take the latter course, and Noble W. Jones,
Archibald Bulloch and John Houstoun were elected.
However, since the question of legality might be raised upon minority
credentials, the delegates did not repair to Philadelphia. • Instead, they
dispatched a communication informing the Continental Congress of the