- ~ metal: 2 = Tr: ee . ; = a oo rence ——— SS ————————————E——E—E————— aici nece eat SF nel caer Einscapaeabeeaaeallaa niet nal if ry th iy | a ¥ Hai 84 Chromeles of the Cape Fear Rwer colonial governors put together. One historian says he deserves the gratitude of every citizen of the State; another lauds him as a benefactor, a paragon of learning and of education; another states that he was the ablest of all the colonial governors. As a mark of honor a noted fort and a county in the State have borne his name. An incident in his administration which can properly be introduced here, is a record of events which led to the removal of the county seat from Brunswick to Wilmington. The legis- lative records show that the discussion extended over a long period of time, but was finally accomplished during his admin- istration, the name Wilmington being given to the new seat of government in honor of his patron, Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington and Viscount Pevensey. ‘The records show his course in this matter to have been harsh and arbitrary. In one of his letters to the Board of Trade, he discloses some interest in the country’s industrial progress. He condemns the method of manufacturing tar, encourages the raising of hemp, refers to the colonists planting mulberries for the raising of raw silks and cultivating the vine for the production of wines. He refers to the making of oil from the olive and from nuts and seeds which grow spontaneously here, and says the collector’s books show that forty-two ships were loaded from the Cape Fear within twelve months. A letter from the Board of Trade in reply to this says: ‘When you mentioned forty-two ships that went from the Cape Fear River, you ought to have sent us a more particular account thereof, as likewise what the said ships were loaded with. It is with pleasure we read the account you have given us of the people settled on the Cape Fear River.” Events of Johnston’s administration : 1. A fort built as a protection against the Spaniards on the south bank of the Cape Fear, and called in honor of the Gov- ernor, Fort Johnston. 2. A printing press was imported into the province from Virginia by James Davis. 3. In 1749 emigrants from Scotland flocked to the Cape Fear. 4, In 1752, September 2 was reckoned the 14th, omitting eleven days. 5. In 1738, the division of the province into three counties, Albemarle, Bath, and Clarendon, was abolished, the precincts now being called counties, with a sheriff appointed for each. Permanent Settlement 85 6. In 1740, England having declared war against Spain, 400 men were raised in the colony. 7. The population of North Carolina at the beginning of Johnston’s administration was nearly 50,000 in all, and at the close about 90,000. 8. Records show that emigrants followed the streams in forming their settlements, searching for “bottom lands.” The next governor appointed by the Crown was Arthur Dobbs, who arrived in New Bern in the fall of 1754 and as- sumed control of the government. His term of office is known to have been marked by consid- erable contention and discord, frequently on matters which were frivolous and unimportant. For the greater part of his life he resided at Brunswick and in the Old Town Creek settlement. Numerous allusions were made in his letters to the building of churches in Brunswick and Wilmington. Without some extended reference to St. Philip’s Church and the related ecclesiastical status of the colony during Burrington’s and Dobbs’s administrations this record would be incomplete. In a letter to the bishop of London, April 23, 1784, John LaPierre writes from “New Hanover, alias Cape Fear,” “I was the first minister of the Church of England that came to these places to preach, which I did during three years and a half.” In a letter of July 7, 1735, Richard Marsden wrote to the bishop of London: “I have been at Cape Fear near seven years, and can truly say that I have from my heart and soul done my utmost to promote the glory of God.” On April 7, 1760, during Dobbs’s term of office, the church wardens and vestry “begged to recommend Rev. John Me- Dowell as a good minister of the Church of England, who has been in this province since 1754, and officiated in our neighbor- ing parish of St. James until May, 1757, and the next year in Brunswick and Wilmington, and from that time our minister in this parish. “We are building a very large brick church, which is near done, and hope soon to have a glebe, but at present we are a poor parish, very heavily taxed on occasion of the present war with the French and Indians, therefore can’t afford to give a compe- tency so as to maintain him and his young family in a decent manner.”