Vernon and Field Marshal Wade.
They entered upon their labors with zeal and diligence, and not only
made inquiries, through the Fleet prison, but also into the Marshalsea,
the prison of the king's bench, and the jail for the county of Surrey.

The philanthropy of Oglethorpe, whose feelings were easily enlisted in
the cause of misery, rested not with the discharge of his Parliamentary
duty, nor yet in the further benefit of relaxing the rigorous laws which
thrust the honest debtor into prisons which seemed to garner up disease
in its most loathsome forms--crime in its most fiend-like
works--humanity in its most shameless and degraded aspect; but it
prompted still further efforts--efforts to combine present relief with
permanent benefits, by which honest but unfortunate industry could be
protected, and the laboring poor be enabled to reap some gladdening
fruit from toils which now wrung out their lives with bitter and
unrequited labors. To devise and carry out such efforts himself Lord
Percival and a few other noblemen and gentlemen addressed a memorial to
the privy council, stating "that the cities of London, Westminster, and
parts adjacent do abound with great numbers of indigent persons who are
reduced to such necessity as to become burthensome to the public, and
who would be willing to seek a livelihood in any of his majesty's
plantations in America if they were provided with a passage and means of
settling there."

The memorialists promised to take upon themselves the entire charge of
this affair, to erect a province into a proprietary government, provided
the crown would grant them a portion of the land bought in 1729 by
Parliament from the Lords Proprietors of South Carolina, lying south of
the Savannah River; together with such powers as shall enable them to
receive the charitable contributions and benefactions of all such
persons as are willing to encourage so good a design.

This petition, referred at first to a committee of the privy council,
was by them submitted to the consideration of the board of trade, who,
after a second commitment, made their report, that the attorney and
solicitor-general should be directed to prepare a draft of the charter.
This report, being laid before his majesty, was by him approved and he
directed the proper officer to make out the charter. The charter thus
prepared was approved by the King, but in consequence of the formalities
of office did not pass under the great seal until