March, in favor of
the position occupied by the trustees. A great many Scotch and German
people had settled in the colony; and, familiar with the arts of
husbandry, they became the ardent supporters of the trustees. James
Habersham, the "_dear fellow-traveller_," of Whitefield, exclaimed,--

"I once thought, it was unlawful to keep negro slaves, but I
am now induced to think God may have a higher end in
permitting them to be brought to this Christian country,
than merely to support their masters. Many of the poor
slaves in America have already been made freemen of the
heavenly Jerusalem, and possibly a time may come when many
thousands may embrace the gospel, and thereby be brought
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. These, and
other considerations, appear to plead strongly for a limited
use of negroes; for, while we can buy provisions in Carolina
cheaper than we can here, no one will be induced to plant
much."

But the trustees stood firm against the subtle cunning of the
politicians, and the eloquent pleadings of avarice.

On the 7th October, 1741, a large meeting was held at Savannah, and a
petition drawn, in which the land-holders and settlers presented their
grievances to the English authorities in London. On the 26th of March,
1742, Mr. Thomas Stephens, armed with the memorial, as the agent of
the memorialists, sailed for London. While the document ostensibly set
forth their wish for a definition of "the tenure of the lands," really
the burden of the prayer was for "_Negroes_." He presented the
memorial to the king, and his Majesty referred it to a committee of
the "Lords of Council for Plantation Affairs." This committee
transferred a copy of the memorial to the trustees, with a request for
their answer. About this time Stephens presented a petition to
Parliament, in which he charged the trustees with direliction of duty,
improper use of the public funds, abuse of their authority, and
numerous other sins against the public welfare. It created a genuine
sensation. The House resolved to go into a "committee of the whole,"
to consider the petitions and the answer of the trustees. The answer
of the trustees was drawn by the able pen of the Earl of Egmont, and
by them warmly approved on the 3d of May, and three days later was
read to the House of Commons. A motion prevailed "that the petitions
do lie upon the table," for the perusal of the m