ds. At the same time the Royal
African Company, the great slave-trading corporation of that time, was
asked to make Jamaica its headquarters for the sale of negroes. Then it
was arranged to send women from England to be wives for the planters,
Newgate and Bridewell to be spared as much as possible, so that poor
maids might have a chance, with whom it was stated that few English
parishes were unburdened.

On the 1st of December, 1660, King Charles the Second made a move which
must be considered as of the greatest importance to the development of
the British Colonial Empire--he founded the "Council for foreign
plantations," which later developed into the Colonial Office. This
Council were to inform themselves of the state of the plantations and of
how they were governed, keeping copies of all grants in a book. They
were to write to every Governor asking for exact accounts of their
proceedings, the nature of their laws and government, as well as
statistics. They must establish a correspondence with the colonies, so
that the king might be informed of all complaints, their wants, what
they cultivated, their commodities, and their trade, so that all might
be regulated upon common grounds and principles. They must adopt means
for rendering them and England mutually helpful, and bring them into a
more uniform government, with a better distribution of justice. Especial
care was to be taken for the execution of the Navigation Act, and
consideration given to the best means of providing servants, to which
end care was to be taken that no persons were forced or enticed away by
unlawful means. Those willing to be transported were, however, to be
encouraged, and a legal course was to be settled for sending over
vagrants and others who were noxious and unprofitable in England.
Learned and orthodox ministers were also to be sent, and instructions
given for regulating and repressing the debaucheries of planters and
servants. The Council were also to consider how the natives and slaves
might be invited to, and made capable of, baptism in the Christian
faith, and finally to dispose of all matters relating to the good
government, improvement, and management of the plantations.

Thus England commenced her great career of colonisation, the results of
which we see to-day. While taking all due account of Virginia and New
England, we cannot but note that it was in the West Indies where the
"prentice hand" was first tried. Jamaica was the main o