was in the province "general harmony and contentment." Drysdale's death occurred in 1727, and the government was committed to William Gouch, a military officer of amiable manners and temper. Virginia enjoyed peace and prosperity for many years under his government.[1] Settlers also began to penetrate the Blue Bidge, and established themselves in the valley beyond. There were, however, no towns, as yet, in the ordinary sense of the word, and but few villages. The capitol at Williamsburg having been destroyed by fire, the burgesses endeavored to remove the seat of government; but the Council defeated the project. Near the close of Gouch's administration, the sixth and last colonial revisal of the Virginia code was made.
As we have before stated, (p. 150,) the government of Maryland was for some three years in the hands of the insurgents. In 1692, the king sent out Lionel Copley as royal governor, under whom the Assembly not only-repealed all existing laws, but enacted an entirely new code. The Church of England was established by law; the province was divided into thirty parishes, and tithes were imposed upon every inhabitant without regard to his religious opinions. Great complaints were made by the Roman Catholics and Quakers of the oppressiveness of this tax, and they spared no efforts to oppose the establishment in any and every way they could. The Rev. Dr. Bray, whose zeal and self-denial deserve to be held in honor, was appointed commissary by the Bishop of London, in 1696; it was through his efforts, that "The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" was originated in 1698, and obtained a charter in 1701. Dr. Bray visited Maryland in 1699, returned to England the next year, and during the remainder of his life did all in his power to promote the spiritual interests of the Colonies.[2] In 1702, by the act of toleration every sect was allowed liberty except the Roman Catholic. Two years later, after Colonel Seymour had arrived as governor, legalized persecution was set on foot against the papists, mass was forbidden to be said publicly , and children were tempted to hypocrisy by offers of shares in their parents' property, etc. Seymour died in 1709, and John Hart was appointed governor in 1714.
The first Lord Baltimore had become a Roman Catholic from conviction; the present successor to his title and estates, perceiving that ruin was impending unless he or his family could obtain a restoration of the proprietary rights, prevailed upon his son Benedict Leonard, to embrace the doctrines of the Established Church. This having been done, the administration of the colony was restored to the
- ↑ During the ten years from 1720 to 1730, according to Mr. Hildreth, the value of goods exported from England to the North American colonies,—i.e. New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina,—was £4,712,992—$20,906,140; being an annual average of about $2,000,000.
- ↑ Dr. Bray died in 1730, at an advanced age.—See Dr. Hawks's "Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland," p. 82, etc., for a more full account of this excellent man and his labors.
