Sir Jonathan Atkins, Governor.

Terrible
Hurricane.

Ayscue for the use and behoof of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, were signed by Willoughby on 11th January 1652 (199), and approved and confirmed by Parliament on 18th August following. Captain Richard Nicholls was, by an Order of the Council of State, presented with 1001. "for his good service in bringing the

news of the surrender, according to the order of Parlia"ment," and 107. was paid to the person, the name is left blank in the original, who brought the first news of the surrender (200).

Sir Jonathan Atkins arrived Governor in November 1674. The first thing he did was to call a new Assembly, who "met so well tempered that I have brought them to a right understanding, and we all live amiably." He believed there was not a spot of ground in the universe better planted or better inhabited, very fruitful, and always green the whole year. There was not a foot of land in Barbadoes not employed, even to the very seaside, and whoever will have land there must pay dearer for it than for land in England (p. 421). The Guinea corn produces a thousand grains for one grain. There were six regiments of foot, counting 8,000 men, and 14 troops of horse, or 800, and in a short time 2,000 could be mounted. Their misfortunes, the Governor adds, are from the hand of God, and not from any neglect of their own. 200,000l. will not repay the damage caused by the hurricane of August 1675 (811). Governor Atkins wrote an account of it to the Secretary of State. He described the ruin of houses, works, mills, sugars, and utensils as incredible. Their canes for next year's crop twisted and broken off, their corn and ground provisions, that should have kept their families six months, laid flat or rooted up. "Never was seen such prodigious ruin in three hours." Three churches, 1,000 houses, and most of the mills to leeward

were thrown down, 200 people killed, whole families being buried in the ruin of their houses, a torrent of rain beating down all before it, unroofing all their store-houses, and wetting their sugars. "I never saw a more amazing sight in one night." All trees stripped of fruit and leaves, housing laid flat, and the people in such consternation and distraction that they resolved never to build again but to leave the Island. But many have changed their mind and are repairing as fast as they can, but a great many can never be able to do it. Twelve ships were driven ashore and broken to pieces, but the King's frigate "Foresight," perceiving the storm coming, saved herself by standing out to sea. "All the prodigious effects of this hurricane would swell into a volume and puzzle belief" (690). Colonel William Stapleton, Governor of the Leeward Islands, in his Answer to Queries concerning those islands, says in Nevis the "Hurri-Canes" have taught the people to build low (p. 499). Has the singular writing of this word anything to do with the etymology of it? It is supposed to be a native American word.

The inhabitants are described as of four sorts, viz.: Inhabitants. freeholders paying yearly one ear of Indian corn to His Majesty; freemen, who having served their time, serve for wages; servants whose time is not expired, and negro slaves from Guinea, Cormantin, or Madagascar. There were 10,000 white men able to bear arms, 3,030 white male children, 8,695 white women and girls; total, 21,725. Negro men 10,525, boys 5,827, women and girls 16,121; total 32,473, in all 54,198.

Free Trade.

Atkins and

Governor Atkins held very strong views as to free trade Governor and the Acts of Trade and Navigation. He argued that it was against all practice to refuse a free trade to any island, and that the King thereby lost 10,000l. a year customs in Barbadoes (862). There is one thing, he says,

that their Lordships [of Trade] may admit as a maxim, that wheresoever you intend to plant a new Colony you must make their port a free port for all people to trade with them that will come. He conceives the ordinary way taken for new Plantations to be a little erroneous, for if it be by societies of noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants, the two first will commonly venture no more than they will throw away at dice or cards. The merchants do it in hopes of extraordinary gain, but if the return come not in, the gentleman grows suspicious, the merchant grows "restie," and the people employed upon the place will make the best use of their time; but when the machine fails that supplies the people with provisions, &c., the engine must needs stand still, but if the bucket goes into the well the rope must needs go with it. He reasons why the Act of Trade and Navigation in England will certainly in time be the ruin of all His Majesty's Plantations. Who is the loser? His Majesty and all his poor subjects who labour for him (p. 424). When the Lords of Trade read these opinions and arguments, they took notice of his notion for a liberty of trade as necessary for settling a new plantation as dangerous and prejudicial to England itself, and resolved to give him a check for upholding this maxim of free trade. His insisting upon the inconvenience of the Act of Trade and Navigation confirmed their Lordships in the resolution of returning their severest censures of these "dangerous principles" contrary to the settled laws of the Kingdom and the apparent advantage of it. Still, upon the whole, their Lordships agreed to return their acknowledgments and approbation of his "discourse" (1084). In their report to the King, the Lords, "on the main matter" of this business, a dispensation of the Acts of Trade and Navigation, remark that they need not lay before His Majesty the evil consequences that any subjects

should presume to petition against the laws they live under and call them grievances; the whole frame of the trade and navigation would be destroyed by such a dispensation, which could only be done by His Majesty in Parliament, the whole nation being concerned in it. They conceive His Majesty's subjects of the Plantations would hardly presume to make any address of this kind to His Majesty (714 I., II.) were they not connived at by His Majesty's Governors, "and this we find to be the ground of this particular case," for if not the prompter Governor Atkins is the consenter with the inhabitants, and that he labours with more arguments than they do themselves, when it was the duty of the Governor on the contrary to have suppressed any such address. Their Lordships were therefore of opinion that it was very necessary for His Majesty's service that Governor Atkins should by letter from His The King's Majesty be severely reprehended for his error and mistake by his concurrence in encouraging the people, and that for the future he should suppress any such notions, which tend to the ruin of trade (1116). And he was severely censured, although the King" chose rather to caution him upon this occasion," as a perusal of the King's letter to Sir Jonathan Atkins, which is printed verbatim at pp. 510-11, will show.

The King having dissolved the Council of Trade and Plantations by Order in Council of 12th March 1675, committed what was under their management to a Committee of the Privy Council, who were appointed for matters relating to Trade and Plantations, five to be a quorum, and to meet at least once a week and report their proceedings to the King (461, 603). One of the first acts of the new Board was to address a circular letter to all the Governors of the Plantations and to enclose heads of inquiry to which each Governor was required to send full

letter of

censure.

answers of the condition of the Plantation under his Government, the laws, revenue, officers, civil, ecclesiastical, and military forces in the King's pay, number of planters and people, trade, in short a complete account of the state and condition of the Colony (648-50). The answers to these queries received from the respective Governors are of considerable value, more especially those from Governor Sir Jonathan Atkins of Barbadoes, Governor Sir William Stapleton of the Leeward Islands, and Governor Lord Vaughan of Jamaica (800, 973, 1152), as they contain an Sir William exhaustive historical summary of the several islands at that particular period.

Leeward Islands,

Governor

Stapleton.

Sir Charles
Wheler

and the

restitution

of St. Chris

topher's.

Colonel
Philip

Warner.

Sir Charles Wheler, Colonel Stapleton's predecessor in the Government of the Leeward Islands, had fallen into the King's disgrace. The Articles agreed upon between Sir Charles and Mons. de Baas concerning the restitution of St. Christopher's (762-3) were not approved by King Charles, and certain orders that Governor Wheler had given, prejudicial to the King of Denmark's right and jurisdiction on the island of St. Thomas, His Majesty thought fit to disavow, and "has given evidence of our "dislike of his conduct in that and other things by recalling him" (397). In an elaborate report of the Committee of Council for Plantations to the King (756), the principal points of difference between England and France in connexion with the restitution of St. Christopher's are clearly defined, and in this report and many other papers calendared the proceedings of Sir Charles Wheler are explained, and with his numerous letters describe all the negotiations, in which the French Minister Colbert and our own ambassador at Paris had a considerable share.

Now Colonel Philip Warner, son of Sir Thomas Warner, was Deputy Governor of Antigua under Colonel Stapleton, the Governor-in-Chief, and concerned in a wholesale