Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-02
Early History of Georgia.

and the learned assembled around his hos
pitable board. was also consumed by the
flames. and with il every private record of
his life 1t is a sad and solitary spectacle
which the close Of his life presents.
Many years since. as l stood in the
small chapel which contains his remains,
a.train of painful emotions were awakened
in nv mind. The inscription upon his
tomb before me was the only record OF
similar character in the whole realm, OF
whose remarkable cnOtempOraneOus men
he had been pronounced by competent au-
thOrity to be 1.-The most remarkable"
While persons less distinguished for viz
tue. mind or public service, had been
hOnOred after death by burial in West
minister Abbey, and thus their memory
has been peTpetuated as long as inscrlp-
tons endure. vet he who wanders among
s.those shrines of the mighty dead finds
no marble prOclaiming itself TO contain
the ashes of this founder Of great state.
While the names of his distinguished
associates still live in a numerous and
honOred pOsterity, his name has passed
away from among the names Of the living.
Nor was the sadness of these reflections
relieved bY allowing the mind to wander
across the ocean TO Georgia. the scene OF
his philanthrOpic labOrs. From the Sa-
Yannah 10 the ChattahOOchee. from the At
lantic TO our terminal mountains of the
-
of private appreciation Of private loss
while the city Of 0glethOrpe has erected
tasteful monuments to its defenders.
though none to its fOunders-the sole evil
dence appealing to the eye of our remem-
brance Of OglethOrpe is portrait sus-
pended in the Capitol of Georgia. such Is
the posthumOus reward of heroic. unOs-
tentatiOus philanthropy An epitaph in
parish church on one side of the Atlantic,
and on the other portrait in a collection
Of portraits. The absence of lifting teS-
timOnial 10 the founder Of our State is a
stain upon the escutcheOn of Georgia.
pSThe women Of America have done what
the men could not do. They have made
the grave of Washington the inalienable
property of the great American family.
Having signaliZed, among others. their
reverence for the Father OF his Country,
will not my fair cOuntFywOmen offer a
fitting homage 10 the father Of their native
state: The remains of Calhoun were
scarcely deposited in the tomb when the
women Of South Carolina resolved TO erect
monument to his memory, Are the
women Of Georgia less patriotic than
their sisters Of Carolina:
Will they not by the exercise Of their
accustomed liberality, and by the appli-
cation Of that cultivated taste which they
know so we'll how TO exhibit, take care
that this long delayed testimonial is him
dered by no additional and unseemly pro-
crastination-is married by no imperfect
and parsimOnious design, and Is COM
pleted in the highest style within the
reach OF art! Ii Will be we'll done, and
quickly done. if they will it TO be done.
The badly disposed have. in the face Of
history. cast a sluT upon our state by
representing il as being in its origin. in a
sense. a penal colony. Ii the charge were
true, we might be content with Roman
origin. since under the guidance of our
ROmulus. vices have been so converted
into virtue. the descendants Of criminals
have been taught 10 revere the sanctity of
the law: the children Of the idle and dis
sOlute have been so inspired with indus
trious enterprise that in little more than
a century the penal colony has bounded
to the front rank of the Southern States.
and by common accord is styled the I'm
pire State of the SOUTH"
But the charge. so far from being true.
is the very opposite of truth. Search the
colonial records of the different States of
this Union. and l make the assertion fear
lessly. that in not one Of them will be
found the same untiring watchtulness 10
prevent the ingresS Of unworthy persons
into the colony as that which character
lied the founders of Georgia. Ii is true
that some of the colonists were persons
who had been freed from the debtors
prison in which they had been unjustly
confined.
Misfortune is not always guilt. Debt is /
not ALWAYS a crime. The savage law of Z
England made no discrimination. The /
Trustees of Georgia did discriminate. /
Misfortune was no obstacle 10 the dispen- 1
satiOn Of their bOunties. 1t rather gave I
claim to them. But it was misfortune.
not guilt, that they relieved. No idle, 4
dissOlute or vicious person was received I
by them. and a rigid examination was .
made into the moral character Of all ap- /
plicants. so stringent were their rules 1
that no person leaving family behind in 1
necessitOus circumstances, or person in /
debt without a formal release from his +
creditors. was permitted to enroll his
name among the C-0lOnists. What greater F.
precautions could have been takenf In /
what enterprise Of colonization have they
been eQualled: 80 that, while not ali but .
MANY among the cOlOnists were poor, .
those who were poor were ylrtuous and i
honest. And what more shall we ask: In +
this happy country, where intelligence I
and virtue are the only patents Of nObil- 4
ity, why shall We not be content with a .
Firtuous and honest parentages
fThe rank Is but the guinea's stamp.
The mans the gold fOF all that
| have dwelt at some length upon this /
point. because il has been misunder- +
sLffUU UN tUu1E lfHAetu1 anu ulAstElllE-
scented by others. II these misrepresenta- /
tons were truths, they would materially /
change the aspect Of the whole policy Of 4
the Trustees Of Georgia. Their acts would 4
not have been an admirable Illustration Of .
intelligent benevOlence. but an Ill Judged +
and reprehensible reward of evil and en-
cOHTagement OF crime.
IfdigressiOns have been INDUCED in and /
incidental topics discussed. they have not 1
been without relevancy TO the end in 4
view. II We aDalyze Christian beneyO- +
Ieuce we shall find each Of its component 4
parts c0nspicuOusly exhibited in the fOun-
dati0n Of Georgia. Does Christian benev- 1
olence involve seIf-denials The founders
Of Georgia have given Us an lllustrlous
example Of il. Does il involve courage in f
the prosecution of its ends: They were
daunted by no danger Of the seas, by no
inhOspitality Of climate, BY no ferOcity
81 savage men, by no apprehension Of
hunger or thirst. and by 10 fear Of
civilized foe, waiting like hawk, 10
sWOOp upon their unguaTded homes. Does
il involve the selection Of high and noble
endsf They labOTed for the good OF man
and the glory Of God. Does il involve
generous expenditures They gave OF their
means TO the colony with munlHcepf /
liberality. Does it involve cOnstancy in
Durposey They were unwearied IN the
prosecution Of the grand design. Does II
Involve patient encounter with annoy
ance: They were unruffied by their neces-
sarv association with the mistakes
Of ignorance. the irritations of peryerse-
ness. or the PerturbatiOns Of need
Is fear. Does il involve freedom from
narrow prejudice: They gave home TO
the hsmeless and prosecuted, wherever
and in whatever cline the homeless and
prosecuted could be found. Does IL III
voIve pietv towards God; The last act Of
the emigrants in England was, together,
and nth their patrons. 20 commit them
selves and their enterprise to Almighty
God. Their first act when they stood on
the soil Of Georgia was to bless Him for
His mercies and invoke His benediction
In re future. Before the first camp-tres
were lighted. or the first tents pitched,
or the frsf axe struck into the
unbroken forest, now displaced
By the structures Of beaufitni
city, the Christian prayer and the psalm
Of thanksgiving blending in sweet har.
mOny. were lifted above the signing or
the primeyal pines, and waited from the
land Of the savage 10 heaven. And in this
dependence did they continue. The tree
sill stauds-that brave old oak-stretcn-