Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-07-05
PIRATES IN THE COLONIES.
The Colonial Governments Too
Weak to Protect Themselves.
Vovo rd pvlo in CT Niohnlo,


Howard Pyle in St. Nicholas.
We, in these times of America, pro-
tected by the laws and number OF peo-
pie about us, can hardly comprehend
such life as that Of the American
colonies in the early part of the last
century, when it was possible for a
pirate like Blackboard to exist, and for
the governor and the secretary of the
province in which he lived to share
his plunder and to shelter and protect
him against the law.
At that time, the American colon
lists were in general q rough, rugged
people, knowing nothing of the finer
things of life. They lived mostly in
little settlements, separated by long
distances from one another. SO that
they could neither make nor enforce
laws to protect themselves. Each
man or little group of men had to de-
pend upon his or their own strength
TO keep what belonged to them and to
prevent fierce men or groups of men
from taking what was theirs away
from them.
1t is the natural disposition OF every
one to get all that he can. Little
children usually try to take away
from others that which they want and
to keep it for their own. It is only by
constant teaching that they learn that
they must not do so, that they must
not take by force what does not be-
long to them. 1t is only by teaching
and training that people learn to be
honest and not to take what is not
theirs. When this teaching is not
sufficient to make a man learn to be
honest, or when there is something in
the man himself that makes him not
able q, learn, then he lacks only
the opportunity to seize upon the
things he wants. just as he would do
il he were a little child.
In the colonies at the time. as has
just been said, men were too few and
scattered to protect themselves against
those who had made up their minds
to take by force whatever they wanted.
The usual means of communication
between province and province was by
water in coasting vessels. These
small coasting vessels were SO defense
less and the different colonial gov
ernments were so ill able to protect
them that those who chose to rob
them could do it almost without dam
ger 10 themselves.
So it was that all the western world
WAS in those days infested with armed
bands of cruising freebooters or pirates
men who had not been able to
learn, that they must not take from
others what belonged TO others. These
pirates used to stop merchant vessels
and take from them what they chose.
Each province in those days was
ruled over by a royal governor ap-
pointed by the king. Each provincial
governor was at one time free to do
almost as he pleased in his own
province. They we're accountable
only to the king and the home gov
ernment, and England was so distant
that they were really responsible al
most to nobody but themselves.
The governors were just as desirous
of getting rich quickly, just as desirous
of getting Ill that they could for them
selves, as was anybody else, only they
had been taught that it was not right
to be actual pirates or robbers. They
| wanted to get rich easily and quickly,
but they did not desire riches 30 much
as to lead them to dishonor them
selves in their own opinion and in the
opinion of others by gratifying the
desire. They would even have
stopped the pirates from doing un-