George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 2, 17th edition.

[158] the exchange of their produce could purchase. And

Chap. XIII.} 1677.

yet this inconsiderable traffic, so little alluring, but so convenient to the colonists, was envied by the English merchant; the law of 1672 was now to be enforced; the traders of Boston were to be crowded from the market by an unreasonable duty; and the planters to send their harvests to England as they could.¹

How unwelcome, then, must have been the presence of Miller, who levied the hateful tribute of a penny on every pound of tobacco exported to New England! A jealousy of the northern colonies was also fostered; ‘they cannot,’ it was urged,² ‘be friends to the prosperity of Carolina, which will certainly in time render them inconsiderable.’ But the antiquated prejudices of Europe were not to gain entrance beyond the Atlantic; and never did one American colony repine at the increase of another. The traffic with Boston continued, though burdened with a tax which produced an annual revenue of twelve thousand dollars—an enormous burden for the petty commerce and the few inhabitants of that day. Nor was this all; the traders were exposed to so much violence and harshness from Miller, that they were with difficulty persuaded not to abandon the country.

The planters of Albemarle were men who had been led to the choice of their residence from a hatred of restraint, and had lost themselves among the woods in search of independence. Are there any who doubt man's capacity for self-government, let them study the history of North Carolina; its inhabitants were restless and turbulent in their imperfect submission to a government imposed on them from abroad; the administration of the colony was firm, humane, and tranquil