Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

The 3^d Speech

The conclusion which followes so naturally from the last discourse (to witt, that a
Virginia education is to be preferred for the Youth of this Country to what is
forreign and remote) is attended with another enquiry, Namely by what means
a Virginia education may be most easily promoted? and this I am commanded
to make the Subject of my discourse, but with this express injunction that I shall
strictly observe the modesty and bashfulness of the Muses, and howsoever pressing
our wants may be, that I shall offer at nothing on this Argument, which may seem
to beg any Supply either from the Country in General, or private Benefactors
in particular. After I have given you my promise punctually to observe
this injunction, I hope ye won't be offended if I hint at any method of promote-
ing our Colledge without taking any thing out of your pockett, or putting you to
any other publick or private charge. And this is what I am now setting—
about.

Every one knows it would be a great assistance to the Colledge, if we had the
conveniency of a good markett, whereby either the Colledge it self might be—
enabled to keep houses, or the neighbours about this place might be better
supply'd with all things necessary for our good lodging & Diet. This is one—
thing which the General Assembly might procure for us without any charge.
Another great benefite to the Students at this place, would be the conveniency
of good company and conversation; For in such aretired Corner of the world, far
from business, and action, if we make Scholars, they are in danger of proving
meer Scholars, which make a very ridiculous figure: made up of Pedantry,—
disputaciousness, positiveness, and a great many other ill qualities which
render them not so fitt for action and conversation: except the Muses naturally
shamefaced and bashfullness Learn to put on a decent confidence by seing &
conversing among men, and being acquainted with action and business.
Now there is one way of procuring for us both these conveniencies, that is by
contriving a good Town at this place, and filling it with all the selectest, and
best company that is to be had within the Government. Providence has put
into your hands a way of compassing this without charge, I mean without
any more charge any more charge than you will necessarly be at on another account, Namely
the building of the Statehouse, which alone will be attended with the Seat
of the Government, offices, marketts, good company, and all the rest.
And therefore except there be very powerfull reasons of State that
make it highly advantagious for the Country to have it placed else-
where, it is but reasonable to expect that this consideration of these
greater conveniencies to the Colledge, may turn the Scale for Midleplan-
tation: And I don't much doubt but that whosoever will be at the
pains impartially and without prejudice to think on this matter will
find that this very place has the greatest advantages towards the
making a Town^Towne, tho there were no Colledge here: And further that
the Town and the Colledge will be mutually assistant to one Another,
that is, that the Colledge will be agreat help towards the making of
a Town, and the Town towards the improving of the Colledge. Give
me leave then to mention some of the principal advantages of this place
for being the Scituation of a Town, and that

• 1.Without any respect to the Colledge.
  
• 2.Those w^ch arise from the consideration of the mutual Relation between
  the Colledge and a Town.

1. To begin with the advantages of the place for a Town without any
respect to the Colledge; which I think are more and greater than perhaps
any other place can pretend to, tho the Colledge were not here.

1. Here is a good, wholsome and pleasant Scituation, which alone includes
a great many others, perhaps not any to be found that is at once so near the
heart of the Country, so high, so dry, so free from the plague of Moskito's
and the noisom stinks & thick Fogs of Fenny, Marshy, and Swampy
grounds, and so well Supplyed with a wonderfull plenty of incomparable sweet
fresh water Springs, and natural valleys to drain away all the filth and nastiness
of a City, All which do extremely contribute to the healthyness of the place, which
ought to be a principal consideration in the Scituation of a great Town.

2. Here is the greatest conveniency of easy access for great numbers of people both
by land and water of any in the whole Country. First, I say, by land, For all people
will own it to be already the greatest thoroughfair in Virginia, Nature
having so contriv'd it that by reason of two deep unfordable Creeks, which
extend themselves from James and York Rivers, and almost meet at
this place, all passengers in going up or down this most populous part
of the Country must travell through this pass, and the roads leading to it
from all points of the Compass, are so good and Level that Coaches and waggons
of the greatest burden have an easy and delightsome passage. Then by
water where is there ever another place in the whole Country that
opens so conveniently to two such great Rivers, the most populous, the
most rich, and the most frequented by shipping in the whole Country.

But before I have done with this subject of the water conveniency, I
must desire leave to take notice of one objection, which I am sensible is in
many mens minds and mouths against the place on this very account.
It's true, say they, if those two great Rivers came up with a due depth
& boldness of water, so as to bring Ships of the greatest burthen to the two
sides of a City here built, then indeed ye might boast of its opening it
self to two such Noble Rivers; but when all this opening is reduced to two
Creeks navigable only by small crafts that draw 6 or 7 foot water, it is no
such mighty conveniency to boast of. I think I have fairly Stated the objection
and shall indeavour to give it as fair an answer, by proposing a few things
to your consideration. 1^°. That by removing two or three bars of Sand,
the Creeks can be made much deeper than they are. 2^°. That these Creeks
are really so deep & bold already that all the great and urgent occasions of any
City may be very well served by Vessells that can sail in them. For can't
provisions, fewal, and all other commodities of the Country that are to be
there expended, be as easily brought in Sloops & Shallops as in great Ships.
And is not likewise all the trade we have with Barbadoes, New England,—
Pensilvania, Carolina, or any other parts of America, drove by such small
Vessells as can come up those Creeks? For Vessells of great burthen where's
the harm if they ride at 3 or 4 miles distance from the Town, so long as they
can load and unload by the help of Lighters and Flatts, & other such—
conveniencies. Sure I am that if Vessells of the greatest burthen could come
to the very Town, the advantage would not countervail the hazard & disadvan-
tage of it; For such a Town if once it became a place of wealth and—
riches, would ly open to the great Gunns and Bombs of any Enemies men
of war, and so to ^be fired or torne in pieces by these instruments of desolation
and misery, as the wealthy City of Genoa was ruined in this manner
not many years agoe by the French. And there is no preventing such a
calamity, if a rich Town is Scituate on agreat Navigable River, except either
by a strong Fleet to guard our Coasts or by a very strong Cittadell & garrison
to guard the port of the Town, and in both these wayes, the remedy is as bad
as the disease; For besides all other inconveniencies, the maintaining of
either a Fleet or a garrison would put us to twenty times the charge that
the loading and unloading of the great Ships into Flatts and great Bottoms—
would do. And therefore it is plain that of two evills we ought to chuse the
Least, and that is as I have proved, to keep all great Ships at such a distance
that their Bombs nor great gunns sha'nt be able to reach the Town.

A 3^d thing I would propose to your consideration on this Subject is this, that
a Town thus scituated is not only much securer from the enemies Bombs &
great Gunns, but also from the rudenesses of great Gangs of Seamen.
This Country has had too many instances of such rudenesses committed by that sort
of people, and the affronts and contempts that have been offered to Magistracy
itself by those fellows, when they were near any place from whence they could
make an immediat retreat to their Ships. A 4^th thing worth your considering
is that a Town maintains a much greater number of people when the water
carriage cannot be wholly mannaged by great Ships. How many thousands
live by barges, Hoyes, Sloops, flotts, Smacks, and boats, and all the other small
craft upon the River of Thames? And with such helps they can load or
unload the greatest Ships as fast as the Seamen can handle their tackle to
hoist things in and out. 5^°. It is worth considering that if there were no
access to a Town but by a great River, in bad weather there would be no
coming at it at all, For in such sort of weather no sort of Vessell can live
to sail on a great River, wheras in such Creeks as these are they may live &
Sail or ride at Anchor, which they please Safely in all Weathers. I have
staid so much the longer in answering of this objection, because it is a vulgar
and dangerous Errour, since the way of bombing is invented, to think
to seat a chief Town, where the publick Records, and the Chief Magazines
of goods and money may be lodged, upon any great Navigable River, where
all may quickly be made a prey to an Enemy: And give me leave to say
that it would be an unpardonable oversight in our statesmen, though they
build their Town in the time of peace, not to build it with a prospect of war,
and since we are not able to keep Forts and Garrisons, not to provide at
least as well as we can for our natural Security.

And so I shall go on from this long digression to reckon up the other
advantages of the Scituation of this place for a chief Town or City. Two
I have already considered; a wholsome scituation, and a conveniency of easy
access by land and water.

3. My answer to the last Objection led me insensibly to speak of a
third advantage of this place, and that is security from Enemies that
attack us by water. I think it would not be amiss to add that here is
likewise great natural security from Land Forces, No army can be
marched into so narrow a space of ground to attack a Town built here
but at great disadvantage, For no attack can be made of all sides at
once, because of the two unfordable Creeks, and whatever side it is—
attacked on, it has an open great Country to befriend it on t'other side:
And withall its scituation is so level that it may easily be fortify'd.
It is well known how that in a time of an Invasion from the Indians
when all the upper parts of the Country were in their hands, at this pass
they ^{were forced} to make a Stand, and by a trench and Palisade from Creek to Creek,
the Lower part of the Country, and the inhabitants that fled hither were
well defended and preserved.

4. The neighbourhood of these two brave Creeks gives an opportunity
of making as many water mills as a good Town can have occasion for,
and the highness of the Land affords great conveniency for as many Wind mills
as can ever be wanting.

5. For materials for building, brick is on the Spott, Lime and wood can be
brought to it, more than to any one place in the Country, because it opens to two
such great Rivers, and the foundation to build on is an hard Clay, So that there
is no fear, neither of the houses sinking or the Cellars being filled with water.

6. Here is good neighbourhood of as many Substantial Housekeepers that could
give great help toward the supplying and maintaining of a constant Market,
as is to be found again ⁱⁿ the whole Country.

7. Here are great helps and advances made already towards the beginning
of a Town, a Church, an ordinary, Several Stores, two Mills, a Smiths Shop
a Grammar School, and above all the Colledge. And so Im insensibly led to
consider the 2^d sort of advantages of this places, Viz^t

II. The advantages which arise from the mutual relation between a
Town, and the Colledge, where I shall shew how they are mutually
helpfull to each other, i.e. That the Colledge will help to make the
Town, and the Town to make the Colledge

First that the Colledge will help to make the Town. The chief difficulty in making
a Town being in the bringing aconsiderable number of Inhabitants to it, Especially
so considerable a number of mouths as may give vent to a weekly markett.
The very numbers of the Colledge who will be obliged to reside at this place
viz the president and Masters with all their Servants and attendants,
the Scholars, with such servants as will be necessary for the kitchin, Buttery,
Gardens, wooding, and all other uses will make up above 100 persons to be
constantly Supplyed at this markett. And these it is like will encourage
Tradesmen to come and live here for their relieff and supply: Besides the
Colledge being not yet finish'd will employ in builders and Labourers a very
considerable number; and it is easy to be foreseen that the prime Youth of
the Country being here, it will occasion a great resort hither of parents and
other friends to see their children and relations, all which will be a very
considerable help towards the consumption of the place. Besides experience
(as well as the [deleted]^reason of the thing) shows us that there never was a Colledge
any where, but that alone made something of a Town.

Then that the Town will likewise help to the making and improving
of the Colledge, it were easy to show, but that I have hinted at it already in
the beginning. Had we a Town, here would be a good markett for the constant
Supply of the Colledge; here would be Tradesmen, Labourers, Shopkeepers
perhaps Printers, Booksellers, Bookbinders, Mathematical instrument makers
Nurses for the Sick, and in short all other sort of people that can be usefull
about a Colledge, here likewise would be many men of fashion & business,
In short here would be aconjunction of these two things w^ch make fine men
Study and conversation: which except they be carried on hand in hand together
will be both of them very Lame & imperfect.

There is one thing perhaps worthy of our consideration, that is, that by this
method we have an oppurtunity not only of making a Town, as may
equal if not outdo Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charles town, and Annapolis,
and consequently such a Town as may retrieve the reputation of our Country, which
has Sufferred by nothing so much as by neglecting a Seat of trade, wealth and—
Learning, and runing altogether into dispersed Country plantations. If ever we
would equal these our Rivals, we must contrive to joyn our heads and purses
together, and by Companys and Societies to learn to improve our Shipping and
Navigation, our trade and commerce, our minds and manners, and what no one
man can do singly, by a friendly cohabitation and Society to do jointly one with
another. Whenever this is gone about it will be found to be no easy work to
compass this design in such a Country as this is; where we live all dispersed in
our several country habitations^plantations, And therefore if any help presents
for enlarging of the Society, such as this would be of uniting the Town and the
Colledge, it ought by no means to be neglected.

And thus now having I think Sufficiently recommended this place, as
well on the acco^t of the Colledges being already here, as the other great
natural advantages & conveniencies of it, for making an healthy, pleasant
Strong and wealthy City, I hope there are no such men as out of pure Spight
to the Colledge, will endeavour to deprive it of the blessing we have been a
pleading for, unless they can show any other scituation in the Country that has
the like or greater conveniencies for answering the ends of the Government
in general, or of a Noble City in particular.