Continual complaints by the colonists and the…
1743 CE
Continual complaints by the colonists and the near abandonment of Georgia during the war with Spain have discouraged all but the most dedicated of the Trustees.
Especially embarrassing is the list of grievances presented on the floor of Parliament by Thomas Stephens, son of the Trustees' agent in Georgia, William Stephens.
A committee goes through the motions of looking into the complaints and then exonerates the Trustees.
Stephens is made to kneel in apology on the floor of Parliament.
However, the prestige of the Trustees has been wounded, and their influence in Parliament weakens.
Walpole had lost office in 1742, and the new administration declines the Trustees' request for funding.
Egmont resigns in protest, but not all the Trustees give up.
Under the leadership of Vernon and Shaftesbury, the Trustees conciliate the administration, and the government renews the annual subsidies until 1751, when the Trustees' request will again be denied.
Oglethorpe returns from Georgia in 1743 and will never again show the same enthusiasm for the work of the Trust.
He disagrees with the relaxation of the ban on rum in 1742.