Роде
Six
THE STATE
July 6, 1935
GOVERNORS OF NORTH CAROLINA
No. 20- George Burrington
- By W. J. Sadler —
A
canal
nr<
MYSTERIOUS and
ignominious death
in a dirty London
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in arli
in (in
nnev.
Bur
!i Carolina. Ho
8ih and SOlh
'Utive of the
as the colony
miliarly known
It.*
Till: .selllor** of the Albemarle ae-
claiiiHMl George Burrington uhen he
was named their Govt'riior for the
sc*eoud lime, but he soon incurred
their renewed hostility. Ilis last
years were spent in poverty,
his death was both tragic
ignominious.
after a little more than
a year and a half in the gubernatorial
chair a* the 1 Sth Governor of this
state, had been removed in 1725 by the
Lord* Proprietors because of report*
that he was fomenting a revolt again*!
them and also because of other com¬
plaint* lodged by representatives of the
colonists.
Sir Richard Everard woe chosen ns
Biirrington’s successor, and it was dur¬
ing Everard'* administration that title
to the Albemarle passed from the
Lord* Proprietors to the British
Crown through the sale «>f land* and
other right*. Everard continued to
serve a* Governor for a hit more than
a year following the transfer, and then
met the fate that had been meted out
to so many of his predecessors.
King Names Burrington
Me was charged with malfeasance
and misfeasance in office, treason and
many other misdemeanors and felonies,
and finally was removed ns Governor
through an order issued bv King
George II.
At the time the settlers were present¬
ing charges against Everard. they ap¬
parently changed their minds regard-
in. whom they had kept
ant fire of criticism dur-
*••• --svious tenure of office, and
King to reappoint him a*
mg Burrii
lll.l.ir ■ >41
III
..„1
I
urii
Governor.
That was .
Burrington i
he did not
office for til
lone in 1729. blit, although
'till resided in the colony,
assume the gubernatorial
• second time until 1731.
The historical reasons assigned for this
delay are <|uite vague, merely stating
that lii« "instructions’ were not ready
until almost two rears after hi« sec¬
ond appointment.
Received With Pleasure
He was received with much pleasure
as the official head of the colony, one
historian says. "Perhaps no little of
this pleasure came from relief at get¬
ting rid of the Lords Proprietors." the
account relates. “Two other things
added to their joy. The Kinglet them
off from paying back rents, and said
that in future they might pay their
rent* in farm products. Expressions
of thanks, therefore, went hack and
forth. The Grand Jury for the whole
province thanked the King for send¬
ing Burrington. The Assembly also
thanked the King for sending Gover¬
nor Burrington. Then Governor Bur¬
rington thanked the Grand
Лигу
and
the Assembly for thanking the King
for ending Governor Burrington."
Hostility is Developed
But all of these courteous exchanges
were destined to last only n short time.
Within a few months differences of
opinion upon policies of government
developed between Governor Burring¬
ton and the Assembly, and the fact
that the Governor had his way in
these disputes only added to his' new
unpopularity.
What the Assembly considered of¬
fense* committed by Burrington in¬
cluded hi* refusal to submit to the As¬
sembly all questions of financial ex¬
penditures; he challenged their right
to select a people's treasurer, insisting
that such an official should he named
by *he English Lords of the Treasury,
and denied that fees paid for various
governmental purposes were too high,
asserting that they were not as much
iis similar foes in Virginia.
This friction ultimately led to Bur*
rington'e ouster from office in 1734,
and
and
after he had served a few
months more than three
years in his second term as
Governor. He was sue-
ceodod by Gabriel Johnson,
who occupied the guber¬
natorial chair for almost
eighteen years.
Burrington had his good
qualities, however. “In
spite of Governor Burring¬
ton *s fondness for quarrel¬
ing. and his large and varied store of
hard words." a generous biographer
says, "he had
я
deal of energy and
good sense, and he knew beyond doubt
the condition ami needs of the colony
better than any other Governor who
had lived in it. Ho was tireless in
visiting all part* <>f the province. He
laid out. roads and had bridges built
over the streams and causeway* over
the swamps. lie made long and often
dangerous journeys to
*.ч*
how new¬
comers were getting along. He went
with the men whom he hired with his
own money to find out the depths of
the sounds and inlets off the coast.
He had great hopes of so improving
these that large ships could enter with¬
out danger."
Another of Burrington'* good traits
was his religious tolerance. He urged
lietter moral training for the settlers,
and actually praised the work of the
Friends denomination, which had been
so ruthlessly persecuted by some of
those who preceded him in office. He
commended their "regularity of life,
hospitality to stranger*, and kind of¬
fices to new settlors."
Last Years Tragic
Burrington's la*t y*ir- were tragic
ones. He lived for a quarter of a cen¬
tury after surrendering the North
Carolina governorship for the second
time, but his declining day* were pov¬
erty stricken. It is related that he
never received the salary of a thou¬
sand pounds a year for ruling over the
Albemarle, and that bo also bad cx-
! ended much of his private fortune to
urther the interest* of the colony.
His body was found in a London
canal in 1759, but no explanation of
its appearance there ever has been
made.
