THOMAS] RHODE island's POLICY TOWARD THE INDIANS 019 



Contirmatiou of this Assembly jifter wards obtained, iirosiiuid to make any Sale of, 

 or any Settlements Tipon any Lands so ruvcliased, every Person who shall in any 

 such Manner Transgress, and bo thereof Convicted in the Connty Court, or in tho 

 Superior Court of that County where such Lands shall lye, shall incur tho Penalty 

 of Fifty Pounds to the Treasury of this Colony. 



And whatsoever Person, or Persons shall suffer any Wrong by means of such Sale 

 or Settlement, as aforesaid, shall Recover in either of the said Courts, upon Proof 

 of such Wrong, by him suflercd, Treble Damages against the Person, or Persons so 

 Wronging of him.' 



A few years later (17r)0?) even more .stringent provisions were enacted 

 against unauthorized purchases from Indians, namely — 



Sec. 10. Jnd be it further enacted, That no person or persons in this State, whether 

 inhabitants or other, shall buy, hire or receive a gift or mortgage of any parcel of 

 land or lands of .any Indian, for the future, except he or they do buy or receive the 

 same for the vise of the State, or for some pl.intation or vill.age, and with the allow- 

 ance of the General Assembly of this State. 



Sec. 11. And if any person or persons shall purchase or receive any lands of any 

 Indian or Indians, contrarj to the intent of this act, the person or persons so offend- 

 ing, shall forfeit to the jiublic treasury of this State the treble value of the lands so 

 purchased or received; and no interest or estate in any lauds in this State shall 

 accrue to any such person or persons, by force or virtue of such illegal bargain, 

 purchase, or receipt. 



Sec. 12. /( is further enacted. That when, and so often as any suit shall be 

 brought by any Indian or Indians, for the recovery of lands reserved by the Indians 

 for themselves, or sequestered for the use and benefit of the Indians, by order of 

 this Assembly, or by any town, agreeable to the laws of this State, that the defend- 

 eut or tenant shall not be admitted to plead in his defence his possession, or any 

 way take benefit of the law; entitled "An Act for the quieting men's estates, .and 

 avoiding of suits,'' made May the eighteenth, one thousand sis hundred and 

 eighty-four." 



RHODE ISLAND 



When, in the spring of 1636, Roger Williams and his twelve compan- 

 ions, sad, weary, and hungry, succeeded in passing beyond the boundary 

 of the Plymouth colony, they found themselves in the country of the 

 Narragan.sett Indians. Here the simple story of their unhappy condi- 

 tion excited the pity of Oanonicus, chief of the tribe, who granted 

 them " all that neck of land lying between the mouths of Pawtncket 

 and Mo.shasuck rivers, that they might sit down in peace upon it and 

 enjoy it forever." Here, as Williams observed to his companions, 

 "The Providence of God had found out a place for them among .savages, 

 where they might peaceably worship God according to their con- 

 sciences; a privilege which had been denied them in all the Ohristian 

 countries they liad ever been in." 



As Williams denied the right of the King to the lands, but believed 

 it to be in the Indian occupants, and that the proper course to obtain 

 it was by just and honorable purchase from them, the policy adopted 

 was one of justice and equity. 



It appears from certain statements iu the ''Confirmatory deed of 



'Statutes of Connecticut (1750), p. 114. 



'Laws of Colonial and State Governments (1832), pp. 50-51. 



