RHODE ISLAND 



largest manufactories in the State. The manufactures of this place are chiefly of cotton. The 

 mills are seated upon three falls in Pavvtucket river, and run 50,000 spindles. 



Providence has also large manufactures of cotton, woolen, cordage, spermaceti, &,c. War- 

 wick has several cotton manufactories, and at Newport is a manufacture of lace. At Slaters- 

 ville and Woonsocket, in the town of Smilhfield, are extensive manufactories of cotton, iron 

 founderies, &c. Rhode Island is almost exclusively a manufacturing State. 



There are in the State 150 cotton mills, with 250,000 spindles, 25 woolen mills, 40 tanne- 

 ries, 10 iron founderies, 30 machine-shops, &c. 



7. Indians. At Charlestown, in the southern j^art of the State, are about 430 Narragan- 

 setts. Nearly all of them are of mixed blood. They possess 3,000 acres of land, and have 

 a missionary and two schools. They profess the principles of the Baptists, and have a religious 

 society among them. The State exercises a guardianship over them, although in point of in- 

 ternal government, they are nominally independent, and appoint a Council of 5 members and a 

 clerk, from among themselves. 



8. Government. Rhode Island is the only State in the Union that is without a written con- 

 stitution, the government being to this day founded on the provisions of tlie charter granted 

 to the colony by Charles the Second, in 1663. The obligations of this charter, as a consti- 

 tion of civil government, became annulled by the declaration of independence, but, by the com- 

 mon consent of the people, the form of government was preserved, without any essential 

 variation. The legislature is called the General Jlssembly, and consists of a Senate and House 

 of Representatives ; the senators are 10. The representatives are two from each town, but 

 Providence, Portsmouth, and Warwick send each four, and Newport sends six. The repre- 

 sentatives are chosen twice a year. The executive consists of a Governor, whose powers are 

 very limited, and a Lieutenant-Governor, both of whom have seats in the Senate ; these, a? 

 well as the State Treasurer, Secretary, and Attorney-General are chosen annually. Sufl'rage 

 is restricted. The legislature have two stated sessions annually, and meet commonly four times 

 a year, at Providence, Newport, East Greenwich, and South Kingston. Judges and other 

 civil officers are appointed yearly. Rhode Island sends two representatives to Congress. 



9. Religion. The Baptists have 12 ministers. The Congregationalists 10. The JMetho- 

 dists 10 ; and the Episcopalians 8. There are also a few Sabbatarians and Six-principle 

 Baptists. 



10. Education. Brown University was founded in 1764. It was first established at War- 

 ren in this State, but was removed in 1770 to Providence, where it has remained. It has 

 been supported solely by individual patronage, and its funds are not large. The college edifices 

 are several brick buildings, containing rooms for students, and for public purposes. The col- 

 lege is delightfully situated on an eminence in the east part of the town, and commands a beau- 

 tiful prospect. The library contains 6,000 volumes. The officers are a president and 10 

 professors. The board of trustees is composed of 36 members, of whom 22 must be Bap- 

 tists, 5 Quakers, 5 Episcopalians, and 4 Congregationalists. The Fellows, or Learned Fac- 

 ulty, are 12, of whom 8, including the president, must be Baptists. The number of students 

 200. The State pays annually 10,000 dollars for the support of common schools, besides 

 the taxes raised for this purpose in each town. There are academies in all the principal towns, 

 and private schools, during the winter, are general throughout the State. 



11. History. The first settlement within the limits of the State was made by Roger Wil- 

 liams, who was banished from Massachusetts for maintaining the principles of rehgious tolera- 

 tion. He repaired to Seekonk, and purchased a district of land from the Indians, but, finding 

 himself still within the limits of Massachusetts, he proceeded further to Moosliansic, and with 

 his followers established, in 1636, a settlement, which he called Providence. Their numbers 

 were soon increased by seceders and exiles from Massachusetts, and the island of Jlcjuetnct, or 

 Rhode Island, was settled in 1638. A patent for the territory, and permission to erect an 

 independent government, was obtained from the Plymouth Company in England, in 1644 ; the 

 first General Assembly met at Portsmouth, organized a government, and established a code of 

 laws, in 1647. A charter was granted by Charles the Second, in 1G63, to the colony, under 

 the name of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. During the tyranny of Andros, he annul- 

 led the charter, and ruled the colony with the assistance of a council, appointed by himself ; 

 but his overthrow restored the government to its original state. Religious toleration, with 

 some slight exceptions, has been allowed in Rhode Island from its first settlement It was the 

 last of the 13 States which acceded to the Union ; this took place in 1700 



