I p3 EliZ, Na val Expeditions, &c of the English, Bcok Is

1583. The fifth, the General, having caus-ed .a Tent to be set up, in View of allthe Ships in the Harbour, to the Num-ber of between thirty and forty Sail, andbeing accompanied by all his, CaptainsMasters, Gentlemen and Soldiers, sum-moned all the Merchants and Masters,both English and Foreigners, to be pre-ss" " ^ ent ac his taking a formal and solemna formal Possession of those Territories. BeingPojfeffion of assembled, he caused his Commission,t inthe Untr ' / '’ unc * er great Seal of England , to beQueen's obenly read, before them, and to be in-Name ; terpreted to those who were Strangersto the English Tongue. By Virtue ofthis Commission, he declared, that hetook Possession of the Harbour of St.John' s, and two Hundred Leagues everyWay, invested Her Majesty with theTitle and Dignity thereof, and, havinghad (according to Custom) a Rod and aTurf of the Soil delivered to him, en-tered Possession also for himself, hisHeirs and Assigns for ever. He signifi-ed to those who were present, and thro'them to all Men, that from thencefor-ward, they should look upon those Ter-ritories as appertaining to the Queen ofEngland, and himself authorized, underHer Majesty, to possess and enjoy them;with Power to ordain Laws for the Go-vernment thereof, agreable (as near asconveniently could be) to the Laws ofEngland ; under which all People com-ing thither for the future, either to in-habit, or by Way of Traffick, shouldsubmit and be governed.

Enacts f e - To exercise this Act of Jurisdiction,ver al Laws-, he enacted three Laws, which were totake Place and be of Force immedi-ately :

I. With Regard to Religion ; “That" the publick Exercise of it should be“ according to the Rites of the Church“ of England.

II. For the Maintenance of her Ma-

st eft's s Right and Po Jeff on of those Ter-ritories ; “ That if any Thing were

attempted by any one, to the Preju-" dice thereof, the Party or Parties

offending should be adjudged and“ executed, as in Cafes of High Trea-“ son, according to the Laws of En-“ land.

III. “ That if any Person should“ speak any Thing to Her Majesty’s“ Dishonour, that ‘ he ssiould lose his“ Ears, and his Ship and Goods be

1 “ confiscated.”

This being done, and Obediencepromised, by the general Voice and

Assent of the Assembly, as well Fo- \ft>V 'reigners as English , they were dismis-sed ; And the General caused a Pillarof Wood to be erected on the Spot,with the English Arms, in Lead, af-fixed to it. As a farther Establish- ,ment of this Possession, in Right of Her thelftMajesty, and to the Behoof of Sir to Prof 1 'Humphry Gilbert, his Heirs and As- tori ~signs, for ever, he granted divers Par-cels of Land, lying by the Sea-side, aswell in this Harbour of St. John' s, aselsewhere, in Fee-Farm; For whichthe Persons, to whom they were grant-ed, covenanted to pay a certain Rentand Service to Sir Elumphry Gilbert, hisHeirs or Assigns for ever, and yearlyto maintain Possession of the same, bythemselves, or their Assigns.

There now remained only to ga- iff.ther in the Tax of Provisions, granted Ear offby every Ship which fished upon the vi f° nSCoast adjoining ; And while some usthe Men were employed in doing ofthis, others were set to repair or trimthe Ships ; And the Remainder, the into tbt^General sent to enquire concerning theCommodities and Singularities of theCountry, which were to be found,by Sea or by Land.

They found no Inhabitants in theSouth-Parts, which probably the Na-tives had abandoned upon their beingso much frequented by Europeans. Inthe North there were Savages, of a veryharmless Disposition. Among otherEnquiries, the General had in a parti-cular Manner recommended a Searchafter Metals. They had in theirCompany a Saxon Miner, who, at first,brought a Sort of Ore to the General,which had more the Resemblance ofIron, than of any other Metal. Soon j silft,after he found another Sort of Ore,which he delivered with a Shew oiseH 0 ^-,great Satisfaction to Sir Humphry, and ctf ° eassured him, upon the Peril of his Life,that if Silver was what he and his Com-panions sought, there it was, and theyneed to seek no farther.

That Sir Humphry, at least, believ-ed it to be Silver Ore, is plain, from hisAnswer to Mr. Edward Hayes, Com-mander of the Golden Hind, when hsseemed to question it, and desired to havesome Part of the Ore. “ Content your- E“ self, (said he) I have seen enough; ^0?^

“ And, were it not to satisfy my private“ Humour, I would proceed no fat'

“ ther- The Engagement I am under" to my Friends, and the Necessity of

“ bringing