XLVIII.
ROBERT HUNTER.
XLVIII. Lieutenant-Governor.
XLVIII. April 4, 1707.
Robert Hunter on his voyage to Virginia to assume
the reins of government, was captured by the French, who
were then at war with England. He was taken a prisoner
to Paris, and never acted as executive under this commission.
The vellum document conveying his authority is still preserved
among the archives of the Virginia Historical Society.
In 1710, Hunter was made Governor of New York, and
arrived in that Colony with 2700 expatriated Palatines. He
returned to England in 1719, but on the accession of George
II. he was re-instated in the government of New York and
New Jersey. In 1728 he was appointed Governor of Jamaica,
and died there, 31st March, 1734. His epitaph, in elegant
Latin, was written by the Rev. Mr. Flemming.
Robert Hunter was the author of the famous "Letter on
Enthusiasm," attributed by some to Swift, and by others to
Shaftesbury; he also wrote a farce entitled "Androboros."
