Baltimore by his charter was made even more independent of the king of England than the bishop, for neither he nor his province had any taxes to pay into the British treasury, and he held his territory in free and common socage by the delivery of two Indian arrows yearly at the palace of Windsor and a promise of the fifth part of all gold and silver mined.  In legislation the bishop had decidedly the advantage, for his power to make law was practically uncontrolled, while the proprietor of Maryland could only legislate “with the advice, assent, and approbation of the freemen or the greater part of them or their representatives."[9]

One cardinal feature of Lord Baltimore’s colony found no expression either in the government of Durham or in his own charter.  On their liberality in the question of religion the fame of both George and Cecilius Calvert most securely rests.  While neither realized the sacredness of the principle of religious freedom, there is no doubt that both father and son possessed a liberality of feeling which placed them ahead of their age.  Had policy been solely their motive, they would never have identified themselves with a persecuted and powerless sect in England.  In the charter of Maryland, Baltimore was given “the patronage and advowsons of all churches which, with the increasing worship and religion of Christ within the said region, hereafter shall happen to be built, together with the license and faculty of erecting and founding churches, chapels, and places of worship in convenient and suitable places within the premises, and of causing the same to be dedicated and consecrated according to the ecclesiastical laws of England.”  This clause was far from establishing religious freedom; but while it permitted Baltimore to found Anglican churches, it did not compel him to do so or prohibit him from permitting the foundation of churches of a different stamp.

About the middle of October, 1633, Baltimore’s two ships got under way for America—­the Ark, of three hundred tons, and the Dove, of sixty tons.  The emigrants consisted of twenty gentlemen and about three hundred laborers; and, while most of the latter were Protestants, the governor, Leonard Calvert, brother of Lord Baltimore, was a Catholic, as were Thomas Cornwallis and Gabriel Harvey, the two councillors associated with him in the government, and the other persons of influence on board.  Among the latter were two Jesuit priests, to one of whom, Father Andrew White, we owe a charming account of the voyage.  Baltimore, in his written instructions to his brother, manifested his policy of toleration, by directing him to allow no offence to be given to any Protestant on board, and to cause Roman Catholics to be silent “upon all occasions of discourse concerning matters of religion."[10]

The expedition did not get away from England without trouble.  The attempt to divide the territory of Virginia was not popular, and Catholics were looked upon as dangerous persons.  The effort of the emigrants to sail without subscribing the necessary oaths caused the ships to be brought back by Admiral Pennington.[11] It was not until November 22, 1633, that they got off, and the ships took the old route to Virginia—­by way of the West Indies.