r i THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA. THE AUTHOR OP ' SAM SLICK, THE CLOCKMAKER," " THE ATTACHE,'* " THE OLD JUDGE," ETC. -^a4^i:Ls-'^^^ "Nec qu^ commissas flectat habenas Nec scit qu^ sit iter^ nec si sciat, imperet illis." OVID. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. L LONDON: COLBUEN AND CO., PUBLISHEES, GEEAT MAELBOEOTJGH STREET. 1851. lONDON : Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. eta 56 y DEDICATION. My dear Lord Falkland, I DERIVE much more pleasure in having the opportunity of dedicating this Work to you, than, I am afraid, you -wDl feel at seeing your name attached to a book containing many things in which I know you do not concur ; and some that your friendship for me will cause you to -wish were expunged. I do not, by any means, desire to have it sup posed, that it has obtained your sanction, as a Colonial Governor, for you have never seen the manuscript, nor have I had the advantage of your valuable advice and experience during its progress. My reason for inscribing it to you, though two fold, is altogether personal. First — It wiU recall to your mind an old friend, who has spent many VI DEDICATION. happy hours in your society, and partaken largely of your kindness and hospitality, in time by-gone, when we discoursed de omnibus rebus et quihus- dam aliis. Those days can never be recalled, or renewed ; but toemory would indeed be a source of unmitigated pain, if it only refiected the dark shades, and not the sunny spots of life. This book -wiU, show you, that my political -views are unchanged. I should be ashamed of myself, if a dedication were necessary to prove that my affec tion is also unaltered. Secondly — I know of no one so conversant with the subject as yourself. I never had a very exalted opinion of what is called " Responsible Government," knowing that the term was an indefinite one, and that an interpreta tion had been put upon it by many people, that made it almost amount to sovereignty. To you was entrusted the delicate and difficult task of introducing it into Nova Scotia. Of the independence, judgment, moderation, and manli ness, with which this delegated duty was executed, I say nothing, because in all ages, and in all countries, there have been others, beside your Lordship, who could justly lay claim to these qualities. But one thing is most certain, that the late Lord Metcalf and yourself were the only two DEDICATION. vn men, either in the Cabinet or the Colonies, who understood the practical operation of the system ; for while you conceded to the provincial Assembly, the entire control of its local affairs, you maintained your own position as the Queen's representative, asserted your rights as an independent branch of the Legislature, and at the same time upheld the Royal Prerogative. Those Governors wherever situated, who have put a wider and more extended interpretation on the term than yourself, have become mere cyphers ; while thoSe, who may wish to follow your example, will find, that unwise concessions have rendered the task both hopeless and thankless. " Sibi quivis Speret idem, sudet multum, frustraque laboret." I am, my dear Lord Falkland, Very sincerely and affectionately, Yours, always, The Author. Nova Scotia, March 31, 1851. CONTENT^ THE FIRST VOLUME. BOOK L CHAPTER I. Introduction — Objects and utility of the work — No con nected political history of the Colonies to be found — Popular error as to the origin of the American Republic — One established at Plymouth in 1620, and another in Massachusetts in 1629, -which subsisted for more than fifty years — Democracy the result both of design and necessity — Notice of the early settlers 1 CHAPTER II. The Reformation — Different conduct of the Protestants and Church of England — Religious differences lead to the settlement of North America— Division of the country into South and North Virginia — The latter explored by : CONTENTS. Captain Smith, and called New England — Delusive description of it — Distinction between the Noncon formists of Leyden who settled New Plymouth, and those who founded Massachusetts — Account of Brown, his principles, and recantations — The Brownists petition for toleration and are refused — Obtain a Charter in South Virginia — Settle at New Plymouth by mistake — Enter into a compact for self-government — First American Democracy — State of it at the end of six years . . 12 CHAPTER III. Inducements to settle Massachusetts — Puritans prevail upon the King to give them a Charter, under the idea that they were churchmen — Some account of it — Endicott settles Salem — Disturbs Morton, cuts down Maypole. and calls the place Mount Dragon — Founds a Church on Congregational principles — Arrests and transports Epis copalians — Intrigue for removing the Charter to America and discussion thereon — Reasoning of the emigrants on the subject of allegiance — Removing of Charter — Large immigrations — Cost of outfit — Address to the clergy of England — Character of the Puritans 27 CHAPTER IV. Reasoning of the first settlers as to their independence The colony becomes a republic from necessity Oaths of supremacy and allegiance dispensed with Thev decline to set up the King's arms — Mutilate the flao- Drinking healths abolished — Blackstone's remarks about the Lord's Brethren — Order that none but Church mem bers be admitted to be freemen — Another, forbidding a contents. X stranger to settle in the colony without a licence — ^Peti tioning the King called slandering the brethren — Punish ment of Morton, Sir Christopher Gardner, and Ratcliffe — Morton pubhshes a satire at Amsterdam — Returns to Massachusetts — Is fined and banished again — Intimate connection between their Church and State — The King orders several vessels in the Thames to be put under embargo — A House of Representatives meets in Boston, and is admitted as a branch of the Legislature — The Governor is not re-elected, and is made to account for his expenditure of the public moneys — His manly conduct on the occasion — A code of laws ordered to be compiled — Also a uniform system of Church Discipline ... 52 CHAPTER V. A commission issues to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and eleven other persons, for governing the colonies, &c. — Abbot and Laud, their conduct contrasted — Severe trials of the Church — Its character and conduct — Colonists assume the right of making treaties — Free-Trade with the Narragansetts — Offer of hereditary rank made by Lord Saye and Sele — Reasons for declining it — Petition of the people debarred of ci-vil rights for nonconformity — They are summoned to appear before the Governor and Assistants, and denounced by the Ministers — Heavily fined and bound over to keep the peace — Their private papers searched, and a memorial found addressed to the Earl of Warwick — Its contents — The people extend their jurisdiction to Weathersfield, situated beyond the limits of Massachusetts — Justification of encroachment — Gorton's settlement broken up, and his followers severely punished — The Grand Council of Plymouth surrenders Xll CONTENTS. its Charter on the ground of the colonists claiming inde pendence — A Quo Warranto ordered to be issued for the revocation of the Charter — Sir Ferdinando Georges nominated Governor- General — The Ministers convened to advise — They recommend resistance — Dissenters from the Churches of Massachusetts settle at Connecticut, Rhode Island, and other places — War with the Pequods — The army under a covenant of works — Extermination of the Indian tribe — Troubles in England — The colony is left unmolested 74 CHAPTER VI. The colony exercises sovereignty in external affairs — Confederates with Connecticut, Newhaven, and Ply mouth—Terms of Confederation ^ Effects of it in America — Commissioners of the imited colonies receive a diplomatic agent from Acadie, and the Governor- General of Canada sends an envoy to the Swedish Governor on the Delaware, aud negociates with the Dutch on the Hudson — Massachusetts coins money State of the colony — Parliament exempts New England from taxes — The people resolve not to ask favours of Parliament — Decline to send delegates to the Assembly of Mmisters at Westminster— Sir Harry Vane advocates their cause — Parliament exempts them from certain duties — Prerogative claims sole control of colonies Sketch of its origin— Idea of navigation laws, suggested by James I. — General Court calls in the aid of the elders, and deliberates on the ,subject of parliamentary control, and refuses to submit — They remonstrate with the House of Commons, and obtain a favourable answer go contents. XIU CHAPTER VII. Massachusetts, with the rebels in England — Proclamation against the King's party — Hugh Peters sent to England to urge on the rebellion — Cromwell appoints him his chaplain, and presents him with a commission of a Colonel in the army — His favourite text on execution — The Provincials decline to use the names of the keepers of the liberties of England in ofiicial papers, or to renew their Charter-^ They also refuse to take part in the war between England and Holland — Conduct of the Vir ginians after the King's death, contrasted with theirs — Trade -with Virginia forbidden — Admiral Ascue sent to reduce the loyalists to obedience — Puritans of Massa chusetts flatter the Parliament, and approve CromweU's share in the death of the King — He offers thefti Jamaica, or confiscated estates in Ireland — Reasons for declining — Arrival of the regicides, Goffe and Whalley — Their reception and history — Pretended search for them — Conduct of Virginia at the death of Cromwell, contrasted with that of Massachusetts — Extraordinary letter of the General Court to Charles II. — The King proclaimed — People forbidden to drink his health 116 CHAPTER VIII. The King appoints a council for the colonies — Their advice — Connecticut and Rhode Island send agents, who obtain for them charters containing full powers of self- government — Navigation laws — They fall heavily on Virginia, and alarm all the Provincials — The General Court publishes a declaration of rights — Their reasoning XIV contents. as to the origin of their title to the country — They send agents to England — Instruction given to them, and letters of introduction to noblemen of Low Church or Dissenting principles — They meet with a favourable reception, aud return with a letter from the King re quiring certain changes in their laws and modes of pro cedure — An affected show of compliance — Dissatisfaction of Churchmen, of Baptists, and especially of Quakers — Severe treatment of latter — A commission of inquiry issues to Colonel Nichols and others — Their instructions — General Court orders the Charter to be put into a place of concealment — Prepares to receive the Commis sioners 145 CHAPTER IX. The Commissioners arrive at Boston — Deliver a royal letter to the Government, and proceed to the Hudson to attack the Dutch settlements — The General Court in their absence petition for their withdrawal, and solicit the aid of the Puritan noblemen — ^Answers of the King and Lord Clarendon — General effect of Commissions of Inquiry — The franchise extended — The clergy and demagogues prepare the people for resistance — False rumours put into circulation — General Court refuses to summon the people to assemble — Commissioners inquire whether they admit the King's authority — They decline to answer, and refuse to attend before them, or to sub mit to an appeal — They summon the Commissioners Close of the inquiry — Accidents to Commissioners reputed to be judgments of Heaven — The King orders the Governor and other members of the General Court to appear before him — They decline, affecting to doubt the genuineness of the order— Distinction taken between contents. XV obedience to beneficial and injurious orders — The New England colomes renew their confederation — Effect of it — Complaints of English merchants against the infraction of the laws of trade — The oath of allegiance ordered to be taken, and the King's arms set up — Agents sent to England, but ordered to yield nothing — A custom-house officer appointed — Opposition to him — He is obliged to return to England — General Court re-enacts trade laws — Its members take modified official oaths — Collector sent out again, but they threaten to execute him — Is obliged to quit the colony — General gloom in Massa chusetts — People terrified by comets — The credentials of agents found deficient — They offer a bribe of two thousand guineas to the King — Agents return, and are followed by Randolph with the Quo Warranto — General Court refuses to surrender the Charter — Their argu ments — They again petition and pretend there has been no service of the writ — Judgment given against them — Remarks on their conduct — Natural effects of dis sent 167 BOOK IL CHAPTER I. Indignation and grief of the colonists at the loss of their Charter — Death of Charles II.— Accession of James II. — Apprehensions of having Colonel Kirke as Governor^ — Some account of him — Mr. Dudley appointed President, who, with the assistance of six councillors, undertakes XVI contents. the Government — Protest of the Magistrates against the suppression of the Legislature — Unpopularity of the President — Description of the territory -within his juris diction — Some account of Maine and New Hampshire, and the intrigues of Massachusetts to extend its au thority over them — Desire of Charles II. to confer the former on the Duke of Monmouth, and to estabhsh a Royal Government in the latter — Both comprehended within the Commission of President Dudley — Character of his administration 212 CHAPTER II. Arrival of Sir Edmund Andross — Fears entertained of the King — His conduct towards New York — His opinions of popular assemblies — Commission to Andross — Two com panies of soldiers sent to Boston — Law relative to mar^ riages — Manner of imposing taxes — Punishment of those who refuse to pay rates — Episcopal Clergymen prevented by the mob from reading the burial service — Preachers attack the Governor for his toleration, and justify compulsory conformity — Arbitrary conduct of Andross relative to titles of land — Rhode Island, Con necticut, New York, and New Jersey united to Massa chusetts — News of the arrival of the Prince of Orange in England — False rumour spread of a general massacre — Insurrection — Capture and imprisonment of the Governor and his Councillors — Conduct of the Magis trates who resumed the old Government — Sir Edmund escapes, is retaken and sent to England, where he is released — Example of Massachusetts followed by the other colonies — Bad effects of so many political changes in England — Remarks on the appointment of Andross to be Governor of Virginia 229 contents. xvn CHAPTER III. Representatives meet at Boston, and induce the Governor and Magistrates to continue in office — King and Queen proclaimed — A general gaol dehvery — Orders received from England for the local authorities to retain the Government until further instructions — Anxiety in America as to the convention of Parliament — Doubts of the Tories and scruples of the Prelates — Conduct of the Whigs — Macaulay's definition of the " essence of politics" — The report of the Commons, and the declara tion of rights read with great interest by Provincials — Political infl^ience of the commercial party in England — Its conduct towards the plantations — Prerogative described — Its effects in America — Blackstone's defini tion and Bacon's views of it — Local assemblies imitate the declaration of rights — Cause of the loss of the old colonies 257 CHAPTER IV. Effect of toleration on the Ministers — Cotton Mather's attempt to raise a revival of bigotry, by spreading alarm about witches — His books and sermons — Preface by Richard Baxter — Exorcises a child at Boston — Salem delusion — Special Court, its proceedings — Executions — Case of the Rev. Mr. Burrows — Sudden change of public opinion — Mather falls into contempt — Decline of Con gregationalism — Arrival of Sir William Phipps with the new Charter 277 xvui contents. CHAPTER V. The two most interesting periods of American history ex tend, 1st. From the settlement of Massachusetts to tjie English Revolution of 1 688 ; 2nd. To the independence of the colonies in 1783 — Review of the first period — Number and names of colonies then settled — Their popu lation and commerce — Account of the different forms of Government then established there — Great increase of democratic opinions — Change in tone of feeling in Virginia — Some account of the Church there — Loyalty of Churchmen — State of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York — Effect of the conduct of New England upon them 292 CHAPTER VI. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE CHARTER. Office, duties, and modes of appointment of the Charter Governors — Court of Assistants — Origin and growth of the House of Delegates — Jealousy of the people as to power of Governor and Magistrates — Code of laws described — Specimens of the sentences of the courts — Perfect equality secured by their laws and institutions — Account of townships and town meetings — Counties, towns, and General Court present a miniature of a great Republic — Union of the colonies, the foundation of the federal union of the States — General system of popular education prepares the people for self-government 305 contents. xix CHAPTER VII. DEMOCRATIC FORM OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT ITS EFFECTS ON POLITICAL OPINIONS. Different course pursued hy the Church and Dissenters at the Reformation — Difference between Presbyterians, Independents, and Puritans — Three kinds of Puritans — Their doctrines and form of ecclesiastical government — Singular valedictory address of the Puritans to the members of the Church of England — Extraordinary union of Church and State among the former — Cause of present political unity of action between Dissenters and Romanists 334 THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA. BOOK L CHAPTER I. Introduction — Objects and utility of the work — No con nected political history of the Colonies to be found- Popular error as to the origin of the American Republic — One established at Plymouth in 1620, and another in Massachusetts in 1 629, which subsisted for more than fifty years — Democracy the result both of design and necessity — Notice of the early settlers. The early settlements made by the English in America were effected either by individual specula tors or associated companies. They were in gene ral situated at a distance from each other, having at first little or no connection, either political, social or commercial, among themselves, and de- VOL. I. B THE ENGLISH riving but trifling assistance, and less protection, from the mother country. They grew up into powerful colonies, in neglect and obscurity, with a rapidity and vigour that astonished Europe. They were without precedent in the previous annals of England, and the political agitation of the public mind in the present state, unhappily afforded no opportunity for establishing their relation on a proper foundation, or arranging a consistent and uniform plan for their government. The accounts we have of them, therefore, are detached, and their interest is destroyed for want of continuity. Every plantation has had its annalist, but the narratives are too local, too minute, and too similar in their details to be either interesting or instructive. No attempt has been made to separate the political from the provincial, and the general from the in dividual and petty personal history. This, doubt less, is the reason why so little is known of the old colonies previous to the independence, and so little benefit has accrued from past experience, either to Great Britain or her dependencies. A connected sketch of English " rule and mis rule in America," it is hoped, may, to a certain extent, supply the deficiency, while it will correct some popular errors on the subject, and furnish valuable material for reflection, not only to those statesmen to whom our destinies are entrusted but to those restless politicians who imagine a IN a-merica. 3 republican form of government suitable to the inhabitants of every country in the world. Warned by past failures, the former may learn, ere it be too late, to abstain from making experi ments which have long since been tried and condemned ; to supply deficiencies which have here tofore cost the nation so dearly, to correct abuses arising from inconsiderate concessions, and to> cherish and foster those establishments which in every stage of colonization have been the nurseries of loyalty to the monarch, and attachment to the nation. It wiU at least con-vdnce them that to substitute democratic for monarchical institutions. is not the safest or best mode of retaining- colonies, or enlisting the sympathy of their in habitants. The latter class (revolutionists) are numerous everywhere. Astonished and dazzled at the ex traordinary success that has attended the great American experiment, they merely regard the re sult, without stopping to investigate the cause, and hastily conclude that that which has worked so well in the United States, and produced so much general prosperity and individual good, is equaUy applicable to, or attainable by, every other people. This is a great and fatal error. A, government must not only be suited to the population, but to the country for which it is designed ; and the moral and social condition of the one, and the B 2 4 THE ENGLISH size, the climate, and political and relative position of the other, are of the utmost importance to be thoroughly understood, and maturely considered. Thus a constitutional monarchy has proved inadequate in Spain to conciliate the affections or restrain the turbulence of the people. Re sponsible government in Canada has failed in its object, because it is incompatible with imperial control and colonial dependence,' is unsuited to the poverty, ignorance, and inactivity of the French Habitants, and the predilections and prejudices of the English emigrants, and because it wants cor relative and congenial institutions, and is deficient in federal strength and central gravitation. Roy alty could not be acclimated in the United States, though the experiraent were to be tried by a vote of a large majority. It is contrary to the genius of the people, their habits, institutions, and feelings. For these and other reasons, self- government has signally failed in all the republics of the southern hemisphere, though the constitu tion and example of the United States has been foUowed as closely as possible. Democracy has at present a feverish and delirious existence in France. It was not the deliberate choice of the nation, but the result of an insurrection. It offered a temporary shelter amid the storms of civil commotion, and was adopted as a harbour of refuge. How long wiU its neutral character be IN AMERICA,' 5 respected by the irreconcileable parties that distract that unhappy nation ? My desire is, among other objects of this work, to show where and by whom repubUcanism was introduced into this continent, what its founda tions are, how they were laid, and what provision has been made for its support and continu ance. Having given a naiTative of its origin, growth, and maturity, which can alone be com pUed from provincial annals, I shaU endeavour to explain briefly the compUcated mechanism and simple action of the American federal constitution, and the balances and checks that have been so skilfiiUy contrived by the great statesmen who con structed it; and also to point out the wonderful combination of accidental causes that contributed to its success, and the ability, unity, energy, and practical skUl of the people, who work the machine and keep it in order and repair. The question has often been asked why may not this form of government be copied and adopted in England or France ? The answer is to be found in every part of this history. It wiU be necessary most care fully to ascertain whether those things which have tended to its success in America exist, or can by any possibUity be created in Europe. Its de-\^elop- ment must be traced step by step, day by day, from one event to another, and one generation and institution to another. Due weight must be at- 6 THE ENGLISH tached to the consideration who and what the people were who founded it, and who and what they are who now live under it, as weU as the time and the place selected for the experiment. We must then judge whether all these circum stances, or the greater part of them, were indis pensably necessary to success, and, if so, whether there is anything analogous in Europe. I shaU furnish the facts, let others buUd their own theories. I enter into no speculations, and, above aU, offer no opinions as to the durabUity of this great republic of the western world, or how it wiU "work when the population shaU be proportionally as large as that of Europe. I simply portray it as it is. Most men beUeve that the American RepubUc took its rise in a successful resistance of the provin cials to an attempt on the part of Great Britain, in a Parliament in which they were not represented, to tax them without their consent, and that resistance led to a revolution, in which they asserted their in dependence, and finally obtained it in the year 1783. This is a very natural mistake for those persons to faU into who are not acquainted with their early history, but a republic de facto was first formed at Plymouth, in New England, in 1620, and another far more extensive and flourishing one was erected in Massachusetts, in the years 1628 and 1629 both which subsisted in fuU force for a period of more than fifty years, without submitting to the IN AMERICA. 7 power, or acknowledging the authority of, the Parent State. These independent communities founded the institutions, and disseminated the democratic opinions that were subsequently adopted by the continental pro-vinces. The former are, with some smaQ modifications, such as are in existence there at the present day, and the latter are identical with the views of their descendants. The reason that so Uttle is known of the occurrences of this period I have already assigned, but they are essential dements in forming any just estimate of subse quent events, or an accurate opinion of transatlantic affairs. With these commonwealths our narrative must necessarUy commence. I shall omit every thing that does not either develop the character or principles of the people, or elucidate the views they entertained of their own supremacy, and their right to the soU, and government of the country of their adoption. I shaU pass over also the earUer settlement at Plymouth with only a brief reference, as weU on account of the greater growth and importance of Massachusetts, and the influence it always exerted on the neighbouring plantations, as to preserve the narrative entire. At the end of half a century these two republics were rendered nominally subordinate to the empire, but remained practicaUy independent, retaining their own self-government, resisting the encroachments 8 THE ENGLISH of the prerogative, zealously avoiding all acknow ledgment of the right of parental control, either in external matters of trade, or internal affairs of legis lation or poUce, untU they felt strong enough, in con junction with the contiguous colonies, to sever aU connection whatever with Great Britain. It is a curious and instructive history, and weU worthy of the attentive consideration of those who feel inclined to imitate, and imagine they are able to foUow the example. They wiU be struck with the important fact that they commenced with small and isolated communities, having one common object in view, and possessing the means, the unity of political and reUgious opinions, and the mutual confidence and sympathy necessary to effect their purpose. There was nothing to puU down or remove, no privileged orders to reduce, no serfs to raise to a level with themselves, no pre-existing form of government to eradicate, no contending factions or intriguing leaders to subdue, and no populace to eonciUate or control. The scene was a forest, and the actors inteUigent and resolute men, drawn from the middle and not the lower orders of society, emigrants from a country having liberal institutions and a code of laws well calculated to secure and promote the liberty of the subject. They were beyond the reach and the observation of the Parent State, and were left unaided and unmolested to put their theories into practice. The IN AMERICA. 9 structure of the government thus adopted was simple, and suited to the exigencies and equality of their situation. The civU divisions of the country, which became necessary from time to time, in consequence of their extended growth, and the internal manage ment of their local affairs, corresponded with that of the first settlements, and were adopted not merely because they were democratic, but because they were best suited to their conditions, and in unison with their preconcerted object. One little viUage and neighbourhood gave rise to another little viUage and neighbourhood, and one distant settlement to another, until the country became populous, and the people too extended and nume rous to meet together in council. Delegated power then becarae indispensable, and a legislature arose in imitation of, and analogous to, that . of England. Then carae the necessity of establishing institutions, suitable not raerely for a community but for a nuraber of coraraunities, not for the present generation but for posterity. For this task they were adrairably weU quaUfied. They were perfectly acquainted with those of the Parent State, under which they had been early trained, and had tested the modified forms they had temporarUy adopted themselves on landing in the country. With this double experience, they were reUeved from the difficulty of invention and much B 3 10 THE ENGLISH of the danger of innovation. They came to the consideration of these subjects with minds free from aU excitement. They had obtained no -vic tory, and were not flushed with triumph. They had no opposition, and were not obstinate. The civil power was in their own hands, they could delegate as little or as much as they thought expe dient to an executive. Authority was not demanded, it was conceded. Every individual had a strong personal interest. It depended solely upon himself and his own conduct whether he should administer the law or should sUently submit to its operation. Every measure to be adopted was an act of the whole body and not a party. Is it then to be wondered at, that with this experience they reasoned well, and decided wisely ? When we consider that aU this occuiTed more than two hundred and thirty years ago, before civUization had made such raighty strides as it has in modem times, and that the people who then deliberated on the difiicult problems of government and jurisprudence, though men of strong inteUect and good parts, nevertheless laboured under the great disadvantage of having their tempers soured, and their understanding clouded by fanaticism and bigotry, we are struck with astonishment at the knowledge and consumraate skiU they displayed in laying the foundations of their political fabric ; and if their system of jurisprudence was imperfect it IN AMERICA. 11 is stUl infinitely better than could have been ex pected from persons of their peculiar religious belief. It is in the annals of these two first Republics of New England that we must trace the origin and history of almost every institution now existing in the United States, the rise and progress of American opinions of federal union with the neighbouring sovereignties, of a separate jurisdic tion, and of a central congress. At the period of the Revolution, much doubtless was added by the great statesmen of the day, beyond what existed in the olden time, but those additions were less conspicuous for their novelty and originality (for there was Uttle new in them) than the wonder ful skiU exhibited in their adaptation to the then existing state of things, so as to preserve harmony and unity of action. To ascribe to Washington, Franklin, Jefferson or Adams and their contemporaries the whole merit of the invention and creation of that wonder ful republic, would be to rob the early planters of Massachusetts of their weU-earned laurels. There are enough for both, let us appropriate them to their respective owners ; and in so doing let us not forget to mention those circumstances, and they were many and most important, which were purely accidental, the mere offspring of chance, a work of the hand of Providence. 12 THE ENGLISH CHAPTER II. The Reformation — Different conduct of the Protestants and Church of England — Religious differences lead to the settlement of North America — Division of the country into South and North Virginia — ^The latter explored by Captain Smith, and called New England — Delusive description of it — Distinction between the Noncon formists of Leyden who settled New Plymouth, and those who founded Massachusetts — Account of Brown, his principles, and recantations — The Brownists petition for toleration and are refused — Obtain a Charter in South Virginia — Settle at New Plymouth by mistake — Enter into a compact for self-government — First American Democracy — State of it at the end of six years. At the Reformation, the sudden disruption of Papal authority naturaUy occasioned those who had hitherto been accustomed to travel in one common road to wander, when released, in various directions. What part of Romanism was true, and what false, what was to be retained or rejected, added or substituted, opened a wide field for IN AMERICA. 13 speculation and controversy. It is not to be wondered at, if men who had long ceased to think on such matters for themselves, found prejudice easier than reason, and thought their only safety consisted in getting as far away frora the creeds, forms, and practices of Popery as possible, and mistook in their flight obstinacy for conscience, and submission to authority for a coraproraise of principle. In consequence of the celebrated Germanic pro test, aU those both on the continent and in Britain, who dissented from Popery (although distinguished from each other by some peculiar name, derived frora their teachers or their creeds), assuraed the general appeUation of Protestants. WhUe they made war on the ceremonies of Rorae, they retained her bigotry, and though they denied the power of dispensation to the Pope, they found no difficulty in absoMng themselves frora the obligation of their oaths of aUegiance to their Sovereign. They claraoured, and suffered or fought for the exercise of private judgment and liberty of conscience. This they aU united in, demanding to its fullest extent ; and the singular interpretation they gave these terms is a reraarkable instance of unaniraity among a people who differed on almost every other subject. Each sect claimed exemption from persecution for itself, because it sincerely believed what it professed; but the right to persecute 14 THE ENGLISH others it by no means renounced, because it knew its opponents to be wrong. The Church of England, on the contrary, which had enjoyed its apostoUc succession, its orders of priesthood, and its spiritual independence in aU its primitive purity for six hundred years before the aggression of the Roman Pontiff, very properly retained its own original name, to which no other body of Christians had any title what ever.* She threw off the domination she had been too feeble to resist, and the superstitions and human inventions that had been forced upon her, compiled her Liturgy, and settled her doctrine and ceremonies as nearly as possible in accordance with those she had held in those centuries that pre ceded the usurpation of Popery. In some or in all of these, furious zealots affected to think they discerned too great a resemblance stUl subsisting between the two Churches, and stigmatized the Prayer-book as antichristian, the surplice as a rag of Babylon, and the Holy Comraunion as the mass in English. These Protestants of various shades of opinion were known in Britain under the general name of Puritans, and as schism in * A.D. 1689. The Upper House of Convocation sent down a bill to the Lower House, where the English Church was denominated a "Protestant Church." The Lower House expunged the word " Protestant," declaring they were not in unison with Protestants. IN AMERICA. 15 spiritual things naturaUy leads to temporal dis obedience, they were very soon regarded (with what truth their subsequent history discloses but too painfuUy) as disaffected subjects, and treated alternately with suspicion or severity. To this state of things may be attributed in a great degree the settlement of New England. Individual enterprise had hitherto been found unequal to the task. Mines of gold and silver constituted the main inducement, in the first instance, to explore the country. When the search for the precious metals was relaxed or abandoned, attention was directed to the fur- trade and the fisheries, from which great wealth was derived. But the settleraent of the country was a slow and expensive operation, not likely to yield an iramediate return, and liable to be frustrated by a variety of circumstances. One hundred and twenty years had elapsed since the discoveries of Cabot, and every attempt at colonization had failed. Combination, therefore, was resorted to, that success might be insured by a union of means and an increase of the nuraber of adventurers. Jaraes the First who was anxious to enlarge the limits of his dominions, divided aU that portion of the continent that stretches from the 34th to the 45th degree of latitude into two immense provinces, of nearly equal size, and de nominated them Southern and Northern Virginia. 16 THE ENGLISH The first he granted to an association called the London Corapany, and the second to a number of persons of influence and property known as the Plymouth Corapany. The supreme government of the colonies that were to be settled in this spacious domain was ordered to be vested in a council resident in England, and the subordinate jurisdiction was comraitted to local boards. The northern portion which was surveyed in 1614, by Captain Smith, was named by him New England, and it is to a part of this country only that I shaU have occasion to refer, at any length. To allure settlers, the climate and soil were extoUed as con sisting of a sort of terrestrial paradise, not merely capable of producing all the necessaries and con veniences of life, but as already richly furnished by the beautiful hand of nature ! The air was said to be pure and salubrious, the country pleasant and delightful, fiiU of goodly forests, fair vaUeys and fertUe plains, abounding in vines, chesnuts, wal nuts, and many other kinds of fruit.* The rivers stored with fish and environed with extensive meadows full of timber trees. In the rear of this wonderful coast, and at about the distance of one hundred mUes, it was said " there was a vast lake containing four islands, having great store of stags, faUow deer, elks, roebucks, beavers and other * See Belknap's "Life of Ferdinando Georges." IN AMERICA. 17 game, and offering the most deUghtful situation in the world for a residence." Whatever this inter minable forest might contain, it was certain that the sea that washed its shores was fiUed with fish, and numerous and valuable cargoes were constantly arriving to sUence the doubts and awaken the enter prise of the mercantile community The distracted and unsettled state of men's minds on the subject of religion led many enthusiasts to think of the country as an asylum, who gladly entered into an enterprise that offered at once the prospect of gain and an exemption from ecclesiastical control. Accordingly, two considerable parties of fanatical adventurers migrated thither — the Separatists of Leyden called Brownists, and English Noncon formists. The former settled at Plymouth, and the latter at Massachusetts Bay. The means, character, and station of these two were widely different, and though they are often considered as one people, and erroneously spoken of under the general name of PUgrims, it is necessary to bear this distinction in raind. The first are represented as men of great zeal but of httle knowledge. Many of the others were gentlemen and scholars, whose humiUty was not the result of their poverty but their pride. The one had already separated from their Church and quitted their native country before they came to America. The others having more to lose, for they were 18 THE ENGLISH men of no inconsiderable fortune, were less frank in avowing their opinions and less precipitate in their conduct, and outwardly conformed to the ceremonies of the Established Church untU their embarkation. They had not assuraed the name of Puritans theraselves, nor was it applied to them by others. Their dissent, as well as their real object in emigrating,* was so weU concealed from their co-partners in trade in England and from the King's government, that they were not only not suspected of schism, but actuaUy entrusted with the duty and enjoined as a condition of their Charter to spread the Gospel. The Separatists of Leyden, on the contrary, were well-known Dissenters, who had fled to HoUand to avoid the penalties of the law. They were followers of the celebrated Brown, frora whom they derived their name. This enthusiast was a man of quality, connected with several noble famUies ; and the defection of such a person Is always hailed with delight by the vulgar, as an evidence of great manliness on the one hand and * So habitual was their reserve to the English partners, and so effectually did they conceal or disguise their opinions, that at the very time they were plotting the downfall and death of Laud, that prelate assured the King that several bishops, of very extensive dioceses, had reported to him there was not a single Dissenter to be found within their jurisdiction. IN AMERICA. 19 as a useful instrument of mischief on the other. Though many others were equaUy audacious, and far more eloquent and learned, their names have not survived their own generation. To his station alone is he indebted for the remembrance of his guUty secession. He aspired and attained to the honour of founding a sect. It was a period when every absurdity found an admirer, but he was determined to go as far as possible, and reached a point beyond which was the precipice that over hangs infideUty. He condemned the government of bishops, the ordination of ministers, and the offices, rites, and ceremonies of the public Liturgy. He maintained that the Church of England was neither lawful nor true, and that aU Christians were bound to come out of Babylon and join him and his disciples, among whom there was nothing to be found that savoured not directly of the Spirit of God.* Having seduced those infatuated people from their Church, and caused them to fly from their native land, his success satisfied his ambition, and his enthusiasm expired for want of novelty. What was the astonishment of his deluded foUowers, when they heard that he had recanted his errors, submitted to his bishops, and rejoined the estabUshment. They then began to observe, what they had either not noticed before or had * Fuller. 20 THE ENGLISH disregarded as unimportant, that he had a wife with whora he never lived, a church in which he never preached though paid for the duties, and a congregation whom he neglected though he did not omit to collect and receive his tythes. Revenge quickens the senses, and magnifies every object it beholds. They were astonished at such enormities, and regarded their idol rather as a demon than a saint. They immediately disowned his name, spurned the appeUation of Brownists, and caUed themselves Congregationallsts. Their situation at Leyden had become uncorafortable for thera, and they were apprehensive they should be absorbed In a foreign population. Their means also were greatly reduced, and they saw no mode by which they coidd be recruited. They sensibly felt the effects on their zeal of the neglect or indifference of the Dutch. So long as they were opposed or punished In England, it was easy for their leaders to face the flame of their sectarian ardour by appealing to their passions as men, and they derived a secret satisfaction in plotting the ruin of their rulers, both in State and Church, and in retaliating upon them the injuries, whether real or imaginary, they suffered at their hands. The moment the union for common defence was dissolved by repose, one great incentive to fanaticism was destroyed. Their vanity was no longer flattered by the sympathy of IN AMERICA. 21 a crowd who had regarded them as martyrs ; and their learning was not such as to attract the applause or even the notice of continental scholars. In this state of depression they turned their eyes towards America, and sending agents to England, they applied to the Virginia Company for a patent of part of their territory, saying " they were well weaned from the delicate mUk of their mother country, and inured to the difficulties of a strange land." They assured them they were knit together by a strict and sacred band, by virtue of which they held themselves bound to take care of the good of each other, and of the whole ; and that it was not with them as with other men whom smaU things could discourage, or small discontents cause to wish theraselves at horae again. Though their agents found the corapany very desirous of pro moting the projected settleraent in their territory, and wilUng to grant them a patent with as ample pri-^dleges as it was in their power to convey, they could not prevaU upon the King to give them a pubUc toleration for their dissent, and they re turned greatly disconcerted to their sorrowing friends. The foUowing year they determined to take their chance for toleration, judging very wisely that distance was a sufficient guarantee for their safety, and accepted the patent without pressing their petition to the King for his protection. It was 22 THE ENGLISH therefore agreed that a portion of them should proceed to America, and make preparations for the reception of the rest. The parting scene is de scribed as an affecting one. Their clergyman, Mr. Robinson, was a pious and exemplary man, and his correspondence with this little body of pioneers shows how much the causes to which I have aUuded had softened the feelings and lowered the extravagant language to which they had been accustomed. These letters, which are stiU extant, do equal honour to his head and heart. His last words of advice to his departing flock prove how deeply he was mortified by the desertion of their leader, and how much opprobrium and ridicule must have attached to them arising from his return to the Established Church, and his conforming to its doctrines and discipline. " I must ad-dse you," he said, "to abandon, avoid, and shake off the name of Brownists : it is a mere nickname and a brand for making reUgion and the professors of it odious to the Christian world." Several of their nuraber now sold their estates and made a common bank, which, together with money received from other adventurers who entered Into the joint stock speculation, enabled thera to emigrate and commence a plantation in due form. On the 10th day of November 1620, the Leyden adventurers anchored in America, and, late in December, having found a convenient harbour and a suitable spot ifor settle- IN AMERICA. 23 ment, landed and commenced building a vUlage which, in token of their gratitude for the hospitality extended to them by then- friends at the last port of embarkation, they caUed Plymouth. Finding this place to be beyond the limits of the Virginia Company, they perceived at once that their patent was useless ; symptoms of faction, at the same time appearing among the servants on board, who imagined that when on shore they should be under no government, it was judged expedient that before landing they should form themselves into a body politic, to be governed by the majority. After solemn prayer and thanks giving, a -written Instrument was drawn up for that purpose, and subscribed on board the ship on the 1 1th of November 1 620. This contract was signed by forty-one of the emigrants who, with their famUies, amounted to 101 persons. This singular document is as foUows : — " In the name of God. Amen. We, whose names are undersigned, the loyal subjects of our Sovereign Lord King Jaraes, &c., &c., having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith and honour of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern part of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutuaUy in the pre sence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civU body politic for our better ordering and presentation, and fur- 24 THE ENGLISH therance of the ends aforesaid, and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise aU due submission and obedience." They then proceeded to elect a Governor and choose subordinate officers. Thus did these people find means to erect themselves into a republic, even though they had comraenced the enterprise under the sanction of a charter. In the true spirit of separatists they founded their Commonwealth in disobedience or defiance of Royal Authority, for they were expressly denied a guarantee for the toleration of sectarianism, and they comraenced their plantation at a place which they knew belonged either to the King or another corapany. It was a self-created, independent, democratic government. The office of governor was annual and elective, but their pastor at Leyden very prudently advised them, as their number was so smaU, to entrust the whole power at first to that functionary, untU they were populous enough to add a councU and constitute a legislature, quaintly observing : " that one Nehemiah was better than a whole Sanhedrim of mercenary Shemaiahs." Their patent gave a title to the soU, but prerogatives of government according to the Ideas of the EngUsh lawyers could only be exercised under a charter IN AMERICA. 25 fi-om the Crown. A considerable sum was spent in the endeavour to obtain such a Charter, but without success. Relying, however, upon their original compact, the colonists graduaUy assumed aU the prerogatives of government, even the power, after sorae hesitation, of capital punishment. No less than eight offences are enumerated in the first Plymouth Code as punishable with death, including treason or rebelUon against the colony, and " solemn compaction or conversing with the devil." Trial by jury was early introduced, but the penalties to be inflicted on minor offences remained for the most part discretionary. For eighteen years aU laws were enacted in a general assembly of all the colonists. The Governor, chosen annuaUy, was but president of a council, in which he had a double vote. It consisted first of one, then of five, and finaUy of seven members caUed assistants. So little were political honours coveted at New Plymouth, that it became necessary to inflict a fine upon such as, being chosen, decUned to accept the office of Governor or assistant. None, however, were obUged to serve for two years in succession.* They were often not only destitute of money, but equaUy devoid of credit; for in 1686 having occasion to borrow one hundred and * Hildrith. VOL. I. C 26 THE ENGLISH fifty pounds, the risk was considered so great that they could only procure it at the enormous interest of fifty per cent. Nor did the town flourish as was expected from one erected in a country like Canaan. At the end of four years, one hundred and eighty persons inhabited a -viUage composed of thirty-two dweUing-houses where there " strayed sorae cattle and goats, but many swine and poultry." This was doubtless owing to the uninviting character of the country, and the repul sive austerity of manners of the first settlers ; but more than aU, to the mistaken policy of holding their property, not in severalty, but as joint stock. Their poverty however eventuaUy proved their best security, by procuring for them a contemptuous neglect, that left them the uninterrupted enjoyment of their little democratic commonwealth untU 1 692, when it was absorbed by the second Charter of Massachusetts, which annexed it to that populous and flourishing province. IN AMERICA. 27 CHAPTER III. Inducements to settle Massachusetts — Puritans prevail upon the King to give them a Charter, under the idea that they were churchmen — Some account of it — Endicott settles Salem — Disturbs Moreton, cuts down Maypole, and calls the place Mount Dragon— Founds a Church on Congregational principles — Arrests and transports Epis copalians — Intrigue for removing the Charter to America and discussion thereon — Reasoning of the emigrants on the subject of allegiance — Removing of Charter — Large immigrations — Cost of outfit — Address to the clergy of Engleind — Character of the Puritans. The settlement at Plymouth, and the exagger ated accounts of its condition and prospects spread by the emigrants, to Induce others to join them, attracted universal attention. Puritanism had not then assumed a distinct forra, although its rami fications were -widely spread beneath the surface. It was not deemed safe by that party openly to connect themselves with people, who had cora- c 2 28 the ENGLISH menced their settlement without a title, and were avowedly separated from the Church. It was left, therefore, to its natural increase, and to uncon nected and individual einigration. But the leaders of this discontented party saw that something of the kind could be effected upon a large scale, if their real intentions were properly masked in the first instance. There were at that tirae three ob jects that occupied men's minds in connection with emigration. First, to avoid ecclesiastical control; secondly, to spread the Gospel among the savages ; and thirdly, to aid and further commercial pur suits. Each had its advocates, and for each, men were willing to advance the requisite funds, and incur the inevitable risk. The most able, artfiU, persevering and influential of these parties were the Puritans. CaUing themselves churchmen, they eulogized the liberality, and encouraged the ardour of those who, in attempting to employ a trading company to convert the heathen, exhibited more zeal than knowledge. To those who were incUned to seek their fortunes in the New World as husbandmen, they praised the soU, extoUed the climate, and dwelt on the advantage of livlilg in a country exerapt from taxes, in the capacity of pro prietors, and not as tenants. To merchants who regard trapping beavers with more interest than taming savages, it was only necessary to mention the advantage iiavigatlon would derive from a port IN AMERICA. 29 in a distant land, where pro-visions could be pro cured and ships repaired, or laid up in safety in -winter. It was one of the best veUed, deepest laid, and most skilfuUy executed schemes to be met with in history. After these three parties were engaged in the work, and had pledged their funds to for ward the undertaking, they purchased firom the CouncU of Plymouth aU the territory extending from three mUes north of the river Merryraack, to three raUes south of Charles River, and in breadth from the Atlantic to the Southern Ocean. Their legal ad-sdsers, however, expressed sorae doubts as to the propriety of founding a colony on the basis of a grant from a private company of patentees, who might convey a right of property in the soil, but could not confer the jurisdiction or privUege of governing that society, which they contemplated to establish. As it was only from royal authority such powers could be derived, it became necessary for them to lose no time in making their applica tion to the King. But how was he to be won over and cajoled ? They were aware that he was open to flattery, but they knew also that he was suspicious of Low Churchmen, whom he very justly considered as Uttle better than Dissenters ; that he was surrounded by able counseUors, and alive to his own interest and that of the State. The task was a difficult one, but as its success was indis- 30 THE ENGLISH pensable to their future objects, they approached It with the firmness and courage of determined men. With the most unblushing effrontery they spoke to him of their dear Mother Church in terms of great affection and regard, enlarged upon his duty to christianize the heathen, who aU over the world Were faUing a prey to the Jesuits, whUe discon tented Protestants were quarelling about smaU matters of forms. They descanted with great apparent sincerity upon the danger of leaving the Continent open to other nations to intrude upon, and portrayed in glowing terms the vast advan tages that would accrue to his Majesty's treasury from an increase of coramerce. The King was deUghted to find that the doubts he had enter tained of the loyalty and orthodoxy of some of the company were groundless, and the offer to extend the limits of his dominions, to plant his Church in America, and, by stimulating commerce, to add to his revenue (which was very inadequate to his wants), was too agreeable to be refused. A charter of confirmation was, therefore, granted to his lo-dng subjects, dated 4 th of March, 1628. By this patent the company was incorporated by the name of " The Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay, in New England," to have perpetual succession, to choose a Governor, Deputy Governor, and eighteen assistants, on the last Wednesday in Easter Term yearly, and to make IN AMERICA. 31 laws, not repugnant to those of England, "where by," to use the words of the King in the patent, " our said people inhabiting there may be so re ligiously, peaceably, and clvUly governed, as their good life and orderly conversation may win and invite the natives of that country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Saviour of mankind and the Christian faith, which, in our royal intention, and the adventurers' free profess sion, is the principal end of this plantation." The Governor and assistants were required to ad minister the oaths of supremacy and aUegiance to all persons who from time to time should go thither. As a compensation for the great outlay which they would necessarUy Incur in so onerous an undertaking, they were exempted from aU taxes and subsidies for seven years within the colony, and fi-om custom duties in England for the space of twenty years. WhUe these negociations were going on, the company dispatched a smaU party under Endicott, an active and zealous agent, but an imprudent and ¦violent man, to select a place for settlement. The part he made choice of was known by the natives as Hanekeag, which, according to the aft'ectation of his sect, to employ the language and appeUatlons of Scripture in the common affairs of life, he caUed Salem. He was particularly cautioned not to commit any rash act at that juncture, as it was 32 THE ENGLISH the intention, as well as the interest of the asso ciation, " to keep an obsequious eye to the State ;" his first measure, however, was an Ulegal invasion of a neighbouring plantation. A man of the name of Morton resided not far off, on lands held under a patent from the same Great Plymouth Company from which they themselves derived their title. This place, in a most godless manner, he ventured to caU " Merry Mount," and decorated it with a maypole, the first real "Uberty staff" ever erected in New England. Such a scandal in the eyes of this rueful agent justified invasion. He and his party proceeded thither, removed the aboraination, and threatened to disperse the people whose profaneness shocked his own associates, and set a dangerous exaraple to the savages. To testify his horror at then- impiety, he named their abode " Mount Dragon." Among those who soon after joined Endicott, were two gentlemen of the name of Brown, men of large property, original patentees, and of most unexceptionable conduct. Duped by the profes sions of the Puritans, who called themselves Epls- copaUans, who spoke of the Church as "their dear Mother," who avowed their motives to be the advancement of religion, and had accepted the Charter on condition of taking the oaths of supremacy and aUegiance, they never for a moment supposed they could be the victims of treachery. IN AMERICA. 33 They were appointed counciUors to Endicott, who had been advanced to the rank of Governor, and were especiaUy recommended to his " favour and furtherance." They had sincerely at heart one of the main objects of the association, and the only one that had induced them to take any interest in the company, the evangeUzing the heathen. To their horror they soon found they had been entrapped into a sectarian league, in which it was difficult at that time to say whether trade or puritanism was most predominant. But it was manifest to them that instead of there existing any intention in the local board to spread the Gospel, their object was to confine it within the smaUest possible Umits, as in their opinion a chosen people Uke themselves, were the best depo sitory for that which was designed rather for the elect, than for mankind. The Govenor had been advised by the separatists at Plymouth, to lose no time in organizing a Church, and accordingly a confession of faith was drawn up, and signed by hira and his party. In this first transaction, they, displayed the extent of the innovation at which they airaed. They elected a pastor, a teacher, and an elder, whora they set apart for their respective offices by imposition of hands of the brethren ; and they resolved that no person should thereafter be received Into com munion, untU he gave satisfaction to the society, c 3 34 THE ENGLISH with respect to his faith and sanctity. The form of worship they instituted was without a liturgy, disencumbered of every superfluous ceremony, and reduced to the most extreme standard of CaM- nistic simpUcity. The Browns, however, and their friends met as usual on Sunday, and read the service, and offices for the day fi:om the Prayer Book. For this offence they were summoned to appear before the Governor, and answer for their contumeUous conduct, and heretical doctrine. At the time appointed they expostulated with their bigoted and arbitrary ruler. They told him they were EpiscopaUans (as they had believed, when they entered into the association, every other mem- Tjer was) ; that they thought so wide a departure from the Charter and their oaths, as exhibited by the covenant which they had so recently executed, would lead to the lowest forms of dissent, and eventually terminate in the loss of their patent. At aU events, they said, to belong to the National Church was not a criminal act in any part of the King's dominions ; that their Charter reserved to them aU the rights of British subjects and above all, expressly forbad thera from making any law repugnant to those of England. They were given to understand in very violent language, that they were not in Europe, but in America, and that though they might be right as .to its not being iUegal to profess the doctrine of the IN AMERICA. 35 estabUshment, yet creating divisions (which separa tion did) was a serious offence, and very dangerous In its tendency. They were accordingly sentenced to close confinement, and to be transported back to London by the first vessel. WhUe their persons were thus secured, their desks were forced, and their letters to their private friends abstracted, for the purpose " of preventing the reputation of the colony from being injured." Bancroft, their devoted admirer and apologist, thus condenses the reasons of the colonists for this persecution.* " Should the emi grants give up the very purpose for which they had crossed the Atlantic ? should hierarchy intrude upon their devotions in the forests of Massachusetts? They deemed the co-existence of prelacy and their liberty impossible. Anticipating an invasion of their rights, they feared the adherents of the establish ment, as spies in the camp, and the form of religion from which they had suffered was repeUed, not as a sect but as a tyranny. They were banished from Salem because they were Churchmen. Thus was Episcopacy first professed in New England, and thus was it exiled." On their release in their native country, the Browns remonstrated bitterly against the perversion of the Charter by so gross an outrage committed on themselves. The company, -with a caution and * "History ofthe United States," vol. ii. p. 3,49. 36 THE ENGLISH adroitness that never forsook them, and ever after formed their most striking characteristic, stifled the complaint by having it referred to arbitration, and escaped animadversion by withdrawing it from public discussion.* The Browns found In the course of these proceedings the whole aspect of affairs changed. Many of the original shareholders had sold out or lost their interest in the specula tion. Everything was managed with such secrecy by a few influential members, that it was manifest some very serious and dangerous plot was in agi tation, and they quitted the company in disgust. Their suspicions were soon justified, by one of the most singular events in the history of England, and by far the most important one in that of America, the fraudulent and clandestine removal of the Charter to Massachusetts. We have seen how the King and the Church were duped as to the real objects of the association. The merchant adventurers were equaUy deluded. Their contributions were spent in founding a colony; no trade was ever carried on for their joint account, or ever intended to be, and at the end of seven years the partnership was closed and no di-vidend whatever declared, or any compensation made to the unfortunate absentees by those who had pos- * Hutchinson says the result of this reference is not known. IN AMERICA. 37 sessed themselves of the whole property. The repeated instances of duplicity in which they had succeeded, paved the way for the seizure of the patent, an act that surpassed them all in boldness of design and dexterity of execution. Several persons of station and means attached to the party who, as it has been weU observed, " ffered more than they suffered," privately tampered with the governor, Mr. Craddock, and offered to emigrate with their famUies provided the Charter could be removed with them. With this important instrument in their hands, three thousand miles away from the- Star Chamber and visitorial power of the King, they said they would feel secure from intrusion. Crad dock knowing how much better their affairs would be managed by a local administration, feU into their views, and at a meeting at the general court in London, in 1629, proposed to the board "for the ad vancing the plantations, for the inducing of persons of wealth and quality to remove thither, and for other weighty reasons, to transfer the government to those who shaU inhabit them, and to continue no longer the sarae subordination to the company here." Such an extraordinary proposition naturally led to a warm debate. Those who were not in the plot were taken by surprise, and argued the point as if It had not been predetermined upon.* They * Hutchinson (vol. x, p. 18) says, " It is evident from the Charter, that the original design of it was, to constitute a 38 THE ENGLISH said their Charter, like those .of aU other trading associations, and especiaUy like that of the East India Company, was intended to be kept, and its officers to meet, in England; that to remove it would be utterly useless, for it was not a consti tution, but a corporation, and whoUy inappUcable to the purposes of a civU government, which it never contemplated ; that it contained no provision for a judicature, or executive body, or a legislature ; that a whole people, though freemen, could not assemble four times a year, and there was no power of delegation given to them ; but above all that it was a flagrant act of usurpation, and a daring attempt to Infringe upon the King's rights. The con spirators affected to be strongly impressed with these powerful reasons, and said there was so much corporation in England like to that of the East India and other great companies, with power to settle plantations within the limits of the territory, under such forms of govemment, and magistracy, as should be fit and neceS" sary." Bancroft (Hist. vol. i. p. 384), speaking of Sir Harry Vane, says, " His clear mind, unbiassed by previous discussions, and fresh from the pubhc business of England, saw distinctly what the colonists did not wish to see, the really wide difference between the practice under their Charter, and the meaning of the instrument on the prin ciples of English jurisprudence." JKent and Story are of the same opinion, and so is Robertson. See his "History of America," vol. iv, p. 282. Indeed the only wonder is, that any person could be found to think it even admitted of a doubt. IN AMERICA. 39 weight in them that they would consult counsel, and for that purpose adjourned the meeting, having first agreed, however, " To carry the matter secret, that it be not divtdged." This opposition and delay ha-ving been foreseen, was pro-vided against. They had taken the pre caution to retain a Puritan lawyer, of the name of White, whose knowledge seems to have been on a level with his honesty, who had an opinion on the subject already prepared ; and at the next court it was resolved " That the government of the colony be transferred to New England." This decision, however, was far from being satisfactory to all the members. There were raany present who had adventured their money that had no idea of emi grating, and who did not like to have both their property and patent transferred to another hemisphere. An attempt at compromise was made by resolving that "the government of persons" should be estabUshed in Massachusetts, an(^ " the government of trade and merchandize " be retained in London. Professions and proraises were so famiUar with the conspirators, that they obtained their purpose by resorting to them now. The "planters" undertook and engaged with the "adven turers," for so the respective resident and non resident parties were designated, to divide the whole joint stock, with all its vast accumulations, at the end of seven years, and pay over or assign to each 40 THE ENGLISH proprietor his respective share. A fortune at the end of seven years they considered better than a present quarrel, and they yielded. It was the last they ever saw of the emigrants, and all that they ever heard of their transatlantic stock. Such has ever been the fate of an union between hypocrisy and avarice. The regular habits, devout conduct, and high professions of the former, seldom faU in obtaining the control of the funds, and the temptation to appropriate them is too strong for stimulated honesty. However humiliating to sec tarians the fact may be, it must be admitted that dissent thus set the first example of abscond ing to America with partnership effects. Having equaUy deprived the King, the Church, the savages, and the " adventurers" of their rights, it was ne cessary now to delude themselves, and sUence, If possible, their own scruples, if their doubts deserve .such a respectable name. A new, important, and very difficult question arose for their con sideration, in what relation were they to stand to the mother country ? Most of the proprietors held that they had a perfect right without any Charter from the Crown, to estabUsh such sort of government as they thought proper, and to form a new commonwealth, as fully as If they were In a state of nature and were making their first entrance into civU society. Men who can justify a separation from their IN AMERICA. 41 Church, and see no sin in schism, can soon satisfy themselves that fealty is a local, and not a general duty. With respect to ImpUed aUegiance, the only true and sensible view of the matter, it was argued, was that subjection was of two kinds, necessary and voluntary. From actual residence within any government, there naturaUy arose an obligation to submit to the laws and authority thereof. But birth was no necessary cause of aUegiance. The subjects of any prince, or nation had a perfect right to remove to any other state or part of the world, unless their own country were weakened or exposed by such removal, and even in that case if they were deprived of Uberty of conscience it would justify a separation, and upon their departure their co-relative obedience deter mined and ceased altogether. The country to which they were about to remove was claimed and possessed by absolute princes, whose title to the lordship and sovereignty thereof had been acknow ledged by kings of England, by purchasing some portion of their territory ; this they also proposed to do, and then they would stand in their place, as original and independent proprietors of the soU. It was obvious, therefore, they said, that as their migration from England would terminate their necessary civil subjection, their patent would be a great protection, not raerely from foreign ag- 42 THE ENGLISH gression but from the King himself; for at most It would only create a voluntary sort of dependence, and if any question should arise as to its nature and extent, it must be decided by the docu ment itself. Their situation, and that of the people of London, it was argued, was widely different. The compact between the sovereign and the inhabitants of that city, as contained In its charter, was not the origin of their aUegiance, but their actual residence, and so soon as any of them removed out of the kingdom, that necessary sub jection immediately changed its nature, and became optional. Now what would be the character of the new relation in which they would stand to the King? for that was an important question. It was, they said, simply an understanding, not to subject them selves to, or seek protection from any other princes, and this they were wlUing to promise. Having sUenced or satisfied then- apprehensions by this mode of reasoning, and assured themselves that accepting their patent involved no compromise of this liberty, they set themselves to work In earnest to prepare for embarkation. A fleet of fourteen saU was assembled for the transportation of fifteen hundred passengers, and on the 6th day of July twelve of the ships arrived at Massachusetts Bay, conveymg fhe Governor, the officers of the Com- IN AMERICA. 43 raonwealth, and the Charter. The expense of this equipraent amounted to twenty one thousand two hundred pounds sterUng.* On the 19th of October, 1630, the first General Court was held at Boston, where the Charter was produced, and pubUcly read to the assembled people, amidst the most profound sUence, and listened to with the deepest emotions of veneration and delight by those whose inde pendence its removal had effectuaUy secured. This was the commenceraent of the republic of Massachusetts. It was founded on deraocratic principles, guarded with the most zealous vi gUance, and supported and extended with cautious, but determined resolution ; when they surveyed their situation they felt assured they had nothing to fear from within. They were all democrats, and alike hostUe to the Church and State they had so cheerfuUy abandoned at home. But when they reflected on their isolated situation, the inadequacy of their means to such a vast under taking as settling a community of strangers In a wUderness, the distrust with which they knew they would be regarded by the Church, and the indignation which the removal of their Charter would naturaUy excite in the Court, they were * The expense of settling this colony amounted, during the first twelve years, to two hundred thousand pounds. See 1st Douglas, 428. 44- THE ENGLISH alarmed, but such was their courage and self- reliance, they were not dismayed or discouraged. They apprehended danger frora three sources, the crown, the hierarchy, and the parliament, as they were equaUy dreaded, and hated ; they continued until the close of the war of independence, In 1783 to be objects of their peculiar aversion. The deception practised by these people throughout the whole of their negotiation In England, seems to admit of no further addition, but their very last act was to pubUsh a manifesto to the clergy of the EstabUshed Church, assuring them that they were in fact and in heart members ofthe same coramunion, and soU cited their prayers and their blessings on this undertaking. They entreated thera to believe, to use their own words : " that they esteeraed it their honour to caU the Church of England their dear mother, and they could not leave the country where she resided without tears in their eyes. We leave it not, therefore," they said, " as loathing that mUk wherewith we were nourished there. But blessmg God for the parentage and education, and as members of the same body shaU rejoice In her good, and whUe we have breath, sincerely desire and endeavour the continuance and abundance of her welfare, with the enlargement of her bounds, in the kingdom of Jesus Christ,"* and much more * See the original letter in Book ii, Chap. 7, of this work. IN AMERICA. 45 to the same effect. History can scarcely furnish such an instance of consummate hypocrisy. The accounts of their early settlement in general circulation are chiefly those written by themselves or their descendants, who are their eulogists. Such being the case, truth can only be ascertained by a careful examination of original documents and obsolete contemporaneous works. They were always anxious to be considered as martyrs, and laid claim to aU that is noble in conduct, exalted in principle, and pure in religion, while the Sovereign whom they duped, has been represented as a tyrant, and the prelates, whom they publicly flattered and privately traduced, have been held up to the world as cruel and senseless bigots. There was no doubt much in the conduct of the King that cannot be justified, and in the hierarchy of the day that is deeply to be regretted, but rebelUous subjects compel monarchs to be cruel in self- defence, and a priest may weU be excused, if he thinks schism aggravated by deception and false hood. The object of this extraordinary manifesto is evident enough, but neither the persecution of the old, nor the possession of the new world, justifies them in sacrificing that, without which life in either hemisphere would find no security but in brute force. It has been said in extenuation of their conduct, that they had not formally seceded 46 THE ENGLISH from the Church, at the time they circulated this valedictory address. The answer is, congrega- tionaUsm they knew had already been adopted at Salem before they left England, by their agent Endicott, and subsequently confirmed by their approbation. And, furthermore, that as soon as they could possibly devote a day to it, from their indispensable duties, they again estabUshed it at Boston and Cambridge, with the utmost una nimity among the people, and the consent of every man that signed that touching appeal to their "Dear Brethren." Such were the people who laid the foundation of Republicanism in America. There is much In their conduct to admire and applaud, and much to reprove and condemn. The bright lights and dark shades of their character are in such contrast, that, to do them justice and preserve the Impar tiality of history, it wiU be difficult to avoid the charge of inconsistency, so different must the language occasionally be, that is extorted by truth on the one hand, or awarded by slander on the other. If, therefore, the meed of panygeric, to which they are often justly entitled, shaU seem irreconcUable with the terms in which their du plicity, obstinacy, and cruelty are denounced, it must be recoUected that their defects, no less than their -virtues, contributed to form that indomitable character for dogged resolution, without which IN AMERICA. 47 they never would have been non-conforraists in England, or republicans in America. To overlook these distinctions would betray a total ignorance of human nature ; to attempt to paUiate or conceal them, would lead to the suspicion that disingenu ousness is infectious, and that it cannot even be contemplated without danger. They have alter nately been the subject of extravagant eulogy, or unmitigated abuse, according to the medium of religious or poUtical prejudice, through which they have been viewed. Nothing can be farther from the truth than either of these extreme opinions. Their character, like that of most men, w;as mixed, but unlike that of any other people, was dis tinguished for qualities so totally opposite, and yet so strongly developed and so powerfuUy contrasted, that it is difficult to imagine how they could be combined without neutralizing each other. Their conduct exhibits so much despotism, and so ardent a love of liberty, so great a degree of superstition, and so much practical good sense, such refined casuistry, and Jesuitical double dealing, united with extraordinary frankness and manly behaviour, so little regard for the form of jurisprudence, and so warm an attachment to constitutional law, so much impatience of restraint or interference from others, with such a strong predUectlon to intermeddle with or control their neighbours, that general terms are manifestly inapplicable to 48 THE ENGLISH them. Their acts must be separately considered, and severaUy praised or censured according to their deserts. In searching for the causes that led to the formation and development of this extraordinary character, we must regard their condition In their native country, and the circumstances that moulded their opinions, and called forth the peculiarities that I have aUuded to. At the period of their lea-ving England, the great majority of them, though conforming to the Estab lished Church, were at heart dissentients, having Ujldergone the probation of complying, but not agreeing ; obeying but not respecting ; combining but not uniting ; assembling in Churches where everything that they saw or heard shocked thera as unscriptural and superstitious, using the Prayer- Book but rejecting it as papistical, Ustening to clergymen whose authority they despised and whose doctrine they denied ; and above aU, to bishops whom they believed to be neither Papists nor Pro testants, but amphibious beings clothed in aU the frippery, and practising all the mummery of the first, without possessing their antiquity or authority, and yet claiming to belong to the other, without having the purity of their doctrine, the simple rigour of their discipline, or the independence of their self-government. Nothing can be more destructive of true piety, ingenuous conduct, and simpUcity of mind, than insincere conformity, IN AMERICA. 49 when either adopted from prudential motives, or submitted to frora compulsion. Pretending to be what we are not, and holding out ourselves to the government or to the world as Churchraen, when in reality we are Dissenters or Romanists, is, in fact, hypocrisy, and no raan can long wear that garb, without a total change in his character. The essence of hypocrisy is falsehood. If a man inclines to the belief, that simulated compliance with unsound doctrines, or unscriptural churches, is defensible, he naturaUy seeks for plausible reason#to satisfy his own scruples, and if he succeed in deceiving hiraself, the inevitable tendency of his mind is to attempt to deceive others. Dissent is progressive. When privately in dulged for any length of time it grows too burden some for a secret, and requires to be acknowledged, and when announced it assumes a new name and a new form, and ripens into secession. Its waters, however, are then drugged with bitterness and strife, and whoever drinks of thera soon finds their baneful operation on his teraper, on the affections of his heart, and In aU his social relations of Ufe, while he experiences a syrapathetic change on his poUtical creed, and becomes familiarized with violent and seditious measures. Demanding a charitable construction on his own raotives and conduct, he is not wiUIng to concede it to others ; vol. I. D 50 THE ENGLISH and as people seldom forgive those whom they have injured, he views the members of the church he has left -with aU the acrimony of an enemy, and aU the vindictive energy of an insulted and outraged friend. To the forced compliance or voluntary nonconformity of the Pilgrim Fathers, as weU as the cold Calvinistic tenets of their faith, may be traced their austere manners and gloomy dispositions, their subtle reasoning and adroit evasions, their unrelenting persecutions, numerous banishments and barbarous executions, their unmiti gated hatred of episcopacy, and deep-rooted aversion to monarchical institutions. On the other hand, their patience under toU, privation and suffering, their indomitable courage in resisting the numerous enemies, and overcoming the many difficulties with which they were surrounded, their energy, in dustry and enterprise, their love of independence, their hospitality, benevolence, and public and pri vate liberality, the unity that prevaUed among themselves, their brotherly affection for each other, and many other correlative qualities are attributable in part to the Anglo-Saxon stock from which they sprang, and In part to the requirements and incidents of a forest horae in a new world. But their frugality, temperance, purity of morals, simplicity of manners, respect for the authorities of their Uttle state, both civU and religious, and simUar virtues, were all their own. IN AMERICA. 51 Such a careful analysis is due both to their character, and the faithfulness of this narrative. In order to make that inteUigible, which is other wise irreconcUable, it is necessary to seek for the springs of action that Ue beneath the surface, for conduct can only be duly appreciated by its motives, and effects be fuUy estimated by tracing them to their real causes. D 2 52 THE ENGLISH CHAPTER IV. Reasoning of the first settlers as to their independence— The colony becomes a republic from necessity — Oaths of supremacy and allegiance dispensed with — They decline to set up the King's arms — Mutilate the flag — Drinking healths abolished — Blackstone's remarks about the Lord's Brethren — Order that none but Church mem bers be admitted to be freemen — Another, forbidding a stranger to settle in the colony without a licence — Peti tioning the King called slandering the brethren — Punish ment of Morton, Sir Christopher Gardner, and Ratcliffe — Morton publishes a satire at Amsterdam — Returns to Massachusetts — Is fined and banished again — Intimate connection between their Church and State — The King orders several vessels in the Thames to be put under embargo — A House of Representatives meets in Boston, and is admitted as a branch of the Legislature — The Governor is not re-elected, and is made to account for his expenditure of the public moneys — His manly conduct on the occasion — A code of laws ordered to be compiled— Also a uniform system of Church Discipline. Having traced the origin of this republic, and Its history to the removal of the proprietors and their IN AMERICA. 53 charter to New England, I shaU now give a brief sketch of their resolute and systematic defence of their independence untU the year 1686, when the patent was revoked. We have seen that they apprehended aggression from three sources, the Crown, the Hierarchy, and the ParUament. It wiU be instructive to show with what courage they re sisted, or what ingenuity they evaded compUance with the authority or claims of aU. Their conduct in this particular was not the result of accident, or of pubUc distractions in England, or of their remote and isolated situation, though aU contributed to favour their object, but it was a predetermined and weU-concerted plan. They had paid a large sum of money to the CouncU of New Plymouth for their territory, they had fortified their title to the soU by purchases from the Indians, and they affected to beUeve that if the fortuitous circum stance of prior discovery had conveyed any right to the Crown, the King had formally surrendered it by the charter, in consideration of the conditions contained in it. They regarded it, therefore, as peculiarly their own country, and they were un wUling to aUow any interference whatever from any quarter. The form of the grant of incorpora tion caused at first some embarrassment, by its total want of adaptation to the purposes to which it had been so unexpectedly appUed. But as it was based on general election, and the Governor 54 THE ENGLISH and assistants were chosen by the freemen, all power centered in the people, and the moment the Government was organized, it naturaUy, and of necessity, became a repubUc. Whatever authority the General Court exercised, was delegated by qualified voters, and the officers they appointed received their commissions from those whora they empowered to issue them. The fundamental principle, therefore, of this little commonwealth was originaUy the sarae as that which now distinguishes and animates the individual states and great federal republic of the present day — namely, that the. people are the source of all power. At first, Uttle could be done In matters of legislation, when the individual wants and general weakness of the whole comraunlty required the personal and continued exertion of aU its members. The Governor, his deputy, and four assistants, were, appointed justices of the peace, with the same powers exercised by persons holding, slmUai' situar tions in England. A court of civil and criminal jurisdiction was also created, consisting of the higher officers of the corporation. In the absence of aU statute law, the Bible was substituted as a model and guide. In organizing the judiciary, a difficulty arose as to the nature of the oaths. The customary form of acknowledging the royal authority was evidently inapplicable, for the people, and not the King, was supreme, and IN AMERICA. 55 his name, therefore, was very quickly dispensed with. The oath- of aUegiance required some con.^. sideration, not whether it should be adopted, for that was not to be thought of, but whether it could be so qualified as to consist with their own in dependence, or be made contingent on residence and protection.* Sins of oraission are so much safer than sins of comraission, so much more difficult of detection, and so much more capable of explanation when discovered, that it was deemed prudent to omit it altogether, and to substitute one of fideUty to the local government instead. The King's arms were not only Uable to the same objections, but had no warrant in Scripture ; and a tender conscience supplied a better reason for declining to set thera up, than the sUence of the charter, or their own repugnance. The royal colours were no less exceptionable. To substitute new ones would be to hoist a flag of Independence, which, it was far more prudent quietly to maintain than openly proclaim, but there was no vaUd objection why they should not be altered in such a manner as to retain their form and general appear ance, and yet destroy their identity. Their ministers suggested a mode of mutUation that would effectuaUy answer their purpose, and a reason for their conduct which rendered it an * See an abstract of laws prepared for Massachusetts, by Mr. Cotton.. 56 THE ENGLISH imperative duty. They told them the cross was a relic of Romish superstition, and as such must be removed, if they were desirous of securing a blessing on their undertakings. The uninitiated mUitia at first refused to muster under this " new fangled flag," but when its unscriptural character was pointed out to them, they admitted the pro priety of the alteration, and the cross was accord ingly condemned as unlawful. Foreign gold and silver coins marked in a simUar manner could not be so conveniently defaced, and were suffered to pass current without objection. They were unobtrusive, and, humanly speaking, merited toleration by their intrinsic value, but when weighed in the balance with poUtical and reUgious principles, were found wanting, and treated as mere dross, unworthy of the consideration of a people who had forsaken Mammon, and crossed the Atlantic, to preserve and perpetuate the true faith. Thus we see how carefuUy they abstained at the very outset, from aU recognition of the power of the Crown, either directly or Indirectly. Drink ing to the health of each other at table, as it was followed by toasts, and long usage had sanctioned the priority of the King's name, with the usual benediction of " God bless him," it was thought ad-visable to aboUsh, as it would, as a matter ,of course, cause a discontinuance of the other practice, which might be a snare to. those whose IN AMERICA. 57 intimate associates in England thought no harm in usurping his authority, and could see no sin in compassing his death. They were now a sovereign people, but the exercise of such unlimited power was new to them, and this novelty, as yet wholly unrestrained by constitutional checks, increased their impatience of individual resistance, which is at aU times the natural tendency of a democracy,* and made them both arbitrary and -vindictive in their conduct. An EngUsh Dissenter of the name of Blackstone, whom they found U-ving at Boston, and claiming it by ¦virtue of his discovery and possession, was soon made to feel the difference between republican and royal compulsion ; and on quitting the community, remarked, in the bitterness of disappointed feeling, " that he had left England because he did not Uke the Lord's Bishops, but that he should now leave them, for he could not stand the Lord's Brethren." The first emigrants who had a community of feeUng both on poUtical and reUgious matters, were resolved that their country should not merely be independent, but that its government should be freed from the interference of any new-comers who entertained different opinions from themselves. Dissent they knew they could deal with, but they knew also, that members of the Church of Eng- * Hubbard's New England, Chap. xxvi. "Wonder Working Providence, 39. D 3 58 THE ENGLISH land, if allowed to obtain a footing among them, would, as a matter of course, acknowledge the King to be their sovereign, keep him informed of their usurpations, and be protected in their worship. ¦ They therefore at this early date, 18th -of May, 1631, enacted in " order that the body of the commons might be preserved' of good and honest men," that no person should be admitted to the freedom of the company, but such as were members of some of the churches estabUshed by law. So effectually did this check the introduction of Episcopalians, that during the whole continuance of the Charter, not a single congregation was collected in all Massachusetts. This bold attempt at exclusive sovereignty. Is thus lamented by Leechford : " None may now be a freeman of that corapany unless he be a Church meraber among them. None have voice in elections of Governor, deputy, and assistants, none are to be magistrates, officers or jurymen, grand or petit, but freemen. The ministers give their votes in aU elections of magistrates. Now the most of the persons at New England are not admitted of their Church, and therefore are not freemen, and when they come to be tried' there, be it for life or Umb, name or estate, or whatsoever, they must be tried and judged too by those of the Church, -vvho are in a sort their adversaries. How equal that hath been or may be, some by ex- IN AMERICA. 59 perience do know, others may judge." Another law was passed in the year 1767, having in view the same object : " That none should be received to inhabit within the jurisdiction, but such as should be allowed by some ofthe magistrates," and it, was fuUy understood, that differing frora the churches established in the country, was as great a disquaUfication as any poUtical opinions. In defence of this order, it is advanced that the apostolic rule of rejecting such as brought not the true doctrine with thera, was as appUcable to the commonwealth as the Church, and that even the profane were less to be dreaded than the able advocates of erroneous tenets.* Complaints they could not prevent, nor could the. right to petition the Crown be openly impugned but by creating a new offence, that of accusing the brethren ; no one could petition without being guUty of this crime. They therefore forbore to press a man to trial for memorializing the King in council, but they charged him with slandering the brethren, and held hira Uable to fine, iraprison- ment, or corporal punishment, or aU three, for this petit treason. The intercourse with Europe was then so limited, and; the distance so appaUing, that pubUc attention in England was not attracted for some time to this glaring usurpation. Morton, * See Minot Hist. Mass.,. vol. i,. p. 29. 60 THE ENGLISH -who had the temerity to erect his May-pole again on land, not within the jurisdiction of Massa chusetts, was seized by the Governor soon after his arrival, put into the stocks, and transported to his native country, where we are very gravely informed by Prince, " he was not even rebuked." He was imprudent enough to return after his property had thus been invaded, and himself imprisoned and exiled, but was soon made Sensible of his rashness. The Governor affecting to espouse the cause of an Indian, who disputed his right to the possession of a canoe, arrested him, burned down his establishment, and confiscated his estate, to pay for the expense of conveying him to England. In London he was joined by two other victims of their cruelty and oppression — Sir Christopher Gardner and PhUip Ratcliffe, who united with him in petitioning the King for redress. The former had been sent out by Sir Ferdinando Georges, as his agent, for the protection of a large territory he had purchased, adjoining that of the colony of Massachusetts. Whatever his reUgion may have been, one thing was certain, he was not a Puritan. As a stranger whoUy unconnected with the colony, it was not a question for their consideration whether he was a Romanist or a Churchman ; but they as sumed the fact that he was a Papist, and ordered hira to be arrested. Knowing their cruelty, and IN AMERICA. 61 fearing the result, he preferred trusting to the hospitality and protection of the savages, and arm ing himself, fled into the wUderness. The Indians, not without sorae difficulty, were bribed to give up to his unrelenting pursuers their confiding guest, and seizing an opportunity, when deprived of his sword and his gun, by the upsetting of his canoe, they attacked him while in the water, and with long poles beat him so severely over his hands and arras that he was corapeUed to relinquish the hold of his dagger (which was his only weapon) and surrender himself a prisoner. He was first taken to the gaol in Plymouth, and then removed to that of Boston, from whence he was sent to Eng land. In the meantime his papers were seized and examined, and such of them as were thought of service in developing the plans of his employer. Sir Ferdinando Georges, were retained. The other complainant was PhUip Ratcliffe. He had been a servant of Craddock, the first charter Governor, and faUing UI in his employ, on his recovery demanded wages frora the agent of his master for the tirae he had been disabled. Disappointed in his expectations, he made some disparaging remarks, about a people whose conduct so little comported with their professions. For this offence he was fined forty pounds, severely whipped, shorn of his ears, and banished forthwith out of the jurisdiction. 62 THE ENGLISH On the complaint of these people, an order in council was issued for an investigation, but the inquiry was deferred for the time, by the artfiil management of the principal associate, and by the secret assistance of sorae of the councU, who were favourable to the cause of Dissenters. The com mittee of inquiry were informed that the company ought not to be punished for the conduct of some of its members ; that if there were any causes of complaint, they could only be proved or explained by witnesses from the colony, but as they were at that time sending them sorae indispensable addi tional suppUes (three Nonconformist ministers*) any suspension of the operations of the company would be attended with the most disastrous conse quences. Strange to say, this reasoning prevaUed at the time to defeat the just claim of the petitioners for redress. The success of this deceptive conduct astonished everybody, and none raore than the Governor and Assistants theraselves; for they were not only honourably acquitted, but actually applauded. They were assured by the King's governraent they raight go cheerfuUy on with their present undertaking, and, " if things were carried on as was pretended when the charter was granted, his Majesty would raamtain the Uberties and privi- * John Cotton, Thomas Hooker,, and Samuel Stone. IN AMERICA. 63 leges of the company." Morton appealed from the King in council to the public. He published at Amsterdam in 1637, a work entitled " New Eng Ush Canaan," in which, with more elegance of composition than was usual in those days, he rldicxUed the Separatists with a severity that bespeaks the extent of the injury he had sustained at their hands. He is also said to have furnished Butler with the anecdote he has so inimitably told in Hudibras,* of the people of Plymouth having * Hudibras, Part ii, Canto 2. "That sinners may supply the place Of suflFering saints, is a plain case. Justice gives sentence many times. On one man for another's crimes ; Our brethren of New England use Choice malefactors to excuse. And hang the guiltless in their stead, Of whom the Churches have less meed. As lately 't happen' d : In a town There lived a cobbler, and but one. That out of doctrine could cut, use, And mend men's lives as well as shoes. This precious brother having slain, In times of peace, an Indian, The mighty Tottipottymoy Sent to our Elders an envoy, "Who called upon the saints to render Into his hands, or hang th' offender. But they maturely having weighed They had no more but him o' th' trade, [Resolved 64 THE ENGLISH appeased the anger of the Indians for a murder of one of their people by hanging a bed-ridden innocent pauper in stead of the real criminal, who, besides being a saint, had an additional claim to their clemency frora being the only expert cord- wainer in the place. This story, which has been generaUy considered to have had no other foundation than the imagi nation of the poet, there is unhappUy some reason to fear was but too true. Hubbard himself, a Puritan minister, Uving near the scene, and old enough* to have traced its authenticity, has not ventured in his history of New England to give it an unqualified contradiction. The inha bitants of Plymouth,- he says, teU the story much otherwise. But if they were driven by necessity to do justice to content the Indians at that time, it is possible it might be executed, not on him that most deserved, but on him that can best be spared, or who was not Uke to live long if he had been let alone.f It is almost incredible that with this sad expe rience of their persecuting spirit, Morton should Resolv'd to spare him : yet, to do The Indian, Hogam Mogam, too. Impartial justice, in his stead did Hang an old weaver that was bed-rid." * He was born in 1621. t Fifth Vol. Mass. Hist. CoU. Second series, p. 77. IN AMERICA. 65 have ventured among them again ; but his perse verance was equal to their own, and they were araazed at beholding him there for the third tirae. He was instantly arrested, and a letter, written by hira from London to a friend in the colony, inter cepted by the Governor (in which he caUs him " King Winthrop, " and inveighs against his " Amsterdam and fanatical ordinances,") was pro duced against him. He was forthwith con-victed of sedition, fined a hundred pounds, and banished again frora the colony. To console him under his afflictions, he was told he had great reason to be thankful for the mercy of the court, as nothing but his great age had saved hira frora the whip ping-post.* Ratcliffe becarae a lunatic from the cruel treatment he received, and Sir Christopher Gardner very prudently gave up the contest. This severe conduct was applauded by the ministers, by whom toleration was preached against as a sin in rulers that would inevitably bring down the judgment of Heaven upon the land. " He that is mounted in the saddle," said one of their divines, " had need keep the reins straight, unless he intends to be thrown down and trodden under foot ; they are the ministers, of God for the good of man kind, and should not bear the sword in vain."f * Hutchinson's History, vol. i, p. 75. ¦f Notice was that year taken of an impudent aflfront one Captain Stone offered to Mr. Ludlow, one of the magis- 66 THE ENGLISH The power of the clergy was irresistible. At the first Court of Assistants, an Act was passed for buUding houses for thera at the public expense, by which they becarae indlssolubly connected with the State. By the operation of the two laws, I have already aUuded to, namely, that no man could be qualified to vote, or be elected to office, who was not a Church member, and that no Church could be formed but by a licence from a magis trate, the civU and ecclesiastical affairs were more intimately combined than in England. The granting or withholding political rights being thus centered in the ministers, the leveUing propensity of congregationaUsm was curbed and restrained by this new power, and aU were compeUed to submit, and pay court, to the very men it was their original intention to have divested of all authority. Bigotry, intolerance, and hypocrisy were infinitely increased and aggravated by this ex traordinary aUiance. The preachers were con sulted on aU affairs of State and legislation, were often present at the passing of laws, and lent their powerful aid to have them executed. The attention of the King was again called to the colony of Massachusetts. He was informed that there was a great stream of emigration trates, calling him just- ass, for justice : it cost the offender one hundred pounds and banishment. — Hist. Col. vol. v. Second series, p. 157. IN AMERICA. 67 flowing steadUy thither, of persons known to be Ul-affected to him, his church, and government. An order was accordingly issued by the Privy Council to stay several ships in the Thames, ready to saU to New England, with settlers and provisions, for the exhibition of passenger lists, and for the production of the Charter. This was the first time its removal was discovered or avowed, and the plausible Craddock promised to send for it immediately. He informed the CouncU that the royal right was well protected by the clause enforcing the oaths of allegiance and supremacy (although he knew they had not been administered to the emigrants), and entreated that, they who had so recently and affectionately addressed the Church as their dear mother, and avowed before God and man their attachment to it at parting, should be believed in preference to their slanderers, and wound up with a glowing description of naval stores that the planters would soon be able to send to England. After some little delay they were permitted to proceed on their voyage, and emigration again revived. In the meanwhUe, the inhabitants having pro ceeded step by step to consolidate their power at Boston, in evasion or defiance of the Charter, now altered their constitution in a manner to suit the, exigencies of the times, and their own wants, with out asking permission or seeking authority from 68 THE ENGLISH the King. In consequence of sorae severe regula tions made by the magistrates relative to trespasses, which were exceedingly unpopular in the rural districts, two delegates chosen by each town assembled at Boston and demanded a sight of the Charter, upon the examination of which they arrived at the conclusion, that the legislative autho rity rested not with the magistrates, but with the freemen. On this point they asked the opinion of the Governor, who told them, that when the patent was issued, it was supposed the freemen would be so free that all could conveniently assemble, but now they had become too numerous to raeet for delibe ration. At the same time, he said, he was of opinion, they did not yet contain sufficient materials to constitute a distinct branch of the Legislature, but proposed that a certain number of delegates should be chosen annuaUy to prefer grievances, but not to raake laws ; though their consent per haps might be required to aU assessments of money and grants of land. They were not satisfied with any such restricted power, and accordingly at a General Court, held in the year 1634, twenty- four of the principal inhabitants of the colony, presented themselves as the representatives of the body of freeraen, and deraanded on behalf of their constituents the right to share in aU legislative proceedings of that body, a claim which, though it had no foundation whatever in the Charter, was IN AMERICA. 69 supported by analogy to the constitution of the mother country, and was too congenial to their own democratic views to be refused. The Governor and Assistants, however, were not prepared for what foUowed. They were aware that a House of Comraons would naturally dirainish much of their own weight and influence, but they were astonished to find, when their admission was conceded, that their first step, before proceeding to business, was to define the power and jurisdiction of the General Court in its amended forra ; and in that definition, to appropriate to themselves a fuU share of execu tive as weU as legislative authority. Hitherto, although the Government had been elective, the choice of officers had usually fallen upon the same persons. Mr. Winthrop had been appointed Governor every year since the foundation of the coraraonwealth, and most of the Assistants had also been re-elected. As Judges and Justices they were the dignitaries of the land. Their discre tionary power, in the absence of a regular code of laws, was very great. Severe penalties were enacted for disobeying thera, and stUl heavier punishments awarded for discourteous or contumelious beha viour towards thera. Deraocracy, however, is no respecter of persons. Where all authority emanates from the mass, aU must finally bow to that source of power. The natural order of society is soon reversed: officials first become courtiers to the 70 THE ENGLISH people, and then are degraded to a menial depen dence on their masters. This universal law of poUtics was now made palpable to the founders of the republic. One of the first acts of the representatives was to impose a fine on the Court of Assistants for having presumed, during the preceding year. In the exercise of their discretion, not to act in con formity to an order of the General Court. The Governor, a most able, zealous, liberal and laborious officer, who had discharged aU the guber natorial duties gratuitously for several years, was quietly passed over without any reason whatever that can be discovered, beyond the -vUe and con temptible propensity of democrats to bumble and degrade to their own vulgar level all that are distinguished among them for character or talent. Not content with this unprovoked and unmerited insult, he was coarsely interrogated as to the receipts and disbursement of the public money during his administration, as if he had been a defaulter, and enriched himself with the spoUs, instead of exhausting his raeans, and impoverishing his family, by private charities and pubUc benefac tions, as was well known to be the case. At the termination of this ungrateful and humUiating proceeding, he handed in the foUowing dignified and temperate protest : " In all these things which I offer, I refer myself IN AMERICA. 71 to the wisdom and justice of the court, with this protestation, that it repenteth me not of ray cost or labour bestowed on this commonwealth, but do heartily bless the Lord our God that He hath pleased to honour me so far as to call for anything He hath bestowed upon me for the service of His Church and people here : the prosperity whereof, and His gracious acceptance, shall be an abundant recompense to me. I conclude with this one request (which in justice may not be denied me), that as it stands upon record, that upon the dis charge of my office I was caUed to 'account, so this my declaration may be recorded also, lest hereafter, when I shaU be forgotten, some bleraish may Ue upon my posterity, when there shaU be nothing to clear it. " John Winthrop." September 4th, 1634. It is a painful, but instructive page of history. The colony was founded by Mr. Winthrop, in a spirit of defection to his Sovereign and his Church. The first act of the legislature, a chUd of his own creation, was a rejection of hiraself as their Governor, the imposition of a fine and censure upon his Court of Assistants, and an accusation against both having as little foundation in truth as those he had himself so lightly adopted, and so little examined, against his King and his Primate. 72 the ENGLISH The estabUshment of a representative body was a bold exercise of independence, but it completed and consolidated the power of the state, which being based altogether on the elective system, was purely repubUcan. This innovation created an inquiry into the nature ofthe liberty and privUeges of the people, which threatened to convulse the colony by the numerous abstract questions to which it gave rise. Among others was a dispute as to the veto of the Assistants, both as regarded its existence ana its limits. A number of persons having memoriaUsed the Court for leave to remove out of the jurisdic tion, the Assistants refused their assent, assigning, araong other reasons, one that in raodern times would expose thera to much sectarian abuse. " The removal of a candlestick," they said, " is a great judgment, which ought to be avoided." By far the greater part of the delegates were for granting the prayer of the petitioners, and nu- mericaUy they formed a raajority of the whole Court. The dispute on this contested point was very warm, and the session was adjourned. What they refused to grant to the assumptions of the magistrates, they yielded to the fervid elo quence of Mr. Cotton, who preached before them, when they reassembled ; "for it pleased the Lord so to assist him, and to bless His own ordinances that the affairs of the Court went on cheerfully." IN AMERICA. 73 At this time was first introduced the custom, now so prevalent in America and the British provinces, of paying the members of the Legisla ture. It was ordered that the charge of dieting the assistants and delegates during the General Court be paid out of the public treasury. About the same period the vote by baUot for the delegates was estabUshed. The aid of the ministers, and some of the ablest men in the province, was now reqiJ^sted, to compUe a uniform order of discipline for aU the churches in the colony. vol. I. 74 .the ENGLISH CHAPTER V. A commission issues to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and eleven other persons, for governing the colonies, &c. — Abbot and Laud, their conduct contrasted — Severe trials of the Church — Its character and conduct — Colonists assume the right of making treaties — Free-Trade with the Narragansetts — Offer of hereditary rank made by Lord Saye and Sele — Reasons for declining it — Petition of the people debarred of civil rights for nonconformity — They are summoned to appear before the Governor and Assistants, and denounced by the Ministers — Heavily fined and bound over to keep the peace — Their private papers searched, and a memorial found addressed to the Earl of Warwick — Its contents — The people extend their jurisdiction to Weathersfield, situated beyond the Hmits of Massachusetts — Justification of encroachment — Gorton's settlement broken up, and his followers severely punished — The Grand Council of Plymouth surrenders its Charter on the ground of the colonists claiming inde pendence — A Quo Warranto ordered to be issued for the revocation of the Charter — Sir Ferdinando Georges nominated Governor- General — The Ministers convened to advise — They recommend resistance — Dissenters from IN AMERICA. 75 the Churches of Massachusetts settle at Connecticut, Rhode Island, and other places — War with the Pequods — The army under a covenant of works — Extermination of the Indian tribe — Troubles in England — The colony is left unmolested. In England great astonishment was expressed at this usurpation, which naturally drew attention also to the artful raanner in which Episcopalians were excluded, if not from the country, at least from aU participation in its government. A royal com mission, therefore, was granted to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and eleven other persons, for the management of colonial affairs, conferring or re voking patents, appointing public officers, and other more extensive powers. The recital reasserts, in distinct terms, that the object of the King, in granting the Charter, " was not merely to enlarge the territories of our erapire, but more especially to propagate the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The contumacy and intractability of the Puritans at home increased the alarm that was felt at the extension of the sect in America. Every means had been tried and exhausted for reconcihng or conciliating them, but in vain. Concessions led to further demands, kindness only served to infuse a beUef of weakness ; and, in the exasperated state of piiblic feeUng, nothing appeared to be left but compulsion. The indulgence of Abbot rather em boldened their opposition, as they affected to see E 2 76 THE ENGLISH in his mUdness or negligence a siraUarlty of opinions with their own. Laud, warned by the failure of his predecessor, was more vIgUant and more rigid, and endeavoured to compel these re fractory Nonconformists to obedience, by a strict enforcement of the law, in the execution of which he showed himself as zealous, active, and almost as severe as the Puritans themselves. These people exhibited the most melancholy specimen of the arrogance, obstinacy, and inconsistency of the human mind to be found in any age or country. At the very time that they were depriving every person in Massachusetts of aU civil rights, who was not in fuU coramunion with them, or Im prisoning, fining, or banishing whoever dared to maintain doctrines at variance with their own, they denounced as a bigot and a demon the Arch bishop, who, unfortunately, adopted the same error of compulsory conversion as themselves. It was not without gi-eat alarm, therefore, they were informed that a Quo Warranto had been issued against thera, and that the Governor was ordered by the Board forthwith to send back to England the Charter which had been so surrep titiously reraoved. They had now a man to deal with, who knew their principles too well to he duped by professions, whose duty it was to protect his own Church, and to see that no part of his Majesty's dominions was closed against her IN AMERICA. 77 members, and who had penetrated the designs of their co-religionists to subvert the monarchy. From his weU-known integrity and piety they knew that they might look for justice ; but they saw nothing in the contumely and insults they had heaped upon him to lead them to hope that he would make another fruitless attempt to try the effect of indulgence. The conduct of these two prelates. Abbot and Laud, has been variously -viewed, both by con temporary authors and historians of the present day, according to the uncertain standard of their own morals and politics. By some the moderation or connivance of the first has been extoUed as an example of Christian virtue, worthy of all praise; whUe a rigid adherence to ecclesiastical discipline, and a strict observance of the law of the land, has earned for the other a character for cruelty and tyranny. But the agitated state of the times, the fury of party, the ferocity and disloyalty of schismatics, and the intrigues of an unscrupulous Court, if they do not afford a justification for the negligence of the one, or the rigour of the other, weU warrant us in putting a charitable construction on the conduct of both. Where the shelter of non interference merely aggravated the ' e-vU, it was natural to try the only other alternative, severity ; and subsequent events have now clearly disclosed to us that the middle course, in which justice is 78' TpE ENGLISH: tempered with mercy, so difficult at all times to be found, and especially in civU commotions, would have been equally unavaUing. It is probable, however, that if Abbot had been more firm. Laud would have been less severe; and it is certain that a proper discharge of his duty, without periUing his own life, would have saved that of his martyred successor. No reUgious establishment has had so much to contend against as the Anglican Church. For centuries before the Reformation, she had to endure the assaults of Rorae ; and ever since, the furious attacks of fanatics; whUe lately she has had to withstand thera both, under the serious disadvan tage of being crippled by the State in the freedom of her actions. Forraerh', the Governraent, to suit their own poUtical views, found it necessary to fill the bench of Bishops with persons holding high prerogative opinions. In more recent times the, selection for a simUar purpose has been too often made from latitudinarians, whUe during the whole period of tirae, she has had within her own pale a numerous party who receive her pay, and eat her bread, but refuse to do her bidding, or teach her doctrines. Deprived of her convocation, she has been powerless to preserve uniformity, defend her self or enforce her discipline, and, above aU, to exert her whole voice in demanding her ancient right of electing her own prelates. Hence the IN AMERICA. 79' soundness of one diocese contrasts strangely with the Ucence and disorder of another, and the anoraa- lous appeals in raatters of belief to a lay courts . evince less unity than Rome, and less independence than dissent. During aU these afflictions, her conduct has been worthy of herself Her firmness in resisting encroachments, and patience under persecutions, moderation in prosperity, devotion to the cause of truth and learning, her zeal and munificence in propagating the Gospel to the furtherraost parts of the earth, are weU attested by the fruit she has borne.^ Her sterUng worth is staraped on her chUdren, and an Englishman may weU be proud of the parent that instructed his tender years, and implanted in his mind all those virtues that invi gorate, and those graces that adorn his character. WhUe the Puritan preachers of Massachusetts were occupied in corapUing a bodyof laws, and a code of dmnity, the ParUament of the colony entered at once upon the exercise of unrestricted sovereign power, and authorized or sanctioned the assumption by the executive of the right to raake war, or declare treaties of peace, with the surrounding Indian nations. The Narragansetts, a powerful and nuraerous tribe, were among the first to enter into offensive and defensive aUiance with them. Some of the stipulations of this compact have since 80' THE ENGLISH been adopted by the diplomatists* of modern times, and the surrender of fugitives from justice, £ind unrestrained free-trade, though apparently equaUy beneficial to both from their reclprbcal character, concealed, under specious terms, the self ishness that dictated them ; for the grave offered to the savage an asylum infinitely preferable to the abodes of the white man, and free-trade was only beneficial to those who desired the advantage of tempting the cupidity, or over-reaching the simpli city of their customers, by gi-ving thera in exchange for their furs, superfluities, of the value or use of which they were equaUy ignorant. A few years * The following is the treaty alluded to : 1. A firm and perpetual peace betwixt them and the English. 2. Neither party to make peace with the Pequods with out the consent of the other. 3. That Narragansetts should not harbour any Pequods. 4. That they should put to death, or dehver up any murderers of the English. 5. That they should return fugitive servants. 6. The English to give them notice when to go out against the Pequods, and the Narragansetts to furnish guides. 7. Free-Trade to be carried on between the parties. 8. None of the Narragansetts to come near the English plantations during the war with the Pequods, without some Englishman or Indian known to the English. — Hutch, vol. I, p. 591. IN AMERICA. 81 afterwards an army was raised to proceed against these same aUies, who had subsequently become refractory and turbulent ; but so imposing a force awed them into submission, and a renewal of com mercial intercourse. In this democratic body the companies usuaUy chose then- own officers, and the executive contented itself with appointing a commander-in-chief to direct its operations. The coraraonwealth then, as at the present day, was substituted for the royal autho rity; and the revolution of 1783, instead of des- troyingold institutions, was conservative inits charac ter, and merely restored the ancient order of things. The spirit of independence and equaUty was as deeply rooted then as now in Massachusetts, and an offer of hereditary rank, when tendered to the principal inhabitants by Lord Saye and Sele, if they would join him in colonizing the Bahamas, was peremptorUy and decidedly refused. Hereditary authority, they said, had no warrant in Scripture, and any civil power whatever, not based on church membership, was equaUy repugnant to the wUl of God. They assured his Lordship that it was their conscientious conviction, that it was " a divine ordinance (and moral) that none should be appointed and chosen by the people of God, magistrates over them, but men fearing God,* chosen out of their * Exodus x-vdii, 21. E 3 82 THE ENGLISH brethren,* Saints.f That the Apostle maketh it a sharae to the Church, if it be not able to afford wise men from out of theraselves, which shall be able to judge all civil matters between their brethren.| And Solomon maketh it the joy of a commonwealth when the righteous are in authority, and the calamity thereof when the wicked bear Tule.§ It was not to be supposed, however, that this exclusive claim of the Church, to confine aU affairs of trust and emolument to its own members, would be submitted to without a struggle, by those who were debarred of the right of becoming freeraen under the terms of the Charter. The object of it was weU known to have been to dis courage Episcopalians from settling in the State, and to preserve the ascendancy of the Puritans ; but as It did not answer the purpose as fuUy or as promptly as was expected, another Act was passed of a more stringent nature. A penalty was laid upon aU persons who should entertain In tlieir houses a stranger who came with an intent to reside in the colony, or should aUow hira the use of any habitation, or lot of land, for a longer period than three weeks, without perraission from the magistrates. The fine on indi-viduals was twenty pounds, and a like sura for every raonth * Deut. xvii, 15. f I. Cor. -vi, 1. J I. Cor. vi, 5. . . § Prov. xxix, 2. IN AMERICA. 83 that the offence was persisted In. One hundred pounds was also iraposed upon any town, for either giving or seUing land to any such unUcensed person. Under the pretence of guarding their chartered rights, and preserving the purity of their religion and morals, they thus managed to introduce laws that effectuaUy converted those who professed any other creed than their own into aliens, and ren dered thera Uable to aU the disabiUties and all the inconvenience of being subjects of a foreign realra. Obstinacy is not confined to any class or sect, but is a pecuUarity of our national character ; and if tbe Puritans had the courage to claira the country as their own, and disregard or deny the supreraacy of the parent State, there were not wanting those who questioned their right, and were deterralned at aU hazards to demand an equal share of the privUeges and advantages conferred upon aU by the patent. Araong these were several persons of character and property, who, as a prelirainary step, petitioned the General Court, or local assem bly. In their memorial, which was couched in firm but respectful language, they complained: 1st. That the fundamental laws of England were not owned by the colony, as the basis of their government, according to the Charter. 2nd. The denial of those civU pri-vileges which the freemen of the jurisdiction enjoyed, to such as were not 84 THE ENGLISH members of churches, and did not take an oath of fidelity, devised by the local authority, although they were free-born Englishmen of sober lives, conversation, &c. 3rd. That they were debarred from Christian prI-vUeges, -viz., the Lord's Supper for themselves, and baptism for their chUdren, unless they were members of some of the parti cular churches in the country, though otherwise sober, righteous, and godly, and enunent for knowledge, not scandalous in life and conversation, and members of churches in England. They prayed that civil liberty and freedom might forthwith be granted the inhabitants, and that aU members of the Church of England or Scotland, not scandalous, raight be adraitted to the privUeges of the churches of New England, or, if these civU and reUgious liberties were refused, that they might be freed from the heavy taxes imposed upon them, and from the impresses made of them, their chUdren, or servants in the wars. They further stated that if they faUed of redress, they should be under the necessity of making ap plication to ParUament, who they hoped would take their sad condition into consideration, provide able ministers for them. New England having none such to spare, or else transport them to some other place, their estates being wasted, where they may Uve Uke Christians. Such a bold and decisive measure at once IN AMERICA. 58 awakened the fears of the Governor, and aroused the anger of the clergy. The former summoned them to appear and answer for this contumacious conduct, at the bar of the court ; the latter, with their usual zeal and intolerance, invoked the judg ment of God upon the maUgnants, who dared to impugn the saints, and threatened to slander the elect by appeaUng to an EngUsh tribunal, the members of which were under a covenant of works. The inveteracy of both justified the proceedings of the petitioners, and confirmed them in the course they had resolved to pursue. The thunders of the pulpit and the threats of the executive, though not equally formidable, were both sufficient to terrify men of ordinary nerves. The denuncia tions of the ministers were equivalent to excom munication among a people who believed that salvation was not to be obtained beyond the pale of Puritanism ; and the frowns of a court that held irresponsible power over life and property, and believed it was doing God service in freely exer cising it, were not to be encountered without terror. Instead of receiving redress, they were required to answer for their own conduct. They humbly sub mitted that they had preferred no charges, but had merely solicited a change, and requested a reform. The right to petition was freely conceded by their rulers, with a mildness and meekness that did honour to their Christian humUity, but they were 86 THE ENGLISH Informed with great sternness that they had ex ceeded the bounds of that invaluable pri-vilege, and endangered the liberty of the people by a licentious use of a constitutional right, and were accordingly heavily fined in proportion to their abiUty. They then claimed an appeal to the Commissioners for Plantations, but they were told that was an aggra vation of their offence, inasmuch as it had a tendency to lower the character of the court among the people, and were therefore ordered to find securities for their future good behaviour. To submit to authority is the duty of aU good subjects, but to obey without a murmur, when it is abused, is more than can be expected from the infirmity of human nature. In the irritation of the moraent, sorae of the petitioners announced their intention of proceeding to England, to lay their complaint before the Imperial Government. This fresh offence caUed for further coercive measures, and a search-warrant was issued to seize and examine their private papers. A me morial was found addressed to the Earl of Warwick and the other members of the board, signed by twenty-three non-freemen, for themselves and many thousand more,* in which they stated, that from the pulpit they had been reproached, and * It is probable that the words " many thousand more," are about as accurate as numbers, when spoken of in peti tions, usually are. IN AMERICA. 87 branded with the names of destroyers of churches and commonwealths, caUed Hamans, Judases, sons of Korah, &c., and the Lord entreated to confound thera, and the people and magistrates stirred up against thera, by those who were too forward to step out of theu- caUIngs — in consequence of which some of them had even been committed for refusing to give bonds for two hundred pounds, to abide by the sentence of the court ; when all their crime was to petition, and they had , publicly been treated' as malefactors, &c. They then proceed to pray : 1. For settled churches in Massachusetts ac cording to the Reformation of England. 2. That the laws of England may be estab lished. 3. That aU EngUsh freeholders raay enjoy such privUeges as in England, and the other plantations. 4. That a general Governor, or some Commis sioners may be appointed, &c. 5. That the oath of aUegiance may be taken by aU, and other covenants which the Parliament shall think most convenient. To this petition were appended certain queries : Whether the patent of Massachusetts was con firraed by Parliament, and whether it was not necessary it should be ? Whether the court may forfeit their Charter, &c. ? Whether, if treason be uttered in the pulpit, or 88 THE ENGLISH in the court and not questioned, the court do not consent, &c. ? Whether it be not high treason, as weU in New England as in Ireland, to endeavour to subvert the fiindaraental laws of England, to take away the liberties of the English nation, to say that Massa chusetts is a free state, &c. ? Whether the oath of allegiance and the cove nant be not binding there ? Whether aU EngUsh inhabitants having lands, are not freemen ? Whether the com-t hath power to confine to prison, banish, impose censures, impress persons and goods for an offensive war, &c. ? Whether the ministers may publicly vlUfy the EngUsh nation, laws, &c. ; and not be ques tioned ? Whether the petitioners ought to be hindered settUng in a church way, according to the churches in England, &c. ? Good behaviour is a term of extensive significa tion, and at that period petitioning ParUament, whose jurisdiction was not admitted, was e-vi dently a violation of the duty of an obedient subject. The fine which had already been exacted from them, and the dread of forfeiting the bonds into which they had entered, deterred them from further prosecuting their appeal untU a more favourable opportunity. Resistance to constituted IN AMERICA. 89 authority, when effectuaUy defeated, necessarily strengthens the Government it was designed to overthrow; and one successful exercise of arbi trary power naturaUy leads to another. Having re peatedly stifled remonstrance within, the Puritans could not endure open defiance without their bor ders. Several of the inhabitants having removed to Weathersfield, a place beyond the limits of Mas sachusetts, it was deemed prudent to assume jurisdiction, in order to avoid the contamination of bad neighbours. At first some scruples were entertained as to the legaUty of thus appropriating territory to themselves, to which they admitted they had no right, but a little reflection soon enabled them to overcome this difficulty. It was thought advisable, if any objection should hereafter be made by England to this presumptuous assump tion of power, to apply to her her own reasoning on the subject of fealty, by which they would have the advantage of both sides of the arguraent. When they left the mother country, they main tained that aUegiance was localand not general, obedi ence and protection being reciprocal ; whUe, on the other hand, the Crown lawyers held that a man never could divest himself of this obUgation, which accompanied him to the most remote parts of the earth. Now protesting in their own case against this doctrine of the EngUsh jurists, stiU it was fair, they said, to apply it to those who believed it, for no one can be injured by submitting to a law 90 THE ENGLISH which he attempts to force on others, and which he asserts to be obUgatory on aU. Assuming, therefore, that the emigrants who had been inha bitants of the colony, and had taken the oath of fidelity to the commonwealth, were stUl bound by it, though not residing within its limits, it was but right and proper, that the State should on its part extend to them its protection and support. They accordingly very quietly and complacently, assumed jurisdiction over the country, and issued the neces sary commissions for its government and internal management. The Puritans, who were subtle casuists, having authorised a forcible entry into land that did not belong to them, and thus enlarged their limits, soon found arguments for a siraUar extension, by seizing upon the possession of others on the ground' that they were intruders on the heritage of the Lord. A nuraber of persons, among whom was an obnoxious schismatic caUed Gorton, holding different religious opinions frora themselves, and disliking the tyrannical form of governraent at Massachusetts, purchased lands frora the Indians, beyond the boundaries of the colony, and com menced a settlement, where they hoped to enjoy unrestricted liberty of conscience. Possessing and enjoying, though usuaUy coupled together, are by no means synonymous terms. Fanaticism is seldom enjoyed, but amidst opposition or in the face of danger. When unnoticed, it becomes IN AMERICA. 9tl, t6rpid, and expires for want of sufficient excitement to preserve vitality. It is generally a corapound of ignorance and vanity ; one fades from view in the light of knowledge, and neglect is a sure and certain specific for the other. The Government were not wiUing to await the natural death of this ephemeral heresy. It was deeraed necessary to crush it in its infancy. The limits of the State to which they had adhered with such pertinacity when threatened -with encroach ment, proved no protection to those who lived beyond them. A party was sent against the emigrants, who carried them all prisoners to Boston, drove off their cattle, which they sold to pay the expense of the expedition, and effectuaUy destroyed the settleraent. When brought before the court, it was in vain the captives pleaded to its jurisdiction, and maintained that not being inhabit ants of Massachusetts, they were not amenable to its authority. The justices informed them that they had violated the Divine law, though they did not condescend to produce the commission that authorised thera to punish its infraction; they contented themselves with ordering them to plead instanter to the foUowing extraordinary accusation: " Upon much examination, and serious considera tion of your writings, we do charge you to be a blasphemous enemy of the true reUgion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His holy ordinances, also 92 THE ENGLISH of civil authority among the people of God, and particularly in this jurisdiction." They were aU found guUty, and sentenced to be dispersed in the several towns, and to be weU ironed and set to work. It was further ordered, if any of them attempted to escape, or repeated, either verbally or in writing, their heretical doctrines, or reproached the Church or the CivU Government, upon proof thereof they were to suffer death. Now that intercourse between the mother country and the colony had become so frequent (two hundred and ninety-eight ships having arrived since the first settleraent), these -violent proceedings could not long remain concealed. Vigorous measures were immediately adopted for reducing the people to subjection, and preventing disorderly emigra tion. Orders were issued to the Wardens of the Cinque-Ports, not to aUow any subsidy men to embark for the plantations without licence, nor any persons under that degree, without proper e-vidence that they had taken the oaths of supre macy and aUegiance. The Grand CouncU of Plymouth, from whom Massachusetts had derived its title, was caUed upon to explain its conduct relative to the transfer of territory it had raade to the colony of Massa chusetts. This association, consisting of the first nobUity and gentry in England, immediately re signed its Charter, declaring, " that the Puritan IN AMERICA. 93 patentees having surreptitiously obtained from the Crown a confirmation of their grant of the soU, had not only excluded thera frora the public governraent of the corporation, but had made themselves a free people, and for such held them selves at present, fraraing new conceits of religion, and a new form of ecclesiastical and temporal government, punishing divers that would not approve thereof, some by whipping, and others by burning their houses, and some by banishment, under other pretences indeed, yet for no other cause, save only to make themselves absolute masters of the country, and uncontroUable in their new laws."* Such were the reasons which * Such a serious charge has great names to sustain it : Lord Georges, President. Captain Mason, "Vice President. Marquis of Hamilton. Earl of Arundel and Surrey. Earl of Southampton. Earl of Lindsey. Earl of Carlisle. Earl of Stirling. Lord Maltravers. Lord Alexander. Sir Ferdinand Georges. Sir Kenelm Dighy. Sir Robert Mansel. Sir Henry Spelman. Sir James Baggs. Mr. Montague. '94 THE ENGLISH reduced the Council of Plymouth to the necessity of requesting "their Sovereign" to take the whole business into his own hands. An order also was issued to the Attorney-General to bring a Quo Warranto against the corporation of Massachusetts. An enlarged plan for a general government of New England was devised, and as a preliminary step. Sir Ferdinando Georges was nominated to the supreme command. As soon as the colonists were apprised of this measure, they prepared to counteract it. The ministers, whora no test could bind, and who were ever foremost in opposing the King's authority, were convened by the magistrates, and appealed to for advice, under the endearing appellation of the Fathers of the Country. They accordingly assem bled at Boston from all the various townships, an'd the question was formally submitted to thera : " What is to be done if a Governor-General be sent over ?" They unanimously advised that the colony ought not to accept him, but to defend its lawful possession, if able ; otherwise to avoid or protract. To have ensured obedience, would have required an array, and the King now needed all the forces he could muster to defend himself. The plan therefore failed for want of raeans. During aU this time, Massachusetts was herself con-vulsed with religious differences, which, like IN AMERICA. 95 those in England, led to the planting of new colonies. Connecticut, Providence, Newhaven, and other settlements, were founded by those who complained of persecution for conscience sake. dt is not my intention to give any account of these controversies, nor of the principal actors in them, as they do not legitimately fall within the scope of this work ; but their migrations are re markable as emanations from the parent colony, the people of which, though differing in matters of faith from the refugees, agreed with them in political opinions. FoUowing the exaraple of Massachusetts, they all forraed constituencies for theraselves, based on mutual compact, and the broad foundation of popular rights. Each estab lished a little separate republic. Thus their dissensions, no less than their concert, tended to spread their deraocratic principles, which were so soon to be adopted by the whole population of the Continent. Extending their settlements, however, teraporaUy exposed thera to new danger, by bringing thera in contact with distant and hostile tribes of Indians, which corapeUed them to unite in a general confederation, and attack their enemies in their own country. Contests with the savages, like their intestine disputes on points of doctrine, I must also pass over, for the sarae reason. But it is important to note, that in the Pequod campaign, they exercised one of the highest 96 THE ENGLISH acts of sovereign power, that of making war, as they had pre-viously done by entering into a treaty of aUiance and commerce with another people. The expedition commenced with senseless bigotry, and terminated with unrelenting cruelty. When the troops were mustered, a most alarmmg discovery was made, that a great many, both of the officers and men, were under a covenant of works, and it was necessary to delay operations untU the army could be purified from the poUu- tion arising from such unsanctified and desperately wicked heretics. The promise which was given them of old in Scripture, and especially referred to by the Puritans of New England, " Ask of me, and I wiU give thee the heathen for thine in heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession," could not, they said, be deemed to include raen so lost in error as these Antl- monians and FaraUists. After ranch fasting and prayer, and some expulsions and admonitions, the preachers pronounced them in a fit state to pro ceed, and foretold the result with that confidence with which victory may always be predicted, when the bow and the arrow alone are opposed to fire arms. They were accompanied by a minister who was desirous of preserving that purity of doctrine he had so much difficulty of infusing Into them, and of " rejoicing his heart," as he said, "by IN AMERICA. 97 seeing those that dweU in the wUderness bow before him, and his eneraies lick the dust." It is a great relief to be spared the task of recording the detaUs of this dreadful massacre of a whole tribe, that mustered a thousand warriors, equal to the best and bravest of the whole American continent. Bancroft, who seems proud of the prowess of the Puritans, thus suras up this " glorious exploit." After describing In glowing colours the defeat of the raain body, he says : " The rest were pursued into their hiding-places.* Every wigwam was burned, every settlement was broken up, every corn-field laid waste ; there re mained not a sarrup, nor squaw, nor child, nor warrior of the Pequod narae. A nation had disappeared from the family of men." The alarm of the colonists, arising frora the * In " Thatcher's History of the Town of New Ply mouth," p. 65, is an account of a barbarous deed, com mitted by Captain Standish, under the sanction of the Governor. He and four others fell on an equal number of Indians, whom he had decoyed into a house, and slew them all. Cutting off the head of the chief, and carrying it back in triumph, he set it up on a pole in the town as a terror to this people, whom they were pleased to call savages. When their worthy pastor, whom they had left at Leyden, heard of it, he wrote to the Church, "that he doubted whether there was not wanting that tenderness of the life of man, made after God's image, that was meet," adding, "it would have been happy if they had converted some before they had killed any." VOL. I. F 98 THE ENGLISH interference ofthe King and his Governor- General, and their fears relative to their Charter, soon gave place to hopes that Royalty and Episcopacy would ere long cease to exist in England. The unfortunate monarch had now to struggle for his life and his throne, and Massachusetts was suffered to enjoy her independence undisturbed, and lay the foundation of those institutions which in time to come were to support and maintain the great American republic. The cost of New England colonization so far has been estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, a great sum for those times, but probably short of the truth. Already there existed, east of the Hudson, twelve independent democratic communities comprising not less than fifty towns, or distinct settlements; but a consolidation took place soon after, by which the inconvenience resulting from so many separate jurisdictions was remedied by reducing them to six. IN AMERICA. 99 CHAPTER VI. The colony exercises sovereignty in external affairs — Confederates with Connecticut, Newhaven, and Ply-- mouth — Terms of Confederation — Effects of it in America — Commissioners of the united colonies receive a diplomatic agent from Acadie, and the Governor- General of Canada sends an envoy to the Swedish Governor on the Delaware, and negociates with the Dutch on the Hudson — Massachusetts coins money — State of the colony — Parliament exempts New England from taxes — The people resolve not to ask favours of Parliament — Decline to send delegates to the Assembly of Ministers at Westminster — Sir Harry Vane advocates their cause — Parliament exempts them from certain duties — Prerogative claims — Sole control of colonies — Sketch of its origin — Idea of navigation laws, suggested by James I. — General Court calls in the aid of the elders, and deliberates on the subject of parliamentary control, and refuses to submit — They remonstrate with the House of Commons, and obtain a favourable answer. We have now arrived at a period in the history of this Uttle commonwealth in which we may clearly F 2 '100 THE ENGLISH trace the origin of the federal union of the several states of the great repubUc. We have shown that the people maintained that their institutions were established by the free consent, and for the benefit of aU ; that the country was their own, and that no man had a right to enter it without their permis sion ; that they had fuU and ample power of govern ing, by men chosen from among themselves, according to such laws as they should see fit to enact, provided that they were not repugnant to those of England ; that they held the keys of the territory; were entitled to prescribe terms of naturalization to all noviciates ; and further that they were only subject to the King according to the Charter, and not otherwise. In short, they insisted that to aU intents and purposes they were independent, except as restrained by the terms of their compact. This claim was Ulustrated by their acts ; hitherto they had sustained it by the manner in which they managed their internal affairs. In one or two instances, as we have seen, they showed a disposition to exert external sovereignty also. This intention was now boldly avowed and openly acted upon; Massachusetts this year (19th May, 1643) entered into "a firm and perpetual league," offensive and defensive, with the provinces of Plymouth, Connecticut, and Newhaven, under the designation of the United Colonies of New England. AH these were rigidly Puritanical. IN AMERICA. 101 Rhode Island was rejected under the plausible pretext of being within the jurisdiction of Plymouth, but In reaUty because she indulged the inhabitants with more toleration in reUgious opinions than Massachusetts approved. The substance of the agreement is as foUows :* " Each colony to retain a distinct and separate jurisdiction ; no two to join in one jurisdiction with out the consent of the whole ; and no other to be received into the confederacy without the Uke consent. " Upon notice from three magistrates of any colony of an invasion, the rest shall immediately send aid — Massachusetts one hundred, and each of the rest forty-five men ; and if a greater number be necessary, the Commissioners to meet and deter mine upon it. Two delegates frora each Govern ment, being Church members, to meet annuaUy the first Monday in September, the first meeting to be held at Boston, then at Hartford, Newhaven and Plymouth, and so yearly, in that order, saving that two sittings successively be held at Boston. AU matters wherein six shaU agree to be binding upon the whole; but if the majority be under' that number, the raatter in question to be referred to the General Court, and not to be obligatory unless the whole agree to it. * See Hutchinson, vol. i, p. 124. 102 THE ENGLISH " A President for preserving order to be chosen by the Comraissioners annuaUy out of their nuraber. " The Commissioners shall have power to es tablish laws or rules of a civU nature, and of general concern for the conduct of the inhabitants, tIz., relative to their behaviour towards the Indians, to fugitives from one colony to another, and the like. "No colony to engage in war, except upon a sudden exigency, and in that case to be avoided S.S much as possible, without the consent of the whole. "If a meeting be summoned upon any ex traordinary occasion, and the whole number of Commissioners do not assemble, any four who shaU meet may determine upon a war, when the case wiU not admit of a delay, and send for the proportion of men agreed upon out of each juris diction, but not less than six shaU determine tbe justice of the war, or have power to settle bUls of exchange, or make levies for the same. " If a colony break an article of the agreement, or any way injure another, the matter shaU be considered and determined by the Commissioners of the other pro-vinces." The unity of action obtained by this treaty, the respect the Court of Commissioners maintained and enforced, not only within their own juris- IN AMERICA. 103 diction, but with their French, Dutch, and Indian neighbours, and the weight and influence they enjoyed among aU the inhabitants of this con tinent, first suggested the Congress, and then the Federal Government of the present day. It was a bold step to take without the assent of a higher authority, but the intestine troubles of England left her but Uttle time to inquue into matters that sank into insignificance, when com pared with the momentous struggles in which she was engaged, and it was suffered to pass either without notice or without rebuke. This union subsisted until 1686, and presented a great obstacle in the way of adjusting every dispute between the raother country and the colonies, as the Commissioners ever counseUed a firm opposition to what they caUed prerogative encroachment. When disobedience was unsafe, they recommended delay ; and when remonstrance was unavaUing, they advised resistance. But they never ceased to deny the rights, and impugn the motives of the parent State, ungraciously regarding concessions as marks of weakness, and perversely constructing every refusal into an act of despotism. It mainly contributed to foster the feelings that subsequently ripened into rebelUon. It iUustrated the vast power of numbers and unity, the advantage that disaffection derives from centraUzation, and the easy and simple 104 THE ENGLISH manner in which a federal combination of a few plantations may be made to adapt itself to any given number of states. A siraUar institution is recoramended for the reraalning British provinces. It is easy to foresee that a repetition of the experiraent wUl produce a like result. The very extensive powers thus assuraed by the confederation, placed the united colonies in the situation of a sovereign and Inde pendent nation. One of its first acts was to receive a diploraatic agent from the French Governor of Acadie, a district of New France that comprised the territory now subdivided into Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with whom they entered into a treaty of peace and commerce, which was executed and ratified with the usual formalities. A charge d'affaires was also received and accredited by the republic from the Governor- General of Canada on behalf of the King of France, and negociations were entered into for reciprocal freedom of trade, and for an offensive and defensive aUiance between the two high contracting parties, which alone faUed of success from a dread on the part of Massachusetts of drawing down upon her the resentment of the Indian tribes. They also sent an envoy to the Swedish Coraraandant on the Delaware, and opened a correspondence with the Dutch settle ment on the Hudson. IN AMERICA. 105 Nothing now remained but to exercise the prero gative of an independent mint to coraplete the usual attributes of sovereignty, and this was ven tured upon without hesitation in 1652, when three sorts of silver coins, severally of the value of a shiUing, sixpence, and threepence, were ordered to be struck off in large quantities. This money bore on the face of it no reference whatever to the raother country, and no recognition of the ruling power there. It was essentiaUy Araerican. By order of the Court, each piece was encircled by a double ring, having the Inscription, Massachusetts, with a native tree (pine), erableraatical of the country on one side, and the words " New Eng land" and the year of our Lord on the other.* A * The excuse for this coinage was even more modest than the act itself. Sir Thomas Temple, who had resided several years in New England, and was himself a Puritan, gave the King a most extraordinary version of it. After the Restoration, when he returned to England, the King sent for him, and discoursed with him on the state of Massachusetts, and discovered great warmth against that colony. Among other things, he said they had invaded his prerogative by coining money. Sir Thomas, who was a real friend to the colony, told his Majesty that the colonists had but little acquaintance with law, and that they thought it no crime to make money for their own use. In the course of the conversation. Sir Thomas took some of the money out of his pocket, and presented it to the King. On one side of the coin was a pine-tree, of that kind which is thick and bushy at the top. Charles F 3 106 THE ENGLISH large sum was thus stmck off and put into circu lation, and the right was exercised for a period of thirty years, although the coins, for an obvious reason, bore the same date. The change that had now taken place in the affairs of the King damped the ardour of emigra tion, in proportion as the prospect increased, that the whole nation would shortly be subjected to the rule of the saints. But enough had been done to lay the foundation of a powerful repubUc. After the first indispensable wants of the people had been attended to, industry was directed to commerce and navigation, and a very profitable exchange took place, between the traders of Massa chusetts and the planters of the West Indies, of the productions of their respective countries. In little more than ten years, fifty towns and -viUages, and between thirty and forty churches had been built, and some attempts had been made in manu facturing cotton. If they had reason to be gratified at the contemplation of their affairs at home, they saw -with undisguised deUght the triumph of their party in England. The Parlia- asked what tree that was ? Sir Thomas informed him it was the royal oak, which preserved his Majesty's life. This account of the matter brought the King into good humour, and disposed him to hear what Sir Thomas had to say in their favour, calling them a "parcel of honest ioga."— Hist, Co/, vol. vu, p. 229. IN AMERICA. 107 ment contained many friends who were raost anxious to further their -views in any way in their power. Nor was it long before they received a substantial mark of its favour. In 1642 it passed an ordinance for their encouragement, by freeing them from " taxation either inwards or outwards, in this kingdom or America, tlU the House take further order thereon to the contrary." During the same session it established a comicU for the colonies, simUar to that of 1635, which entered immediately on its duties, and uniting Providence and Rhode Island into one government, gave it a patent of incorporation containing the usual clause, that its enactments should not be repugnant to the laws of England. These favours they were wiUing to receive whenever they could be granted unasked, or at all events not openly soUcited, so much appearance of reserve did they think it necessary to maintain, in order that the dependence on the Imperial Legislature, or its right to control them, could not be inferred from their acts. " Upon the great Uberty," says Winthrop,* " which the King had left the Par Uament, sorae of our friends there wrote to us advice to solicit for us In ParUaraent, gi'ving us hopes that we might obtain much. But con sulting about it, we decUned the raotion for this * Winthrop, vol. ii, p. 25. 108 THE ENGLISH consideration, that if we .should put ourselves under their protection, we must then be subject to aU such laws as they should make, or at least, such as they might impose upon us." So anxious were they to keep theraselves totally distinct from the jurisdiction of any exterior tribunal whatever, that when the assembly of preachers at Westminster sent for three of their ministers to join them In their deliberations, they declined the invitation on the ground that " if the churches of New England appeared there by their representatives, great exception might be taken to the building after a model of their own making." Among their friends in the House of Commons, was Sir Harry Vane, who some years previously had visited Massachusetts, and from his sanctified manner, high professions, and demure appearance, was elected Governor, but his intriguing disposition, and fondness for theological controversy, soon involved him and the whole community in violent altercation. Hutchinson calls hira an inexpe rienced but obstinate and self-sufficient man, and the people became so dissatisfied with his conduct, that they not only refused to re-elect him the following year, but would not even choose him as an Assistant, and passed a law that no man should be eligible in future for the office of chief magis trate, untU he had resided at least twelve months in the country. IN AMERICA. 109 Notwithstanding the disgust he felt at his defeat, as he was not very cordial with those with whom he was now acting (for his temper was so Intract able as to render his support and his opposition equaUy precarious and dangerous) he procured for the colonists, at the intercession of some of his old adherents in Boston, what protection he could. It was probably o-wing to his influence that the Com mons again in 1645 and 1646 extended to them reUef frora imposts for three years, provided their productions were transported in English ships, and in the foUowing year exempted aU goods that should be exported to the plantation from custom duties. The weakness of the Sovereign, and the import ance of the interests at stake, now invited the interference of Parliament in the affairs of the colonies. OriginaUy the King had claimed the exclusive right to legislate for thera. One of the earUest acts In reference to Araerica was passed in the reign of Edward VI. relating to Newfbund- land, but this was not suffered to operate as a precedent. Queen Elizabeth, ever watchful of her prerogative, clairaed the exclusive right to all countries discovered by her subjects. The first Charter conferred upon an English colony was granted to Sir Huraphrey Gilbert, and its araple powers disclose the ideas of the age, with respect to the nature of such settleraents. She vested in 110 THE ENGLISH him In perpetuity the fuU right of property in the soU of those countries of which he should take possession, to be held of the Crown of England by homage, or payment of one-fifth of the gold and silver ore found there. " She conferred upon him the complete jurisdictions and royalties, as weU marine as other, within the said lands and seas thereunto adjoining ; and as the common safety and interests of the people would render good government necessary in their new settlements, she gave him, his heirs and assigns, fuU power to convict, punish, pardon, govern and rule, as well in causes capital or criminal as civU, both marine and other, according to such statutes, laws and ordinances, as shaU be by him, his heirs and assigns, devised and established for their better government." She declared that " aU who settled there, should have and enjoy aU the privUeges of free denizens and natives of England, any law, custom, or usage to the contrary, notwithstanding; and finaUy she prohibited aU persons from attempt ing to settle within two hundred leagues of any place which Sir Humphrey Gilbert or his asso ciates should have occupied during the space of six years." Jaraes, pursuing the same course as his predeces sor, took the whole manageraent of American affairs into his own hands. In 1621, when the Commons introduced a bUl for a free fishery on the coast of IN AMERICA. Ill Virginia andNewEngland, they were informed, "that those countries ought to be regarded as the King's, since they were acquired by conquest, and that not being yet annexed to the Crown, his Majesty may govern such new plantations as he shall see fit." To which it was answered, " that the royal prerogative is not impeached by the present mea sure, since what is done here is done by the King himself, who hath a negative ; that those territories being holden of the Manor of East Greenwich are as much annexed to the Cro-wn as it ; and we may make laws here for Virginia and New England, because if the King and Lords assent to the act it -wiU control the patent." The royal prerogative in matters of trade, aided and enlarged the power assumed and possessed over plantations. To the exclusive right to give a Charter, therefore, was added a discretionary power to license emigration, to permit the exportation of merchandise, and to grant exemption from imports for a Umited time. It was in the exercise of this authority that James I. laid the foundation of the celebrated navigation act, by trying the experiment of its principle on a small scale in the trade of Virginia. The planters, having in 1621, sent their tobacco to Flushing and other ports, the King issued an order " that no tobacco or other productions of the colonies shaU be carried into foreign parts, tiU they are first landed in England, and the customs 112 THE ENGLISH paid ; for to suffer a traffic of that kind is as inconsistent with the view of settUng Virginia as with the honour of the State." But the House of Commons, whose power was daUy increasing, having taken upon itself to inter fere in the affairs of the American provinces, a new source of dread arose in the minds of the emigrants ; for to their apprehension of the King and the hierarchy, was now added that of the Parliament. Still they could not but congratulate themselves (If such a control were inevitable) on their good fortune in having escaped from its effects untU the present most auspicious time for its exercise. It was very far, however, from their intention to acquiesce in the right, for they equaUy denied the jurisdiction of aU three. Among the innovations that were contemplated, was a proposi tion to recal the old and grant a new and more perfect Charter. The General Court met for the purpose of considering the subject, which was deemed of such vital importance as to caU for the aid of the Elders, who were accordingly convened to assist in their deliberations. The result of their conference was, as ParUament claimed "a suprerae power in aU things," not to accept a new patent ; for that would imply a resignation of the old one, and they resolved- " if they shaU be less Inclinable to us, we must wait upon Providence for the preservation of our just Uberties." IN AMERICA. 113 At that time it was the creed of every Puritan in the colo y that if " the King or any party frora hira, shaU atterapt anything against the coraraon wealth," it was the duty of the people " to spend estate, and life and aU, without scruple, in its defence ; that if the ParUaraent itself should here after be of a raallgnant spirit, then, if the pro-vince have sufficient strength, it raay withstand any authority frora thera to its hurt." Massachusetts went even so far as to caU herself Republica Per- fecta, " a perfect republic." Acting under these strong irapressions, they reraonstrated in raost decided terms with the House of Comraons (which had under its consideration the appeal of the petitioners I referred to in the last chapter) against any power of supervision. An order from England they say, is " prejudicial to our chartered liberties and to our weU-beIng in this remote part of the world. Times may be changed, for aU things here below are subject to variety, and other princes and parliaments raay arise. Let not succeeding generations have cause to laraent and say : ' Eng land sent our fathers forth -with happy liberties which they enjoyed many years, notwithstanding aU the enmity and opposition of the prelacy and other potent adversaries, and yet these Uberties were lost at the season when England itself recovered its own.' We rode out the dangers of the sea, shaU we perish in port ? We have not admitted 114 THE ENGLISH appeals to your authority, being assured they cannot stand with the liberty and power granted us by our Charter, and would be destructive to aU govem ment. " These considerations are not new to the High Court of ParUaraent, the records whereof bear -witness of the -wisdom and faithfulness of our ancestors in that great CouncU who, in those times of darkness, when they acknowledged a supremacy in the Roraan Bishops, in aU causes ecclesiastical, yet would not aUow appeals to Rome. The wisdom and experience of that great CouncU, the English Parliament, are more able to prescribe rules of government, and judge causes, than such poor rustics as a wUderness can breed up, yet the vast distance between England and these parts abates the virtue of the strongest influences. Your councUs and judgraents can neither be so weU grounded, nor so seasonably appUed, as might either be useful to us, or safe for yourselves, in your discharge In the great day of account. If any miscarriage shaU" befaU us when we have the government in our own hands, the state of England shall not answer for it. " Continue your favourable aspect to these infant plantations, that we may stiU rejoice and bless our God under your shadow, and be there stiU nourished with the warmth and dew of Heaven. Confirm our Uberties, discountenance our enemies, IN AMERICA. 115 the disturbers of our peace, under pretence of our injustice. A gracious testiraony of your wonted favour will oblige us and our posterity." The Committee of the House was favourable to them. They felt a lively interest in New England, not merely on account of its being the first-fruit of Puritanism, but because in the eventful times in which they Uved it was not impossible it raight yet becorae an asylura for theraselves. " We encourage," they said, " no appeals frora your justice, we leave you aU the freedom and latitude that may in any respect be duly claimed by you." 116 THE ENGLISH CHAPTER VII. Massachusetts, with the rebels in England — Proclamation against the King's party — Hugh Peters sent to England to urge on the rebellion — Cromwell appoints him his chaplain, and presents him with a commission of a Colonel in the army — His favourite text in execution — The Provincials decline to use the names of the keepers of the liberties of England in official papers, or to renew their Charter — They also refuse to take part in the war between England and Holland — Conduct of the Vir ginians after the King's death, contrasted -with theirs — Trade -with Virginia forbidden — Admiral Ascue sent to reduce the loyalists to obedience — Puritans of Massa chusetts flatter the Parliament, and approve Cromwell's share in the death of the King — He offers them Jamaica, or confiscated estates in Ireland — Reasons for decUning — Arrival of the regicides, Goffe and Whalley — Their reception and history — Pretended search for them — Conduct of Virginia at the death of Cromwell, contrasted ¦with that of Massachusetts — Extraordinary letter of the General Court to Charles II. — The King proclaimed — People forbidden to drink his health. Throughout the whole period of the CivU War, which finaUy ended in the captivity and IN AMERICA. 117 death of Charles I., the colonists warmly and deeply sympathised with the Puritan rebels and saintly murderers of the unhappy monarch. Some of the raore zealous and active spirits returned to their native land to join in the work of the brethren, and those who anxiously watched the progress of events at a distance, gave consolation and encou- rageraent to the volunteers who departed in this holy cause. " If thy brother entice thee to serve other gods," they said, " thou shalt surely put him to death." " For speaking lies in the name of the Lord, his father shaU thrust hira through when he prophesieth." But the issue of huraan affairs is in His hands, who alone directs thera, and as no one can teU what a day may bring forth, prudence dictated a simulated neutrality of conduct in their public acts. Accordingly, the following extraor dinary proclamation was issued by the Governor : " Whereas the civU war and dissensions in our native country, through the seditious words and carriages of many evU-affected persons, cause dl^aslons in many places of government In America, some pro fessing themselves for the King, and others for the Parliament, not considering that the Parliament theraselves profess that they stand for the King and Parliament against malignant Papists and delinquents in that kingdom : It is therefore ordered, that what person soever shall by word, writing, or action, endeavour to disturb our 118 the ENGLISH peace, directly or indirectly, by drawing a party, under pretence that he is for the King of England and such as join with him against the ParUa ment, shaU be accounted as an offender of a high nature against the commonwealth, and to be proceeded with either capitally or otherwise, accord ing to the quaUty and degree of his offence. Provided always that this shaU not be extended against any merchant strangers and shipmen that come hither merely for matters of trade or merchan dize, albeit they should come from any of those parts that are in the hands of the King, and such as adhere to him against the Parliament; carrying themselves here quietly, and free from railing or nourishing any faction, meeting, or sedition amongst us as aforesaid." Nothing can be more impartial than the recital, which applies to both sides, and nothing better calculated to effect its object, than the enacting clause, had it not been for a slight omission of one of the contending parties. Had this document ever been caUed in question in after days, no doubt it could easily have been shown to have originated in a mistake of the clerk, or in an error of the press. WhUe the civU war was in fuU progress, a parUamentary ordinance appointed the Earl of Warwick " Governor in Chief and Lord High Admiral of aU those islands and plantations in- IN AMERICA. 119 habited, planted, and belonging to any of his Majesty's the King of England's subjects, within the bounds and upon the coast of America," to be assisted by a councU, composed of five peers, the Earls of Pembroke and Manchester, Viscount Saye and Sele, Lords Wharton and Roberts, and twelve members of the House of Commons, among whora were Sir Harry Vane, late Governor of Massachusetts, Samuel Passall, one of the original patentees of that colony, Hazelrig, Pym, and CromweU. This Board, a pretty close Imitation of the late royal commission, of which Laud had been the head, was authorized " to provide for, order, and dispose all things which they shaU from time to time find raost fit and advantageous to the weU-goveming, securing, strengthening, and preserving of the said plantations, and chiefiy to the preservation of the true Protestant religion araong the said planters and inhabitants, and the further spreading and advancement of the Gospel of Christ among those that yet remained there in great and raiserable blindness and ignorance." They were also authorized to appoint, at pleasure, " all such subordinate governors, counseUors, com manders, and officers as they shall judge to be best affected, and most fit and serviceable." But, as to any particular plantations, they raight, if they saw fit, depute to thera any or all of the ^bove granted powers. 120 THE ENGLISH RepubUcanism was stiU further advanced in the colonies by this Board. They gave to the noted Roger WUliams a charter, including the shores and islands of Narraganset Bay, west of Plymouth, and south of Massachusetts, as far as the Pequod river and country, to be known as Providence Plantation, with authority to the inhabitants " to rule themselves" as they shaU find " most suit able." This patent was, to aU intents and pur poses, a grant of Independence. SimUarity of religious and political sentiment, as well as grati tude for favours received, and hopes for the future, led the General Court to aid the revolutionary party in every way that was compatible with the possible contingency of a restoration. They accordingly set apart a day nominaUy for prayer, but, in fact, for thanksgiving, for the glad tidings from England. Three agents, at the head of whom was the notorious Hugh Peters, the pastor of Salem, were sent there " to proraote the interest of reforraation, by stirring up the war, and driving it on." For this task, no man could be better quali fied than Peters. Ha-ving been expeUed from Cambridge, for irregularity of conduct, he became a constant frequenter of the theatres, and led a dissolute life araong the actors. Mistaking dis gust and satiety — ^the ine-vitable consequence of debauchery — for repentance, he reformed his habits. IN AMERICA. 121 applied himself to theological studies, and was ordained by the Bishop of London. But such Is the effect of early dissipation, that the teraptations of the town, increased by abstinence, overpowered hira again ; and, having been detected in a most flagitious offence, he fled to HoUand, to avoid the punishment of the CivU and Ecclesiastical Courts. He did not quit the Church from conscientious scruples, but because he had violated his vows, and offended against the laws of both God and man. Like many others In aU ages, he resorted to hypocrisy as a cloak for his guilt, and was re ceived by the Puritans as a " brand plucked from the fire." The buffoonery of his manner, and his singular power of modulating his voice, which he had acquired on the stage, rendered hira a most popular preacher.* To these qualifications he added another of no less importance — a thorough hatred of royalty and episcopacy. His instructions from the General Court were either verbal, as being too dangerous to be recorded, or pur posely destroyed after the Restoration, as they cannot now be found ; but their sanguinary nature * In those days the hour-glass often found a place in the pulpit. In a likeness of him, prefixed to his life, he is represented as turning one, and saying to his congrega tion, " I know you are good fellows, stay and take another glass." VOL. I. G 122 THE ENGLISH appears abundantly in his trial. Such being his popular talents, and such his errand, he was welcomed by CroraweU with open arras, who created hira his own chaplain, and presented him with the coraraission of a Colonel in the army, say ing, at the same tirae, that he always found those who exceUed in prayer made the best soldiers. The favourite text of the colonial delegate and di-vine but too plainly indicated the object for which he crossed the ocean : " With high praises in our mouths, and a two-edged sword ui our hands, we are to execute judgraent upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people ; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron."* When the unhappy monarch was brought a prisoner to London, Peters was his gaoler, for which office his savage temper and offensive man ners were considered as the best qualifications. Whether he was one of the masked headsmen is involved in some obscurity. Mr. White Kennet says, that he was generaUy suspected to have been one, and a man of the name of Hulet the other. * For want of excitement, Peters' zeal among his parishioners at Salem was observed to have greatly cooled before he sailed on this mission. He had suppressed the weekly lecture there, to enable him to prosecute schemes for the fisheries, and for ship-building. IN AMERICA. 123 In publicly returning thanks for being periiiitted to share in the awful scene, he exulted, as he said, -with Simeon: "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for raine eyes have seen Thy salvation." His conduct at his own execution has been variously represented. Burnet, in his " History of his Own Tiraes," says : " That he was the raost sunken in spirits of any of the regicides.. He had not the honesty to repent, nor the strength, of mind to suffer for his crime. He was observed to be constantly drinking some cordial liquors to keep him frora fainting." EquaUy respectable authorities say, that he met his fate with firmness and resolution. The former version has probabUity to recommend it. Harrison and others were en thusiasts, who thought they were acting in obedi ence to the wiU of Heaven, of which they believed. that they were the chosen instruments. However much they deluded themselves, it was at aU events their firm conviction, and they had the honest support of a misguided conscience to sustain them in their last moments, whUe their courage as men had too often been exhibited to admit of a doubt. Peters, on the other hand, so far from having been trained In the rigid school of Puritan morals, was nurtured in profligacy, and adopted the tenets of the Congregationallsts, not because he beUeved them, but that they afforded hira an asylum when expeUed from aU respectable society. It is not G 2 124 THE ENGLISH improbable, therefore, that Uke most ruffians he was a coward.* But much as the Provincials sympathized with the ParUament, and firmly as they believed that Providence had sanctioned their undertaking, and crowned their arms with success, they thought their own prayers had been equally heard, and their cause no less blessed, and that their Uttle republic was as much their own, as the greater one was the heritage of the transatlantic saints. Ac cordingly, when admonished that aU process In the local courts should be in the narae of the keepers of the liberties of England, and that the powers then in being should be acknowledged by a renewal of their Charter, they adopted the prudent course of maintaining silence and delay, as better suited to their purpose than open defiance ; and continued the forms to which they had been accustomed, without too broadly asserting their rights on the one hand, or apologising for their disobedience on the other. They observed the same reserve after wards, when CromweU transraltted a ratified treaty with HoUand as to the boundaries of New England, and the Dutch colony on the Hudson. They decUned to exchange it with the Governor of that province, inforraing hira that such a * His widow, who remained in New England, was allowed a pension of thirty pounds per annum from his friends and admirers in Massachusetts. IN AMERICA. 125 forraality was unnecessary, as the line indicated on it was one which they had always held, and by which they were stiU wUUng to abide. Shortly afterwards they assuraed a still more decided attitude. When a rupture took place In Europe between England and HoUand, they in formed CromweU that they did not consider it necessary for them to embroil theraselves in hostUities as a necessary consequence of European wars, and very quietly continued to maintain, as before, friendly relations with their Belgic neigh bours. Upon being again pressed upon the subject, and requested to join in an expedition he had sent for the reduction of the Manhattaw settlements, they pleaded scruples of conscience as to embarking in foreign wars, and stated it was more agreeable to the Gospel of Peace, which they professed, and safest for the provinces, to forbear the use of the sword ; but to show their respect for his Highness the Protector, and their gratitude to God for having raised hira to suprerae authority, that aU the Churches may find rest, they gave permission to the commanders of his forces to enlist five hundred volunteers within the State, provided the said recruits were severally free from legal disabiUties. Although they had thus artfully evaded compliance with his order in a matter that would have established a dangerous precedent, they cheerfuUy adraitted the lawfulness of his 126 THE ENGLISH power in the mother country, and a day was set apart for pubUc thanksgiving to Divine Providence " for the hopeful establishment of a govemment In England." Much stress has been laid in this work on the importance to be attached to the character and feeling of the early settlers of a country, and the necessity of giving due weight to such a con- ¦sideration is weU Ulustrated by the different ¦conduct at this critical period of Massachusetts, which was peopled by Puritans, and Virginia and other colonies, to which churchmen and the friends ¦of the monarchy resorted We have seen that the former discountenanced the royal partizans within her borders, and sent agents to England with secret instructions to forward the rebellion. The latter, together with Barbadoes, Antigua, and Bermuda, adhered to the King, even while in exUe. Virginia had a population of twenty thousand, and was determined to resist the usurpa tion of the rebel forces. Observing that wherever the Independents settled, they sowed the seeds of republicanism, they passed severe laws against them, in order to rid themselves of such trouble some inmates. Driven frora thence, they settled in Maryland, which had soon reason to repent of her hospitaUty. "They were as ranch refreshed with their entertainraent in Maryland," quaintly observes a contemporaneous author, " as the snake IN AMERICA. 127 In the fable was -with the countryman's breast, for which they were equally thankful." They began to pick quarrels first with the Papists, next with the oath of fideUty, and lastly, they declared their averseness to all comformity, whoUy alraing, as theraselves since confessed, to " deprive the Lord proprietors of that country, and to make it their own." Virginia also offered at the same tirae an asylum to the loyaUsts who fled from the proscrip tions and unrelenting cruelty of the repubUcan forces. They went so far as to propose to their exUed Prince to take refuge araong thera, instead of seeking protection frora a foreign power. Charles IL, on his part, sent frora Breda a new comraission to the faithful Governor of that true- hearted people. In which he declared it to be his purpose to rule thera according to the laws of England. At the same time, he recommended them to buUd forts for preventing internal re- bdlion or foreign aggression. Enraged at the devotion of these loyal colonies, an order was passed by the Partiament, empowering the CouncU to reduce the refractory plantations to obedience, and enacting that foreign ships should not trade at any of the ports of these four malignant provinces — Barbadoes, Antigua, Bermuda, and Virginia. Massachusetts on this occasion exhibited her usual skiU. She re-enacted the law against the 128 THE ENGLISH malignants, and prohibited aU intercourse with Virginia untU she acknowledged the supremacy of the Coraraonwealth. This was done with the double view of gratifying the Protector, and of escaping frora the inference that any legislation was binding upon her but that of the General Court. CroraweU was not a man to content hiraself with a paper war. In the ordinance relative to the prohibition of their trade, he used language which showed how deeply he felt the opposition of the loyalists, and gave a sure presage of -\dgorous raeasures. In that extraordi nary act, he caUs thera notorious robbers and traitors, and adds that as the colonies were settled by and at the cost of England, they ought to obey her laws. To enforce a submission which threats could not extort, he despatched Admiral Ascue with a powerful armament. He was instructed to use in the first instance peaceable means to bring the people to obedience, but if they should prove unsuccessful, to employ hostility, setting free such servants and slaves as would fight against their masters, and causing justice to be administered in the narae of the Coraraonwealth. The force thus sent against the royalists was too powerful for the undiscipUned planters, and when the Governor Berkeley, who had made every possible exertion to defend the country, capitu lated, it was upon very favourable terms, that IN AMERICA. 129 were as satisfactory to his Sovereign, as they were honourable to his own skUl and courage. A variety of circumstances now contributed to the adoption of a policy, and the passing laws in pursuance thereof, which has exercised a most powerful influence on the fortunes of the mother country, whether for good or for evil, statesmen are not yet agreed, and mainly contributed in various ways to produce the American Revolution. It was the era of the navigation laws. Alarmed at the diminution of English comraerce, and the great increase of that of the colonies as weU as of the north, whUe CromweU protected his own and humbled a rival, he managed to . punish the loyal plantations, and raake thera pay tribute for dis obedience. With this view two acts were framed, one of which expressly prohibited aU mercantile intercourse between the transatlantic provinces and foreign states, and the other ordained that no pro duction of Asia, Africa, or Araerica, should be imported into the dominions ofthe Coraraonwealth but in vessels belonging to British owners, or to the people of the colonies, and navigated by an EngUsh comraander, and by crews the greater part of whora were to be subjects of the realm, for foreigners were also precluded frora bringing to England anything but the produce of their own respective countries, or those of which they were the staples. At first this created raore alarm than G 3 130 THE ENGLISH annoyance. As far as the Provincials were con cerned, they evaded or disregarded it, whUe it increased their carrying trade by transferring to them a part of that enjoyed by the Dutch. The groundwork, however, was securely laid for the vast superstructure erected upon it after the Restoration. Although the colonial Puritans had never yielded that submission, either to the Parliament or to Cromwell, which the Protector thought was due from aU parts of the empire, they nevertheless managed to keep on the best possible terras with thera. They omitted no occasion of soothing their vanity, for which they had an insatiable appetite. To the forraer they said, (and I insert their own words as their participation in the rebellion is now stoutly denied) — " And for our carriage and de meanour to the honourable ParUament, for these ten years, since the first beginning of your diffe rences with the late King, and the warre that after ensued, we have constantly adhered to you, not withdrawn ourselves in your weakest condition, and doubtfuUest times, but by our fasting and prayers for your good success, and our thanksgiving after the same was attained in dayes of solemnity set apart for the purpose, as also by our sending over useful men {others alsoe going voluntarily from us to help you), who have been of good use and done good and acceptable service to the IN AMERICA. 131 army* declaring to the world hereby, that such was the duty and love we beare unto the ParUament, that we -were ready to rise and faU with them, for which we have suffered the hatred and threats of other English colonies now in rebeUion against you, as alsoe the loss of divers of our shippes and goods taken by the King's party that is dead, by others commissioned by the King of Scotts, and by the Portugales." They had heard from CromweU's officers that he had a sore spot on his conscience, and they knew how to soothe, if they could not heal it. They were aware from the agitation of mind that he occasionaUy suffered on the subject of the King's death, that nothing was so acceptable to him as to hear others, whose judgment he respected, approve of the deed as a necessary act of justice, AvaUing himself of these scruples, which at tiraes threw hira into the deepest gloora, the Puritan di-vines of New England occasionally gratified hira with an epistle, expressive of their entire concur- * These italicised words refer to the mission of Peters and others. Besides many who served as soldiers, and several who attained subordinate command, the following names of colonial ofiicers who fought under Cromwell have survived : — Colonel Cook, Lieutenant-Colonel Stoughton, Major Bourne, Captain Leverete, Ensign Hudson, and Dr. Liol, who acted as regimental surgeon. Winthrop says they did good service, and were well approved. 132 THE ENGLISH rence in the reasoning that led to that foul murder. Mr. Cotton, one ofthe raost distinguished rainisters, thus addressed hira, in a letter dated Boston, 28th day, 5th raonth, 1657. " There are three or four principles on which you have acted, wherein my judgment hath been fuUy satisfied. 1st. The con cessions of the late King never were such as to insure a safe peace either to Church or Common wealth. 2nd. When the ParUament, assisted by the Comraissioners from Scotland was full, and agreed that the King could not be restored to his former estate. If it afterwards voted contrary, it was prevarication, and therefore I know not how the array could have better proved its faithfulness to the State and cause, than by purging it of such corrupt huraours, and presenting the King to public trial.' Joab, the General of David's host, though he went beyond his comraission in putting Absalom to death, yet he went not beyond his fidelity. These things are so clear to my apprehension that I am fully satisfied that you have all this while fought the Lord's battles. In Uke frame are the spirits of our brethren, the elders and churches in these parts." For this he evinced the warmest gratitude, and offered to give them Jamaica, and transport them thither, or settle them all in Ireland on confiscated estates. In his turn he flattered their sectarian pride. He represented to them what a blow it IN AMERICA. 133 would be to the " Man of Sin," to have a pure- rainded and holy body of raen like them estabUshed in such a country as the former, where his sway had been so great. He told thera the chUdren of the Lord were entitled to a paradise for their abode, like that beautiful island, and drew a glowing picture of the fortunes people of their habits of sobriety and industry would derive from a change of residence. In Ireland he promised them the lands of the heathen for an heritage, and In either or both his continued patronage and support. They had, however, other and more practical views. They dreaded, not only the unwholesome- ness of a tropical climate, but its inevitable effect in the course of tirae on the raorals and manners of the people. If they were to accept Ireland they would have to surrender their independence, and by returning to the undoubted jurisdiction of the supreme power in England, they might be again called upon to conform, to suffer, or to migrate. They felt safe in their distant ffight, and were un wUling to raove. But perilous times now awaited the republic. There were strong indications, it was said, of a reaction in England. Their friend and advocate OUver Cromwell was dead, and bis son gave no evidence of sufficient vigour to fill the place of his father, either in the eyes of the nation or the estimation of Europe. Cant was fast going out 134 THE ENGLISH of fashion, and mankind had learned the useful lesson, that he who has ever reUgion in his mouth has seldom much of it in his heart. Those who were sincere in their con-victions, and had abstained frora deeds of violence, looked on the coming change -with the calmness and firmness of true courage, whUe such as had been hurried by their zeal into criminal acts, or had concealed rapine and murder under a cloak of hypocrisy, fled In terror and dismay. Araong those who sought shelter and obUvion in the wUds of Araerica, were two of the regi cides, Goffe and Whalley. Finding the restora tion inevitable, they left London early in May, and arrived in Boston in the month of July foUowing, in the fuU expectation of being either protected or concealed among the brethren, who in general agreed with them in opinion that " kiUing was no murder," when the person to suffer was a tyrant who thought Romanists were entitled to as much indulgence as theraselves, and chuchmen, as members of the estabUshed reUgion, to more favours than either. Nor were they disappointed in their reasonable expectations. They were cordiaUy received and hospitably entertained by the Governor, the officers of the State, and the principal inhabitants ; and on one occasion, when a royaUst dared to apply to them the homely epithet to which they had so weU entitled themselves IN AMERICA. 135 by their atrocious crime, the magistrates bound the offender over to keep the peace, and severely reprimanded him for insulting their distinguished -visitors, by imputing to them as an offence that which, if not a virtuous and patriotic deed, was at least a stern necessity. The meeting-houses were everywhere opened to them, and they attended di-vine ser-vice on Sundays, and observed the fasts and public thanksgiving as estabUshed by law. The sacrament was administered to them as worthy comraunicants, and the saints were edified by the exercise of their great gifts in praying and lecturing, as they raised their hands, dyed with the blood of their Sovereign, and enlarged on the necessity of forgiveness of sins, brotherly love, and good-wIU to aU raen. The King's proclamation exempting these criminals from the amnesty, though it did not disturb the consistency of the Puritans, awakened their fears lest their contumacy in harbouring traitors might draw down upon them the forfeiture of their Charter, which of aU their earthly posses sions, had the greatest hold on the affection of their hearts. Intimation was therefore given thera to withdraw from view for the present, tiU the storm of popular indignation in England should blow over, and instructions were privately fiirnlshed them to proceed to the minister's house at Newhaven, while diligent search would be raade for thera in 136 THE ENGLISH such places as it was well known they would not be found. After a suitable time for escape had been aUowed to elapse, the colonial rulers preserved appearances by effecting great zeal for capturing them, and a warrant was accordingly issued for their apprehension. To avoid even the semblance of partiality, instead of enti-ustlng it to their own officers, who might be supposed wiUing to favour their concealment, it was directed to two English men,* recently arrived from Europe, zealous loyalists and rank Episcopalians, who only required a knowledge of the country, and the sympathy of the population in their errand, to have succeeded in their enterprise. Duped by the apparent earnestness of the Governor, and the fuU and minute directions they received as to the best route to adopt in their search, and misled by the weU-feigned ignorance and astonishment of every one to whom they addressed themselves for infor mation ; they prosecuted their fruitless errand, to the inexpressible amusement of the court, to whom a practical joke, from the gravity of manner they were continually compeUed to observe, was a luxury which they rarely had an opportunity of enjoying.! * Thomas Kellond and Thomas Kirk, whom they not inappropriately called Tom fools. t Now and then a little dry humour would leak out in spite of themselves. A mechanic, having charged the IN AMERICA. 137 Having traveUed as far as the Hudson, they relinquished the pursuit as hopeless, and returned to report their faUure to the Governor, who very gravely Inforraed them that they had been seen near Newhaven ; from which he inferred that they must have entered the Manhattaw settlement, and escaped to the Low Countries ; and recom- raended them by aU means to go to HoUand, and continue their search, which, as the country was not covered by an interminable forest, Uke America, could scarcely faU of being crowned with success. During aU this time, the fugitives were minutely informed of aU that took place ; and, in order to relieve their hospitable friend, the Rev. Mr. Da venport, from any imputation on their account, they prepared a cave in the side of a hUl, having a smaU aperture to admit air and Ught, and so con trived as to be effectuaUy concealed by the thick brushwood that overhung its precipitous banks. To this they gave the narae of Provddence HUl, and resorted to it occasionaUy in tiraes of danger, when a residence araong their friends was either inconvenient or unsafe. At last, a party of Indians having accidentaUy discovered their retreat, they removed to a town caUed Hadley, about a hundred ralles distant, resting Government £,1 1 3s. Ad. for a pair of stocks, was ordered to be put into them himself for an hour, to test the strength of his work, and was fined j65 for extortion. 138 THE ENGLISH by day, and traveUing by night, in order to avoid being traced thither. They were received at this place by the minister, and continued there fifteen or sixteen years, or untU their decease, enjoying the sympathy of such of the inhabitants as were entrusted with their secret, the liberal contributions of their friends at home and abroad, and on one occasion the guUty pleasure of the society of another of their asso ciates in crirae. Colonel DixweU, who, having been less obnoxious than them, and more fortunate in his disguises, had not only avoided detection, but had whoUy escaped suspicion, and was at large under the assuraed name of Da-vis. A singular incident, connected with Goffe, has been traditionaUy preserved in the famUy of Go vernor Leveret, and is thus quaintly related by an historian of this early tirae : " The town of Hadley was alarraed by the Indians, in 1575, in the tirae of public worship, and the people were in the utmost confusion. Suddenly a grave, elderiy person appeared in the midst of them. In his mien, he differed from the rest of the people. He not only encouraged them to defend theraselves, but put himself at their head ; raUIed, instructed, and led thera on to en counter the enemy, who in this way were re pulsed. As suddenly the deliverer of Hadley dis appeared. The people were left in consternation. IN AMERICA. 139 utterly unable to account for this strange pheno menon." It was not probable (the apologists say) that they were ever able to explain it. If Goffe had there discovered himself, it must have come to the knowledge of those persons who declared by their letters that they never knew what became of him. Both these men were of low origin and raean education, and eraerged frora obscurity only by their daring courage, and their unscrupulous obe dience to the bidding of the Protector. WhaUey had risen to the rank of Lieutenant, and Goffe to that of Major-General in the rebel army,* and upon the latter devolved the task of expeUing the raera bers of Parliament from the House, and of execut ing comraands of a simUar violent character. They died as they lived, in the fuU beUef of that fatal doctrine, that the end justifies the means ; and afforded by their criraes, their cruelty, and their impenitence, an instructive lesson to fanatics that the reUgion of the head but too often hardens the heart ; that speculative theories have a natural tendency to obUterate the distinctions between right and wrong, by withdrawing our atten tion from the practical obUgations of life ; and * The well-known Richard Baxter was chaplain to Whalley's regiment. 140 THE ENGLISH that the stern virtues inculcated by Scripture are accompanied, surrounded and supported by the Christian graces of mUdness, meekness and charity, and a numerous train of social and relative duties. As at the fall of Charles I. the conduct of the Puritans of Massachusetts differed widely from that of loyal Virginia, so did the death of CroraweU also affect thera in an equally opposite manner. In the latter place, as soon as they had heard of the decease of the usurper, without waiting for news from England of their Sovereign's movements, they immediately proclaimed him, subverted the authority, to which they had so reluctantly sub- raltted, and recaUed from retirement their former Governor, and invested him with the chief com mand, thus securing to themselves the double honour of being the last to lay down their arms, and the first to re-assurae them, in the defence of their King. In the former colony they would not or could not believe that Providence would ever suffer hira to sit upon the throne of his ancestors, even after they received a copy of his proclaraation. A raotion for an address to him was put and lost in the General Court. When they caUed to raind the part they had taken in the rebelUon, and the infamous conduct of their agent, Peters, their official and private letters to CroraweU, their owm IN AMERICA. 141 proclamation against the King's adherents, their acts against Virginia, their continual disobedience and disloyalty to his royal father, the reception and protection they had given the regicides, they were overwhelmed with doubts and fears as to the future. The resistance which their rainisters had recoramended to them on a former occasion, they knew would be unavailing against so powerful a monarch as Charles IL, they therefore resorted to the other alternative, " evasion and delay." They first ventured to feel their way by an address, con taining the foUowing extraordinary passage : " Sir, we lie not before your sacred Majesty. The Lord God of Gods knoweth, and Israel he shaU know, if it were in, rebeUion or in schism that we wiUingly left our dweUIngs in our own country for dweUings in this strange land, save us not this day. Royal Sir, your just title to the crown enthroneth you in our consciences, your graciouness in our affections ; that inspires unto duty, this naturallzeth unto loyalty. Hence we caU you lord, hence a sa-viour. Mephibosheth rejoices that the King hath corae again to his house. The truth is, such were the irapressions upon our spirits as transcends the faculty of an ereraitical scribe. A desert condition in some sense is an object fittest to magnify princely radiance, inferior whereof cannot make the wUderness rejoice. Opaque bodies occasion the most luculent reflections. 142 THE ENGLISH Affection makes a rhetorician Croesus' dumb son speak to prevent misery, and Zedekiah's tongue breaketh loose to acknowledge mercy. Warm with the influence of your royal favour, we by way of congratulation, comforted ourselves that the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, hath escaped : of whom we begin to say, under his shadow we shaU live among the heathen." The absurdity and extravagance of this language is thus gravely defended by Bancroft : — " The spirit that breathes through it is repubUcan. The style of hyperbole is borrowed from the manners of the East, so famiUar from the study of the Hebrew Scriptures." The truth of these protestations, so solemnly made, was weU attested by the manner in which Charles was proclaimed. This ceremony had been deferred, from a natural repugnance to acknowledge him at aU; but, in August, 1661, the aspect of affairs was so alarming, it was thought prudent to propitiate him, by complying with this usual and constitutional practice. To the act itself there could be no objection ; the difficulty lay in so carefuUy conducting their proceedings, and in so wording the pubUc document, as not to admit him, in express language, to have any authority in Massa chusetts, beyond that of a temporal prince, with whose ancestors they had entered into a compact, whereby, for hiraself and his heirs, he had sur- IN AMERICA. 143 rendered the territory, coraprised within certain specified Uraits, on the nominal condition of re cei-ving a fifth of the produce of all silver and gold raines. Accordingly, a number of forms were proposed and discussed, but were severally rejected, as admitting too much by words or by impUcation, untU, at last, the foUo-wing extra ordinary one was adopted, as the shortest, simplest, and safest that they could suggest : — " Forasrauch, as Charles II. is undoubtedly King of Great Britain, and all other his Majesty's territories and dorainions, thereunto belonging, and hath been sorae time since lawfuUy proclaimed and crowned accordingly; we therefore do, as in duty we are bound, own and acknowledge him to be our sovereign Lord and King ; and do, therefore, hereby proclaim and declare his sacred Majesty, Charles IL, to be la-wful King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and all other the terri tories thereunto belonging. God save the King.'; It is observable that his Majesty is here de scribed as King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and aU other the territories thereunto belonging, which term is satisfied by the Orkneys and the Channel Islands ; but no mention is made of America, Massachusetts, or the words colonies or plantations. Brief and cold, however, as this declaration was, it was adopted with great re- 144 THE ENGLISH pugnance, and the day passed in ominous gloom. An order of the Court was issued at the same tirae, and posted up in various parts of Boston, forbidding aU disorderly behaviour on the occasion, declaring that no person might expect indulgence for the breach of any law, and, " in a particular manner, that no man should presume to drink his Majesty's health, which he has in an especial manner forbidden." IN AMERICA. 145 CHAPTER VIII. The King appoints a council for the colonies — Their advice • — Connecticut and Rhode Island send agents, who obtain for them charters containing full powers of self- government — Navigation laws — They fall hea-vily on Virginia, and alarm all the Pro-vincials — The General Court publishes a declaration of rights — Their reasoning as to the origin of their title to the country — They sepd agents to England — Instruction given to them, and letters of introduction to noblemen of Low Church or Dissenting principles — They meet with a favourable reception, and return with a letter from the King re quiring certain changes in their laws and modes of pro cedure — An aifected show of compliance — Dissatisfaction of Churchmen, of Baptists, and especially of Quakers — Severe treatment of latter — A commission of inquiry issues to Colonel Nichols and others — Their instructions — General Court orders the Charter to be put into a place of concealment — Prepares to receive the Commis sioners. The Convention ParUament had scarcely ad journed, when Charles II. performed the promise VOL. I. H 146 THE ENGLISH he had made at parting, and endeavoured to carry into effect the various acts of a foreign and do mestic nature they had made. He established, In December, 1660, a councU for the general superin tendence of the colonies, and for enforcing the laws of trade. Had he always acted upon their sugges tions, he would have saved his own reputation, and spared himself and his successors many vexations and annoyances. They urged him " to agree with such as have any property in his plantations, and take the same into his own hands, in order to prevent the granting any for the future." Sir WiUiam Berkeley, the old and loyal Governor of Virginia, repeated the same recommendation, most truly foretelling " that those patents in the next age wUl be found raore advantageous to the Crown than is perceptible in this." Notwithstanding this judicious advice, and the pending difficulties and controversies, he at once made two of the most extraordinary grants, of a pure, unmixed, and unrestrained deraocracy, that were ever issued by any monarch. The constitu tion of Massachusetts, it was well known, was an usurpation — the appUcation of a local charter, by a corapany in London, for the purposes of civU governraent In Araerica; but these were bond fide concessions, no deception was practised, no in formation withheld. Republicanism was asked, and obtained. Connecticut and Rhode Island IN AMERICA. 147 having favours to seek, were more prompt in proclairaing the King than Massachusetts, and at once sent delegates to congratulate him on his restoration, and to solicit charters. On their arrival in England they were introduced to sorae Low Churchmen, of rank and influence, in whom they found most active partisans. Men whose Uves are chiefly spent in making professions, are seldom able to flnd sufficient tirae to practise what they so loudly extol. Their sectarian sympathy was stronger than their loyalty, and the interest of the King and the nation were trans ferred, by hypocritical politicians, into the hands of crafty republicans. The charters they obtained for the delegates, vested in the proprietary, free men of Connecticut and Rhode Island, the right of admitting new associates, and of choosing annually frora araong theraselves a governor, magistrates, and representatives, with power of legislative and judicial authority. No appeUative jurisdiction, and no negative on the laws, were reserved to the Crown, any more than in Massa chusetts and Maryland. They were, to aU intents and purposes, entitled to self-government ; so much so, indeed, that these same royal patents remained the basis of their poUty long after they became independent states. Even the oath of aUegiance was not required of them. The usual clause, stipulating that their laws should H 2 148 THE ENGLISH be conformable to those of England, was modi fied, or rendered nugatory by an extraordinary reference " to the constitution of the place, and the nature of the people." It granted universal toleration to aU mankind, without Umitation to Christian sects. It is no wonder the joy of the Provincials knew no bounds. The grant exceeded their fondest and raost ardent hopes. In Rhode Island the in habitants were assembled " for its solemn recep tion." The Charter was read in the audience and view of aU the inhabitants, and the letters with his Majesty's royal stamp and the broad-seal, with much beseeming gravity, were held up on high, and presented to the " perfect -view of the people." So completely had the King denied himself of aU power, that in a subsequent reign, when the Rhode Islanders claimed the protection and interference of the Sovereign against the oppressions of their own legislature, arising from frauds practised on them in a depreciated Currency, that monarch replied, under the advice of the Crown officers, that he could afford them no redress, since his misad-vised predecessor had relinquished aU juris diction. At this period, therefore. New England eonsisted of several little independent republics. WhUe vast concessions were thus raade on the one hand, raost extensive restrictions were iraposed on the other, by extending and remodelUng the IN AMERICA. 149 laws of trade. So much indeed was added to the outline sketched by the Long Parliament, and so novel, as well as important, were raany of the provisions of this celebrated act (12th Charles II. c. 18), that it seeras to have attracted to itself a name that more properly belongs to several, and has ever been known as the Navigation Law. The avowed raotives for this restrictive legislation, were thus set forth : " That as the plantations beyond seas are inhabited and peopled by subjects of England, they raay be kept In a firmer depen dence upon it, and rendered yet raore beneficial and advantageous in the further employment and increase of English shipping and seamen, as well as in the vent of woollen and other manufactures and commodities, and In making England a staple not only of the productions of those plantations, but also of those of other countries, and places for supplying them, and it being the usage of other nations to keep the trade of the plantations to theraselves." Colonial industry at that period furnished many articles for exportation, but these were of two kinds. Some were raised in quantities in Araerica only, and would not corapete with British pro ductions in the raarket of the raother countiy : these were enuraerated, and it was declared that none of them, that is, no sugar, tobacco, ginger, indigo, cotton, fustic and dying woods, shaU be 150 THE ENGLISH transported to any other country than those belonging to the Crown of England, under penalty of forfeiture ; and as new articles of industry of this class grew up in America, they were added to the list. But such other commodities as the Unglish merchant might not find convenient to buy, the Pro-vincials might ship to foreign markets, and the farther off the better, because they would thus interfere less with the trade which was carried on in England. The colonists were therefore confined to ports south of Finisterre. Soon after the act of navigation was extended, and additional restraints iraposed, by prohibiting the iraportation of any European commodities into the colonies but what were laden in England in vessels navigated -and manned according to law. Effectual pro vision was also made for exacting the penalties to which the transgressors were subjected. By these successive regulations, the plan of securing to England a monopoly of the comraerce with her colonies, and of closing every other channel into which it might be diverted, was perfected and reduced into a complete systera. These acts fiUed the Provincials with conster nation and anger, and by caUIng into question the right of the Iraperial Legislature to pass them, materiaUy extended the disaffection which neglect, the constant changes in the govemment of the mother country, and the spread of democratic IN AMERICA. 151 principles had of late so much engendered. They feU with peculiar weight upon Virginia, on account of the nature of her productions, and were felt to be an ungrateful return for her tried loyalty and affection. Great Britain never afterwards tho roughly regained her affections ; as soon as the law went into operation, that colony remon strated against it as a grievance, and petitioned earnestly for reUef. But the coraraercial ideas of Charles and his rainisters coincided so perfectly -Viith those of Parliament, that instead of listening with a favourable ear to their application, they laboured assiduously to carry the acts into strict execution. For this purpose the most positive instructions were issued to the Governor ; forts were buUt on the banks of the principal rivers, and smaU vessels appointed to cruize on the coast. The Virginians seeing no prospect of obtaining exemption, sought relief in evasion, and found means, notwithstanding the -vigUance with which they were watched, of carrying on a considerable clandestine trade with foreigners, particularly with the Dutch settled on the Hudson River. Every day something occurred to revive and nourish discontent. As it is with extrerae difficulty that coraraerce can be turned into a new channel, tobacco, the staple of the colony, sunk prodi- .giously in value when they were corapeUed to send 152 THE ENGLISH it aU to one market. It was some time before England could furnish them regularly fuU assort ments of those necessary articles, without which the industry of the country could not be sustained or properly secured. The sense of wrong the people of Massachusetts entertained on the subject of their revenue laws, was absorbed in the interest felt in the preservation of their Charter, or mitigated by their predetermination to resist them if able, otherwise " to protract or evade," according to the advice of their elders. Having received a more gracious answer to their compU mentary letters to the King than they had expected, and somewhat recovered from the apprehension arising from a review of their disloyal conduct, they resolved to maintain with their accustomed energy and spirit what they concurred to be their just claims of independence under their patent. They accordingly took into consideration the whole subject of their own powers, and those of the Crown, and after mature deliberation, agreed upon and published a declaration of rights. I. Concerning our liberties: 1. We conceive the patent (under God) to be the first and main foundation of our civU policy here, by a Governor and Corapany, according as it is therein ex pressed ; 2. The Governor and Company are by the patent a body politique in fact and name ; 3. This body politique is vested with the power to IN AMERICA. 153 make freemen, &c. ; 4. The freemen have power to choose annuaUy a Governor, deputy governor, assistants, and their select representatives or deputies ; 5. This governraent hath also power to set up aU sorts of officers, superior as weU as inferior, and point out their power and places ; 6. The Governor, deputy governor, assistants and select representatives or deputies, have full power and authority, both legislative and executive, for the government of aU the people here, whether inhabitants or strangers, both concerning ecclesi astical and civil matters, without appeals, excepting law, or laws repugnant to those of England ; 7. This government is privUeged by all fitting means (yea, if need be,) by force of arras to defend theraselves both by land and sea, against aU person, or persons, as shaU at any time attempt or enterprise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of the plantation or the inhabitants therein, besides other privileges mentioned in the patent, not here expressed ; 8 We consider any imposition prejudicial to the country, contrary to any just law of ours (not repugnant to the laws of England) to be an infringement of our rights. II. Concerning our duties of allegiance to our sovereign Lord the King: 1. We ought to uphold, and to our power maintain the place, as of right belonging to our sovereign Lord the King, as holden of his Majesty's manor of East Green- H 3 154 THE ENGLISH wich, and not subject the same to any foreign prince or potentate whatsoever ; 2. We ought to endeavour the preservation of his Majesty's royal person, realras, and dominions, and so far as lieth in us to discover and prevent aU plots and conspiracies against the same, &c. ; 3. We ought to seek the peace and prosperity of our King and nation, by a faithful discharge in the governing of this people comraitted to our care." To which is added a clause, that the warrant for the apprehension of Goffe and Whalley ought to have the support of the Court, and that no shelter should be given to people legally obnoxious and flying frora justice. This extraordinary docu ment exhibits more briefly and distinctly their ideas of their own independence, and their own nominal aUegiance to the Crown, than the most laboured treatise, and possesses the additional ad vantage of not being an inference from facts subject to be controverted, and open to the charge of prejudice, but a manifesto carefuUy weighed, deliberately adopted, and entered on record in the journals of the house. Here are distinctly shadowed out the three great doctrines on which their sovereignty rested. The first is a positive denial of the right of appeal ; the second, a declaration that Acts of ParUament regulating their trade were unconstitutional ; and the third, an assertion of their pecuUar privUege of IN AMERICA. 155 managing their own internal affau-s. These three principles, accompanied as they were with a dis tinct avowal of the legality of maintaining them by force of arras, coraprise absolute independence. They are whoUy irreconcilable with anything Uke imperial control, and leave the King nothing but an empty title. It is, therefore, absurd to ascribe the origin of these pretensions to the revolution of 1783. They thus early asserted and contended for unmixed and uncontroUable republicanism. Nor was the demand either unnatural or incon sistent with their position or prejudices, and the circumstances of both Europe and Araerica at the tirae. They had grown up in neglect, and self- governraent was essential to their existence as a coraraunity. Having exercised it for a long period fi-om necessity, they became enamoured of it from use, and now demanded it as a right. According to these -views, into which they had reasoned thefei- selves, their connection with England was purely voluntary. The only compact they had with its Sovereign, they aUeged, was to pay hira a fifth of the gold and sUver ore found in the soU, which they expressed their wUlingness to do, whenever any should be discovered. On that condition, and that their laws should not be repugnant to those of the parent country, they obtained the territory. But they said, if there were no Charter, they stiU owed no obedience ; for the King, ui fact, had no 156 THE ENGLISH title himself by pretence of discovery, which was a mere Popish doctrine derived from Alexander VI. ; and their own was far better, being founded on prior possession, actual and continued occupation, and improvement, and purchase from the Indian chiefs. Had the habits of the monarch been at aU equal to his abilities, and his means adequate to enforce his authority, it is probable he would have taken prorapt and efficient measures to ensure their submission. His sagacity penetrated their designs, but his indolence and indecision were unequal to a contest in which there was neither present emolument to reimburse the expense, nor an increase of royal power to add strength or dignity to the throne. He resorted to professions of regard, and was met by such extravagant hyperboles, as to excite the irrepressible laughter of the courtiers. He was less successful in negociatlon. They were subtle disputants, and having overpowered their own judgment and strong InteUects with casuistry, were easily able to vanquish his statesmen, whose minds were more occupied with their own intrigues than the affairs, of a distant and refractory colony. In the end, as we shaU presently see, he resorted to a court of law, and partially effected his object. Complaints stiU continuing to be made of their want of toleration, arbitrary conduct, and dis- IN AMERICA. 157 affection, the local government thought It necessary to send two agents to England, to endeavour to meet these charges in the best manner they could. These gentlemen accepted the trust with the greatest reluctance, and such was their appre hension relative to their own personal safety, that they first stipulated for reimbursement and in demnification from the consequences of their de tention by the Court. They were fortified with letters to Lord Saye and Sele, who had more Puritanism than was consistent with his cha racter for good sense, and more syrapathy with colonial independence than was compatible with his duty to his Sovereign. Lord Clarendon, Lord Manchester, Colonel Temple, and others were also solicited to aid and assist their envoys, who were finaUy dispatched with especial orders to obtain aU they could, and to yield nothing. As the in structions are very brief, and exceedingly charac teristic, I Insert them. 1. You shaU present us to his Majesty as his loyal and obedient subjects, and not be wanting to instance in the particulars which most and best render us so to be. 2. You shaU endeavour to take off all scandal and objections which are or shall be made against us. 3. You shaU endeavour the estabUshment of the rights and privUeges we now enjoy. 158 THE ENGLISH 4. You shall not engage us, by any act of yours, to anything which may be prejudicial to our present standing, according to patent. They met a favourable and, what appeared to them, a gracious reception frora the King, who assured thera he would confirm the main objects of their Charter, but coramanded them imraedlately to rectify several serious deviations from its spirit and meaning. On their return to their native country, his Majesty delivered to thera a letter, addressed to the Governraent of Massachusetts, containing an aranesty for past offences, but re quiring that all their laws should be reviewed, and such as were contrary or derogatory to his autho rity and govemment annuUed and repealed ; that the oath of aUegiance should be duly observed, that the administration of justice should be in his name, that liberty should be given to all that desired to use the Book of Coraraon Prayer, and perform their devotions in the raanner to which they had been accustoraed ; that aU persons of good and honest lives and conversations, should be admitted to the sacrament of the Lord's supper, according to the service of the Church of England, and their children to baptism; that in the choice of Go vernor and assistants, the only consideration to be had should be of the wisdom, virtue, and integrity of the persons to be chosen, and not of any faction, with reference to opinions and outward profession ; IN AMERICA. 159 that all freeholders of competent estates, not vicious, &c., though of different persuasions, should have their votes in the election of all officers, civil and miUtary; and, finaUy, that the letter should be published, &c. However reasonable these things now appear, they were considered at the tirae very detrimental to their rights, by a people who had hitherto tolerated no interference in their internal affairs. They deeraed thera subversive of their liberty on the one hand, and destructive of aU true religion and good governraent on the other. When so many things, however, were ordered to be done, and so raany innovations required, it was manifest some compUance was necessary, if only for the sake of preserving appearances. The letter was accordingly published, which was the easiest to be compUed with of aU the injunctions it contained, but the order for its promulgation was accompanied, as usual, with a caution, that no further action was to be taken upon it for the present. " Inasmuch as it hath influence upon the Churches, as weU as civU state, aU manner of action, in relation thereto, shall be -suspended, until the next General Court, that so aU persons concerned may have time and oppor tunity to consider of what is necessary to be done in order to his Majesty's pleasure therein." It was also ordered, that aU writs and legal pro- 160 THE ENGLISH cess should thereafter be issued in the name of the King. To admit it to appear in the judicial pro ceedings was unavoidable, but to enforce respect for it would be in itself an acknowledgment of a foreign power; and the different submission re quired to local and iraperial authority was forcibly iUustrated by two conteraporaneous suits. A person who had rendered hiraself obnoxious by petitioning against the colony, happening shortly afterwards to be in court, was accused of discourteous conduct, fined £200 for his con tempt, and ordered to find sureties in a like sum for his good behaviour; while a constable, who refused to publish the King's letter, and a select man, who spoke disrespectfuUy of it, were both acquitted on an aUeged deficiency of proof. The determination to evade or delay, which had become a fixed rule of conduct on aU occasions, exhausted the patience of the English Government. Churchmen, both -within and without Massachu setts, were loud in their complaints, that the colony was rendered intolerable to the one, and practicaUy closed to the other; whUe those who felt aggrieved at the decisions of the court, ex pressed, in strong terms, the sense they enter tained of the hardships they endured, in being debarred from a rehearing, and by having an appeal converted into an offence of a very serious nature, that of slandering the Lord's elect. IN AMERICA. 1 6 1 Among others who were aggrieved were the Quakers, who stated that their people had suf fered incredible punishments and persecutions at the hands of the Puritans. Without entering into the heart-rending detaUs of the cruelties practised upon them, it is merely sufficient to state what enactments were made against them. One of the first imposed a penalty of £100 upon the master of any vessel who should bring a known Quaker into any part of the colony, and required hira to give security to carry hira back again ; in the meantime, the unfortunate man was sent to the house of correction, and whipped twenty stripes, and afterwards kept at hard labour, untU transportation. They also laid a fine of £5 for Importing, and the like sura for dispensing, their doctrinal books, and for defending their heretical opinions. The next year, an additional law was made, by which aU persons were sub jected to the penalty of forty shillings for every hour's entertainraent given to any known mem ber of the sect; and any Quaker, after the first conviction, if a man, was to lose one ear, and the second time, the other ; a woman, each time to be severely whipped, and the third time, man or woman, to have their tongues bored through with a red-hot iron ; and every one who should become a convert in the colony was sub jected to the like punishment. Afterwards, a fine 162 THE ENGLISH of ten shUUngs was laid on every person present at any of their meetings, and £5 upon any one speaking there.* * That these poor zealots were superior to the gloomy bigots who persecuted them, appears from the following extract from William Leddra's address to his brethren, written the day^before his execution, which, considering the station of the man, and the circumstances under which it •was written, is singularly beautiful : " Most dear and inwardly beloved, " The sweet influence of the morning star, like a flood distilling into my innocent habitation, hath so filled me with the joy of the Lord, in the beauty of holiness, that my spirit is as if it did not inhabit a tabernacle of clay, but is wholly swallowed up in the bosom of eternity, from whence it had its being. " Alas, alas ! what can the wealth and spirit of man that lusteth to envy, aggravated by the heat and strength of the king of the locusts, which came out of the pit, do unto one that is hid in the secret places of the Almighty, or to them that are gathered under the healing wings of the Prince of Peace ? O, my beloved, I have waited as the Dove at the windows of the Ark, and have stood still in that watch, which the Master did at His coming reward with the fulness of His love, wherein my heart did rejoice that I might speak a few words to you, sealed with the spirit of promise. As the flowing of the ocean doth fill every creek and branch thereof, and then returns again toward its own being and fulness, and leaves a savour behind it, so doth the life and virtue of God fiow into every one of your hearts whom He hath made partakers of His divine nature ; and when it withdraws but little, it leaves a sweet savour behind it, that many can say they IN AMERICA. 163 Notvrithstandlng aU this severity, their number, as might weU have been expected, increased rather than diminished. When brought up for judg ment, one of them observed, " For the last man that was put to death here, are five corae into his room ; and if you have power to take my life from me, God can rise up ten of His servants, and send them among you in my place, that you may have torment upon torment." AU these tortures, imprlsonraents, corporal and and other punishraents were inflicted without remorse, and endured without producing any other effect than feeUngs of horror or pity in the are made clean, through the word that He hath spoken to them. Therefore, my dear hearts, let the enjoyment of the life alone be your hope, your joy, and your consolation. Stand in the watch -within, in the fear of the Lord, which is the entrance of wisdom. Confess Him before men ; yea, before His greatest enemies. Fear not what they can do to you. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world ; for He -will clothe you with humility, and in the power of His meekness you shall reign over all the rage of your enemies." — Duval's History of Quakers. Mary Dyer addressed from the gaol a remonstrance to the Court : " Were ever such laws heard of among a people that pTofess Christ come in the fiesh ? Have you no other weapon but such laws to fight against spiritual wickedness withal, as you call it ? Woe is me for you. Ye are diso bedient and deceived. Let my request be as Esther's to Ahasuerus, ' You will not repent that you were kept from shedding blood, though it was by a woman.' " 164 THE ENGLISH beholder. Four of thera suffered capitally. To the positive orders of the King that these dreadful barbarities should be discontinued (after having first satisfied themselves of their inefficiency), they yielded compUance, so far as mutUation and death were employed, and the persecution of vagabond Quakers dwindled down into mere whipping, with the merciful Umitation attached to it, that the culprit should be only flogged through three towns. The Baptists, who had also been treated with great severity, joined in the universal com plaint against the Puritans. Finally the Lords of the CouncU, who were daily besought for relief by so raany different interests, represented to the King, (January, 1662-3,) " that New England hath in these late tiraes of general disorder, strayed into raany enor mities, by which it appeared that the Government there have purposely withdrawn all manner of correspondence, as if they intended to suspend their absolute dependence to his Majesty's au thority." Not wishing to proceed to extremities with these intractable people, Charles resolved upon sending Commissioners to report upon the actual state of the colonies; and accordingly Colonel Nicholas, Sir Robert Carr, George Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick, were authorised to proceed to Araerica, " to visit the provinces of New England, hear and IN AMERICA. 165 determine aU causes of complaint, as well as appeals in matters mUitary, ecclesiastical and civil, and to settle there peace and security." The instructions given them were of a kind weU calculated (as far as such a proceeding was capable) to maintain no more than the due ob servance of the terras of the Charter on the one hand, and the royal authority on the other. They were particularly charged to encourage no faction, to soUcIt no present profit, to countenance no change inconsistent with ancient usages, and to do nothing that might be considered an Invasion of Uberty of conscience. Finally, not to shock their reUgious scruples beyond all endurance, or to run the hazard of driving a people already highly excited, into irretrievable madness, they were commanded not to suffer their chaplain, when officiating for them, to wear his surplice. As these gentlemen were expected in Boston early in July, a day of fasting and prayer was appointed to be observed throughout the whole province, to implore the mercy of God upon his people under their sore trials and afflictions. As it was thought not impossible some attempt raight be made by the Commissioners to seize upon their Charter, it was ordered to be brought into court, when it was formaUy deUvered, together with a duplicate, to four confidential persons, who were empowered and enjoined to deposit them in a place 166 THE ENGLISH of safety and concealment. The Governor and CouncU then resolved " to bear true aUegiance to his Majesty, but to adhere to a patent so dearly earned and so long enjoyed." A committee was also appointed, whose duty it was, immediately on the arrival of the ships, to present their respects to the board, and request that strict orders should be given to the subaltern officers, saUors, and soldiers, on their coming on shore for refreshment, to land only in very limited nurabers, without arras, and that they should be admonished to conduct them selves In a meet, orderly manner, and abstain frora gi-ving offence to the inhabitants, or -violating the laws for the preservation of the peace. Having taken these precautions, and mutuaUy encouraged each other to exercise great coolness and deUbera tion, in any step it might be necessary to take in this trying emergency, they awaited with patience the arrival of the formidable officers of the Crown. IN AMERICA. 167 CHAPTER IX. The Commissioners arrive at Boston — Deliver a royal letter to the Government, and proceed to the Hudson to attack the Dutch settlements — The General Court in their absence petition for their withdrawal, and solicit the aid of the Puritan noblemen — Answers of the King and Lord Clarendon — General effect of Commissions of Inquiry — The franchise extended — The clergy and demagogues prepare the people for resistance — False rumours put into circulation — General Court refuse to summon the people to assemble — Commissioners inquire whether they admit the King's authority — They decline to answer, and refuse to attend before them, or to sub mit to an appeal — They summon the Commissioners — Close of the inquiry — Accidents to Commissioners reputed to be judgments of Heaven — The King orders the Governor and other members of the General Court to appear before him — They decline, afi^ecting to doubt the genuineness of the order — Distinction taken between obedience to beneficial and injurious orders — The New England colonies renew their confederation — Effect of it — Complaints of English merchants against the infraction of the laws of trade — The oath of allegiance ordered to be taken, and the King's arms set up — Agents sent to 168 THE ENGLISH England, but ordered to yield nothing — A custom house officer appointed — Opposition to him — He is obliged to return to England — General Court re-enacts trade laws — Its members take modified official oaths — Collector sent out again, but they threaten to execute him — Is obliged to quit the colony — General gloom in Massa chusetts — People terrified by comets — The credentials of agents found deficient — They offer a bribe of two thousand guineas to the King — Agents return, and are followed by Randolph with the Quo Warranto — General Court refuses to surrender the Charter — Their argu ments — They again petition and pretend there has been no service of the writ — Judgment given against them — Remarks on their conduct — Natural effects of dissent. The Comraissioners arrived at Boston on the 13th of July, 1664, and having laid before the Governor and Council their letters patent, and caUed their attention to the last mandatory com munication frora his Majesty, proceeded to the Hudson, for the purpose of reducing the Dutch settlements, that interposed so inconveniently between the English provinces. During their temporary absence, the General Court petitioned the King to revoke their au thority, and once more besought the aid of aU those influential persons in England, who, at one time or another, had shown thera any kindness. To the former they said, in their usual adulatory language, " As the high place you sustain on earth doth number you among the gods, so you wUl imitate the God of Heaven, in being ready to IN AMERICA. 169 maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor, and to receive their cries and addresses to that end." The rest of the meraorial was a lamentation, at once hurable in language, and obstinate in purpose, filled with the raost dutiful expressions of loyalty and obedience, but con taining no pledge of fulfilling any one of the reasonable conditions, on which alone his Majesty had proralsed to confirm their patent. To their patrons and friends they represented the com mission as an attempt to destroy their privUeges, to deprive them of Hberty of conscience, and to impose burdens upon thera that they were unable to bear. The Kuig, who saw through their evasions, assured them that his object was, not to infringe upon their Charter, but to see that its provisions were fuUy and fairly complied with ; that their neighbours, the inhabitants, and the savages, as well as the emigrants, made accusations against them, into which it was his duty to inquire ; that they might rely upon the fuUest protection and support, that the best sub jects ever received from the raost generous Prince ; and finally, that he would renew the patent for them, but raust first insist on a full and free toleration for Churchraen and Dissenters, and a repeal of such laws as were repugnant to those of England. VOL. I. T 170 THE ENGLISH Lord Clarendon, who was one of the noblemen to whom they had addressed themselves, indig nantly declined to be the medium of their double- dealing. " I know not what you mean," said his Lordship, " by saying that the Commissioners have power to exercise government inconsistent -with your rights and privUeges, since I am sure their instructions are to see and pro-vide for the due and fuU obsei-vatlon of the Charter, and that all the privUeges granted by it may be equaUy en joyed by aU his Majesty's subjects there. I know they are expressly inhibited from intermeddling with, or obsti-ucting the administration of justice, according to the forms observed there ; but If, in truth, the proceedings have been irregular, and against the rules of justice (as in some particular cases, recommended to them by his Majesty, they seem to be), it cannot be presuraed that his Majesty hath, or will leave his subjects of New England without hope of redress by an appeal to him, which his subjects of aU his other kingdoms have free liberty to make. I can say no more to you, but that it Is in your power to be very happy, and to enjoy all that hath been granted to you ; but it wIU be absolutely necessary, that you per form and pay aU that reverence and obedience, which is due frora subjects to their King, and which his Majesty wiU exact from you, and doubts IN AMERICA. 171 not but to find from the best of the colony, both in quaUty and number." Subsequent events but too plainly showed that both were wrong. There was too much hesi tation and condescension on the part of the King, and too much dogged obstinacy on the side of the people. The whole tenor of the conduct of the colonists, frora their first arrival in the country, afforded no reasonable ground for hoping for an accoraraodation. A commission of inquiry, that does not in the first instance supersede the local government, and assurae the suprerae comraand, is worse than useless ; on the one hand, it is exposed to legalized obstructions, that it cannot resist; and on the other, it subverts that re spect and obedience to constituted authority, which is so essential to the weU-being of a com munity. This was the first time the General Court had ever come in direct conflict with the Crown. It was a difficult and trying occasion, but they proved themselves equal to the emergency. Their cautious conduct, teraperate language, unflinching firmness, and grave demeanour, gave them a de cided advantage over the Commissioners, who had neither the weight of character, the influence of talent, nor the amount of legal knowledge neces sary for the successful discharge of their duties, I 2 172 THE ENGLISH while they were whoUy destitute of the requisite means for enforcing their decisions.* They were equaUy forgetful of what was due to the high station they filled themselves, and to the rank and power of a local government, the choice of a free people. So far from having a proper consideration for the mortifying and humUiating position in which the General Court was placed, they seemed to regard nothing but the exercise of their own authority. The forbearance of the Governor and his coun cU, under their embarrassments, was more than could have been expected from men who had persuaded themselves they were rather sinned against than sinning. Though indignant at being summoned in the presence of their constituents, to answer to every complaint that could be eli cited against them, and degraded by being put * Hutchinson (vol i, p. 250) thus describes them: -'•Colonel Nichols, by his discreet behaviour, gained the esteem of the people, and afterwards, whilst he was Governor of New York, kept up friendly correspondence with the General Court of Massachusetts. Carr and Cartwright were men very unfit for such a trust, and 'by their violent proceedings rendered themselves odious. JVIaverick seems to have been appointed only to increase the number, and to be subservient to the others. He had Jived in the colony from its beginning. He was always m ¦opposition to the authority." IN AMERICA. 173 upon their trial before incompetent, if not preju diced judges, they nevertheless raaintained, with the utraost coramand of temper, what they affected to caU their chartered rights ; asserting their terri torial supremacy, without recrimination on the one hand, or an open and seditious denial of royal authority on the other. This line of conduct they steadily pursued, as long as it was possible to do so, or untU submission or resistance became inevitable. Whatever wisdora or experience raay be gathered from the pages of history in general. It is certain that the annals of the old provinces, so rich in instruction, have imparted but Uttle knowledge to those in England, in whose hands are entrusted colonial destinies. This Coranussion, as we shall see, was a -wretched faUure, as every successive one has been, down to that recently sent to Canada. They are necessarUy productive of infinite mischief ; they lower the respect of the Pro-vincials for the Iraperial Governraent, induce hasty and incon siderate legislation, based on reports that are alike distinguished for their incongruity, irapracticability, and disingenuousness ; but, above aU, they disgust by their reckless attacks (in which they make Uberal use of the senseless epithets, " cUques," "family compacts," " obstructives," and " bigoted Tories,") on the loyal gentry of the colonies, who are as superior to those erratic poUticians in abUity 174 THE ENGLISH and practical information, as they are in integrity of conduct and consistency of character. The General Court assembled on the 4th of August, when they resolved : " That they would bear faithful and true aUegiance to his Majesty, and adhere to their patent so dearly obtained and so long enjoyed by undoubted right, in the sight of God and man." They then repealed the law relating to the admission of freemen, and, instead of it, pro-vided another, that aUowed Eng lish subjects, being freeholders, rateable to a certain value, certified by the minister of the place to be orthodox, and not vicious In their Uves, to be made freemen, though not members of their Church. In the meantime, the clergy a,nd the dema gogues prepared the people for resistance ; the former, by haranguing in their pulpits ; the latter, in their town meetings. As the whole population was constrained to attend public worship on Sun days, one day was sufficient to disseminate sedi tion through a country predisposed to receive it. AssembUng for parish business, afforded favourable opportunities for the inhabitants to discuss what they had heard in their conventicles. The most alarming rumours were artfuUy put in circulation. It was said that Prelacy was to be establishefl, and tythes set apart for the Episcopal clergy; that dissolute soldiers were to be quartered upon the elect, and £5,000 a-year raised for the ci^il IN AMERICA. 175 list of the King, beside a tax of twelve-pence per acre ; while offices, without nuraber, were to be created for hungry courtiers. The louder, more inflararaatory, and bolder, were the harangues of their orators, the more acceptable they becarae; and nothing was heard through the whole pro- -vince but tyranny and patriotism, liberty and slavery, victory or death. The desured effect was imraedlately produced. Whoever associated with the Royal Coraraissioners becarae the objects of popular ridicule or insult. They were afraid to appeal, lest they should incur the vengeance of their offended countrymen. They were told, if they acknowledged the author rity of the Board, " they would puU down with their own hands the house which wisdom had buUt for them and their posterity." The Commissioners, desirous of rerao-ving the unfavourable irapressions raised against thera by these slanders, requested that the people might be convened together to hear their commands; but the Court, with their usual caution and evasion, dreading the effect of the interview on the firmness of the yeomanry, no less than the precedent of their obeying any one but themselves, repUed that they had no objection whatever to their assembUng, if they thought proper to do so ; for they were free agents, and could do as they saw fit on this ,or any other occasion. They professed, however, 176 THE ENGLISH their inabUity to understand how such a general meeting could in any way further the object of their inquiry, as the people were weU-informed of aU that had taken place, and were faithfuUy represented by their delegates, who were em powered to act and to speak in their behalf Entertaining this view, they said they did not feel justified in commanding their attendance, especiaUy as the season was such as to require the utmost exertion of every one, when labour was so scarce and expensive ; and, what was an awful consideration, it would expose the aged and infirm, and the women and children, of every frontier settlement to the fury of the savages, who would doubtless seize the opportunity of wreaking their vengeance by an indiscriminate slaughter of them all. For this reply, which was better calculated to excite ridicule than indignation, they were very coarsely stigmatised by one of the Comraissioners as traitors. The Board then sent notices them selves, to be posted up in different parts of the colony, requesting the inhabitants to raeet them, for the purpose of hearing the King's gracious letters, and learning the true object and design of their mission; but they were too much irritated with what they had been told, to pay any attention to them. It is not my intention to enter into any detaUed account of the controversy between these function- IN .4MERICA. 177 aries and the local government, as it would not only not interest the general reader, but would with draw our attention frora the raain object of this work. The Court affected to feel and laraent the painful dUemma in which they were placed; to submit, they conceived would be to strip them selves of aU their rights ; to refuse compUance, seeraed to be attended with odium, and the danger of being considered in the light of rebels. They said, " they esteemed it their greatest unhappiness to be held to give up their privUeges by charter, and the rights of Englishmen, or else be accounted among such as denied his Majesty's authority." All their replies, therefore, were worded in such general terms, and expressed in such cautious language, that the Commissioners, after much correspondence, and conferences without number, found, to their infinite mortification, that, during the whole period of their residence in the country, they had been travelling in a circle, and had arrived at last at the same point from whence they had started, not much enlightened by their vexa tious and laborious tour. Loss of tirae and labouf generaUy produces a corresponding effect on the temper. Irritated at last by the evasions or refusals of the Court, they submitted to them the foUowing question : — " Do you acknowledge the patent, wherein we are appointed, to be of fuU force to aU the purposes therein contained ?" To I 3 178 THE ENGLISH tliis form of interrogation the Governor and his council objected, saying they chose rather to plead their Charter, and the King's special charge, that they should not be disturbed In its enjoyment. This being deeraed whoUy unsatisfactory, they were again caUed upon for a categorical answer; but they declared It " was enough for them to give their sense of the rights granted to them, and that it was beyond their line to determine the power, extent, and purpose of his Majesty's Commission." Baffled in this attempt to draw them into an admis sion, so fatal to their defence, or into a contumacious denial of the royal authority, the Comraissioners determined to apply to them a most stringent test, •by bringing them to their bar, as a court of appeal. They accordingly summoned thera to .appear before thera, to answer to a complaint of a person against whom they had some time before ,pronounced judgment. But they protested against this assumption of power, so inconsistent with their Charter, and refused to attend. At the time appointed, a herald sounded his trurapet, and read a proclamation, which, after a long recital of their own forbearance during the protracted visit of the Comraissioners, and the repeated and frequent invasions they made upon their rights, declared, In his Majesty's name, and by the authority coraraitted to them by their patent, that they coiUd not consent to their proceedings, and IN AMERICA. 179 that it was utterly inconsistent with their aUegiance to suffer any persons so to contravene the King's instructions. After this they informed the Board of their earnest desure to give thera every satisfaction in their power, and notified thera that they should forthwith proceed to hear the cause theraselves, and desired thera to appear and produce their aUegatlons, to which every attention should be paid. This unexpected turn of affairs brought the coraraission to a close in Massachusetts ; and the officers coraposing it, after protesting against the General Court taking cognizance of a raatter in which they were directly interested, inforraed them that they should lose no time in such an undigni fied contest. They were doomed, however, to suffer stiU further mortification. They had been in the habit, during their residence at Boston, of entertaining a social party of friends, on Saturday evening, at the hotel where they lodged. This, it appears, was contrary to a local law, which required a strict observance of the afternoon of that day, as a portion of the Sabbath. A con stable, intruded into their room, ordered thera, in the King's name, to disperse, which caused his Iramediate ejection from the house. Thinking that the insult was an intentional one, premedi tated and suggested by the magistrates, and fearing a repetition of the outrage, they adjourned 180 THE ENGLISH to the house of a friend, where they were again visited by another baUiff, who, after admonishing them to mend their manners, observed, it was fortunate they had not had him to deal with, as he would assuredly have arrested them aU. " What," said one of the Comraissioners, "would you have presuraed to lay hands on the King's officers ?" " Certainly," was the reply of the deraocratic and sanctiraonious constable, " I would seize the King hiraself if he were here." Not knowing where this conduct might end, they left Massa chusetts on a tour to the other New England colonies, in which they experienced much diffi culty, though nlore obedience and courtesy than at Boston. Like aU commissioners of inquiry that have ever been sent to America, they deemed it requisite to prove the necessity of their appointment, by encouraging and graciously receiving complaints against the local government. That the Charter, which was never designed as a constitution, was too undefined in its terms, and too restricted in its practical operation, and that many beneficial re forms were required, was beyond aU doubt ; but It was equaUy obvious that respect was due to the station and character of the Governor and Court of Assistants, to the feelings of people of influence and rank in the colony, and to the ministers of the great body of the population. Mankind are IN AMERICA. 181 sufficiently prone to disobedience to their superiors ; but when the organs of imperial authority lend their countenance and afford encouragement to the disaffected, every land, whether it be the barren soU of New England, or the fertUe region of Canada, wUl bear a plentiful harvest of falsehood, misrepresentation, and discontent. One of the Commissioners was captured by the Dutch, on his return to England, and lost aU his papers, and another died the day he landed in Bristol ; two accidents, which were seized upon by the ministers, with their usual propensity for the raarveUous, and declared to be the just judgraents of God upon those who had sought to injure the Lord's elect. Such a signal interposition of Pro-vidence raised the drooping spirits of those who doubted the propriety of the conduct pursued by the General Court, and confirmed the obstinacy and increased the spirit of resistance in the magis trates and people. The official narrative, however, of their proceedings reached England In safety; and, as raight have been expected from the treat ment they had received, was very unfavourable. It disclosed very plainly,* how systematicaUy the Provincials had always pursued their darling object, self-government, frora their first settleraent to the period of the rebeUion in England, when they be- * See " Hutchinson's History of the Colonies," vol. in, p. 412. 182 THE ENGLISH sought CromweU to bestow absolute independence upon thera, and from thence to the arrival of the Board, whose authority they eluded or denied, caUIng themselves a state, a commonwealth, and a people, in contradistinction to a colony and subjects. As soon as the result of the mission was known, it occasioned great indignation. A letter addressed in the narae, and by the order of the King, and countersigned by Secretary Maurice, was dispatched to Boston without delay, com manding on their aUegiance Mr. BeUInghara, the Governor, and Mr. Hawthorne, the Speaker, together with three others, to be chosen by the General Court, to proceed forthwith to London, to answer the various charges which from time to time had accumulated against them. The pe remptory tone of the order required their irame diate and serious attention. The Legislature was convened, and six elders successively prayed for a, blessing on their deliberations, and the discovery of some practicable mode of escape from their troubles. They were indebted to their Ingenuity, for what no one else but themselves would have attributed to their suppUcations. A slight devia tion from the truth effectuaUy answered their purpose. They effected to doubt the authenticity of the letter, as they were not famUiar with the IN AMERICA. 183 signature of the officer by whom it was signed, and pronounced It a forgery. They therefore agreed upon an answer, in which the genuineness of the royal mandate was questioned, and excused themselves for sending over agents, especially as they said the ablest among, them could not declare their cause more fuUy than it had been done already. An abstract of the debate on this occasion has been preserved,* and exhibits in strong colours their determined purpose to resist the right of supervision or appeal. A very curious and subtle distinction was taken between such comraands of the King's as were beneficial to them, and such as were not.f It was argued that the civU magistrate was a minister of God for the good of the people, and so far as his injunctions tended to their advantage, ought to be obeyed for conscience sake, but none would say it was for the benefit of a colony to send away its rulers ! In the meantime the confederation of Massa chusetts, Connecticut, and Plymouth, was again renewed by coraraissioners frora the respective provinces, who entered into an offensive and defensive affiance. This convention Increased the * See the Danforth Papers in vol. xix, Massachu setts Hist. Col. + See Cobbet's letter, in note to Hutchinson's History, vol. I, p. 253. 184 THE ENGLISH confidence of the people in their own strength, by gi-ving unity to their designs, and vigour to their conduct. When assembled, they represented a very extensive country, and a large population, and naturaUy encouraged each other in struggling for independence, which was their motive for settling in America, and the inheritance they hoped to leave to their children. A new interest, however, had now sprung up in England, adverse to the pretensions of the colonists, that enUsted the people on the side of the King, which it was easy to foretel would soon overpower them. The comraerce of the Araerican pro-vinces, as we have seen, had already been regulated and restrained by Parliament. It was now considered a proper object for taxation. Duties were laid upon certain enumerated articles, which were to be coUected In a new manner. The management of this branch of revenue was com mitted to local officers, to be appointed by the coraraissioners of the customs in England. The duties of tonnage and poundage had been extended to every dominion of the Crown at the Restoration, but this was the first act which iraposed imports on the colonies alone (1662), to be regularly coUected by provincial revenue officers. The former acts had not only been evaded, but openly disregarded by the people of Boston ; and the English merchants complained that they traded directly to various ports in Europe, and invited IN AMERICA. 185 foreigners to -visit them ; that they supplied the adjoining plantations with the productions of other nations, which ought to be sent to Great Britain alone ; that, having thus made Massachusetts the great emporium for America, the comraerce of the kingdom was greatly prejudiced, the national resources impaired, and the people impoverished. They also added, that such abuses would at once destroy the trade of England, and effectuaUy relieve the colonies from any sort of dependence on the parent country. The interest at stake was too vast and too important to be trifled with. The governors were therefore coraraanded, by royal authority, to enforce a strict obedience to the laws of trade. Coraraissions were transmitted, era- powering proper persons to administer an oath, framed to secure their strict observance. To add weight to these measures, it was determined " that no Mediterranean passes should be granted to New England, to protect its vessels against the Turks, tUl it should be seen what dependence it would acknowledge on his Majesty, or whether his custom-house officers should be received as in other colonies." In order to counteract the effects of the un favourable report of the Coraraissioners, and to aUay the irritation arising frora so raany grievous coraplaints, it was deeraed ad-visable by the General Court spontaneously to raake some con- 186 THE ENGLISH cessions, which, if they did not whoUy answer their avowed purpose, would at least enable them to procrastinate awhUe longer, and retain the ad vantage that raight be offered by time or oppor tunity. They therefore passed an act to punish high treason with death, and another requiring aU persons above sixteen years of age to take the oath of aUegiance, on pain of fine and imprison ment ; the Governor, his deputy, and the magis trates, ha-ving first taken the same, without reservation, in the words* sent them in the royal mandate. The King's arms were also ordered to be carved and put up in the Court-house. Randolph, who had suffered imprisonraent with Sir Edraund Andross, and had never forgotten or forgiven the injuries he then received, had carried to England very exaggerated accounts of the wealth and population of Massachusetts, and now returned empowered to administer to the New England Governor an oath to enforce the acts of trade. In Massachusetts it * The form of the oath, as previously existing, is one of the most evasive and loose ever constructed. It is in the following words : "Whereas I, A. B., am an inhabitant ¦within this jurisdiction, considering how I stand obliged to the King's Majesty, his heirs and successors, by our Charter and the Government established thereby, &c., swear, by the great and dreadful name of the everlasting God, that I vrill bear faith and true allegiance to our sovereign Lord the King, his heirs and successors. So help me God." IN AMERICA. 187 was peremptorUy refused, on the ground that no such oath was required by the Charter. They, however, enacted one of their own on the subject, and voted a present to the King of some cran berries, a special good samp., as they were desig nated, and also some cod-fish, cured after the manner of the country. They were again admonished by his Majesty, who appears to have treated them with great consideration, to send agents to England, with fuU power to answer for them, and in the mean tirae, he required their Iraraedlate corapllance with the several injunctions contained In the pre-vious mandate. Having so often found safety in delay, they perse vered in this systera of procrastination, aUeging as an excuse, the dangers of the sea, the agent for Connecticut having been recently captured by the Algerines, and the hea-vy debt of the colony, which raade it alraost incapable of the expense. At last, however, the orders were repeated in such a peremptory manner, that compUance could no longer be deferred, and they were accordingly appointed, but strictly coramanded not to do or consent to anything that should -violate or infringe the liberties and privUeges granted by the Charter, or the government estabUshed by its authority. It was difficult to submit to the laws of trade on two grounds : first, they interfered with the growth and prosperity of Boston ; and secondly. 188 THE ENGLISH being acts of a foreign power, they could not well be acknowledged without admitting the authority that made them. The King, finding that nothing effectual was done to suppress these irregularities, deemed it necessary to send over a custom-house officer with a suitable comraission for executing his important and deUcate task. He was furnished with letters both raandatory and introductory to the local government, and influen tial inhabitants, to support, aid and countenance hira in his office. It required a man of no ordinary nerve to attempt to carry out such instructions. In defiance of a whole coraraunity. Such a person however was Randolph, who was selected for the purpose. Against this appointraent the Lords of the Committee of Colonies very properly reraon strated. They reported to his Majesty, "that no good was to be expected from the single endeav our of one man, tUl by a general reformation of abuses. New England is reduced to such dependence as is yielded by the other colonies." They also suggested that the only effectual reraedy " was a Governor whoUy supported by the King." The wisdora of this recommendation Is evinced by the whole subsequent history of the British possessions in Araerica. Had it been acted upon, it would have saved innumerable disputes and embarrassments ; but like aU the advice offered IN AMERICA. 189 to that monarch, it was received, approved and forgotten. As soon as Randolph landed, he was regarded as a spy and an enemy, and was not only received with coldness, but encountered obstmction and insult, both from the Govemment and the people. He was not altogether unprepared for the result, for he had previously been informed by the Governor, Mr. Leverett, in plain language, that he did not acknowledge the authority of ParUa raent. " I caUed his attention," says the CoUector in his report, " to the fact that several vessels had arrived from Spain, France, Straights, Canaries, and other parts of Europe, contrary to his Majesty's laws for encouraging navigation, and regulating the trade of the plantations. He freely declared to rae, that the laws made by your Majesty and your Parliament oblige them in nothing, but what consists with the interest of that colony; that the legislative power is, and abides in thera solely, to act and make laws by -virtue of the Charter ; that aU matters in difference are to be conducted by their final determination without appeal, and that you ought not to retrench their Uberties, but may enlarge thera if you please ; and said that your Majesty could do no less than let them enjoy their rights and trade, they having upon their own charge, and without any contri- 190 THE ENGLISH butlon from the Crown, made so large a plan tation in the -wUderness." In addition to the odium resulting from en forcing laws so repugnant to the prejudices and interests of the people, Randolph was also received with great dislike as an EpiscopaUan, a correspondent of the Bishop of London, and the avowed advocate for the settlement of a clergyman of the EstabUshed Church in Boston. No Englishman was ever hated and dreaded as much as Randolph (whom they caUed their evU genius), for he was resolute, persevering, well- informed, and devoted to the cause of the King, and what he esteeraed to be the rights of Eng^ land.* But what can one man do when the Governor, the CouncU, the Assembly, the Judges, the Jury, and the mob, are aU opposed to him, his office, and his claims ? He returned to London to exhibit another instance in his own person of the utter inutiUty of attempting to enforce obe dience in a colony, that is virtuaUy independent, without a total alteration in the structure of its governraent, or the aid of a military force. His personal and official influence was such, that to anticipate his complaints they voluntarily made some partial concessions. They passed an act, giving authenticity and efficacy to many of the * He made eight voyages to England in nine years. IN AMERICA. 191 navigation laws, thereby adopting thera as their own, in preference to adraitting their validity. The Governor took the oath of office extracted from the EngUsh statutes, and rendered necessary by their own. They modified their Jewish code of jurispmdence, and enroUed the commission of the obnoxious officer. These compliances induced his Majesty to try thera a little longer, and the CoUector was sent out, contrary to his own opinion, to make another attempt to discharge his duty, and^ found, as he expected, that, notwithstanding aU their professions, their conduct and their principles were unchanged. Iramediately on his arrival, he addressed a letter to the Governor, demanding the final resolution of the Court, whether it would admit his coraraission to be in force or not, that he might know how to deport himself. Of this comraunication they took no notice whatever, under the impression that a reply might hereafter rise up in judgment against them ; but they thought that an exhibition of con terapt for hira and his erabarrassments was quite compatible with pmdence, for it raust be felt to be appreciated, and is incapable of description. They maintained sUence, however, no longer than was necessary to avoid committing themselves. He was soon given to understand what he had to expect at their hands. Finding he could obtain no reply, he set up a notice on the Town-house 192 THE ENGLISH informing the public of his coraraission as CoUector of Customs, that he had opened an office for that purpose, and required all persons interested to comply with the prescribed forms. The Court imraedlately ordered the Marshal to reraove the presumptuous advertisement, and adopted other measures that effectually defeated aU his attempts to exercise his delegated authority. If he prose cuted for a penalty, he was compelled to lodge caution-money to respond the costs ; and If it came to trial, he either lost his cause and his deposit, or the penalty was clairaed by the local govern ment. Everybody was against him. Strange i-umours reached hira that were not to be disregarded. His life was threatened. He knew his raen ; he felt that they were capable of any acts of violence, when they thought their rights infringed, and that their penal laws were neither obsolete nor dorraant, but executed with a vigour and severity whoUy unrestrained by considerations of mercy, or fear of consequences. He was given to understand, if he persevered in seizing vessels, and embar rassing their trade, he should be apprehended, tried, convicted, and executed, under a local statute, that made any attempt to subvert their chartered liberties a capital offence. He was, therefore, under the necessity of once raore with drawing to England, where he exhibited seven IN AMERICA. 193 formal articles of high raisdemeanors against the General Court. They were brief, perspicuous, and capable of proof, and carried conviction on the face of thera. The King's patience was exhausted ; he threatened them, if they did not at once send agents duly authorized to act and submit to him, a Quo Warranto should Issue immediately. It was not now the complaint of Randolph alone that they had to answer, but the remonstrances of the whole mercantUe and manufacturing interests of the kingdom. The just displeasure of an offended monarch, and the well-founded fears of English statesmen that Araerica was alraing at Indepen dence, required the exercise of aU their ingenuity and address. Two delegates were sent to Eng land, commissioned as usual " to avoid or delay," to obtain what they could, but to make no concessions. It was a tirae of general gloora in the colony. The King's power was increasing in England. He was carrying on a successful war against charters : even London had lost hers, and how could they suppose they were to escape ? Everything seeraed to conspire against them. They were at last sorae what divided in opinion araong themselves, whether it would not be better to yield ; and then- unity, in which had consisted their strength, was shaken. Could it be a judgment from Heaven upon them for their offences ? Could then- recent toleration of sectaries have drawn down on their heads VOL. I. K 194 THE ENGLISH judicial punishment? They were the chosen people of the Lord. In giving way to the wishes of a prelatic King, by adopting huraan laws in stead of those of Moses, which they had lately so Im piously repealed, it was possible that disobedience raight have deserved and received chastiseraent. Something very remarkable, it was generally believed, was about to take place, for the air was fiUed with strange sounds, and the darkness Ulu- minated with wondrous lights. Two enorraous coraets had traversed the heavens, and carried terror into every heart, as they were the sure and certain forerunners of calaraities to fallen, sinful man. Two of the largest fires ever then known in North America, had nearly consuraed Boston ; the first destroying forty-five houses, besides nume rous large stores and, what showed the Divine vengeance of the devouring flame more than aU, a meeting-house ; the second burning up raore than eighty dwellings and seventy warehouses, with several vessels and their cargoes. A synod was called of aU the clergy of Massa chusetts. It was an unusual occasion, and the prayers of the whole body were needed. The preachers proved, to the entire satisfaction of the people, that they could expect no blessing if they continued to aUow the Lord's heritage to be in vaded by prelacy and, dissent, or relinquished the privUeges of His elect. The drooping spirits of IN AMERICA. 195 the people revived, and they expressed their deter mination to stand or faU by their Charter, and to make no surrender. On the arrival of the agents in England, it was found that their instructions did not contain suffi cient authority to enable them to treat on behalf of the colony. They were ordered to procure more comprehensive powers, but the General Court re fused to enlarge them. Their ralsslon was thus brought to a close, and a Quo Warranto issued in the usual form, for the purpose of putting an end to the Charter. Hitherto the local govemment had depended upon their allies, the Liberals. The connection had always been one of convenience rather than regard, for they mutually despised each other. The Pro-vincials coalesced with that party, because they had a more repubUcan tendency than the Tories, and courted the support of the eneraies of the Church; but they loathed their profligacy, their disregard of aU principle, and their readiness to sacrifice patriotisra for place, and con sistency for the emoluraents of office. On the other hand, the Liberals knew the iraportance of so large and influential a body as the Sectarians, and were weU skUled in inflaraing their passions, pandering to their prejudices, and rendering their discontent and their union subservient to their own K 2 196 THE ENGLISH schemes of ambition. But while they used them, they ridiculed them ; and their ignorant zeal, hypo critical pretensions, and extravagant language of cant, afforded them inexhaustible subjects for satire. It was an age when the leaders of the two extremes of sanctiraonious and dissolute raodes found their greatest safety In embracing each other. Knowing that the Liberals were always venal, and having succeeded in seducing the clerks of the public offices (if there can be seduction where there is no virtue) , and keeping thera on pa}- to betray their trusts, they were always constantly and accurately informed of the secrets of State, and furnished with copies of aU Minutes of Coun cU, memorials, or coraplaints, affecting their inte rests, as weU as the naraes of those raerabers that -^oted for or against thera. They now conceived the plan of concentrating their gratuities and terapting the cupidity of the King, and raost unblushingly offered hira a bribe of two thousand guineas.* His thoughtless dissi- * The proofs of these charges are abundant. The fol lowing will sufiice : " From the Clerks of the Privy Council, who were retained on treacherous pay, they procured the strictest information, and even the State Papers. Perfectly ac quainted by this means with European affairs, the ruling snen at Boston were able to draw every advantage from IN AMERICA^ 197 pation, lavish profusion, and unquenchable thirst for means to gratify his extravagant habits, were weU calculated to lower hiraself and his monarchy to the level of republicans. The agents did not underrate his honour, but they overvalued their own dexterity. Had it been delicately managed — for he was fastidious in his appetites — it is to be feared he would have had as Uttle -virtue to resist, distractions, either to act with moderation or firmness." — Chlm. Col. vol. I, p. 129. [Chelmus held the important office of Head Clerk to the Committee of the Privy Council, and is therefore good authority.] " Ha-nng long corrupted his servants, they now at tempted to bribe himself by an offer of two thousand guineas." — Chlm. Col. vol. i, p. 133. " Massachusetts was willing to bribe the Monarch into clemency towards its liberties." — Ban. Hist. vol. ii, p. 123.' "Cranfield ad vised tendering two thousand guineas for the King's private service. The Court agreed to the proposal, and showed him the letter they had written to their agent thereon." — Hutch. Hist. vol. i, p. 337. " Major Thompson would make better use of your funds for your advantage. His employment in the East India Company gives him frequent access to Court, where he hath opportunity to give a feeling to such classes of the Council as may serve you with true intelligence. They have been there two years raising money upon the poor inhabitants to make friends at Court. Certainly they have some there too nigh the Council Chamber, otherwise they could not have copies of my petition against the Govern ment, my articles of high misdemeanors, and now of Cran- field's instructions." — Letter of Eandolph to Clarendon, June Uth, 1682. 198 THE ENGLISH as they had honesty to offer the temptation; but the coarseness of the execution, if possible, surpassed the baseness of the design, and it faUed of success as much on account of its grossness, as its imraorality. It was a great raortification to both. The King concealed his chagrin under a weU-turned point. He said the Puritans were unrelenting foes, they had deprived his sainted father of his Ufe, and now they would rob hira of what he prized raore highly, his honour. The agents were covered with shame, and were pointed at wherever they went as hypocrites, who had the depravity of courtiers, without their practical adroitness, or poUshed manners to conceal It.* They returned as soon as possible to Boston from their fruitless mission, and arrived on the 23rd of October, and the same week were foUowed by the indefatigable Randolph, with the Quo Warranto. At the same time his Majesty made one effort raore to bring this protracted contest to an end, and condescended again to entreat thera to subrait, proraising at the same time to make as few altera tions in their patent as possible, consistently with the support of a royal governraent. In this des perate situation the question was debated, both in * Truly, Sir, if you could see how we are ridiculed by our best friends at Court, it would grieve you. — Dudley's Letter to Bradstreet, Felruary, 1682. IN AMERICA. 199 the General Court, and among the inhabitants at large, whether it were better to raake araple sub mission to the King, or suffer raatters to take their course. The Government, however, and the people, true to the principles they had ever professed, determined it was better to die by the hands of others, than to corarait a suicidal act themselves, by surrendering a Charter, under which they had, for a period of fifty years, enjoyed internal and external independence. The General Court as sembled and debated the subject for a fortnight. The upper branch was divided in opinion, but moderate counsels prevaUed, and the majority passed a resolution not to contend with his Majesty at law, but rather throw themselves on his mercy, and to send agents to receive the royal commands. This vote was sent to the Chamber of Deputies, according to the usual form, for their concurrence.* The clergy took the alarm and * The vote was as follows: "The magistrates have voted that an humble address be sent to his Majesty by this ship, declaring that, upon a serious consideration of his Majesty's gracious intimations, in his former letters, and more particularly in his late declaration, that his pleasure and purpose is only to regulate our Charter in such a manner as shall be for his service, and the good of this his colony, and without any other alteration than what is necessary for the support of his government here ; we will not presume to contend with his Majesty in a court of law, but humbly lay ourselves at his Majesty's feet, in a sub- 200 THE ENGLISH effectually prevented its passage through the Lower House. It was the last time they were ever able to exert the same influence.* The arguments on this occasion (though not in the shape of modem reports) are preserved in the valuable and interesting collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society: the substance I find elsewhere thus condensed : " Ought the governraent of Massachusetts (thus it was argued) submit to the pleasure of the Court, as to altera tion of their Charter? Submission would be an offence against the raajesty of Heaven. The religion of the people of New England, and the Court's pleasure cannot consist together. By subraission, Massachusetts wiU gain nothing. The Court designs an essential alteration, destructive to mission to his pleasure so declared, and that we have resolved by the next opportunity to send our agents, empowered to receive his Majesty's commands accordingly. And, for saving a default of non-appearance upon the return of the writ of Quo Warranto, that some meet person or persons he appointed and empowered, by letter of attorney, to appear and make a defence, until our agents may make their appearance and submission as above. The magistrates have passed this with reference to the consent of their brethren and the deputies hereto. " Edward Rawson, Secretary." * " The clergy turned the scale for the last time. The balance which they had held from the beginning, they were allowed to retain no longer." — Hutchinson. IN AMERICA. 201 the vitals of the Charter. The corporations in England that have made an entire resignation, have no advantage over those who have stood a suit in law. But If we maintain a suit, though we should be conderaned, we raay bring the raatter to Chancery or to ParUaraent, and in time recover aU again. We ought not to act contrary to that way in which God hath owned our worthy prede cessors, who in 1638, when there was a Quo Warranto against the Charter durst not submit. In 1 664 they did not submit to the Coraraissioners. We, their successors, should walk in their steps, and so trust in the God of our fathers, that we shaU see His salvation. Submission would gratify our adversaries, and grieve our friends. Our enemies know it wUl sound IU in the world, for them to take away the Uberties of a poor people of God in a wilderness. A resignation will bring slavery upon us sooner than it otherwise would be, and wUl grieve our friends in other colonies, whose eyes are now upon New England, expecting that the people there wiU not through fear give a pernicious example unto others. Blind obedience to the pleasure of the Court, cannot be without great sin, and incurring the high displeasure of the King of Kings ; subraission would be contrary unto that which has been the unaniraous advice of the rainisters given after a solemn day of prayer. The ministers of God in New England, have more K 3 202 THE ENGLISH of the spirit of John the Baptist in them, than now, when a storm hath overtaken them, to be reeds shaken with the wind. The Priests were to be the first that set their feet in the waters, and there to stand tiU the danger be past ; of aU men they should be an example to the Lord's people, of faith, courage and constancy. Unques tionably if the blessed Cotton, Hooker, Davenport, Shepherd, and MitcheU, were now living, they would, as is evident from their printed books, say, ' Do not sin in giving away the inheritance of your fathers.' " Nor ought we to submit without the consent of the body of the people. But the freemen and Church members throughout New England wIU never consent hereunto. Therefore, the Govern ment raay not do It. The ci-vU liberties of New England are part of the inheritance of their fathers, and shall we give that inheritance away ? Better suffer than sin. It is better to tmst the God of our fathers, than to put confidence in princes. If we suffer because we dare not coraply with the wUls of raen, against the wIU of God, we suffer In a good cause, and shaU be accounted martyrs in the next generation, and at the Great Day." The vote was finally sent back with the foUowing decision. " The Deputies consent not." The proprietors resident in England, with one exception only, ashamed of conduct they coiUd not IN AMERICA. 203 justify, disclaimed the usurpation. Craddock, their former Governor, after some little show of deference, suffered a default to be entered, and the rest of the patentees stood outlawed. The General Court, consistent to the last, raade one raore attempt at delay and supplication. In an address, raost hurable in language, but firra in purpose, they excused them selves from sending home the Charter, on pretence that judgment had been passed against it, upon a Quo Warranto, and declared if they had been duly notified, no doubt they could have put in a sufficient plea to it ; that if they should transmit it, they would be looked upon as runagates and outlaws ; that the coraraon people would think that his Majesty had cast thera off ; and that they would for their safety confederate theraselves under a new Oovernment, which would be of dangerous example to other plantations. " We do not question your proceedings," they said, in conclusion, " we only desire to open our griefs where the remedy is to be expected, and we are told to renew our hurable supplication to your Lordships, that we raay be suffered to live here in this wUderness, and that this poor plantation, which hath found more favour with God than many others, may not find less favour with the King." A semi-official reply was returned by the Lords Commissioners through the medium of Mr. Craddock. They again caUed upon the cor- 204 THE ENGLISH poration to send horae the Charter ; and, as an earnest of their benevolent designs, authorized Its present Government to continue untU a new patent should pass the seals. In addition to this memorial, they avaUed them selves of the want of a formal service of the order, and accordingly voted to take no notice of it; "for," said the raerabers in their debates, "it is unofficial, and the Lords Coraraissioners cannot proceed upon it, since they can obtain no proof that it was delivered to the Governor ;" and, the better to insure this result, they directed Mr. Craddock's agent, when he again wrote to his principal, not to mention the receipt of his last letter. But this technical objection availed not, and a judgment was entered on the Quo Warranto, in Trinity Term, 1684, a copy of which reached Boston on the 3rd day of July, 1685, and put an end to the ancient Government of Massachusetts. Thus feU the first American Republic, after an existence of more than fifty years ; " but with it," says a distinguished author,* " feU not the habits nor the principles which the settlement of the country had engendered. These were for a tirae sUghtly hidden in its faU, but soon sprang up again, raore deeply-rooted and renovated with perraanent strength ; nor have they ceased to * Minot. IN AMERICA. 205 flourish, tUl, in their turn, they have overrun, and probably for ever buried, every germ of royal authority in that repubUcan soil." It is not my object to animadvert on the con duct of the first settlers of Massachusetts, but to record so much of their history as is necessary to establish the proposition I set out with, namely, that American deraocracy does not owe its origin to the revolution, and to the great statesraen that framed the Federal Constitution ; but that it existed in the country from the earliest period, and that a repubUc de facto was founded at Boston, in 1630, which subsisted in fuU force and vigour for more than half a century. After the narration contauied in these pages of its rise, progress, and termination, I think no one can entertain a doubt that the independence of the states conferred little or nothing on Massachusetts that she did not enjoy under her first Charter, unless it be an exeraption frora the restrictions on her trade, im posed by the navigation laws. Her internal sove reignty indeed was more complete than it is now, for all the delegated powers given to Congress, the National Judicatory, and other federal institutions, is so much withdrawn from what she then pos sessed and retained In her own hands. It is not ray province to subject the pretensions of this people to the ordeal of critlcisra. If it were, however, it would be found that though the 206 THE ENGLISH means used for their defence were not always such as could be approved, there is ranch to admire in their history. Having removed the Charter to Araerica, and boldly usurped the power of inde pendent self-government, that act must be carefully distinguished frora the rest of their conduct, and separately considered with reference to its legality or morality. Their subsequent defence, of what they Conceived to have been their chartered privi leges, was always skUful and persevering, and often manly. It would be unfair to view them through the medium of loyalist prepossessions. They were not rebels, for they did not profess to be subjects. And, be it remerabered, the distinction they took between local and general aUegiance has the authority of high naraes to sanction it. They were not at that tirae so ranch endeavouring to sever the connection with England, as to protect theraselves from aggression. If they were in tolerant, it was the vice of the age. If their negotiations with the parent country, through the instrumentality of their agents, were sometimes deficient in frankness and sincerity, these are quali ties which have never been ascribed to diplomacy, and there is no reason to charge them exclusively with faults, from which, unhappily, no people were ever exempt. Nothing could be more natural, nothing more plausible, and, I raight alraost say, nothing raore reasonable, than their claim to the IN AMERICA. 207 territory they inhabited. Unlike other colonists of modern tiraes, they had not received anything from England that demanded their gratitude. They made the province theraselves. It is cultir vation and population alone that stamp a value on land. The cold, barren, and inhospitable country comprised within their grant, was scarcely worthy of acceptance, certainly not of purchase, at the date of their patent. The fostering hand of the parent state was never extended to them. They cleared the interminable forests, they resisted the assaults of the savages, and the encroachraents of the French. They built up their viUages, extended their settleraents, erected their fortifi cations, founded their schools, supported their clergy, and established and maintained the Govern ment, not only without the aid of England, but under raany discouragements, and in the face of opposition. The annals of colonization may be searched in vain for an effort so distinguished for courage, industry, perseverance, frugality, and intelligence. Their descendants have reason to be proud of the imperishable monuraent their ancestors thus erected in the great Araerican wUderness of then- own farae. Is it then to be wondered at, if the)^ loved so dearly, and defended so strongly, a possession so peculiarly their own ? and must we not in fairness admit, if they called sophistry in 208 THE ENGLISH aid of their claim to independence, that England, to maintain her title by • discovery, had not in reaUty much better or sounder grounds to proceed upon. The right of Europeans to America wIU not bear a very close investigation, but the pioneers who settled it, under the circumstances I have mentioned, might weU be excused, if they thought their pretensions quite equal to those who had first sailed along the coast, and called It their own. Their faults were engendered by the age in which they lived, their seclusion frora the world, the severity of their morals, and the confused and imperfect knowledge they had of the relative obligations of the Old and New Testaraent ; and as it would be manifestly unjust to omit those circumstances that paUIated or accounted for their conduct, so, on the other hand, the naiTative would be equaUy incomplete if no mention were raade of their glaring inconsistencies. By quitting the reformed and pristine Church of England to which they belonged, they gave up fixed principles for the unsettled Ucence of that unmeaning terra, Protestantisra, and decent and necessary cere monies, for an exemption from all order and established observances. They measured what they were by what they were not; and, as they protested against the errors of Popery, very complacently assumed that the whole IN AMERICA. 209 Roman Church was a vast and complicated error, and that whatever she did not believe, practise, or enforce — and that only — was primitive. In their pious horror of its unauthorized assump tions, they adopted a system that consisted of nothing else but human inventions. They resisted a prelate with disdain, for the Pope was a bishop. They suppressed confirmation, transferred ordina tion to the brethren, and marriage to the civil magistrate ; and, as prelatic .clergy bowed in reverence, and kneeled in supplication, they abolished both as superstitions, and voted to stand up boldly before their Maker, and plead guUty or not guUty like raen. They did not think it Scriptural to call the Apostles saints, who were unlettered raen like Congregationallsts (with no other possible advantage but the accidental one of being inspired), but they thought it by no means superstitious to appropriate the designation to them selves, or to regard old women as witches, and consistent with reUgion to execute thera. They denied the authority of the General Council, cora- posed of learned divines, but they established synods, consisting of raen who compensated for their want of erudition by their superior gifts of extemporaneous preaching. They maintained the right of private judgraent in religion, but they hanged Quakers ; for it was raanifest that they who differed from them had no judgraent what- 210 THE ENGLISH ever. Determined to limit the authority of the clergy, they elected and ordained them themselves, and gave thera to understand that the same power that raade could discharge them. They then, with singular inconsistency. Invested them with privUeges that made them infinitely more despotic than those of any Church In the world. They emigrated, they said, to avoid persecution: more than fifty years elapsed before the Church of England could compel them to be tolerant. The fact that religious liberty was forced upon them by her efforts. Is a triumphant answer to the calumnies that have been so UberaUy heaped upon her by sectarians and Romanists, at home and abroad. This Is the natural effect of schism. But the blame belongs not to the Puritans of Massachu setts more than to others. Dissent has no resting- place. There are regions yet unexplored, where the adventurers who are in advance of their nation, and dwell on the borders of civilization, raay push their discovery, and, like the Mormons, enjoy the revelation of prophets of their own. Although we must now take leave of these repubUcan colonists, we shall stUl continue their history during the interval that elapsed before the arrival of the new Charter, when it wUl be a more agreeable duty to examine the institutions they planted in the country, the beneficial effects of IN AMERICA. 211 which are stUl felt and acknowledged throughout the United States. I shaU next give a brief -view of the condition of the other provinces at this period, which forms a great epoch in the history of the country, and afterwards trace the progress of democracy in this continent during the existence of the royal government, untU it attained that strength and maturity that enabled it boldly to assert, and manfuUy to achieve, its absolute inde pendence. 212 THE ENGLISH BOOK II. CHAPTER I. Indignation and grief of the colonists at the loss of their Charter — Death of Charles II. — Accession of James II. — Apprehensions of having Colonel Kirke as Governor — Some account of him — Mr. Dudley appointed President, who, with the assistance of six councillors, undertakes the Government — Protest of the Magistrates against the suppression of the Legislature — Unpopularity of the President — Description of the territory within his juris diction — Some account of Mfiine and New Hampshire, and the intrigues of Massachusetts to* extend its au thority over them — Desire of Charles II. to confer the former on the Duke of Monmouth, and to establish a Royal Government in the latter — Both comprehended ¦within the Commission of President Dudley — Character of his administration. We have seen In the foregoing chapters how constantly this people asserted and maintained IN AMERICA. 213 their independence from the day they first landed in the colony untU the Charter was revoked. The loss of their liberty filled them with grief and indignation. They had always dreaded inter ference, and had hitherto resisted or evaded every attempt of the King, the Parliament, or the hierarchy to control them. This continued watch fulness, and anxious jealousy, had infused Into their minds suspicion of the designs, and distrust of the good faith of England ; but the loss of their patent inspired feeUngs of hatred for what they caUed the wantonness of Invasion, and of revenge for the huraUIatlon of defeat. Unable to defend them selves, they were compeUed to yield to superior power ; but if they could not openly contend, they could at least harass. If they could not recover the country they had cleared and planted, they felt they could make it an uncomfortable abode for their victors. In the age in which they lived, they knew they must have some forra of constitu tional governraent, and some fundamental rights conceded to thera ; and that the exercise of those privUeges in a spirit of bitterness, and uncompro mising obstinacy, must necessarily embarrass any administration, and render the possession of the colony as useless to the English, as their presence and interference were distasteful to thera. Thus the repubUcanism of Araerica may be traced to its fir§t settlement, but the intense hatred 214 THE ENGLISH of the Iraperial Governraent, that gave stabUity and strength to the anti-monarchical principles, and finaUy led to the overthrow of British rule, raust be dated at 1684 (the period when they lost their Charter) . It Is not easy, at this distance of time, for persons practicaUy unacquainted with the un tiring zeal, the maUgnant revenge, intrepid courage, and martyr spirit of fanaticism, to com prehend the full force of the rage and disaffection with which the Provincials were maddened at the overthrow of their little sovereignty. The revoca tion by Charles II. of the patent of Massachusetts was the first step taken in a great scheme of reform he had conceived for the transatlantic plantations. The inconsiderate manner in which he had disposed of a large portion of his American territory, the little control he had reserved to hiraself in the Charters he had given to several colonies, and the difficulty he found in enforcing obedience to the laws of trade, as weU as the increasing growth of democracy among the people, admonished hira that they aU required reraodelling. By comraencing with the most refractory, he gave warning to the others, that he had at last become sensible of the error of his past inconsistencies, and was resolved on vigorous conduct for the future. He died before he could put any of his plans into execution, and the task devolved upon his brother, James II. IN AMERICA. 215 The first measure of the new Monarch was to make a temporary provision for the government of Massachusetts, In order to give hira time to mature and arrange the detaUs of a comprehensive system of colonial poUcy. His very name Inspired terror and dislike into the minds of the Nonconformists. Their fears derived additional intensity frora a rumour that reached them, that the noted and detestable Colonel Kirke was to be imposed upon them as Governor. To receive a stranger at aU in that capacity frora the hands of others, when they had been in the habit of fiUing the office by election themselves, was an intolerable grievance ; but to submit to a man who was only known for his atrocious butcheries required a Christian meekness, for which they could find neither example nor authority in Puritanism. Kirke was a soldier of fortune, who had long served at Tangiers, and had contracted, from his intercourse with the Moors, a taste for executions that astonished and alarmed the inhabitants of England. After the defeat of Monmouth, he gratified his appetite for blood at the expense of the unfortunate and raisguided prisoners. At his first entry into Bridgewater, he hanged nineteen prisoners without the least inquiry into the raerits of their case. As if to make sport with death, he ordered a certain number to be executed, while he and his company should drink to the health of 216 THE ENGLISH the King, or the Queen, or that of the Chief Justice Jeffries. Observing their feet to quiver in the agonies of death, he said he would give them music to their dancing, and imraedlately ordered the di-ums to beat, and the trumpets to, sound. By way of experiraent, he ordered one man to be hung up three tiraes, questioning him at each interval, whether he repented of his crime ; but the prisoner obstinately asserting, that notwith standing the past, he stUl would wiUingly engage in the same cause, Kirke ordered him to be hung in chains. AU the inhabitant^ of the adjoining country, innocent as weU as guilty, were exposed to the ravages of this barbarian. The soldiery were let loose to Uve at free quarters ; and his own regiment, instructed by his exaraple, distinguished theraselves in a particular raanner by their out rages. By way of pleasantry, he used to caU thera his lambs, an appellation which was long remerabered with horror in the west of Eng land.* It was some consolation to thera to find that instead -of this raonster, Mr. Dudley, a native of the colony, who, though now unpopular, had once enjoyed the confidence of the people, and served as their agent in England, had been appointed President, and several raerabers of the Upper * These particulars are extracted from Hume. IN AMERICA. 217 House as counciUors. This act relieved their apprehensions, and quieted their fears, but it did not, as it was supposed, win their affection. They were pacified from time to tirae, but never con ciliated. They sighed for their past independence, and moaned over their lost republic. They sub mitted to the English as their masters, but ever evinced a sullen discontent, a refractory stubborn ness, and an intractable disposition. Mr. Dudley was strongly urged not to accept the office, for he who receives a delegated comraission, and acts upon it, tacitly, but assuredly adraits the right of the granter. Even his councUlors joined in these expostulations, and the Court made the foUowing protest : " Gentlemen, " We have perused what you left with us, as a true copy of his Majesty's commission, showed to us the I7th instant, empowering you for the governing of his Majesty's subjects inhabiting this colony, and other places therein mentioned. You then applied to us, not as a Governor and a Com pany, but (as you were pleased to terra us) some of the principal gentlemen and chief inhabitants of the several towns of Massachusetts ; amongst other discourse, saying it concerned us to consider what therein raight be thought hard and uneasy. Upon perusal whereof we find as we conceive : VOL. I. L 218 THE ENGLISH 1st. That there is no determinate rule for your adrainistration of justice; and that which is, seems to be too arbitrary. 2nd. That the subjects are abridged of their liberty as Englishmen, both in the matters of legislation, and in laying of taxes ; and indeed the whole unquestioned privUege of the subject transferred upon yourselves, there not being the least mention of an assembly in the commission, and therefore we think it highly concerns you to consider whether such a com raission be safe for you or us ; but if you are so satisfied therein as that you hold yourselves obliged thereby, and to take upon you the govern raent of this people, although we cannot give our assent thereto, yet we hope we shall demean our selves as true and loyal subjects to his Majesty, and humbly make our addresses unto God, and in due tirae to our gracious Prince, for our reUef. "May 20th, 1686." It was known that the comraission was a tem porary expedient to give legal sanction to the proceedings of the Governraent, until a form of constitution could be agreed upon ; but the accept ance of it by Mr. Dudley was considered an act of treachery, if not of treason to his country, and was punished accordingly by the total and lire- IN AMERICA. 219 trlevable loss of his popularity* and influence, and by the sleepless watchfulness of his offended countrymen, who lost no opportunity during the remainder of his Ufe, either of daraaging his re putation, or thwarting his advanceraent.f The commission of the President included the Narraganset or King's Province, New Hampshire and Maine, the two last of which had been the subject of much litigation and difficulty for raany years. We have already seen how desirous Mas sachusetts ever was of enlarging- her boundaries and of assuraing jurisdiction over vacant posses sions or feeble neighbours. The territory cora- * An abstract of the Commission may he found in vol. V, Hutch. Col. of Mass., and in Bilknap's History of New Hampshire. f At a subsequent period, when imprisoned, during the rebellion that preceded the proclamation of William and Mary, there was a strong party for trying and executing him. Fear of consequences alone prevented the people from resorting to these desperate measures. Danforth thus writes to Mather : " Mr. Dudley is in a peculiar manner the object of the people's displeasure, even throughout all the colonies where he sat as judge ; they deeply resent his correspondence with that wicked man, Randolph, for over turning the Government. The Governor and Council, though they have done their utmost to procure his en largement, yet can't prevail : but the people will have him in gaol, and when he hath been by order turned out, by force and tumult they fetch him in again," &c. — Hutchin son, vol. I. L 2 220 THE ENGLISH prised within what now forms the States of New Hampshire and Maine, offered too great a tempta tion to her cupidity to be resisted ; and I have reserved to this place an account of her aggres sion at different times to avoid repeated references, and to preserve the continuity of the narrative. The first was granted as early as 1635 to Captain Mason, and the latter to Sir Ferdinando Georges, who severaUy formed small settleraents in them, that derived subsistence frora the soil, and some little profit from the fisheries and free-trade. Ten years afterwards, some persons who had adopted heretical opinions, and rendered theraselves ob noxious to the Governraent of Massachusetts, reraoved, either under the pretence, or in open contempt of grants of the proprietors, to the banks of the river that divided the two provinces, and associated themselves, as it was then caUed, by entering into a mutual compact for self-govern ment. Although differing in raany points of doctrine from their friends at Boston, they were united by the common ties of descent and interest. Their more powerful neighbour and parent state, by . claims of jurisdiction which they were unable to resist, or promises of protection from the Indians, of which they stood greatly in need, prevaUed upon them to place themselves under her control, and by degrees they became both merged in the IN AMERICA. 221 ambitious and growing Uttle repubUc. Charles II. strove in vain to reinvest the heirs of the grantees with the possession. The mle of the " old colony" was more congenial to the feelings of the people than that of a monarch three thousand miles off, who had as little interest in their affairs as power to enforce his authority. The Commissioners to whora I have referred, re-established in 1665 the government of Mason and Georges, but they had no sooner departed for Europe than the General Court invaded the territory, and by force of arms resumed their former jurisdiction. Irritated at this open defiance, Charles II. threatened to re strain their coramerce, and they finally yielded to menace, which they knew he could execute, what they denied to demands unsupported by a mUitary force on the spot. After a vexatious and expen sive Utigation, the claim of the plaintiffs was sanctioned by the decision of an English court, and their opponents were compelled to confine theraselves within their original limits. This investigation brought to light a fact not then generaUy known, that the proprietors of New Hampshire were entitled |^to the soU alone under the patent to their ancestor, while the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Georges had a right both to the country and the Government. In consequence of this discovery the King was desirous of purchasing Maine for his son, the Duke of Monmouth ; but 222 THE ENGLISH whUe he was in treaty for it, Massachusetts, in formed of his intention by the clerks in the public offices, whom they kept in their pay, and having the requisite means at their command, bought It from the owners, whose title had been established by a legal decision. The remonstrance of the Sovereign was as unavaUing as aU his other ex postulations and threats. They entered Into imme diate possession, and governed it by officers of their own as a " Colony from the Mother Pro vince." Disappointed in obtaining Maine, the King at tempted in 1679 to found "a Royal Province in New Hampshire," and appointed a Governor, whom he invested with the requisite powers, but he found it easier to grant a commission than to enforce obedience to it. This was the first constitution of the kind in New England. It contained more essential freedom, though less independence, than the republic of Massachusetts. It consisted of a President and Council, and a House of Assembly, and secured a reservation of the King's negative. The upper house was made a court of record for the trial of all causes whether civU or raUitary, subject to an appeal in all matters above fifty pounds, and was empowered to appoint officers, and take efficient raeasures for the defence of the country. Liberty of conscience was allowed to aU Protestants, but the Church of England was IN AMERICA. 223 especiaUy to be encouraged. Upon this Belknass, in his " History of New Hampshire" (a work written in an able and impartial manner, and in a very agreeable style) reraarks, " had such a simple forra of government been more generaUy adopted, and perseveringly adhered to, and administered only by the most delicate hands, it might have served better than any other to perpetuate the dependence of the colomes on the British Crown." The first act of the Legislature plainly disclosed the overpowering influence of Massachusetts, derived from a congeniality of religious and poU tical opinions. They commenced their labours by an assertion of right " that no act, imposition, law, or ordinance, shaU be valid, unless made by the Assembly, and approved by the people." The ex periment, as might have been expected, proved abortive. The fanatical preachers, goaded on by their brethren in New England, urged the people first to passive resistance, and then to armed rebeUion ; and although the President was able to withstand the first outbreak, he found it necessary to fly for his life from the second. When surrender ing his comraission, he observed that " whUe the clergy are aUowed to preach to a rautinous people, no tme aUegiance would be found there. On my retirement, the world wUl see that it is the royal commission they cavU at, and not my person ; and 224 THE ENGLISH time wiU show that no one -will be accepted by thera who puts the King's coramands into exe cution." The succeeding Governor endured the same insults, and encountered the same defiance, and added his testiraony to that of his prede cessor, " Unless these factious preachers are turned out of the colony, there -wUl be disquiets here, as no Pope ever acted with greater arro gance ; and without some force to keep this people under, it wUl be very difficult, if not an impossible thing, to put Into execution his Majesty's orders, or the laws of trade." Warned by these faUures, both these districts were now comprehended in the temporary com mission of President Dudley, and long after re mained united with Massachusetts. Such, how ever, are the uncertainties which attend human schemes, that now that the Charter was forfeited, the leaders in these intrigues were mortified to find that they had, by their own usurpations and acts, enlarged the limits of a royal colony. The inhabitants of both dependencies were no less humUiated by the reflection, that by lending them selves to a fraud on individual rights, and regal authority, they had lost the benefit of a local government, whUe they were too poor and too few in nuraber to have either weight or influence in the one they had stmggled to estabUsh. Instead IN AMERICA. 225 of vanquishing the King, they had injured their own cause; and whUe they were congratulating theraselves on the success of their efforts, they made the unwelcome discovery that victory is soraetimes more ruinous than defeat. The administration of Dudley was of short duration. It was not probable, it was ever in the contemplation of James to continue him for any length of time in his office. He was a colonist, and would have been both unflt and unwilling to have become the instrument of his arbitrary measures. It was manifest that he considered it but a temporary arrangement himself As far as possible, he suffered the old order of things to continue : although in obedience to his comraission the House of Representatives was laid aside, the raagistrates and select raen discharged their several duties as heretofore ; and as Uttle was done by hira as was corapatible with the exigencies of the country. He was long enough in office, however, thoroughly to dissatisfy both the King and the people. He had not exerted hiraself in a manner that was agreeable to his royal master in giving effect to the laws of trade, nor had he enforced that prompt obedience to his orders which was ex pected of hira. On the other hand, he had done too ranch to render hiraself popular with the people. He was not elected by thera, and they regarded hira as an usurper. He was a native, L 3 226 THE ENGLISH and his acceptance of office under a tyrant was viewed as the act of a traitor. He had subverted their constitution which, by the law of the land, was a capital offence ; and if they had had the power, 'the inclination was not wanting to have made him undergo the extreme penalty. Such is ever the fate of undecided measures, and of attempts to conciliate the regard of two irreconcUable parties. Each thinks that too m.uch has been sacrificed to the other, and both complain that too little deference has been paid to their respective claims or wishes, whUe the unsuccessful politician has seldom the approba tion of his own conscience to sustain hira In his miscarriage. " I warned thee," said one of the preachers to Dudley, with that mixture of cant and insolence that always rendered them so intolerable,* " I * The character of the people is not to be sought for in the history of the colony only, for their public affairs were managed by men of education and experience, but recourse must be had to their correspondence among themselves, and to documents that have merely a local bearing. The primitive manners of the inhabitants of the rural districts may be judged of by the following letter of Captain Chud- worth to the Governor of New Plymouth, decUning a mili tary command : " Much honoured, " My service and due respect being presented, yours of the 19th December, 1673, came to my hands the last day IN AMERICA. 227 warned thee to be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die, but thou of that month, wherein your honour acquainted ,, me that the General Court, by a clear vote, have pitched upon myself to command an hundred men, in joining -with the rest, in prosecuting the expedition against the Dutch. The estate and condition of my family is such as will not admit of such a thing, being such as can be hardly paralleled, which was well known unto some ; but it was not well nor friendly done as to me, nor faithful as to the country, if they did not lay my condition before the Court. My ¦wife, as is well known to the whole town, is not only a weak woman, and has been so all along ; but now, by reason of age, being sLxty-seven years and upwards, and nature decaying, so her illness grows more strongly upon her ; never a day passes but she is forced to rise at break of day or before. She cannot lay for want of breath ; and when she is up, she cannot light a pipe of tobacco, but it must he lighted for her ; and until she has taken two or three pipes, for want of breath, she is not able to stir, and she has never a maid. That day your letter came to my hands, my maid's year being out, she went away, and I cannot get nor hear of another. And then in regard for my occasion abroad, for the tending and looking after all my creatures, the fetching home my hay that is yet at the place where it grew, getting of wood, going to mill, and for the performing all other family occasions, I have none but a small Indian boy about thirteen years of age to help me. " Your humble servant, "James Chudworth. " To the much honoured Joseph Winslow, " Governor of New Plymouth, " Situate the IGth of January, 1673." 228 THE ENGLISH wouldst not ; and now because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I wiU spew thee out of my mouth." During his short adrainistration, he discovered that temporary popularity may be acquired by an affabUIty of manner, or the arts of intrigue ; but that character has no sure and soUd foundation, but in honesty of purpose, and vigour of conduct. It was a valuable lesson ; and in after days, he had a conspicuous opportunity, as we shaU see, to practise successfuUy what he had so dearly ac quired. IN AMERICA. 229 CHAPER II. Arrival of Sir Edmund Andross — Fears' entertained of the King — His conduct towards New York — His opimons of popular assemblies — Commission to Andross — Two com panies of soldiers sent to Boston — Law relative to mar riages — Manner of imposing taxes — Punishment of those who refuse to pay rates — Episcopal Clergymen prevented by the mob from reading the burial service — Preachers attack the Governor for his toleration, and justify compulsory conformity — Arbitrary conduct of Andross relative to titles of land — Rhode Island, Con necticut, New York, and New Jersey united to Massa chusetts — News of the arrival of the Prince of Orange in England — False rumours spread of a general massacre — Insurrection — Capture and imprisonment of the Governor and his Councillors — Conduct of the Magis trates who resumed the old Govemment — Sir Edmund escapes, is retaken and sent to England when he is released — Example of Massachusetts followed by the other colomes — Bad effects of so many political changes in England — Remarks on the appointment of Andross to be Governor of Virginia. At length. Sir Edmund Andross arrived at Boston on the 20th of December, 1686, with a 230 THE ENGLISH commission for the Govemment of New England. This was the first direct administration by a stranger of the internal affairs of the colony, and the first specimen the people had of the reckless manner in which royal patronage was bestowed, and the arrogance, insolence, and oppressions of irresponsible officials. His conduct increased and justified the universal discontent. It did not aUenate the affections of the inhabitants, for they were already irretrievably estranged, but it strengthened their conviction that England's domination was incompatible with their happiness, as it was with their freedom. He had been Governor of New York, and had also directed the affairs of Rhode Island; and therefore was supposed to be weU acquainted -with the character ofthe people over whom he was placed. He was a raUitary man of some reputation, and having been accustomed to obey, as well as to command, was weU suited to carry out the order of James, who was prompt even to precipitation in action. The new Monarch had been more conversant with colonization and commercial affairs than his predecessor ;* and commenced with -vigour and * Hume says that his application to naval affairs was successful, his encouragement of trade judicious, and his jealousy of national honour laudable. Hersault, in his History of France (vol. ii, p. 200) says, the public are IN AMERICA. 231 ardour the difficult task of reducing the planta tions to order, and to a raore iramediate depend ence on the Crown. As to the means, as had been predicted by those who best knew his teraper and principles, he was not at aU scrupulous. As Duke of York, and proprietor of the immense colony that bore his narae, he had three years before conceded to it a free and liberal constitution, and guaranteed to the people universal toleration, trial by jury, and exemption from aU imposts, but such as their representatives should approve, and relinquished the right to quarter troops on the inhabitants, or to declare martial law. He no sooner ascended the throne than he annuUed his own acts, taxes were levied by ordinance, titles to land were questioned, to augment fees and emoluments ; and of those persons who remon strated, not a few were arraigned, and tried before his CouncU. Frora a Monarch who had so early distin guished himself for inconsistencies, there was little to be hoped. Although warned by his legal advisers, that the colonists, notwithstanding their Charters were vacated, were British subjects, and as such entitled to all their rights and pri-vUeges, like aU the Stuarts, he thought his prerogative was sufficient for his purpose, without the aid of indebted to this Prince, when Duke of York, for fhe con trivance of signals, by means of flags and streamers. 232 THE ENGLISH Parliament to make laws or impose duties. His instructions to Andross were as contradictory as his own character — at once raUd and severe, con siderate and tyrannical. " I cannot but suspect," he says, in a communication to him relative to a representative body, " that assemblies would be of dangerous consequence, nothing being more known than their aptness to assume to theraselves many privUeges which prove destructive to, or very often disturb the peace of Government when they are aUowed. Neither do I see any use for them. Things that need redress may be sure of finding it at the quarter sessions, or by the legal and ordinary ways, or lastly by appeals to myself. However, I shaU be ready to consider of any proposal you shaU send." We have seen that Mr. Dudley's comraission extended over New Hampshire and Maine. That of Andross included them Ukewise. The King invested him and his councU with supreme jurisdiction, and empowered thera to make laws, and execute them ; to impose taxes, and enforce their coUection : and to support the vigour of the adrainistration, two corapanies of soldiers were sent to Boston, and placed at his disposal. As soon as he had surveyed the field before hira, he set himself industriously to work to subvert every democratic institution in the country, and to de-vise means to raise a revenue by pursuing the IN AMERICA. 233 same course that had been adopted in New York, and by inventing subtle excuses for forfeiting real estate. It was not long before the case of some, who apprehended themselves to be oppressed, carae under consideration, when they were told that they had no raore privUeges left thera than not to be sold as slaves ; and that the benefit of the law of Eng land did not foUow them to the end of the earth, which they soon found to be tme, although their distance did not exempt them from its penalties.* The alarm caused by this speech was deeply felt and resented by the whole country. It was never forgotten. It was handed down from father to son in Massachusetts, and the vows of vengeance then recorded, though long deferred, were remem bered and fulfilled at last in the defeat and slaughter of the royalists at the revolution. One of his first acts was to alter the law relative to the solemnization of marriages. Araong the nuraerous innovations of the Puritans on the usages of their ancestors, was one to render raar- riage a raere ci-vU contract, and to require only the adraission and consent of the parties to be made before and registered by a magistrate. As there was but one Episcopal clergyman in the colony at the time, a transfer of this duty to the Church could not well be effected, but it was ordered for * Minot. 234 THE ENGLISH the present that none should marry unless they entered into bonds with surety to the Governor, subject to forfeiture if it should afterwards appear that there existed any lawful impediment. For this licence a liberal fee was exacted as a matter of course. The Governor, being also ordinary, assuraed as such the whole business of the local courts, and compeUed the people of the rural districts to attend at Boston, at great incon venience, for the probate of wiUs, or letters of administration ; and exacted whatever charges he thought the estate able to bear. He imposed what rates he thought proper, with no other sanc tion than that of a few complaisant counciUors, although his enemies admit that the sum thus raised was smaU in araount, and required and spent for the public service. The principal one was a charge of one penny in the pound, and a poll- tax of twenty-pence. Direct assessment is always odious. It brings the coUector and rate-payer In immediate contact, and the unpopularity of the measure is often increased by the severity or assumption of the officer. In a new country, though the necessaries of Ufe are abundant, there is always a scarcity of money, and compulsory contributions to the State are paid with the utmost reluctance. Where the authority to levy the tax is questioned, resistance is the natural result. Upon one occasion, when IN AMERICA. 235 the inhabitants of Ipswich refused to assess upon theraselves the proportion assigned to the town ship, and the select raen voted, "that, inasrauch as it is against the privUege of British subjects to have raoney raised without their own consent, in a Legislature or Parliament, therefore they wiU petition the King for Uberty of an Assembly before makuig any rates," he iraprisoned two of the most conspicuous of the remonstrants, and fined the others severaUy thirty, forty, and fifty pounds, according to their circumstances or abiUty. When they complained of this harsh treatraent, he took sorae pains to trace and coUect the numerous precedents set him by his predecessors, for this apparently extraordinary act of tyranny, and with more sarcasm than policy, asked them if they would like to have other siraUar usages of their forefathers restored. The General Court, he observed, always prosecuted a raan for ap peaUng to England, because it was subversive of their chartered rights, and if his petition contained complaints also, he was subjected to an additional penalty for slandering the brethren, but that he had punished them for disobedience in refusing to pay their taxes, and for nothing else, for as long as they continued to obey the law, they were at perfect Uberty to memorialize the King as much and as often as they pleased. The truth of this 236 THE ENGLISH remark was so apparent, and so conclusive, that it was felt more than the punishment. To his astonishment, he discovered that with aU their boasted love of liberty, the Puritans had reserved this inestimable blessing exclusively for themselves, and he soon found it necessary to continue and preserve another of their institutions, the censorship of the press. But his departure from the fundamental principle of the republic, which required " Church membership" as a qualification for cI-vU rights, shocked their prejudices raore than can be conceived, by a person not conversant with the history of these early tiraes. Although they had theraselves affected to concede toleration, they had never practicaUy acted upon their professions, nor had it ever been their intention to do so. So far from considering the liberty of conscience, which the Governor had granted to all, as an act of grace, they loudly complained of it as an open attack, and a direct persecution of themselves. They regarded it as the triumph of Antichrist, and considered that the blessing of God would be -withdrawn frora a country which adraitted the presence of clergyraen ordained by a bishop, instead of the raore inspired because more ignorant, and more pious because more assuming, lay brethren. It was in vain that they had aided the secretaries in England to sacrifice IN AMERICA. 237 Laud, and to dethrone and slaughter their Sove reign, if prelacy was to be permitted to have the slightest footing in Araerica ; reason and Scripture alike led to the conclusion, that they who require to be taught are the best able to judge of the qualifications and attainraents of the teacher, and therefore most competent to invest him with the character and office. So rigidly had the exclusion of Episcopalians been enforced, that when the Royal Commissioners were at Boston, there were not enough of them in the place to form a congre gation. We are informed on authority that cannot be doubted, " that most of the inhabitants who were on the stage in 1686 had never seen a Church of England Assembly." In that year there was but one churchman* in the Govern ment, and one Captain, and three subalterns pro fessing Church principles in the whole mUitia of the province. Such being the case, the astonishment of the people was only equaUed by their indignation at a wanton outrage on private property. Soon after his arrival Andross caused Divine Service to be celebrated by his chaplain, in the South Meeting- tlouse. In vain was the building clairaed by its owners. In vain the sexton refused to ring the * There had been two, but at the date of Randolph's letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1685), the other had gone to England. 238 THE ENGLISH bell. No tenderness was exhibited siraUar to that of the coraraissioners twenty years before. The clergyman came forth attired in the surpUce, the very name of which was an abomination to them, The foundation of an Episcopal church was soon after laid, and those who had been heretofore taxed for the support of Puritan preaching; and corapeUed to contribute to their conventicles, now took a raalicious pleasure in soliciting their old oppressors for subscriptions, to buUd up what they called a house for the true worship of God. This toleration, thus rendered doubly distasteful, was not very easUy enforced. Although the people had not the power, through their represen tatives, to repeal the law or prevent Its execution, they had the raeans of insult, and the opposition and the tyranny of a majority to back them. Upon one of the first occasions, under this edict, that a clergyman in Boston, proceeded in his vestments to the graveyard, to read the burial-service, a crowd of persons led on by an infuriated deacon, drove hira frora the grave, and loaded him with insult and abuse, caUing hira " Baal's priest," and his prayers, " leeks, garlic, and Popish trash." Prorapt and decisive raeasures on the part of the Governor prevented a repetition of such disgraceful scenes. This Uberty was not merely deplored by them as a spiritual loss, but was sensibly felt in a IN AMERICA. 239 pecuniary point of view. Although they withheld all ci-vil rights from those who were not Congre gationallsts, they did not exempt thera from taxation for the support of their own preachers. " Discouragements upon the hearts of the rainisters increase," writes a correspondent of Mather's, " by reason that a licentious people take advantage of a freedora to withhold raaintenance from thera." His deputies in distant parts of his jurisdiction, and their subordinate officers stUl enforced these rates where they could do so with safety, and the practice was not finally discontinued, untU Andross threatened them if they persisted in assessing Quakers and others for that purpose, he would in like manner, make them contribute to the support of the Episcopal Church. To his Lieutenant Governor at Plymouth he expostulated on this subject, in a letter stUl extant, which reflects great credit on his judgment and firmness, and showed that in some instances at least, he was capable of impartiaUty.* * " Some years before Andross's Act of Toleration, one Briscoe, a tanner of Watertown, published a book against the support of ministers by tithes or taxes, and reproached those who received their salary from such a source. The ministers thought a man who denied the authority of the civil magistrate to pro-vdde for the support of pastors, fuste potius erudiendum quam argumento, and therefore they left it to the magistrates to defend the cause, who con- 240 THE ENGLISH That James was disposed to carry things with a high hand, where obedience was either reluctant or withheld, that his comraission for the Govern ment of the colony was Ulegal, and that his repre sentative was wiUing to proceed to any length he was desired to go, was so palpable to aU, that it is no wonder if the copious vocabulary of abuse which Puritanism had at its comraand, was exhausted before they expressed aU their hatred of Andross and his councU. His general conduct was haughty and capricious. Many of his acts were arbitrary, and some oppressive ; but there is one to which I shaU presently allude, which was weU calculated to excite both their indignation and alarm. And yet it is doubtful whether the loss of legislative power, iUegal exactions, or personal injuries, touched them so sensibly as toleration. It was mourned over in private, and preached against in pubUc. One minister in particular, has obtained an imperishable name for his manly patriotism in selecting for his text the foUowing words : " Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, stri-ving against sin." The clergy everywhere justified that compulsory conformity, which In England they resisted to the death. " Be pleased," says one of their most eminent divines, "to vened the tanner before them, and hrought him to an acknowledgment, if not to a sense of his error." — Hubbard, IN AMERICA. 241 consider this point a Uttle further. You think to compel a man, in matters of worship, is to make hira sin according to Rom. xiv, 23. If the worship be la-wful in itself, the magistrate compeffing hira to come to it,' compeUeth him not to sin, but the sin is in his will that need to be compeUed to a Christian duty. Josiah corapeUed aU Israel to serve the Lord their God, (II. Chron. xxxiii, 34). Yet his act herein was not blamed, but recorded araong his virtuous actions. The Lord keep us," he says, " frora this harlot's cup of toleration, lest while we seera to reject with open face of profession, we bring her in by a back door, and so corae to drink of the cup of the Lord's wrath and be fiUed with her plagues." How inconsistent is man, and how easily does he enUst his reason on the side of his wishes or his passions ! What rendered the conduct of the Governor stiU raore irritating was, that he not only placed the clergyinen of the Church of England practically on a footing with the Puritan ministers but that in his private intercourse he treated them with much greater respect. Hutchinson informs us, with infinite naivete', that " Sir Edraund actuaUy asserted that he considered the preachers as mere laymen ;" and records this with as great gravity as if he had never heard of such an idea before, and believed Andross to be the only raan in the world that entertained it. It was a reraark VOL. I. M 242 THE ENGLISH that was treasured up in the heart and embalmed in its bitterness. Swearing on the Book, as it is caUed, was intro duced Into the courts of justice, to the hfflror and disgust of the inhabitants. But the most flagrant and indefensible act of Andross's short adminis tration was among his last. By the Ingenuity of a lawyer, he found a prolific source of eraolument, in a forced application of a feudal principle to the titles of land. The people were informed that the Charter having been granted on 'conditions which had not been performed, all acts under it were rendered invalid, and the soU reverted to the Crown ; and that if a more Indulgent construction were adopted, stUl their grants were not under seal, a defect which no length of time, and no amount of improvement, could rectify. They were, however, very considerately informed, that upon due acknowledgment of the insufficiency of their conveyances, and a humble petition, new patents should be executed for granting thera possessions on such moderate terms, as his ExceUency should approve. With respect to their deeds from the Indian chiefs, it was observed that the signature of a savage was about as valuable as " a scratch of a bear's paw." In fact, he became the vendor of every raan's estate at his own price, for the concUiation fee was always in proportion to its value and extent. IN AMERICA. 243 To exhibit to the people the necessity, as well as the policy of renewing their titles, -writs of intmsion were issued against sorae of the principal inhabitants, which had the effect of terrifying others into obedience. To prevent the spread of seditlon,. he forbade aU town meetings, except for the choice of officers, and prohibited any one frora leaving the province without a pass frora hiraself. In the meantime, whUe his orders in Massachusetts were left to be enforced by his subordinates, he pro ceeded to demand submission of the other New England colonies. He first visited Rhode Island, which, upon a Quo Warranto issued against her, decUned to enter into a contest with the King, but appealed to his kindness. Having dissolved the Government, and broken its seal, he appointed five of the principal magistrates members of his councU, and issued coraraissions to all the local officers. Shortly afterwards, he raade an excur sion into Connecticut attended by several of his assistants, and a guard of honour, consisting of sixty men, and demanded its Charter. The Assembly, which was then in session, reluctant to surrender or even produce it, kept the subject in debate and suspense until the evening, when it was brought forward, and laid on the table. By a preconcerted arrangement, the lights were sud denly extinguished, but without the slightest appearance of riot or disorder: when they were M 2 244 THE ENGLISH replaced, it was found (amid the weU-feigned astonishment of aU present) that the patent was gone. Sir Edmund now assumed the Govern ment, appointed his councillors, and closed the records of the colony, adding with his own hand the word " finis."* As consolidation appeared to be the principle on which James designed to act in America, this immense Government, extending from the Hudson to Maine, was now still further augmented by the addition of the pro-vinces of New York and New * " Captain Wadsworth, of Hartford, silently carried off the Charter, and secreted it in a hollow tree, which, to this day, is regarded with veneration, as the preserver of the constitution of the colony. This oak stood in front of the house of the Honourable Samuel Wyllys, then one of the magistrates of the province. It still remains within the enclosure of the old family mansion, and is in little danger of injury, except from time, while under the auspicious care of his descendants. In reply to an inquiry concern ing it, I was informed 'that venerable tree, which con cealed the Charter of our rights, stands at the foot of Wyllys Hill. The first inhabitant of that name found it standing in the height of its glory. Age seems to have curtailed its branches, yet it is not exceeded in the depth of its colouring, or richness of its foliage. The trunk measures twenty-one feet in circumference, and near seven in diameter. The cavity which was the asylum of our Charter, was near the roots, and large enough to admit a child. Within the space of eight years that hollow has closed, as if it had fulfilled the Divine purpose for which it had been reared.'" — Home's Annals, yo\. i, p. 470, in note.' IN AMERI CAi 245 Jersey ; and a comraission was sent to Andross, appointing him Captain-General and Vice-Admiral over the whole territory. The constitution estab lished for it was a governor and councU, having executive and legislative authority, independent of the expression of popular opinion. The progress of events, however, in Europe was working out a deliverance for the oppressed colonists of Massachusetts. During the spring of 1688, there was a rumour that the Prince of Orange was preparing to make a descent upon the coast of England, and shortly afterwards a Mr. Winslow brought a copy of his proclamation. He was immediately apprehended, for introducing " a traitorous and treasonable Ubel into the country," and baU, which was tendered to the amount of two thousand pounds, was refused. The old magis trates, and influential colonists, silently wished, and secretly prayed for success to the glorious undertaking ; and determined either quietly to await the event, or privately to urge on the inha bitants to rebeffion. The body of the people, who are easily excited, goaded to madness by the inno vations with which they were acquainted, and the rumours of still greater changes that were in con templation by the Governor, whora they accused of being a Papist, were irapatlent of delay, and resolved to get up a little revolution of their own. Whether Andross was a Roraanlst, or a Church- 246 THE ENGLISH man, cannot now be weU ascertained, the best historians of that period differing in opinion on ¦the subject ; and the 'fact was a matter of little consequence, for in their eyes there was little -difference between the two ; and it was currently reported that he had asserted, he considered, as an EpiscopaUan, the practice of laymen ordaining clergymen, and setting them apart to administer the Sacraments, without any warrant frora Scrip ture, as a raost gross piece of presumption. Whether the Puritans, raany of whose ancestors came frora HoUand, to which they had fled for refuge, thought that the congeniality of Dutch Protestantism with the tenets of the Noncon formists of England, would, by its popularity, prove too strong for the idolatrous King, or whe ther they believed, as they maintained, that they were the chosen people of the Lord, they arrived at the conclusion that they had a despot in the land ; and that the only law they recognised, that of the Bible, required that he should be dealt with. To raise the popular fury to its greatest height, the people were told that it was the intention of the Governor, in obedience to orders he had re ceived, to take a favourable opportunity of faUing upon the inhabitants of Boston with his garrison, and putting them aU to death indiscriralnaitely, in the sarae manner that the Huguenots had been exterrauiated in France. To aid this fearfill act IN AMERICA. 247 of slaughter, it was said that he had armed the savages, and kept them in pay to devastate the frontiers, and murder the settlers ; and that it was arranged that the French were to invade the country at the sarae tirae, and, as soon as It was depopulated, take possession of it, having secretly purchased it from the King of England. Some of their grievances they knew to be real, for they had felt their effects ; and believing both James and his representative to be capable of any act of despotism, no falsehood was too gross for their credulity. Without stopping to inquire into the probabUity, or even the possibUity of a ruraour being true, it was a sufficient guarantee for its accuracy if it were marveUous and atrocious. The absurd story of two companies of soldiers putting a numerous, hardy, and brave population like that of Boston to the sword, answered the purpose, as well as any other invention, and the rage of the multitude knew no bounds. They rose en masse. Who originated this moveraent, and organised the people, Is not now known, though Bancroft claims the merit of It, and probably with sufficient reason, for the rainisters ; but that it was not, as they represented it to be, an irresistible burst of po pular feeling is manifest from the cautious mode of their procedure. Men, who were raore in the habit of quoting Scripture than acting under its benign influence, were at no loss to find passages to justify 248 THE ENGLISH to their passions that which reason could not approve. Every text that sanctioned rebeUion was famUiar to the saints, whUe those that enforced obedience to authority were satisfactorily explained to refer to the support of a tme Church like that of the Congregationallsts, and a perfect civU constitution like that of their beloved and lamented repubUc. They were therefore inforraed, and believed It was the bidding of the Lord : " Sraite Ammon, then kUl him," said the canting demagogues ; " fear not, have I not coraraanded you ? be courageous, and be vaUant." They were equaUy happy in their aUusion to his fort. " Thy pride hath de ceived thee, oh thou that dweUest in the cleft of the rock, that boldest the heights of the hUl: though thou shouldest raake thy nest as high as the eagle, I wUl bring thee down frora thence, said the Lord." Their first step, as a strategic measure, was to avaU themselves of a favourable opportunity, afforded by a visit for recreation or business, to secure the Captain, several of the officers, and the boat's crew of the ' Rose' frigate, then riding at anchor in the harbour. The second was a sudden and simultaneous rush of the whole population to the fort, where the Governor and his party were surprised, and made prisoners. In the raeantirae, the guns in the battery were brought to bear on the frigate, and others were IN AMERICA, 249 taken on board of such vessels as were within range, so that at a preconcerted signal she could be disabled, or sunk by one general discharge of them aU. The Lieutenant, who appears to have been a man of courage and conduct, at last surrendered, on condition of retaining possession of his ship, but unbending his saUs, and sending thera ashore. The magistrates then made their appearance, and with their usual caution interfered, with the bene volent intention, as they said, of sa-ving the Governor from popular fury, the existence and intensity of which, from their retired habits, was untU then whoUy unknown to, and deeply regretted by them. So general, however, was the excitement, and so universal the defection, that a large portion of the crowd consisted of boys ; and at the head of the magistrates, was a retired Governor of eighty- seven years of age. Even woraen participated in the universal enthusiasm, and joined the elders in exhorting the thoughtless multitude to remember that " Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in GUgal." They then aided in raising the favourite war-cry of CromweU : " To your tents, O, Israel." It was a hopeless thing for a few men to con tend with the whole population of the country, for the alarm-beUs had now brought in the inhabitants of the neighbouring townships, and the Governor and his friends surrendered. As soon as he was M 3 25X) -THE ENGLISH in custody, the magistrates assembled to offer him their protection, which they ventured to suggest would be infinitely more efficacious, if he would surrender the government into their hands. They accordingly addressed to him the following ex traordinary letter, exculpating themselves from aU participation in the rebellion, assuring hira and his friends of their personal safety, and extorting an unconditional abdication under pain of popular vengeance : " At the To-sra-house in Boston, "April I Sth, 1689. "SU", *' Ourselves and others, the inhabitants of this town, and places adjacent, being surprised with the people's sudden taking arms, in the first motion whereof we were whoUy ignorant, being driven to it by the present accident, are necessitated to acquaint your ExceUency, that for the quieting and ¦ securing the people inhabiting this country from their imminent danger, that they in many ways , lie open and exposed to, and tendering your own safety, we judge it necessary that you. forthwith deliver up the government and fortifications, to be preserved and disposed according to order and direction of the Crown of England, which sud denly is expected to arrive, promising aU security from violence to yourself, or any of your gentlemen IN AMERICA. 251 or soldiers in person, or estate; otherwise they wUl, we are assured, endeavour the taking of the fortification by storm, if any opposition be made." As soon as the request was granted, the justices fulfUled their part of the compact with scrupulous fideUty ; and through the aid of iron bars effec tuaUy secured Andross from the intrusion or insults of the people, by keeping him in close custody at the fort. A long and elaborate declaration was then made from the Town-haU to the inhabitants, in which the part taken by themselves was justified in a manner to eonciUate the Prince of Orange, if he should succeed ; or operate as a defence, if the King should unhappUy raaintain his authority in the realra. The extreraity of caution betrays a consciousness of guUt. An able sstate paper like that carries with it internal proof of previous preparation and study, and leaves no doubt on the mind that the insurrection was meditated and planned, and its justification written before the popular outbreak. It would have been raore to their credit, if they had had the firmness to avow what they had the courage to execute ; and had pleaded self-preservation as a justification, instead of an asserted regard for the personal safety of a Governor, whose imprisonment would have been a poor atonement for his conduct, and whose safety 252 THE ENGLISH would have been too dearly purchased by a false hood. Usurpation is at aU times a dangerous thing* but when it is the act of a whole people, it is difficult to be dealt with, as there is always a certain degree of impunity in numbers. The magistrates therefore deemed it prudent to procure a -written approbation of their conduct from the principal inhabitants, and then assumed the title of " a councU for the safety of the people, and con servation of the peace," and fiUed up the offices vacated by the iraprisoned counciUors and friends of the Governor. A convention of delegates was also caUed frora the several townships, sixty-six of whora asserabled at Boston, and requested the board to continue in office untU a general election should take place. As soon as a House of Representatives was chosen, the members induced the council to re-estabUsh the old order of things, until a new Charter should be procured, or another form of Government be settled for them in Eng land. WhUe the attention of the magistrates was directed to their own safety, that of the Governor was not so weU attended to, and he managed to effect his escape. The regicides were men after their own heart, saints and personal friends, and they had professed themselves unable to trace them to their place of concealment. Hatred, however. Is IN AMERICA. 253 a more active principle than duty. Sir Edmund was a Churchman or, something worse, the servant of a tyrant; and, what was more to be dreaded, an injured man. No friendly hand was extended to aid, and no hospitable door was opened to receive him. Every inn had its curious questioner, and every -viUage its constable. The manners of a com-tler, and the language and accent of fashionable Ufe betrayed him. He had neglected, or was unable to assume, the demure look, nasal drawl, and sleek looks of the Puritan; and when the hue and cry was raised, he was apprehended on suspicion, and detained tUl identified, when he was escorted back to prison by a party whose nurabers showed more respect for his prowess than reliance on their own. Admonished by this occurrence, they forthwith dispatched hira, together -with his predecessor, Mr. Dudley, who in the acceptance of office, as has been previously observed, had rendered hiraself the most unpopular man in the place,* and several other persons to England to take their trlal.f * Bancroft calls him " a degenerate son of New Eng land." t The inhumanity with which they were treated in prison, appears from their letters to their friends. The ex-President Dudley thus writes : " After twenty weeks' unaccountable imprisonment, and many barbarous usages offered me therein, the last seven weeks of which are upon 254 THE ENGLISH The charges against them, however, were not reduced to form, nor duly signed, by the local authority, and they were accordingly released soon after their arrival. The effect of the revolt was electrical among the other colonies. At Plymouth, as soon as they heard of the in-surrectlon in Boston, the people secured the deputy of Andross, and imprisoned hira. The old PUgrira fathers were now all dead, but they had transraltted their gloomy reUgion and democratic spirit to their chUdren. They reinstated the Governor, who had been superseded by Sir Edmund, and renewed the constitution which, more than seventy years before, had been signed on board the ' May Flower.' In Rhode Island they assembled on the day of election In great numbers, and unanimously replaced their old officers, and resumed their former patent. New York under went a violent change also. One of the lowest of the people, a bankrupt trader, of sraaU capacity, but great boldness, (a class of persons generaUy account of your letters to me, I have now to complain that on Monday, the whole day, I could be allowed no victuals till nine of the clock at night, when the keeper's wife offered to kindle her own fire to warm something for me, and the corporal expressly commanded the fire to be put out. I may be easily oppressed to death. God will hear them that complain to Him." The complaints of Mr. Randolph, the dreaded custom-house officer, shows that his treatment was both cruel and indecent. IN AMERICA. 255 conspicuous in revolutions) urged the inhabitants to depose the Lieutenant-Governor, and authorise hira to assurae the adrainistration of affairs untU the Prince of Orange should send thera one duly coraraissioned. Maryland ejected its proprietor. Lord Baltimore, and proclaimed WUliam and Mary. Thus did the revolution extend from Boston to the Chesapeake, and from the Atlantic to the fron tiers of the French and the Indians. The dethrone ment, however, and raurder of Charles I., the overthrow of the Protectorate, the Restoration, the fall of Jaraes IL, and the changes that preceded and foUowed the arrival of WiUIain and Mary, succeeded each other in such rapid succession, that men's minds in all the colonies becarae unsettled; and from the period of this spontaneous domestic revolution, a marked alteration was perceptible in the tone of feeling throughout aU British America. People began to talk and act in a spirit of total independence of England. The power to control was much doubted, and the right utterly denied. Scotch Covenanters, English Independents, and Dissenters of every variety were fast covering the land, and although these fanatics differed more or less on doctrinal points, they aU agreed in politics, for they were all repubUcans. Shortiy after Andross was released, he was appointed Governor of Virginia, as a reward for 256 THE ENGLISH exasperating the people of Massachusetts, and exciting them by his iUegal conduct and oppressive measures into open rebeUion, a precedent, the value of which raay be estimated, from the uni formity with which it has been observed from that early date to the present period. Whatever changes may have taken place in other colonial usages, this has been generaUy adhered to ; and from Andross, who caused a revolution in 1688, the effects of which are stUl felt in North America, to hira who recently assented to an act rewarding those who plunged their country into a civU war, iraperial honours but too often await the raan who signally fails of success in his administration, pro vided he obeys his orders ; while he who preserves prosperity in the province coraraitted to his charge, is as frequently left to enjoy in obscurity the approbation of his own conscience, unless military rank or parliamentary influence are sufficient to supply the want of such a total absence of genius. IN AMERICA. 257 CHAPTER III. Representatives meet at Boston, and induce the Governor and Magistrates to continue in office — King and Queen proclaimed — A general gaol delivery — Orders received from England for the local authorities to retain the Government untU further • instructions — Anxiety in America as to the convention of Parliament — Doubts of the Tories and scruples of the Prelates — Conduct of the Whigs — Macaulay's definition of the " essence of politics" — The report of the Commons, and the declara tion of rights read with great interest by Provincials — Political influence of the commercial party in England — Its conduct towards the plantations — The prerogative described — Its effects in America — Blackstone's defini tion and Bacon's views of it — Local assemblies imitate the declaration of rights — Cause of the loss of the old colonies. The representatives of fifty-four towns met at Boston, on the 22nd of May, and induced the Governor and magistrates, chosen in 1686, to occupy again the position they formerly held according to the rules of their patent ; but these 258 THE ENGLISH gentlemen quaUfied their acceptance with a decla ration that they did not wish it to be understood they intended to reassume the Charter Govem ment. As soon as this was agreed upon, the " CouncU of Safety" retu'ed from their pro-visional office. During aU this tirae they had neglected to proclaim the King and Queen, being more con cerned for their own liberties than those of England. At last they endeavoured to compensate in parade and processions for any deficiency in promptness, and the cereraony took place with more than usual regard to effect. On the accession of Charles IL, every person was strictly forbidden, under penalties for disobedience, to drink his health. Wine was now served out to the soldiers, and they were encouraged to vociferate, on the joyful occasion, their benedictions on loyalty in the heart of the Uttle republic. The death of a democratic usurper like Cromwell was no subject for rejoicing, for they were permitted to participate in his oppression. The expulsion of a royal despot Uke Jaraes deserved celebration, for they were the -vnictlras of his tyranny. As soon as a new House assembled, the representatives declared that the CouncU ought to assume its proper share in the Legislature, accor ding to the Charter, and unless they did so, they should decUne to take any part in public affairs. IN .\MERICA. 259 Being thus compeUed to accede to what they so much desired, the restoration was fully effected. The change from the unlimited power of Sir Edmund Andross and four councUlors, to the old Government, which had subsisted for such a length of time, was raost acceptable to the Pro vincials ; but for want of confirraatlon frora home, it did not acquire that weight and authority that was expected. The General Asserably, however, ' feeUng that it rested on the 'voice of the people, the only source of power it recognised, entertained no doubts of the legaUty of its own acts ; and direct ing the Suprerae Court to proceed to the trial of several criminals then in gaol, upon their conviction ordered thera to be executed. They justified their conduct by saying, that " since the method lieth wholly with the freeholders, the re estabUshment of patent privUeges was correspon dent to the late settlement of affairs in England." Of the petty intrigues of their agent in London, Mr. Mather, relative to the restoration of the old order of things, I shaU not stop to give the par ticulars, as it is beside the object of this inquiry. The General Court, however, prepared an address to the throne, couched in the usual language of flattery, but with their characteristic caution, avoided the admission of imperial authority. In return, they received directions to continue the exercise of those powers of government they had 260 THE ENGLISH usurped, and to proceed as they had heretofore done, until time could be afforded for taking the whole subject into consideration. The period that intervened between the arrival of the Prince of Orange and the settlement of the crown upon him, was one of intense interest and anxiety throughout New England. They were aware that any protracted delay in the proceedings of ParUament, or disagreement between the two branches, or refusal of the Prince to accept the terms on which it should be offered, would inevit ably throw the whole kingdom into confusion; and it was just possible royalty might again cease to exist, and dissent be triumphant. As it was anticipated, serious difficulties did arise, which seemed at first alraost insurmountable, and we are indebted to the Liberals of that day for a speedy solution of thera. The Tories questioned the pos sibility of an abdication, or of the throne being vacant for a raoment, and maintained that if the King's conduct could be considered as a demise, Mary was ipso facto Queen. They felt the objec tion pressing upon them with irresistible force, that if the principles of their opponents were once established, it necessarily followed that the monarchy was elective. The Prelates, besides these que.s- tions of law, entertained conscientious difficulties with respect to 'their oath of aUegiance. The Liberals were neither obstructed by the doubts of IN AMERICA. 261 the one nor scruples of the other. The former were above their comprehension, the latter beneath their notice. Their idea of the British constitution may be summed up in a few words, " raight makes right," a maxim that Ues at the root of aU monarchical and republican tyranny. When an nounced by a King like James, these consistent politicians denounced it as despotism ; when pro claimed by a Government, founded on popular suffrage, they caUed it " the voice of the people." When might was deficient, parliamentary skiU was recomraended. Macaulay, who, from co-operation with them, is famUiar with their principles, says the essence of politics is compromise. Modern history may be searched in vain for such an avowal as this, a maxim that substitutes expediency for principle, and party ascendancy for integrity. In this case compromise was not needed; they had the might and they used it. They caUed up the "spirits of the vasty deep." They sounded the alarm in the city, and sum moned their old aUies. The conventicles poured out their saints, and the pot-houses their sinners, and a mixed and motley crowd fUled and sur rounded the Palace Yard, alarmed the friends of order, overawed the timid, and emboldened their party leader to call for a speedy decision. Such an assemblage had never before been seen in England, Larger and noisier masses, mobs raore 262 THE ENGLISH excited and bent on mischief, had been known,. but such an incongruous and heterogeneous body as this was a new element In the annals of parllar. mentary legislation. The disgusting mixture of obscene oaths with texts of Scripture, as they alternately proceeded frora the thoughtless vaga bonds of the town, or canting republicans of the old school, soon con-vinced, as it was intended they should, a majority of both Houses, that there was no time to lose. " I am instructed," said Lord Lovelace to the Peers, " to present a petition imraedlately, to proclaim the Prince and Princess of Orange to be King and Queen." When asked by whora he was deputed to do so, he hesitated a while, for he had no such memorial, but " the essence of politics," a sUght " compronuse" of truth with falsehood, enabled hira to answer, "There are no hands to it yet, but when I bring it here next, there shaU be hands enough." This atterapt at coercion was indignantly re sented, but the party had carried their point, and affected to repress what naturaUy subsided of itself when not agitated from beneath. This menace of Lord Lovelace, says Macaulay, disgusted his own associates. The promoters of the riots, he caUs " the fiercer and lower class of Whigs, the old eraissaries of Shaftesbury, the supporters of CoUege." He says the Whigs were even more desirous than the Tories that the deliberations of IN AMERICA. 263 the Convention should be perfectly free. A cora proraise means to yield something, to retain what is left, or to procure an advantage in exchange for one surrendered. True to their principles, they " compromised." They disavowed their agents, in which they exhibited more judgment than gratitude, for in truth they were associates whose support conferred no particular honour upon them ; and they claimed. In return, the credit of obtaining by argument, that which they alone owed to com pulsion and terror. This revolution had a surprising effect in Ame rica, even more perhaps than in England. The re port of the Committee of the House of Comraons was read throughout the colonies with the deepest interest. Although it contained recoraraendations as the ground-work of future legislation, there not being tirae to mature and pass so raany iraportant laws as would be required to give thera effect, yet viewed merely as declarations of opinions on sub jects of vital interest, the Provincials studied them with the raost critical attention. Araong other things, it was suggested for future deliberation, that the Judges should hold their places for life ; that the raode of selecting juries should be altered in such a manner as to exclude partiality or cor ruption; that the Court of Chancery should be reformed; that the fees of public functionaries 264 THE ENGLISH should be regulated, and that the law of Quo Warranto should be amended. The declaration of right recapitulated the offences and iUegal conduct of the King. It stated that he had invaded the province of the Legislature ; had treated modest petitioning as a crirae ; had oppressed the Church by raeans of an illegal tribunal ; had, without the consent of Par liament, levied taxes, and maintained a standing array in tirae of peace ; had violated the freedom of election, and perverted the course of justice. Proceedings which could be questioned only In Parliament had been raade the subject of prose cution in the King's Bench ; partial and corrupt juries had been returned ; excessive baU had been required frora prisoners, and disproportioned fines iraposed ; barbarous and unusual punishments had been Inflicted, and the estates of accused persons had been granted away before conviction. FinaUy, it assumed that he had abdicated the government. It went on to declare that the dispensing power, lately assuraed and exercised, had no legal ex istence; that without grant of Parliament, no money could be exacted by the Sovereign from the subject, and that without the consent of the Legislature, no standing army could be kept up in time of peace. The right of subjects to petition— of electors to choose representatives freely — of IN AMERICA. 265 ParUaraent to freedom of debate — of the nation to a pure and merciful administration of justice, according to the spirit of its own mUd laws, was soleranly affirmed. All these things the Conven tion claimed in the name of the whole nation as its undoubted inheritance. This declaration did not so much make new laws as clear the old from obscurity. It rendered that certain which Ulegal practice had involved in doubt. The fundamental principle asserted for the last time, and now for ever established by the Revolution, viz., that no taxes could be levied on the people but by their own consent or that of their representatives, while it secured the liberties of EngUshmen, paralyzed the hold of tyranny in the pro-vinces. Truth is eternal and immutable. That which is founded on reason, and the rights of freemen in Britain, cannot be otherwise in America. The doctrine that representation was necessary to legalize taxation had always been held in Massachusetts, and in almost every other colony, from their earUest settleraent. Their first resolve and their last declaration were assertions of this natural right, which, though not so boldly maintained, so far as the regulations of the commerce of the erapire extended (although this was protested against), was claimed in the fullest and raost unliraited raanner in their internal affairs. VOL. I. N 266 THE ENGLISH There was a latent element, however, in this revolution, doomed to exercise in after times a powerful and baneful influence in Araerica. The coraraercial interest of the kingdora, by its enor mous and increasing wealth, eraerged from the humble condition it had hitherto occupied, and soon made itself felt and considered, if not respected. An incipient national debt, occasioned by an expenditure that exceeded income, required a loan, and the coffers of the tradesmen were opened to the needy Governraent, until the creditor was enabled to raake his debtor sensible of his depen dence. The sea-ports and the manufacturing towns rapidly encroached on the influence of the landed aristocracy, and boldly demanded a portion of power. This new class of aspirants for political influence, with the usual selfishness of trade, nurtured a jealousy of colonial coramerce, and sub sequently manifested a zeal in restricting it in a manner most beneficial to itself. It affected to see nothing in the transatlantic possessions but a market for English goods. Restriction and mono poly soon engendered a desire for taxation, and that, contrary to their narrow-minded calculations, not only failed in producing a revenue, but, by its minous expenses, nearly caused a national bankruptcy. True to their cold and selfish maxims, they regarded their balance-sheet as their only sure guide, which, however accurate it may IN AMERICA. 267 be in a counting-house, is worse than useless to a statesman, who knows that it can never represent any theory more than the account of one branch of a vist, compUcated, and dependent system, of which figures can convey no adequate idea whatever. In their poUcy towards the old provinces, the commercial classes imagined they saw prodigious gain in perspective, and flattered theraselves that corapresslon alone was necessary to cause a constant streara of wealth to flow into England. In grasp ing at the shadow they lost the substance. The same sort of " ready-made" politicians now despondingly announce that they have discovered in their tabular accounts, that the cost of protection exceeds the value of the return, and propose to abandon colonies altogether. These results of the great Revolution of 1688, were not only not dreaded, but not even suspected at the time on either side of the water. The Pro-vincials, engrossed by its more iraraedlate ope ration, saw their own emancipation from uncertain authority, and nothing more. The limitation of the prerogative was held by them as equaUy appUcable to the regal power in America. Its exercise had been raade even raore perplexing and oppressive towards thera than towards the EngUsh. Theory and practice had hitherto been so much at variance, that they scarcely knew N 2 268 THE ENGLISH where it would reach, or what it would subvert. What opinions eminent lawyers held on the subject was of little consequence to them, the practice had ever continued the same ; and although ParUament, to make these new restrictions less obnoxious to royalty, asserted that they only declared what the law always had been. It was manifest that if it had been so plain it did not require repetition, and that Westminster HaU was not so unanimous as had been represented. The very word " prerogative" was one of terror, for It was synonymous with a despotic power above the law, making or dispensing with laws at pleasure. Whichever way a colonist turned, he was met by it. It was invisible and intangible, but neverthe less it was omnipotent. It claimed the whole country, the right of taxation, of government, of regulating commerce, controUing the mUitIa, of pressing sailors and billeting troops, of making war and peace, of constituting courts, and adminis tering justice in raatters civU, raUitary, or eccle siastical, of monopolies, of coinage, and in fact, in and over aU things. It had a jargon of Its own, not very intelUgible to the hardy but unlettered fishermen of the sea-coast, or the inhabitants of wigwams made of the bark of trees. When they heard of floatsam, jetsam and ligan, ,treasure-trove, deodands and waifs, bonavacantia, iie-exeats and monobstantes, and asked what these IN AMERICA. 269 mysterious and unpronouncable words meant, they were told they were prerogative rights ; and when they demanded what prerogative was, the best informed man could only reply in general terms, that "it is that special pre-erainence which the King hath over and above aU other persons, and out of the ordinary course of the coramon law, in right of his royal dignity. It signifies in its etymology (frora prse and rogo) soraething that is required or demanded, before, or in preference to, aU others. And hence It foUows, that it must be in its nature singular and eccentrical, that it can only be applied to those rights and capacities, which the King enjoys alone, in contradiction to others, and not to those which he enjoys in common with any of his subjects ; for if once any one prerogative of the Crown could be held in comraon w"ith the subject, it would cease to be prerogative any longer. And therefore Finch lays it down as a maxira, that the prerogative is that law in the case of the King which is law in no case in the subject." This was the best description Blackstone could give of it at a later period. To a professional man, already practicaUy acquainted with its opera tion, it may suffice, though not very perspicuous or precise, but ordinary raen -wUl rise from its pemsal,, not much enlightened by the definition of the learned Judge. Lord Bacon, when coloniza 270 THE ENGLISH tion was first seriously thought of, instructed Jaraes I. in a very explicit manner on this subject. He maintained: 1st. That the King may con strain the person of his subjects not to go out of the realm. 2nd. That he may forbid the exporta tion of commodities.* 3rd. He raay forbid the iraportation of any commodities into this realm. 4th. He may set a reasonable impost upon any foreign wares that corae into the same ; and so on native wares that go out of the realm. The law being thus understood by Crown lawyers, the colonial charters of that reign were .drawn in conformity with their opinions. We now perceive the reason why there were inserted in every patent, " a Ucence to emigrate, a permission to export merchandize, and exemption from irapost during a Umited terra ;" and also similar provisions which were framed according to the prevaUing no tions of the tiraes. " It is curious," says Chalmer, " to remark that it should seera, not only from the passage above cited, but from the argument of Bacon in the House of Commons, in support of the sarae doctrine, that there once existed in the law of England a principle, perhaps a practice, analogous to the internal and external taxation of the colonial controversy, since he contended that the King might establish an impost on exports * See Chalmer's Introd. to Hist., p. 3 Notes. IN AMERICA. 271 and iraports, though he adraitted that the prero gative could not irapose a doraestic tax on lands or on poUs." Thus, though the petition of right had deterralned, with regard to England, the law, against the opinion of Bacon, before recited, Charles I. continued to lay imposts on her de pendent territories. The precedent for this had been estabUshed in Ireland. After its subjugation by Henry IL, it was treated as a colony. The change made in its laws was not effected by any English ParUament, but by the charters of its conqueror, and other subsequent Sovereigns, who considered it a dependent conquered dominion, and, as such, possessed a legislative power over it.* We have already observed that the repeated changes in the government of England had a very deleterious effect on the plantations. The popular cause in the colonies was always in advance of the parent country ; and as soon as the ParUament obtained any new security for liberty, it was seized upon by the local legislature as their joint property, and their outposts were pushed on further into the royal territory. As soon as the report of the comraittee of the Commons, containing recom mendations, reformatory laws, and the declaration * Black. Com. vol. i, p. 99. Cowper's Reports, p. 210, Prynn. Inst. vol. iv, p. 294. 272 THE ENGLISH of rights arrived in America, the AssembUes everywhere passed fundamental laws, asserting their privileges, and what they conceived to be their liberties ; and although these were very pro perly rejected in England, on the ground that it was absurd for such dependent colonies to designate the terras on which they would alone adrait their subjection, stUl they afforded a convincing proof of the growth of deraocratic principles, and by the discussion to which they led, added life and strength to disaffection, which was now propagated with the utraost zeal by fanatics and deraagogues. This encroaching disposition originated in an early and long-continued neglect of the colonies by England. When their iraportance began to de mand attention, it was strengthened by an equaUy flagrant mismanagement ; and when they became populous and obedient, it ripened into rebeUion by an unjust and iUegal claira of taxation, in the support of which the reasoning of English states men afforded topics of ridicule in the town meet ings, and the conduct of the troops an easy triumph to the undiscipUned levies of the agricul tural districts. It would be unavailing nov/ to blame those who severed the connection, although. If there had been real affection on their part, the separation would not have been final. How much or how Uttle censure they deserve, is not at the present time IN AMERICA. 273 the question. What we owe to ourselves is a rigid self-exaraination. We should not shrink frora laying bare our own faults, that we raay avoid siraUar errors in future. If we yielded indepen dence by not retaining sufficient ^control over the form of their constitutions, let us be more careful of concession. If we interfered with their just rights, let us respect those of the remaining colonists. If we tried responsible government, as we shall presently see we did, denuded the Governor of his power, and invited resistance by our own weakness, let the salutary lesson not be lost upon us. In short, having once made ship- -wreck, let us survey the coast, and take the bear ings ofthe rocks and shoals, and shape our course accordingly. It must be admitted, that it is difficult for loyal colonist? to look back upon the' annals of those revolted provinces, without the deepest regret, and the raost humiliating mortification. That the task of re-viewing a series of absurd, negligent, and Ulegal acts of needy governors and Ignorant boards of control, aU terminating in discreditable nuscarriages and defeats, is too painful even to be attempted by English statesraen, is raanifest from the fact that it has given neither prudence to their measures, wisdom to their councUs, nor vigour to their conduct. When the independence of the old colonies was acknowledged, an im- N 3 274 THE ENGLISH mense number of despatches from several Governors were found in the public archives unopened. The pen had been laid aside in despair for the sword, and both were disgraced by Imbe cUity. It is to be feared that the provincial history, every page of which Is filled with valuable instruction, has shared the same fate as the official correspondence, and remained unread. A natural or accidental defect of vision is an infirmity weU entitled to coraraiseration, but a statesman who disdains the labour of research, and remains wUfuUy bUnd, is a criminal on whom expulsion or censure impose no adequate punishment. Unhappily merit Is not always the passport to -office. Party convenience or famUy interest, par liamentary influence or successful intrigue, too often elevate raen to iraportant stations, who, from vanity, ignorance, or want of principle, are utterly unable to discharge their duties. Sad indeed is the condition of a people when such is the temper of those who govern them. This, however, Is an evil that no revolution can ever cure ; and it would seem to be a law of our nature, that we must depend on the lottery of life for the selection of our i-ulers. It has Indeed become a parliamentary maxim, that Provincials must be content to have their work "coarsely and roughly done;" inas much as a colonial rainister, who has never crossed the Atlantic, cannot, in the nature of things, be IN AMERICA. 275 supposed to know much about the young and vigorous empire committed to his charge. It Is difficult to pronounce our opinion on the state of an invaUd without visiting him. But when not only the disease, but its seat and its symptoras are differently represented, he who ventures to pre scribe is generally found to be bold in proportion to his ignorance. Erapirlcs invariably proclaim that they have discovered a medicine applicable to aU ages and persons, and aU cases and diseases. PoUtical jugglers, who, in Integrity and knowledge are not inferior to their medical brethren, possess simUar powers of invention and deception, and have ever on hand some nostrum of universal application. Of these, the last and most valuable specific for constitutional infirmities, bears the captivating title of " Responsible Governraent." When the world is overrun with creduUty, ought we not to cease to wonder at the number of knaves who gather the harvest ? The sanatory state, however, of the colonial empire, fortunately for those en- trasted with its care, fumishes abundant material for exculpation. The people wUl not foUow the regimen ordered for them, or previous practi tioners have mistaken their complaints. Their constitutions are naturaUy feeble, or it is an epi demic under which they suffer, that wiU soon pass away, or there is a corapUcation of disorders — 276 THE ENGLISH they are too much reduced for active measures — or their nervous temperament is difficidt to ma nage. But who can doubt that their treatment has been both judicious and successful, when we have been so fortunate as not to have lost one of our numerous dependencies since the great pesti lence of 1783, in which no less than thirteen feU -victlras to the ignorance and neglect of our ancestors. Warned by their faUure, we have wisely avoided the route they traveUed. Let us be careful that the road we have chosen does not lead to the same termination. IN .\MERICA. 277 CHAPTER IV. Effect of toleration on the Ministers — Cotton Mather's attempt to raise a revival of bigotry, by spreading alarm about witches — His books and sermons — Preface by Richard Baxter — Exorcises a child at Boston — Salem delusion — Special Court, its proceedings — Executions — Case of the Rev. Mr. Burrows — Sudden change of public opinion — Mather falls into contempt — Decline of Con gregationalism — Arrival of Sir William Phipps with the new Charter. The summary manner in which the State prisoners were released on their arrival in Eng land, and the favourable reception Sir Edmund Andross met with from the Court, together with the continued delay their agents experienced in obtaining a renewal of the old, or the issue of a new Charter, fUled the people with the greatest anxiety and alarm. Having no representation in ParUament, and neither Court nor party influence in England, beyond the sympathy of the sectaries, 278 THE ENGLISH they had everything to fear from royalty, to which they had always manifested a determined opposi tion, and nothing to hope frora EpiscopaUans, whora they had ever oppressed and persecuted, while the service they clairaed to have rendered to the public by enlarging the bounds of the empire, merited and received the answer, that then- settlement was undertaken for their own advantage, and not the benefit of the State ; and if their endeavours had been successful, they had them selves reaped the reward of their enterprise. This state of uncertainty as to the form of their future governraent, weakened the hands of their local authorities, while toleration equaUy dimi nished the influence of the ministers. It is not easy for any person, not thoroughly versed In the history of these people, to comprehend the vast extent of power wielded by the clergy during the existence of the first Charter. They were not only counciUors by an unwritten law, but also the authors of State papers, often employed on embas sies abroad, and at home speakers at elections and in town meetings. " New England," says Cotton Mather, " being a country where interests are remarkably enwrapped in ecclesiastical circum stances, ministers ought to concern themselves In poUtics." They were invested with cIvU and spiritual authority ; there was no escape frora their grasp, and never could have been, had it not been IN AMERICA. 279 for the toleration granted, or rather forced upon the people, by the Church of England. Religious liberty stmck at the very foundation of their power, for emancipation of the mind and freedom of action are inseparable. We have seen that the Puritans, in flying to the wUderness to obtain exeraption from ecclesiastical control, with sin gular inconsistency, claimed that privUege exclu sively for themselves, making church member ship the quaUfication for the right of citizenship. To uphold this spiritual domination, the aid of the cIvU power was called, in return for which assist ance the clergy lent their powerful support to the Government. By their united efforts, aU dissent was banished or extirpated from the colony, and at the time that they were inveighing against the persecution of the EpiscopaUans, they theraselves made Uberal use of mutUation, whipping, banish ment, and even the gaUows, to preserve conformity. The moment religion was left unfettered, there was an immediate reaction in public feeling. Un restrained liberty as usual produced Ucentiousness. The people had been governed by their fears, no less than by their affections, and the clergy lost their authority. New sects sprang up, with a zeal and vigour that ever attends novelty ; and, as usual when many kinds of dissent are found in the same field, they produced hybrid varieties of the same species in abundance, untU the ground was 280 THE ENGLISH overrun with their exuberance, and every whole some and sound plant was smothered by their rapid growth and coarse foliage. The ministry felt It to be their duty, as they knew it was their interest, to recal men's minds frora these numerous errors. The difficulty of the attempt lay in the selection of the means. After cool reason, and exciting declamation had been severally tried and failed, recourse was had to superstition. The Puritans had ever esteemed themselves a chosen people, and were fond of com paring New England with Canaan, of tracing a resemblance in their flight to the -wUderness to that of the Israelites, and of assimUating their laws to the Mosaic Code. In every piece of good fortune they saw an especial answer to their prayers, and in every mortification and calamity the direct personal malice of the DevU and his agents. This vanity and creduUty their preachers had always encouraged, as their own influence necessarily kept pace with the superstition of the people. They now feU back upon it as their last resource to check the inevitable consequences of the late act of tole ration. Araong this numerous and powerful class, there was one man. Dr. Cotton Mather, adrairably weU qualified to preach up a crusade. He was more distinguished for subtle reasoning, and a deep knowledge of human nature, than any of his con- IN AMERICA. 281 teraporarles, and was less obstructed by scruples, or restrained by consequences. Extreraes meet. The Puritans abhorred anything that bore the sUghtest resemblance to Popery, or reminded the beholder of its abominations. In their ceremonies and doctrines they succeeded as well as they could have desired In producing a contrast, but in conduct and principle, in which power rests, they were identical with one of the most able and artful of the Romish sects. Ultra-Puritans Uke Dr. Cotton Mather, and extreme Romanists Uke Ignatius Loyola, bear so striking a resemblance to each other, that they may be both classed as members of the same school. The non-conforming remnant of the forraer body stiU reraalning in the Church of England, who caU theraselves, with no little modesty. Evangelicals, but are known to others by the more appropriate name of Low Churchmen, are alike distinguished for their violent denun ciations against Popery, and their decided par tiality for and open practice of Jesuitical principles. Dr. Mather in order to promote a revival in religion, and restore the lost authority of the clergy, alarmed the fears and awakened the super stition of the whole people by dUiberately planning and promoting the witchcraft delusion, -which inflicted such an indelible disgrace on his country. He aspired to be considered the great champion of the Church, and the most successful combatant 282 THE ENGLISH against the Prince of Darkness. Eager to signalize himself in this particular kind of warfare, he seized upon every occurrence that could be represented as the result of diabolical agency, circulated In his numerous publications as many tales of super natural wonder as he could collect, and at last got up the delusion he so ranch desired in Boston. Having found a fitting instruraent for his purpose, in a young girl of remarkable quickness and versatility of talent, he took her into his house for the purpose of exorcising her. Among many proofs she gave of being possessed of a devU, one was that she was very fond of the Book of Com mon Prayer, which she caUed her Bible, whUe she could not decypher a syUable of the Assembly's catechism. At the sarae time she exhibited such a tendency to heresy, she was often permitted to utter words of consolation and truth, and she would soraetimes stand on the threshold of the Rev. Doctor's library and say : " They can't come in, God wont suffer them to enter Into thy pre sence." The Doctor pubUshed a narrative of her diabolical performances, together with a sermon, which was circulated through the country and reprinted in England under the superintendence of his patron and friend, the noted Richard Baxter, who, in a recommendatory preface of his own, affirmed, " that he who would not be convinced by aU the e-vidence Dr. Mather presented that IN AMERICA. 283 this chUd was bewitched must be a very Sadducee." Time had not softened the cruel disposition of this persecuting English Dissenter, nor age mitigated his ferocity. He exulted in the part he had him self taken during the Coraraonwealth in urging on Hopkins, the Puritan witch-finder, in his murde rous occupation. Alluding with unfeeling bitter ness to the execution of an aged clergyman on a sImUar charge, who had read his own funeral service at the gaUows, and whom he caUed " the reading parson," he encouraged Mather to pro ceed in his glorious career. The work of the Rev. Doctor, entitled " Memo rable Providences, relating to Witchcraft and Possessions," received the sanction of the other Puritan divines of Boston, who declared that the author had clearly proved " There was a God, and a devU, and -witchcraft. The old heresy of the sensual Sadducees denying the being of angels either good or evU, died not with thera nor wIU it, whilst men abandoning both faith and reason count it their wisdom to credit nothing but what they see and feel. How much this fond opinion hath gotten ground in tliis debauched age is awfully observable, and what a dangerous stroke it gives to settle men in atheism it is not hard to discern. God is therefore pleased, besides the witness borne to this truth in Sacred Writ, to suffer devUs some times to do such things In the world as shaU stop 284 THE ENGLISH the mouths of gainsayers, and extort a confession from thera." This serraon affords a curious speciraen of fanatical declaraation. "Witchcraft," says the author, " is a renouncing of God, and the advancement of a filthy devU into the throne of the Most High; Vifitchcraft is the renouncing of Christ, and pre ferring the comraunion of a loathsome, lying devU, before all the salvation of the Lord Redeemer; witchcraft is a siding with Hell against Heaven and Earth, and therefore a witch is not to be endured in either of them. It Is a capital crime and Is to be prosecuted as a species of de-vilism that would not only deprive God and Chirst of all His honour, but also plunder man of aU his comfort. Nothing too vUe can be said of it, nothing too hard can be done to such a horrible iniquity as witchcraft is." The favourite texts on the subject were, " Thou shalt not suffer a witch to Uve," and " Have I not chosen you twelve, and one is a devU." Such a fearful subject, handled in such an exciting man ner, easUy prepared the way for the tragedy that followed. While this delusion, so wickedly devised and so artfully sustained, was thus spreading over the metropoUs, its operations were going on with tremendous efficacy in Salem and the neighbouring towns. Additions were continuaUy making to the IN AMERICA. 285 nuraber of accusers by voluntary accessions and by those who, having been charged theraselves, to save their lives, confessed and becarae witnesses against others. The prisons in Salem, Cambridge, and Boston, were crowded with supposed witches, and aU the securities of society were dissolved. Every man's life was at the mercy of his neighbour. Fear, says the historian of this period, sat on every countenance. Terror and distress were in all hearts, and sUence pervaded the streets. Many of the people left the countrj'^, aU business was at a stand ; and the feeling, dismal and horrible indeed, became general, that the' providence of God was removed from them, and that they were given over to the dorainion of Satan. To meet the extraordinary crisis a special coraraission was issued to several of the principal citizens and jurists of the colony, constituting them a court, to try accused persons at Salem. The\- asserabled by particular appointment at the Court- House on the 2nd June, 1692. The first victim, an old woman, was executed on the 1 0th of June. The Court then adjourned. The Government during the recess consulted several of the Congre gational ministers of Boston and its vicinity, respecting the prosecutions, who, whUe they urged the importance of caution and circumspection in the method of examination and admission of testi mony, at the same time decidedly and earnestiy 286 THE ENGLISH recommended that the proceedings should be " vigorously carried on." The Court sat again on the 30th of June, and five raore old woraen were put to death on the 19 th of July. It opened again August the Sth, and on the 19th of the same month, four raen and one woraan were executed ; and on the 22nd Septeraber, two raen and six woraen were hanged. Eight more were condemned, but these were the last that suffered capitally, at that tirae. One raan refusing to plead to the indictraent, was pressed to death as a punishment for his conturaaclous silence. The principal immediate effect of these summary and sanguinary proceedings, was to render the accusers more bold, confident and daring. They began to feel that the lives of the people were In their hands, and seemed at last to have experienced a fiendlike satisfaction in the thought of bringing infamy and death upon the best and raost honoured citizens of the colony. Among those who suffered was the Rev. Mr. Burrows, of Salem, whose fate struck a horror through the coraraunity, which it required all the art and sophistry of the board of ministers to calm. He was a well-educated man, had received the honours of Harwood University in 1676, of a spotless life, and no charge of incon sistency as a minister had ever been attempted to be brought against him. On the day before his execution, the unfortunate woman, Margaret Jacobs, IN AMERICA. 287 who appeared as witness against him, obtained permission to visit him, when she made a fuU acknowledgment of her perjury, and entreated hira for his forgiveness. This he freely gave her, and spent some tirae in prayer with her. When the hour arrived for his execution, he was carried in a cart, with other convicts, frora the gaol to GaUows HUl, about an eighth of a mile towards Danvers. While Mr. Burrows was on the ladder, a contemporary writer observes, " he made a speech for the clearing of his innocency, with such solemn and serious expressions as were the admiration of all present. His prayer was so well worded, and uttered with such coraposedness and such fervency of spirit, as was very affecting, and drew tears frora raany, so that it was apprehended the spec tators would hinder the execution. To raeet and turn back this state of feeling, the accusers cried out that they saw the e-vil being standing behind him in the form of a black man, and dictating every word he uttered ; and the infamous Cotton Mather hurried round among the crowd on horse back, haranguing the people and saying that it was not to be wondered at that Mr. Burrows appeared so weU, for that the Devil often transformed hiraself into an angel of Ught. This artful declaration, together with the outcries and assertions of the accusers, had the intended effect upon the fanatical multitude. When the body was cut down it was 288 THE ENGLISH dragged by a rope to a hoUow place excavated between the rocks, stripped of its garraents, thrown with two others into the hole, trampled down by the mob, and finaUy left uncovered. Nor did Mather forget those whose orthodoxy was doubtful. The reUgious toleration granted and enforced by Andross, disclosed the fact that there were some of the Baptist heresy stUl dweUing among the faithful. When positive proof could not be obtained against the delinquent, spectral evidence was adraitted, a term then in use to desig nate information exhibited to the eyes or conveyed to the ears by spirits or ghosts. These irre sponsible informers soon gave notice that the Devil was at work among the people in the shape of a Baptist preacher, making them renounce their baptism, and be dipped anew by him, and revUing and ridiculing the lawful ministers of the elect. The absurdity of these charges naturally led people to inquire if there were not fraud in others. Alarmed at the magnitude of the evil, they paused and conferred with each other on the subject ; but that which finaUy overthrew the power of the informers, was the increasing number of persons of character, station, and influence among the accused. They repeatedly charged the Rev. Mr. WUlard, the author of the " Body of Divinity," one of the most respectable ministers of the time. They accused a meraber of the immediate family IN AMERICA. 289 of Dr. Increase Mather, who had recently returned from a special embassy to the English Court respect ing the Charter, and was then the President of Harwood CoUege, the raan whom EUiott caUs the " Father of the New England Clergy." A writer of that period also intimates that they lodged information against the -wife of the newly-arrived Governor, Sir WiUiam Phipps, and implicated one of the Judges of the Court. Their last accusation (which was preferred against Mrs. Hale, the wife of the minister of the first Church in Beverly) was in the opinion of the pubUc, the most false and -wicked of aU, and effectually broke the spell by which they had held the minds of the whole colony in bondage. Her genuine and distinguished virtues had won for her a reputation, and secured in the hearts of the people a confidence which superstition itself could not suUy nor shake. Mr. Hale had unhappily been active in aU the pre-vious proceed ings, but knowing the innocency and piety of his wife, he stood forth between her and the storm he had himself helped to raise. In denouncing Mrs. Hale, the whole community was convuiced that the accusers had perjured themselves, and from that moraent their power was destroyed. The awful delusion ceased, and a close was put to one of the most tremendous tragedies in the history of real Ufe. There are few if any other Instances on VOL. I. O 290 THE ENGLISH record of a revolution of opinion and feelings so sudden, so rapid, and so complete. During the prevalence of this fanaticism, twenty persons lost their lives by the hand of the execu tioner, fifty-five escaped death by confessing themselves guUty, one hundred were in prison, and more than two hundred others under accusa tion. Immediately upon the termination of the excitement, aU who were in gaol were pardoned. Nothing more was heard of the afflicted, or thecon- fessors. They were never called to account for their malicious impositions and perjury. It was appre hended that a judicial investigation might renew the delusion, and aU were anxious to consign the whole subject as speedUy and as effectually as possible to oblivion. The state of things which Cotton Mather laboured to bring about, in order that he might Increase his own influence over an infatuated people, by being regarded by them as mighty to cast out and vanqufsh evU spirits, and as able to hold Satan hiraself in chains by his prayers and his piety, brought him at length Into such disgrace, that his power was broken down, and he became the object of pubUc ridicule and open insult. The excitement that had been produced for the purpose of restoring and strengthening the in fluence of the clerical and spiritual leaders, resulted IN AMERICA. 291 in effects, which reduced it to a stUl lower point. Congregationalism then received a shock frora vfhich it never afterwards fuUy recovered. The inteUigence of the ministers, if not their integrity, -was questioned, and doubt, distrust, and infidelity soon stmck root amid the ruins of superstition. WhUe their fearful proceedings were in progress. Sir WUliam Phipps arrived with a new Charter, the nature of which we shaU describe hereafter, and thus were terminated aU hopes of the restora tion of the old order of things. It forms an important era in colonial history. Hitherto, the people had governed themselves without the con trol of England. They stiU continued to do so, as we shaU see, in spite of her interference. They grew up in neglect ; when restraint was attempted, they resisted; and the raoment they were able, they severed the connection. The Whigs reversed this poUcy for the remaining colonies ; they began with restraint, and ended with neglect and fatal indulgence which are Ukely to produce a siraUar result.* * Whoever is desirous of further information on this subject, will find ample details in Hutchinson, and the Col lection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, but the best account is by the Rev. Mr. Upham, from whom I have drawn largely. o 2 292 THE ENGLISH CHAPTER V. REVIEW. The two most interesting periods of American history ex tend, 1st. From the settlement of Massachusetts to the English Revolution of 1688 ; 2nd. To the independence of the colonies in 1783 — Review of the first period — Number and names of colonies then settled — Their popu lation and commerce — Account of the different forms of Government then established there — Great increase of democratic opinions — Change in tone of feeling in Virginia — Some account of the Church there — Loyalty of Churchmen — State of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York — Effect of the conduct of New England upon them. The two most interesting periods of the colonial history of Araerica extend frora the first settleraent of Massachusetts to the great English Revolution of 1688, and frora thence to the peace of 1783 that insured the independence of the revolted provinces constituting the United States. IN AMERICA. 293 We have now arrived at the termination of the first, and must pause to review and contemplate it. It is by far the most curious and instructive, inasmuch as during that tirae the colonies were planted, their constitutions, after various alterations, assuraed a definite form, and they were sensibly affected by every change which the innovations of those days introduced into the parent country. If we except Georgia, afterwards planted, and ' Florida, subsequently conquered, the continental colonies were now firmly established, and consisted of Massachusetts, including Plymouth and Maine, Rhode Island (embracing Providence), Con necticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and the two CaroUnas, and contained about two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, of which at least seventy-five thousand were settled in Ne-\^ England. Their coraraerce was carried on by twenty-five thousand tons of shipping, which was navigated by two thousand six hundred searaen. No regular plan of colonization had ever been adopted. Settlements forraed by accident or caprice were left to languish or flourish, as the character of the people, or the nature of the soU or cUmate, happened to operate. They were not trained up, they grew up ; and being beyond the reach of parental control, governed theraselves in their own way. Many constitutions were drafted 294 THE ENGLISH and proposed for adoption; the most arbitrary, impracticable and absurd of which emanated from men like Locke, whom England delights to honour as her most distinguished sons. It may be some consolation to the admirers of that great man to know that modern statesmen, with a wider experience and infinitely increased means of infor mation, have exhibited as little skUl in legislating for colonists as he did. Several of these forms were tried in different places with more or less success, but at the tirae we are now speaking of, though varying from each other In many respects, they may be classed under three heads : — Charter, Proprietary, and Royal Governments. Of the first were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Con necticut ; of the second were New Jersey, Pennsyl vania, Maryland, and Carolina ; and of the third New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire. The origin of those charter governments, as we have seen, was the surreptitious removal to America, by the Puritans, of a patent granted to certain of their number as a trading company, whose court was to raeet and act In London, and the atterapt to adopt this incoraplete and incom patible instmment to the purposes of civU government. Subsequently other charters, equaUy inapplicable, were granted. In which not even the unsubstantial appearance of sovereignty was re served to England. They were pure deraocracles. IN AMERICA. 295 They elected every one of their officers frora the highest to the lowest, and displaced thera at pleasure, whUe the laws they enacted went into operation without transmission to England for approval. The main object in devising a con stitution for a dependency Is, or ought to be, as has been very well expressed by an author of great weight on this subject, " to make the new establishment as useful as possible to the trade of the raother country ; to secure its dependence, to provide for the ease, safety and happiness of the settlers ; to protect thera frora their enemies, and to make an easy and effectual provision to preserve thera frora the tyranny and avarice of their governors, or the iU consequences of their own licentiousness ; that they should not, by growing into an unbounded liberty, forget that they are subjects, or lying under base servitude, have no reason to think themselves British subjects." This is aU that colonies, according to the present and best ideas of them, can or ought to be. The second form in use was the proprietary. It was not then difficult for a person who had interest at court to obtain large tracts of land not inferior in extent to many kingdoms, and to be invested with a power over them very little less than regal, to govem by what laws, and to form what sort of constitution he pleased. A de pendence upon the Crown of England was shown 296 THE ENGLISH only by the payment of an Indian arrow, a few skins, or some other trifling acknowledgment of the same nature. In these the lords of the soU, having derived from the sarae source the regal rights that Counts Palatine enjoyed, stood in the place of the King, who possessed within their limits neither the means of effectually executing what the supreme legislature had enacted, nor the undefined authority which superintendence may claira. Of these, by far the raost iraportant were Maryland and Pennsylvania. In the former the constitution consisted of a Governor and CouncU appointed by the proprietors, and an assembly elected by the people. The reservations of the Crown amounted only to a negative on the nomination of the Governor, the appointment of the officers of the customs, and their independence from local control. In Pennsylvania the pro prietary was under the same restrictions that limited that of Maryland, but was more restrained by the people, for their legislature had but two parts, the assembly of the delegates and the Governor. The latter wanting the great influence which the council gave in other places, found himself engaged in a very unequal contest when ever his sentiraents differed frora those of the House. In the royal provinces of Virginia, New York and New Harapshire, the Governor, the Council IN AMERICA. 297 and the Delegates forraed a miniature of the King, the Lords and the Comraons, The Governor had the honour of representing the body poUtic of the King ; the members ofthe Upper House awkwardly discharged the twofold duty of the peers by acting as a sort of pri-vy councU, and as senators in the making of laws. The delegates engaged the submission of the people to what aU had assented, since they were chosen by themselves. As the House of Asserably was the guardian of the privUeges of the subject, the councU was con stituted chiefly to preserve the prerogative of the Crown, and to secure the dependence of the colony, and the more effectually to answer these ends, they were appointed during pleasure only. When any biU passed the two houses, it carae before the Governor, who declared or withheld his assent as he thought proper. If approved by hira, it then acquired the force of a law, although stUl liable at any period -within three years to be annulled by the royal veto. The local legislature, whether of the charter, the proprietary or the royal govern ment, had but little sirailarlty to the parliaraent, because the one was raerely that of a district, the other of an empire. The former was, therefore, pro-vincial and subordinate; the latter was universal and sovereign. Such were the forms of Government that then prevaUed, and the result was, pure democracy in O 3 298 THE ENGLISH the Charter Governments. There was but a shadow of a shade of royalty in the proprietary provinces in the person of a Governor who repre sented, but disobeyed the palatine, who himself acknowledged the supreme rank, but disowned the authority of the King. Royal Governments were distinguished for turbulence and disaffection. In aU of thera a refractory people ruled, overawed or bribed the needy representative of royalty, whose sUence they knew how to secure, as he was dependent on their bounty for his support, and whose reraoval they could always obtain by loud and hoUow professions of loyalty, accorapanled by protestations, that he alone was the cause of their distractions. The exemption from aU control enjoyed by the people of New England at once excited the envy, the admiration, and the disobedience of the other colonists, while the democratic opinions of her sectarian population, now fast extending them selves into the other parts of the continent, effected a rapid change in the sentiments of the provin cials. Virginia, which had been originaUy settled by members of the Church of England, and sub sequently peopled by the CavaUers, had ever been distinguished for its loyalty. It had been di-vided Into parishes at an early period, and supported a regular ministry. By the law of the land there was to be a room or house in every plantation IN AMERICA. 299 " for the worship of God, sequestered and set apart for that purpose, and not to be for any temporal use whatever : also a place of burial." Absence frora pubUc worship "without aUowable excuse" was punishable by the forfeiture of a pound of tobacco, or fifty pounds if the neglect was con tinued for a raonth. The celebration of divine service was to be conforraable to the Church of England. No rainister was to be absent frora his parish raore than two months, under pain of losing half his salary, or the whole of it, together with his cure, if his non-residence extended to four raonths. He who disparaged a clergy raan with out proof was to be fined five hundred pounds of tobacco, and to beg his pardon publicly before the whole congregation. Their salaries were to be paid out of the first gathered and best tobacco and com, and no man was to dispose of his crops before paying his dues, under a penalty equal to the fuU amount of his tax. It was not then known that a Bishop should be the first, and not the last to land on the scene of missionary labour; and the clergy, often badly selected, always poorly paid, and far removed from ecclesiastical control, were gradually overcome by the intrigues and misrepresentations of non-con formity, by the want of proper protection from the home governraent, and the growing licentiousness of a people, whom the cUraate, the bounty of 300 THE ENGLISH nature, and the facility of acquiring wealth, in cUned or seduced into indulgence. Amid aU the temptations as well as the difficulties of their situation, the long struggles the inhabitants made against the spread of deraocracy, and the warm attachment they evinced to their King, and the institutions of the mother country clearly prove how loyal and dutiful is the teaching of the estab lishment, how iraportant it is to further her ex tension, and assist in the endowraent of her parish churches, not only in Araerica, but in aU the British possessions abroad. At a stiU more recent period, it was a most consolatory fact, that in the late rebellion in Canada, there were no Churchmen among the traitors who have been so mercifully compensated for the inconvenience they suffered by imprisonraent or exUe. Neglected as the clergy were in Virginia, and unraindful as they themselves sometiraes were of their duty, their labours were not without their effect. Spotswood, writing to the Bishop of London, says : " I wUl do justice to this country : I have observed here less swearing and profane ness, less drunkenness and debauchery, less un charitable feuds and animosities, and less knaveries and vUlanies, than in any part of the world where my lot has been." But at the same time he remarked and lamented the growth of repubUcan principles : " The incUnations of the countrj^," he IN AMERICA. 301 said, " are rendered mysterious by a new and unaccountable humour, which had obtained in several counties, of excluding the gentlemen frora being burgesses, and choosing only persons of mean figure and character." The people of Pennsylvania, a mixed race of Germans, Swedes, Dutch, and English adventurers, had no innate sense of loyalty, and no comraon feeUng of religious attachraent to the church of the raother country. Calvinists, Lutherans, Minists, Mora-vians, Independents, Anabaptists, Socinians, Dumplers, and Churchmen lived In singular har- raony together, because the wants of nature left them but little time for the indulgence of theo logical discussions ; but they all, with the exception of the last, agreed in the opinion that occupancy gave a title to land, and that a laborious popula tion had a better right to the soU than a speculating proprietary. The Quakers, who boasted of then- peaceful disposition and habits of submission, though not turbulent, became troublesome sub jects by their passive resistance to all measures that they disapproved of, and impeded the machi nery of government by refusing to aid in its defence, or contribute to its support. Maryland, originaUy settled by Papists, regarded the Revolution with dread, and had more sympathy with Rorae than England, a feeling not a Uttle increased by the contagious disloyalty, as well as 302 THE ENGLISH the unjust and ungrateful persecution, she expe rienced frora the Protestant sectaries, whora she had received and tolerated within her limits. With regard to both these pro-vinces, as weU as Carolina, the Lords of the Comraittee of Colonies represented to the King, that " the present circum stances and relation they stand in to the govern ment of England is a matter worthy of the consideration of Parliaraent, for bringing these proprietaries and dominions under a nearer de pendence on the Crown, as his Majesty's revenue in the plantations is very much concerned herein." New York, distracted by the contentions of two parties for supremacy, which England could neither compose nor redress, partook of the general conta gion. The CouncU reported to the Lords of the Comraittee of Colonies, in July, 1691, " that New England had poisoned those Western parts, formerly signal for loyal attachraent, with her seditious and anti-raonarchical principles ;" while Grahame, the Attorney-General, inforraed thera that "the principles of loyalty and good affection to the Crown, which were inherent to the people of New York, are now extinguished." The contagion soon overspread the remaining colonies, because "pre disposition of habit naturaUy attracts infection." Guarry, whose office of Surveyor-General of the Customs enabled him to know the genuine prin- IN AMERICA. 303 ciples and practice of every province, represented officiaUy to the Board of Trade, " that this malig nant humour is not confined to Virginia, formerly the most reraarkable for loyalty, but is universaUy diffused." Very shortly after this period, so rapid had been the spread of these anti-monarchical opuiions, that the Governor -writes from New York: "Now the mask is thrown off. The delegates have caUed in question the CouncU's share in the legislature, trumped up an inherent right, declared the powers granted by letters patent to be against law, and have but one short step to make towards what I ara unwilUng to name. The Assemblies claiming aU the privUeges of a House of Commons, and stretching them even beyond what they were ever imagined to be in England, should the coun ciUors by the same rule lay claim to the rights of a House of Peers, here is a body co-ordinate with, claiming equal powers, and consequently independent of, the great council , of the realm ; yet this is the plan of governraent they aU aim at, and make no scmple to own. But as national and sovereign empire is to be exercised by them that have the balance of dominion in the nation, so provincial or dependent empire is not to be exercised by them ¦ that have the balance of dorai nion in the pro-vince, because that would bring the Government, from being subordinate, to be national and independent." 304 THE ENGLISH As no consistent or weU-digested plan was pre pared to remedy these evUs, recourse was had to expostulation, to issuing peremptory orders to governors, and to threats of invoking parUamentary interposition. These measures only aggravated the evUs they were intended to repress, for commands and menaces were alike disregarded where it was weU known there was no power whatever to enforce them ; and the authority that was at first evaded or disobeyed, at last became everywhere the subject of ridicule or contempt. IN AMERICA, 305 CHAPTER VI. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE CHARTER. Ofiice, duties, and modes of appointment of the Charter Governors — Court of Assistants — Origin and growth of the House of Delegates — Jealousy of the people as to power of Governor and Magistrates — Code of laws described — Specimens of the sentences of the courts — Perfect equality secured by their laws and institutions — Account of townships and town meetings — Counties, towns, and General Court present a miniature of a great Republic — Union of the colonies, the foundation of the federal union of the States — General system of popular education prepares the people for self-government. We have seen in the foregoing chapters, that in cI-vU and ecclesiastical matters, Massachusetts, and the other adjoining colonies, known as New England, asserted and raaintained total indepen dence. An attentive consideration of these institu tions leads us to the conclusion that they had ever 306 THE ENGLISH in view the project of adhering as nearly as possible to a deraocratic forra of government. From the moraent of their landing in Araerica, and taking possession of the country, though they preserved a friendly intercourse with England, the colonists extinguished all obedience, and severed aU poUtical connection with it. They set up a Govern ment of their own, based on popular election, and, as freemen under the Charter, claimed and enjoyed the right of modeUing their constitution in their own way, and appointing their own officers, to exercise for a Umited period executive and legisla tive functions. Their republicanism was not theo retical, but practical; not having a predominant character of self-government, but possessing no other ingredient but the wUl of the people. Jealous of gubernatorial Influence, they delegated as smaU a share of authority to the Governor as possible, who was chosen annuaUy, and was Uttle more than chairraan of the assistants. He had the power of convening the Legislature upon urgent occasions ; but this he only enjoyed in coramon with the Deputy- Governor, and the majority of the councUlors, either of whora could coraraand their attendance if he neglected, or did not see fit to do so. He voted with the assistants, but merely as a member of the Court, his opinion having no more weight necessarUy attached to it than that of another Individual, unless there was an equal divi- IN AMERICA. 307 sion, which entitled him to a casting vote ; but he could not adjourn, prorogue, or dissolve them, acts which were reserved for the majority only. He issued commissions to civU and mUitary offi cers ; but the forraer were appointed by the Court, and the latter generaUy elected by their companies or regiments. The oldest dispute in the colony related to the grounds and limits of the Governor's authority. At Boston, on occasions of dividing the tow'n lands, " men of the inferior sort were chosen." The doctrine of rotation was asserted, even to the neglect of Winthrop, " lest there should be a Governor for life." When one of the elders pro posed that the office should be held in that raan ner, the deputies iraraediately resolved that no magistrate of any kind should be elected for more than a year. The justices once assembUng, in a sort of aristocratic caucus, nominated several per sons for the choice of the people, but they took care to neglect every one of the candidates thus proposed. On the other hand, when one of the rainisters attempted to dissuade the freemen from selecting certain persons who were obnoxious to the clergy, they disliked the interference of the adviser, more than they approved of the doctrine of frequent change, and returned thera alraost without an exception.* So deeply rooted and * Bancroft. Winthrop. 308 THE ENGLISH widely spread was the prejudice against a life tenure, that it may be said to have prevaUed throughout New England. Connecticut, by a dis tinct declaratory clause in its fiindaraental consti tutions, carefuUy guarded against any such result. The advantage that deraocracy gains by making provision for public officers annuaUy, and not attaching fixed salaries to then- situations, was very early perceived. In a contested election for Governor, in the year 1 64 1 , Mr. BeUInghara was chosen over his rival Winthrop, by a raajority of six votes. The result was not agreeable to the General Court; and the first order they raade, after proceeding to business, was to repeal a standing law, aUowing him a yearly salary of £100. This precedent they afterwards adopted, as we shaU presently see, -with great success in embarrass ing aU the subsequent representatives of royalty, untU the actual breaking out of hostUities. The Assistants or CouncUlors were annuaUy chosen by the whole body of freemen in the colony. They constituted, with the Governor, at the first settlement, the whole, and subsequently one of the two branches of the Legislature, and were also the Supreme Court in aU ci-vU and criminal causes, except in those instances in which an appeal was aUowed to the General Asserably. When the Lower House came into existence, the raerabers chose the Speaker, and proceeded to IN AMERICA. 309 business, not only -without presenting him to the Governor for his approbation, but without even acquainting him with the result of their election, or the narae of the person whora they had selected. In the first little repubUc, everything was based, as far as the freemen were concerned, on general and often recurring elections. It was a fresh and young shoot frora the tree of liberty, and grew with aU the -vigour of youth into wUd luxuriance, that defied alike the pruning knife or the training hand of cautious experience, until it overran the whole country. By a natural consequence of causes, the operation of which was not then at aU understood, the Upper House became more dependent on the popular voice than the lower branch, inasmuch as it was chosen by the freemen of the whole commonwealth, and the other by those resident in the several districts. The As sistants, therefore, had a larger constituency to concUiate and represent, and were consequently more under observation, and raore exposed in the conflicts of party, to the ingratitude of unstable friends, or the rancour of inflamed opponents. As sanctity of manners and soundness of doctrine were strong recommendations to popular favour, they became every day more expert in the language of cant, and more obsequious to their partizans the ministers, untU at last they were unable to 310 THE ENGLISH stem the torrent of fanaticism, whose channels they had so industriously widened and deepened themselves. Stripes, confiscations, banishment, and death, were UberaUy awarded to heresy, to gratify the ignorant zeal of the mass, and the vindictive malice of the clergy, who considered dissent from their opinions as far more criminal than rape, burglary, or highway robbery — the one being punishable, if persisted in, with death ; and the others entitled to those lesser penalties that were awarded to offences not capital. Men who faU in obedience themselves, generaUy compensate for the defect by extorting it from others. A stubborn, unyielding temper is the cause of these pectdiarities. While the Puritans of New England made the world ring -with their accusations against the tyranny of Laud, they did not disdain to make use of the instruments of despots, to enforce conformity to their own -views. For this purpose, they passed a law on the sub ject of torture, which, though nominaUy pro hibiting, authorises its application, and regulates its use. It begins by forbidding recourse to be had to it generaUy, but excepts any case in which the criminal is first fuUy convicted by clear and sufficient evidence ; after which, if it be apparent, from the nature of the case, that there are con federates with him, he may be tortured; yet not with such instruments as are barbarous and inhuman. IN AMERICA, 311 The rigour of justice extended itself as weU to the protection of the rights of property as to the moral habits of the people. A reraarkable in stance of this is shown in the power given to creditors over the persons of their debtors. The law adraitted of a freeraan's being sold for ser vice to discharge his UabUities, though it would not aUow of the sacrifice of his time by being kept in prison, unless sorae estate was concealed. It was owing to a jealousy of raagisterial author ity that a compilation of the laws was sought for with avidity by the people. They were disin clined to invest the justices with any discretionary power \yhatever, in apportioning punishments to the circumstances of each particular case, and required an exact penalty to be attached to every offence, preferring to lose the benefit of mitigation to Incurring the dangers of arbitrary decisions. In order to appease the raurraurs of dissatisfac tion, the work was undertaken in earnest, and after fourteen years of deliberation of coraraittees formed of magistrates, ministers and elders, a code was produced and ratified by the Legislature. These laws, ninety-eight in number, were named " fun damentals," or " body of liberties." This curious compilation comraences with a general statement of the rights of the inhabitants in seventeen articles, of which several may now be found em bodied In the Constitution of the Great RepubUc, 312 THE ENGLISH and the States BUls of Rights. Next foUow " rights, rules and liberties in judicial matters," forty-one In number; "liberties concerning freeraen," twenty in all, and chiefly referring to the civil poUty of the colony. Two are devoted to the liberties of woraen. Liberties of chUdren, and of servants, are each contained In four articles. Liberties of foreigners and strangers occupy three additional ones, and the " brute creation" is protected by two. Capital laws inflict the punishraent of death on twelve offences, and the whole concludes with an account of the liberties the Lord has given His churches. It is a most extraordinary production, and wIU well repay the labour of perusing. That it was unwIUingly compiled and pubUshed is well known ; but this compulsory task was so adroitly per formed, that most clauses contain some qualifica tions to render them inoperative. Thus every church raay choose its minister, provided he be able, pious and orthodox. Private meetings are aUowed to aU sorts of Christian people, " if they be without offence as for number, tirae, place, and other circurastances." " There shall be no cap tivity among us," but the slave-trade Is estabUshed by the exception, unless it be captives taken In just wars, those who seU themselves, or such as are sold to us. Liberty and hospitaUty is granted to aU foreigners who profess the true Christian IN AMERICA. 313 religion. No inhabitants to be corapeUed to go beyond the jurisdiction in any offensive, but only in vindictive and defensive wars, and so on.* It contains not the raost distant aUusion to the laws of England, since it was corapUed chiefly from the Jewish system, which was adopted because it had * Apparel was regulated by these rigid magistrates as well as morals. In the year 1649 the following circular was sent through the country by the magistrates : " Foras much as the wearing of long hair, after the manner of the Russians (Cavaliers ?) and barbarous Indians, has begun to invade New England, contrary to the rule of God's word, which says it is a shame for a man to wear long hair, as also the commendable custom generally of all the godly of our nation, until within this few years. We, the magis trates who have subscribed this paper (for the showing of our own innocency in this behalf) do declare and manifest our dislike and detestation against the wearing of such long hair, as against a thing uncivil and unmanly, whereby men do deforme themselves and offend sober and modest men, and doe corrupt good manners. We doe therefore earnestly entreat all the elders of this jurisdiction, as often as they shall see cause, to manifest their zeal against it in their pubhc administrations, and to take care that the members of their respective churches be not defiled there with ; that so such as shall prove obstinate, and will not reform themselves, may have got God and man to witness against them. " Jo. Endicott, Governor. "Thos. Dudley, Deputy-Governor. " And others. "The 3rd month, 6th day, 1649." VOL. I. P 314 THE ENGLISH been given to an elect people; and the common law and statutes of their fathers were no more regarded in Massachusetts than in Germany or France, as they were deemed inapplicable to their condition. . They declined to administer justice in the name of the King, because they did not Uke the appellation nor admit his jurisdiction, but preferred to use the raore appropriate term of " the estab lished authority," since they affected the state of a Commonwealth.* These ordinances were, how- * Whilst they were without a code or body of laws, their sentences seem to have been adapted to the circum stances of a large family of children and servants, as will appear from the following, which, from amongst many others of the same sort, I have extracted from the public records : "John Blastowe, for stealing four baskets of corn from the Indians, is ordered to return them eight baskets, to be fined five pounds, and hereafter to be called by the name of Josiah, instead of Mr., as formerly." " Sergeant Perkins is ordered to carry forty turfs to the fort for being drunk." " Captain Lovell to be admonished to take heed of light carriage." " Thomas Petit for suspicion of slander, idleness, and stubbornness, to be severely whipped and kept in hold." " Catherine, the wife of Richard Cornish, found suspicious of incontinency, seriously admonished to take heed." — Hutchinson, vol. i, p. 436. The Connecticut laws, which were framed and executed by people vastly inferior in abihty and education to those of Massachusetts, are conspicuous for their harshness as well as their absurdity : " No. 1 7. No one shall rmi of a Sabbath-day, or walk in IN AMERICA. 315 ever, of their own making as -v\'eU as their Con stitution, and both were the acts of the people. They held the maxim Vox populi, vox Dei to be equally true in poUtics and reUgion. Public opinion in a free country, when rightly understood, exercises a most salutary and necessary influence over the officers of govemment ; but if it be so closely applied as to absorb aU independence, it ceases to be a check and degenerates into tyranny. It does not limit and circumscribe authority by constitutional guards, it annihilates it. EquaUty of condition was secured by a law regulating the descent and distribution of the real and personal property of intestates. The exclusive claim of any one heir was not listened to, but an equal division was made araong aU, reserving only to the eldest son a double portion, to reward hira for his labour and assistance in acquiring the estate, and to enable him to stand in loco parentis to the family when deprived of its natural guardian. his garden or elsewhere, except reverently to and from church. "No. 18. No one shall travel, cook victuals, make beds, sweep houses, cut hair, or shave on the Sabbath-day. " No. 19. No husband shall kiss his -wife, and no mother shall kiss her child upon the Sabbath-day. "No. 31. No one shall read Common Prayer, keep Christmas or Saints' days, make mince pies, dance, or play on any instrument of music, except the drum, the trumpet, and the Jews' harp." P 2 316 THE ENGLISH This fundamental law in a country where people generaUy marry early and have numerous chUdren, effectuaUy destroys the natural tendenc}' of pro perty to accuraulate in the hands of a few. Llere- ditary clairas were also rejected, their public officers being all annuaUy chosen from the body of free men without regard to distinctions. Old associa tions and early prejudices in favour of rank and fortune, though theoreticaUy disclaimed, were not inoperative at first in the choice of the Governor and Assistants ; but they graduaUy gave way to the principles they had laid down for themselves, and in tirae, station or family connections were found to be aristocratical barriers to public favour. At an early date perfect equality was aimed at. Not m.ore than half a dozen gentlemen took the title of Esquire, nor raore than four or five out of a hundred freemen that of Mr., although they were, in general, raen of substance. Goodman and Goodwife were the coramon appeUation. Destroying the distinctions of rank, conferring equal rights on aU the freemen, and sanctioning a distribution of real estates among the chUdren of intestates, were the foundation and support of the first, as they now are of the second, American Republic. Their mUitia service, though regulated by law, was enforced by officers chosen by the Companies, and placed under the coraraand of a General IN AMERICA. 317 nominated by the freemen, but approved and ap pointed by the Court. The principle of self-government was clairaed and exercised by the inhabitants of townships, sub divisions of counties corresponding in some re spects to English parishes. These little local coraraunities possessed certain corporate rights. The people asserabled together, and voted suras of raoney to pro-vide for the poor, the support of reUgion, the erection of public buUdings, the repair of highways, the maintenance of police, and siraUar objects; and also for the purpose of electing assessors, coUectors, justices, and select men. The duty of these last officers was to see the law of the land observed, and especiaUy to enforce the orders of the people in all matters relating to the good government and internal management of the township. They were also charged with the direction of the education of the rising generation, the support of the ministers, and the mode of apportioning and coUecting the sum ordered by the General Court to be raised within their jurisdic tion for State purposes.* A law, passed at a very early date (about 1636), gave a pecuUar character to these townships. It prohibited the erection of dweUing-houses in any new town at a greater distance than half a mile * See Wonder Working Providence, Sion's Saviour, p. 191. 318 THE ENGLISH frora the church. Lands, in consequence, were seldora granted to indi-viduals, but only to com panies, associated together for settUng a plantation. The New England rural districts were thus made viUages, differing in that respect frora those of Virginia, whence resulted a concentrated population. This arrangeraent was originaUy made for the religious organization of the settlers ; but as it produced combination, it effected in the end most iraportant political as weU as social results. The town meeting was a place where raatters were publicly discussed, whether they related to the votes and conduct of representatives in the General Court, or were only of parochial interest. They were norraal schools for poUticians, where aspirants for popularity raUed against the salaries and extravagancies of the Coraraonwealth, de- clairaed on the rights and prhileges of freeraen, extoUed the value and importance of the Charter, drew frightful pictures of the profligacy of princes, and their wicked attempts to enslave the people, and by their pompous orations encouraged their countrymen to prefer death to dependence. Ques tions of privilege, that occasionaUy arose between the different branches of the legislature, were here most learnedly discussed, as weU as matters of doctrine and discipline, that sometimes disturbed the Churches. Points that have puzzled di-vines and phUosophers, were disposed of with great ease IN AMERICA. 319 and fluency, and the appUcabUity of texts of Scrip ture to every imaginable case most clearly demon strated.* The expediency of uniting with the other colonies, and the plans of attack and defence in the French and Indian wars, being of more Interest, were treated -with less cant, and more knowledge and discretion. In short, in those little democratic assembUes were trained the raen, who were after wards to maintain their rights in the General Court. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, therefore, was a miniature of the great confederation. The General Government and Suprerae Judicial Estab- llshraent, having jurisdiction over the whole coun try, centered at Boston, as those of the United States now do at Washington.! Every township * The General Court being much agitated on the ques tion of the right of veto in the Assistants, called upon Mr. Cotton, the great divine of the day, to preach on the subject. He chose the following most pertinent text (2 Hag. II, 4) : " Yet now he strong, O Zerubbabel, said the Lord ; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech the High Priest ; and be strong, all ye people of the land, and work : for I am with you." — Hub. Hist, of New England. f Under pretence of choosing a geographical centre for Congress, American statesmen very poorly provided against the danger of being overawed or even influenced by the mob of a large city. Washington is little more than a small town, composed of public buildings and hotels — a simple arrangement that would strip Paris of its variety and insecurity. 320 THE ENGLISH as we have seen, was, to a certain extent, for aU internal matters, independent, made bye-laws for its own inhabitants, regulated its own fiscal and territorial affairs, and was represented in the State legislature at the capital. Massachusetts was, in fact, an union of many little Sovereign Coraraunities, with a Federal Governraent, com posed of district delegates, -with the power of enacting laws for aU, in those raatters in which the co-operation of aU was necessary, and without which authority could neither be respected nor maintained. The suprerae power of the Coraraon wealth, whether for defence, revenue, or legislation, was indispensable for the welfare, if not for the ex istence, of the state. The uncontroUed manage ment of their local affairs was not less essential to the freedora and the independence of the town ships. It was a spirited and able sketch, which the masterly hand of raodern politicians have fUled up, without destroying the likeness, and its features are aU discernible in the inimitable Constitution of the United States. The resemblance is most striking in the Confederation entered into in 1643, already described under the designation — " The United Colonies of New England," consisting of delegates frora Massachusetts, Plyraouth, Con necticut, and Newhaven, the prototype of the great Araerican Legislature of the present day. IN AMERICA. 321 It suggested the idea of all those Conventions, whether pro-vincial or continental, that preceded the war of independence, as weU as the Congress. It even contained sorae articles, now to be found in the American Constitution; namely, the deli very of runaway slaves and fugitives, and the pro- -vision that judgments of courts of law and pro bate of wills in each colony, should have full force and effect in aU the others. It carefuUy guarded the separate privUeges of each contracting pro vince; and thus the doctrine of state rights "was first broached and acted upon two hundred years ago. But the first settlers of Massachusetts laid the basis of their freedom on a broader, better, and surer foundation, than any of those institutions to which I have referred — on a well-regulated, weU- proportioned, and general education. Montes quieu, in his " Spirit of the Laws,"* says that the principle of a republic is " -virtue," which he defined poUticaUy, to be "respect for the laws, and a love for our country." In this sense, -virtue is found nowhere so strong as in the United States. The frightful tales related by traveUers, of lynching and sumraary justice inflicted by excited mobs, are occurrences peculiar to terri tories bordering on civiUzation. In aU ages, and * Spirit of Laws, Vol. i. Book 4, Chap. 5. p 3 322 THE ENGLISH in aU countries, barbarians and outlaws resort to fastnesses, or dweU on the confines of the desert, in the inaccessible depths of the wUderness. In America, these regions are the resort of their own criminals, and the refuse of Europe ; but it would be the height of prejudice, or injustice, not to give the population at large the credit they deserve, for respect for the laws.* They are a sensible and practical people, and feel that the safety and dura bUity of their institutions depend upon this sub missive obedience. They are aware that they are their own laws, enacted by themselves, and that if they disappoint their expectation, they have a better reraedy in repealing, than in violating thera. They know instinctively, what that great phUo sopher had discovered by reasoning and research, that, in a Republican Governraent, the whole power of education is required. Most nobly has this duty been discharged. Scarcely had the ground in the neighbourhood of Boston been cleared, when the General Court founded a coUege, which they afterwards caUed * Something very like Lynching was attempted in London lately, at Barclay's brewery, on Marshal Haynau ; and although hundreds were concerned in it, the Government were unable or unwilling to bring the offenders to justice. It is not the fashion in England to hang traitors. Loyalty is becoming a rare offence, and excites the irrepressible ire of the " most enlightened citizens" of the greatest city in Europe. IN AMERICA. 323 Harvard, In token of gratitude to a clergyman of that narae, who bequeathed a considerable sura of raoney to it. The town of Newtown in which it was situated, was denominated Cambridge, the name of the alma mater of many of the principal people in the colony. In this respect, they showed a far greater knowledge of the world, and of the proper course of education, than the Inhabitants of the present British colonies. They first established an university, and then educated downwards to the coramon schools, as auxUiary serainaries, which were thus supplied with corapetent teachers ; while duly qualified professional raen and legislators, were simultaneously provided for the state. In Canada, there is an unfriendly feeling towards these institutions, which people, who play upon popular prejudice or ignorance, endeavour to foster, by representing them as engrossed by the sons of the rich, who are able to pay the expense of their own instruction, without assistance from the pubhc treasury; and that all that is thus bestowed, is so much withdrawn from the raore deserving but untrained chUdren of the poor. Six years after the arrival of Winthrop, the General Court voted a sum, equal to a year's rate of the whole colony, towards the erection of this coUege. The infant institution was a favourite. Connecticut and Plymouth, and the towns in the east, contributed little offerings to proraote its 324 THE ENGLISH success. The gift of the rent of a ferry was a proof of the care of the State ; and once at least, every famUy in each of the colonies gave to the college at Cambridge twelve-pence, or a peck of corn, or its value in unadulterated warapumpeag,* whUe the raagistrates and wealthier raen were pro fuse in their liberality. The coUege, in return, exerted a powerful influence in forming the early character of the country. As soon as this institu tion was fairly in operation, provision was made, by the aUotraent of land, local assessraent, and otherwise, for eleraentary schools ; " it being one chief project of that old deluder Satan," says the preamble to this venerable law, " to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times keeping them in an unknown tongue ; so in these latter times, by persuading men from the use of * Wampum was considered as the Indian money, one fathom was worth five shillings. Their white money they called wampum, which signified white ; their black suckaw- hock sulci, signifying black. A traveller thus describes it : " In my way I had opportunity of seeing the method of making wampum. It is made of clam-shell, containing within two colours, purple and white, and in form not unlike a thick oyster-shell. The process 'of manufacturing it is very simple. It is just clipped to a proper size, which is of a small oblong parallelopiped, then dulled, and after wards ground to a round smooth surface and polished. The purple wampum is much more valuable than the white, a very small part of the shell being that colour." — Thatcher's History of Plymouth, IN AMERICA. 325 tongues, so that at least the tme sense and mean ing of the original might be clouded with false glosses of saint-seeming deceivers, and that learning may not be buried in the graves of our fathers." It was ordered in all the Puritan colonies, " that every township, after the Lord had Increased them to the nuraber of fifty householders, shall appoint one to teach aU chUdren to -write and read ; and where any town shaU increase to one hundred faraUies, they shaU set up a grammar-school, the masters thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the University." The joint operations of both gave a pre-eminence to the people of Massachusetts, which they raaintain to this day. At a later period, this laudable exaraple was foUowed in almost every part of the country, now caUed the United States ; and in no respect is their wisdom more conspicuous than in thus fol io-wing the example of their forefathers. Here it raay be both convenient and useful to pause, and corapare the Constitution of the first New England Republics, and that of the great Federal Government of the present day. The introduction of democracy was the work of the Puritans. It went infinitely further than that of the revolutionists. The latter was Conservative. The admirable Constitution of the United States is less simple in its structure, but safer in its ope ration; less deraocratic in its forra, but confers 326 THE ENGLISH and ensures more freedom, and is better provided -with appropriate checks to guard the independence of the people, and protect it from its own excess. It echoes pubUc sentiment, but the tone is subdued and softened by repetition. The unmistakeable voice of the people is heard; but the medium through which it passes, mitigates its overpowering sound, and it is so modified that it can be distin guished with ease, and listened to with safety. The statesraen who drew up that raasterpiece of wisdom, were, however, greatly Indebted to their ancestors, for exhibiting to thera their imperfect experiment in self-government, for aU or the greater part of their institutions may be traced to those of the first settlers. Universal suffrage, annual Par liaments, and yearly Governors, are more democra- tical than the practical, rational, and enlightened descendants of the New EngUsh thought conducive to the deliberative character of Congress, or com patible with the peace and harmony of the people. The first idea of a Congress was suggested, as we have seen, by the Confederation of the united colonies of New England, which was in existence for about forty years. It consisted of delegates from the associated provinces, forraed but one asserably, and was presided over by one of their nuraber, chosen by theraselves. With the records of this body before them, and a Legislature in the old Puritan plantations, consisting of a Governor, IN AMERICA. 327 Assistants, or Second House, and an Asserably, aU chosen annuaUy, it is natural that they should adopt one or the other as their model. Perceiving the defects of each, they blended the best parts of both, and raade such improvements as were neces sary. It was for the wisdom of these additions, not the invention, that they are entitled to the gratitude of their countrymen, and the adrairation of raankind. The Governor, when elective In the old colonies, was chosen directly by the people. The framers of the Constitution adopted the principle of popular choice ; but to avoid danger, vested it in electors chosen by the inhabitants, under the direction of each State. A very wise and salutary raeasure. This body is again secured against cormption by being chosen only within thirty-four days of the election. In the old provinces, the Governors were annual officers, but they had no foreign policy to pursue, and their territorial jurisdiction was sraaU. To preserve the principle of fresh appeals to the people, and at the sarae tirae insure con sistency in the councils of the nation, the Presi dent's period of service was extended to four years. In New England, the Governors were often constrained to yield to the House of Delegates, because they had the power to give, increase, diramish, or withhold then- salary. The new 328 THE ENGLISH Constitution provides that he shall receive a stated sum, that can be neither augmented nor reduced during his term of office. To make him a consti tuent branch of the Legislature, and give him a voice equaUy potential with either or both of the other two Chambers, was not only incompatible with their ideas of equality, but did not appear to be deraanded by any indispensable necessity. It was obvious, however, that he ought to possess the means of defending the executive department, as weU as the just balance of the Constitution against usurpation. He was therefore invested with a qualified negative. When a bill has passed both Houses, that he disapproves of, he returns it, with his objections, to the Chamber in which It originated. If both Houses, after reconsideration, adhere to their bUl, by a vote in each, of two- thirds of its members, it then becomes law, the quaUfied veto notwithstanding. In the old compact of " Confederation of the United Colonies," under the first Republics of New England, we have seen that there was but one chamber, as now subsists in France. The experience of mankind* has unequivocaUy con demned the practice of leaving aU legislation in the hands of any one unchecked body of raen. The hasty violence and constant instability of their * See Adams's Defence of the American Constitution, vol. Ill, p. 502. Also Kent's Commentaries. IN AMERICA. 329 proceedings have ever shown that they are unsafe depositories of power. Warned by the failures of the Italian Republics, which were aU thus con stituted, and having before them the exaraple of the Royal Provincial Governraents, in which there were two branches, they very wisely raade Congress to consist of two charabers, the Senate and House of Representatives. Based on popular election, and adhering as closely as possible to the principle that the people were the source of aU power, the Senate was so constructed as not to be a mere dupUcate of the lower chamber. It consists of two raerabers from each state, chosen, not by the people at large, but by the legislature for six years, and, by an admirable arrangeraent, one third vacate their seats bienniaUy, by which means no very violent or sudden change can take place, and a large number of experienced men are always retained, well versed in the poUcy of the country, and the forms of the House. The conduct, dignity, knowledge, and authority of the Senate are the best evidence of the skill of those who made the salutary regulations that have produced this result. The power to make treaties is lodged jointly with the President and the House. Better coun cUlors it would be impossible to select for him. They possess the advantage of being easUy assembled, and governed by steady, systematic 330 THE ENGLISH views, feel a due sense of national character, and can act with promptitude and firmness. In the old RepubUc aU officers were elective. In an immense country like the United States, it was obvious that to have recourse to the whole people on every occasion of a vacancy, if not im practicable, would be attended with ruinous delay, and greatly embarrass public business. The difficulty lay in knowing to whom to give this vast patronage. To place it in the hands of the President alone, would necessarUy give him the means of corruption ; to entrust it to the Senate, would render him contemptible, as he could have no voice in the selection of those officers, for the performance of whose duties, as the head of the executive, he was responsible. They obviated both objections, by giving him the sole power of noraination, and the right of approval or rejection to the Senate. Noraination is, for aU practical purposes, equivalent to appointraent ; but the revision to which it is subject imposes on the President the necessity of avoiding favouritism, intrigue, and a careless use of patronage. In no case, perhaps, is the advantage of this system more perceptible than in the judiciary of the United States. It is impossible to conceive a more admirable mode of selecting judges. In England the appointment rests with the minister of the day, and the choice is not always such as IN AMERICA. 331 meets the approbation of the bar or the pubUc. In Canada the general rule used to be, cceteris paribus, that the senior member of the profession was held to possess the best claim to preferment. Even that mode is open to serious objections, but the present practice is beyond comparison the worst to be found in any country. A seat on the bench is now a poUtical prize, and the dominant party claims it for partizans. None of those high qualifications so essential to the efficient and respectable discharge of judicial duties, neither talent, learning nor integrity are recommendations equal to political services. High and honourable as the office of judge is in England, it is infinitely more so in the great RepubUc. The commission is awarded neither by the personal friendship nor political syrapathy of the President, but by the deUberate choice of that officer and the con currence and approbation of aU the States in the Union, as expressed by the coUective voice of their senators. WeU may that country be proud of its judiciary, when so constmcted ; and the judges of an appointment that rests solely on great abUities, undoubted rectitude of conduct, and universal respect. The House of Representatives is composed of delegates of the several States. In the old Republic the elections were annual; an improve ment has been made in the new by extending the 332 THE ENGLISH terra to two years; a period which the best inforraed men in the country think stIU too short. As this is caUed the popular branch, its members being chosen directly by the people, while the Senate is the result of a double election, and less under their iraraedlate control, it possesses the exclusive right of originating aU bUls for raising revenue, which is the only privUege it enjoys in its legislative character not participated in by the Senate, and even money-bUls can be araended by thera. The two Houses are an entire and perfect check upon each other, and one of them cannot even adjourn, during the session of Congress, for more than three or four days, without the consent of the other, nor to any other place than that in which both shaU be sitting.* It is not within the scope of this work to enter more at large on this subject. It was stated, in an early part of this volume, that repubUcanism in Araerica was not the result of the revolution, , but that it existed there frora its first settlement. The whole of this historical narrative clearly proves that assertion. It was subsequently said, that in its original form it was infinitely raore deraocratic than the present constitution of the United States ; and to Ulustrate that position I have drawn up the foregoing brief coraparison of the leading features * See Kent's Commentaries, vol. i, p. 223. IN AMERICA. 333 of each. In the course of our examination, suc cinct as it necessarUy must be, enough appears to exhibit the delicate skiU, consummate knowledge, enlarged -views, and patriotism of the statesmen who framed the federal constitution. Nothing by any possibUity could be devised more suited to the situation, feeUngs, wants, habits, and preconceived opinions of the people. It has conferred happiness and safety on many miUions : may it ever continue to do so. Esto perpetuo. IN AMERICA. 349 each other. A miracle (which they ridiculed when claimed by Romanists), attested the divine approbation of such institutions. On one occa sion, when they were all assembled, a snake sud denly appeared near the seat occupied by the Elders. Many of them shifted from it, but Mr. Thompson, of Breamtree, " a man of much faith," trod upon its head, and so held it with foot and staff till it was kUled. " This being so remarkable," says Winthrop, " and nothing faU ing but by Divine Pro-vidence, it is out of doubt, the Lord discovered somewhat of his raind in it. The serpent is the Devil, the synod the representative of the Churches of Christ in New England. The Devil had forraerly and lately at tempted their disturbance and dissolution ; but their faith in the seed of the woman, overcame him, and crushed his head." But although both the civil and religious bodies severaUy disclaimed aU control over each other, they soon found it convenient to give and receive mutual assistance. As both belonged to the sarae Church, this reci procal accoraraodation, it was thought, would be attended with little or no danger ; while each In its turn derived additional weight from the inter change of protection. It is not necessary to pursue this subject into detaU. Sufficient has been said to show that 334 THE ENGLISH CHAPTER vn. DEMOCRATIC FORM OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT. ITS EFFECTS ON POLITICAL OPINIONS. Different course pursued by the Church and Dissenters at the Reformation — Difference between Presbyterians, Independents, and Puritans — Three kinds of Puritans — Their doctrines and form of ecclesiastical government — Singular valedictory address of the Puritans to the members of the Church of England — Extraordinary union of Church and State among the former — Cause of present political unity of action between Dissenters and Romanists. While the people on the continent of Europe were engaged in the work of reformation, the Church of England, with equal zeal and more discretion, set herself about the great task of restoration. She had never voluntarily submitted to Rome, nor fuUy admitted her authority over her. She had been pre-viously encroached upon frora tirae to tirae, owing to the imbecUity or IN AMERICA. 335 contentions of her princes, but had never faUed either to resist or protest, to assert her exclusive jurisdiction, or to claim the exercise of her ancient usages. If not anterior to that of Rome, the Anglican Church was at least coeval -with it, being founded, as there is substantial ground for belie-ving, by one of the Apostles. At a very early date, it had its orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, and sub sisted, as independent in its action as it was isolated in position, for a period of nearly six hundred years, before the grasping and aspiring spirit of Rome attempted to seduce or force it into an acknowledgment of her supremacy. At the close of the sixth century, about the year 596, Gregory I. sent Augustine the monk to demand the submission of the EngUsh prelates, who, with their flocks, had gradually been driven westward by the barbarians that had invaded the island ; and as these successful emigrants were heathens, he was at the same tirae instracted to Christianize them, if possible. In the first object of bis mis sion he whoUy faUed, having received a decided refusal from the seven bishops, who assembled in Worcestershire to hear his proposition. In the latter (the conversion of the conquerors) he was more successful, and iramediately assumed juris diction over his proselytes. The Papal power having thus obtained a footing, never afterwards IN AMERICA. 345 land from whence we rise, our deare Mother, and cannot part frora our native countrie, where she speciaUy resideth, without ranch sadness of heart, and many tears in our eyes, ever acknow ledging that such hope and part as we have obtained in the comraon salvation, we have re ceived in her bosome, and suckt it frora her breast. We leave it not, therefore, as loathing that raUk wherewith we were nourished then, but blessing God for the parentage and education, as raerabers of the sarae body, and shaU always rejoice in her good, and unfainedly grieve for any sorrow that shall ever betide her, and whUe we have breath, syncerely desire and indear over the continuance and abundance of her welfare, with the enlarge ment of her bounds in the Kingdom of Christ Jesus. " Be pleased, therefore, Reverend Fathers and Brethren, to helpe forward this worke now in hand, which, if it prosper, you shaU be the more glorious, howsoever your judgment is with the Lord, and your reward with your God. It is an usual and laudable exercise of your charity to recommend to the prayers of your congregation the necessities and straights of your private neighbours. Doe the like for a Church springing out of your own bowels. What we intreat of you, that are the ministers of God, that we crave at the hands of aU the rest of our brethren, that they would at no tirae forget us 346 THE ENGLISH in their private solicitations at the throne of Grace. And so commending you to the Grace «f God in Christ, we shaU ever rest, " Your assured friends and brethren,* " Jo, WiNTHORPE, Gov. " and others. " From Yarmouth, "Aboard the 'Arabella,' "April 7th, 1630." Notwithstanding the affectionate language of this valedictory address, it appears that they knew what raeasures had been adopted by the first portion of the adventurers, under their agent Endicot, for establishing CongregationaUsm at Salem, and were fuUy inforraed of what the in habitants of Plyraouth had done. In one short month after their arrival, they commenced to lay the foundation of a church, as dissimilar as possible frora that to which they had so recently caUed God to witness they were so warmly attached. Sub sequently their principles were formaUy developed and were distinguished by Mr. Cotton, their lead ing divine, at Boston. First. The subject matter of the visible Chm-ch, viz., saints by caUing. Such as are acquainted * Some portion of the address, imploring the prayers of their dear brethren, is omitted. -IN AMERICA. 347 with the principles of religion, and who profess their faith, and the manner how they were brought to the knowledge of God, by faith in Christ, either viva voce, or else by a public declaration thereof, made by the elders, as It has been delivered to them in private, although if such profession be scan- daUzed by an unchristian conversation, it is not to be regarded. Secondly. The constitutive part of a particular -visible Church ought to be a re-stipulation or natural covenantry to walk together in their Christian comraunion, according to the rule of the Gospel. Thirdly. No Church ought to be of a larger extent, or greater number, than may ordi narUy meet together in one place, for the enjoy- iment of all the same numerical ordinances, and celebrating divine worship, nor fewer ordinarily, than may can-y on Church work. Fourthly. That there is no jurisdiction to which particular Churches are or ought to be subject, by way of authoritative censure, nor to any other Church power, extrinsical to such Churches, which they ought to depend upon any other sort of men for the exercise of. By the three first of these fundaraental doc trines voluntary combination was estabUshed as the principle of action ; by the last total independ- ance of the English, or any other ecclesiastical establishment, was secured. When a sufficient number of persons were gathered together, they 348 , THE ENGLISH of their own free -wiU and accord corabined, and forraed a church, and by a raajority of votes elected, and in the same way dismissed their minister. There were regularly two pastors to each congregation; a teacher " to rainister a word of knowledge," and another " to minister a word of wisdom," a distinction which soon terrainated in the appointraent of one only, who was sup ported in sorae places by voluntary offerings, and in others by rates ; which latter was subsequently adopted and finally enforced by law. They were sometiraes designated as " teaching elders" to dis tinguish thera frora " ruUng elders." The latter were, " ancient, godly experienced Christians, of Uon-Uke courage when the sound and wholesorae doctrines declared by pastor or teacher are spoken against by any one." ' There were also deacons,' " plain-dealing men endowed with wisdora from above to raanage the Church treasury." The synods were recognised as merely auxUiary bodies of advice; but were not aUowed to exer cise any authority or jurisdiction over particular churches, nor pronounce censures or enforce dis cipline. They were said to be in their own lan guage, " consultative, decisive and declarative, but not co-active," and the union of lay and church raerabers was thought to be typified by Moses and Aaron meeting on the Mount, and kissing 336 THE ENGLISH ceased its endeavours to enlarge it upon every practicable occasion, or plausible pretence.* To shake off the errors and corruptions of Romanism, and preserve what was sanctioned by the usage of the apostolic age, was a work of great labour, and at the same time great delicacy. The task of the Church, unlike that of the impetuous and headstrong body of innovators who called themselves Protestant Reformers, was not to pull down and reconstruct, but thoroughly to repair and completely restore the ancient edifice in aU its beauty, simpUcity, and proportion. Nobly was this arduous and important duty perforraed. Search was raade for the forras of the olden tirae, before the irruption of the Roraan priesthood, for the prayers in aU the ancient sees were not alike, as each bishop had, according to priraitlve custom, the power of regulating the Uturgy of his own diocese. From these authentic sources was com piled with great labour and infinite patience the Book of Common Prayer, which has extorted from one of the raost learned and eminent Dis senting divines of this century this extraordinary eulogium : " That it is by far the greatest unin spired work extant."! Romanists themselves, when permitted to exer- * Bennet on Common Prayer. Theophilus Angli- canus. t Hall. IN AMERICA. 337 else an independent judgraent, adraitted its unexceptionable character and great beauty, and joined in its use for raore than twelve years. Two of the Popes, Paul and Pius IV., went so far as to offer to sanction it if Queen Elizabeth would acknowledge the supreraacy of the Pope. Upon her refusal she was excoramunicated, in 1569, and from that period British Papists became schisma tics. The English Dissenting Reformers, though not so ignorant as those of the continent, were, with sorae distinguished exceptions, in general violent and -vulgar fanatics. They were hut Uttle ac quainted -with the history or antiquity of their own primitive church, and cared stUl less about it ; aU they knew was, that even when purified and restored, it still resembled that of Rome too much to please them. As they had rejected the Pontiff, they saw no reason to obey a bishop ; and it was ob-vious to the meanest capacity, that if the regular clergy were aboUshed, tithes would necessarUy cease also. So convenient and so unscrupulous a party were soon seized upon by politicians to advance their own ends. They were told then, as their descendants are informed to this day, by the leading Liberals of England, who view with no friendly eye such a Conservative body as the Church, that it was the child of the Reformation, the offspring of chance, and the result of a com- VOL. I. Q 338 THE ENGLISH promise between Royal prerogative. Papal preten sion, and popular rights ; that it had neither the antiquity of the old nor the purity of the new faith, and that it, was behind the enUghtenment of the age. In fact, it was stigraatized as deriving its origin frora no higher authority than an Act of Parliament. Macaulay has lent his aid to per petuate this delusion, and the innovating propen sities of the Whigs may well be imagined from the fact, that even history is not safe in the hands of a reformer. As this dissentient body, at a subsequent period, furnished the pioneers who settled in New Eng land, it is necessary to take a cursory view of their position, divisions, and political and reUgious principles, that we may understand the character and teraper of the people we have been treating of. There were at that time three great parties of Nonconformists in the parent country — the Pres byterians, the Independents, and the Puritans. There were some points in which they aU agreed, but there was a broad line of distinction among them in others. They concurred in a thorough hatred of Popery and prelacy, which they effected to consider nearly synoniraous terms, and united in a desire to restrain the regal authority, but different in degree. The Presbyterians, from the habit of ralngling politics with their religious discourses, often gave vent to violent and seditious IN AMERICA. 339 language. A preacher at St. Andrews, caUed Monarchs "Beelzebub's chUdren," and not long after, another at Edinburgh, said the King had been possessed of a devU, and that one being ex peUed, seven more fierce and unclean had entered in his place, and wound up by declaring- that the people might lawfully use and take the sword out of his hand. But, notwithstanding these ebuUitions of -vulgar abuse and priestly insolence, the party in general, both in England and Scotland, were de sirous of going no farther than reducing the King to the simple station of first magistrate. The Independents wished to aboUsh the mo narchy altogether, as weU as the aristocratic order, and projected an entire equaUty of rank, and the estabhshment of a free and independent repubUc. At the same time they differed from the other two in upholding toleration; and it has often been remarked as a singular fact, that so rational a doctrine did not emanate from reason, but from the height of extravagance and fanaticism.* They neglected aU ecclesiastical establishments, and would admit of no spiritual courts, no governraent among pastors, no interposition of the magistrate in reUgious concerns, and no fixed' encouragement annexed to any system of doctrines or opinions. According to their principles, each congregation * Hume. Q 2 340 THE ENGLISH united voluntarUy, and by spiritual ties, coraposed within itself a separate church, and exercised a jurisdiction destitute of teraporal sanctions over its own pastor and its own members. The election alone was sufficient to bestow the sacerdotal character; and as aU essential distinctions were denied between the laity and the clergy, no cere mony, no institution, no vocation, and no imposi tion of hands was, as in aU other churches, supposed requisite to convey a right to holy orders. The enthusiasra of the Presbyterians led them to reject the authority of prelates, to throw off the restraint of liturgies, to retrench cere monies, to limit the riches and power of the priestly office. The fanaticism of the Independ ents, exalted to a higher pitch, aboUshed eccle siastical governraent, disdained creeds and systeras, neglected every pre-existing form, and confounded aU ranks and orders. The soldier, the merchant, the mechanic, indulging the fervours of zeal, and guided by the impulse of the spirit, resigned himself to an inward and superior direction, and was consecrated, in a raanner, by an immediate intercourse and comraunication with Heaven. The Puritans again, were divided into three classes, which, though comraonly united, were yet actuated by different views and motives.* First — * See Neal's History of the Puritans. IN AMERICA. 341 There were the political Puritans, who raaintained the highest principles of civU liberty. Secondly — The Puritans in discipline, who were averse to the cereraonies and episcopal governraent ofthe church. Thirdly — ^The doctrinal party, who rigidly de fended the speculative system of the first re formers. These subdivisions are not very InteUi gible nor interesting to the general reader, and subsequent events have rendered them of less importance*. The despised and persecuted Epis copal Church of England has, by the blessing of God, taken deep root in America : the uniformity of its practice, the simplicity and beauty of its cereraonies, the fixed and established principles of its creeds and doctrines, have survived the factious or prejudiced sects that opposed it ; raany of whose adherents, have at last found shelter and repose In its bosora frora the doubts, contentions, and schisras in which they had been involved. The rest have changed with the rautatlons of tiraes ; for dissent carries within it the seeds of its own dissolution. The Puritans have decUned into Uni tarians. The Presbyterians of the States are becoraing Anabaptists, Socinians, or Churchmen, more than three hundred of their clergy having recently sought episcopal ordination ; whUe tolera tion or neglect, fashion, or ridicule, have nearly * See Hume, from whom these distinctions have been freely extracted. 342 THE ENGLISH vanquished the Quakers. The Baptists again have separated into, an endless variety of sects.* It is * They are thus described by a recent traveller in the Western States. He informs us, "that he saw on one occasion about a thousand men and women in a grove, rolling hoops, flying kites, playing ball, shooting marbles, .leaping, running, wrestling, boxing, rolling and tumbling in the grass ; the women caressing dolls, and the men astride of sticks for horses, and the whole company intently en gaged in all the sports of childhood. At last he ventured to ask what it meant. They told him they professed to be little children, to whom the Lord had promised his king dom, and affected some surprise that he seemed not to have known that it was written, ' Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall in no case enter the Kingdom of God.' He told them that that was true; that it was very well to imitate the virtues of infancy, but not its foibles ; that the Apostle had said : ' In malice be ye children, but in understanding be men ;' and this extra ordinary conduct was the folly of childhood, without its immaturity to excuse it. ' We are not at all surprised that you think so,' they replied, ' for we are a reproach unto our neighbours, and they of our acquaintance do hide themselves from us ; but we are willing to suffer persecu tion for the kingdom of heaven's sake ; for these things are hidden, as it is written, from the wise and prudent, and are revealed unto babes' " The reader may see in the histories of the Reformation, and even in D'Aubigue himself, that this sect is the genuine successor of the original Baptist body in Germany, Switzerland, and England, who ran many of them naked, in the pretended innocence of childhood, vociferating through the streets, rolling and tumbling, and affecting all the sports of children, beheving that the truth is revealed IN AMERICA. 343 not very probable that the Puritans of Massa chusetts had agreed upon their form of eccle siastical govemment before they left England ; but they concurred in their dislike to the ceremonies and doctrines of the church. Their last act, when era- barked and ready for sea, was to send the foUowing circular to the clergy of the EstabUshed Church. It is a long document; but it is such a remarkable piece of insincerity, that is impossible to rise from its perusal, without feeling that it justified aU the doubts that were subsequently entertained of their attachment to the parent state. The only way that it can be accounted for is, by supposing either that they were labouring under conscious terror at the breach of faith they had comraitted, in surrep titiously removing the Charter to America, and feared that they might be pursued and punished, or that they dreaded, from the size of the fleet, and the number of emigrants, if they were constrained, by stress of weather, to put back into an EngUsh port, they might be prevented from withdrawing from the kingdora ; but neither expediency on the one hand, nor apprehension frora danger on the other, offer any paUiation for such a wide departure from the truth : — " The hurable request of his Majesty's loyal sub- by the Spirit to babes ; throwing the Word of God into the fire, exclaiming, says D'Anbigne', "that the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth hfe." 344 THE ENGLISH jects, the Governor and Company late gone for New England, to the rest of their brethren in and of the Church of England. " Reverend Fathers and Brethren, " The generaU ruraour of this solerane enterprise, wherein ourselves and others, through the pro-vidence of the Almightie, are engaged, as it may spare us the labour of imparting our occasion unto you, so it gives us the raore encourageraent to strengthen ourselves by the procureraent of the prayers and blessings of the Lord's faithful servants. For which end we are bold to have recourse unto you, as those whom God hath placed nearest his throne of Mercy; which, as it affords you the more opportunity, so it imposeth the greater bond upon you to intercede for his people in all their straights. We beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of the Lord Jesus, to consider us as your brethren, stand ing in very great need of your helpe, and earnestly imploring it. And howsoever your character may have met -with some occasion of discouragement, through the raisreport of our intentions, or through the disaffection, or indiscretion of sorae of us, or rather amongst us, for we are not of those who dreame of perfection in this world, yet we desire you would be pleased to take notice of the prin ciples and body of our corapany as those who esteeme it an honour to call the Church of Eng- 350 THE ENGLISH' Church and State were based on Republican prin ciples. The intimate connection subsisting be tween the form of an ecclesiastical establishment, and the political opinions of its members, is mani fest to all those acquainted with the practical working of elective institutions. In England, Dissenters alraost universally support the Whigs not frora love or respect, but because they are less disposed than the Tories to uphold the Church ; and are more pliable and latitudinarian. In utter ignorance that they owe their safety from persecu tion, and, indeed, their very existence, to the shelter afforded to them by the Establlshraent against Popery, they idly suppose if it were prostrated, they would be advanced both in power, wealth and station. In like manner the Romanists also coalesce -with them ; and notwithstanding the present outcry about Papal aggression, wUl continue to do so, not only on sImUar grounds, but on a certain conviction, that if the Church of England be essentiaUy crippled by the State, the only shield to Protestantism in Europe is destroyed, and Popery wiU not only be again triumphant, but universal. It is this similarity of object that has effected a political union of action between the two most irreconcUable and impracticable bodies in the world. In nothing, perhaps, is the knowledge, skiU, foresight, and untiring perseverance of Rome,. IN AMERICA. 351 or the ignorance and infatuation of dissent, raore conspicuous. Nor is this remarkable elective sympathy confined to England : it is exhibited in every part of the British erapire where constitu- tional government exists. END OF VOL. I. LONDON: Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. I > rill * I I-