the work, and an apprehension of some evil days to come upon England; yea, it began to be viewed by the council as a matter of state, so that warrants were sent to stay the ships, and to call in the patent; but, upon the petition of the ship-masters, alledging how beneficial the plantation was, they were released: Mr. Craddock, however, had strict charge to deliver in the pattent, and wrote to the company to send it home upon receipt of his letter. [July, 1634.] The governor and assistants consulted about it, and resolved to answer Mr. Craddock, but not to return any answer or excuse to the council for the present*.' On the death of the duke of Buckingham, Laud became the king's prime minister in all affairs of both church and state; and on the death of Archbishop Abbot, he was exalted to the see of Canterbury. Possessed of such powers, he by his pliant tools made havock of the church, hauling and committing to prison conscientious ministers and laymen who would not bend to his antiscriptutalimpositions so that the people were scattered abroad and passed over the Atlantic into America. The daily inroads of the court, on the civil rights of the subject, helped forward the emigration. From the beginning of the colony, until the emigration ceased through a change of affairs in England, [1640.] there arrived in 298 vessels about 21200 settlers (men, women and children) or 4000 families, but they did not all confine themselves to the Massachusetts. Notwithstanding the numbers that repaired thither when Josselyn visited Boston, in 1638," he found it rather a village than a town, there being not above 20 or 30 houses." These settlers were no less strenuous for their own particular rights and previleges than the Plymouthians. When the governor and company removed from London to the Massachusetts, they renounced the appearance of a corporation, and assumed the form of a commonwealth, varying, as it suited them, from the directions of the charter. The change of place and circumstances prevented their keeping to it in certain instances, tho not in others; but they could easily satisfy themselves as to any violations; for " they apprehended themselves subject to no other laws or rules of government, than what arose from natural reason and the principles of equity, except any positive rules from the word of Godt." Persons of influence among them held, that birth was no necessary cause of subjection; for that the subject of any prince or state, had a natural right to remove to any other state or quarter of the world, when deprived of liberty of conscience; and that upon such removal his subjection ceased. They called their own a voluntary civil subjection, *Governor Winthrop's MS. Hiftory. 66 Hutchinson's Letter of December 7, 1763. arising arising merely from a mutual compact between them and the king, founded upon the charter. By this compact they acknowledged themselves bound; so that they could not be subject to or seek protection from any other prince, neither could make laws repugnant to those of England, &c. but, on the other hand, they maintained, that they were to be governed by laws made by themselves, and by officers of their own electing. They meant to be independent of English parliaments; and therefore when their intimate friends were become leading members in the house of commons, and they were advised, on account of the great liberty to which king Charles left the parliament, to send over some to solicit for them, and had hopes given that they might obtain much, the governor and assistants, after. mecting in council upon the occasion, " declined the motion, for this consideration, that, if they should put themselves under the protection of the parliament, they must then be subject to all such Jaws as they should make, or at least such as they might impose upon them, in which course, (though they should intend their good, yet), it might prove very prejudicial to them+." Whatever approbation such sentiments may meet with from the friends of liberty, these must regret the inconsistencies to which human nature is subject, in those very persons whose experience should have taught them, to do unto others, as they would that others should have done unto them, when they themselves were suffering under the relentless hand of arbitrary government. But, what is man! [May 18, 1631.] So early as the second general court after the arrival of the governor and company, instead of resolving to admit all the suitable and deserving, to a generous participation of their freedon, they passed the pernicious and disingenuous order, "For time to come no man shall be admitted to the freedom of this body politic, but such as are members of some of the churches, within the limits of the same." They soon after concluded, that none but such should share in the administration of civil government, or have a voice in any election. Thus a powerful and mischievous alliance was formed between the churches and the state. The ascendency of the clergy was secured and much increased; for no one could be proposed to the church for a member, unless the minister allowed it. The ministers were consulted by the general court, in all matter of great moment; and nothing was determined in such cases, without a formal reference to them; Hutchinfon's Hiftory, Vol. I. p. 251 and 252. + Extract from Governor Winthrop's MS. Hiflory fent me by Gov. Trumbull from Connecticut. Maffachusetts Records, Vol. L who, who, of course, used their influence with the people to procure an approbation of the measures which they themselves had advised*; [May, 1634.] Instead of the freemen's appearing personally in the general court, they for the first time sent deputies, to the number of twenty-four. This was a variation from the charter which gave no power to admit representatives. These with the governor, deputy-governor, and assistants, formed the legislature of the colony, met and voted together in one apartment till March 1644, when it was ordained, that the governor and assistants, should sit apart and thus commenced the house of representatives, as a distinct body. The general court assumed spiritual jurisdiction. Being church members, they might suppose they represented the churches no less than the colony. [March 8, 1636.] They would approve of no churches, after a certain period, unless they had the approbation of the magistrates and elders of most of the churches within the colony; nor would admit to freedom any of their members. They pressed colonial uniformity in religion, till they became persecutorst. Whatever apology may be made for the treatment given to episcopalians, baptists and quakers, the colony cannot be cleared from the charge of persecuting that however will not justify those who persecute with reproaches and ill-will the present generation, now reprobating the intolerance of their forefathers, which at that period was, more or less, the stain of most religious parties. "It was not peculiar to the Massachusetts people to think themselves bound in conscience to use the sword of the civil magistrate to convince, or cut off heretics, so that they might not infect the church, or injure the public peacet." The true grounds of liberty of conscience, were not then known or embraced by many sects of christians. But remember, that the Massachusetts-Bay now surpasses the mother country, in its regard for the sacred and civil rights of mankind. It not only exempts those of other denominations from paying to the support of its own colonial establishments, the congregational churches; and has been a great number of years in this laudable practice; but it protects all protestants without requiring any qualifying subscriptions or tests, and excludes none by partial laws from the exercise of civil power. The government was in divers respects absolute. Both magistrates and general court often judged and punished, in a summary way, without a jury, according to discretion, as occa* Hutchinson's Hiftory. Vol. I. p. 424. ↑ Maffachusetts Records, in many places, Mr. John Calender's Century Sermon sions occurred. It was four years before it was enacted or or dered, that no trial should pass upon any for life or banishment, but by a jury of freemen: and within three years after, [1637.] that law was violated even by the general court. They exercised, while sitting, legislative, judicial and executive powers a practice which must ever be dangerous to the rights of a peo ple, even when allowed to their own annual representatives. The country at length grew uneasy at these proceedings; were suspicious that the general court had effected arbitrary government; and earnestly expected a body of laws to aid and protect them in all their just rights and previleges*. It was the more necessary to comply with the prevailing expectation, for the business had been long in agitation: not only so, but a great majority of the inhabitants were not freemen not being members of the congregational churches, or declining to take up their freedom, in order to secure an exemption from serving in civil offices. It was not till 1648 that the body of laws was digested and printed. The conduct of the colony on the one hand, and the inveteracy of the English administration on the other, would certainly have produced a revocation of the charter, and probably the ruin of the plantation, had not the disturbances in England prevented. It became a favorite upon the change that followed them; and while Oliver Cromwell ruled, met with the utmost indulgence. From 1640 to 1660 it approached very near to an independent commonwealth†. The house of commons in a memorable resolve of the 10th of March 1642, passed in favour of it, gives New-England the title of kingdom. The commissioners for New-England, sent over by king Charles II. assert in their narratives, that the colony solicited Cromwell to be declared a free state, which is not unlikely, It has been already mentioned, that all the persons passing over to the Massachusetts did not confine themselves to that colony. [1635.] Several families removed to Connecticut river, by mutual agreement with their fellow emigrants that remained behind. Plantations were formed at Hartford, Windsor and Weathersfield. The inhabitants being soon after fully satisfied, that they were out of the Massachusetts limits, and of course hurisdiction, entered into a combination among themselves, 639.] became a body politic, without restraining the freedom of their civil government to the membership of their churches; and proceeded to the choice of magistrates and representatives *Maffachusetts Records for the 4th of November, 1646, Vol. I, By By the articles of government, it was determined that there should be annually two general courts; and that no person should be chosen governor more than once in two years. But it must be observed, that the same year, in which the families removed from the Massachusetts, Lords Say and Brooke, with other gentlemen, having obtained a grant, John Winthrop, esq. was appointed governor, took possission of Connecticut river, and began to erect a fort (which he called Say-Brooke) to secure the mouth of it. He was supplied with men, provisions, and all things necessary by a vessel from England, sent by the grantees, which arrived the latter end of November. Some of the grantees had in contemplation to transport themselves, families and effects, to the territory they had obtained; but the design of emigrating was laid aside, when matters began to take a new turn in their native country; and at length the agent Mr. Fenwick, was authorized to dispose of their lands, which were purchased, in 1644, by the people who had removed from the Massachusetts. [1637.] Two large ships arrived at the Massachusetts-Bay with passengers from London. Great pains were taken to prevail upon them to remain in the colony; but they hoped by removing to a considerable distance, to be out of the reach of a general governor, with whom the country was then threatened. They sent to their friends in Connecticut to purchase of the natives the lands laying between them and Hudson's river. They laid the foundation of a flourishing colony, of which New-Haven was the capital. They, as Connecticut, formed a government, much like the Massachusetts, by a voluntary agreement, without any charter, or commission, or authority whatsoever, from the crowiz or other powers in England. They admitted no one to any office civil or military, or to have a voice in any election, except he was a member of one of the churches in New-England. They had no jury either in civil or criminal cases. Connecticut and New-Haven continued two distinct colonies for many years. At length the general court of Connecticut determined to prefer an address and petition to Charles II. professing their subjection and loyalty to his majesty, and soliciting a royal charter; and John Winthrop, esq. who had been chosen governor, was appointed to negociate the affair with the king. He succeeded, and a royal charter was obtained, April 23, 1662, constituting the two colonies forever one body corporate and politic. New-Haven took the affair ill; and for some time declined the union. But difficulties were amicably settled at last, and the colonies united by agreement. [1665.] VOL. I. |