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country; where, by the good providence of God (from whom the plantations have taken their name) upon their labour and industry, they have not only been preferved to admiration, but have encreased and profpered, and are feized and poffeffed, by purchase and confent of the faid natives, to their full content, of fuch lands, islands, rivers, harbours, and roads, as are very convenient both for plantations, and also for building of ships, fupply of pipeftaves, and other merchandife, and which lye very commodious in many respects for commerce, and to accommodate our fouthern plantations, and may much advance the trade of this our realm, and greatly enlarge the territories thereof; they having, by near neighbourhood to, and friendly fociety with, the great body of the Narraganset Indians, given them encouragement, of their own accord, to fubject themselves, their people, and lands, unto us; whereby, as is hoped, there may, in time, by the bleffing of God upon their endeavours, be laid a fure foundation of happiness to all America, And whereas, in their humble addrefs, they have freely declared, That it is much on their hearts (if they be permitted) to hold forth a lively experiment, that a most

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flourishing civil State may ftand, and beft be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments; and that true piety, rightly grounded upon gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to fovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty: Now, know ye, that we being willing to encourage the hopeful undertaking of our faid loyal and loving fubjects, and to fecure them in the free exercise and enjoyment of all their civil and religious rights appertaining to them, as our loving fubjects; and to preserve unto them that liberty in the true Christian faith and worship of God which they have fought with fo much travail, and with peaceable minds and loyal subjection to our royal progenitors and ourselves, to enjoy; and because some of the people and inhabitants of the same colony cannot, in their private opinion, conform to the public exercise of religion according to the liturgy, form, and ceremonies of the Church of England, or take or subscribe the oaths and articles made and established in that behalf; and for that the fame, by reafon of the remote distances of those places, will, as we hope, be

no breach of the unity and uniformity established in this nation, have therefore thought fit, and do hereby publish, grant, ordain, and declare, that our royal will and pleasure is, That no perfon within the faid colony, at any time hereafter, shall be anywife molested, punished, difquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion, who do not actually disturb the civil peace of our faid colony; but that all and every person and perfons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgements and confciences, in matters of religious concernments, throughout the tract of land hereafter-mentioned, they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly, and not using this liberty to licentious nefs and profaneness, nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others, any law, ftatute or clause therein contained, or to be contained, ufage or custom of this realm, to the contrary hereof, in any wife notwithstanding. And that they may be in the better capacity to defend themselves in their juft rights and liberties, against all the enemies of the Christian faith, and others, in all refpects, we have further thought fit, and at the humble petition of the

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persons aforesaid, are graciously pleased to declare, That they shall have and enjoy the benefit of our late act of indemnity, and free pardon, as the rest of our fubjects in other our dominions and territories have; and to create and make them a body politic or corporate, with the powers or privileges herein aftermentioned. And accordingly, our will and pleasure is, and of our efpecial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have ordained, constituted, and declared, and by thefe prefents, for us, our heirs and fucceffors, do ordain, constitute, and declare, That they the faid William Brenton, William Codington, Nicholas Eafton, Benedict Arnold, William Boulton, John Porter, Samuel Gorton, John Smith, John Weekes, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, Gregory Dexter, John Cogefhall, Jofeph Clarke, Randall Houlden, John Greene, John Roome, William Dyre, Samuel Wildbore, Richard Tew, William Field, Thomas Harris, James Barker, Rainfborrow,

Williams, and John Nickson, and all fuch others as are now, or hereafter shall be admitted, free of the Company and Society of our Colony of Providence Plantations, in the Narraganset-Bay, in New-England, fhall

be,

be, from time to time, and for ever hereafter, a body corporate and politic, in fact and name, by the name of the Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, in New-England, in America; and that by the fame name, they and their fucceffors fhall and may have perpetual fucceffion, and shall and may be perfons able and capable in the law to fue and be fued, to plead and be impleaded, to answer and to be anfwered unto, to defend and to be defended, in all and fingular fuits, caufes, quarrels, matters, actions, and things, of what kind or nature foever; and alfo to have, take, poffefs, acquire, and purchase lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or any goods or chattels, and the same to leafe, grant, demise, alien, bargain, fell, and difpofe of, at their own will and pleasure, as other our liege people of this our realm of England, or any corporation or body politic within the fame, may lawfully do: and further, That they the faid Governor and Company, and their fucceffors, fhall and may, for ever hereafter, have a common seal, to serve and ufe for all matters, caufes, things, and affairs whatsoever, of them and their fucceffors, and the fame feal to alter, change,

break,

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