sachusetts and seuerall others from his Maties royall Father, who also since granted a large tract of land to S Ferdinando Gorges intituled ye Prouince of Mayne, whch included seauen or Eight of y lesser Pattents, granted to seuerall others before, And since in Oliuer Cromwells tyme another was granted for a large tract of land, to Collonell Alexander Rigby vnder the title of ye Prouince of Ligonia, And he by his agents contended for Jurisdiction, ouer pte of the Prouince of Maine and some other Pattents, But while they were contendinge Messachusetts swallowed vp all, The two sowtheren Collonyes Conecticott and Newhauen haue no Pattents that I know but gouern by Combination amongst them selues, but in a strange confused way, and in this Confusion and ye gouermts in New England at p'sent, and I conceiue will be no otherwise vntill his Maiestie be pleased to call all againe in to his owne hands, and disposall, wch I supose may be donne wth out Iniury to any, there beinge, none but haue some way or other forfaited theire priuiledges And now my Lord in all humilitie I craue pardon, for what I may haue erred in, in the p'mises, And humbly begg you' fauou to giue me leaue, to shew wth what facilitie, I conceiue the Dutch Plantations may be regained & y English reduced. For the Dutch I know by credible information they haue not of theire owne Nation, forteene hundered wch can beare armes, and there are neare fower hundered able English men wch liue amongst them, These all both Dutch and English, are extreamely burdned wth heauie taxations as the tenth pte of all the land produceth, And vnheard of Excise, not only on all goods, brought to them or caryed from thence, but also on what they eate and drinke. Sr I am very Confident, if his Matie doe but send and demaund a surrender lettinge them enioy theire lands and goods, and mittigatinge the burdens they now lie vnder, there will be littell or no dispute about it. Yet for the more honorable caryage on of the worke and the more surely to effect it, It will be Convenient if his Maiestie please, to haue one good frigott and two smaler ones, a hundered or two of well experienced soldiers, one thousand spare armes with some powder shot &c. And for what men else may be needfull in case they should at first refuse surrender, the English Plantations within twentie or thirtie leagues can suddenly furnish. As for reducem' of the English, the diuisions amongst themselues, the members and freemen, against the non members and non freemen, is such, as that if the former of these should refuse to submitt, the latter I am very confident, (are wch farr the greater number) will wih much Joy, receiue and obay his Maiesties Commands, and then there can be no dispute. And howeuer debarringe them from trade a few monethes, will force them to it But care must be had, that they may enioy libertie of Concience in some reasonable large measure, And be as littell burdned by taxes or otherwise as may be, As for the diuidinge of this large and greate tract of land in to seuerall gouerms. The nominatinge, of some fitt and able Comisioners there. And the raisinge some reuenew to the Crowne, when regained and reduced, my selfe and one or two more well experienced there shall att all tymes waite on your Lordship, to shew our weake apprehensions, if desired. And I shall now humbly craue leaue to subscribe my selfe. S: Your Lordshipes most humble servant, V. LETTER TO LORD CHANCELLOR CLARENDON. RIGHT HONOBLE May it please yo", as to ye question once propounded to me, whether those in New England owned his Ma's Soverainty ouer them, to ye best of my observation I take 3 quarter parts of the inhabitants in the whole Country are loyall subiects to his Mate in theire harts, But as for those of ye Massachusets which made there adress to his Mate I shall humbly crave leaue to acquainte your Lord with a few of theire actings by which it may be iudged how they stand affected. 1. Fyrst, as for the oath of Allegiance it was never administered to any although some haue desired to take it) but insted there of, they force all aboue 16 yeares old to take an oath of fidelitye wch is to be subiect to the Govern of that Comon wealth and to be faithfull to ye same and to yeeld assistance wth person and Estate to mainetayne ye libertyes and priviledges there of, and to submitt to ye Laws made by the same as in theire booke of Lawes. 2. Aboue 20 yeeres since they made a Capitall law, that whoeuer should atempt, any invasion Insurrection or rebellion against that theire State or Comonwealth or should indeavor the suppressing of any towne or townes fortes &c. or should goe about to alter the frame and politye of Goverm of that theire Comonwealth should be put to death, upon weh 7 persons for petitioning to haue a body of Lawes establisht and published as neare as might be agreeing with the same of England, for freholders to haue votes in Elections or to be exempted from publicque Charges, And that persons of knowledge and inoffensive in theire lives and Conversation might be admitted to ye Sacram of the Lords supper and there Children to Bapptissme for this, besides with hazard of ther lives they weare fined aboue 1000 pound, And notwithstanding there appeales, forced to pay it and there Court records about that business almoste totally falcifyed. 3. Thirdly they contemptiouslye defaced all the English Collours brought out of England; about the same time they drew vp all theire Companies in armes declareing it was to Resist there landing of a Generall Gove' which they heard was Sent by y° King, when theire vnhappye breach began here in England (to in cite men to come over) Sermons were preached frequentlye. on that text Curse ye Merosh. and many came came (sic) ouer that tyme. Some to serve in ye Armie against his Mate others to Sowe the seede of Re⚫bellion and Sedition amonge the rest. Peters and Weld were sent over and for some yeeres mainetayned on yo Countryes cost here, m 4. At the Arrivall of the said Newes of his Mats death most of them seemed to reioyce and Some of y expressed soe much in words being then at Supper together, 5. He was not thought to haue taken a pertinent text, if not Such as these He pulls downe y Mightye from there Seate and Exalts the humble and meeke. And I will overturne overturne. 6. In all those times of Division here they forced all Commanders of Vessells to giue great bond with Securetye not to trade with any which held out for his Mate they also permitted ships belonging to places in obedience to his Mate to be taken vnder theire forts wch they might haue rescued and none of the other partye were molested. 7. Theire mainetaineing and (sic) Agent here all Olivers tyme shewed there goodwill towards him, Theire last Agent sayd not long sence that rather then New England should admitt of appeales to England, or be subiect to it, they would deliver it vp to the Spaniard, proved by Substantiall oath to his face in Dr Commons. this person slipt a board the night after we were before the Right Hoble Councell, and is gon for New England, he was Generally Suspected to haue a great hand in Conveyance away of Goff and Whalye, whose Courtious intertainement by those in power theire shewes also how Loyall they are. 8. In Ollivers tyme one Mr. Cason a gentleman of Some qualitye, for Speaking words against the then Vsurper Oliver was Committed to yo Goale and a great waite of Irons layed on him for many weekes. thus brefly to that question, by which I humbly conseave it hetherto gon on in a I meane those which And truely S as I evidently appeares. that they haue Constant course of Disloyaltie. made the late adress* to his Mato. haue beene informed the Sending of it was carryed but by one or two voates, where as there would haue come a petition vnder thousands of hands desireing a Generall Governor to be Sent had they durst to haue don it for feare of the Capitall Law aforenamed. But here another question maybe made, how a Gove' can iustlye be imposed on those which haue had Pattents formerly granted for tracts of lands and Govert. Truely St I am confident all but the Massachusets and those three Sothern Colloneys in Combynation with them) of which two of them haue noe patent at all that I know of, will freely and ioyefully surrender and submitt to such Govert as his Mate shall appoynt over them. And for the Massachusets. I am fully assured that if all the Legall free-holders with in y* Jurisdiction might freely voate for it, It would be caryed by three parts of foure at least, And I humbly Conseave his Mates Royall Father in his grant to them, Intended although some few persons were named and theire Successors that all freholders should haue voats in election of officers Civill and Militarye, and be Capiable of chuseing and being chosen according to their Seaverall qualityes, But the Messachusets haveing gotten the Militia into their owne hands, debarr thre parts of foure this privilidge, dew to them and intended for them, and all vpon this Ground because they cannot ioyne with them, in theire Church Covenant, for noe Church member noe freeman, Noe freeman no voate, And by this meanes the Countrye looseth the Improvement of the abilityes of many hundred persons, and where as they should by patent haue Eighteene assistants at least, as I remember they haue not now, nor a long time haue had aboue 12. And the Gove" that now is hath held [* The Petition and Address of the General Court of the Colony of Massachusetts in New England, December 19, 1660. See Massachusetts Records: Vol. IV., Part I., page 450.] |