of the World. We came not into this Wilderness to seek great things to
ourselves; and if any come after us to seek them here, they will be
disappointed. We keep ourselves within our Line; a just dependence
upon, and subjection to, your Majesty, according to our Charter, it is
far from our Hearts to disacknowledge. We would gladly do anything in
our power to purchase the continuance of your favorable Aspect. But it
is a great Unhappiness to have no testimony of our loyalty offered but
this, to yield up our Liberties, which are far dearer to us than our
Lives, and which we have willingly ventured our Lives and passed
through many Deaths, to obtain.
"It was Job's excellency, when he sat as King among his People, that he
was a Father to the Poor. A poor People, destitute of outward Favor,
Wealth, and Power, now cry unto their lord the King. May your Majesty
regard their Cause, and maintain their Right; it will stand among the
marks of lasting Honor to after Generations."
Throughout these sentences sounds the masculine earnestness of men who
see that for which they have striven valiantly and holily in danger of
being treacherously ravished from them, and who are resolute to
withstand the ravisher to the last. It is no wonder that documents of
this tone and caliber amazed and alarmed the council in London, and
made them ask one another what manner of men these might be. It would
have been well for England had they given more attentive ear to their
misgivings; but their hearts, like Pharaoh's, were hardened, and they
would not let the people go--until the time was ripe, and the people
went, and carried the spoils with them.
The secret purpose of the commission was to pave the way for the
gradual subjection of the colony, and to begin by inducing them to let
the governor become a royal nominee, and to put the militia under the
king's orders. Of the four commissioners, Nicolls remained in New York,
as we have seen; the three others landed in Boston early in 1665. Their
first order was that every male inhabitant of Boston should assemble
and listen to the reading of the message from King Charles. These three
gentlemen--Maverick, Carr and Cartwright--were courtiers and men of
fashion and blood, and were accustomed to regard the king's wish as
law, no matter what might be on the other side; but it was now just
thirty years since the Puritans left England; they had endured much
during that time, and had tasted how sweet liberty was; and half of
them were young Americans, born on the soil, who knew what kings were
by report only. Young and old, speaking through the assembly, which was
in complete accord with them, informed the commissioners that they
would not comply with their demand. What were the commissioners, that
they should venture to call a public meeting in the town of a free
people? The free people went about their affairs, and left the three
gentlemen from the Court to stare in one another's scandalized faces.
They were the more scandalized, because their reception in Connecticut
and Rhode Island had been different. But different, also, had been the
errand on which they went there. Those two colonies were the king's
pets, and were to have liberty and all else they wanted; Connecticut
they had protected from the rapacity of Lord Hamilton, and Rhode Island
had never been other than loving and loyal to the king. They had, to be
sure, been politely bowed out by little Plymouth, the yeomen
Independents, who still preferred, if his majesty pleased, to conduct
their own household affairs in their own way. But to be positively and
explicitly rebuffed to their faces, yet glowing with the sunshine of
the royal favor, was a new experience; and Cartwright, when he caught
his breath, exclaimed, "He that will not attend to the request is a
traitor!"
The Massachusetts assembly declined to accept the characterization.
Since the king's own patent expressly relieved them from his
jurisdiction, it was impossible that their refusal to meet three of his
gentlemen-in-waiting could rightly be construed as treason. The
commissioners finally wanted to know, yes or no, whether the colonists
meant to question the validity of the royal commission? But the
assembly would not thus be dislodged from the coign of vantage; they
stuck to their patent, and pointed out that nothing was therein said
about a commission? So far as they were concerned, the commission, as a
commission, could have no existence. They recognized nothing but three
somewhat arrogant persons, in huge wigs, long embroidered waistcoats
under their velvet coats, and plumes waving from their hats. They
presented a glittering and haughty aspect, to be sure, but they had no
rights in Boston.
At length, on the twenty-third of May, matters came to a crisis. The
commissioners had given out that on that day they were going to hold a
court to try a case in which the colony was to defend an action against
a plaintiff. This, of course, would serve to indicate that the
commissioners had power--whether the assembly conceded it or not--to
control the internal economy of the settlement. Betimes in this
morning, the rather that it was a very pleasant one--the trees on the
Common being dressed in their first green leaves since last year, while
a pleasant westerly breeze sent the white clouds drifting seaward over
the blue sky--a great crowd began to make its way toward the court
house, whose portals frowned upon the narrow street, as if the stern
spirit of justice that presided within had cast a shadow beneath them.
The doors were closed, and the massive lock which secured them gleamed
in the single ray of spring sunshine that slanted along the facade of
the edifice.
It was a somber looking throng, as was ever the case in Puritan Boston,
where the hats, cloaks and doublets of the people were made of dark,
coarse materials, not designed to flatter the lust of the eye. The
visages suited the garments, wearing a sedate or severe expression,
whether the cast of the features above the broad white collars were
broad and ruddy, or pale and hollow-cheeked. There was a touch of the
fanatic in many of these countenances, as of men to whom God was a
living presence in all their affairs and thoughts, who feared His
displeasure more than the king's, who believed that they were His
chosen ones, and who knew that His arm was mighty to defend. They were
of kin to the men who stood so stubbornly and smote so sore at Marston
Moor and Naseby, and afterward had not feared to drag the father of the
present Charles to the block. Fiber more unbending than theirs was
never wrought into the substance of our human nature; and oppression
seemed but to harden it.
They conversed one with another in subdued tones, among which sounded
occasionally the lighter accents of women's voices; but they were not a
voluble race, and the forms of their speech still followed in great
measure the semi-scriptural idioms which had been so prevalent among
Cromwell's soldiers years before. They were undemonstrative; but this
very immobility conveyed an impression of power in reserve which was
more effective than noisy vehemence.
At length, from the extremity of the street, was heard the tramp of
horses' hoofs, and the commissioners, bravely attired, with cavalier
boots, and swords dangling at their sides, were seen riding forward,
followed by a little knot of officers. The crowd parted before them as
they came, not sullenly, perhaps, but certainly with no alacrity or
suppleness of deference. There was no love lost on either side; but
Cartwright, who wore the most arrogant front of the three, really
feared the Puritans more than either of his colleagues; and when, seven
years afterward, he was called before his majesty's council to tell
what manner of men they were, his account of them was so formidable
that the council gave up the consideration of the menacing message they
had been about to send, and instead agreed upon a letter of amnesty, as
likely to succeed better with a people of so "peevish and touchy" a
humor.
The cavalcade drew up before the door, and the officials, dismounting,
ascended the steps. Finding it locked, Cartwright lifted the hilt of
his sword and dealt a blow upon the massive panel.
"Who shuts the door against his majesty's commissioners?" cried he
angrily. "Where is the rascal with the keys, I say!"
"I marvel what his majesty's commissioners should seek in the house of
Justice," said a voice in the crowd; "since it is known that, when they
go in by one door, she must needs go out by the other."
At this sally, the crowd smiled grimly, and the commissioners frowned
and bit their lips. Just then there was a movement in the throng, and a
tall, dignified man with a white beard and an aspect of grave authority
was seen pressing his way toward the court house door.
"Here is the worshipful Governor Bellingham himself," said one man to
his neighbor. "Now shall we see the upshot of this matter."
"And God save Massachusetts!" added the other, devoutly.
[Illustration: An Incident of King Philip's War]
The chief magistrate of the colony advanced into the little open space
at the foot of the steps, and saluted the commissioners with formal
courtesy. "I am sorry ye should be disappointed, sirs," said he; "but I
must tell you that it is the decision of the worshipful council that ye
do not pass these doors, or order any business of the court, in this
commonwealth. Provision is made by our laws for the proper conduct of
all matters of justice within our borders, and it is not permitted that
any stranger should interfere therewith."
"Truly, Mr. Bellingham," said Maverick, resting one hand on his sword,
and settling his plumed hat on his wig with the other, "you take a high
tone; but the king is the king, here as in England, and we bear his
commission. Massachusetts can frame no laws to override his pleasure;
and so we mean to teach you. I call upon all persons here present,
under penalty of indictment for treason, to aid us, his majesty's
commissioners, to open this court, or to break it open." His voice rang
out angrily over the crowd, but no one stirred in answer.
"You forget yourself, sir," said the governor, composedly. "We here are
loyal to the king, and too much his friends to believe that he would
wrong himself by controverting the charter which bears the broad seal
affixed by his own royal father. Your claim doth abuse him more than
our refusal. But since you will not hear comfortable words, I must
summon one who will speak more bluntly."
He turned, and made a signal with his hand. "Let the herald stand
forth," said he; and at the word, a broad-shouldered, deep-chested
personage, with a trumpet in one hand and a pike in the other, stepped
into the circle and stood in the military attitude of attention.
"Hast thou the proclamation there in thy doublet, Simon?" demanded his
worship.
"Aye, verily, that have I," answered Simon, in a voice like a fog horn,
"and in my head and my heart, too!"
"Send it forth, then, and God's blessing go with it!" rejoined the
chief magistrate, forcibly, but with something like a smile stirring
under his beard.
Upon this Simon the herald filled his vast lungs with a mighty volume
of New England air, set the long brazen trumpet to his lips, and blew
such a blast that the led horses of the commissioners started and threw
up their heads, and the windows of the court house shook with the
strident vibration. Then, taking the paper on which the proclamation
was written, and holding it up before him, he proceeded to bellow forth
its contents in such stentorian wise that the commissioners might have
heard it, had they been on Boston wharf preparing to embark for
England, instead of being within three or four paces. That
proclamation, indeed, was heard over the length and breadth of New
England, and even across the Atlantic in the gilded chamber of the king
of Britain. "These fellows," muttered his majesty, with a vexed air,
"have the hardihood to affirm that we have no jurisdiction over them.
What shall be done. Clarendon?" "I have ever thought well of them," the
chancellor said, rubbing his brow; "they are a sturdy race, and it were
not well to wantonly provoke them; yet it is amazing that they should
show themselves so forward, without so much as charging the
commissioners with the least matter of crimes or exorbitances."
Clarendon, indeed, was too lenient to suit the royal party, and this
was one of the causes leading up to his impeachment a year or two later.
But the herald was not troubled, nor was his voice subdued, by thoughts
of either royalty or royal commissioners; though, as a matter of form,
he began with "In the name of King Charles," he coupled with it "by
authority of the Charter"; and went on to declare that the general
court of Massachusetts, in observance of their duty to God, to the
king, and to their constituents, could not suffer any one to abet his
majesty's honorable commissioners in their designs. There was no
mistaking the defiance, and neither the people nor the commissioners
affected to do so. The latter petulantly declared that "since you will
misconceive our endeavors, we shall not lose more of our labors upon
you"; and they departed to Maine, where they met with a less mortifying
reception. The people were much pleased, and made sport of the king's
gentlemen, and at their public meetings they were addressed in the same
"seditious" vein by magistrates and ministers. "The commission is but a
trial of our courage: the Lord will be with His people while they are
with Him," said old Mr. Davenport. Endicott, on the edge of the grave,
was stanch as ever for the popular liberties. Besides, "There hath been
one revolution against the king in England," it was remarked;
"perchance there will be another ere long; and this new war with the
Netherlands may bring more changes than some think for." On the other
hand, resistance was stimulated by tales of what the gold-laced
freebooters of the court would do, if they were let loose upon New
England. Diplomacy, however, was combined with the bolder counsels;
there was hope in delays, and correspondence was carried on with
England to that end. Charles's expressed displeasure with their conduct
was met with such replies as "A just dependence upon and allegiance
unto your majesty, according to the charter, we have, and do profess
and practice, and have by our oaths of allegiance to your majesty
confirmed; but to be placed upon the sandy foundations of a blind
obedience unto that arbitrary, absolute, and unlimited power which
these gentlemen would impose upon us--who in their actings have carried
it not as indifferent persons toward us--this, as it is contrary to
your majesty's gracious expressions and the liberties of Englishmen, so
we can see no reason to submit thereto."
The commissioners were recalled; but Charles commanded Bellingham,
Hawthorne, and a few others to appear before him in London and answer
for the conduct of the colony. The general court met for prayer and
debate; Bradstreet thought they ought to comply; but Willoughby and
others said, No. A decision was finally handed down declining to obey
the king's mandate.
"We have already furnished our views in writing," the court held, "so
that the ablest persons among us could not declare our case more fully."
Under other circumstances this fresh defiance might have borne prompt
and serious consequences; but Louis XIV. conveniently selected the
moment to declare war on England; and Boston commended herself to the
home government by arming privateers to prey upon the Canadian
commerce, and by a timely gift of a cargo of masts for the English
navy. Charles became so much interested in the ladies of his court that
he had less leisure for the affairs of empire. Yet he still kept New
England in mind; he believed Massachusetts to be rich and powerful, and
from time to time revolved schemes for her reduction; and finally, when
the colonists were exhausted by the Indian war, the privy council came
to the conclusion that, if they were not to lose their hold upon the
colony altogether, "this was the conjuncture to do something effectual
for the better regulation of that government." They selected, as their
agent, the best hated man who ever set foot on Massachusetts
soil--Edward Randolph. His mission was to prepare the way for the
revocation of its charter, and to undo all the works of liberty and
happiness which the labor and heroism of near fifty years had achieved.
He was also intrusted by Robert Mason with the management of his New
Hampshire claims. The second round in the battle between king and
people had begun.
Randolph was a remorseless, subtle, superserviceable villain, who lied
to the king, and robbed the colonists, and was active and indefatigable
in every form of rascality. During nine years he went to and fro
between London and Massachusetts, weaving a web of mischief that grew
constantly stronger and more restrictive, until at length the
iniquitous object was achieved. His first visit to Boston was in 1676;
he stayed but a few weeks, and accomplished nothing, but his stories
about the wealth and population of the colonies stimulated the greed of
his employers. Envoys were ordered to come to London, and this time
they were sent, but with powers so limited as to prevent any further
result than the cession of the jurisdiction of Massachusetts over Maine
and New Hampshire--which, as we have seen, was bought back the next
year. The enforcement of the Navigation Acts was for the moment
postponed. The colonists would pay duties to the king within the
plantation if he would let them import directly from the other
countries of Europe. But Charles wished to strengthen his grasp of
colonial power, although, if possible, with the assembly's consent. In
1678, the crown lawyers gave an opinion that the colony's disregard of
the Navigation Acts invalidated their charter. Randolph was appointed
customs collector in New England, and it was determined to replace the
laws of Massachusetts by such as were not "repugnant to the laws of
England." And the view was expressed that the settlement should be made
a royal colony. Manifestly, the precious liberties of the Puritans were
in deadly peril.
A synod of the churches and a meeting of the general court were held to
devise defense. To obviate a repeal of their laws, these were in a
measure remodeled so as to bring them nearer to what it was supposed
the king would require. Almost anything would be preferable to giving
up the right to legislate for themselves. It was first affirmed that
English laws did not operate in America, and that the Navigation Acts
were despotic because there was no colonial representation in the
English parliament. And then, to prove once more how far above all else
they prized principle, they passed a Navigation Act of their own, which
met all the king's stipulations. They would submit to the drain on
their resources and the hampering of their enterprise, but only if they
themselves might inflict them. Meanwhile, they cultivated to the utmost
the policy of delay. Randolph, came over with his patent as collector
in 1679, but though the patent was acknowledged, he was able to make no
arrangements for conducting the business. Orders were sent for the
dispatch of agents to London with unlimited powers; but Massachusetts
would not do it. Parliament would not abet the king in his despotic
plans beyond a certain point; but he was at length able to dissolve it,
and follow what counsels he pleased. His first act was to renew the
demand for plenipotentiary envoys, or else he would immediately take
steps legally to evict and avoid their charter.
Two agents, Dudley and Richards, were finally appointed to go to the
king and make the best terms possible. If he were willing to compound
on a pecuniary basis, which should spare the charter, let it be done,
provided the colony had the means for it; but, whatever happened, the
charter privileges of the commonwealth were not to be surrendered. The
agents had not, therefore, unlimited powers; and when Charles
discovered this, he directed them to obtain such powers, or a judicial
process would be adopted. This alternative was presented to
Massachusetts in the winter of 1682, and the question whether or not to
yield was made the subject of general prayer, as well as of discussion.
There seemed no possible hope in resistance. Might it not then be wiser
to yield? They might thus secure more lenient treatment. If they held
out to the bitter end, the penalty would surely be heavier. The
question ultimately came up before the general court for decision.
It is probable that no other representative body in the world would
have adopted the course taken by that of Massachusetts. Certainly since
old Roman times, we might seek in vain for a verdict which so
disregarded expediency--everything in the shape of what would now be
termed "practical politics"--and based itself firmly and unequivocally
on the sternest grounds of conscience and right. It was passed after
thorough debate, and with clear prevision of what the result must be;
but the magistrates had determined that to suffer murder was better
than to commit suicide; and this is the manner in which they set forth
their belief.
"Ought the government of Massachusetts to submit to the pleasure of the
court as to alteration of their charter? Submission would be an offense
against the majesty of heaven; the religion of the people of New
England and the court's pleasure cannot consist together. By submission
Massachusetts will gain nothing. The court design an essential
alteration, destructive to the vitals of the charter. The corporations
in England that have made an entire resignation have no advantage over
those that have stood a suit in law; but, if we maintain a suit, though
we should be condemned, we may bring the matter to chancery or to
parliament, and in time recover all again. We ought not to act contrary
to that way in which God hath owned our worthy predecessors, who in
1638, when there was a quo warranto against the charter, durst not
submit. In 1664, they did not submit to the commissioners. We, their
successors, should walk in their steps, and so trust in the God of our
fathers that we shall see His salvation. Submission would gratify our
adversaries and grieve our friends. Our enemies know it will sound ill
in the world for them to take away the liberties of a poor people of
God in the wilderness. A resignation will bring slavery upon us sooner
than otherwise it would be; and it will grieve our friends in other
colonies, whose eyes are now upon New England, expecting that the
people there will 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.
Submission would be contrary unto that which hath been the unanimous
advice of the ministers, given after a solemn day of prayer. The
ministers of God in New England have more 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 foot in the waters, and there to stand till all danger be past.
Of all men, they should be an example to the Lord's people of faith,
courage, and constancy. Unquestionably, if the blessed Cotton, Hooker,
Davenport, Mather, Shepherd, Mitchell, 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 will never
consent hereunto. Therefore, the government may not do it.
"The civil liberties of New England are part of the inheritance of
their fathers; and shall we give that inheritance away? Is it objected
that we shall be exposed to great sufferings? Better suffer than sin.
It is better to trust the God of our fathers than to put confidence in
princes. If we suffer because we dare not comply with the wills of men
against the will of God, we suffer in a good cause, and shall be
accounted martyrs in the next generation, and at the Great Day."