ROGER WILLIAMS AS CITIZEN
Through all the ups and downs of her troubled history, Providence
Plantations had remained loyal to England. The little colony had
allowed unusual liberty in many ways--liberty unknown in other parts
of New England--but had never faltered in her obedience to the mother
country. Thus when Oliver Cromwell was at the head of affairs, she
considered him her rightful ruler. A like loyalty was paid his son
Richard. Again, when the country once more became a monarchy, in
1660, she hastened to assure Charles II that the inhabitants of the
Narragansett Bay province were his true and faithful subjects.
The news of his accession to the throne was received with great
enthusiasm. The General Court appointed an hour for proclaiming “His
Royal Majesty, King Charles the Second, King of England, with all the
dominions and territories thereunto belonging” and military officers
were ordered to rally the “train band” for the occasion. Besides this,
another special day was set apart for solemnizing the event, which was
also carried out in true military fashion. All children and servants
were given a holiday. The flowery and submissive language with which
Charles was acknowledged monarch must sound curious enough to the
democratic descendants of these same colonists.
In the midst of all the joyful festivities, one concern filled the
minds of everybody. Their right to continued existence must be
confirmed. It was clear that Cromwell’s approval was out of date. It
would have no weight with the restored Stuart sovereign. A second
charter must be obtained, one that would bear the undeniable stamp of
royal authority. Thereupon Providence Plantations sent word to her
faithful agent, John Clarke, asking him to secure the desired charter.
By this time the patient man must have been prepared for any kind of
request from over the sea.
His success was announced in the year 1663. It would seem that
charters were going up in price. According to Roger Williams’
testimony, this second one meant an outlay of about a thousand pounds.
It was cheap at that, considering the great privileges it carried with
it. Under this precious new document, the colony continued to live for
one hundred and eighty years, long after the close of Roger Williams’
life. When finally abandoned, it was the oldest constitutional charter
in the world.
A “very great meeting of the freemen” of the colony was held to receive
the royal paper with due respect and honor. With appropriate ceremony,
Captain George Baxter, the bearer, opened the box in which it was kept
and read the gracious words of Charles to the assembly, after which the
charter was “held up on high and presented to the perfect view of the
people,” then safely locked up in the box again.
By virtue of this latest document, the colony received a new name--or,
rather, a bulky addition to its old one. In this charter it was called
“The English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New
England, in America.” From now on, the name “Rhode Island” became more
prominent and “Providence Plantations” less so until, in common usage,
it was dropped altogether. In 1776, the word “State” was substituted
for “English Colony.”
Besides a change of name, the charter also provided that henceforth
governors should take the place of presidents and the first governor
and his assistants were named. Roger Williams was one of the latter and
he repeatedly held this office in the years following.
The most wonderful part of the whole charter was that section granting
perfect liberty of conscience to the colony. It was all the more
remarkable and surprising, as King Charles was not noted for either
tolerance or liberality.
“Our royal will and pleasure is that no person within the said colony
any time hereafter, shall be any wise molested, punished, disquieted,
or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of
religion, and do not actually disturb the civil peace of our said
colony; but that all and every person and persons may, from time to
time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy
his and their own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious
concernments, throughout the tract of land hereafter mentioned.”
The words might have been penned by Roger Williams himself. Very likely
they never would have been written had it not been for his persistent
struggle for that same liberty of conscience, about which he said, “We
must part with lands and lives before we part with such a jewel.”
The founder of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was now
approaching the evening of life. He had carefully watched and tended
the infant colony so that it could stand alone. He had raised it to
a position of respect and importance. For his unselfish and loving
labors, he surely deserved a brief period of rest. Yet, contrary to
his wishes, he was drawn into public life again. He wrote his friend
Winthrop these reluctant words: “I have since been occasioned and drawn
(being nominated in the charter to appear again upon the deck) from my
beloved privacy; my humble desires are to contribute my poor mite (as
I have ever, and I hope ever shall) to preserve plantation and public
interest of the whole New England and not interest of this or that
town, colony, opinion, etc.”
From this time on, both in and out of office, Roger Williams showed
what an immense amount of good can be accomplished by a public-spirited
citizen if he is willing to sacrifice selfish aims for the benefit of
all. Time and again there was occasion for him to act as peace-maker,
as in the years gone by. Gentleness, tact, and forbearance were
the means he used. In a word, he was a great diplomat. Because his
victories were bloodless ones, his fellow-citizens did not appreciate
his greatness.
For one thing, Roger Williams was chosen to copy the charter into the
records of the colony. For drawing up colonial documents of various
kinds, his skill was constantly in demand. In 1664, when a revision of
the laws was thought necessary, he was appointed member of a committee
to attend to this business. In the same year he was named one of the
agents to determine an eastern boundary line between the colony and
Plymouth.
Indian troubles were never settled without his intervention. Here he
knew his ground perfectly and could be trusted by all parties concerned
to give just decisions. The Indians of Warwick, as we have seen, caused
endless trouble for the colonists, claiming that as they had pledged
allegiance to Massachusetts, Providence Plantations had no right to
punish them for lawless acts. Now the sachem Pumham, who occupied
Warwick Neck, had no legal right to the land, as his superior sachem
had sold it years before. Again and again he stubbornly refused to
budge an inch, though the town of Warwick had paid him twenty pounds to
seek a home elsewhere.
About this time, four commissioners were sent over to New England by
King Charles for the purpose of hearing complaints, settling boundary
disputes and like claims, and establishing the peace and security of
the country. They now applied themselves to the task of ousting the
mulish Indian chief.
Before long Roger Williams took a hand in the matter. He got in touch
with Sir Robert Carr, one of the royal agents, and calmly and clearly
reviewed for him the entire history of the quarrel. Then, instead of
urging force and harshness, he explained that very different means
must be employed with the natives. He likened them to oxen, who, if
treated with cruelty, will die rather than yield, but with patience and
gentleness, can be made to give good and willing service. “Lay all the
blame on me,” he concluded, “and on my intercession and mediation, for
a little further breathing to the barbarians until harvest, in which
time a peaceable and loving agreement may be wrought, to mutual consent
and satisfaction.”
Roger Williams was a wise prophet. The sensible commissioner took
advantage of his co-operation and finally the matter was closed to
everybody’s satisfaction. And this without a drop of blood being
shed, thanks to the man who believed that even erring natives should
be treated as human beings. “I respect not one party more than the
other,” he once said in a similar quarrel, “but I desire to witness
truth; and as I desire to witness against oppression, so, also, against
the slighting of civil, yea, of barbarous order and government.”
We are glad to know that the commissioners of King Charles handed
their royal master a very favorable report of the Rhode Island colony.
They even had a good word for the Narragansett Indians. The natives
had pledged their allegiance to the king and, in token of their
subjection, promised to pay His Majesty two wolfskins a year. They
also sent Charles some truly barbarous tokens of affection, including
two wampum caps, two clubs inlaid with wampum, and a feather mantle,
besides a porcupine bag for the queen. It is a pity these gifts fell
into the hands of the Dutch and never reached their destination.
What a sensation they would have made at court among the nobles and
ladies-in-waiting! But the giving was not all on one side. Two coats
were presented the sachems in the king’s name, with which they were
greatly pleased. It would not be surprising if Roger Williams had made
the suggestion, knowing the Indian weakness in matters of dress.
An opportunity came for Roger Williams to use his influence in behalf
of John Clarke, the good friend of the colony who had labored in
her interests in the mother country for twelve long years. It had
been voted to pay him for his trouble, but due either to poverty
or unwillingness (probably both), the required amount had not been
forthcoming. So the matter dragged on, long after the charter affair
was settled and the agent had returned to America. Even back in London
days, Mr. Clarke was so short of funds that he had been obliged to
mortgage his Newport home. Stung to the quick by what he considered
rank ingratitude, Roger Williams wrote a sharp letter to Warwick, the
most backward town.
“It is no more honest,” he wrote, “for us to withdraw in this case than
for men to come to an ordinary [tavern] and to call for the best wine
and liquors, the best meats, roast and baked, the best attendance,
etc., and to be able to pay for all and yet most unworthily steal away
and not discharge the reckoning.” Then changing his figure of speech,
he continued:
“Shall we say we are Christians ... to ride securely in a troublous
sea and time by a new cable and anchor of Mr. Clarke’s procuring, and
be so far from satisfying his engagement about them, that we turn him
adrift to languish and sink, with his back broke for putting under his
shoulder to ease us?”
The letter quickened the colony to further action. The mortgaged home
was saved, but, unfortunately, the debt was never paid in full.
There were boundary disputes during these years, both among the
colonists themselves and with outsiders. In Providence, troubles
arose from the Indian grants made so many years before. Mr. Harris,
Roger Williams’ old enemy, and others interpreted the language of the
Indian deed to mean that Canonicus and Miantonomo had really given
away several hundred thousand acres of land that had never been taken
possession of by the colonists. To-day, if a pretended claim of a
similar nature should come up, we would very likely call it a case of
clear “graft.” Roger Williams, ever on the defensive when the Indians
were concerned, declared stoutly that the chiefs had meant nothing of
the kind. And, indeed, what man was better informed on this subject
than Roger Williams himself? Had he not dealt directly with the
Narragansett sachems? Had he not talked with them in their own tongue?
He so persistently blocked and delayed every measure to appropriate the
territory in question that the matter was never carried to a successful
finish. Still the short-sighted grumblers called his whole-hearted
interest “meddling.” With saddened heart, he recorded their taunts:
“But some cried out, when Roger Williams had laid himself down as a
stone in the dust, for after-comers to step on in town and colony,
‘What is Roger Williams? We know the Indians and the sachems as well
as he. We will trust Roger Williams no longer. We will have our bounds
confirmed us under the sachems’ hands before us.’”
The details of the other boundary quarrels make dry, difficult reading
in these days. They are interesting only as they bring out the
character of Roger Williams and the part he played in trying to adjust
them. The disputed land was principally the Narragansett country, or
the southern half of the present state of Rhode Island. Massachusetts
claimed territory here, so did Plymouth, and, added to their
encroachments, were those of Connecticut. If the land had been divided
up as they all wished, little enough would have been left of tiny Rhode
Island to form a respectable state afterwards!
Roger Williams saw in this desire to annex territory a prevailing greed
for land, which he looked upon as one of the greatest failings of
New England. He could not understand how his countrymen of the other
colonies “should not be content with those vast and large tracts (like
platters and tables full of dainties), but pull and snatch away their
poor neighbors’ bit or crust”; adding, “and a crust it is, and a dry,
hard one, too, because of the natives’ continual troubles, trials and
vexations.”
To Major Mason of Connecticut he wrote a letter (which has since become
famous) upholding the rights of Rhode Island. That prominent man
afterwards advised his colony that he hardly thought it wise to attempt
to acquire the land in question. Thus we infer that Roger Williams’
diplomacy did much to avert further aggression on the Connecticut side
at least.
Not all Roger Williams’ tasks were big ones. He was not the man to say
that because he was capable of great things, he would let the little
things slip by. He performed numberless neighborly services of a legal
character, either as witness or executor. It fell upon him to take
charge of the house and lot of a certain John Clawson, a Dutchman, whom
he had befriended when needy and employed as a household servant. He
had taught him to read and given him a Dutch Testament. It is amusing
to think that this Providence real estate was valued at eleven pounds.
More amusing still were the terms of its disposal. Roger Williams sold
it for “current country pay” in three yearly instalments of cloth,
stockings, corn and apples. Even on these easy terms, the buyer took
about double the time for payment that the agreement allowed.
Public spirit was sometimes at a low ebb in early Providence. Thus
there was no end of trouble trying to erect a suitable bridge near the
center of the town and keeping it in proper repair. The townspeople
argued, deliberated, debated, but nobody seemed aggressive enough to
push the work. Finally Roger Williams stepped into the breach. “I will,
with God’s help, take this bridge unto my care.” What a relief it must
have been to realize that somebody had taken the initiative at last!
He made Providence a business-like proposition, whereby the citizens
were to donate their labor, the amount being apportioned to the use
they would make of the bridge and whether they had a team or not. This
sharing of work was only fair, for the inhabitants of the town were to
be exempt from toll, a moderate sum being asked of strangers only.
There was nothing striking, nothing impressive, about these public
services of Roger Williams and they did not win the applause of the
crowd. Sometimes they gained for him nothing but unpopularity. Yet at
no other period in his long career do we get a finer idea of the real
nobility of the man than in these latter years when old age was coming
on and his word was perhaps not listened to with the respect of former
days. He cheerfully took up and faithfully performed the local duties
that came his way, though he had been recognized by Parliament, had
been on an intimate footing with the greatest statesmen of England, and
was himself one of the wisest, most far-sighted men of his age. This
was citizenship at its best.