by Sin undone your selves; That you were born Sinners, That you have
lived Sinners, That your Sins have been many and mighty, and that the
Sins for which you are now to Dy are of no common aggravation. We have
told you, That there is a Saviour for Sinners, and we have shewn you,
how to commit your selves into His Saving and Healing Hands. We have
told you, That if He Save you, He will give you an hearty Repentance
for all your Sins, and we have shown you how to Express that
Repentance. We have told you, What Marks of Life must be desired for
your Souls, that you may Safely appear before the Judgment Seat of
God. Oh! That the means used for your Good may by the Grace of God be
made Effectual. We can do no more, but leave you in His Merciful
Hands!"
When they were gone up upon the Stage, and Silence was Commanded, One
of the Ministers Prayed, as followeth.
The Prayer made by One of the Ministers, after the Malefactors were
first upon the Stage.[5] (As near as it could be taken in Writing in
the great Crowd.)
[Footnote 5: This prayer is unmistakable Cotton Mather; to whom we may
be sure this whole occasion was one of extraordinary enjoyment.]
"O Thou most Great and Glorious Lord! Thou art a Righteous, and a
Terrible God. It is a Righteous and an Holy Law that thou hast given
unto us. To break that Good Law, and Sin against thy Infinite Majesty,
can be no little Evil. Thy Word is always True; and very Particular,
that Word of thine which has told us and warn'd us, _Evil Pursueth
Sinners_. We have seen it, we have seen it; We have before our Eyes a
dreadful Demonstration of it. Oh! Sanctify unto us a Sight that has in
it so much of the Terror of the Lord! We have Reason to Glorify the
Free Grace of God, that we are not our selves the Instances. We have
before us very astonishing Examples of _Evil Pursuing Sinners_. Here
is a Number of men that have been very Great Sinners, and that are to
Dy before their Time, for their being wicked overmuch. God knows the
Prayers, the Pains, the Tears, and the Agonies that have been Employ'd
for them. And now, the Last Thing that we have to do for them, is to
pour out with Anguish of Soul our Prayer on their behalf; Our Prayer,
to that God, who heareth Prayer; to that God, with whom there is Mercy
and Plenteous Redemption; to that God, who is Rich in Mercy and Ready
to Pardon. But how can we make our Prayer, without a Rapturous
Adoration of that Free-Grace, which has distinguished us! We, even we
also, have every one of us an horrible Fountain of Sin in our Souls.
There are none of the Crimes committed by these Miserable Men, or by
the worst of those Criminals that go down into the Pit, but we have
the seeds of them, in that Original Corruption, which we brought into
the World with us. If God had left us to our selves, as He justly
might have done, there is not the best among us all, but what would
soon have done the worst things in the World. Oh! The Free-Grace! Oh!
The Free-Grace! Oh! The Riches of that Grace, which has made all the
Difference! But now, we Cry mightily to Heaven, we Lift up our Cries
to the God of all Grace, for the Perishing Souls which are just now
going to Expire under the Stroke of Justice, before our Eyes. We
Mourn, we Mourn, that upon some of them, at Least, we do unto this
Minute see no better Symptomes. But, Oh! is there not yet a Room for
Sovereign Grace to be display'd, in their Conversion and Salvation!
They Perish, if they do not now Sincerely Turn from Sin to God, and
give themselves up to the Lord Jesus Christ; They Righteously and
Horribly Perish! And yet, without influences from above, they can do
none of those things which must be done if they do not perish. Oh! Let
us beg it of our God, that He would not be so Provoked at their
Multiplied and Prodigious Impieties, and at their obstinate Hardness
under means of Good formerly afforded them, as to withhold those
Influences from them! We cry to thee, O God of all Grace, That thou
wouldest not Suffer them to continue in the Gall of Bitterness and
Bond of Iniquity, and in the Possession of the Devil. Oh! Knock off
the Chains of Death which are upon their Souls; Oh! Snatch the prey
out of the Hands of the Terrible.
"Yet once again! Once again! We bring them, and lay them before the
Spirit of Grace. O Almighty Spirit of Grace, May these Poor, blind,
mad Sinners become objects for the Triumphs of Grace! O Almighty
Spirit of God, and of Grace, cause these poor men to see their own
Sinfulness and Wretchedness! Make them willing to be Saved from such
Sinfulness and Wretchedness; Discover to them the only Saviour of
their Souls. Oh! Dispose them, Oh! Assist them to give the Consent of
their Souls unto His Wonderful Proposals. Let them Dy, Renouncing all
Dependence on any Righteousness of their own; Alas, what can they have
of their own to Depend upon! As a Token and Effect of their having
Accepted the Righteousness of God, Let them heartily Repent of all
their Sins against thee, and Abhor and cast up every Morsel of their
Iniquity. Oh! Let them not go out of the World, raging and raving
against the Justice of God and Man; And whatever part of the Satanick
Image is yet remaining on their Souls, Oh! Efface it! Let them now Dy
in such a State and such a Frame, as may render them fit to appear
before God the Judge of all. What shall we do for them? What shall
plead for them?
"Great God, Grant that all the Spectators may get Good by the horrible
Spectacle that is now before them! Let all the People hear and fear,
and let no more any such Wickedness be done, as has produced this
woful Spectacle. And let all the People beware how they go on in the
Ways of Sin, and in the pathes of the Destroyer, after so Solemn
Warnings; Lest thou shouldest not only leave them to the grossest Acts
of Wickedness, but also give them up unto the most amazing
Impenitency, when the Punishment of their Iniquity comes to be
inflicted on them.
"Oh! but shall our Sea faring Tribe, on this Occasion, be in a
Singular manner affected with the Warnings of God! Lord, May those of
our dear Brethren be Saved from the Temptations which do so threaten
them! so ruine them! Oh! let them not Abandon themselves to Profanity,
to Swearing, to Cursing, to Drinking, to Leudness, to a cursed
Forgetfulness of their Maker, and of the End for which He made them!
Oh! Let them not be abandoned of God, unto those Courses that will
hasten them to a Damnation that slumbers not. Oh! Let the men fear the
Lord Exceedingly, We Pray thee! We Pray thee! Let the Condition of the
Six or Seven men, whom they now see Dying for their Wickedness upon
the Sea, be Sanctified unto them.
"And now, we fly, we fly to _Sovereign Grace_. Oh! that the Poor men,
which are immediately to appear before the awful Tribunal of God, may
first by _Sovereign Grace_ have produced upon their Souls those Marks
of thy Favour, without which tis a dreadful Thing to appear before
that awful Tribunal. Oh! Great God, Let thy _Sovereign Grace_ Operate
on this fearful Occasion! God be Merciful to us all, for the Sake of
our Lord Jesus Christ, unto whom with the Father and the Spirit, be
ascribed the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever more, _Amen_."
They then Severally Spoke, Viz.
I. _Capt. John Quelch._ The last Words he spake to One of the
Ministers at his going up the Stage, were, "I am not afraid of Death,
I am not afraid of the Gallows, but I am afraid of what follows; I am
afraid of a Great God, and a Judgment to Come." But he afterwards
seem'd to brave it out too much against that fear: also when on the
Stage first he pulled off his Hat, and bowed to the Spectators, and
not Concerned, nor behaving himself so much like a Dying man as some
would have done. The Ministers had, in the Way to his Execution, much
desired him to Glorify God at his Death, by bearing a due Testimony
against the Sins that had ruined him, and for the ways of Religion
which he had much neglected: yet now being called upon to speak what
he had to say, it was but thus much; "Gentlemen, 'Tis but little I
have to speak; What I have to say is this, I desire to be informed for
what I am here. I am Condemned only upon Circumstances. I forgive all
the World: So the Lord be Merciful to my Soul." When Lambert was
Warning the Spectators to beware of Bad-Company, Quelch joyning, "They
should also take care how they brought Money into New-England, to be
Hanged for it!"
II. _John Lambert._ He appeared much hardened, and pleaded much on his
Innocency. He desired all men to beware of Bad Company; he seem'd in a
great Agony near his Execution; he called much and frequently on
Christ, for Pardon of Sin, that God Almighty would Save his innocent
Soul; he desired to forgive all the World; his last words were, "Lord,
forgive my Soul! Oh, receive me into Eternity! blessed name of Christ
receive my Soul."
III. _Christopher Scudamore._ He appeared very Penitent since his
Condemnation, was very diligent to improve his time going to, and at
the place of Execution.
IV. _John Miller._ He seem'd much concerned, and complained of a
great Burden of Sins to answer for; Expressing often, "Lord! What
shall I do to be Saved!"
V. _Erasmus Peterson._ He cryed of injustice done him; and said, it is
very hard for so many mens Lives to be taken away for a little Gold.
He often said, his Peace was made with God; and his Soul would be with
God: yet extream hard to forgive those he said wronged him. He told
the Executioner, he was a strong man, and Prayed to be put out of
misery as soon as possible.
VI. _Peter Roach._ He seem'd little concerned, and said but little or
nothing at all.
_Francis King_ was also Brought to the place of Execution, but
Repriev'd.
Printed for and Sold by Nicholas Boone, at his Shop near the Old
Meeting-House in Boston. 1704.
_Advertisement._
There is now in the Press, and will speedily be Published: The
Arraignment, Tryal and Condemnation of Capt. John Quelch, and others
of his Company, etc. For sundry Piracies, Robberies and Murder,
committed upon the Subjects of the King of Portugal, Her Majesties
Allie, on the Coast of Brasil, etc. Who upon full Evidence were found
Guilty, at the Court-House in Boston, on the 13th of June 1704. With
the Arguments of the Queen's Council, and Council for the Prisoners,
upon the Act for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy. With an
account of the Ages of the several Prisoners, and the Places where
they were Born. Printed for and sold by Nicholas Boone, 1704.[6]
[Footnote 6: The publication of the pamphlet here advertised was by
authority of Governor Dudley, who gives the Board of Trade the
following excuse for printing the minutes of the trial before sending
them to that body (letter of July 25, 1705), "My Lords, I should not
have directed the printing of them here, but to satisfy and save the
clamour of a rude people, who were greatly surprised that any body
should be put to death that brought in gold into the Province, and did
at the time speak rudely of the proceeding against them and assisted
to hide and cover those ill persons". _Cal. St. P. Col._, 1704-1705,
p. 585.]
* * * * *
_105. Deposition of Paul Dudley. August 15, 1705._[1]
[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, C.O. 5:1263, no. 57 XXVI. Paul
Dudley was the governor's oldest son. The deposition is one of 55
enclosures in the governor's letter of Nov. 2, 1705, to the Board of
Trade respecting his complaints of irregularities in the governments
of Rhode Island and Connecticut. Though Dudley's commissions as
governor confined his civil authority to Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, his commission as vice-admiral (printed in the
_Publications_ of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, II. 220-224)
gave him authority in Rhode Island also. The assembly of that colony,
however, claimed the right under their charter to erect admiralty
courts of their own, and for their governor the right to commission
privateers. Queen Anne wrote to them in March 1704, repealing their
act erecting a court, but they held that her letter did not forbid the
commissioning of privateers. See _Records of the Colony of Rhode
Island_, III. 508-510, 535-540.]
The Deposition of Paul Dudley, Esquire, Her Majestys Attourney General
for the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, and Advocate
of the Court of Admiralty--who saith
That on or about the fifth day of June last past, being at Newport on
Road Island in Company with the Honourable Nathaniel Byfield, Esquire,
Judge of the Court of Admiralty, etc.[2] at the House of Samuel
Cranston, Esquire, Governour of said Island, The said Judge
complaining of the said Governours granting a Commission to Captain
Halsey, a Privateer,[3] after the Receipt of her Majesties Commands to
the Contrary, The said Samuel Cranston replyed, That he had taken the
advice of the Generall Court[4] of that Colony, who were all of
opinion That her Majesties Commands did not forbid him or restrain him
from Granting Commissions for Privateers, And that their Charter
granting them Power of Vice Admiralty,[5] he was determined to
Exercise that power, and Grant such Commissions untill their Charter
was actually and wholly taken away; And that they would not part with
their powers or Government by piece meal, but would Die all at once,
And that they had parted with too many of their priviledges
already....
PAUL DUDLEY.
BOSTON in New England
15 August 1705
Sworne in presence of his Excellency the Governour before us
ISA. ADDINGTON }
ANDREW BELCHER } of the Council
[Footnote 2: Nathaniel Byfield--founder of Bristol, Mass, (now R.I.),
nephew of Archbishop Juxon and grandson of that Rev. Richard Byfield
who was vicar of Stratford-on-Avon during most of Shakespeare's
life--was commissioned admiralty judge for Massachusetts and Rhode
Island during brief periods in 1698 and 1703, again 1704-1715 and
1728-1732.]
[Footnote 3: Nov. 7, 1704, Cranston had given a privateer's commission
to Capt. John Halsey of the brigantine _Charles_, the vessel that had
been Quelch's. The governor's confidence seems not to have been
justified, for presently Halsey entered upon a large and lurid career
of piracy, duly described in Johnson, _General History of the
Pyrates_, II. 110-118.]
[Footnote 4: Assembly.]
[Footnote 5: It would be hard to find any such grant in the Rhode
Island charter of 1663.]
_106. Commission for Trial of Piracy. November 1, 1716._[1]
[Footnote 1: Charleston, Records of the Court of Vice-admiralty of
South Carolina, vol. A-B. The document is spread upon the records of
the court for Nov. 27, 1716, at the beginning of the day's
proceedings. This commission is a peculiar one. As has been explained
in note 2 to doc. no. 51 and in note 1 to doc. no. 104, the act 28
Henr. VIII. ch. 15 (1536) provided for the trial of piracy by
commissions specially appointed for the purpose, and with a jury, but
did not extend to the oversea plantations, while the act 11 and 12
Will. III. ch. 7 (1699-1700) extended to those dominions the crown's
authority to appoint such commissions. Before the passage of the
latter statute, colonial governors had as vice-admirals appointed such
commissions, which had then proceeded under the civil (Roman) law, and
not under the statute. But South Carolina had in 1712 expressly
adopted the act of 28 Henr. VIII. (Cooper, _Statutes at Large_, II.
470) and here we have a commission issued by the deputy governor and
council, under authority of the proprietors of Carolina, for trial
under the act of 1536, though action could have been taken under that
of 1700. The accused persons for whose trial the commission was issued
were acquitted. For the whole subject of piracy in or near Carolina,
where it was rife in these years, see S.C. Hughson, "The Carolina
Pirates and Colonial Commerce", in _Johns Hopkins University Studies_,
XII. The most famous case was that of Major Stede Bonnet, but the
original records of that case are fully printed in _State Trials_, ed.
Hargrave, vol. VI.]
South Carolina.
His Excellency John Lord Carteret, Palatine, The most Noble Henry Duke
of Beaufort, the Right Hon'ble William Lord Craven, the Hon'ble
Maurice Ashley Esqr., Sir John Colleton Baronet, John Danson Esqr.,
and the rest of the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of
Carolina,[2] To Nicholas Trott Esq., Judge of the Vice Admiralty in
South Carolina and chief Justice of the said Province,[3] The Hon'ble
Capt. Thomas Howard Commander of his Majestys ship the _Shoram_, the
Hon'ble Charles Hart Esqr., one of the Members of our Council in South
Carolina, the Hon'ble Thomas Broughton, Speaker of the Lower House of
Assembly in South Carolina, Arthur Middleton and Ralph Izard Esqrs.,
Capt. Philip Dawes, Capt. Willm. Cuthbert, Commander of the _Fortune_
Frigate, Capt. Allen Archer, Commander of the Brigantine _Experiment_,
and Samuel Deane and Edward Brailsford, merchants, Greeting.
[Footnote 2: The six proprietors of Carolina here named held at this
time six of the eight shares in the property. The holder of the
seventh was a minor; the eighth was in litigation.]
[Footnote 3: Nicholas Trott, LL.D., attorney-general of Bermuda
1696-1697, the first attorney general of South Carolina 1698-1702,
chief-justice 1702-1709, 1713-1719, a learned lawyer, and a great
power in the politics of the province so long as the rule of the
proprietors continued. He was the first vice-admiralty judge, having
commissions as such from both the king and the proprietors. He is
often erroneously identified with his cousin the governor (1693-1696)
of the Bahamas, the Nicholas Trott of docs. nos. 63 and 64.]
Whereas by an Act of Parliament made in the Twenty-Eight year of Henry
the Eight Intituled for Pirates It is among other things Enacted That
all Treasons, Felonies, Robberies, Murthers and Confederacies
thereafter Committed in or upon the Seas or in any other Haven, River,
Creek or Place where the Admiral or Admirals have or Pretend to have
power, Authority or Juridiction, Shall be Inquired, Tryed, heard,
determined and Judged in such Shires and Places in the Realm as shall
be Limitted by the Kings Commission or Commissions to be directed for
the same in like form and Condition as if any such Offence or Offences
had been Committed or Done in and upon the Land, and such Commissions
shall be had under the Kings Great Seal Directed to the Admiral or
Admirals or to his or their Lieutenant, Deputy and Deputies, and to
three or Four such other Substantial persons as shall be named or
appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England for the time being from
time to time and as often as needs shall require, to hear and
Determine such Offences after the Common Course of the Laws of England
Used for Treasons, Felonies, Robberies, Murthers and Confederacies of
the same Done and Committed upon the Land within the Realm of England,
And it is further Enacted That such Persons to whom such Commission or
Commissions shall be Directed or four of them at the least shall have
full power and authority to Inquire of such Offences and of every of
them by the Oaths of Twelve good and Lawfull Inhabitants in the Shire
Limited in their Commission in such like manner and form as if such
offence had been Committed Upon the Land within the same Shire, And
that every Indictment found and presentd before such Commissioners of
any Treasons, Felonies, Robbery, Murthers, Manslaughters or such other
Offences Committed or done in and upon the Seas or in and upon any
other River or Creek Shall be Good and Effectual in the Law, and if
any Person or Persons happen to be Indicted for any such Offence done
or thereafter to be done upon the Seas or any other place above
Limitted That then such Order, Process, Judgement and Execution shall
be used had Done and made to and against every such person or Persons
so being Indicted as against Traitors, Felons and Murtherers for
Treason, Felony, Robbery, Murther or such Offences done upon the Land
as by the Law of this Realm is Accustomed, and that the Tryal of such
Offence or Offences if it be Denied by the Offender or Offenders shall
be had by Twelve Lawfull men Inhabited in the Shire Limited within
such Commission, which shall be Directed as is aforesaid, and no
Challenge or Challenges to be had for the Hundred.
And such as shall be Convict of any such Offence or Offences by
Verdict, Confession or Process by Authority of any such Commission
shall have and Suffer such pains of Death, Losses of Lands, Goods and
Chattels as if they had been Attainted and Convicted of any Treasons,
Felonies, Robberies or other the Like said Offences done upon the
Land,[4] Which said Act for Pirates with Several other Acts of
Parliament of the Kingdom of England are made of Force in this
Province by of Act of Assembly Intitled an Act to put in Force in this
Province the several Statutes of the Kingdom Of England or South
Britain therein particularly mentioned, duely Ratified in open
Assembly the Twelth Day of December in the year of our Lord One
Thousand Seven Hundred and Twelve, In which said Act of Assembly
Amongst other things It is Enacted That the Honble Governor and the
Council of this Province for the time being shall have all the power
and Authority relating to the Execution of the therein Enumerated
Statutes as by the same or by any other the Laws of England are Given
to the Lord Chancellor or the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England
as the said Act of Assembly, reference being there unto had, will more
fully appear.
[Footnote 4: Thus far quoting, correctly, sect. 2 of 28 Henr. VIII.
ch. 15.]
Now Know yee, That we, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in the
Ability, Care, Prudence and Fidelity of you the said Nicholas Trott,
Thomas Howard, Charles Hart, Thomas Broughton, Arthur Middleton, Ralph
Izard, Philip Daws, William Cuthbert, Allen Archer and Samuel
Brailsford or any four of you, the said Nicholas Trott to be one, have
constituted and Appointed and by these presents Do Constitute and
Appoint you to be Our Commissioners in South Carolina for Examining,
Enquiring of, Trying, Hearing and Determining and Adjudging, according
to the directions of the said act of Parliament as made of force in
the said province of South Carolina, all Treason, Piracies, Robberies,
Felonies and Murthers Committed in or upon the Sea or within any
Haven, River, Creek or place where the Admiral or Admirals have power,
authority or Jurisdiction, And to Do all things necessary for the
hearing and final Determination of any Cases of Treason, Piracy,
Robbery, Felony or Murther Committed on the Sea or where the Admiral
hath Jurisdication, and to Give Sentence and Judgement of Death and to
Award Execution of the Offenders so Convicted and Attainted, And we
hereby direct, Impower and require you our said Commissioners to
proceed, Act, Examine, hear, adjudge and Determine in all things as
fully and amply to all Intents and purposes within this province of
South Carolina as any Commissioners in the Kingdom of England
Impowered by Commission under the Broad Seal pursuant to the said
Statute of the Twenty Eight of Henry the Eight for Pirates or any the
like Commissioners in any of the British Plantations in America can or
may lawfully doe, perform and Execute, And we do hereby Require and
Command all our Officers and all other Persons whatsoever in anywise
concerned to take notice of this our Grant and give all due Obedience
to your said Commissioners in the Execution of the several powers
herein Granted you, as they will Answer the Contrary att their Perils.
Witness our Deputy Governor and our Deputies at CharlesTown in South
Carolina And Given under the Publick Seal of the said Province of
South Carolina This First day of November In the Third year of the
Reign of our Lord George, by the Grace of God of Great Britain France
and Ireland King, Defender of the faith etc. And in the year of our
Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Sixteen.
ROBERT DANIEL.[5]
GEORGE LOGAN.
FRA. YONGE.
SAM: EVELEIGH.
[Footnote 5: Governor Edward Craven, sailing for England in April
preceding, had left Col. Robert Daniel deputy governor in his stead.
The other signers were deputies of individual proprietors.]
THE PIRATES OF THE _WHIDAH_.
_107. Cyprian Southack to Governor Samuel Shute. May [5?], 1717._[1]