USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Bradford's history "of Plimoth plantation" from the original manuscript > Part 3
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It was fortunate, too, that the application came in a time of cordial good-will between the two coun- tries, when the desire of John Adams and the long- ing of George III. have their ample and complete fulfilment. This token of the good-will of England reached Boston on the eve of the birthday of the illustrious sovereign, who is not more venerated and beloved by her own subjects than by the kindred people across the sea.
It comes to us at the time of the rejoicing of the
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.
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ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR.
English people at the sixtieth anniversary of a reign more crowded with benefit to humanity than any other known in the annals of the race. Upon the power of England, the sceptre, the trident, the lion, the army and the fleet, the monster ships of war, the all-shattering guns, the American people are strong enough now to look with an entire indiffer- ence. We encounter her commerce and her manu- facture in the spirit of a generous emulation. The inheritance from which England has gained these things is ours also. We, too, are of the Saxon strain.
In our halls is hung Armory of the invincible knights of old.
Our temple covers a continent, and its porches are upon both the seas. Our fathers knew the secret to lay, in Christian liberty and law, the foundations of empire. Our young men are not ashamed, if need be, to speak with the enemy in the gate.
But to the illustrious lady, type of gentlest woman- hood, model of mother and wife and friend, who came at eighteen to the throne of George IV. and William; of purer eyes than to behold iniquity ; the maiden presence before which everything unholy shrank; the sovereign who, during her long reign, "ever knew the people that she ruled;" the royal nature that disdained to strike at her kingdom's rival in the hour of our sorest need; the heart which even in
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
the bosom of a queen beat with sympathy for the cause of constitutional liberty ; who, herself not un- acquainted with grief, laid on the coffin of our dead Garfield the wreath fragrant with a sister's sympa- thy, -to her our republican manhood does not dis- dain to bend.
The eagle, lord of land and sea, Will stoop to pay her fealty.
But I am afraid this application might have had the fate of its predecessors but for our special good fortune in the fact that Mr. Bayard was our ambas- sador at the Court of St. James. He had been, as I said in the beginning, the ambassador not so much of the diplomacy as of the good-will of the American people. Before his powerful influence every obstacle gave way. It was almost impossible for Englishmen to refuse a request like this, made by him, and in which his own sympathies were so profoundly enlisted.
You are entitled, sir, to the gratitude of Massa- chusetts, to the gratitude of every lover of Massa- chusetts and of every lover of the country. You have succeeded where so many others have failed, and where so many others would have been likely to fail. You may be sure that our debt to you is fully understood and will not be forgotten.
The question of the permanent abiding-place of this
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ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR.
manuscript will be settled after it has reached the hands of His Excellency. Wherever it shall go it will be an object of reverent care. I do not think many Americans will gaze upon it without a little trembling of the lips and a little gathering of mist in the eyes, as they think of the story of suffering, of sorrow, of peril, of exile, of death and of lofty triumph which that book tells, - which the hand of the great leader and founder of America has traced on those pages.
There is nothing like it in human annals since the story of Bethlehem. These Englishmen and English women going out from their homes in beautiful Lin- coln and York, wife separated from husband and mother from child in that hurried embarkation for Holland, pursued to the beach by English horsemen ; the thirteen years of exile; the life at Amsterdam "in alley foul and lane obscure;" the dwelling at Leyden ; the embarkation at Delfthaven; the farewell of Robinson ; the terrible voyage across the Atlantic; the compact in the harbor; the landing on the rock ; the dreadful first winter; the death roll of more than half the number ; the days of suffering and of famine ; the wakeful night, listening for the yell of wild beast and the war-whoop of the savage; the build- ing of the State on those sure foundations which no wave or tempest has ever shaken; the breaking of the new light; the dawning of the new day; the
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
beginning of the new life; the enjoyment of peace with liberty, - of all these things this is the origi- nal record by the hand of our beloved father and founder. Massachusetts will preserve it until the time shall come that her children are unworthy of it; and that time shall come, - never.
ADDRESS
OF THE
HON. THOMAS F. BAYARD.
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ADDRESS OF AMBASSADOR BAYARD.
Your Excellency, Gentlemen of the two Houses of the Legislature of Massachusetts, Ladies and Gentle- men, Fellow Countrymen : The honorable and most gratifying duty with which I am charged is about to receive its final act of execution, for I have the book here, as it was placed in my hands by the Lord Bishop of London on April 29, intact then and now; and I am about to deliver it according to the provisions of the decree of the Chancellor of Lon- don, which has been read in your presence, and the receipt signed by me and registered in his court that I would obey the provisions of that decree.
I have kept my trust; I have kept the book as I received it; I shall deliver it into the hands of the representative of the people who are entitled to its custody.
And now, gentlemen, it would be superfluous for me to dwell upon the historical features of this remarkable occasion, for it has been done, as we all knew it would be done, with ability, learning, eloquence and impressiveness, by the distinguished Senator who represents you so well in the Con- gress of the United States.
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
For all that related to myself, and for every gracious word of recognition and commendation that fell from his lips in relation to the part that I have taken in the act of restoration, I am profoundly grateful. It is an additional reward, but not the reward which induced my action.
To have served your State, to have been instru- mental in such an act as this, was of itself a high privilege to me. The Bradford manuscript was in the library of Fulham palace, and if, by lawful means, I could have become possessed of the volume, and have brought it here and quietly deposited it, I should have gone to my home with the great satisfaction of knowing that I had performed an act of justice, an act of right between two countries. Therefore the praise, however grateful, is additional, and I am very thankful for it.
It may not be inappropriate or unpleasing to you should I state in a very simple manner the history of my relation to the return of this book, for it all has occurred within the last twelve months.
I knew of the existence of this manuscript, and had seen the reproduction in facsimile. I knew that attempts had been made, unsuccessfully, to obtain the original book.
At that time Senator Hoar made a short visit to England, and in passing through London I was informed by him of the great interest that he, in
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AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS.
common with the people of this State, had in the restoration of this manuscript to the custody of the State.
We discussed the methods by which it might be accomplished, and after two or three concurrent sug- gestions he returned to the United States, and pres- ently I received, under cover from the Secretary of State, - a distinguished citizen of your own State, Mr. Olney, - a formal note, suggesting rather than instructing that in an informal manner I should en- deavor to have carried out the wishes of the various societies that had addressed themselves to the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in order to obtain the return of this manuscript.
It necessarily had to be done informally. The strict regulations of the office I then occupied forbade my correspondence with any member of the British gov- ernment except through the foreign office, unless it were informal. An old saying describes the entire case, that "When there's a will there's a way." There certainly was the will to get the book, and there cer- tainly was also a will and a way to give the book, and that way was discovered by the legal custodians of the book itself.
At first there were suggestions of difficulty, some technical questions ; and following a very safe rule, the first thought was, What is the law? and the case was submitted to the law officers of the Crown.
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
Then there arose the necessity of a formal act of permission.
There could be entertained no question as to the title to the manuscript in the possession of the British government. There was no authority to grant a claim, founded on adverse title, and the question arose as to the requisite form of law of a permissive rather than of a mandatory nature, in order to be authorita- tive with those who had charge of the document.
But, as I have said, when there was a will there was found a way. By personal correspondence and interviews with the Bishop of London, I soon discov- ered that he was as anxious to find the way as I was that he should find it. In March last it was finally agreed that I should employ legal counsel to present a formal petition in the Episcopal Consistorial Court of London, and there before the Chancellor to repre- sent the strong desire of Massachusetts and her people for the return of the record of her early Governor.
Accordingly, the petition was prepared, and by my authority signed as for me by an eminent member of the bar, and it was also signed by the Bishop of London, so that there was a complete consensus. The decree was ordered, as is published in the London " Times " on March 25 last, and nothing after that remained but formalities, in which, as you are well aware, the English law is not lacking, especially in the ecclesiastical tribunals.
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AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS.
These formalities were carried out during my ab- sence from London on a short visit to the Conti- nent, and the decree which you have just heard read was duly entered on April 12 last, consigning the document to my personal custody, to be delivered by me in this city to the high official therein named, subject to those conditions which you have also heard.
Accordingly, on the 29th of April last I was sum- moned to the court, and there, having signed the re- ceipt, this decree was read in my presence. Then the Bishop of London arose, and, taking the book in his hands, delivered it with a few gracious words into my custody, and here it is to-day.
The records of those proceedings will no doubt be preserved here as accompanying this book, as they are in the Episcopal Consistorial Court in London, and they tell the entire story.
But that is but part. The thing that I wish to impress upon you, and upon my fellow countrymen throughout the United States, is that this is an act of courtesy and friendship by another government - the government of what we once called our "mother country " -to the entire people of the United States.
You cannot limit it to the Governor of this Com- monwealth; nor to the Legislature; nor even to the citizens of this Commonwealth. It extends in its courtesy, its kindness and comity to the entire people of the United States. From first to last there was
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
the ready response of courtesy and kindness to the request for the restoration of this manuscript record.
I may say to you that there has been nothing that I have sought more earnestly than to place the affairs of these two great nations in the atmosphere of mutual confidence and respect and good-will. If it be a sin to long for the honor of one's country, for the safety and strength of one's country, then I have been a great sinner, for I have striven to advance the honor and the safety and the welfare of my country, and believed it was best accom- plished by treating all with justice and courtesy, and doing those things to others which we would ask to have done to ourselves.
When the Chancellor pronounced his decree in March last, he cited certain precedents to justify him in re- storing this volume to Massachusetts. One precedent which powerfully controlled his decision, and which in the closing portion of his judgment he emphasizes, was an act of generous liberality upon the part of the American Library Society in Philadelphia in vol- untarily returning to the British government some volumes of original manuscript of the period of James the First, which by some means not very clearly explained had found their way among the books of that institution.
Those books were received by a distinguished man, Lord Romilly, Master of the Rolls, who took occasion
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AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS.
to speak of the liberality and kindness which dictated the action of the Philadelphia library. Gentlemen, I am one of those who believe that a generous and kindly act is never unwise between individuals or nations.
The return of this book to you is an echo of the kindly act of your countrymen in the city of Phila- delphia in 1866.
It is that, not, as Mr. Hoar has said, any influence or special effort of mine; but it is international good feeling and comity which brought about to you the pleasure and the joy of having this manuscript re- turned, and so it will ever be. A generous act will beget a generous act; trust and confidence will beget trust and confidence ; and so it will be while the world shall last, and well will it be for the man or for the people who shall recognize this truth and act upon it.
Now, gentlemen, there is another coincidence that I may venture to point out. It is history repeating itself. More than three hundred years ago the ances- tors from whom my father drew his name and blood were French Protestants, who had been compelled to flee from the religious persecutions of that day, and for the sake of conscience to find an asylum in Hol- land. Fifty years after they had fled and found safety in Holland, the little congregation of Independents from the English village of Scrooby, under the pas- torate of John Robinson, was forced to fly, and with
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
difficulty found its way into the same country of the Netherlands, seeking an asylum for consciences' sake.
Time passed on. The little English colony re- moved, as this manuscript of William Bradford will tell you, across the Atlantic, and soon after the Huguenot family from whom I drew my name found their first settlement in what was then the New Netherlands, now New York. Both came from the same cause; both came with the same object, the same purpose, - " soul freedom," as Roger Williams
well called it. Both came to found homes where they could worship God according to their own con- science and live as free men. They came to these shores, and they have found the asylum, and they have strengthened it, and it is what we see to-day, - a country of absolute religious and civil freedom, - of equal rights and toleration.
And is it not fitting that I, who have in my veins the blood of the Huguenots, should present to you and your Governor the log of the English emigrants, who left their country for the sake of religious freedom ?
They are blended here, -their names, their inter- ests. No man asks and no man has a right to ask or have ascertained by any method authorized by law what is the conscientious religious tenet or opinion of any man, of any citizen, as a prerequisite for holding an office of trust or power in the United States.
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AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS.
I think it well on this occasion to make, as I am sure you are making, acknowledgment to that heroic little country, the Lowlands as they call it, the Neth- erlands, -the country without one single feature of military defence except the brave hearts of the men who live in it and defend it.
Holland was the anvil upon which religious and civil liberty was beaten out in Europe at a time when the clang was scarcely heard anywhere else. We can never forget our historical debt to that country and to those people. Puritan, Independent, Huguenot, whoever he may be, forced to flee for conscience's sake, will not forget that in the Nether- lands there was found in his time of need the asylum where conscience, property and person might be secure.
And now my task is done. I am deeply grateful for the part that I have been enabled to take in this act of just and natural restitution. In Massachusetts or out of Massachusetts there is no one more will- ing than I to assist this work; and here, sir [address- ing Governor Wolcott], I fulfil my trust in placing in your hands the manuscript.
To you, as the honored representative of the people of this Commonwealth, I commit this book, in pur- suance of my obligations, gladly undertaken under the decree of the Episcopal Consistorial Court of London.
ADDRESS
OF
HIS EXCELLENCY ROGER WOLCOTT.
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ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR WOLCOTT.
On receiving the volume, Governor Wolcott, ad- dressing Mr. Bayard, spoke as follows : I thank you, sir, for the diligent and faithful manner in which you have executed the honorable trust imposed upon you by the decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London, a copy of which you have now placed in my hands. It was fitting that one of your high distinction should be selected to perform so dignified an office.
The gracious act of international courtesy which is now completed will not fail of grateful appreciation by the people of this Commonwealth and of the nation. It is honorable alike to those who hesitated not to prefer the request and to those whose generous liberality has prompted compliance with it. It may be that the story of the departure of this precious relic from our shores may never in its every detail be revealed; but the story of its return will be read of all men, and will become a part of the history of the Commonwealth. There are places and objects so intimately associated with the world's greatest men or with mighty deeds that the soul of him who gazes upon them is lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it
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PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
listens to the voice that speaks from the past, in words like those which came from the burning bush, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
On the sloping hillside of Plymouth, that bathes its feet in the waters of the Atlantic, such a voice is breathed by the brooding genius of the place, and the ear must be dull that fails to catch the whispered words. For here not alone did godly men and women suffer greatly for a great cause, but their noble pur- pose was not doomed to defeat, but was carried to perfect victory. They stablished what they planned. Their feeble plantation became the birthplace of re- ligious liberty, the cradle of a free Commonwealth. To them a mighty nation owns its debt. Nay, they have made the civilized world their debtor. In the varied tapestry which pictures our national life, the richest spots are those where gleam the golden threads of conscience, courage and faith, set in the web by that little band. May God in his mercy grant that the moral impulse which founded this nation may never cease to control its destiny; that no act of any future generation may put in peril the funda- mental principles on which it is based, - of equal rights in a free state, equal privileges in a free church and equal opportunities in a free school.
In this precious volume which I hold in my hands - the gift of England to the Commonwealth of Mas-
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GOVERNOR WOLCOTT'S ADDRESS.
sachusetts - is told the noble, simple story " of Plimoth Plantation." In the midst of suffering and privation and anxiety the pious hand of William Bradford here set down in ample detail the history of the enterprise from its inception to the year 1647. From him we may learn "that all great and hon- ourable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enterprised and overcome with answerable courages."
The sadness and pathos which some might read into the narrative are to me lost in victory. The triumph of a noble cause even at a great price is theme for rejoicing, not for sorrow, and the story here told is one of triumphant achievement, and not of defeat.
As the official representative of the Commonwealth, I receive it, sir, at your hands. I pledge the faith of the Commonwealth that for all time it shall be guarded in accordance with the terms of the decree under which it is delivered into her possession as one of her chiefest treasures. I express the thanks of the Commonwealth for the priceless gift. And I venture the prophecy that for countless years to come and to untold thousands these mute pages shall eloquently speak of high resolve, great suffering and heroic en- durance made possible by an absolute faith in the over-ruling providence of Almighty God.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
BY THE
BISHOP OF LONDON.
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THE BISHOP OF LONDON. - -
(Copy)
FULHAM PALACE, S. W.
Oct. 16, 1897.
DEAR SIR,
I would ask you to express to the Convention of the two branches of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts my grateful thanks for the copy of their resolution of May 26, which was presented to me by Mr. Adams .*
I consider it a great privilege to have been asso- ciated with an act of courtesy, which was also an act of justice, in restoring to its proper place a document which is so important in the records of your illustrious Commonwealth.
I am Yours faithfully,
H. D. COOLIDGE, Esq. Clerk of the Convention.
M. LONDON.
* The Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
1xxvii
OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION.
of plinoff plantation
And first of & occation, and ynduifments ther unto; the wiki that y may truly unfould, of must begine at y very roote erife of I Jame. The which of shall endever to manefest ina zplaine File; with singuler regard unto y simple truth in all things at least as near as my flender Judgments can alaine the fame.
1. Chapter
It is well knowne into g godly, and judicious; how ever Since first breaking out of flighte of i yoktell i'm our Honourable na- tion of England (which was & first of nations, whomy Lord a down ed ther with, affer y große darknes of sporpery which had cover et cover(pret & Christian worked ) what wars, & oxprofitions ever lince satan hath raifed, maintained, and continued against the saints, from time to time, in one forte, or other. Sometimes by bloody death cruel forments; other whiles ympriforments, banil. ments, & other card wages . As being Loath his kingdom should for donne, the truth prevaile; and jo churches of god reverte to their anciente purifie; and recover, their primative order, liberties Gentie But when he could not prevaile by thefe means, against the maine truths of y gofspell; But that they began to take rolling. in many places; Being watered with Blood of y marfires, and blefedt from heaven with a gracious encreate . Hethen be gane to take him to his anciente strategemes, wfed of old against. the first christians . That when by & Bloody, a barbarous per- Secutions of y Heather Emperours, he could not Stoppe & suburte the course of & Gofell; but that it Speedily overfyret, with a wonderful celeritie, the then Best known parts of y world . He then begane to Som Ercours, herefies, and wonderfull difentions amongst y profour's them Selves (working upontheir prido, ambition, with other corrupto pations, Incidente to all mortal men; jea to j saints them Selves in Some measure.) By which wofull effects followed; as not only bitter contentions, c hartBurnings, schifmes, with other horrible confusions. But Satan too ko occation advantage therby to foyst i a number of vilo coremoneys, with many unprofitable Cannons, edecrees which eque finco Soon as Graves, to many years, @ peccable Jours, even to this day. So as in y ancient times, the perfecuti
Of Plimoth Plantation.
AND first of ye occasion and indusments ther unto ; the which that I may truly unfould, I must begine at ye very roote & rise of ye same. The which I shall endevor to manefest in a plaine stile, with singuler regard unto ye simple trueth in all things, at least as near as my slender judgmente can attaine the same.
1. Chapter.
IT is well knowne unto ye godly and judicious, how ever since ye first breaking out of ye lighte of ye gospell in our Honourable Nation of England, (which was ye first of nations whom ye Lord adorned ther with, affter yt grosse darknes of popery which had covered & over- spred ye Christian worled,) what warrs & opposissions ever since, Satan hath raised, maintained, and continued against the Saincts, from time to time, in one sorte or other. Some times by bloody death and cruell tor- ments ; other whiles imprisonments, banishments, & other hard usages ; as being loath his kingdom should goe downe, the trueth prevaile, and ye churches of God reverte to their anciente puritie, and recover their prima- tive order, libertie, & bewtie. But when he could not
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