USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the colonial period. 1492-1692 v. I > Part 33
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396
THE COMMISSIONERS RETURN TO BOSTON.
CHAP. nicate the apprehensions entertained by Massachusetts 1 A XIV. report was raised that the latter colony was to be taxed 1664. £5000 yearly for the King's use, and that 12d. per annum was to be assessed on all improved lands;2 Major Hathorne, a man of "quick apprehension, and voluble speech," 3 at the head of his troops made a " seditious speech " against the step; and Governor Endicott, a faithful sentinel upon the watch-towers of his country, the last sands of whose life were fast running out, and who had been a tried friend of the colony, though hated by the Monarch, delivered a similar speech "in their meeting house in Boston."4 As an act of self-defense, it was resolved to attempt wearying both the King and the Commissioners by protracted delays. " Seven years," it was urged, " can easily be spun out in this way, and before that time a change may come." Be- sides, " who knows," suggested others, " what the event of this Dutch War will be ?"5 There was certainly no dis- position to facilitate the business on which these gentlemen had come. The commission itself was condemned as con- trary to the Charter ; and eminent jurists have since sus- tained this decision. 6
The Dutch being reduced, three of the four Commis- Feb. 15, sioners returned to Boston.7 But they had seen too much 1664-5. of the spirit of the people on their first visit, to anticipate a remarkably cordial reception, or to look for a prompt compliance with their extravagant demands. Hence they adopted the policy of visiting the other colonies first, hoping their submission would intimidate Massachusetts, and abate her refractoriness which was "very much feared."" Before leaving for Plymouth, however, a meeting was held
1 Hubbard, 721.
2 Danforth Papers, in 2. M. H. Coll., 8. 56.
3 Johnson, in 2. M. H. Coll., 4. 24. * Hutchinson.
5 Hutch. Coll., 417, 420.
6 Hutchinson, 1. 235; 2 M. H. Coll., 8. 67; Chalmers, Ann., 388 ; Bancroft, 2. 83.
7 Danforth Papers, in 2. M. H. Coll., 8. 95.
8 Hutch. Coll., 417.
397
THE COMMISSIONERS AT PLYMOUTH.
at the Governor's house, and the request was made that all CHAP. the inhabitants should be ordered to assemble on the next XIV. election day, and that persons should be appointed to show 1664-5. them the bounds of the Patent. With the latter proposi- tion the magistrates readily complied : but the former was so preposterous that it was unhesitatingly rejected. It was urged, that it would be a detriment to the country to take all from their business, and that, during their absence, the lives of their families might be endangered. The people, it was said, were at liberty to assemble if they chose ; there was no prohibition preventing them ; but to require it they should not. "The request is reasonable," was the insolent reply of Cartwright, " and he that opposes it is a traitor." But finding the magistrates firm, letters were sent on their own responsibility to several non-freemen inviting them to meet, and the Commissioners departed.1
On reaching Plymouth, they presented to the General Feb. 22. Court the King's letter of April 23, 1664, and a paper of " Propositions," relating principally to the Oath of Alle- giance, and the rights of citizenship.2 It indicates the peaceableness of this colony, that but one complaint was entered against it - that the Governor, Mr. Prince, had debarred an individual from enjoying a farm four miles square, which he had purchased of an Indian -and this was easily settled. At the request of the Commissioners, the Patent of the Colony was produced, and a copy of it furnished ; but the people were too poor to pay for a char- ter from the King. " We will renew it at our own charge," was the insidious reply, " if you will suffer his Majesty to choose your Governor."3 But the Court, " with many thanks to the Commissioners, and great protestations of
1 Danforth Papers, in 2 M. H. and signed by three of the commis- Coll., 8. 56, 95-6.
2 Hutchinson, 1. 212, note. The letter to Gov. Prince, dated Feb. 7,
sioners, is among the Winslow MSS., deposited with Charles Deane, Esq. 3 Hutch. Coll., 417.
34
398
THEY RETURN TO MASSACHUSETTS.
CHAP, loyalty to the King, chose to be as they were." Plymouth XIV. was not to be bribed to surrender her liberties. The Com- 1665. missioners found little here to tempt their cupidity. The colony contained but twelve towns, one saw mill for boards, and one bloomery for iron; it had neither good rivers nor good harbors ; and the people were so few that they were unable " to maintain scollers to their ministers, but were necessitated to make use of a guifted brother in some places."1
In Rhode Island and Connecticut, the Commissioners met with better success ; and, after settling the bounds of those Colonies, and other questions in dispute, they returned to April. Massachusetts, " privately and separately." Here, being joined by Col. Nichols, from New York, the day previous May 2. to the annual election they delivered five papers or propo- sitions to the Deputy Governor, - Mr. Endicott, the Gov- May 3. ernor, having deceased during their absence. The election proceeded quietly, the people firmly sustaining the govern- ment. Mr. Bellingham, the inflexible supporter of their civil and political rights, was chosen to succeed Mr. Endi- cott as Governor, and Mr. Willoughby, the resolute cham- pion of democratic liberty, took his place in the office of Deputy Governor. 2
May 4.
The next day the propositions were presented to the Court, and the Commissioners were requested to commu- nicate all his Majesty's instructions, that they might be considered at once ; but this was refused. Only a partial reply to their propositions was therefore returned, "reserv- ing liberty to enlarge upon the particulars." The debate between the parties was continued several days. The poli- ticians of Massachusetts were more than a match for his
1 Hutch. Coll., 417. - Yet the King approved the behavior of Ply- mouth. Hutchinson, 1. 232; Bay- lies, 2. 58-9. Hubbard, 722-6; Hutchinson,
1. 215; and Coll., 412; 2 M. II. Coll., 8. 52. Mr. Bellingham con- tinued in office until his decease, in 1672.
399
COLLISION WITH THE MAGISTRATES.
Majesty's Commissioners ; papers passed to and fro ; and CHAP. the discussion was animated and somewhat exciting. The government held it to be "insufferable that the colony 1065. should be brought to the bar of a tribunal unknown to its charter ;" and, as but little progress was made, the Com- missioners, foiled in their movements, and wearied with the altercation, propounded the question, to which a pos- May 18. itive answer was peremptorily demanded : - " Do you acknowledge his Majesty's Commission to be of full force, to all the intents and purposes therein contained ?" To this question no definite reply was returned ; - the Court chose to plead the charter.1
At length the Commissioners concluded to take more May 23. decided ground, and an order was issued to Joshua Scottow, a merchant of Boston, requiring his presence at the house of Capt. Breeden the next day, to answer to the charges May 24. of Thomas Deane, and others. At the time fixed, the Commissioners prepared for the trial ; when, by order of the Governor, a herald stepped forth in the name of the King, and, sounding his trumpet, formally forbade any abet- ting the Commissioners ; to give greater publicity to this act the proclamation was repeated in three several places ; and the Court, satisfied that it had discharged its duty, calmly awaited the result. The Commissioners were amazed. The conduct of the magistrates was to them inexplicable. Without doubt the authority under which they acted, was, in their eyes, unquestionable. Yet that authority was repudiated, and its assertors defied. It was useless to con- tend longer. "Since you will misconstrue our endeavors," was their final reply, " we shall not lose more of our labor upon you ; " and, after a fruitless attempt to revise the laws of the Colony, they retreated to the North. Here, however, their interference was resisted by Massachusetts ;
1 Danforth Papers, in 2 M. II. Coll., 8. 59-81; Hutchinson, 1. 217-24.
400
CONDUCT OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
CHAP. and, as the towns of New Hampshire had submitted to the XIV. jurisdiction of that colony, all resident upon the Piscataqua 1665. were forbidden upon their peril in anything to obey the Commissioners of his Majesty.1
The conduct of Col. Nichols, in all these proceedings, was discreet and respectful; that of Cartwright and Carr was severely reprehended ; and Maverick was regarded as an undisguised enemy. The Commissioners did not imme- diately return to England. Some time elapsed before they took their departure. In this interval, they busied them- selves in collecting all the circumstances against the coun- try they could, and the papers containing the same were committed to Cartwright ; but, fortunately, on his passage he fell into the hands of the Dutch, and was stripped of everything. "By this providence" much evil was doubt- less prevented; and it was a subject of not unnatural gratu- lation to the colonists, that the designs of their adversaries had been so signally defeated. 2
1
And what said King Charles to this treatment of his Commissioners ? It was simply resolved that the scene of Apr. 10, negotiation should be transferred to England ; Bellingham 1666. and Hathorne were specially named as two of the five persons to be sent over as agents for the colony to speak in its behalf; and they were commanded upon their allegiance Sept. 6. not to fail in their appearance. On the 6th of September, Samuel Maverick, the most obnoxious of the former Com- missioners, appeared in Boston, and delivered to the Gov- ernor and Magistrates "a writing, without direction or seal," which proved to be the letter of April 10 ; and, though suspicions of the authority of the document were Sep. 11. openly avowed, a Court was convened for its consideration. The letter was certainly of a character to awaken appre-
1 Hutchinson, 1. 227-8, 234, and 2 Hutchinson, 1. 229, 233; Coll., Coll. 419; Belknap's N. H. 1. 106- 411.
112.
1
401
NEW DEMANDS OF THE KING.
hension. Should they submit to its demands, or treat it CHIAP. with neglect ? The forenoon of the second day was spent n in prayer. The most eminent clergymen of the colony Sep. 12, 1600. were present; Wilson of Boston, Mather of Dorchester, Symmes of Charlestown, Whiting of Lynn, Cobbett of Ips- wich, and Mitchell of Cambridge. On the following day a Sep. 13. " lecture " was delivered ; and the elders being convened with the Court, a debate ensued " concerning the duty we owe to his Majesty in reference to his signification." 1
The news that an affair of such consequence was pend- ing, could not be prevented from spreading in every direc- tion ; petitions began to pour in from several of the largest towns,- Boston, Salem, Newbury, and Ipswich, - advising compliance with his Majesty's demand ; 2 and a series of verses, sarcastically describing " a Nonconformist's Oath," was drawn up, circulated, and sent to England. " The debate which ensued was excited and animating. It was too serious a time for political gasconade, and the speeches of the deputies were brief and laconic. "Let some way be propounded," said the intrepid Bellingham, "that the offence which the King has conceived may come to a legal issue." "Process in courts of law," suggested the moder- ate Bradstreet, " cannot reach us in ordinary course ; yet the prerogative of the King gives him power to command our appearance, and we are bound to obey." "The King's demands pass everywhere," cried Dudley : " You may have a legal trial if you desire, and you may insist upon and claim it." "But," urged Willoughby, " does not God call us to argue one way as well as another? If this be allowed, how easily may the King, in one year, undo all. We must as well consider God's displeasure as the King's ; the in-
1 Hutchinson, 1. ; Chalmers, Ann., 390.
2 Danforth Papers, in 2 M. II. Coll., 8. 103-8; 3 M. II. Coll., 1. 59-60. 34*
3 These curious verses may be seen in 2 M. II. Coll., 4. 104-6.
.
402
DISCUSSION ON THE SAME.
CHAP. terests of ourselves and God's things, as his Majesty's pro- XIV. r rogative : for our liberties are of concernment, and to be 1666. regarded as to the preservation. If the King may send for me now, and another to-morrow, we are a miserable people." "Yet," insinuated Dudley, " prerogative is as necessary as law, and is for the good of the whole. And where there is a right of power, it will be abused, so long as it is in the hands of weak men ; and the less pious, the more apt to miscarry ; but right may not be denied because it may be abused." "That is the point in dispute," was the rejoinder of Hathorne: "This age hath brought forth many treatises about prerogative, and do affirm, that pre- rogative is not above law, but limited by it; and the law states in what cases prerogative is to take place." Thus the debate continued ; and, after much argument, obedience was refused. "We have already " -such was the reply of the Court-" furnished our views in writing, so that the ablest persons among us could not declare our course more fully. " 1
Yet the loyalty of the colonists did not expend itself in empty professions. As the conquest of Canada was then a favorite project of Charles, privateers were fitted out to aid in its reduction. 2 Provisions were likewise sent to the fleet in the West Indies. 3 Money was contributed for the benefit of the sufferers by the great fire in London. 4 And a ship-load of masts was forwarded for his Majesty's navy : " a blessing mighty unexpected," says Pepys, " and but for which we must have failed the next year."5 Thus ended
1 Danforth Papers, in 2 M. H. inson, 1. 235; Bancroft, 2. 89. Sec Coll., 8. 98-100, 110.
2 Danforth Papers, in 2 M. II. Coll., 8. 109; Hutchinson, 1. 235; Hubbard. 730.
3 Hutchinson, 1. 236.
4 Chalmers, Ann., 412 ; Hubbard, 728, 731.
6 Danforth Papers, in 2 M. H. Coll., 8. 110; Pepys, 1. 489; Hutch-
also Maritime Papers, vol. 1. fol's. 52, 53. These masts were sent in 1668. In 1671, John Gillam asked permission to get masts for his Majesty's use as usual. Ibid., fol. 57. Some orders were passed on this subject as early as 1665. Ibid., fol. 51.
403
SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE.
for a season the contest with the Crown. The defiance of CHAP. Massachusetts was followed by no immediate danger. The XIV. calamities which England had suffered at home, by the 1666 to 1670. prevalence of the plague, and a devouring fire, had humbled her pride; Clarendon, the chief minister, had been dis- placed, and was in exile, and the profligate Buckingham had been advanced to his post ; and, while the leisure of the Monarch was principally spent in dallying with women, and the whole court was converted into a gigantic brothel, and the nation itself was disturbed with the apprehension of deep-laid designs to subvert its own constitution, the Puri- tans of Massachusetts managed their affairs without molesta- tion. The ministry had no courage to interfere in their concerns. The morality of the colonists was a perpetual rebuke upon their own debauchery : they were no fawning parasites, pampering the passions of a profligate prince ; and before the stern spirit of liberty, which throbbed high in every heart, both the Monarch and his courtiers timidly quailed. 1
1 Hutchinson, 1. 230, 235, 246.
Wi
CHAPTER XV.
PHILIP'S WAR-1675.
CIIAP. XV. Ar the settlement of Massachusetts, the Narragansets, next to the Pequots, were the most powerful and warlike 1620 to Indian tribe in New England. Before the desolations of 1675. the plague, they could muster, probably, five thousand war- riors, and numbered, in all, about eighteen thousand souls. Under the government of Canonicus and Miantonomo, and Ninigret, the sachem of Niantick, a member of the same tribe, some difficulties had arisen with them, and they had strenuously resisted all efforts for their conversion from the religion of their fathers; but now, under Pessacus and Ninigret, they were but the wreck of their former great- ness, and the different tribes within their jurisdiction num- bered about two thousand warriors, and seven thousand souls. 1 The Wampanoags had also resisted all attempts . to convert them to Christianity, though under Massasoit and Alexander they continued in friendship with the Eng- lish, and the league of 1621, was kept inviolable. They were now governed by Philip, whose residence was at Mount Hope, and who was able to muster about seven hun- dred warriors. 2
The dealings of the colonists with the Indians has long been a subject of vague reproach. Their treatment of the red race has been censured as cruel and barbarous ; and the conduct of Penn has been alluded to in contrast. We see no reason to think, however, that the governors of
1 Hubbard, 139; Gookin, in 1 M. H. Coll., vol. 1.
2 Hubbard's Narr., S.
سعد الك
மந்திரம்
405
DEALINGS WITH THE INDIANS.
the colonies were Neros and Caligulas, - men above all CHAP. others eminently wicked. Nor were the magistrates or XV. the people a signally barbarous and blood-thirsty race. 1620 to 1675. Their situation was at once both critical and perplexing. They had no disposition to injure the natives, or to treat them with harshness. They purchased of them the lands they occupied, and never, save in one instance - during the Pequot War-forcibly possessed themselves of a single foot of ground. 1 Yet, when barbarism and civilization are brought into contact, one or the other must eventually yield. And especially, when the war-like spirit of the savages of New England is considered in connection with the sternness of the Puritan temper, it is evident that two races so essentially different could not long co-exist without frequent collisions. It is not, however, our purpose to apologize for our fathers. They need no apology. We admit that they erred, judged by our standard, and by the light of the present age ; but compared with their contem- poraries, in the Old World or the New, their conduct was as consistent, and their characters were as pure.
From the moment of the landing of the English on these shores, the doom of the Indian seems to have been sealed. Unaccustomed to the habits of civilized life, everything he saw was strange and surprising. He felt that the new comers were vastly his superiors ; and, as the population increased, and new towns were settled, and his hunting grounds were occupied for purposes of cultivation, although he had alienated these tracts under his own hand and scal, he felt painfully the contrast with the time when all was his own, and he roamed unchecked over the fairest regions, and pursued unmolested the chase of the deer.
Hemmed in by rivals whose power he dreaded, his proud spirit chafed under so galling a bondage, and he sighed for
1 Hubbard, Narr., 13 ; Higginson, in Inter. Charter Papers, 1. 145.
406
DIFFICULTIES WITH PHILIP.
CHAP. the freedom of his carlier years. The rude bow and arrow, XV. once his principal weapons, had been exchanged for the 1620 to 1675. musket of the white man ; and in the use of this weapon he had acquired such skill as to be a formidable antagonist, and flattered himself that he was able, with the assistance of his neighbors, to drive before him as the winds the leaves of the autumnal forests, those who had become to him objects of hatred and deadly revenge. The leading warriors of the different tribes were wise enough to see that there was danger of their own extermination, unless the pale-face was expelled from the country ; and Philip of Mount Hope was the first to awaken to a sense of this danger, and the first to propose an alliance to prevent it.
1670-1.
1662.
It was in 1670-1, that suspicions of the intentions of Philip began to be excited ; and, by the frequent gathering of his tribe, repairing their arms, grinding their hatchets, and insulting the English, he was conceived to be med- itating a general war. Eight years previous, he had prom- ised, at Plymouth, to continue in friendship with the Eng- lish, and to remain faithful to the King and the colony.1 These professions were believed ; but now it was rumored that he was about to violate theni. Restless under restraints which had long been imposed upon him, it needed but little to goad him to action ; and, as he was careless in his own carriage, his conduct was imitated by others of inferior rank, and several murders were wantonly committed.2
The people of Plymouth were aroused by these abuses ; and, sending to Philip to demand redress, they invoked aid from Massachusetts to reduce him to submission. The mag- istrates of the latter colony, anxious to prevent hostilities, despatched messengers to mediate between the contending parties ; and a meeting for that purpose was held at Taun- ton. The interview took place in the church of the vil-
1 Morton's Mem., 160-1; Hub- 2 Hubbard's Narr., 7; N. E. Gen. bard's Narr., 10; Hutchinson, 1. 253. Reg., 8. 328.
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407
MEETING FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE SAME.
lage ; and the scene there presented was one of the most CHAP. XV. were the English, clad in the distinguishing garb of their 1670-1.
' singular ever witnessed in those parts. On the one side
day, with solemn faces and close shorn hair; and on the other were the Indians, in the loose dress of their country, adorned with wampum, and all the finery in which savages delight, with their long black hair hanging down their backs, and their small sunken eyes gleaming like coals. Philip promptly denied harboring hostile intentions; but when questioned as to the object of his warlike preparations, he endeavored to represent them as designed for defense against the Narragansets. The Commissioners, who knew upon what terms he stood with that tribe, and who were satisfied that the supplies he had obtained, of arms and ammunition, were designed for an attack upon Taunton and other villages, charged him with this purpose, and with such effect, that in his confusion he acknowledged all, and signed a paper renewing his covenant with his " ancient Apr. 10, friends," and freely engaging to resign to the government 1671. of Plymouth all his English arms as pledges of his fidelity.1
A bond obtained under such circumstances was not worth the paper upon which it was written, and, when Philip was at liberty, he spurned his engagement ; no more arms were delivered up; and he refused to appear at Plymouth when May 27, summoned. The arms formerly surrendered were accord- June. ingly declared forfeit ; Mr. Morton, the Secretary of the Aug.23. colony, wrote the governments of Massachusetts and Rhode Island informing them of the conduct of Philip, and of a new summons for his appearance on the 13th of Septem- ber, which, if refused, they were resolved to enforce at the point of the sword.2 By the invitation of Mr. Eliot, Philip
1 Hubbard's Narr., 11-12 ; Math- er, Post., 7; Hutchinson, 1. 254-6; Baylies, 3. 18-21. Other Indians subsequently submitted to the Eng- lish. 1 M. HI. Coll., 5. 193-7, and 6. 196.
: 1 M. H. Coll., 6. 197-8; Drake's Indians, B. 3. 21. The Summons of May 27, is among the Winslow MSS., deposited with Charles Deane, Esq.
408
FRESH RUMORS AGAINST PHILIP.
CHAP. was at Boston at the time this letter arrived;1 and he XV. represented his cause so favorably to the magistrates, and -
1671. so artfully insinuated that his engagements to Plymouth were only for " amity and not for subjection," that, in their reply, they expressed doubts of the power of that colony over him, and advised the reference of all disputes to the commissioners of Massachusetts and Connecticut. After Sep. 21 some delay this advice was accepted ; the mediators met, and matters seemed fully accommodated. Philip, the "pec- cant offending party," signed a second paper, acknowledging his subjection to the king of England and the government of Plymouth, and promised to pay £100 tribute in three years, if able, and five wolves heads annually, if he could obtain them ; to abstain from war without consent; and in case .of future difficulties to endeavor to rectify the same, and to dispose of his lands only with the consent of the colonial government.2 ,
1671 to
1674.
From this pacification, for three years, no special dis- turbance occurred, and the colonists flattered themselves that the designs of the savage monarch were wholly aban- doned. But this calm was deceitful ; for, while everything was apparently quiet, Philip was maturing his plans, rallying his forces, and preparing for war. The reality of this plot we are aware has been doubted; but the proofs of its existence we do not feel at liberty wholly to reject.3 Its execution was fixed for the spring of 1676; but, as some say, by the rashness of Philip's young men, and against his own judgment and that of his counsellors, it was precipi- tated a year earlier, and so suddenly that, when the first blood was shed, the chieftain of Mount Hope is reported to have wept; and " many of the Indians were in a maze,
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