USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the colonial period. 1492-1692 v. I > Part 40
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1 See his speech, Council Rec's., 23. The Castle of Boston, a "place fol. 3.
2 Randolph, in Hutchinson, 1.314;
3 M. II. Coll., 7. 154-6; Hutch. Coll., 549-51; Council Rec's., fols. 22,
of great importance to the coun- try," was "put under the care and command of Capt. Wait Winthrop." Council Rec's.
483
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GOVERNMENT.
year, of which Mr. Ratcliffe was the minister, whose com- CHAP municants are said to have amounted to " near 400 per- XVIII. sons," we have seen no proofs that the proposition for its 1686. endowment prevailed.1 The courts of justice were con- tinucd as usual, Mr. Stoughton being at their head ; 2 and trial by jury was allowed even in the courts of admi- ralty ; but, as the jurors were returned by the marshall, and could be packed, very different verdicts were given from those under the old administration. As a general thing, and with but few exceptions, indeed, the old laws, so far as they related to judicial affairs, were adopted as the rule of proceeding, although the government which framed them was dissolved.3 Mr. Dudley did not consider himself a permanent President, but only as appointed to prevent confusion until the King's pleasure should be further known ; and Randolph took the same view of his commission, as serving only to " unhinge the commonwealth which for many years was usurped and managed by a faction," and constantly urged the appointment of a Gen- eral Governor, " without which," says he, "all that is already donc will be of very little advantage to his Ma- jesty's interest."+
Between Dudley and Randolph a coolness had already sprung up. The former, having made Randolph the " trum- peter of his attachment to the prerogative," began to throw off the mask, and to treat him with neglect ; and the latter, in return, though he had once strongly advocated the appointment of Dudley as Governor General, now vilified him, in several letters written to London soon after his arrival.5 Mr. Stoughton became the principal confidant
1 Council Rec's., 23, 46; Ran- 33-4; Hutchinson, 1. 316; Chal- dolph, in Hutchinson, 1. 314, 319, mers, Ann.
+ Letter, in 3 M. II. Coll., 7. 155. and Coll., 550.
2 IIe was also Deputy President. Council Rec's., fols. 9, 61.
3 Council Rec's. fols. 25, 26-8,
5 See his Lett. of July 26, 1684,
in Mather MSS., vol. 3. fol. 69
484
ARRIVAL OF ANDROS.
CHAP. of Dudley ; and, as he "was not suspected by the body XVIII. of the people of being unfriendly, or of want of strong 1686. attachment to the religious principles and to the ecclesi- astical constitution of the country, and his compliance, in taking a share in the administration, was charitably sup- posed to be, at least in part, for the sake of keeping out oppressors and tyrants," this favoritism was acquiesced in, and no uneasiness was felt in consequence. Dudley pro- fessed an equal attachment to the interests of the colony, and was equally desirous of retaining the public favor; but, as his course in England was well known, and was in striking contrast with his present servility, the people were not so charitable as to believe him sincere, and he was generally regarded with suspicion and dislike.1
Dec. 19. At length the dreaded change came ; and in the depth of winter, his Majesty's frigate Kingfisher arrived on the coast, and Sir Edmund Andros, a " poor knight of Guern- Dec. 20. sey," glittering in scarlet and lace, landed at Boston as " Captain General and Governor in Chief " of all New England, with " companies of soldiers brought from Europe to support what was to be imposed " upon the colony, and "repeated menaces that some hundreds more were intend- -ed."2 His Commission, " more illegal and arbitrary than that of Dudley and Empson, granted by Henry the Sev- enth," has been preserved ;3 and its powers were suffi- ciently full and despotic. He was authorized to remove members of his Council at his discretion, though vacancies were to be filled under the King's sign-manual ; with the
1 Hutchinson, 1. 315.
2 Boston Declaration, 7. in Force, vol. 4, Tract 10; Chalmers, Ann., 421, Revolt, 1. 179. The soldiers who came with Andros, were lodged at the Castle, and at Fort Hill, in " Mr. Gibbs's house." Usurpation Papers, vol. 1. fol. 205; Council Rec's., fol. 106. For Dudley's pro-
ceedings, in anticipation of the ar- rival of Andros, see Council Rec's., 90. According to the same, fol. 105, Andros landed on Monday, Dec. 20.
3 Rev. in N. E. Justified, 8, 40, in Force, vol. 4, Tract 9; Narr. Miseries of N. E., 3.
485
HIS COMMSSION.
consent of this Council laws might be enacted, which were CHAP. to be transmitted to England within three months of their XVIII. passage for the royal approval ; former taxes and imposts 1086. were to be continued until new ones were levied ; the currency was subjected to his regulation, though no mint was allowed ; the oath of allegiance was to be administered to all ; pardoning and reprieving powers were conferred up'on the Governor, and all judicial proceedings were entrusted to him and his Council, who were to erect courts, and appoint judges, from whose decisions an appeal to the King was allowed ; the militia and forts were placed under their control ; martial law could be executed in times of insurrection or war; commerce was subjected to their regu- lation ; liberty of conscience was to be allowed to all persons, especially Episcopalians who were to be " partic- ularly countenanced and encouraged ;" the marriages which had been solemnized by the magistrates were confirmed ; and it was very plainly intimated, though not openly avowed, that the whole real property of the country was to be assumed into the King's hands, and that all " lands, tenements and hereditaments " were to be disposed of, and granted to, such persons, and on such terms as his Majesty saw fit to appoint.1 One of these powers, -that of levying taxes, - Sir William Jones, the eminent Orientalist, thor- oughly versed in literature and law, and holding the office of Attorney General, protested against as illegal. "The
1 Usurpation Papers, vol. 1. fols. 7-16, 161; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 139- 49; 4 M. H. Coll., 2. 295-6; Chal- mers, Ann., 419 ; Force, vol. 4, Tract 8. This Commission is dated June 3. 1686, and embraced Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Plymouth, and the Narraganset country. Chalmers, Ann., 419-21, does not speak of it in terms of very high praise, and admits that its " form was altogether arbitrary,"
though its " essence," he adds, " was favorable to real freedom ; " a para- dox which he does not attempt further to clucidate. The seal of the new Governor, bore the remark- able motto : " Nunquam libertas gratior extat; " yet every thing connected with his commission is characteristic of the folly and infatu- ation of the powers by whom he was sent.
41*
486
HE ENTERS UPON HIS GOVERNMENT.
CHAP. people of Massachusetts," - such was his bold avowal, - XVIII "notwithstanding the forfeiture of their charter, arc Eng-
1686 lish subjects, invested with English liberties; and you can no more grant a commission to levy money on them without their consent in an assembly, than they can discharge them- selves from their allegiance."
Dec. 20. The day of the arrival of the new Governor, "being landed," he " repaired forthwith to the Town House, attended thither by a great number of merchants and others, with all the militia of horse and foot ; " and having, in a " short.speech," informed them that " his Majesty by Commission of June 3, had appointed him Captain Gen- . eral," a temporary order was issued that all officers, both civil and military, should be continued as before ; and the Dec. 21. next day, application was made by members of Ratcliffe's society for one of the meeting houses in which religious services might be performed in the Episcopal manner ; but the use of either of the houses was denied, though a meet- ing was allowed to be held in the "east end of the Town House."1 The " Common Prayer and the Surplice " were yet "novelties in New England."2
Dec. 22. On the following day, the Council convened; letters -. were written to Rhode Island and Connecticut demanding .. the surrender of their Charters ; and orders were given that " all the members of the late government should be summoned to meet at Boston, on Thursday, the 30th Dec. 30. instant." At that date they assembled ; their names were called ; and their places assigned them according to his Majesty's instructions. The King's Commission was then read, with the additional instructions of September 13, to receive the charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plan-
1 Usurpation Papers, vol. 1. fol.
2 Dunton, in M. H. Coll., and in 164; Council Rec's., 105; 2 M. H. Drake's Boston, 472-3. Coll., 8. 237; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 164-6; Hutch. Coll., 550 ; Sewall, in Holmes, 1. 421.
--
487
PROFESSIONS OF THE GOVERNOR.
tation ; the oath of allegiance, and the oath for the due CHAP. administration of justice were tendered; "his Excellency XVIII. in a short discourse encouraged the members to freedom in 1686. debate ; " and it was " moved that a Proclamation should be made throughout all the Colonies and Provinces of the Government, that all officers, both civil and military, should be continued in their places of trust, and that the laws not repugnant to the laws of England, should be, and observed during his Excellency's pleasure." 1
This beginning of the administration of Andros awakened a momentary glcam of hope. The Governor was loud in his professions of regard to the public good, and was apparently disposed to conduct the affairs of the colony with discretion and prudence. The majority of his Council were of "the moderate party " in the old government, under which, perhaps, they would gladly have continued had the charter been preserved. But, as a change had taken place, they were not very anxious to quarrel with their own interests ; and their former pliancy was deemed a sufficient pledge for their present subserviency. For some of them, it is certain, Sir Edmund had no particular affection ; and, had they been less willing to comply with his wishes, they would probably have been displaced, and others appointed in their stead. But the subornation of insincerity had become so common under the government .of the Stuarts that the taint of corruption had spread even to these shores. Preferments were lavishly loaded upon
1 Council. Rec's., 105, 106-7; Usurpation Papers, vol. 1. fols. 159, 160, 165, 167, 168, 175-6, 187-8, 205-13; Narr. Mis. N. E., 2, 3, ed. 1775: 2 M. H. Coll., 8. 181-2; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 166-8; 4 M. H. Coll., 2. 297-8; N. E. Gen. Reg., 4. 322 .- Randolph, Narr., in Usur- pation Papers, vol. 2. fols. 218-220,
says he received a second writ of Quy Warranto against Connecticut on the 28th of Dec., 1686, and served it on the 30th, and they made submission ; and on the 25th of Oct. 1687, Sir Edmund went to Hartford, and erected his Majesty's government there.
-
488
BEGINNING OF TROUBLE.
CHAP. XVIII. strangers ; and Palmer, Brockholt, Mason, Usher, and Ran-
1680.
dolph, of the Council, and West, the Secretary, one of the "abject crew " from New York, with Dr. Bullivant, a warm Episcopalian, and Grahame, the lawyer, became the principal confidants and advisers of his Excellency. It was upon them that he relied for success in his measures ; " for his Excellency," says Randolph, " has to do with a perverse people."1
A large portion of the records of this period are unfor- tunately missing from the Archives of the State ; yet from authentic documents, which exempt us from the necessity of "retailing political fictions as indubitable truths,"2 we learn, that, after the first full meeting of the newly organ- ized Council, many of the members returned home, only those resident in Boston and its vicinity being constant in their attendance. But complaints were soon heard that " the governor had always three or four of his creatures to say yes to everything he proposed, after which no oppo- sition was allowed."3 And it was apparent to all, except, perhaps, Quakers, and Episcopalians, who had little to com- plain of, that the former professions of his Excellency were but a cloak to conceal his real views ; for a series of mea- sures followed, as vexatious and tyrannical as any to which men of English descent had ever been exposed. It seemed as if the ghost of Charles the First had taken possession of Sir Edmund, and was hurrying him on with hot haste to work out his own ruin, and to drive the people to the verge of desperation.
Jan. 4, 1686-7. One of his first acts, was to levy a tax of twenty pence on cach poll, and one penny in the pound upon "all the late Colonies and Provinces, towards defraying the public
1 4 M. HI. Coll., 2. 298; Rev. in N. E. Just., 52; Boston Decl'n., 7, 8; Bancroft, 2. 425.
2 Chalmers, Ann., 422.
3 Hutchinson, 1. 317; Revolution Just., 55; Boston Decl'n., 10.
489
ARBITRARY ENACTMENTS.
charges of the government."1 This tax, on account of the CHAP. mode of its assessment, and its manifest illegality, produced XVIII. 16S7. great excitement ; some of the Council had the courage to oppose it ; petitions were presented from a number of towns to be excused from its payment ; and others refused to comply with its demands.2 Shadrach Wilbur, the Town Clerk of Taunton, was imprisoned for protesting against Aug 30, this act ; the towns of Rowley, Salisbury, Haverhill, and Andover were fined for their contumacy ;4 and the prin- cipal men of Ipswich were apprehended and prosecuted for Sep. 15. a similar offense. The treatment of the latter was pe- culiarly oppressive. They were thrust into jail as vile incendiaries, denied the right of Habeas Corpus, and over- ruled to answer at a court of Oyer and Terminer at Boston, with Dudley, Stoughton, Usher, and Randolph as their judges, Farwell as the Attorney of the government, and a packed jury, "most of them non-frecholders of any land in the colony, and some of them strangers and foreigners, gathered up, as was supposed, to serve their present turn." The defendants pleaded the " repeal of the law of assess- ment on the place, the Magna Charta of England, and the Statute Laws, that secure the subject's properties and estates." But Dudley, with a haughtiness equal to that of James the First, insolently replied: "You must not think the laws of England follow you to the ends of the
1 Council Rec's., 109 ; Rev. Just., 13, 53-4; Narr. Mis. N. E., 4, 8 ; Usurpation Papers. vol. 2. fol. 209; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 17I. None of the laws of Andros seem to have been printed ; an act of policy on his part, which was afterwards of benefit to him on his trial. A paper, however, is published by Chalmers, Ann., 465-6, which confirms the statement of the text of the burden of the taxes assessed ; and the sums there stated are such, in comparison with the previous charges of the colony,
that we do not wonder at the com- plaints of oppression.
2 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 171. Chal- mers, Ann., 422, concurs in censur- ing this law, and in praising the conduct of those who resisted it.
3 Rev. Just., 14; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 190. The Mittimus against Wil- bur, is in Usurpation Papers, vol. 2. fol. 59.
+ Rev. Just., 14; Inter-Charter Papers, vol. 1. fols. 131, 131, 147-8 ; Usurpation Papers, vol. 2. fols. 96, 97, 105, 145, &c.
.
490
CONTINUED OPPRESSION.
CHAP. earth. You have no more privileges left you, than not to XVIII. be sold as slaves. Do you believe Joc and Tom may tell 1687. the king what money he may have ?" Then, turning to the jury, he added : " I am glad there be so many worthy gentlemen, capable to do the King's service, and we expect a good verdict from you, seeing the matter hath been so sufficiently proved against the criminals." A "good ver- dict " was returned, and fines and disabilities speedily followed. Necd we be surprised that the people exclaimed, " The wicked walk on every side, and the vilest men are exalted ! " 1
The assessment of a tax, however, was not the only act 1686-7. of which the people complained. A revision of the laws, Jan. 28. which had been proposed, was arbitrarily rejected ; 2 the press was again restrained, and it was ordered that copies of all books to be printed, should first be perused by Mr. Dudley, and, upon his allowance, one copy, attested by him, should be brought to the Secretary's office, to be left on record, and to receive from him an imprimaturc. 3 A restraint was also placed upon marriages, and none were allowed to marry without entering into bonds with suretics to the government, to be forfeited in case there should Mar. 23. afterwards appear to have been any lawful impediment. 4
The design was likewise renewed of encouraging the estab-
1 Inter-Charter Papers, vol. 1. fols. 127, 136, 139, 144 ; Narr. Mis. N. E. E., 4; Usurpation Papers, vol. 2. fols. 93-4, 98, 101-4, 147; Rev. Just., 13-17; Boston Decl'n., 8; Bancroft, 2. 427; Felt's Ips- wich, 123-5.
2 Rev. Just., 53 ; Inter-Charter Papers, vol. 1. fols. 187-92; Usur- pation Papers, vol. 1. fols. 206, 271; and vol. 2.
3 Council Records, 111; Usurpa- tion Papers, vol. 1. fol. 224; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 171.
4 Usurpation Papers, vol. 1. fols. 202, 226; 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 170. 1. 318.
We doubt the correctness of the statement of Grahame, Colon. Hist., 1. 261, and Hildreth, Hist. U. S., 2. 111, that the celebration of mar- riages was confined to the Episcopal clergy, of whom there was but one in the province; and that it was ne- cessary to come to Boston in order to be married. Such a course was proposed by Randolph, but we have seen no evidence that it was adopted; and the local records of our country towns conclusively prove the con- trary, unless the law was generally evaded there. Comp. Hutchinson,
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491
INTRODUCTION OF EPISCOPACY.
lishment and growth of the Episcopal Church ; and, as it CHAP. was a supererogation of merit to break down the colonial XVIII. churches, Randolph was sent by the Governor to demand 1686-7. Mar. 23.
the key of the South Church, that " prayers might be said there." A Committee was immediately appointed, of which Sewall was one, to wait upon his Excellency and remonstrate ; and, as on a former occasion, this Committee replied : "We cannot, with a good conscience, consent that our meeting house should be made use of for the Common Prayer worship." But the remonstrance was of no avail ; for two days after, the house was opened; and though Mar. 25, " Goodman Needham had resolved to the contrary, he was 1687. prevailed upon to ring the bell, and open the door at the Governor's command." 1 Nor was this all. In the follow- ing ycar the proposition to tax the colonists for the support 1687-8. of Episcopal worship was revived; and the people were desired to contribute towards the erection of a church : Mar. 21. but the uncompromising Sewall replied, with great pun- gency, "The bishops would have thought strange to have been asked to contribute towards setting up New England churches." A request that he should sell land on " Cotton Hill" for the location of a church, met with a similar rebuff, because, he said, "he would not set up that which the people came from England to avoid; and besides, the land was entailed."2 Land, however, was obtained, and a church was erected before Andros was driven from the country ; and thus, for the first time, the Episcopalians as a sect gained a permanent foothold in the Massachusetts Colony. 3 The determination of the bishops and others in England to introduce the Church of England here, contrary to the wishes of the people, was quite as much an act of persecu-
1 Mather MSS. vol. 7. fol. 15; Hutchinson, 1. 319; Sewall, in Holmes, 1. 421, and in Drake's Bos- ton, 469.
: 3 M. H. Coll., 1. 84.
3 Danforth's Lett., in Usurpation Papers, vol. 3. fol. 143; Drake's Boston, 470.
492
A DESPOTISM ESTABLISHED.
CHAP. tion, as the resolution of the Puritans to exclude such wor- XVIII. ship from their community. Each party was exclusive in its views at that time ; and both parties, it is to be hoped, have since imbibed a more tolerant spirit.
The arbitrariness of the government increased every day. Feb. 15, Excise laws were passed, and rigorously enforced ; and 1686-7. spies and informers might be found in every town.1 Per- sons were forbidden to leave the country without permis- sion, lest complaints should reach England, and redress of public grievances be sought. 2 The form in which oaths were to be taken, by laying the hand on the Bible, was regarded by the Puritans as an idolatrous custom ; yet such as refused to take them in that form, were fined and im- prisoncd. 3 Under the old charter, the fees of officers had been exceedingly moderate: under the new they became exorbitant. Fifty shillings were exacted for the probate of a will, and widows and children were compelled to May 25, travel to Boston, on all business relating to the settlement 1687. of estates, whither all public records were ordered to be removed.4 The Governor was supreme ordinary, and acted by himself, except a few months whilst he was in New York, and in the Eastern country, when Mr. Dudley served .. as his Deputy. The harpies quarrelled among themselves about their share of the prey. " West," says Randolph, " extorts what fees he pleases to the great oppression of the people, and renders the present government grievous." And Randolph was not behind West in similar extortions ; for, from his commission as Secretary, he expected all the
1 Rev., Just., 13, 39; Inter- Charter Papers, vol. 1. fols. 129, 133, 135, 176, 182, &c. The bill for these laws was brought in Jan. 3., and the same were to be in force after Jan. 10; but they were not carried into effect until Feb. Usur- pation Papers, 1. 41-6, 206 ; Coun- cil Rec's, 108.
2 Rev. Just., 12, 55.
3 Mather MSS., vol. 7. fol. 14; Boston Decl'n., 9; Hutchinson, 1. 320.
+ Council Rec's., 122 ; Usurpa- tion Papers, vol. 1. fols. 38, 157, 225, 233, 240 ; vol. 2. fol. 128 ; 3 M. II. Coll., 7. 162.
493
TITLES TO LANDS CALLED IN QUESTION.
Clerkships in the country, and had actually farmed his CHAP. office to the very man of whose exactions he so loudly com- plains. 1
XVIII. Mav 4, 1687.
But the greatest profit arose from land patents. Although King James is said to have commanded that " their several properties, according to their ancient records," should be continued to the people,2 yet the commission to Andros intimated the intention of his Majesty to assume the whole real property of the country into his own hands, and that all " lands, tenements, and hereditaments " were to be disposed of, and granted to, such persons and on such terms as the monarch saw fit to appoint; and, as the charter was now annulled, the people were plainly told that " their lands were the king's;" that their titles were worthless ; that the grants from the General Court had not been made under the seal of the colony, which was a " notable defect ; " and that all who " would have any legal titles to their lands, must take patents of them, on such terms as they should see meet to imposc."3.
In the management of this business, however, caution was necessary, for "What people," it was asked, "that had the spirits of Englishmen, could endure this ? That when they had at vast charges of their own conquered a wilderness, and been in possession of their estates forty, nay, sixty years, that now a parcel of strangers, some of them indigent enough, must come and inherit all that the people now in New England and their fathers before them, had labored for."4 Hence, though writs of intrusion were issued, all titles were not questioned at once ; and the fees
1 Usurpation Papers, vol. 3. fol. 29; Council Rec's., 117, 123; IIutch- inson, 1. 321, and Coll., 557 ; Rev. in N. E. Just., 36-9; Narr. Mis. N. E., 5. For table of Fees, see Usurpation Papers, vol. 1. fol. 244, and vol. 2. fol. 122, appointment of West.
2 Bancroft, 2. 428. We suspect Mr. Bancroft mistakes here the Declaration of Charles II., for that of James II. Sce Boston Decl'n., 9. 3 Rev. Just., 18, 56; Narr. Mis. N. E., 5; Mather MSS., vol. 7. fol. 14.
+ Rev. Just., 18.
42
494
EXACTIONS OF RANDOLPH AND OTHERS.
CHAP. were varied according to circumstances, though sometimes XVIII. as high as £50.1 Very soon, however, the wolves of rapine became more clamorous, and began to push matters to greater extremities. " All the inhabitants of Boston," Aug.25, wrote Randolph, as the business proceeded, " will be forced 1687. to take new grants and confirmations of their lands, which will bring in vast profits ; "2 and writs as " many as a cart could hold," were threatened to be issued.3 The friends of the old charter of course experienced the worst treat- ment ; the friends of the new government were dealt with more leniently. There are hundreds of petitions on file, for the confirmation of estates, principally from persons of the latter class.4 Randolph and his satellites, with charac- teristic eagerness, sought for their share of the spoils. The poor were grievously oppressed. And property became every day more precarious. If any resolved to defend their titles by law, they were told by Sir Edmund's Attor- ney that it should cost them all they were worth, and some- thing besides.5 And Wiswall, of Duxbury, the minister of the town, though suffering by discase, was punished for abetting a claim in his own colony.6
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