USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 5
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1 Hale, 33.
2 Wonders of the Invisible World, 52, 53, ed. 1692. Comp. Hale, 34- 37. In the pamphlet in reply to Ca- lef, p. 42, Mather also says, " For my own part, I know not that ever I have advanced any opinion in the matter of witchcraft but what all the ministers
of the Lord that I know of in the world, whether English, or Scotch, or French, or Dutch, (and I know many,) are of the same opinion." My friend Rev. Chandler Robbins, of Boston, first called my attention to the above, from the copy in the library of Har- vard College.
41
THE SPELL BROKEN.
At this juncture the court adjourned ; and before it re- CHAP. assembled the spell was broken. The wife of Mr. Hale, of II. Beverly, was among the accused ; insinuations had been 1692. thrown out against Mr. Willard, the excellent pastor of the South Church in Boston, and Mr. Deane of Andover ; and even the wife of Sir William Phips did not escape suspicion.1 Under these circumstances, the revulsion was electrical. If mere accusations were in themselves plenary proofs of guilt, then might the best fall ; and, in this view, was it not time to inquire whether the whole subject was not open to doubt ? The antidote for delusion is an enlightened reason, which calmly weighs in the balance of truth conflicting opinions, avoids hasty judgments, and pronounces its verdicts only after mature deliberation, basing them upon safe and reliable data. Had such reason been exercised at the outset, the wildest excesses of the delusion would have been prevented, and the gallows would have been despoiled of its numerous victims. But the sober second thought of the community was awaken- ing ; and outraged justice, casting aside the Mokanna veil which had distorted its vision, stood forth once more in the open light of day, and wielded its powers, not to crush, but to preserve.
Mr. Brattle, in the mean time, was not idle. "The court," says he, "is adjourned to the first Tuesday in November, then to be kept at Salem ; between this and then will be the great assembly, in which this subject will be peculiarly agitated. I think it is matter of earnest supplication and prayer to Almighty God, that he would afford his gracious presence to the said assembly, and direct them aright in so weighty an affair. Our hopes are here ; and if, at this juncture, God does not graciously appear for us, I think we may conclude that New England is undone, and undone."2 Mr. Hale was like- wise wavering, and was inclined to suspect that he had been
1 Calef, Hale, &c.
2 1 M. H. Coll. v. 76.
42
REMONSTRANCE FROM ANDOVER.
CHAP. " walking in a wrong path." And even Cotton Mather, deeply II. as he was involved in the affair, had stepped forward with a 1692. proposal that, "if the possessed people, who were under accu- sation, might be scattered far asunder, he would singly provide for six of them, and see whether, without more bitter meth- ods, prayer with fasting would not put an end to these heavy trials." 1
A large share of credit, however, is due to the people of Oct. 18. Andover, who openly remonstrated against the doings of the tribunals. "We know not," say they, " who can think himself safe, if the accusations of children, and others under a diabol- ical influence, shall be received against persons of good fame." Nor was this remonstrance ill timed, for a large number of the inhabitants of Andover had been accused. Dudley Bradstreet, a justice of the peace, and a son of the venerable Simon Brad- street, had " granted warrants against and committed thirty or forty to prison for the supposed witchcrafts ;" but becoming dissatisfied, and refusing to proceed farther, he and his wife were both "cried out against," and he "found it his safest course to make his escape." Those who had been committed, knowing themselves innocent, were " all exceedingly astonished and amazed, and affrighted even out of their reason " into con- fession. "Our understanding, our reason, and our faculties almost gone," say they, " we were not capable of judging our condition, as also the hard measure they used with us rendered us uncapable of making our defence ; but said any thing and every thing which they desired, and most of what we said was but in effect a consenting to what they said." 2
Is it surprising that such excesses were no longer endura- ble? Yet it is to the credit of the people that no tumultuous modes of redress were adopted, and that they did not retaliate
1 Comp. Robbins's Hist. Second Church, Boston, p. 107, with Brattle, in 1 M. H. Coll. v. 76, 77, and Calef, 36-38. See also the pamphlet enti-
tled "Some few Remarks," &c., in reply to Calef, p. 39.
2 Calef, 224-228; Hutchinson, ii. 43-47, 61; Abbot's Andover, 164.
43
SUBSIDENCE OF THE EXCITEMENT.
upon their accusers, meeting violence with violence. Restrain- CHAP. ing their passions, and appealing with calmness to Almighty God to witness their innocence, they trusted that the blindness 1692. of fanaticism, which had seized upon the community, was not wholly impenetrable by the light of truth, and that the cry of justice would make itself heard. And the result vindicated their wisdom ; for when the Superior Court met at Salem, six women of Andover, at once renouncing their confessions, did not scruple to treat the whole affair as a frightful delusion ; and of the presentments against those who were still in prison, the grand jury dismissed more than half without hesitation ; and if they found bills against a few, they were all acquitted upon trial except three of the worst, and even these were reprieved by the governor, and recommended to mercy. "Such a gaol delivery was made this court, as has never been known at any other time in New England." 1
Yet one more attempt was made to convict ; and Sarah Das- ton, a woman eighty years old, was brought to trial at Charles- town, in the presence of a crowd greater than had collected on any previous occasion. But, though the evidence against her would have been deemed sufficient six months before, the people . had seen enough to awaken mistrust, and a verdict of acquittal was promptly rendered.2 Nor could the case of Margaret Rule, which occurred not long after in Boston itself, and under the inspection of Cotton Mather, revive the delusion. The excess of the evil wrought its cure. Its days were numbered, and the community was happily delivered from its power.3
As the excitement subsided, the prominent actors in the ter- rible tragedy began to reflect, and a few made public acknowl- edgment of their error. Sewall, in particular, openly confessed his mistake, and sought the forgiveness of those he had wronged.4
1 Calef, 226-228 ; Hutchinson, ii. 3 Calef, p. 23 et seq. ; C. Mather, More Wonders, &c.
61, 62; Abbot's Andover, 163-167.
2 Bancroft, iii. 96.
4 Hutchinson, ii. 62; Holmes's Am. Ann. i. 440 ; Drake's Boston, 502.
II. -
1693. Sept.10.
44
EVILS OF THE DELUSION.
1694. Nov.26.
CHAP. And Hale, in his " Modest Inquiry," made a similar confession.1 II. But the confession of Parris was deemed less sincere, and was rather extorted through fear of suspension than from an honest conviction that he had been in the wrong.2 Stoughton alone refused to retract, and to the day of his death never regretted the part he had taken.3
The evils resulting from this delusion were felt for a long time, and it is difficult to conceive the excitement which pre- vailed, and the suffering and sorrow it brought to all. Some have spoken of this whole affair in terms of contempt ; others have unsparingly denounced its participants ; very few have considered the subject calmly and dispassionately, or given due credit to the honesty of the parties. It was an unhappy affair, at the best; but it can be said with truth, that the delusion was less extensive, and caused less suffering, in New England than in Old ; for there the belief in witchcraft prevailed until the middle of the eighteenth century, and persons were hanged, or otherwise put to death, as witches, long after such executions had ceased in America. 4
1 Published in 1697. A second edition was issued in 1771, from which I quote.
2 Calef, 123-128.
3 Hutchinson, ii. 62.
4 Hutchinson, ii. 22, 28.
CHAPTER III.
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE.
THE arrival of Sir William Phips was followed by the CHAP. organization of the government under the new charter. At III. once the question arose - and a serious question it was - how 1692. May 14. far that instrument extended in its effects upon the laws which had been enacted under the colonial charter. Obviously, if it invalidated all those laws, a new code must be framed, or the old code must be revived. Accordingly, at the first session of the General Court, an act was passed confirming the former June 8. laws until the following November ; and during the recess of the court it was proposed that the members should take this subject in charge, and "consider of such laws as were necessary to be established."1 It was unfortunate for the people that a select committee was not appointed to attend to this duty ; and the subject itself was of such consequence that the wisest and best should have been placed on that committee. But the necessity for this step was not then foreseen. Hence, when the laws were revised, instead of framing a general code to be for- warded to England, only detached acts were presented, several of which were rejected by the king. This led to confusion ; whereas, had the whole subject been acted upon at once, such alterations would have been proposed as might have issued in a consistent and digested body of laws ; and in case of the rejection of particular acts, temporary provisions might have
' Mass. Rec's. MS. Continuation of Chalmers's Polit. Annals, Pt. IL .; Hutchinson, ii. 18, 21, 63.
(45)
46
ACTS REJECTED BY THE KING.
CHAP. been made until the pleasure of his majesty was further known, III. or until laws were passed which met his approval.
1692.
The principal acts rejected by the king were those which asserted the views of the people upon points on which differ- ences of opinion existed between them and the crown. Among these was one which set forth that "no aid, tax, tallage, assess- ment, custom, loan, benevolence, or imposition, should be laid, assessed, or levied on any of their majesties' subjects, or their estates, on any pretence whatsoever, but by the act and consent of the governor, council, and representatives of the people, assembled in General Court."1 This act, which was, in effect, a denial of the right of Parliament to tax the colonies for any purpose, was of course obnoxious to all who asserted that right ; and it is not surprising that it was rejected. Yet it is worthy of notice that thus early did Massachusetts reiterate her views, and, as under the colonial, so under the provincial charter, join issue with the parent state upon the vital point which, throughout our whole history, was never lost sight of, and which led eventually to the rupture which issued in the independence of the colonies.
The enactment claiming the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus was likewise rejected, on the ground that " the privilege had not yet been granted to the plantations." Yet if the colonists were Englishmen, and entitled to the immunities of Englishmen, it is difficult to conceive with what propriety this right could be withheld. It was enjoyed in the old world : why should it not be in the new ?? Part of the criminal code of the province was also disallowed, especially the act for pun-
1 Hutchinson, ii. 64. It is singular to notice the unanimity with which the doctrine of the text was avowed in all the colonies about this time ; and when it is borne in mind that these colonies were settled at different periods, and by persons of different nations and of different religious per- suasions, it is evident that the doc-
trine itself must be regarded as accord- ing with the principles of natural jus- tice, else would it never have been so generally approved. Comp. Gordon's Am. Revolution, i. 20, 42, 52, 54, 55, 63, 64, 73.
2 MS. Continuation of Chalmers's Polit. Annals, Pt. II .; Hutchinson, ii. 65; Grahame, vol. i.
47
ACTS APPROVED BY THE KING.
ishing capital offenders, which was founded upon the Mosaic, CHAP. rather than upon the English law.1 It was not the design of III. ~ the mother country to allow her provinces too much latitude 1692. in their affairs ; and Massachusetts, for her former refractori- ness, was made to feel at the outset that she had passed from a state of comparative independence to one of comparative sub- jection and control. Is it surprising, under these circumstances, that " the colonial administration of William, contradictory in principle and inconsiderate in conduct," by the representation of a pleader against the colonies, "necessarily weakened the jurisdiction of England over her plantations " ? 2
Of the acts approved by the king, some were of great im- portance. These provided for the settlement and distribution of the estates of intestates ; the prevention of frauds and per- juries ; the observance of the Lord's day ; the solemnization of marriages by ministers or justices ; the settlement and support of ministers and schoolmasters ; the settlement of county bounds, and the regulation of towns ; the administration of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy ; the regulation of the fees of civil and judicial officers ; ascertaining the number, and reg- ulating the House of Representatives ; and the prevention of danger from the French.3 Two of these acts merit particular attention. That which related to the observance of the Lord's day forbade all labor and amusements, works of necessity and charity only excepted, under a penalty of five shillings for each offence, and all travelling for business purposes under a pen- alty of twenty shillings. It also forbade vintners entertaining
1 Hutchinson, ii. 65.
2 Chalmers, Revolt, i. 315.
3 Province Laws, ed. 1726, pp. 1- 34; Hutchinson, ii. 65. Governor Phips, in his letter to England at the date of the transmission of the laws of the province, gives the first intimation of the controversy which, for so long a period, agitated the community, rela- tive to the salary of the chief magis- trate. A gratuity of £500 was grant-
ed to him, but "no salary was settled or intended." Hence he petitioned " the royal recommendation of this object, which, he conceived, would prove effectual." But little did he know the temper or policy of the peo- ple if he supposed such a recommen- dation would succeed; for no future governor or king was able to accom- plish the object. See under chap. v.
48
OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.
CHAP. others than strangers or lodgers, under a penalty of five shil- III lings. All masters and governors of families were required
1692. to " take effectual care that their children, servants, and others under their immediate government, do not transgress in any of the foregoing particulars ;" and justices of the peace, consta- bles, and tithingmen were required to " take effectual care " for the observance of the act, "as also to restrain all persons from swimming in the water, unnecessary and unseasonable walking in the streets or fields in the town of Boston, or other places, keeping open their shops, or following their secular occasions or recreations in the evening preceding the Lord's day, or any part of the said day or evening following."1 These regulations evince the scrupulousness of the age, and the reverence for Sunday which was a prominent trait of the Puritan character. How striking the contrast between such legislation and that which sanctioned " dancing, archery, leaping, vaulting, having May games, Whitson-ales, morrice dances, setting up May poles, and other sports therewith used, or any other harmless recrea- tions on Sundays after divine service."2 If the one was too strict, the other was assuredly sufficiently lax. An enlightened reverence will always hold sacred things in proper esteem ; and an intelligent regard for Sunday, and for all seasons of special religious improvement, will point out the path of pro- priety and decorum.
The act for the settlement and support of ministers and schoolmasters had also its peculiarities. By its terms, every town was required to be constantly provided with an " able, learned, and orthodox minister or ministers, of good con- versation, to dispense the word of God to them," who were to be " suitably encouraged and sufficiently supported and main- tained by the inhabitants of such town." All contracts made
1 The power of " restraint " men- or stocks not exceeding three hours." tioned in this act was interpreted in Laws, pp. 14, 15. 1704 to be " understood of imprison- 2 King James's Book of Sports, 4to, 1618. ment, not exceeding the space of twelve hours, or by sitting in the cage
49
EDUCATIONAL LAWS.
for the support of ministers or schoolmasters were to remain CHAP. " good and valid according to the true intent thereof ; " and in III. case of neglect by any town, for the space of six months, to 1692. provide for the maintenance of a minister, the Court of Quarter Sessions was empowered to " order a competent allowance unto such minister according to the estate and ability of the town." It was likewise ordered - though the order was subsequently modified - that the churches in the several towns of the prov- ince should "use, exercise, and enjoy all their privileges and freedoms respecting divine worship, church order and disci- pline," and be " encouraged in the peaceable and regular profes- sion and practice thereof ;" and "every minister, being a per- son of good conversation, chosen by the major part of the inhabitants in any town at a town meeting duly warned for that purpose," was to be " the minister of such town," and the whole town was to "pay towards his settlement and mainte- nance, each man his several proportion thereof." Every town of one hundred families, in addition to its common school, was to support a grammar school ; and every town of fifty families, neglecting for one year to provide for the constant support of a schoolmaster, incurred a penalty of ten pounds, to be levied towards the support of such schools within the county as were most in need, at the discretion of the justices in Quarter Ses- sions.1
Such were the provisions for education and religion ; and it is to the credit of our fathers that they paid such attention to the vital and permanent interests of society. It is to this fore- sight we owe our prosperity ; and we shall look in vain into the contemporary legislation of any country out of New Eng- land for similar provisions for the widest diffusion of intelli- gence and morality. Massachusetts enjoys the distinguished honor of having led in the work of universal education ; and
1 Laws, ed. 1726, p. 17. See fur- c. 9; 1 A. c. 4; 2 G. c. 5; 4 G. c. 6; ther 4 and 5 W. and M. c. 21; 7 W. and 8 G. c. 6.
VOL. II. 4
50
CHURCHES OF THE PROVINCE.
CHAP. the deference of her people to the support of religion is as III. creditable to their wisdom as it is commendable to their piety.
1692. The Bay Province alone is said to have contained at this time eighty churches ; and the whole number in New England was computed at one hundred and twenty.1 Most of the ministers had been educated at Harvard, the "school of the prophets," and until 1691 the only college in America.2 One hundred and fifty ministers had been graduated from its halls; and though some sought employment abroad, and settled in Eng- land, the greater part remained in the country, and were the principal pastors of the churches of New England.3 There were some dissenters in the province, and dissenting churches had been established.4 Episcopacy had likewise effected a lodgment, and there was an Episcopal church in Boston.5 But the majority of the churches were of the Puritan stamp, and Puritanism was the prevalent and popular religion. Some may regret that its sway has since lessened ; but in the progress of society changes must be expected ; and though different opin- ions may be entertained of the tendency of these changes, few, perhaps, would be satisfied with the systems of the past if revived in their original form, and few would admit their com- plete adaptation to the wants of the present age. Yet truly enlightened minds will never cease to reverence all that was excellent in the faith or the practice of the past; and there was much in the faith and practice of the Puritans worthy of the highest praise.
1 Holmes, Am. Ann. i. 459, gives the number of churches in 1696 as 130; but ibid. 480, he says that in 1701 there were but 120 ministers. Comp. Hildreth, U. S. ii. 168.
2 William and Mary College, in Virginia, was founded in 1691. See. its charter, and comp. Trott's Laws, art. Virginia ; Holmes, Am. Ann. i. 443; 1 M. H. Coll. v. 164-166.
3 See the catalogues for lists of the graduates. There was early com- plaint that many of the graduates
went to England. Hazard, ii. 74; Quincy's Hist. i. 16.
4 'The first Baptist church in Mas- sachusetts was established in Swansey in 1663; the first in Boston was es- tablished in 1665. Benedict, i. 354, 381.
5 An Episcopal church was built during the administration of Andros. See vol. i. of this work, and the au- thorities there cited ; and comp. 1 M. HI. Coll. iii. 259.
51
MEMBERS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT.
The members of the new government had, many of them, CHAP. held office under the old charter. Bradstreet, Saltonstall,
III. Wait Winthrop, Russell, Sewall, Appleton, Gedney, Hathorne, 1692. Hutchinson, Pike, Joyliffe, Hinckley, Bradford, Walley, and Lathrop, had all been assistants in Massachusetts or Plymouth, and most of them had been distinguished for their zealous defence of the liberties of the people, and their uncompromis- ing resistance to the aggressions of the Stuarts. Of the new members, Phillips, Curwin, Adam Winthrop, Middlecot, Fos- ter, Sergeant, Lynde, Hayman, Mason, Alcot, Donnell, and Davis, were less known, and had been less conspicuous. One of the number, Mason, was a merchant in London, friendly to New England, but never a resident of the country ; and his name was probably inserted in the charter chiefly from respect. The last three were from Maine and the more distant east.1
Sir William Phips, the governor, was a native of New Eng- land, and owed his elevation more to a concurrence of favora- ble circumstances than to the dignity of his character or the strength of his intellect. Born in an obscure village on the 1650-51. banks of the Kennebec, and apprenticed to a ship carpenter at Feb. 2. the age of eighteen, a few years after attaining his majority he 1668. 1683. embarked on the ocean, for the recovery of a Spanish wreck laden with treasures. His success in this expedition, which certainly evinced an enterprising genius, was the foundation of his fortune, and procured him the honor of knighthood 1687. from the king. Receiving an appointment as high sheriff of New England, he returned to his native land, and settled in Boston towards the close of the administration of Andros. 168). Here he joined the North Church, of which Cotton Mather 1690. was pastor ; and his zeal for Puritanism and the advantages of his position so far commended him to the favor of the aspiring minister, then in the zenith of his power and at the height of popularity, that, conceiving him to be one whose
1 For sketches of these gentlemen, see Hutchinson, ii. 20, 21, 69, 70; and comp. Williamson's Maine, vol. i.
52
SIR WILLIAM PHIPS.
CHAP. administration would, in many respects, be serviceable to the III. church and agreeable to the people, his name was sent in as 1692. a candidate for the chief magistracy by Increase Mather, the agent of the colony in England,1 to whom, as a matter of con- ciliation, the nomination of the first officers under the new charter had been left.2
The qualifications of Phips, which influenced the Mathers to espouse his cause, were, that from the warmth of the neo- phyte they were assured of his favor to the congregational churches, and that there would be less danger of innovations in religion than under the administration of one less friendly to the Puritan creed ; that in political affairs, as his experi- ence was trifling and his opportunities had been limited, he might be inclined to listen with deference to the advice of his spiritual guides, who were among the most prominent politi- cians of the day ; and that as a native of the country, who had served in the French wars, and who was well known to the people, he would be more acceptable than a stranger, and more confidence could be placed in his fidelity to their interests.
That the Mathers were honest in their views, has been doubted by some; and their characters have been subjected to a scrutiny as severe, perhaps, as ever was known. Yet no men stood higher with their contemporaries than they, and none were looked up to with greater respect. The attachment of the people to them was general and sincere; nor, from a review of their history, do we see cause to doubt the brilliancy of their talents or the purity of their intentions.3 In some things, it is true, their zeal may have been excessive ; and the credulity of Cotton Mather was certainly unbounded. Yet, when even his political enemies acknowledged his worth, and
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