USA > New Hampshire > The history of New-Hampshire. Comprehending the events of one complete century and seventy-five years from the discovery of the River Pascataqua to the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety, Vol I > Part 5
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- England man."" Iligginson's Election Sermon, 1663.
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from bigotry, than any others in his day. His farewell charge to thofe of his flock who were embarking in Holland for America de- . Neal's Hist. ferves to be had in perpetual remembrance. N. Eng. vol. 1. p.84. " Brethren (faid he) we are now quickly to " part from one another, and whether I may " ever live to fee your face on earth any " more, the God of heaven only knows ; but " whether the Lord hath appointed that or " no, I charge you before God and his blef- " fed angels that you follow me no further " than you have feen me follow the Lord Je- " fus Chrift. If God reveal any thing to you " by any other inftrument of his, be as ready " to receive it, as ever you were to receive " any truth by my miniftry ; for I am veri- " ly perfuaded, I am very confident, the Lord " has more truth yet to break forth out of " his holy word. For my part, I cannot fuf- " ficiently bewail the condition of the re- " formed churches, who are come to a peri- " od in religion, and will go at prefent no " farther than the inftruments of their refor- " mation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn " to go beyond what Luther faw ; whatever " part of his will our Good God has reveal- " ed to Calvin, they will rather die than em- " brace it. And the Calvinifts you fee ftick " faft where they were left by that great " man of God, who yet faw not all things. " This is a mifery much to be lamented ; " for though they were burning and fhining " lights in their times, yet they penetrated " not into the whole counfel of God ; but " were they now living, would be as willing "'to embrace farther light, as that which " they at firft received. I befeech you to re-
n
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" member it as an article of your church " covenant, That you be ready to receive what- " ever truth fhall be made known to you from "the written word of God. Remember that, " and every other article of your facred cov- " enant. But I muft herewithal exhort you " to take heed what you receive as truth. " Examine, confider and compare it with " other fcriptures of truth, before you re- " ceive it ; for it is not poffible the chriftian " world fhould come fo lately out of fuch " thick antichriftian darknefs, and that per- " fection of knowledge fhould break forth " at once." It is much to be regretted that this excellent man did not live to reach New- England and to diffufe more generally fuch truly catholic and apoftolic principles.
Many of the firft planters of New-Eng- land were perfons of good education, and fome of them eminent for their abilities and learning. Such men could not but fee the neceffity of fecuring to their pofterity the advantages which they had fo dearly pur- chafed. One of their firft concerns was to have their children confidered, from their earlieft years, as fubjects of ecclefiaftical dif- cipline. This became a matter of controver- fy, and was largely difcuffed in fermons and pamphlets, and at length determined by the authority of a fynod. A regular courfe of academical learning was a point of equal im- portance, and admitted of no difpute. They faw that the reputation and happiness of the whole country depended greatly upon it. They therefore took early care for the eftab- lifhment of fchools, and within ten years
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from their firft fettlement, founded a Col- lege at Cambridge*, which from fmall be- ginnings, by the munificence of its patrons, has made a diftinguifhed figure in the re- public of letters. Many eminent men have there been formed for the fervice of the church and ftate ; and without this advan- tage the country could not have arrived, in fo fhort a time, at its prefent refpectable ftate ; nor have been furnifhad with men ca- pable of filling the various ftations of ufe- fulnefs, and of defending our civil and reli- gious liberties.
Though the firft planters derived from the royal grants and charters a political right as fubjects of the crown of England, to this ter- ritory ; yet they did not think themfelves juftly entitled to the property of it till they had fairly purchafed it of its native lords, and made them full fatisfactiont. Nor did they content themfelves with merely living peaceably among them, but exerted them- felves vigoroufly in endeavouring their con- verfion to chriftianity, which was one of the obligations of their patent, and one of the profeffed defigns of their fettlement in this country. This painful work was remarka- bly fucceeded, and the names of ELIOT and
* "When New-England was poor. and we were but few in number, there " was a spirit to encourage learning, and the college was full of students." Result of a Synolin 1679.
t The Abbe Raynal in his elegant History of the East and West Indies speaks of the purchase made of the Indians by William Penn in 1681, as " an example of moderation and justice in America, which was never thought " of before, by the Europeans." It can be no dero ration from the honor due to the wise founder of Pennsylvania that the example of this mo leration and justice was first set by the planters of New-England, whose deeds of con- veyance from the Indians were earlier than his by half a century.
In some parts of the country the lands purchased of the Indians are sub- ject to quit-rent, which is annually paid to their posterity. They have lands reserved to their use, which are not allowed to be purchased of them without the consent of the legislature.
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MAYHEW will always be remembered as un- wearied inftruments in promoting it. Great 'care was taken by, the government to pre- vent fraud and injuftice toward the Indians in trade, or violence to their perfons. The neareft of the natives were fo fenfible of the juftice of their Englifh neighbours, that they lived in a ftate 'of peace with them, with but little interruption, for above fifty years.
Slavery was thought fo inconfiftent with the natural rights of mankind, and detri- mental to fociety, that an exprefs law was made, prohibiting the buying or felling of flaves, except thofe taken in lawful war, or reduced to fervitude for their crimes by a judicial fentence ; and thefe were to have the fame privileges as were allowed by the laws of Mofes. There was a remarkable in- ftance of juftice in the execution of this law in 1645, when à Negro who had been frau- dulently brought from the coaft of Africa, and fold in the country, was by the fpecial interpofition of the general court taken from his mafter in order to be fent home to his native land *. How long after this the im- portation of blacks continued to be difallow- ed is uncertain ; but if the fame refolute juftice had always been obferved, it would have been much for the credit and intereft of the country ; and our own ftruggles for
* " 14. 3d mo. 1645. The court thought proper to write to Mr. Wil- " liams of Pascataqua, (understanding that the Negroes which Captain " Smyth brought were fraudently and injuriously taken and brought from " Guinea, by Capt. Smyth's confession and the rest of the company) that he " forthwith send the Negro which he had of Captain Smyth hither, that he " may be sent home, which this court doth resolve to send back without de- " lay. And if you have any thing to alledge, why you should not return " him to be disposed of by the court, it will be expected you should forthe " with makeit appear either by yourself or your agent."
Massachusetts Records
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liberty would not have carried fo flagrant an appearance of inconfiftency.
Severe laws conformable to the principles of the laws of Mofes were enacted againft all kinds of immorality. Blafphemy, Idolatry, adultery, unnatural lufts, rape, murder, man- ftealing,falfe witnefs, rebellion againft par- ents, and confpiracy againft the common- wealth were inade capital crimes ; and be- caufe fome doubted whether the magiftrate could punifh breaches of the four firft com- mands of the, decalogue, this right was af- ferted in the higheft tone, and the denial of it ranked among the moft peitilent herefies, and punifhed with banifhment. By the fe- verity, and impartiality with" which thofe laws were, executed, intemperance and pro- fanenefs were fo effectually difcountenanced that Hugh Peters, who had refided in the country twenty years, declared before the parliament that he had not feen a drunken man, nor heard a profane oath during that period. The report of this extraordinary ftrictnefs, while it invited many of the beft men in England to come over, kept them clear of thofe; wretches who fly from one country to another to efcape the punifhment of their crimes.
The profeffed, defign of the plantation be- . ing the advancement of religion, and men of the ftricteft morals being appointed to the chief places of government, their zeal for purity of every kind carried them into fome refinements in their laws which are not gen- erally fuppofed to come within the fphere of magiftracy, and in larger communities could fcarcely be attended to in a judicial way.
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4
The drinking of healths, and the ufe of to- bacco were forbidden, the former being con- fidered as an heathenifh and idolatrous prac- tice, grounded on the ancient libations ; the other as a fpecies of intoxication and wafte of time. Laws were inftituted to regulate the in- tercourfe between the fexes, and the advances toward matrimony : They had a ceremony of betrothing, which preceded that of mar- riage. Pride and levity of behavior came under the cognizance of the magiftrate. Not only the richnefs but the mode of drefs, and cut of the hair were fubject to ftate-regula- tions, Women were forbidden to expofe their arms ar bofoms to view ; it was ord- ered that their fleeves fhould reach down to their wrift, and their gowns be clofed round the neck. Men were obliged to cut fhort their hair, that they might not refemble wo- men. No perfon not worth two hundred pounds was allowed to wear gold or filver lace, or filk hoods and fcarfs. Offences a- gainft thefe laws were prefentable by the grand jury ; and thofe who dreffed above their rank were to be affeffed accordingly. Sumptuary laws might be of ufe in the be- ginning of a new plantation ; but thefe pi- ous rulers had more in view than the politi- cal good. They were not only concerned for the external .appearance of fobriety and good order, but thought themfelves obliged, fo far as they were able, to promote real re- ligion and enforce the obfervance of the di- vine precepts.
As they were fond of imagining a near re- femblance between the circumftances of their fettlement in this country and the redemp-
1
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Increase Mather's
life, p. 57.
1
Mather's Magnalia, lib. 8. p. 20.
tion of Ifrael from Egypt or Babylon ; it is not ftrange that they fhould alfo look upon their " commonwealth as an inftitution of " God for the prefervation of their church- " es, and the civil rulers as both members. " and fathers of them." The famous John Cotton, the firft minifter in Bofton was the chief promoter of this fentiment. When he arrived in 1633, he found the people di- vided in their opinions. Some had been ad- mitted to the privileges of freemen at the firft general court, who were not in commu- nion with the churches ; after this an order was paffed, that none but members of the churches fhould be admitted freemen ; ¿whereby all other perfons were excluded from every office or privilege civil or mili-
tary. This great man by his eloquence confirmed thofe who had embraced this opinion, and earneftly pleaded ".that the " government might be confidered as a theo- " cracy wherein the Lord was judge, lawgiv-
" er and king ; that the laws which he gave " Ifrael might be adopted, fo far as they " were of moral and perpetual equity ; that " the people might be confidered as God's " people in covenant with him ; that none " but perfons of approved piety and eminent " gifts fhould be chofen rulers ; that the " minifters fhould be confulted in all mat- " ters of religion ; and that the magiftrate " ihould have a fuperintending and coercive " power over the churches." At the defire of the court, he compiled a fyftem of laws founded chiefly on the laws of Mofes, which was confidered by the legiflative body as the general fandard ; though they never for-
Hitch. Collec. papers, p. 161.
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mally adopted it, and in fome inftances va- ried from it.
Thefe principles were fundamentally the fame with thofe on which were ground- ed all the perfecutions which they had en- · dured in England, and naturally led to the fame extremes of conduct which they had fo bitterly complained of in thofe civil and ec- clefiaftical rulers, from whofe tyranny they, had fled into this wildernefs. They had al- ready proceeded a ftep farther than the hie- rarchy had ever attempted. No teft-law had as yet taken place in England ; but they had at one blow- cut off all but thofe of their own communion, from the privileges of civil offices, however otherwife qualified. They: thought that as they had fuffered fo much in laying the foundation of a new ftate, which was fuppofed to be "a model of the " glorious kingdom of Chrift on earth*," they had an exclufive right to all the hon- ours and privileges of it; and having the power in their hands, they effectually eftab- lifhed their pretenfions, and made all diffent- ers and difturbers feel the weight of their indignation.
In confequence of the union thus formed between the church and ftate on the plan of the Jewith theocracy, the minifters were cal- led to fit in council, and give their advice in matters of religion and cafes of confcience
* " I look upon this as a little model of the glorious kingdom of Christ " on earth. Christ reigns among us in the commonwealth as well as in the " Church, and hath his glorious interest involved in the good of both so- " cieties respectively. He that shall be treacherous and false to the civil " government, is guilty of high treason against the Lord Jesus Christ, and " will be proceeded against as a rebel and traitor to the King of kings, when ; he shall hold his great assizes at the end of the world."
President Oakes's Election Sermon, 1673.
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1
which came before the court, and without them they never proceeded to any act of an. ecclefiaftical nature. As none were allowed to vote in the election of rulers but freemen, and freemen muft be church members ; and as none could be admitted into the church but by the elders, who firft examined, and then propounded them to the brethren for their vote, the clergy acquired hereby a vaft afcendency over both rulers and people, and had in effect the keys of the ftate as well as the church in their hands. The magiftrates, on the other hand, regulated the gathering of churches, interpofed in the fettlement and difmiffion of minifters, arbitrated in ecclefi- aftical controverfies and controled fynodical affemblies. This coercive power in the magif- trate was deemed abfolutely neceffary to preferve " the order of the gofpel."
1
Chap. 17. Sec. 3.
The principle on which this power is grounded is expreffed in the Cambridge Platform in terms as foft as poffible. " The " power and authority of magiftrates is not " for the reftraining of churches, or any other "good works, but for the helping in and " furthering thercof, and therefore, the con- " fent and countenance of magiftrates when " it may be bad, is not to be flighted or light- " ly efteemed ; but, on the contrary, it is a " part of the honor due to chriftian magif- " trates to defire and crave their confent and " approbation therein : which being obtain- " ed, the churches may then proceed in their " way with much more encouragement and " comfort." This article (like divers others in that work) is curioufly and artfully drawn up, fo that there is an appearance of liberty
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and tendernefs but none in reality : For al- though the magiftrate was not to reftrain any good works, yet be was to be the judge of the good or evil of the works to be reftrain- ed; and what fecurity could churches have that they fhould not be reftrained in the per- formance of what they judged to be good works ? They might indeed think them- felves fafe, while their rulers were fo zealous for the purity of the churches of which themfelves were members, and while their minifters were confulted in all ecclefiaftical affairs ; but if the civil powers had acted without fuch confultation, or if the minif- ters had been induced to yield to the opinion of the magiftrates, when contrary to the in- tereft of the churches, what then would have become of religious liberty ?
The idea of liberty in matters of religion was in that day ftrangely underftood, and myfterioufly expreffed. The venerable Hig- ginfon of Salem in his fermon on the day of the election 1663, fpeaks thus ; " The gof- " pel of Chrift hath a right paramount all " rights in the world ; it hath a divine and " fupreme right to be received in every na- " tion, and the knee of magiftracy is to bow " at the name of Jefus. This right carries " liberty along with it, for all fuch as pro- " fefs the gofpel, to walk according to the " faith and order of the gofpel. That which " is contrary to the gofpel hath no right, and " therefore fhould have no liberty." Here ., the queftion arifes, who is to be the judge of what is agreeable or contrary to the gof- pel ? If the magiftrate, then there is only a liberty to believe and practice what the
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magiftrate thinks right. A fimilar fentiment 'occurs in the fermon of the learned Prefident Oakes 'on the fame occafion in 1673 ; " The " outcry of fome is for liberty of confcience. " This is the great Diana 'of the libertines of " this age. But remember that as long as you " have liberty to walk in the faith and order " of the gofpel, and may lead quiet and " peaceable lives in all godlinefs and honef- " ty, you have as much liberty of confcience " as Paul defired under any government." Here the queftion recurs, Would Paul have fubmitted to walk according to the opinion which the magiftrate might entertain of the faith and order of the gofpel ? But this was all the freedom allowed by the fpirit of thefe times. Liberty of confcience and toleration were offenfive terms, and they who ufed them were fuppofed to be the enemies of re- ligion and government. " I look upon tol- " eration (fays the fame author) as the firft " born of all abominations ; if it fhould be " born and brought forth among us, you " may call it Gad, and give the fame reafon " that Leah did for the name of her fon, Be- "bold'a troop cometh, a troop of all manner of " abominations." In another of thefe elec- tion fermons, (which may generally be ac- counted the echo of the public voice, or the political pulfe by which the popular opinion may be felt) it is threwdly intimated that toleration had its origin from the devil, and the fpeech of the demoniac who cried out, " what have we to do with thee, let us alone, " thou Jefus, of Nazareth," is ftyled " Satan's " plea for toleration." The following admo- . .
Shephard's Election Sermon, 1672.
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nition to pofterity, written by the Deputy- Governor Dudley, is another fpecimen.
" Let men of God in courts and churches watch
" O'er such as do a toleration hatch ;
' Lest that ill egg bring forth a cockatrice,
" To poison all with heresy and vice.
" If men be left and otherwise combine
" My epitaph's I die no libertine."
Morton's Memorial. p. 179
The champion of thefe fentiments was Cot- ton, who though eminently meek, placid and charitable, yet was ftrongly tinctured with the prevailing opinion, That the magiftrate had a coercive power againft heretics. The banifhment of Roger Williams, minifter of Salem, occafioned a vehement controverfy on this point. Williams having written in favour of liberty of confcience, and ftyled the .oppofite principle " the bloody tenet ;" was anfwered by Cotton, who publifhed a Treatife in 1647 with this ftrange title, " The bloody tenet wafhed, and made white " in the blood of the Lamb." In this work he labours to prove the lawfulnefs of the magiftrate's ufing the civil fword to ex- tirpate heretics, from the commands given to the Jews to put to death blafphemers and idolaters. To the objection, that perfecu- tion ferves to make men hypocrites, he fays, " better tolerate hypocrites and tares than " briars and thorns. In fuch cafes the civil " fword doth not fo much attend the con- " verfion of feducers, as the preventing the " feduction of honeft minds by their means." He allows indeed that " the magiftrate ought " not to draw the fword againft feducers till " he have ufed all good means for their con-
-
K.
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« viction : But if after their continuance in ob- " ftinate rebellion againft the light, he fhall " ftill walk toward them in foft and gentle " commiferation, his foftnefs and gentlenefs " is exceffive large to foxes and wolves ; but " his bowels are miferably ftraitned and " hardned againft the poor fheep and lambs " of Chrift. Nor is it fruftrating the end of " Chrift's coming, which was to fave fouls, " but a direct advancing it, to deftroy, if " need be, the bodies of thofe wolves, who " feek to deftroy the fouls of thofe for whom " Chrift died." In purfuing his argument he refines fo far as to deny that any man is to be perfecuted on account of confcience " till being convinced in his confcience of " his wickednefs, he do ftand out therein, " not only againft the truth, but againft the " light of his own confcience, that fo it " may appear he is not perfecuted for caufe " of confcience, but punifhed for finning " againft his own confcience." To which he adds, " fometimes it may be an aggrava- " tion of fin both in judgment and practice "'that a man committeth it in confcience." " After having faid that it , was toleration " which made the world antichriftian," he - concludes his book with this fingular ejacu- lation, " the Lord keep us from being be- " witched with the whore's cup, left while " we feem to reject her with open face of " profeffion, we bring her in by a back door " of toleration ; and fo come to drink deep- " ly of the cup of the Lord's wrath, and be " filled with her plagues."
But the ftrangeft language that ever was ufed on this or perhaps on any other fubject,
I
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is to be found in a book printed in 1645 by the humourous Ward of Ipfwich entitled, " the Simple Cobler of Agawam." "My " heart (fays he) hath naturally detefted " four things ; the ftanding of the Apocry- " pha in the bible : foreigners dwelling in " my country, to croud out native fubjects " into the corners of the earth : alchymized " coins : toleration of divers religions or of " one religion in fegregant fhapes. He that " willingly affents to the laft, if he examines " his heart by day-light, his confcience will " tell him, he is either an atheift, or an here- " tic, or an hypocrite, or at beft a captive to " fome luft. Polypiety is the greateft impiety " in the world. To authorize an untruth by " toleration of the ftate, is to build a fconce " againft the walls of heaven, to batter God "out of his chair. Perfecution of true reli- " gion and toleration of falfe are the Jannes " and Jambres to the kingdom of Chrift, " whereof the laft is by far the worft. He " that is willing to tolerate any unfound " opinion, that his own may be tolerated " though never fo found, will for a need, " hang God's bible at the devil's girdle. It " is faid that men ought to have liberty of " confcience and that it is perfecution to de- " bar them of it : I can rather ftand amaz- " ed than reply to this ; it is an aftonifhment " that the brains of men fhould be parboiled " in fuch impious ignorance."
From thefe fpecimens, (of which the read- er will think he has had enough) it is eafy to fee how deeply the principle of intoleran- cy was rooted in the minds of our forefath- ers. Had it ftood only in their books as a
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fubject of fpeculation, it might have been excufed, confidering the prejudices of the times ; but it was drawn out into fatal prac- tice, and caufed fevere perfecutions which cannot be juftified confiftently with chrifti- anity or true policy. Whatever may be faid in favour of their proceedings againft the Antinomians, whofe principles had fuch an effect on the minds of the people as materi- ally affected the foundations of government, in the infancy of the plantation ; yet the Anabaptifts and Quakers were fo inconfid- erable for numbers, and the colony was then fo well eftablithed that no danger could have been rationally apprehended to the common- wealth from them. Rhode-Ifland was fet- tled by fome of the Antinomian exiles on a plan of entire religious liberty : men of eve- ry denomination being equally protected and countenanced, and enjoying the honours and offices of government. The Anabaptifts, fined and banifhed, flocked to that new fet- tlement, and many of the Quakers alfo took refuge there ; fo that Rhode-Ifland was in thofe days looked upon as the drain or fink of New-England ; and it has been faid that " if any man had loft his religion, he might " find it there, among fuch a general mufter " of opinionifts." Notwithftanding this in- vective, it is much to the honour of that government that there never was an inflance of perfecution for confcience fake counten- anced by them. Rhode-Ifland and Pennfyl- vania afford a ftrong proof that toleration conduces greatly to the fettlement and in- creafe of an infant plantation. 1
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