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Show Mafter John Cottons AIJ[wer I d . h b" d theBayofMorrachufits,fot which the Patent who 1a md a< :!ule-h few oft hem as :1lu1'r vt•v cd were gI ad of t he com- ~as gfrahnteE · j,a· who might preferve them from. the oppreffion mofg t hoe IN aeb anrgga 'nJ'f'e>u .For it iSthe manner o f ·t he N att.v es,t he ft rong· er Nations to opprelfe the weake~. . . This anfwer did not fati!fie M .Wzllzam!, who pleaded, the Na-tives, though they did not, nor could fubdue the Countrey, (but left it vacuum D•micilium) yet they ~unted all the Countrey over, and for the rxpedition of their hunrmg voya~cs, they burnt up all the under woods in the Countrey,once or twtce a yeare,and th~rC·· fare as Noble men in England polfe!fed jlreat Parkes, and the K~ng, t Forrefts in England onelyJor thetr game, and no man mtght f~~afuliy invade. their Eropriety : Sa might the N.1tives challenge the like Propriety of the ~ountrey here. . . It was replyed unto htm. I· That the Kmg, and Noble men tn Engl_and, as they po~lkd greater Territories eben other men, fo they did greater fervtce to Church, and Common-wealth. . 2 , That they emFloyed their Parkes,and. F.orrefts,noc for hun· ting onely but forTimber,and for che.nounfhment of !arne bufts, as well as.~ild,andalfo for habitation t? fundryTena~ts. • 3, Tha& our Townes here did.not dtfturb the hunn~gs o~the Natives, but did rather keepe thetr Game fitter for thetr cakmg; f~Jr chey cake their Deere by Traps, and not by Hounds. 4• That if they cprnplaincd of any firaites wee put upo~ them, wee gave fatisfaaion in fom.e payments,:or other, to thm con· tem. c S• We did notconc~ive that it isa juftTitle to fo v•ft a : o~· tinenr, to n~;k: no other improv~ment of millions of Acres tn tr, but one! y to burne it u J for paftime. · But thefe Anfwers n~t facisfying him, this was fiill preff'ed bf him,as.a Nationall finne, to hold to the P~tent, yea, and aNadonall duty to renounce the Patent: which to have done, had fubvw ~d the fundamentall State, and Government of the <?oontrey. 2. The fecond offence, which procured his Blmfhmcnt, was O(;!:afioned as I touched before. The Magifirates, and oth~r mero· ben of the Generall Court upon Intelligence of fame Eptfcop~l, a;nd malignant pral?cifes againfi the Cauncrey, they madean.or er Elf Coutt to take try aU of. tbe fidelitie of the People, (not by iD,wlfg to Maf/ er Roger Williams. fing upon them, but) by offering to them an Oath of Fidelitie: that in ~afe any fhould refufe to take it, they might not betruft them ~1th place of publick charge, and Command. This Oath when It came abroad, he vehemently withftood it, and dillwaded fundry from it, partly becaufe it was, as he faid;Chrifrs Preroga· tive, to have his Office eflablifhed by O•th: partly becaufe an oatlt was a part of Gods wodhip, and Gods worn1ip was not to be put upon carnall perfons, as he conceived many of Lhe People co be. So by his·Tenent neither might Church' memben, nor otbet·godly men, take the Oath, becaufe it was the dlablifhg1ent not of Chrifr, but of mortall men in their office ; nor might men out of the Church take it, becaufe in his·eye they were but carnal!. So rhe Court was forced to defifi from that proceeding : which pr.dl ife of his was held to be the more dangerous, becaufe it tended to unfCttle all the Kingdomes, and Common-wealths in Europt-. Thefe were (·as I cooke it) the caufes of his Banifhment; two o!heuhings foil in upon thefe that haftened the Sentence. The for· mer feU out thus: The MagifirattS·oifcerningby the-former palfages, the heady and turbulent fpirit of M'. WiUiamJ, both they, and omers advifed the Church of Salem not to call him to office in their Church ; neverthele!fe, the major part of the·Church made choice of him. Soone after, when the Church made fuit to the Court for a.parcell of Land adjoyning to them,the Court dc!Jy«l . to grant their R.eqaelt (as hath been mentioned before) becaufc: the. Church had refufed to heuken to the Magill raw, and othera in forbearing the choice of M', Williamr. Whereupon M'.WiUial]ft tookoccafion.co ftirreuptheChurch to joynewith him in writing Letters of Admonition unto all theChurchc@, whereof thofe Magi~ rates were members, to admonifh them of thmopen·rra~ fgref~ fionofthe Rule of Jullice. Which Letters coming to the feverall C~urches,provoked the Magill rates to take the more flxedycourfe Wtth fo heady,and violent a Spirit. But to prevent his fu!ferings, ( ifitmight be) it was mooved by fome of the Elders, that themfelves might have liberty (according to the Rule of.Chrifl) to deale with him, and with the Church alfo in a Church-way. It might be, the Churt:h might heare-tl!, and he the Church; which being con fen ted to,lome of our Chur· ~ Wrote to tlle Church llf Salem,_to prefent before them. the o£.. fenfiv~ .. |