MY Respects presented to you and Mrs. Brown, ho­ping and desiring your present and eternal wel­fare, &c. As for the state and condition of things amongst us, it is fad, and like so to continue; the Antichristi­an persecuting spirit is very active, and that in the powers of this World; he that will not whip and slash, banisih and persecute men that differ in matters of Religion, must not sit on the Bench, nor sustain any office in Commonwealth; Last election Mr. Hatherly and my self left off the Bench, and my self discharged of my Captain-ship, because I had entertained some of the Quakers at my House (thereby that I might the better be acquainted with their principles;) I thought better so to do, then with the blind World to cen­sure, condemn, rail, and revile them when they never saw their persons, nor knew any of their principles: But the Quakers and my self cannot close in divers things, and so I signified to the Court I was no Quaker, but must bear my te­stimony against sundry things that they held, as I had occa­sion and opportunity; but withall I told them, That as I was no Quaker, so I would be no Persecutor: This spirit did work those two years that I was of the Magistracy, during which time I was on sundry occasions forced to declare my discent in sundry actings of that nature, which although done with all moderation of expression, together with due respect unto the rest, yet it wrought great dis-affection and prejudice in them against me, so that if I should say some of themselves set others on work to frame a Petition against [Page 15]me, that so they might have a seeming ground from others (though first moved and acted by themselves) to lay me what they could under reproach) I should do no wrong, the Petition was with nineteen hands, it wil be too long to make rehearsal of; it wrought such a disturbance in our Town, and in our Military company, that when the Act of Court was read in the Head of the Company, had not I been pre­sent, and made a speech to them, I fear there had been such actings as would have been of a sad consequence. The court was again followed with another Petition of 54. hands, that I might be restored to them, or some satisfactory Reasons wherefore I might not: The court return the Petitioners an answer with much plausibleness of speech, carrying with it great shew of respect to them, readily acknowledging with the Petitioners, my parts and gifts, and how useful I had been in my Place, professing they had nothing at all against me, but onely in that thing of giving entertainment to the Quakers, when as I broke no Law in giving them a nights lodging or two, and some victuals; for our Law then was, If any entertain a quaker, and keepe him after he is warned by a Magistrate to depart, the party so entertaining shall pay 20. s. a week for entertaining them: Since has been made a Law, If a­ny entertain a quaker, if but a quarter of an hour, he is to forfeit 5. l. Another, That if any see a quaker, he is bound if he lives six miles or more from the Constable, yet he must presently go and give notice to the Constable, or else is subject to the censure of Court, (which may be, Hang him.) Another; That if the Constable know or hear of any quaker in his Precincts, he is presently to ap­prehend him, and if he will not presently depart the Town, the Con­stable is to whip them, and so send them away; and divers have been whipt with us in our Patent; and truly to tell you plainly that the whipping of them with such cruelty as some have been whipt, and their patience under it, hath sometime, been the occasion of gaining more adherence to them, then if they had suffered them openly to have prea­ched a Sermon: Also another Law., That if there be a Qua­kers meeting any where in this Collony the party in whose house, or on whose ground, is to pay 40. s. the Preaching quaker 40. s. every [Page 16]hearer 10. s. Yea, and if they have Meetings, though nothing be spoken when they so meet, which they say, So it falls out sometimes. Our last Law, That now they are to be appre­hended and carryed before a Magistrate, and by him com­mitted to be kept close prisoner until he will promise to de­part, and never come again, and will also pay his fees, which I perceive they will do neither the one nor other; and they must be kept onely with the Countreys allowance, which is but small, (namely, course bread and water) no friend may bring them any thing, none may be permitted to speak to them; nay, if they have money of their own, they may not make use of that to relieve themselves. In the Masatu­sets (namely Boston Collony) after they have whipt them, cut their ears, have now at last gone the furthest step they can, they banish them upon pain of death if ever they come there again; We expect that we must do the like, we must dance after their Pipe; Now Plymouth-Saddle is upon the Bay-Horse, (to wit, Boston) we shall follow them on the ca­reer, for it is well if in some there be not a desire to be their apes and imitators in all their proceedings in things of this nature; all these carnal and antichristian wayes being not of Gods appointment, effect nothing as to the obstructing or hindering them in their way or course, it is onely the Word and Spirit of the Lord that is able to convince gain­sayers; they are the mighty Weapons of a christians War­fare, by which great and mighty things are done and ac­complished: They have many Meetings, and many adhe­rents, almost the whole town of Saudwitch is adhering to­wards them; and give me leave a little to acquaint you with their sufferings, which is grievous unto, and sads the hearts of most of the precious Saints of God, it lyes down with them, and rises up with them, and they cannot put it out of their minds, to see and hear of poor Families deprived of their comforts, and they brought into penury and want, (you may say, by what means? and to what end?) as far as I am able to iudge of the end, it is to force them from their homes and lawful habitations, and to drive them out of our coasts; Masathusets have banished six of their own Inha­bitants [Page 17]to be gone on pain of death, and I wish that blood be not shed; but our poor people are pillaged, and plunde­sed of their goods, and happily when they have no more to satisfie this unsatiable desire, at last may be forced to fly, and glad they have their lives for a prey: As for the means by which they are so impoverished, these in the first place were scupulous of an Oath, why then, we must put in force an old Law, that all must take the Oath of fidelity, this be­ing tendred, they will not take it, and then we must adde more force to the Law, and that is, if any shall refuse or neglect to take it by such a time, shall pay 5 l. or depart the Colony.

When the time is come they are the same as they were, then goes out the Marshal, and fetches away their Cows, and other Cattle. Well, another Court comes, they are required to take the Oath again, they cannot, then 5 l. more, on this account 35 head of Cattle, as I am credibly informed, has been by the authority of our Court taken from them the latter part of this Summer; and these people say, if they have more right to them then themselves, let them take them, some that had a Cow onely, some two Cows, some three Cowes, and many small Children in their Families, to whom in Summer time, a Cow or two was the greatest outward comfort they had for their Subsistence. A poor Weaver that has seven small children, or eight, I know not which, he himself lame in his body, had but two cows, and both taken from him, the Marshall asked him what he would do, he must have his Cows, the man said, that God that gave him them, he doubted not, but would still provide for him To fill up the measure yet more full, though to the further emptying of Sandwitch men of their outward comforts, the last Court of assistants, the first Tuesday of this instant the Court was pleased to determine fines on Sandwitch men for meetings, sometimes on first dayes of the week, sometimes on other dayes, as they say, they meet ordinarily twice in the week besides the Lords day, 150 l. whereof William Nuland is 24 l. for he and his wife, at 10 s. a meeting, Wil­liam Allen 46. l. some affirm it 49 l. the poor Weaver before spoken of 20 l. Brother Cook told me, one of the Brethren [Page 18]at Bastable certifled him that he was in the Weavers house when (cruel Barlow) Sandwitch Marshal came to do­mand the summe, and he said that he was fully enformed of all the poor man had, and thought if all laid to­gether it was not worth 10 l. what will be the eud of such courses and practices, the Lord onely knows, I heartily and earnesily pray, that these and such like courses neither raise up amongst us, nor bring in upon us, either the sword or any devouring calamity, as a just avenger of the Lords quarrel for Acts of injustice and oppression, and that we may every oue find out the plague of his own heart, and put away the evil of his own doings, & meet the Lord by entrea­ties of peace, before it be too late, and there be no remedy.

Our Civil Powers are so exercised in things appertaining to the Kingdome of Christ in matters of Religion and Con­science, that we can have no time to effect any thing, that tends to the promotion of the Civil Weal of the pro­sperity of the place, but now we must have a State Religion, such as the powers of the world will allow (and no other) a State-Minister, and a State way of maintenance, and we must worship and serve the Lord Jesus, as the world shall appoint us, we must all go to the publick place of meeting in the Parish where he dwells, or be presented, I am infor­med of three or fourscore last Court presented, for not co­ming to publick meetings, and let me tell you how they brought this about, you may remember a Law once made, called Thomas Hin [...]leys Law, that if any neglected the worship of God in the place where he lives, and set up a worship contrary to God, and the allowance of this Go­vernment, to the publick prophanation of Gods holy day, and Ordinance shall pay 10 s. this Law would not reach, what then was aimed at because he must do so and so, that is, all things there expressed, or else break not the Law in March last a court of Deputies was called, and some Acts touching Quakers were made; and then they contrived to make this Law to be serviceable to them, and that was by putting out the word (and) and put in the word (or) which is a dis­junctive, and makes every branch to become a Law, so now if any do neglect, or will not come to the publick Meetings, [Page 19]10. s. for every defect, certainly, we either have less wit, or more money then the Massathusets, for, for 5 s. a day a man may stay away till it come to 12. or 13 l. if he had it but to pay them: and these men altering this Law now in March, yet left it dated June the 6th 1651. and so it stands as the Act of a General court, they to be the Authors of it se­ven years before it was in being, and so you your self have your part and share in it, if the Recorder lie not, but what may be the reason that they should not by another Law made and dated that court, as well effect what was intend­ed, as by altering a word, (and so the whole sence) of the Law, and leave this their Act by the date of it charged on another courts account; surely the chief instruments in the businesse, being privy to the Act of Parliament for liberty should too openly have acted repugnant to a Law of Eng­land, but if they can do the thing, and leave it on a court as making it six years before the Act of Parliament, there can be no danger in this, and that they were privy to the Act of Parliament for liberty to be then in being, is evi­dent that the Deputies might be free to act it, they told us that now the Protector stood not engaged to the articles for liberty; for the Parliament had now taken the power into to their own hands, and had given the Protector a new Oath, onely in general to maintain the Protestant Religi­on, and so produced the oath in a Paper in writing, where­as the Act of Parliament, and the Oath are both in one book in Print, so that they that were privy to the one, could not be ignorant of the other, but still all is well, if we can but keep the people ignorant of their liberties and Pri­viledges, then we have liberty to act in our own wills what we please, we are wrapped up in a Labyrinth of confused Laws, that the free mens power is quite gone, and it was said last June Court by one, that they knew nothing the freemen had there to do; Sandwitch men may not go to the Bay, least they be taken up for Quakers, William N [...]land was there a­bout his occasions some ten dayes since, and they put him in prison 24 hours, and sent for divers to witness against him, but they had not proof enough to make him a Quaker, which if he had he should have been whipt, nay they may [Page 20]not go about their own occasions in other Towns in our Colony but warrants lie in ambush to apprehend them, and bring them before a Magistrate to give an account of their businesse. Some of the Quakers from Road Island came to bring them goods to trade with them, and that for far rea­sonabler terms, then the professing, oppressing Merchants of the Country, but that will not be suffered, that unlesse the Lord step in to their help and assistance in some way be­yond mans conceiving, their case is sad and to be pitied, and truly, it moves bowels of compassion from all sorts, except those in place, who carry with a high hand towards them, through mercy we have as yet amongst us worthy Mr. Dunster, whom the Lord has made boldly to bear testimony against the Spirit of persecution: Our Bench now is Tho­mas Prince, Governour, Mr. Collier, Captain Willet, Captain Winslow, Mr. Alden, Lieutenant Southworth, William Bradford, Thomas Hinkly. Mr. Collier last June would not sit on the Bench if I sat there, and now will not sit the next year, unlesse he may have 30 l. sit by him: our Court and Deputies last June made Captain Winslow a Major, surely we are all mer­cenary Souldiers, that must have a Major imposed on us; Doubtlesse the next Court they may choose us a Governor, and Assistants also, a free man shall need to do nothing, but bear such burdens as shall be laid upon him; Mr. Alaen has deceived the expectation of many, and indeed lost the af­fections of such as I judge were his cordiall Christian friends, who is very active in such wayes, as I pray God may not be charged on him, to be oppressions of a high nature.

Written in December 1658.