Ans. The ministers' answer was affirmative. Qu. 4. Whether the magistrates' power be not given by the Patent to the people, or General Court, and by them to the Governor and Assistants?

Ans. The magistrates' power is given to the Governor, &c., by the Patent; to the people is given, by the same Patent, to design the persons to those places of government; and to the General Court power is given. to make laws, as the rules of their administration. These resolutions of the ministers were after vote, and were all allowed to be received, except the last clause, in answer to the second question.

put to

Most of the deputies were now well satisfied concerning the authority of the magistrates, &c., but some few leading men (who had drawn on the rest) were still fixed upon their own opinions; so hard it is to draw men (though wise and godly) from the love of the fruit of their own inventions.

Mr. Winthrop, at this time Deputy Governor, having formerly, and from time to time, opposed the deputies' claim of judicial authority, and the prescribing of set penalties in cases which may admit variable degrees of guilt, occasioned some to suspect that he, and some other of the magistrates, did affect an arbitrary government. He now wrote a small treatise of that point, showing what arbitrary government was, and that the government (in the state it now stood) was not arbitrary, neither in the ground and foundation of it, nor in the exercise and administration thereof, which tended much to the satisfaction of them that desired distinctly to understand the nature of these things.

CHAP. XLVII.1

Troubles occasioned to the Massachusetts inhabitants by one Samuel Gorton, and his company, all of them notorious Familists.

Two Indian sachems having submitted themselves to the government of the Massachusetts, for fear of the

'Originally XLVI in the MS.-H.

VOL. VI. SECOND SERIES.

9

Pumham and Sacononoco.-H.

Narrhagansets, their more potent neighbors, and that they might be protected from the injuries of some vagabond English, (as they are called in Sir Ferdinando Gorges's History of New England, page 38,) were, after that submission of theirs, many ways molested by the said English, which occasioned much trouble to themselves, as well as to the Massachusetts, and the other English Plantations round about them. This disturbance happened in the year 1643. The evil consequences of which continued some years, and occasioned, as well the death of Miantonimo, the great sachem of the Narrhagansets, as the ruin of their own estates.

The ringleader of those English at Providence was one Samuel Gorton, (as saith Mr. Cotton, in the Bloody Tenet Washed, page 5 and 6,) a citizen of London, a man of an haughty spirit, and very heretical principles, a prodigious minter of exorbitant novelties, even the very dregs of Familism. He arrived first at Boston, in the year 1636, and continued a while there, till a reverend minister of London (Mr. Walker) sent over directions to some friends to demand an hundred pound debt of him, which he having borrowed of a citizen, the citizen bequeathed it to some good use, whereof Mr. Walker was called to some trust. But when Gorton departed out of this jurisdiction to Plymouth, and there beginning to spread some of his opinions, to the disturbance of the church, and fearing disturbance to himself, and because he could not procure sufficient bail for his good abearing in the place, he came to Rhode Island,' and there, raising some seditious opposition against the magistrates, he met with public correction. From thence, therefore, he went to Providence, the place where Mr. Roger Williams and his friends had sat down, and there abusing the poor Indians, by taking away their lands, and some English there that had submitted to the Massachusetts, they complained to the Massachusetts, (to whom they had submitted themselves,) of that and other injuries, which they had sustained. The Court of the Massachusetts sent over to Gorton and his company to come down, and

suffered

He was admitted an inhabitant, June 20, 1638.-H. 2 Before Nov. 17, 1641, says Mackie's Life of Gorton.-H. See Sav. Win. ii. 59,

84, 120-3.-H. In September, 1643. Ibid. 137.-H.

shew what right they had to those lands, which they had taken from those Indians, their subjects. But Gorton and his company, instead of coming or sending any to clear their right, sent two books,' written by some of themselves, full of vile heresies and malignant blasphemies against Christ, and against his churches, his ministers, ordinances, and magistrates; yet withal offered that, if they would send their agents over unto them, they would clear their right to the land, which they took from the Indians. The Court therefore sent over some2 with commission to treat with them, and because Gorton had threatened the former messengers with the offer of some violence, they sent as many armed men with these as might secure their agents from injury; and, in case they refused to shew the right and equity of their cause, then to bring some of the principal of them by strong hand to clear it here. When hither they were come, Gorton desired to speak his mind freely, which being granted, he held it forth, as the mind of himself and his company, that Christ was incarnate when Adam was made after God's image, for God had but one image, and that image was Christ, and this making of Adam in that image was the exinanition of Christ. But when it was objected, that that exinanition of Christ was unto life in Adam, but Christ was to suffer exinanition unto death, he answered, that Christ died when the image of God died, and the image of God died in Adam's fall. But when it was further objected, that Christ's death was the purchase and price of our redemption, but the fall of Adam was not the price of our redemption, but the cause of our condemnation, he stopped, having nothing to reply, and yet would not revoke his hellish blasphemy. This being all the satisfaction [which] was like to be had of this Gorton and his companions, after all their insolencies and injuries, they were detained for a time about Boston, at several towns, whither they were sent, and where they had more civil entertainment than they deserved, all the time of their continuance there; yet were very forward in any public assembly, where they came, to be venting of

1 Letters, says Winthrop.-H. Captain George Cook, Captain Edward Johnson, and Lieutenant Humphrey Atherton, with forty soldiers.-H.

their Familistical notions. But after some months detainment, authority finding no way to imprint any good instruction upon their minds, they were dismissed' to their own homes, as is declared afterwards, where they always continued secret and malicious enemies to the United Colonies, like Hadad the Edomite, that abhorred Israel to the last, which enmity of theirs principally appeared in their encouraging the Narrhagansets to rise in rebellion against them.

The ground of the quarrel between Gorton's company and the two sachems, that had submitted to the Massachusetts, was briefly this: Sacononoco|| and Pumham, two sachems near Providence, having under them two or three hundred men, finding themselves overborne by Miantonimo, the sachem of Narrhaganset, and Gorton with his company having so far prevailed with Miantonimo as he forced one of them to join with him in setting his hand or mark to a writing, whereby a part of his land was sold to them, for which Miantonimo received [a price,3] but the other sachem would not receive that which was for his part, alleging that he did not intend to sell his land, though for fear of Miantonimo, he had put his mark to the writing, thereupon those two sachems came to the Governor of the Massachusetts, and, by Benedict Arnold, their interpreter, did desire they would receive them under their government, and withal brought a small present of Wampam, about ten fathom. The Governor gave them encouragement, but referred them to the Court, and received their present, intending to return it to them again, if the Court should not accord to them. The Governor acquainted another of the magistrates with this matter, and both agreed to write to Gorton and his company, to let them know what the sachems had complained of, and how they had tendered themselves to come under their jurisdiction, and therefore, if they had any thing to allege against it, they should come or send to their next Court, &c. They sent also to Miantonimo, to signify the same to him. Whereupon, in the beginning

| Saconoroco

In March, 1643-4. Sav. Win. ii. 156.-H. 2 The date of the deed is Jan. 12, 1642-3. Ibid. 121.—я. 'Supplied from Winthrop.-H.

of the Court, Miantonimo came to Boston, and being demanded in open Court, before divers of his own men, and Cutshamakin, a sachem near Boston, with other Indians, whether he had any interest in the other two sachems, as his subjects, he could not prove any; and Cutshamakin also, in his presence, affirmed that he had no interest in them, but that they were as free sachems as himself, only, because that he was a great sachem, they had sometimes sent him some presents and aided him in his wars against the Pequots; and Benedict Arnold, the interpreter, partly upon his own knowledge, and partly upon the relation of divers Indians of those parts, told them the Indians did usually pay their deer skins to those two sachems, and not to Miantonimo, (which deer skins are a tribute usually paid to their chief sachem,) which Miantonimo could not contradict. Whereupon it was referred to the Governor and some other magistrates and deputies to send for the two sachems after the Court, and to treat with them about their receiving them into their jurisdiction. But before this, Gorton and his company, instead of coming to the Court at Boston, sent a writing of four sheets of paper, full of reproaches against the magistrates, ministers, and churches, and stuffed likewise with absurd Familistical stuff, and wherein they justified the purchase of the sachems' lands, and professed to maintain it to the death. They sent word to them afterward, as Benedict Arnold reported to them, that if they sent any men against them they were ready to meet them, being assured of victory from God, &c. Whereupon the Court sent two' deputies to them, to know whether they would own that writing, which was subscribed by them all, being about twelve in number. Upon conference they did own the said writing, and justified it.

The Governor also sending for the two sachems, after the Court, they both of them came to Boston, at the time2 appointed; and a form of submission being drawn up, (which by Benedict Arnold, their neighbor and interpreter, who spake their language very readily, they 'Humphrey Atherton and Edward Tomlyns. Sav. Win. ii. 121.-H. * June 22, 1643.-H.