ple of the neighbouring governments only, was this principle owned; but it was asserted in their applications to the ruling powers in the mother country; for in the year 1659, in an address of this colony to Richard Cromwell, then Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland, there is this paragraph,1

"May it please your highness to know, that this poore collony of Providence-Plantations, mostly consists of a birth and breedinge of the providence of the Most High.-Wee beinge an outcast people, formerly from our mother nations, in the bishops' daies; and since from the rest of the New English over zealous collonys, our whole frame being much licke unto the present frame and constitution of our deareist mother England; bearinge with the severall judgments, and consciences, each of other in all the townes of our colonie, the which our neighbour collonys doe not; which is the only cause of their great offence against us."

But as every human felicity has some attendant misfortune, so the people's enjoyment of very great liberty, hath ever been found to produce some disorders, factions, and parties amongst them; and for this evil there is no remedy: But the mischiefs that would flow from it, must be averted by the personal virtue and steady perseverance of the wise and good among them; and no longer than a sufficient number of such can be found, to guide and to withstand the headlong passions of the giddy multitude, can liberty be supported. The mischiefs of parties, and of factions, the natural consequence of great liberty, made an early appearance in this colony: But there were then found

be noe damadge or infringement of that chiefe principle in our charter concerninge freedom of consciences." (R. I. Col. Records, I. 378-79). (1) Printed in R. I. Col. Records, I. 414-15. The version here given of this

address follows that of the Colony Records, rather than that of Governor Hopkins.

(2) The sound common sense, as well as political insight, evidenced by this remark is noteworthy; and may be compared with another utterance of Gov. Hopkins, published at about the same time with this chapter of his history. "Absolute liberty," he says, "is, perhaps, incompatible with any kind of government. The safety resulting from society, and the advantage of just and equal laws, hath caused men to forego some part of their natural liberty, and submit to government." ["The rights of colonies examined," by Stephen Hopkins, (Providence, 1765), p. 3].

also, patriots enough in it to prevent their malevolent effects.— (May the writer of these papers be permitted here to call upon the patriots of the present age, to arise and imitate their great ancestors, and exert themselves in saving their unhappy country from parties, from factions, and from ruin1).—And as the best and most useful men have ever, in all free states been the subject of popular clamor and censure, so we find that Mr. Williams did not escape the rude attacks of the licentious tongue of freedom However, in imitation of a noble Greek, he thanks God, that he had been the author of that very liberty, by which they dare to abuse him; and expostulates with the people in these words,—

"I am told that I am a traitor-and as good as banished by yourselves; that both sides wished I might have never landed here again, that so, the fire of contention might have had no stop in burning."-"I, at last, was forced to say, they might well silence all complaints, If I once began to complain, who was so importunately drawn from my employment, and sent so vast a distance from my family, do do[sic] your work of a costly and high nature, for so long a time; and there left to starve, or steal, or beg, or borrow. But blessed be God, who gave me favor to borrow one while, and to work' another, and thereby to pay your debts, [there] and to come over, with your credit and honor, as your agent: Yet I may say you seen to have provided a spunge to wipe off all your scores and debts." But gentlemen, blessed be God who faileth not, and blessed be his name for his

(1) “Factions.” In 1765, when this part of the chapter was printed, both the Hopkins "faction" and the Ward men were having their eyes opened to the foolish criminality of this factional strife which had nearly rent the colony.

(2) "A noble Greek." Governor Hopkins's allusion is not wholly plain. (3) A letter to the town of Providence, written in August, 1654.

sett Club Pub., VI. 263-64).

(4) The quotation begins at the words, "And as good as banished."

(5) for so many days and weeks and months together."

(Narragan

(6) "Unfortunately fetched and drawn," says the Narragansett Club version. (7) He himself tells us that he gave lessons in language, reading Dutch to the Secretary of the council, (John Milton), and other languages to other pupils of his. (Narragansett Club Pub., VI. 261-62.)

(8) "as an agent from you."

(9) "a sponge to wipe your scores and debts in England."

wonderful Providence,' by which alone this town and colony, and the grand cause of truth and freedom of conscience, hath been upheld to this day; and blessed be his name who hath again quenched so much of the fire of contention among his brethren."

any

It must be confessed, the historians and ministers of the neighbouring colonies, in all their writings for a long time, represented the inhabitants of this colony as a company of people who lived without any order, and quite regardless of all religion; and this principally, because they allowed an unlimited liberty of conscience, which was then interpreted to be prophane licentiousness, as though religion could not subsist without the support of human laws, and Christians must cease to be so, if they suffered of different sentiment to live in the same country with them. Nor is it to be wondered at, if many among them that first came hither, being tinctured with the same bitter spirit, should create much disturbance; nor that others, when got clear of the fear of censure and punishment, should relax too much, and behave as though they were become indifferent about religion itself. With people of both these characters, the fathers of this colony had to contend: On one hand, to guard and to maintain that sacred liberty and freedom they had established; and on the other, to prevent and suppress that licentiousness too naturally flowing from it. For quieting and healing the breaches and animosities occasioned by these contrary extremes, and arising from other causes also, Sir Henry Vane sent a letter to the colony, dated the 8th of February 1653,5 in which he complains of their disorders, ex

(1) Providences."

(2) "So much of our fires hitherto."

66

(3) Nor is it to be wondered at." Mr. Callender, also, in his " Century Sermon," remarks: "It may be worth our while to consider, whether some inconveniences do not naturally, or have not, in fact, followed or attended our constitution." Yet he adds: "These things will be no good objection against liberty of conscience, because infinitely greater evils necessarily follow on persecution of conscience['s] sake." ("Collections of the R. I. Historical Society," IV. 164-66.

(4) Printed in R. I. Col. Records, I. 285-86.

(5) Rather, 1653-4.

horts them to peace and unanimity, and severely rebukes them for the ill use they make of their great liberty: To this letter the town of Providence returned an answer' in Mr. Williams's writing as followeth2:

"The first beginning of this Providence colony [was] occasioned by the banishment of some from the Massachusetts We were in complete order until [we were greatly disturbed and distracted by the ambition and covetousness of some, who] wanting that publick self-denying spirit, which you commend to us in your letter, [occasioned our general disturbance and distraction].-Possibly some of ourselves are grown wanton and too active; for we have long drank of the [sweet] cup of as great liberty as any people that we can hear of under the whole heaven-We have not only been free from the iron yokes of wolfish bishops, but have sitten quiet, and dry from the streams of blood spilt by the civil war in our native country. We have not felt the new chains of the Presbyterian tyrants, been consumed by the over-zealous fire of those called godly Christian Magistrates. We have almost forgotten what tythes are; yea, and taxes too; either to church or common-wealth. [We have also enjoyed other sweet privileges, and such, you know, are very powerful] to render the best of men wanton and forgetful.-[We hope you shall have no more occasion to complain of the men of Providence town, or Providence colony; but that when we are gone and rotten, our posterity, and children after us, shall read in our town records, your pious and favourable letters and loving-kindness to us and this our answer and real endeavors after peace and righteousness."

nor

* *

* * *

And in this age it seemed to be doubted whether a civil government could be kept up and supported without some particular mode of religion was established by its laws, and guarded by penalties and tests: And for determining this doubt, by an actual trial, appears to have been the principal motive with King Charles the second, for granting fice liberty of conscience

(1) Printed in R. I. Col. Records, I. 287-88.

(2) Dated August 27, 1654. R. I. Col. Records, I. 287-89. The latter version varies widely from this in spelling, in the order of sentences, etc. See the words above bracketed. The spelling of Governor Hopkins's version is not here altered. The letter is reprinted in full, later in this volume.

to the people of this colony, by his charter of 1663,- in which he makes use of these words :2

"That they might hold forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand, and best be maintained, and that amongst our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments. And that true piety, rightly grounded on gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty."

This great experiment hath been made, and hath fully answered the expectations of the beneficent royal mind that proposed it; and it hath fully appeared, that a flourishing civil state, and the most unstained loyalty, may stand without the help of any religious party tests to support them; and that the Christian religion is as little indebted to human laws for its support, as it is to human inventions, for the purity of its morals, and the sublimity of its doctrines. And Christian societies, in this colony

(1) The charter is dated July 8, 1663. It is in R. I. Col. Records, II. 1-21. The striking liberality of this charter is the more surprising when it is remembered that it was granted by a Stuart. Yet, says Hallam, “His aim was liberty rather than power, it was that immunity from control and censure in which men of his character place a great part of their happiFor some years he had cared very little about enhancing his prerogatives." ("Constitutional history of England," ch. II). And it will be remembered that in his "declaration from Breda," dated April 14, 1660, he "promised to grant liberty of conscience, so that no man should be disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom."

ness.

Yet these facts do not detract from the signal value of the services of Dr. John Clarke, through whose sagacious endeavors and untiring efforts, the charter was obtained.

(2) The language here quoted from the charter is found also in an address, "humble," as the charter itself indicates, presented to the king sometime in the previous year, (1662), by Dr. Clarke, in the behalf of the people of Rhode Island. [R. I. Col. Records, I. 485.] This is only one instance going to show to whom the colony was indebted for the minute details and animating spirit of this beneficent charter. In the Colony Records, it begins thus: "That it is much on their hearts (if they may be permitted) to hold," etc.

(3) The Puritan commonwealth," says Dr. G. E. Ellis, "after a resolute struggle against the successive shocks, personal and practical, which its essential elements invited, as well as were sure to encounter, yielded