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burned, every settlement was broken up, every corn-field laid waste; there remained not a sarrup, nor squaw, nor child, nor warrior of the Pequod name. A nation had disappeared from the family of men.'

The alarm of the colonists, arising from the interference of the king and his governor-general, and their fears relative to their charter, soon gave place to hopes that Royalty and Episcopacy would ere long cease to exist in England. The unfortunate monarch had now to struggle for his life and his throne, and Massachusetts was suffered to enjoy her independence undisturbed, and lay the foundation of those institutions which in time to come were to support, and maintain the great American republic. The cost of New England colonization so far, has been estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, a great sum for those times, but probably short of the truth. Already there existed, east of the Hudson, twelve independent democratic communities, comprising not less than fifty towns, or distinct settlements; but a consolidation took place soon after, by which the inconvenience resulting from so many separate jurisdictions was remedied by reducing them to six.

CHAPTER VI.

The Colony exercises Sovereignty in external Affairs-Confederates with Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth-Terms of Confederation-Effects of it in America-Commissioners of the United Colonies receive à Diplomatic Agent from Acadie, and the Governor-General of Canada sends an Envoy to the Swedish Governor on the Delaware, and negotiates with the Dutch on the Hudson-Massachusetts coins Money-State of the Colony-Parliament exempts New England from Taxes-The People resolve not to ask Favors of Parliament-Decline to send Delegates to the Assembly of Ministers at Westminister-Sir Harry Vane advocates their Cause-Parliament exempts them from certain Duties-Prerogative Claims-Sole Control of ColoniesSketch of its Origin-Idea of Navigation Laws, suggested by James I.General Court calls in the Aid of the Elders, and deliberates on the Subject of Parliamentary Control, and refuses to submit-They remonstrate with the House of Commons, and obtain a favorable Answer.

We have now arrived at a period in the history of this little commonwealth in which we may clearly trace the origin of the federal union of the several States of the great republic. We have shown that the people maintained that their institutions were established by the free consent, and for the benefit of all; that the country was their own, and that no man had a right to enter it without their permission; that they had full and ample power of governing, by men chosen from among themselves, according to such laws as they should see fit to enact, provided that they were not repugnant to those of England; that they held the keys of the territory; were entitled to prescribe terms of naturalization to all noviciates; and further that they were only subject to the king according to the charter, and not otherwise. In short, they insisted that to all intents and purposes they were independent, except as restrained by the terms of their compact. This claim was illustrated by their acts; hitherto they had sustained it by the manner they managed their internal affairs. In one or two instances, as we have seen, they showed a disposition to exert external sovereignty also. This intention was now boldly avowed and openly acted upon; Massachusetts this year (19th May, 1643) entered into "a firm and perpetual league," offensive and defensive, with the provinces of Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, under the designation of the United

Colonies of New England. All these were rigidly Puritanical. Rhode Island was rejected under the plausible pretext of being within the jurisdiction of Plymouth, but in reality because she indulged the inhabitants with more toleration in religious opinions than Massachusetts approved.

The substance of the agreement is as follows:

*

"Each colony to retain a distinct and separate jurisdiction, no two to join in one jurisdiction without the consent of the whole, and no other to be received into the confederacy without the like

consent.

"Upon notice from three magistrates of any colony of an inva sion, the rest shall immediately send aid, Massachusetts one hundred, and each of the rest forty-five men; and if a greater number be necessary, the Commissioners to meet and determine upon it. Two delegates from each Government, being Church members, to meet annually the first Monday in September, the first meeting to be held at Boston, then at Hartford, New Haven, and Plymouth, and so yearly, in that order, saving that two sittings successively be held at Boston. All matters wherein six shall agree to be binding upon the whole; but if the majority be under that number, the matter in question to be referred to the General Court, and not to be obligatory unless the whole agree to it.

"A President for preserving order to be chosen by the Commissioners annually out of their number.

"The Commissioners shall have power to establish laws or rules of a civil nature, and of general concern for the conduct of the inhabitants, viz., relating to their behavior toward the Indians, to fugitives from one colony to another, and the like.

"No colony to engage in war, except upon a sudden exigency, and in that case to be avoided as much as possible, without the consent of the whole.

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'If a meeting be summoned upon any extraordinary occasion, and the whole number of Commissioners do not assemble, any four who shall meet may determine upon a war, when the case will not admit of a delay, and send for the proportion of men agreed upon out of each jurisdiction, but not less than six shall determine the justice of the war, or have power to settle bills of exchange, or make levies for the same.

* See Hutchinson, vol, i. p. 124.

"If a colony break an article of the agreement, or any way injure another, the matter shall be considered and determined by the Commissioners of the other provinces."

The unity of action obtained by this treaty, the respect the Court of Commissioners maintained and enforced, not only within their own jurisdiction, but with their French, Dutch, and Indian neighbors, and the weight and influence they enjoyed among allthe inhabitants of this Continent, first suggested the Congress, and then the Federal Government of the present day.

It was a bold step to take without the assent of a higher authority, but the intestine troubles of England left her but little time to inquire into matters that sank into insignificance, when compared with the momentous struggles in which she was engaged, and it was suffered to pass either without notice or without rebuke.

This union subsisted until 1686, and presented a great obstacle in the way of adjusting every dispute between the mother country and the colonies, as the Commissioners ever counseled a firm opposition to what they called prerogative encroachment. When disobedience was unsafe, they recommended delay; and when remonstrance was unavailing, they advised resistance. But they never ceased to deny the rights, and impugn the motives of the parent state, ungraciously regarding concessions as marks of weakness, and perversely constructing every refusal into an act of despotism. It mainly contributed to foster the feelings that subsequently ripened into rebellion. It illustrated the vast power of numbers and unity, the advantage that disaffection derives from centralization, and the easy and simple manner in which a federal combination of a few plantations may be made to adapt itself to any given number of States.

A similar institution is recommended for the remaining British provinces. It is easy to foresee that a repetition of the experiment will produce a like result. The very extensive powers thus assumed by the confederation placed the united colonies in the situation of a sovereign and independent nation. One of its first acts was to receive a diplomatic agent from the French Governor of Acadie, a district of New France that comprised the territory now subdivided into Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with whom they entered into a treaty of peace and commerce, which was executed and ratified with the usual formalities.

A

chargé d'affaires was also received and accredited by the republic from the Governor-General of Canada on behalf of the King of France, and negotiations were entered into for reciprocal freedom of trade, and for an offensive and defensive alliance between the two high contracting parties, which alone failed of success from a dread on the part of Massachusetts of drawing down upon her the resentment of the Indian tribes. They also sent an envoy to the Swedish commandant on the Delaware, and opened a correspondence with the Dutch settlement on the Hudson.

Nothing now remained but to exercise the prerogative of an independent mint, to complete the usual attributes of sovereignty, and this was ventured upon without hesitation in 1652, when three sorts of silver coins, severally of the value of a shilling, sixpence, and threepence, were ordered to be struck off in large quantities. This money bore on the face of it no reference whatever to the mother country, and no recognition of the ruling power there. It was essentially American. By order of the court, each piece was encircled by a double ring, having the inscription, Massachusetts, with a native tree (pine), emblematical of the country on one side, and the words "New England" and the year of our Lord on the other.* A large sum was thus struck off and put into circulation, and the right was exercised for a period of thirty years, although the coins for an obvious reason bore the same date.

The change that had now taken place in the affairs of the king, damped the ardor of emigration, in proportion as the prospect increased, that the whole nation would shortly be subjected

* The excuse for this coinage was even more modest than the act itself. Sir Thomas Temple, who had resided several years in New England, and was himself a Puritan, gave the king a most extraordinary version of it. After the restoration, when he returned to England, the king sent for him, and discoursed with him on the state of Massachusetts, and discovered great warmth against that colony. Among other things, he said they had invaded his prerogative by coining money. Sir Thomas, who was a real friend to the colony, told his majesty that the colonists had but little acquaintance with law, and that they thought it no crime to make money for their own use. In the course of the conversation, Sir Thomas took some of the money out of his pocket, and presented it to the king. On one side of the coin was a pine-tree, of that kind which is thick and bushy at the top. Charles asked what tree that was. Sir Thomas informed him it was the royal-oak, which preserved his majesty's life. This account of the matter brought the king into good-humor, and disposed him to hear what Sir Thomas had to say in their favor, calling them a "parcel of honest dogs."-Hist. Col., vol. v11. p. 229.

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