service, and God (who hath the hearts of Kings at his dispose) was graciously pleased to incline the heart of the King towards them, so as he was not unwilling to grant them a gracious Charter, and therein many great privileges, and a large tract of land, viz. all that part of his Majesty's dominions in New England, in America, bounded on the east by Narrogancit River, commonly called Narrogancit Bay, where the said river falleth into the sea, and on the line of the Massachusetts Plantation, and on the south by the sea, and in longitude as the line of the Massachusetts Colony, running from east to west, that is to say, from the said Narrogancit Bay on the east to the South Sea on the west part, with all the islands adjoining, &c., as by his Majesty's grant, dated in Westminister, the three and twentieth day of April, in the fourteenth year of his reign, will appear.1

Sometime after the Charter of the Colony of Connecticut came over, and the government was established according to the Charter. The Plantations of New Haven, (who began to settle soon after the Pequod War,2) being comprised within their Charter limits, (according to the desire of Connecticut, and the honorable William Leet, Esq., then Governor of New Haven, as by his letter to Governor Winthrop, then going for England, may appear,) did (soon after Colonel Nicols's arrival at New York, viz. in the year 1664,) conjoin themselves with the Colony of Connecticut, about the latter end of the year; and all the privileges of the Charter were confirmed upon them, and four of their honored magistrates, at the next Court of Election at Hartford, May 11, 1665, were by the freemen of the Colony chosen to be Assistants to the Governor, in the management of the government, according to the Charter.

May 10,3 1666, at a General Court held at Hartford, for the better government of the people of the Colony, and administration of justice, according as occasion should require, they divided the Colony into four Counties, viz. the County of Hartford, in which are these Plantations, Hartford, Windsor, Weathersfield, Farmington, Middle

See it in Hazard, ii. 597-605.-H. 3 May 11th, says Trumbull.-H.

In 1637-8.-H.

town, Simsbury, and Haddam, in which towns, except it be the two last, are churches already settled, in the two last also are preachers of the Gospel settled and now abiding there.

There is also the County of New London, in which are these towns, viz. New London, Saybrook, Norwich, Stonington, Kenilworth, and Lime, in which towns are churches settled, only the last hath not yet so far attained, although they have a reverend and able minister settled there.

There is also the County of New Haven, in which are these towns, viz. New Haven, Milford, Guilford, Brandford, Wallingford, and Derby, in which towns, except the two last, are churches already gathered and settled: in the two last are ministers of the Gospel settled, and Wallingford are preparing for gathering themselves into a church fellowship and lastly,

There is also the County of Fairfield, in which are these towns, viz. Fairfield, Stratford, Norwalk, Standford, Greenwich, Rye, and Woodbury, in which are churches already gathered, except in the three last; and there is a church settling in the last of the said three, and had been upon the place, but the fury of the last war prevented their settlement for the present.

In each County are two County Courts annually to be held at the County-towns, where justice, for the ease of the people within the County, is to be administered by the persons appointed, and commissionated to that work, by the General Court yearly.

In the Narrhoganset Country there is a town called Wickford, who were to have recourse to New London for justice, but the fury of the Indian war, 1675, hath demolished that place; yet now it is again beginning to be inhabited.

By what hath been said in the premises it doth appear, that the foresaid Colony of Connecticut hath had experience of a double settlement, the first by combination and consent among themselves, the other by right of a royal Charter or Patent from the King; in both which the

constitution of the civil government hath in some things always differed from that of the Massachusetts, as was hinted before, especially in reference to the persons betrusted with the choice of their Governor and magistrates, who are not determined by church membership, as in the other Colony, but by some other qualification.

But as to their ecclesiastical affairs in that Colony, it is to be noted that the two principal towns, viz. Hartford and Windsor, were peopled with such as were settled in their church state before their removal thither, conformable in all things to the churches in the Massachusetts; and so lived in great peace together all the days of Mr. Hooker, for about eleven years space; although at Weathersfield the case was much otherwise; for there was scarce men enough removed thither to constitute a church; neither were they supplied with a minister before they removed, and he whom they called to that function among them, after their removal, was not so happy in his conduct, or in his colleague, (who bore the ruling elder's place,) as to maintain the place in any tolerable degree of unity and peace, insomuch that they were looked upon as a people, by a kind of fatal necessity, destined to contention for many years after. Whether there were any indirect means used in a kind of surreptitious seizure of the land, (which made the Plantation,) that of right belonged to their neighbors of Hartford, as some have said, or any other secret occurrence, they were not so blessed in the enjoyment of it, as was to be desired for it might have been said, not only (as they about Jericho said to Elisha) that the situation was pleasant, and the land also very fertile, but for want of agreement amongst themselves they had not much comfort therein, for a long time after. For about the year 1639 it was found, not only that the church was divided, but that the rent grew greater, notwithstanding the great pains which had been taken for the healing thereof: and the church was not only divided from the rest of the town, but of those seven, which made the church, four fell off, so as it was conceived that thereby the church

was dissolved, which occasioned the church of Watertown (which had divers of their members there, not yet dismissed) to send two of their church to look after their members, and to take order with them; but the contention and alienation of their minds one from another was such, as they could not bring them to any other accord than this, that the one part must remove to some other place, (which they both consented to,) but still the difficulty remained; for those three, who pretended themselves to be the church, pleaded that privilege for their stay, and the other four alleged their multitude, as being the greater number, so as neither would give place; whereby it seemed, that they either minded not the example of Abram's offer to Lot, or else they wanted Abraham's (and indeed the Christian) spirit of peace and love.

This controversy proceeded so far that it occasioned the calling in of Mr. Davenport, with others of New Haven, by way of mediation; but they, not according with those of Connecticut about the case, gave some advantage to the enemy to sow some seeds of contention between those Plantations also; but, being godly and wise men, on both parts, things were the more easily reconciled not long after. But as to the church and town of Weathersfield, some of the inhabitants chose rather to remove elsewhere, and to live in a cottage in a wilderness, than to abide any longer in the fire of contention in a beautiful habitation. But after the removal of some, those that stayed behind lived not so peaceably together as they should neither: and some time after Mr. Chaplin, the ruling elder, removed back again to England, but did not carry away all the matter of contention; but there was enough left to maintain the old quarrel, or new fuel was afterward gathered together to rekindle the same fire. But some years after there was an appearance of great unanimity, upon the choice of another minister, one Mr. Russell, who was called to take upon him the pastoral office there, which he faithfully discharged for some time, till another occasion of trouble arose at Hart

1 Rev. John (Trumbull says Jonathan) Russell.-H.

ford, soon after Mr. Hooker's death, when the said Russell removed to another place' higher up the river; for that town of Hartford being the centre and chief town of that Colony, any leaven of division arising there did the more easily diffuse itself over the whole Colony, or a great part thereof. If there were any notions or principles tending that way before, latent in the minds of any persons of interest there, they never had discovered themselves during the time of Mr. Hooker's life, and if there had any such thing appeared, his interest and authority would easily have suppressed it.

But after the removal of him and some other of the principal persons out of the jurisdiction, by death or otherwise, some of the inhabitants, holding more strictly to the former principles of discipline, could not well bear that any, in whose real piety they were not satisfied, (as not being confirmed members in the church,) should partake of any higher privileges, civil or ecclesiastical, than formerly belonged to non-members. The first appearance of disturbance, which on that account happened amongst them, was at Hartford, occasioned on the call of a person to supply the place of Mr. Hooker, who deceased in the year 1647,2 and that being the principal town of the Colony (as was said before) the trouble there easily diffused itself into the body of the Colony. Discords upon such an occasion have, upon experience, been found to make way for sad breaches, in many of those churches that have embraced the Congregational Way, which yet cannot be said to arise from any defect in the persuasion itself, but the perverseness of some men's tempers, together with their unacquaintedness with the practice, that are unwilling to submit to the remedy, which is in that way provided for, as well as in any of the other Reformed Churches, where any ecclesiastical subordination is supposed the only means to prevent or redress such grievances; for the best sort of government, like the best complexion, may, in case of mal-administration, be as soon, or sooner, overthrown,

1 Hadley, in 1660.-H.

2 July 7th.-H.