tumultuous affembly: thus were two of the excluded members chofen.

The governor was from home required to communicate the lords justices additional inftruction of June 30, 1748, to the members of the general affembly concerning this affair; which he never did in form; they only obtained a tranfcript of it by the courtesy of a private hand as a favour; and the governor's friends infifted that they fhould firft admit these difputed members, and afterwards enter upon the merits of the case. I have no concern in the affair, and endeavour only impartially to represent facts.

N. B. By the royal charter to the colony of RhodeInland, their affembly is to determine what towns have power to send reprefentatives to the affembly.

As this is a petty inconfiderable province or government, very irregular and factious in their œconomy, and affording no precedents that may be of exemplary use to the other colonies; I omit (to eafe the Summary) many articles which in the other colonies are deduced at length, as of good use and information. Perhaps if this government were annihilated, and annexed to the neighbouring province; it might be of benefit, for their protection in cafes of war with the neighbouring French and Indians, or infurrections, and for good order, and to ease their charges of government.

SECT

I

SECTION X.

Concerning the COLONY of

RHODE-ISLAN D.

Shall not repeat what I have already mentioned in general, concerning the earliest European discoveries and fettlements in America.*

This colony was not originally or immediately from England, it proceeded from the neighbouring colony of Massachusetts-Bay; and was at firft made up of the emigrants and banished from thence, because of diffenting from their generally received way of religious worship; these emigrants were puritans of puritans, and by degrees refined fo much that all their religion was almost vanished; afterwards it became a receptacle of any people without regard to religion or focial worship: and their modes of civil government were very variable and defective.

* See vol. I. p. 63, &c. For the first British discoveries and fettlements there, fee p. 109, &c. and p. 203, &c. the first settling of New-England, p. 364, &c.

Thefe banishments were under pretence of preferving the publick peace, and preventing of fectary infection; and as is natural to all zealots and bigots, they fell into the fame error of rigidity, which they complained of upon their emigration from the church of England. At a general fynod in Newtown near Bofton, which was called Auguft 30, 1637, eighty erroneous opinions were presented, debated, and condemned; and by the general affembly or legislature of the colony, October 2 following, fome perfons were banished.

There

There were some incidents, which favoured the first English settlements. 1. A few years before the English came to New-Plymouth, there prevailed fome malignant, contagious, very mortal diftempers amongst the Indians from Penobscot to Narraganset, which made room for a fafe fettlement. 2. Several of the neighbouring Indian nations were inftigated to deftroy one another: thus the Narragansets affifted the English to destroy the Pequods 1637; Myantomy the great fachem of the Narraganfets was made prifoner by Uncas the sachem of the Mohegins, and was put to death 1643.

In the British acts of parliament, this colony is named Rhode-Ifland, Providence Plantations, and the Narraganfet Country or King's Province: originally these were distinct affociations or plantations, but fince have been united, and by charter incorporated into one colony or jurifdiction. I fhall briefly mention the origin of these feveral diftinct settlements.

Mr. Roger Williams came over from England to Salem 1630; he fucceeded Mr. Shelton minifter of Salem 1634, and because of his antinomian, familistical, brownist, and other fanatical doctrines, though in other refpects a good man, 1635 he was excommunicated and banished from Maffachusetts colony by their affembly or legislature as a disturber of the peace of the church and common-wealth, and removed to Seaconck, now called Rehoboth, and procured a grant of lands from Maffafoit fachem of the Pakanokat Indians; the magiftrates of the colony of Plymouth, Seaconck being within their jurifdiction, obliged him to remove; in the fpring following, with fome of his friends and adherents he fettled on the other fide of Patuket, the boundary river at Moofachick, by Mr. Williams called Providence, and the Narraganfet fachem made them feveral grants of lands; one of the grants is dated Nantiganfick the twenty-fourth of the first month commonly called March, the second year of our plantation or planting at Moofachick or Providence; Mr. Williams lived in Providence forty years; 1640 the twenty

fevent!

feventh day of the fifth month about forty perfons + voluntarily formed a fort of civil government. When for the ease of the inhabitants, the colony, formerly all in one county as is at present the small province of New-Hampfhire, was divided into three counties, the township or plantation of Providence was divided into four townships, Providence, Smithfield, Scituate, and Glocefter; Providence fends four reprefentatives to the general affembly, the others fend two each.

Duke of Hamilton's grant from the council or company of Plymouth in April 1635, was from Providence or Narraganfet-Bay eaft, to Connecticut river weft, foutherly upon the fea, and northerly up inland fixty miles, or fo far north as to reach the Maffachusetts fouth line; this takes in all the colony of Rhode-Ifland, and the eastern parts of the colony of Connecticut; the duke of Hamilton had a further grant of 10,000 acres eaft of Sagadahock adjoining to lord Ware's grant; that family have at fundry times effayed to revive their claim, but as they never fulfilled the conditions of the grant or fettling, they never prosecuted the affair to effect. There were several other vague grants, but as they are now obsolete, and claims not like to be revived, we fhall not mention them.

In the year 1637, the fynod at New-town in Maffachusetts-Bay having condemned the opinions of many fectaries, and by the fubfequent general court or affembly perfons being ill ufed, thefe perfons with their friends

To perpetuate the memory of the firft confiderable fettlers and of their families, I fhall in the hiftory of our several colonies mention fome names. The first twelve perfons who with Mr. Williams were concerned as proprietors of the Providence lands; William Arnold, John Greene, John Throgmorton, Thomas James, William Harris, Thomas Olnay, Richard Waterman, Francis Wefton, Ezekiel Holliman, Robert Cole, Stukely Weft-coat, and William Carpenter; afterwards were affociated Chad. Browne, William Fairfield, J. Warner, E. Angel, J. Windfor, R. Scot, Wm Reinolds, Wm Wickenden, Gre-gory Dexter, &c. at length they amounted to the number of 100 proprietors of Providence, being the value of twenty miles square.

and

and adherents went to Aquatneck, now the island of RhodeInland, and by deed, March 24, 1637-8, purchased the inland from the Indians; 18 perfons | without a patent did voluntarily incorporate or affociate themselves; the easterly end of the island with Seaconet was called Pocaffet; this settlement increased fast, and was called Isle of Rhodes or Rhode-Ifland; 1644 it was divided into two townships, Newport its easterly part, and Portsmouth its wefterly part; lately Newport is fubdivided into Newport and Middletown. In the beginning the economy or government was variable; 1640 they agreed that the government should be in a governor, deputy-governor and four affiftants, they held their offices until the tent of incorporation.

pa

1642-3, Jan. 12, Showamet was purchased of the Indians by eleven affociates, † and called Warwick in honour to the family of the earl of Warwick, who had a grant (but never profecuted) of a large tract of land in these parts; they were by directions from this minister incorporated in the Province of Providence Planta

Thefe 18 perfons were William Coddington, John Clark, William Hutchinson, John Coggeshal, William Apinwal, Samuel Welborn, John Porter, John Seaford, Edward Hutchinfon, jun. Thomas Savage, William Dyree, William Freeborn, Philip Sherman, John Walker, Richard Corder, William Raulifton, Edward Hutchinson, fen. Henry Bull. N. B. Some families returned to the MassachusettsBay colony, the Hutchinfons, Dummers, Savages, &c.

William Coddington, governor, W. Brenton, deputy governor, N. Eafton, J. Coggifhal, W. Hutchinfon and S. Porter.

+ Rendal Holden, John Wickes, Samuel Gorton, John Greene, Francis Wefton, Richard Waterman, John Warner, Richard Corder, Samfon Shelton, Robert Pattén, and William Woodeal. N. B. Gorton was a preacher or exhorter, of many wild peculiar opinions in religion, different from those of the other New-England fectaries, and used a myfterious dialect; his followers were called Gortonians; he came to Rhode-Ifland 1638, was banished from thence 1640; he was of a good family in England, he difowned the Puritans and oppofed the Quakers: he fettled at Patuxet, and kept a peculiar religious fociety for upwards of fixty years, and lived to a great age; but as this fect is utterly extinct, we fhall not revive the memory of it in the digref fion concerning the British plantation fectaries.