Life of William Phips, Biography · Section 14
SECT. 14.
THE Reverend INCREASE MATHER, beholding his Country of New-England in a very Deplorable Condition, under a Governour that acted by an Iilegal, Arbitrary, Treaſonable Commiſſion, and Invaded Liberty and Property, after ſuch a manner, as that no man could ſay any thing was his own, he did with the Encouragement of the Principal Gentlemen in the Country, but not without much Trouble and Hazard unto his own Perſon, go over to White-Hall, in the Summer of the Year 1688. and wait upon King James, with a full Repreſentation of their Miſeries. That King did give him Liberty of Acceſs unto him, whenever he deſired it, and with many Good Words promiſed him to Relieve the Oppreſſed People in many Inſtances that were propoſed: But when the Revolution had brought the Prince and Princeſs of Orange to the Throne, Mr. Mather having the Honour divers Times to Wait upon the King, he ſtill prayed for no leſs a Favour to New-England, than the full Reſtoration of their Charter-Priviledges: And Sr. William Phips happening to be then in England, very Generouſly joined with Mr. Mather, in ſome of thoſe Addreſſes: Whereto, his Majeſtie's Anſwers were always very expreſſive of his Gracious Inclinations. Mr. Mather, herein aſſiſted alſo, by the Right Worſhipful Sr Henry Aſhurſt, a moſt Hearty Friend of all ſuch Good Men, as thoſe that once filled New-England, ſolicited the Leading Men of both Houſes in the Convention-Parliament, until a Bill for the Reſtoring of the Charters belonging to New-England, was ſully Paſſed by the Commons of England; but that Parliament being Prorogu'd, and then Diſſolved, all that Siſyphaean Labour came to nothing. The Diſappointments which afterwards moſt wonderfully Blaſted all the hopes of the Petitioned Reſtoration, obliged Mr. Mather, not without the Concurrence of other Agents, now alſo come from New-England, unto that Method of Petitioning the King for a New Charter, that ſhould contain more than all the Priviledges of the Old; and Sir William Phips, now being again returned into England, lent his utmoſt Aſſiſtance hereunto.
The King taking a Voyage for Holland, before this Petition was anſwered. Mr. Mather, in the mean while, not only waited upon the greateſt part of the Lords of His Majeſties moſt Honourable Privy Council, offering them a Paper of Reaſons for the Confirmation of the Charter-Priviledges granted unto the Maſſachuſet Colony; but alſo, having the Honour to be Introduc'd unto the Queen; he aſſured Her Majeſty, That there were none in the World better affected unto Their Majeſties Government, than the People of New-England, who had indeed been expoſed unto great Hardſhips for their being ſo; and entreated, That ſince the King had referred the New-Engliſh Affair unto the Two Lord Chief Juſtices, with the Attorney and Solicitor General, there might be granted unto us, what They thought was Reaſonable. Whereto the Queen replied, That the Requeſt was Reaſonable; and that She had ſpoken divers times to the King on the behalf of New-England; and that for Her own Part, She deſired that the People there, might not meerly have Juſtice, but Favour done to them. When the King was returned, Mr. Mather, being by the Duke of Devonſhire brought into the King's Preſence on April 28. 1691. Humbly Pray'd His Majeſties Favour to New-England; urging, That if their Old Charter-Priviledges might be reſtored unto them, his Name would be Great in thoſe Parts of the World, as long as the World ſhould ſtand; adding,
Sir,
Your Subjects there, have been willing to venture their Lives, that they may enlarge Your Dominions; The Expedition to Canada, was a great and Noble Ʋndertaking.
May it Pleaſe Your Majeſty, In your great Wiſdom alſo, to conſider the circumſtances of that People, as in Your Wiſdom you have conſidered the circumſtances of England, and of Scotland. In New-England they differ from other Plantations; they are called Congregational and Preſbyterian. So that ſuch a Governour will not ſuit with the People of New-England, as may be very proper for other Engliſh Plantations.
Two Days after this, the King, upon what was propoſed by certain Lords, was very inquiſitive, whether He might without breach of Law, ſet a Governour over New-England; whereto the Lord Chief Juſtice, and ſome others of the Council, anſwered, That whatever might be the Merit of the Cauſe, inaſmuch as the Charter of New-England, ſtood vacated by a Judgment againſt them, it was in the King's Power to put them under what Form of Government He ſhould think beſt for them.
The King then ſaid, That He believed it would be for the Advantage of the People, in that Colony, to be under a Governour appointed by Himſelf: Nevertheleſs (becauſe of what Mr. Mather had ſpoken to Him) He would have the Agents of New-England nominate a Perſon, that ſhould be agreeable unto the Inclinations of the People there; and notwithſtanding this, He would have Charter-Priviledges reſtored and confirmed unto them.
The Day following, the King began another Voyage to Holland; and when the Attorney General's Draught of a Charter, according to what he took to be his Majeſty's Mind, as expreſſed in Council, was preſented at the Council-Board, on the eighth of June, ſome Objections then made, procured an Order to prepare Minutes for another Draught, which deprived the New-Englanders of ſeveral Eſſential Priviledges in their other Charter. Mr. Mather put in his Objections, and vehemently proteſted, that he would ſooner part with his Life, than conſent unto thoſe Minutes, or any thing elſe, that ſhould infringe any Liberty or Priviledge of Right belonging unto his Country; but he was anſwered, That the Agents of New-England were not Plenipotentiaries from another Soveraign State, and that, if they would not ſubmit unto the King's Pleaſure in the ſettlement of the Country, they muſt take what would follow.
The diſſatisfactory Minutes were, by Mr. Mather's Induſtry, ſent over unto the King in Flanders; and the Miniſters of State then with the King were earneſtly applied unto, that every miſtake about the good Settlement of New-England might be prevented; and the Queen Her ſelf, with Her own Royal Hand, wrote unto the King, that the Charter of New-England might either paſs as it was drawn by the Attorney General, or be deferred until His own Return.
But after all, His Majeſties Principal Secretary of State received a Signification of the King's Pleaſure, That the Charter of New-England ſhould run in the Main Points of it, as it was now granted: Only there were ſeveral Important Articles, which Mr. Mather by his unwearied Sollicitations obtained afterwards to be inſerted.
There were ſome now of the Opinion, That inſtead of ſubmitting to this New Settlement, they ſhould, in Hopes of getting a Reverſion of the Judgment againſt the Old Charter, declare to the Mininiſters of State, That they had rather have no Charter at all, than ſuch an one as was now propoſed unto Acceptance. But Mr. Mather, adviſing with many unprejudiced Perſons, and Men of the greateſt Abilities in the Kingdom, Noblemen, Gentlemen, Divines, and Lawyers, they all agreed, That it was not only a lawful, but all Circumſtances then conſidered, a needful Thing, and a part of Duty and Wiſdom, to accept what was now offered, and that a peremptory Refuſal, would not only bring an Inconveniency, but a Fatal, and perhaps a Final Ruine upon the Country; whereof Mankind would lay the blame upon the Agents.
It was argued, That ſuch a Submiſſion was no Surrender of any thing; That the Judgment, not in the Court of Kings Bench, but in Chancery againſt the Old Charter, ſtanding on Record, the Pattent was thereby Annihilated; That all attempts to have the Judgment againſt the Old Charter, taken off, would be altogether in vain, as Men and Things were then diſpoſed.
It was further argued. That the Ancient Charter of New-England, was in the Opinion of the Lawyers, very Defective, as to ſeveral Powers, which yet were abſolutely neceſſary to the ſubſiſtence of the Plantation: It gave the Government there no more Power, than the Corporations have in England; Power in Capital Caſes was not therein particularly expreſſed.
It mentioned not, an Houſe of Deputies, or, an Aſſembly of Repreſentatives; the Governour and Company had thereby (they ſaid) no Power to impoſe Taxes on the Inhabitants, that were not Freemen, or to erect Courts of Admiralty. Without ſuch Powers, the Colony could not ſubſiſt, and yet the beſt Friends that New-England had, of Perſons moſt learned in the Law, profeſſed, that ſuppoſe the Judgment againſt the Maſſachuſet-Charter might be Reverſed, yet, if they ſhould again Exert ſuch Powers, as they did before the Quo Warranto againſt their Charter, a new Writ of Scire Facias would undoubtedly be iſſued out againſt them.
It was yet further argued, That if an Act of Parliament ſhould have Reverſed the Judgment againſt the Maſſachuſet-Charter, without a grant of ſome other Advantages, the whole Territory had been, on many Accounts, very miſerably Incommoded: The Province of Main, with Hampſhire would have been taken from them; and Plymouth would have been annexed unto New-York; ſo, that this Colony would have been ſqueezed into an Atom, and not only have been render'd Inſignificant in it's Trade, but by having it's Militia alſo, which was veſted in the King, taken away, it's Inſignificancies would have become, out of meaſure, humbling; whereas now, inſtead of ſeeing any Relief by Act of Parliament, they would have been put under a Governour, with a Commiſſion, whereby ill Men, and the King's and Country's Enemies, might probably have crept into Opportunities to have done ten thouſand ill Things, and have treated the beſt Men in the Land, after a very uncomfortable Manner.
It was laſtly, argued, That by the New Charter very great Priviledges were granted unto New-England; and, in ſome reſpects greater, than what they formerly enjoyed. The Colony is now made a Province, and their General Court, has, with the King's Approbation, as much Power, in New-England, as the King and Parliament have in England. They have all Engliſh Liberties, and can be touched by no Law, by no Tax, but of their own making. All the Liberties of their Holy Religion are for ever ſecured, and their Titles to their Lands, once, for want of ſome Forms of legal Conveyance, conteſted, are now confirmed unto them. If an ill Governour ſhould happen to be impoſed on them, what Hurt could he do to them? None, except they themſelves pleaſed; for he cannot make one Counſellour, or one Judge, or one Juſtice, or one Sheriff to ſerve his Turn: Diſadvantages enough, one would think, to diſcourage any ill Governour from deſiring to be Stationed in thoſe uneaſie Regions. The People have a Negative upon all the Executive Part of the Civil Government, as well as the Legiſlative, which is a vaſt Priviledge, enjoyed by no other Plantation in America, nor by Ireland, no, nor hitherto by England it ſelf. Why ſhould all of this Good be refuſed, or deſpiſed, becauſe of ſomewhat not ſo Good attending it? The Deſpiſers of ſo much Good, will certainly deſerve a Cenſure, not unlike that of Cauſabon, upon ſome who did not value what that learned Man counted highly valuable, Vix illis optari quid. quam pejus poteſt, quam ut fatuitate ſua fruantur: Much good may do them with their Madneſs! All of this being well conſidered, Sir William Phips, who had made ſo many Addreſſes for the Reſtoration of the Old Charter, under which he had ſeen his Country many Years flouriſhing, will be excuſed, by all the World from any thing of a Fault, in a moſt unexpected paſſage of his Life, which is now to be related.
Sir Henry Aſhurst, and Mr. Mather, well knowing the agreeable Diſpoſition to do God, and the King, and his Country Service, which was in Sir William Phips, whom they now had with them, all this while proſecuting his Deſign for Canada, they did unto the Council-Board, nominate Him, for the GOVERNOUR of New-England. And Mr. Mather, being by the Earl of Nottingham introduced unto His Majeſty, ſaid,
Sir,
I do, in the behalf of New-England, moſt humbly thank your Majeſty, in that you have been pleaſed by a Charter, to reſtore Engliſh Liberties unto them, to con… them in their Properties, and, to grant them ſome peculiar Priviledges. I doubt not, but that your Subjects there, will demean themſelves with that dutiful Affection and Loyalty to your Majeſty, as that you will ſee cauſe to enlarge your Royal Favours towards them. And I do moſt humbly thank your Majeſty, in that you have been pleaſed to give leave unto thoſe that are concerned for New-England, to nominate their Governour.
Sir William Phips has been accordingly nominated by us, at the Council-Board. He hath done a good Service for the Crown, by enlarging your Dominions, and reducing of Nova Scotia to your Obedience. I know that He will faithfully ſerve your Majeſty to the utmoſt of his Capacity; and if your Majeſty ſhall think ſit to confirm him in that Place, it will be a further Obligation on your Subjects there.
The Effects of all this was, that Sir William Phips was now inveſted with a Commiſſion under the King's Broad-Seal to be Captain General, and Governour in Chief, over the Province of the Maſſachuſet-Bay in New-England: Nor do I know a Perſon in the World, that could have been propoſed, more acceptable to the Body of the People throughout New-England, and on that ſcore, more likely, and able to ſerve the King's Intereſts among the People there, under the Changes, in ſome things unacceptable, now brought upon them. He had been a Gideon, who had more than once ventured his Life to ſave his Country from their Enemies; and they now, with univerſal Satisfaction ſaid, Thou ſhalt Rule over us. Accordingly, having, with Mr. Mather, kiſſed the King's Hand on January 3d. 1691. he haſtned away to his Government; and arriving at New-England, the fourteenth of May following, attended with the Non-ſuch-Frigate, both of them were welcomed with the Loud Acclamations of the long ſhaken and ſhatter'd Country, whereto they were now returned with a Settlement ſo full of Happy Priviledges.