where is my Honour If I be a Master where is my fear Mal. 1. 6. If their Majesties be our King and Queén where is our Obedience to them Yea let us deal plainly and uprightly with one another also We aré not willing to be kept in Ignorance deluded and led hood-winked till we are so fast and unawares entangled in the Snare laid for our Life that we shall not be able to get out of it There are many of us that bear a good affection to our Charter-Government and for the sake of that have countenanced at least not discountenanced so much as some others the late Revolution and have been willing to contribute to the support and continuance of that Government if it might be But we always understood it in subordination not in opposition to the King his Government and Laws and with a salvo of all their Majesties Royal Rights We never intended to Invade the Liberties of our Fellow-subjects or to use Rigour towards such as were not altogether of our mind but desired that moderation might be used and that we might in no sort exceed the Powers sometime granted to us much less did we intend to invade the Throne and refuse to render to Caesar that which is his and we thought that our Leaders and principal Actors in this matter had been of the same mind We thought also we had spoken as we meant when at the Revolution May the 9 th 1689. we declared That we took the Government only till we should receive further Orders from the King And in our Address to his Majesty we shewed his Majesty the same thing and withal professed our selves his Humble and Obedient Súbjects and prayed his Majesty in his Clemency to give us such Directions as to his Princely Wisdom should seem meet and we thought that it was our sincere and unanimous purpose and resolution to follow his Majesties Directions when given and not to put a Trick upon him But now we are afraid we are deluded and not without Reason He is blind that hath not taken notice of that notorious Falshood that hath been used and the innumerable Lyes of all sorts that have all along from time to time been and are still raised aud fomented the advantage that hath been taken of mens Ignorance and the Endeavours that have been and are used to keep men in the Dark as if we designed to train them up in a blind Obedience to us beside other ill measures taken and now at last such open and resolûte Opposition and Defiance is made to their Majesties and their Royal Commission of Lieutenancy first and second These things make us jealous And therefore if all our Declarations à nd Protestations aforesaid be but a Cheat and Rebellion be indeed coûched and lurk under the specious and enticing Terms of a Charter our Liberties Priviledges and Government c. pray deal plainly and truly with us and let us know it We hope that upon good Consideration the generality of the good People in this Collony intend no such thing and therefore let us not be plunged blind-fold into the Pit of Rebellion Some of us remember and consider that in the forementioned Passages we have given our Hand to their Majesties But it may be some may think to avoid this also and say We are willing with all our hearts to obey their Majesties in all lawful things good Words but we are not to obey unlawful Commands True Therefore yet further 3 dly Consider Is not this Commission lawful Is not the Militia the Kings and at his dispose Why then shall we not give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's If we could say the Commission was unlawful it might excuse our suitable Non-submission to it though not oùr Contempt For althô the unlawful Commands of lawful Authority be they Unlawful in regard of the Law of God or Man are not to be performed yet in such case our Behaviour ought to be Humble and Honourable Let us therefore inform our selves in this point it is declared by two several Acts of Parliament of 13 13 14 Car. 2. and of this their Majesties were pleased to put us in mind by express mention of the first of these Statutes in the Commission to Sir William Phips That within all their Majesties Realms and Dominions the sole and supream Power Government Command and Disposition of the Militia and of all Forces by Sea and Land and of all Forts and Places of Strength is and by the Laws of England ever was the undoubted Right of his Majesty and his Royal Predecessors Kings and Queens of England and that both or either Houses of Parliament cannot nor ought to pretend to the same nor can nor lawfully may raise any War Offeusive or Defensive against his Majesty his Heirs or Lawful Successors c. Shall we then think that our Corporation may pretend to it c. thô the Parliament may not And that this is indeed so we may see beside other Authorities in that great case of Ship-Money so largely and learnedly argued Anno 13 Car. 1. wherein it was agreed on all hands That the King is raised to the Throne for the Safeguard of the Law and of the Bodies and Estates of the Subjects and therefore the Defence is the Kings The Safety of the People committed to him is incumbent upon our Lord the King That the Law hath entrusted the King with the care of the Defence both Domestick and Forreign That all Jurisdiction legal is wholly in his Majesty that this is evident even by the Law of Nations That the King is Pater Patriae the Father of his Country and therefore bound both in Honour and by his Oath to provide for its safety on every side That for this end the Law hath put the armed Power and means of Defence wholly into his Majesty's hands and when the Enemy is discovered and declared 't is not in the power of the Subject to order the way and means of Defence either by Sea or by Land as they think fit for no man without Commission or special Lisence from his Majesty may set forth any Ships to Sea for that purpose nor without such Commission or Lisence unless upon suddain coming of Enemies may erect a Fort Castle or Bullwark though upon his own ground Nor but upon some such cause is it lawful for any Subject without special Commission to arm or draw together âny Troops or Companies of Souldiers or to make any general Collection of Money on any of the Kings Subjects though with their consent That the King is Generalissimo so that none may advance toward the Enemy withoût his Signal or in other manner than by his Direction and thà t he is armed with all other Powers requisit for the full Execution of so high a place as well in time of eminent Danger as of actual War That the Law layes the burthen of this Defence upon all Qui sentit commodum c. He that feels the
put his Name upon him Psal 82. So the Duties of the second Tà ble are like to the Duties of the first Duty to Parents is called Piety 1 Tim. 5. 4. for its likeness to it and evidence of it And as Peter du Moulin says very well Then will the Power of Kings and Magistrates be sound and safe and I may add then and not before will Religion too be sound and safe when Obedience due to Princes shall be thought to be a part of piety and when the Pastors of the Church shall train up the people by the Word of God to perform Obedience to them And so on the other hand the Sins against the second Table à re like to the sins against the first Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft 4ly That the moral Law is not abolished by Christ Do we then make void the Law says Paul nay we establish the Law Verily the fifth Command Obedience to Parents and Princes c. is not abolished but established by the Gospel The true Church is no Rebellious City nor an Enemy unto Kings A Godly Rebel is a Solicism a prodigious Monster that true Religion never brought forth 5ly lastly My Principles teach me That as God is absolute Lord and Soveraign the King of Kings and is to be obeyed absolutely and without reserve so the King is next to God Supream upon Earth chief Governor in all his Dominions 1 Chron. 29. 22. and to be obeyed in subordination not in Opposition to God Inferior Governors sent by the King and deriving their Authority from him are to be obeyed according to the measure of their Authority in subordination not in opposition to the King We are not to ask Inferior Governors whether we shall obey the King or not The Son is not to ask his Mother much less his Brethren and Sisters or Servants of the House whether or no he shall obey his Father No there is the Law of Nature and express Command of God for it Children Obey your Parents in the Lord for this is Right Ephes 6. 1. so 't is in this case 1 Pet. 2. 13 14. Be subject to the King as Supream for so is the Will of God c. And the Fathers Authority is paramount to that of the Mother So is the Authority of the King to that of inferiour Rulers see Josh 1. 16 17 18. Joshua was now made chief Governour by God Moses his Successor who was King in Jesurun and there you see how straitly they bind themselves to Obedience to him see à lso Ezra 7. 26. I think these points are Orthodox and may pass for a Touch-stone whereby to give a true Judgment of our Profession If therefore our Religion be over-grown to that pass that it teaches us to deny Kings and Magistrates to be of God untill we can King it our selves or to deny and absolve our selves from Obedience to them unless they be of our mind or will humor us In a word if it either be or do teach or tolleraÌ„te Rebellion it is certain it cannot be true it is high time to renounce it and get a better Such Religion is a scandal to the Gospel We shall make the World believe we have our Religion to seek It is good for us to read Rom. 2. vers 17. to 26. If therefore we desire to credit our Religion and adorn the Gospel which we profess let us consider and return to our Obedience get good Principles and put them into practice Let us look upon our Allegiance not as an Arbitrary thing that we may pay it or we may let it alone or take our time for it c. bùt let us look upon it as a matter of Necessity We must needs be subject If others will not be Loyal yet we must and if this make us Vile then we must be more Vile If for this we be Rogues that will Vndo the Country then we must be Rogues still But possibly all this will easily be avoided It grows too common an Opinion That the King hath nothing to do with us à nd if that be true I must confess I am beside the Text. Therefore in the next place 2 dly Consider That of our own accord without any Command so to do we have long since proclaimed their Majesties to be our King and Queen The words of which Proclamation do declare their Majesties to be King and Queen of England France and Ireland with all the Dominions and Territories thereto belonging who are accordingly so to be owned deemed and taken by all the People of the aforesaid Reà lms and Dominions who are from hence forward bound to acknowledge and pay to them all Faith and true Allegiançé c. We have accordingly in our Addresses to their Majesties declared That we resumed our Government till further Order and professed our selves to be their Majesties most humble and dutiful Subjects begged such Directions from their Majesties as to their Princely Wisdom should seem meet Very forward and zealous we have pretended our selves to be for the Service and Interest of King William and Queen Mary But to what end is all this Did we not hereby engage Obedience to their Majesties as our King and Queen but what Truth and Reality is there in it for now their Majesties exert their Authority issue their Commissions and give us their Directions they will not be received nor obeyed as if their Majesties had nothing to do with us indeed Thus in words we profess to acknowledge their Majesties but in our works we deny them What is this but to mock their Majesties and bely our selves Our Actions will signifie more of our Hearts than our Words For shà me let us make haste to pay our Allegiance It is a manifest thing that this and the other Homâ—â—culus hath a thousand times more Authority Respect and Obedience in Connecticut than their Majesties have If a Man come in their Majesties Name and with their Commission he will not be received by us but if a man come in his own Name without their Majesties Authority and Commission him we will receive This is not the behaviour of good Subjects Have we not given our Hands or do we repent of so doing Let us deal well and truly with their Majesties Have we a King or no King or why halt we between two Opinions If their Majesties be our King and Queen then let us follow and obey them but if this à nd t'other man be indeed Kings then let us follow them Let us not flatter and mock and call their Majesties King and Queen and pretend they are Our Dread Soveraigns our Soveraign Lord and Lady and We their most Humble and Obedient Subjects and make use of their Names to serve our own purposes and in the mean time refuse to yeild them any Obedience scorn their Commissions maligne contemn and abuse their Ministers This is papable Hypocrisie Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say Luke 6. 46. If I be à Father
benefit ought to feel the burthen too and makes the quantity of each mans Estate the Rule whereby this Burthen is to be equally à pportioned upon each Person In this great Cà se therefore the Question was not Whether the sole and supream Power of the Militia and of all Forces ç. belong to the King or not otherwise how should he perform this great Trust Therefore says Brâ—cton that à ntient Author There are two things necessary in a King LAWS and ARMS whereby he may rightly govern the Times both of Peace and War Nor was the Question Vpon whom the burthen of it should be laid for Allegiance binds every Subject to yeild his best Assistance both of Counsel and Aid for the common Defence These things were without Controversy agreed on both hands but the only Question was concerning the Manner how the Charge of the Defence ought to be levyed Whether by the Kings Writ or by common consent Hereby therefore we may see that by the Law of England the sole and supream Power Government and Dispose of the Militia c. is and ever was the Kings undoubted Right and that these Statutes above-mentioned do but declare the antient Law in that behalf This Commission therefore is a lawful Commission being founded upon the antient and standing Laws of the Realm yea it is not only lawful but necessary forasmuch as it is incumbent upon their Majesties both in Honour and by their Oath to provide for the safety of their People on every side The Designation or Appointment of this or that particular Person to be their Majesties Lieutenant being qualified according to Law is by the Law left to their Majesties Wisdom and Pleasure Consider we then that these things being so our Disobedience to this Commission is utterly inexcusable and much more our Contempt 4 thly It is to be considered also That when their present Majesties came to the Throne the Militia and all Forces by Sea and Land and all Forts and places of Strength in Connecticut were in their Majesties hands and possession it is good for us to bethink us Who took them out of their Majestìes hands or how it came to pass that they are not now in their Majesties hands if it be so indeed or who will adventure to give account of that matter Is it not more Wisdom for us to make sure of a Pardon for what is past than to go on to multiply and aggravate our Presumptions 5 thly Put the case that their Majesties had granted such a Commission to us should we not have expected and compelled Obedience to it Yea no doubt then it had been a very lawful and good Commission and necessary to be obeyed We that can make so much of a bare silent Permission or Sufferà nce of our Government and make so much of the King 's là te Letter which yet takes not so much as the least Notice of any of us and can be so severe and sharp upon any disacknowledgement of our disputable Authority how brag peremptory should we have been if this Commission in terminis had been given to us Certainly Fire and Faggot or the Noose of an Halter had been good enough for any one that should have offered to oppose it or refuse Obedience to it And how should we have traduced them as Enemies and Rebels to King William and Queen Mary Let us then turn the Scale We know the Golden Rule Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you do you the same to them It is their Majesties Commission no less than if it had been directed to ourselves 6 thly How greedily did we catch at the King's Letter of the 3d of March last although their Majesty doth therein take no Notice of our Corporation or any particular Person in it but directs it only in general thus To such as for the time being take care for the preservation of the Peace c. in our Collony of Connecticut And how readily did we comply with it And why Why it will be said it is his Majesties Command his Majesties pleasure we must obey the King Consider then This Commission is their Majesties Command also this is their Royal Pleasure In this case Rex praecipit Lex precipit The King commands and the Law commands is all one And is not this lawful Command as good as that Is not the great Seal as effectual à s the little Seal But it may be thought that Letter put a staff into our hands in a sinister manner to serve our selves of our fellow Subjects but this Commission takes it out again and therefore we willingly complyed with that but will oppose this Possibly some may have cause to thank their Majesties for that But if that be the case where is our Obedience Genuine Obedience is Universal 7 thly Consider we the vile Ingratitude of this our ill behaviour towards their Majesties and their Lieutenant It is well known to the World what their Majesties have done and how they have exposed themselves for the benefit of the whole English Nation of which we are a part for the securing of all their Rights civil and sacred their Religion Lives Liberty and Property and the continual and unspeakable Labour and Hazards which his sacred Majesty condescends from Year to Year to undergo for that end Whereby their Majesties have given abundant Evidence of their good affection to their Subjects and that they will take nothing from us which is our Right nor deny us any thing which their Royal Wisdom shall see to be good for us but are willing to purchase it for us at a dear Rate Yea and this very Commission is a singular Instance of their tender care for our Defence and Safety in this perilous time of War as is manifest from the Commission it self And do we thus requite their Majesties O foolish we and unwise Who hath bewitched us There is nothing so hateful and provoking as Ingratitude Truly we may do well to remember Jotham's Parable Judg. 9. and the applicà tion of it and apply it to our selves Hearken to me sayes he that God may hearken to you c. If you have dealt well with Jerubbaal c. and have done to him according to the deserving of his Hands for he fought for you and adventured his Life far and delivered you c. and you are risen up against him this day c. Have we done to their Majesties according to the deserving of their Hands Shall we requite Love with Hatreds Tender Bowels with Malignity For what else can our Behaviour signifie but a malignant Spirit and inveterate Hatred against the King as King and who ever comes from him as such We have sufficiently declared our Affections to the King and what we should have done if we had him ìn our hands we should soon rid the World of Kings if we had them in our Power Remember Hazael Is thy Servant a Dog says he that he should do this great i. e. this Abominable thing Yea
but when Temptation and Opportunity met together he did it notwithstanding and verily so should we 8 thly Let us look through all their Majesties Realms and Dominions and see where we can find any such President or Example We are too apt to admire our selves and to bless God that we are not as this Publican But who so Ungrateful who so Disobedient as we Their Majaesties may look upon themselves to be very Unhappily and Unequally yoked as to us The best of Princes with the worst of Subjects 9 thly Consider we the Time Is this a time for us to be Refractory and Disobedient to our Prince Between four and five Years ago when there was no War with France we would needs have made the King and and the World believe That we were in continual danger of our Lives by reason of the Natives being at War with us with whom we said we had just fears of our Neighbouring French to joyn and therefore not receiving Orders or Directions what Methods to take for our Security we were necessitated to put our selves into some form of Government And yet now there hath been open and strong Wà r with France and with the French in all parts above this three Years and that attended with not a few or small Difficulties à nd Disappointments and now that their Majesties have given their Orders and Directions whà t Methods to take for our Security in this difficult and hazardous Time there is yet so little danger that we will not receive their Majesties Directions but spurn at their Commission scorn at their Lieûtenant and will yeild no Obedience What do we indeed intend to fall off to the French We had as good fall to the French as fall from our King and if we intend so to do let us speak out if not surely this is not a time to be Disobedient For how is it possible for any Prince to provide for the safety of his Subjects or to manage the weighty Affairs of War with effect and more especially at such a Distance if his Subjects will slight à nd disobey his Commissions or take upon themselves to wage War without or against them 10 thly We are now addressing their Majesties for their Favour so we say and to the end that we may recommend our selves to them as it seems their most Proud and Disobedient Subjects at this very time we disobey their Commission Can we think that Disobedience and Contempt âre the most likely way to obtain access and acceptance Is that the way to find favour or do we think that the King is afraid of us and we shall force him to comply with us Verily I doubt we shall tempt him and prove him Prayers and Pride Supplication and Rebellion do not sort well together 11 thly Our great Champion in whom we trusted to vindicate ûs and defend our Cause yeilds the Cause and leaves us in the Lurch Our Goliah who defied all as Pigmies that durst appear against us the stone is sunk in his fore-head and he is fallen upon the Earth he is convinced in his Conscience and tells us with all the honesty and plainness that he can That he will not ruin himself and his Posterity That he will not Hang for any of us No doubt but whatever he hath don◠yet now he speaks as he thinks and shall we yet harden our selves shall we ruin our selves and our Posterity Believe it we shall find it hard kicking against the Pricks Therefore 12. Lastly Let us consider seriously the end and event of these things and what may reasonably follow thereupon The fools Eyes are in his Heels He can see nothing but what is past and repent when it is too late But Solomon tells us The wise mans Eyes are in his Head He looks before him The Prudent man fore-sees the Evil and hides himself but the simple pass on and are punished Prov. 22. 3. Therefore it is said That the Wise Man begins at the end and it were good for us to begin there too Let us consider it then What do we think will be the end of these strange Behaviours What good can we promise our selves 1 st Where the Word of a King is there is Power and in the Execution of his Regal Authority who may say to him what dost thou Eccles 8. 4. What Aspect then will these things have abroad in the world among those who know what a King is Such carriage would hardly have been expected from any part of new-New-England Friends will be ashamed Enemies will insult 2 dly What aspect do we think they will have at Home with the King and Council Surely their Majesties promised themselves better things from their Subjects in Connecticut 3 dly The Defence and safety of the Subject in all parts is their Majesties great Interest and Care and it is not easie for us to conceive how we prejudice their Majesties Interest frustrate their Intentions break their Designs defeat their Councils and obstruct their Service for the Defence of their People both here and else-where the very end of this Commission by our Disobedience The Commission takes no Notice of à ny former Military Commissions but that which was the last year given to Sir William Phips and that is expresly determined by the Publication of this So that by our Disobedience we are without Defence our selves and incapable of helping others And who knows whà t a Day much more a Quarter or Half a Year may bring forth We may desire that this Disobedience to our Prince should not be told in Gath nor spoken of in the Streets of Askelon but our desire is vain Thé Hittites dwell in the Land and observe our Actions The Report of it will sooner fly to Canada and it may be to France too than some of us could wish and what Inferences will there be made and Resolutions taken thereupon is not impossible to guess They may conclude they have Connecticut to Friend at least in a posture of Neutrality which will animate them not a little The Mohaques also and other Nations of Indians will soon have the News of it if they have it not already and who knows but it may give them occasion to go over to the French the effects whereof may be such as are not to be desired unless we intend to follow them But if none of these should be yet our Behaviour in this matter renders their Majesties and their great Officers vile contemptible and our selves base in the sight of the very Heathen 4 thly Is not their Majesties Commission under the great Seal of England sufficent to authorize their Majesties Lieutenant in Connecticut if it be not what else can do it The World is at an end there is no more to be done in a fair way But if it be why do we not submit to it Verily if the King 's Broad Seal will not run to be obeyed in Connecticut we may justly expect that something else shall Are we so ignorant that we