Pennsylvania, in 1744. In 1709, a convention of several governors was held at New London, to consult in reference to a proposed expedition to Canada. A convention for the same object assembled at the same place in 1711. More significant than previous assemblages of this kind was the congress that met at Albany in 1754, in which Franklin was the leading spirit, and which was intended not only to unite the Five Nations in closer bonds of amity with the English, but also to form "articles of union and confederation with each other for the mutual defence of his Majesty's subjects and interests in North America, as well in time of peace as war." The commissioners were chosen by the Assemblies of the colonies that were represented. In the history of this convention, as elsewhere, it is evident how the sense of the necessity of union for common defence, and for devising and carrying out effective measures for repelling the enemy and for the conquest of Canada, was qualified by the risk to local liberty, and the danger of an increased measure of subjection to England, which it was felt that the schemes of confederation involved.

CHAPTER XIII.

NEW ENGLAND FROM 1688 TO 1756

Board of Trade and Plantations-French and Indian Attacks-Unsuccessful Attempt on Canada-Massachusetts Fails to Regain her Charter-The New Charter of Massachusetts-The Witchcraft Delusion-The Government of Phips - Bellomont-Inroads of French and Indians-Separation of New Hampshire from Massachusetts-Rhode Island under Bellomont-Dudley -Queen Anne's War-Rhode Island under Dudley-Connecticut Shute- Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts - New Hampshire and Connecticut-The "Great Revival"-Belcher -Connecticut and Rhode Island - Burnet - Shirley-Renewal of Hostilities with France - Capture of Louisburg - The Albany Congress-Military Expeditions-New Hampshire and Connecticut.

THE revolution in Massachusetts which followed upon the news of the revolution in England, left that colony without a legal government. Although the charters of Connecticut and Rhode Island had been given up, they had not been annulled by a judicial decree. But the charter of Massachusetts had been vacated by the verdict of the English courts. It was entirely uncertain whether it would be restored by a new royal grant. In England, a new impetus was given to the commercial interest by the accession of William and Mary. A fresh zeal was consequently awakened in behalf of the enTrade and forcement of the Navigation Laws. One conPlantations. sequence was the committing of the whole management of colonial affairs to a new "Board of Trade and Plantations," composed of fifteen members. In the

Board of

ample list of their powers was included the authority and the duty "to scrutinize the acts of colonial legislatures."

While political affairs in the northern colonies were in an unsettled state, there was a neglect to make adequate preparation for the renewed contest with the French. Three months after the accession of William, England declared war against France. Early in 1689, Frontenac, an able and energetic man, was for the second time made Governor of New France. He proceeded to organize three expeditions against the English settlements. One of them, consisting, as usual, of French

of

Frontenac.

tacks.

and Indians, surprised the village of Schenec- French and tady by night. There ensued a massacre Indian atwhich lasted for two hours. Sixty persons, all ages and both sexes, were killed. Thirty persons were carried off as captives. All the houses but two were burned. Another attack, attended with like horrors, was made on the village of Salmon Falls, in Dover. A third party made its way from Quebec to Casco Bay, in Maine, and captured the garrison of the fort there. A little later an assault was made upon Exeter, where a considerable number of persons were killed. An expedition from Massachusetts, under the command of Sir Williamı Phips, in eight small vessels, captured Port Royal, in Acadia, and demolished the French fort at the mouth of the St. John's River.

Delegates from the colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New York met at New York, on May 1, 1690, to concert measures against the enemy. A plan for the conquest of New France was one of the

Unsuccess

upon Canada.

results of the conference. On August 9th, a ful attempt fleet of thirty-two vessels, containing two thousand men, sailed from Nantasket, near Boston, to make an attack on Quebec. A simultaneous attack was to be made on Montreal by a body of troops from Connecticut

pa

and New York, in conjunction with a force of Iroquois Indians. This overland expedition unhappily proved a failure. Owing to a variety of hindrances it advanced no farther than Lake Champlain. Finding Montreal rcleased from peril, Frontenac hastened back from that place to Quebec, and reinforcements for his troops then followed him. Small-pox broke out among the crews of the colonial ships, the ships were damaged by tempestuous weather, and Phips was compelled to return without accomplishing anything, and with a loss of about a thouIssue of sand men. One of the worst incidents of this Massachu- unsuccessful attempt at conquest was the issue by Massachusetts of paper money, in the shape of bills of credit, for the payment of the soldiers. They soon fell to two-thirds of their nominal value. This was one of a series of legislative measures of the same kind, which deranged the business of the colony, and drove its government to the verge of bankruptcy. It must be said that the authorities in England, and their official representatives in the colony, set themselves in opposition to these mistaken and ruinous measures, put a check upon them, and finally did much to put an end to them.

per money in

setts.

Massachu

regain her

Massachusetts was anxious for the restoration of her charter. It had been hoped that, if the Canadian expedition were successful, a favorable impression setts fails to would be produced in England. This hope, charter. of course, was frustrated. The agent of the colony in London, Increase Mather, was the leading minister of the colony and President of the College. Two others were now associated with him, Elisha Cooke and Thomas Oakes. No efforts were spared by these commissioners to secure favorable action. A bill for the restoration of charters, in which New England was expressly included, passed the Commons, but Parliament was prorogued before it reached the Lords. The Gen

charter of

eral Court in Massachusetts, as a conciliatory measure, opened a little wider the door to citizenship. But as time went on, the adverse party in London grew stronger. There had come to exist in Massachusetts itself a minority, in which were included a portion at least of the later and more wealthy immigrants, that did not care to see the old system of rule re-established, and was willing to leave affairs more under foreign direction. Andros and his fellow-captives, on their arrival in England, did their best to deepen and extend the existing prejudices against the colony. Ratcliffe, the Episcopal clergyman, who had also returned to England, lent what help he could in the same direction. The mercantile class were decidedly averse to the colonial freedom that involved danger to their monopoly. The King himself was not of a mind to lessen his prerogatives. At length, late in The new 1691, it was settled that there should be a new Massachucharter for the province of "Massachusetts setts. Bay." Plymouth colony was included in the charter, and from this time ceased to exist as a distinct community. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Secretary were to be appointed by the King. In the Lower House two deputies were to sit from each town. The Council, the upper branch of the Legislature, was to be appointed from year to year by the General Court, subject to the Governor's approval. The Governor might reject the bills passed by the Legislature. The King, also, at any time within three years, might annul such enactments. Courts of Admiralty were to be constituted by the Crown, and to try cases without a jury. Other courts-except Probate Courts, which were to be constituted by the Governor and Council-were to be established by the General Court. A provision was made for appeals in certain cases to the King in Council. The religious qualification for voters was no longer to continue. A property qualifi