14 History of Hingham. 



thirty persons against our authority and government, &c. 1. That we 

 were hut as a corporation in England ; 2. That by our patent (as he 

 understood it), we could not put any man to death, nor do divers other 

 things which we did ; 3. That he knew not wherefore the general court 

 had fined them, except it were for petitioning; and if they were so wasp- 

 ish (or captious) as they might not be petitioned, &c. — and other speeches 

 tending to disparage our authority and proceedings. Accordingly a bill 

 was drawn up, &c, and the jury found that he seemed to be ill affected to 

 this government, and that his speeches tended to sedition and contempt of 

 authority. Whereupon the whole court (except Mr. Bellinoham, who 

 judged him to deserve no censure, and desired in open court to have his 

 dissent recorded) adjudged him to pay 20 pounds fine, and to be bound to 

 his good behaviour till the next court of assistants, and then farther if the 

 court should see cause. At this sentence his spirit rose, and he would 

 know what the good behaviour was, and desired the names of the jury 

 arid a copy of all the proceedings, which was granted him ; and so he was 

 dismissed at present." 



In 1646 the celebrated petition of Dr. Child and six others for 

 the abolition of " the distinctions which were maintained here, 

 both in civil and church estate," and that the people of this 

 country might be wholly governed by the laws of England, was 

 presented to the House of Deputies. Six of the petitioners were 

 cited before the court and charged with great offences contained 

 in this petition. They appealed to the Parliament of England, and 

 offered security to abide by their sentence; but the court thought 

 proper to sentence the offenders to fine and imprisonment. The 

 petitioners then resolved to lay their case before Parliament , 

 and Dr. Child, Mr. Vassall, and Mr. Fowle went to England for 

 that purpose. 1 But it appears that they met with very ill success 

 in their exertions. Their papers were published at London by 

 Major John Child, brother of Dr. Robert Child, in a tract entitled 

 " New England's Jonas Cast up at London," in allusion, probably, 

 to the remark of Mr. Cotton in one of his sermons, " that, if any 

 shall carry any writings or complaints against the people of God 

 in this country to England, it would be as Jonas in the ship." 

 This tract was answered by Mr. Wiuslow, who was then in 

 England, in another tract, entitled " The Salamander," " wherein," 

 says Winthrop, " he cleared the justice of the proceedings" of the 

 government here. 



I introduced this notice of the petition of Dr. Child and others 

 for the purpose of correcting an error into which Hutchinson and 

 Neal have fallen in confounding this controversy with that of our 

 military dispute which created so much excitement in the country. 

 It is proper to mention, however, that Mr. Hobart was suspected 

 of "having a hand in it," and consequently was obliged to suffer 

 another of the mortifications to which the relentless spirit of per- 



1 An amusing account of the superstitious terror of some of the passengers in the 

 vessel in which the petitioners went to England, and of the ill success of their petition, 

 may be found in Neal's "History of New England." 



