Of Plymouth Plantation: Historical Account. William Bradford
of ye Collonie is like to be imployed constantly, not upon dressing ther perticuler land & building houses, but upon fishing, trading, &c. So as ye land & house will be but a trifell for advantage to ye adventurers, and yet the devission of it a great discouragmente to ye planters, who would with singuler care make it comfortable with borowed houres from their sleep. The same consideration of com̅one imploymente constantly by the most is a good reason not to have ye 2. daies in a weeke denyed ye few planters for private use, which yet is subordinate to com̅one good. Consider also how much unfite that you & your liks must serve a new prentishipe of 7. years, and not a daies freedome from taske. Send me word what persons are to goe, who of usefull faculties, & how many, & perticulerly of every thing. I know you wante not a minde. I am sorie you have not been at London all this while, but ye provissions could not wante you. Time will suffer me to write no more; fare you & yours well allways in ye Lord, in whom I rest.
Yours to use,
John Robinson.
An other letter from sundrie of them at ye same time.
[31] To their loving freinds John Carver and Robart Cushman, these, &c.
Good bretheren, after salutations, &c. We received diverse letters at ye coming of Mr. Nash & our pilott, which is a great incouragmente unto us, and for whom we hop after times will minister occasion of praising God; and indeed had you not sente him, many would have been ready to fainte and goe backe. Partly in respecte of ye new conditions which have bene taken up by you, which all men are against, and partly in regard of our owne inabillitie to doe any one of those many waightie bussineses you referr to us here. For ye former wherof, wheras Robart Cushman desirs reasons for our dislike, promising therupon to alter ye same, or els saing we should thinke he hath no brains, we desire him to exercise them therin, refering him to our pastors former reasons, and them to ye censure of ye godly wise. But our desires are that you will not entangle your selvs and us in any such unreasonable courses as those are, viz. yt the marchants should have ye halfe of mens houses and lands at ye dividente; and that persons should be deprived of ye 2. days in a weeke agreed upon, yea every momente of time for their owne perticuler; by reason wherof we cannot conceive why any should carie servants for their own help and comfort; for that we can require no more of them then all men one of another. This we have only by relation from Mr. Nash, & not from any writing of your owne, & therfore hope you have not proceeded farr in so great a thing without us. But requiring you not to exseed the bounds of your com̅ission, which was to proceed upon ye things or conditions agred upon and expressed in writing (at your going over about it), we leave it, not without marveling, that your selfe, as you write, knowing how smale a thing troubleth our consultations, and how few, as you fear, understands the busnes aright, should trouble us with such matters as these are, &c.
Salute Mr. Weston from us, in whom we hope we are not deceived; we pray you make known our estate unto him, and if you thinke good shew him our letters, at least tell him (yt under God) we much relie upon him & put our confidence in him; and, as your selves well know, that if he had not been an adventurer with us, we had not taken it in hand; presuming that if he had not seene means to accomplish it, he would not have begune it; so we hope in our extremitie he will so farr help us as our expectation be no way made frustrate concerning him. Since therfore, good brethren, we have plainly opened ye state of things with us in this matter, you will, &c. Thus beseeching ye Allmightie, who is allsufficiente to raise us out of this depth of dificulties, to assiste us herein; raising such means by his providence and fatherly care for us, his pore children & servants, as we may with comforte behould ye hand of our God for good towards us in this our bussines, which we undertake in his name & fear, we take leave & remaine
| June 10. New Stille, Ano: 1620. | Your perplexed, yet hopfull bretheren, S. F. E. W. W. B. J. A.18 |
A letter of Robart Cushmans to them.
Brethern, I understand by letters & passagess yt have come to me, that ther are great discontents, & dislike of my proceedings amongst you. Sorie I am to hear it, yet contente to beare it, as not doubting but yt partly by writing, and more principally by word when we shall come togeather, I shall satisfie any reasonable man. I have been perswaded [32] by some, espetialy this bearer, to come and clear things unto you; but as things now stand I can̅ot be absente one day, excepte I should hazard all ye viage. Neither conceive I any great good would come of it. Take then, brethern, this as a step to give you contente. First, for your dislike of ye alteration of one clause in ye conditions, if you conceive it right, ther can be no blame lye on me at all. For ye articles first brought over by John Carver were never seene of any of ye adventurers hear, excepte Mr. Weston, neither did any of them like them because of that clause; nor Mr. Weston him selfe, after he had well considered it. But as at ye first ther was 500li. withdrawne by Sr. Georg Farrer and his brother upon that dislike, so all ye rest would have withdrawne (Mr. Weston excepted) if we had not altered yt clause. Now whilst we at Leyden conclude upon points, as we did, we reckoned without our host, which was not my falte. Besids, I shewed you by a letter ye equitie of yt condition, & our inconveniences, which might be sett against all Mr. Rob: inconveniences, that without ye alteration of yt clause, we could neither have means to gett thither, nor supplie wherby to subsiste when we were ther. Yet notwithstanding all those reasons, which were not mine, but other mens wiser then my selfe, without answer to any one of them, here cometh over many quirimonies, and complaints against me, of lording it over my brethern, and making conditions fitter for theeves & bondslaves then honest men, and that of my owne head I did what I list. And at last a paper of reasons, framed against yt clause in ye conditions, which as yey were delivered me open, so my answer is open to you all. And first, as they are no other but inconveniences, such as a man might frame 20. as great on ye other side, and yet prove nor disprove nothing by them, so they misse & mistake both ye very ground of ye article and nature of ye project. For, first, it is said, that if ther had been no divission of houses & lands, it had been better for ye poore. True, and yt showeth ye inequalitie of ye condition; we should more respecte him yt ventureth both his money and his person, then him yt ventureth but his person only.
2. Consider wheraboute we are, not giveing almes, but furnishing a store house; no one shall be porer then another for 7. years, and if any be rich, none can be pore. At ye least, we must not in such bussines crie, Pore, pore, mercie, mercie. Charitie hath it life in wraks, not in venturs; you are by this most in a hopefull pitie of makeing, therfore complaine not before you have need.
3. This will hinder ye building of good and faire houses, contrarie to ye advise of pollitiks. A. So we would have it; our purpose is to build for ye presente such houses as, if need be, we may with litle greefe set a fire, and rune away by the lighte; our riches shall not be in pompe, but in strenght; if God send us riches, we will imploye them to provid more men, ships, munition, &c. You may see it amongst the best pollitiks, that a com̅onwele is readier to ebe then to flow, when once fine houses and gay cloaths come up.
4. The Govet may prevente excess in building. A. But if it be on all men beforehand resolved on, to build mean houses, ye Gover laboure is spared.
5. All men are not of one condition. A. If by condition you mean wealth, you are mistaken; if you mean by condition, qualities, then I say he that is not contente his neighbour shall have as good a house, fare, means, &c. as him selfe, is not of a good qualitie. 2ly. Such retired persons, as have aneie only to them selves, are fitter to come wher catching is, then closing; and are fitter to live alone, then in any societie, either civill or religious.
6.