nies, come at sundry times and in several companies and numbers into this jurisdiction of the Massachusetts; and those lesser punishments of the house of correction, and imprisonments for a time having been inflicted on some of them; but not suffering to deter or keep them away, but that still they have presumed to come hither upon no other ground or occasion, (for ought that could appeer,) but to scatter their corrupt opinions, and to draw others to their way, and so to make disturbance, and the honored general court having hereupon made an order and law, that such persons should be banished and removed hence, on pain of death, to be inflicted on such of them as after their banishment, should presume to return and come hither again. The making and execution of the aforesaid law, may be cleared to be warrantable and just upon such grounds and considerations as these, viz.

1. The doctrine of this sect of people, is distructive to fundamental truths of religion, as the sacred trinity, the person of Christ, and the holy scriptures as a perfect rule of faith and life; as Mr. Norton hath shewed in his tractate against the Quakers. Yea, that one opinion of thier being perfectly pure, and without sin, tends to overthrow the whole gospel, and the very vitals of christianity; for they that have no sin, have no need of Christ or of his satisfaction, or his blood to cleanse them from thier sin; no need of faith to believe in Christ for imputed righteousness to justify them, as being perfectly just in themselves; no repentance, as being righteous and without sin, no need of growing in grace, nor of the word and ordinances of God that they may grow thereby for what need they to grow better, who are already perfect-no need of christian watchfulness against sin, who have no such enemy as sin dwelling in them, as Paul had, but are free from the presence and being of sin—and therefore Christ need not to say to them, as sometimes to his deciples, watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit is

willing but the flesh is weak; for having no such flesh or weakness, they have no need of watchfulness; they have no need to purify themselves daily as all christians should, for they are perfectly pure already; no need to put off the old man, and put on the new, like the christians to whom Paul wrote his epistles; for what need they to do this, when they are already without sin, and so without all remainder of the old man-such fundamentals of christianity are overthrown by this one opinion of thiers; and how much more by all thier other doctrines.

Now the commandment of God is plain, that he that presumes to speak lies in the name of the Lord, and turn people out of the way which the Lord hath commanded to walk in, such an one must not live, but be put to death, Zecha. 13: 3. Deut. 13: 6, and 18: 2, and if the doctrine of the Quakers be not such, let the wise judge.

2. It is the commandment of the blessed God, that christians should obey magistrates, Titus, 3: 1, and that every soul should be subject to the higher powers. Rom. 13: 1, Yea, be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. 1 Pet. 2: 13, and yield, honor and reverence, or fear to such as are in authority, Prov. 24: 21, 1 Pet. 2: 17, and forbear all cursing and reviling and evil speeches, touching such persons, Exod. 22: 28. Eccles. 8: 2. Tit. 5: 2. Acts 23: 5. And accordingly good men have been wont to behave themselves with gestures, and speeches of reverence and honour towards superiours in place and power, as Abraham bowed down himself to the Hittites, Gen. 23: 7, 12. Jacob and his wives and his children unto Esau, Gen. 33: 3, 6, 7. Joseph's brethren unto Joseph, being Governor of Egypt, Gen. 42: 6, and 43: 26, 28. Joseph to his father Jacob, Gen. 48: 12. Moses to his father-in-law Jethro, Exod. 18: 7. Ruth to Boaz, Ruth, 2: 10. David to Saul, I Sam. 24: 6. Abigail, Bathsheba, and the prophet Nathan to king David, 1 Sam. 25: 23. 1 Kings 1: 16, 23, 31, with others that might be

added and for reviling and contemptuous speeches, they have been so far therefrom, that they have spoken to and of their superiors with terms and expressions of much honour and reverence as father, 1 Sam. 19: 3. 1 Kings, 19: 20, and 2: 2, 12. Master, 2 Kings, 6: 15. 1 Sam. 24: 6. Gen. 33: 13, 14. 1 Pet. 3: 6. My Lord, 1 Sam. 24: 8. Gen. 44: 18, 19, 20. 1 Sam. 1: 15,26. Most noble Festus, Acts 26: 25. Most excellent Theopilus, Luke 1: 3, and the like. That servant of Abraham, Gen. 24, doth call Abraham by the term and title of master, a matter of twenty times, or not much less in that one chapter, and on the contrary, it is noted as a brand, and of false teachers, that they dispise dominion, and are not afraid to speak evil of digneties, 2 Peter 2: 10. Jude 8. Though the very angels would not do so unto the devil, 2 Pet. 2: 11. Jude 9. Now, it is well known that the practice of the Quakers is too like these false teachers whome the apostles speak of and that they are far from giving that honour and reverence to magistrates which the Lord requireth, and good men have given to them, but on the contrary, shew contempt against them in their very outward gestures and behavior, and some of them at hart, spare not to belch out railing and cursing speeches; witness that odious cursing letter of Humphrey Norton: and if so, if Abishai may judge; they are worthy to dy; for so he thought of Shimei, for his contemptuous carriage and cursing speeches against David, 2 Sam. 16: 9, and 19 and 21. And though David at that time did forbear putting him to death, he gave charge to Solomon, that this Shimei having cursed him with such a grevious curse, he should not hold him guiltless, but bring down his hoary head to the grave with blood. 1 Kings 2: 8, 9. According to which direction, King Solomon caused him to be put to death. Verses 44, 46.

3. Also in this story of Solomon and Shimei, it is recorded (1 Kings 2,) how Solomon confined Shimei to Jerusalem,

charging him upon pain of death not to go out thence, and telling him, if he did, he should dy for it; which confinement when Shimei had broken, though it were three years after, and upon an occasion that might seem to have some weight in it, viz. To fetch again his servants that were run away from him, yet for all this, the confinement being broken, Solomon would not spare him, but put him to death; and if execution of death be lawful for breach of confinement, may not the same be said for breach of banishment: confinement of the two may seem to be much straighter, because in this a man is limited to one place and debarred from all others; whereas in banishment a man is debarred from no place but one, all others being left to his liberty; the one debars him from all places save that it gives liberty to one, the other gives liberty to all places save that it restrains from one, and therefore if death may be justly inflicted for breach of confinement, much more for return upon banishment, which is these Quakers case.

4. There is no man that is possessed of house or land, wherin he hath just title and propriety as his own, but he would count it unreasonably injurious that another who had no authority thereto should intrude and enter into his house without his, the owners consent; yea, and when the owner doth expressly prohibit and forbid the same; we say, when the man that so presumes to enter, hath no authority thereto: For if it were a constable or other officer legally authorized, such an one might enter notwithstanding the householder dissent or charge to the contrary; but for them that have no authority the case is otherwise, and if such one should presume to enter into another mans house and habitation, he might justly be impleaded as a thief or an usurper, and if in case of such violent assault the owners, Le defendendo, should slay the assailant and intruder, his blood would be upon his own head; and if private persons may in such case shed the blood of such intruders, may not the like be granted to them that are the publick keepers and guardians of the Com

monwealth?

Have not they as much power to take away the lives of such as contrary to prohibition shall invade and intrude into their publick possessions or Territories, as private and particular persons to deal so with them that without authority shall presume to enter into their private and particular habitations! which seems clearly to be the present case; for who can believe that Quakers are constables over this colony to intrude themselves, invade and enter whether the colony will or no, yea, notwithstanding their express prohibition to the contrary? If in such violent and bold attempts they lose their lives they may thank themselves as the blameable cause and Authors of their own death.

5. Who can make question, but that a man that hath children and family, both justly may and in duty ought to preserve them of his charge, (as far as he is able) from the dangerous company of persons inflicted with the plague or pestilence, or other contagious, nosome and mortal diseases, and if such persons should offer to intrude into the mans house amongst his children and servants, notwithstanding his prohibition and warning to the contrary, and thereby shall endanger the health and lives of them of the family, can any man doubt but that in such case, the Father of the family in defence of himself, may withstand the intrusion of such infected and dangerous persons, and if otherwise he cannot keep them out may kill them?-Now in Scripture, corruption in mind or judgment is counted a great infection or defilement, yea, and one of the greatest; for the apostle saying of some men; that to them there is nothing pure, gives this as the reason of it, because even their mind conscience is defiled, Titus 1: 15, as if defilement of mind did argue the defilement of all; and that in such case there was nothing pure, even as when leprosy was in the head, the Priest must pronounce such a man utterly unclean sith the plague was in his head, Levit. 13, 44. And it is the Lords command that such corrupt persons be not received into house, 2 John 10, which plainly enough implies that the