of our
departure, in order to make manifest the diligence and care of the
Directors in this particular.

(1) Seventeenth-century Dutch towns abounded in institutions
of this sort.

There was not at first, under the government of Director Kieft, so much
opportunity as there has since been, because the recognition of the
peltries was then paid in the Fatherland, and the freemen gave nothing
for excise; but after that public calamity, the rash war, was brought
upon us, the recognition of the peltries began to be collected in this
country, and a beer-excise was sought to be established, about which
a conference was had with the Eight Men, who were then chosen from the
people. They did not approve of it as such, but desired to know under
what regulations and upon what footing it would take place, and how long
it would continue. Director Kieft promised that it should not continue
longer than until a ship of the Company should arrive with a new
Director, or until the war should be at an end. Although it was very
much distrusted by all, and therefore was not consented to, yet he
introduced it by force. The brewers who would not agree to it had their
beer given over to the soldiers. So it was enforced, but it caused great
strife and discontent.

From this time forward the Director began to divide the people and to
create factions. Those who were on his side could do nothing amiss,
however bad it might be; those who were opposed to him were always
wrong even if they did perfectly right, and the order to reckon half
an offence a whole one was then strictly enforced. The jealousy of
the Director was so great that he could no bear without suspicion that
impartial persons should visit his partisans.

After the war was, as the Director himself said, finished--though in our
opinion it will never be finished until the country is populated--every
one hoped that this impost would be removed, but Director Kieft put off
the removal until the arrival of a new Director, which was longed for
very much. When finally he did appear,(1) it was like the crowning of
Rehoboam, for, instead of abolishing the beer-excise, his first business
was to impose a wine-excise and other intolerable burdens, so that some
of the commonalty, as they had no spokesman, were themselves constrained
to remonstrate against it. Instead however of obtaining the relief which
they expected, they received abuse from the Director. Subsequently a
written answer