opposition which, as they had the countenance of the King, could not
be crushed like those other sectaries. It became a constant subject of
royal attention, to allow freedom and liberty of conscience, especially
in the use of the Common Prayer, and the rights of sacrament and baptism
as thereby prescribed. The law confining the rights of freemen to Church
members was at length repealed (in pretence); and pecuniary
qualifications for those who were not Church members, with good morals
and the absurd requisite of orthodoxy of opinion, certified by a
clergyman, were substituted in its place. But the great ascendency which
the Congregationalists had gained over every other sect made the chance
of promotion to office, and the share of influence in general, very
unequal, and was, without doubt, one of the most important causes which
conspired to the loss of the Charter." (Minot's Continuation of the
History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, etc., Vol. I., Chap. i,
pp. 29-31.)]

[Footnote 212: "Mr. Mather was so dissatisfied that he declared that he
would sooner part with his life than consent to them. He was told 'the
agents of Massachusetts were not plenipotentiaries from a sovereign
State; if they declared they would not submit to the King's pleasure,
his Majesty would settle the country, and they might take what would
follow.' Sir Henry Ashurst with Mr. Mather withdrew, notwithstanding,
their objections against the minutes of Council. The objections were
presented to the Attorney-General (Treby), and laid before the Council,
and a copy sent to the King in Flanders; but all had no effect. The King
approved of the minutes and disliked the objections to them, and the
Charter was drawn up by Mr. Blaithwait according to them." (Hutchinson's
History of Massachusetts Bay, Vol. I., pp. 409-411.).]

[Footnote 213: "A people who were of opinion that their Commonwealth was
established by free consent (_a_); that the place of their habitation
was their own; that no man had a right to enter into their society
without their permission; that they had the full and absolute power of
governing all the people by men chosen from among themselves, and
according to such laws as they should see fit to establish, not
repugnant to those of England (a restriction and limitation which they
wholly ignored and violated), they paying only the fifth part of the ore
of gold and silver that should be there found for all duties, demands,
exactions, a