it was
no doctrine of theirs that civil obedience was a mere matter of
expediency. Here it is:

"In the name of God, Amen: We whose names are underwritten, the
loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the
Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, and
Defender of the Faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of
God and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King
and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the heathen
parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in
the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine
ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better
ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid,
and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and
equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time
to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the
general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due
submission and obedience."

The right of private judgment in matters between the Creator and
himself, and submission and obedience to the will of the whole, upon
whatsoever respects civil polity and the administration of such affairs
as concerned the colony about to be established, they regarded as
entirely consistent; and the common sense of mankind, lettered and
unlettered, everywhere establishes and confirms this sentiment. Indeed,
all must see, that it is the very ligament, the very tie, which connects
man to man, in the social system; and these sentiments are embodied in
that constitution. Gentlemen, discourse on this topic might be enlarged,
but I pass from it.

Gentlemen, we are now two hundred and thirty years from that great
event. There is the Mayflower [pointing to a small figure of a ship, in
the form of confectionery, that stood before him]. There is a little
resemblance, but a correct one, of the Mayflower. Sons of New England!
there was in ancient times a ship that carried Jason to the acquisition
of the Golden Fleece. There was a flag-ship at the battle of Actium
which made Augustus Caesar master of the world. In modern times, there
have been flag-ships which have carried Hawkes, and Howe, and Nelson on
the other continent, and Hull, and Decatur, and Stewart, on this, to
triumph. What are they all; what are they all, in the chance of
remembrance among men,