View Facsimile

    con-rowley

     85                  1676.                                 151

    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Reverend Teacher doth lay to my charg as matters of Scandall, I hope I may with

    all Good Conscience plead my Innocency; & could heartily desire satisfaction in

    one particular, namely whether a whole church, being under gross scandall can

    conscietiously deal with any one member, before they have given satisfaction for

    their own offence, ffor If I mistake not this very church as well as Town hath

    bin Charged with that abominable sin of cheating, & that by the Reverend

    Teacher Mr Phillips himself our cheif officer, who hath affirmed & Stands to vin

    dicate the same that they had cheated him : Now to have my case heard &

    judged by a church wch are charged with soe scandelous a sin, I something scru

    -le it, for I have not knowne the like president in ye country, that any church guil

    =ty of soe great a crime have called before them offenders to answer for lesser

    crimes : Yet notwithstanding acknowledging it a christian duty when called to

    it especially (by a church officer) to vindicate my Innocency wherein I am

    wronged, & to acknowledg my fault wherin I have offended, I doe give in my An

    =swers to my accusations

     To the first particular wher or Reverend Teacher doth charg me with the

    breach of ye fifth comandment, I answer that himself haveing soe lately & largly

    comented upon ye same, noe doubt maybe better acquainted with ye duty therof

    then myself, yet (submitting to his better judgmt) I answer that in reference of

    what he hath charged me with as a breach of the sayd comandmt, namely not

    coming to that church meeting, namely when his ninety pounds was voated I

    am noe transgressor, for the onely reason why I absented my self was because yt

    I was informed that the church was assembled to agree what Stipend to give

    him, a business that did not belong to them alone to determine, the civill

              in

    law determing the power of such things to belong to ye inhabitants of the Towne

    and I perceiving that this would make a difference between Town & church

    I thought it were best to absent my self, & as I conceive if Every man had soe

     

                                                         ye

    done, we had bin at this present more in peace both in church & Towne

    Secondly wheras he did charg me for acting contrary to what the councill had

    agreed upon, & that I have acted in calling Mr Shepard, my answer is that I

    have acted noe otherwayse then ye rest of my Brethren 4 or 5 onely dissenting

    as may appear by the voat, neither doe I conceive that I layd myself under

    any obligation not to manifest my willingness for Mr Shepards preaching by

    voating for it, the act of the counsell noe way obliging me to the contrary

    Thirdly wheras the Reverend Mr Phillips had accused me of rayling I answer yt

    he had charged me with in noe particular, but onely in general, & therfore in

    general I answer yt I doe not know what I have to answer for

     

      This answer gave ye church noe satisfaction but rather farther offence

    1 wheras he sas the church was charged by S P. with the abominable Sin of cheat

    =ing It is a falls accusation of his minister I never charged the church nor any

    member of the church, but onely charged the Towne (having bin told that it

    was a Toun act To set the price of Indian corn at 3s a bushell when it

    was but at 8 groates throut the land neither would it be taken by the mar

    chant at 8 groates wher I was in debt,) in which ther has bin acts passed wher

    in few of the freemen has had any hand & whether any one had hand in yt

    act I know not  as concerning his preface ye first part of it he had need look

    to his sin onely & that he takes not gods name in vain in seeing to bewayle al

    our divisions when hims has bin the cheif dissenter of this churches