245 Mr. Millington. Salisbury and one Sih,ester, had, for their owne profitt, gotten a commission to sett on foote the excise in the county, and ioyn'd with them one Sberwin. These two were such pragmaticall knnves, that they iustly became odious to all men, and allthough necessity might excuse the tax in other places, yet here it was such a burthen that no man of any honesty or conscience could have acted in it. For when plundering troopes kill'd all the poore countriemen's sheepc and swine, and other proYisions, whereby many honest famelies were ruin'd and beggar'd, these unmerciful! people would force excise out of them for those very goods which the other had robb'd them of, insomuch that the religious souldiers sayd they would starve before they would be cmploy'd in forcing it, or take any of it for their pay. The governor, being encl iu'd in conscience to assist the poore country, was very active in his endeavours to relieve them from this oppression, which his enem ies highly nrg'd in their articles against him. These excisemen came very pressingly to urge the governor to enforce the payment of it in the towne; he told them before he would _use compulsion he would trie faire meancs, and call a hall to see whether the towusmcn would be perswaclecl, which accordingly he diu: but when the clay came the excisemen came to the governor and ad vis'tl him to take a strong guard with him, telling him that the butchers had bene whett ing -their knives, and intended mischicfe, anJ had cast out many words, intimating a dangerous designe. The goYcrnor told them he should not augment his usual\ gnarcl, and cou ld feare nothing, having no intent to doe aniething that might provoke them to mutiny. They went againe to the men and told them the governor intended to come with many armed men, to compell them to pay it: wt~ereupon when he came to the hall he fo und but a very slender appearance, yet those who were there were all fully rcsolv'c\ not to pay it; but the governor wrought with them to rcpre~ent their reasons, in an humble manner, to the commi ttee of both kingdoms, and that
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