Common– wealth. 1649· ~ The HIS T 0 R Y 1 the PuRITANS. VoL. H. reputation, appointing them two hundred pounds a year, out of the bi– ~wps lands; and till that ~ould be duly raifed, -to be ~aid out of the pub– he revenues: And for their further encouragement, 1f they died in that fervice, their families were to be provided for. By thefe methods learning began to revive, and in a few years religion appeared with a better face than it bad ever done before in that kingdom. .dcorporation A profpect being open,ed for fpreading the chriftian r.eligion among the for propagaIndians, upon the borders of New-England, the parliament allowed age" ;':);,Ja::O~g nerJ.l colleCtion throughout England, and erected a corporation for this fer– tl;.e Indians. vice, who purchafed an eftate in land of between five and fix hundred pounds a year ; but on the re!loration of king Charfe.s H. the charter be– came void, and colonel Bedingfield a roman catholic officer in the king's– army, of whom a confiderable part of the land was purchafed, feized it for his own ufe, pretending he had fold it under. the r-eal value, in hopes of recovering it upon t-he king's return. In order to defeat the colonel's defign, the fociety folicited the king for a. new charter, which they ob- . tained by the intereft of the lord chancellor.. lt bears date Feb..7· in the 14th year of his maj'e!1y's reign, and differs but little from the old one. The honourable Robert Boyle Efq; was the fir it governor. They after-– wards recov.ered coloneLBedingfield's eftate, and are at this time in po!Tef– fion of about five hundred pounds a year, which they employ. for the converfion of the Indians in America.. But all that the parliament could do was not fufficient toftop the mouths of. the loyalifis and di(contented prefbyterians; the pulpit and prefs found– ed to [edition; the latter brought fo.rth inveCtives every week againfi: the government; it was therefore refolved to lay a fevere fine upon offenders of this kind, by an ordinance bearing date Sept. zo. 1649· the preamble to which fets forth, that " Whereas divers fcandalous and feditious pam– " phlets are daily printed; and difperfed with ofl1cious indufl:ry by the ma– " lignant party both at home and abroad, with a defign to fubvert the pre– ' ·' fent government, and to take off the affeCtions of the people from .it, " it is therefore ordained, .Or~inanre.a-" T HA T the author of every fedit~im~ libe.l or pamplilet iha_ll'be gamjl_fed•- " fined ten pounds, or fuffer forty days 1mpnfonment. The prmter· t •ous lzbe/s, fi d d h' . . r. b b ' Th b kr. J] c s~obcl, p. " v_e .roun s, an Is pnntlllg p~e,s to. e roKen. . e oo 1e er ,arty: 88. chap. lx." iliillmgs; the buyer twenty fhiilmgs, 1f he conceals 11, and does not de- " liver it up to a ju!Hce of peace. It is further ordained, that no news " paper fhall be printed, or fold without licence, under the hand of the '' clerk of the parliament, or: the fecretar)' of tae army, or fucb ot~er p,enon.
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