History of the Battle of Lake Erie Author:George Bancroft Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. NOBLE STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. Mr. Bancroft's narrative of the proceedings by Charles II. to deprive the colony of Massachusetts of its chartered... more » liberties, stirs one's blood and excites his indignation. In 1679 it was determined to annul the charter and bring the colony under the rule of despotism. It was against fearful odds that Massachusetts entered into this struggle; but her brave sons did not quail. They met the danger as undauntedly then as, a hundred years later, they met their British foes at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. The king, astounded at the ability and fortitude exhibited by the colonists, himself shrank from the contest, and tried to wheedle them out of theif liberties. They were informed 'that if they would submit, the royal favor would be extended to them, and that the fewest alterations would be made in their charter consistent with the support of a royal government. At the same time a quo war- ranto was issued and Massachusetts was arraigned before an English tribunal, under judges holding their office at the pleasure of V the monarch. The agents of the colony represented its condition as desperate. " Was it not safest for the colony to decline a contest, and throw itself upon the favor or forbearance of the king ? Such was the theme of universal discussion ; it entered into the . prayers of families; it filled the sermons of the ministers; and, finally, Massachusetts resolved, in a manner that showed it to be distinctly the sentiment of the people, not to .concede one liberty or one privilege whichwas held by charter. If liberty was to receive its death-blow, better that it should die by the violence and injustice of others than by its own weakness." The conclusions of the colonists as to their rights and duties were conceived in...« less