es and prescriptions of the said Royal Charter for
administering and taking the oath of allegiance, be henceforth duly
observed.

"3. That the administration of justice be in the King's name.

"4. That since the principle and formation of that Charter was and is
the freedom of liberty of conscience, we do hereby charge and require
you that freedom of liberty be duly admitted and allowed, so that they
that desire to use the Book of Common Prayer and perform their devotion
in the manner that is established here, be not denied the exercise
thereof, or undergo any prejudice or disadvantage thereby, they using
the liberty peaceably, without any disturbance to others.

"5. That all persons of good and honest lives and conversations be
admitted to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, according to the said
Book of Common Prayer, and their children to Baptism."[124]

Nothing could be more kind and assuring than the terms of the King's
letter, notwithstanding the former hostility of the Massachusetts Bay
rulers to him and his Royal father,[125] and nothing could be more
reasonable than the five conditions on which he assured them of the
oblivion of the past and the continuance of the Royal Charter; but with
not one of these conditions did they take a step to comply for several
months, under the pretext of affording time, after publishing it, that
"all persons might have opportunity to consider what was necessary to be
done," though the "all persons" referred to included only one-sixth of
the population: for the term "Freeman of Massachusetts" was at that
time, and for thirty years before and afterwards, synonymous with member
of one of the Congregational Churches. And it was against their
disloyalty and intolerance that the five conditions of the King's pardon
were chiefly directed. With some of these conditions they never
complied; with others only as they were compelled, and even complained
of them afterwards as an invasion of their chartered privileges,[126]
though, in their first order for public thanksgiving for the King's
letter, they spoke of it as assuring "the continuance of peace,
liberties and the gospel." Though the agent of Rhode Island met the
agents of Massachusetts Bay Colony before the King, and challenged them
to cite, in behalf of Massachusetts, one act of duty or loyalty to the
kings of England, in support of their present professions as loyal
subjects; yet the King was not disposed to punish them for the pa