ity of the Indians broke out in a
savage attempt to murder the whole colony. A plot had been formed by
which all the English settlements were to be attacked on the same day,
and at the same hour. The conspiracy was betrayed by a friendly
Indian, but not in time to prevent a fearful massacre of three hundred
and forty-seven persons, among whom were some of the wealthiest and
most respectable inhabitants. Then followed all the evils of an Indian
war, and the settlements were reduced from eighty to eight
plantations; and it was not until after a protracted struggle that the
colonists regained their prosperity.

Scarcely had hostilities with the Indians commenced, before
dissensions among the company in England led to a quarrel with the
king, and a final abrogation of their charter. The company was too
large and too democratic. The members were dissatisfied that so little
gain had been derived from the colony; and moreover they made their
courts or convocations, when they assembled to discuss colonial
matters, the scene of angry political debate. There was a court party
and a country party, each inflamed with violent political animosities.
The country party was the stronger, and soon excited the jealousy of
the arbitrary monarch, who looked upon their meetings "as but a
seminary to a seditious parliament." A royal board of commissioners
were appointed to examine the affairs of the company, who reported
unfavorably; and the king therefore ordered the company to surrender
its charter. The company refused to obey an arbitrary mandate; but
upon its refusal, the king ordered a writ of _quo warranto_ to be
issued, and the Court of the King's Bench decided, of course, in favor
of the crown. The company was accordingly dissolved. But the
dissolution, though arbitrary, operated beneficially on the colony. Of
all cramping institutions, a sovereign company of merchants is the
most so, since they seek simply commercial gain, without any reference
to the political, moral, or social improvement of the people whom they
seek to control.

[Sidenote: Governor Harvey.]

Before King James had completed his scheme for the government of the
colony, he died; and Charles I. pursued the same arbitrary policy
which his father contemplated. He instituted a government which
combined the unlimited prerogative of an absolute prince with the
narrow and selfish maxims of a mercantile corporation. He monopolized
the profits of its trade, and empowered