ave no room for doubt
that the MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims fully intended to make their settlement
somewhere in the region of the mouth of "Hudson's River." Morton states
in terms that Captain Jones's "engagement was to Hudson's River."
Presumably, as heretofore noted, the stipulation of his charter party
required that he should complete his outward voyage in that general
locality. The northern limits of the patents granted in the Pilgrim
interest, whether that of John Wincob (or Wincop) sealed June 9/ 19,
1619, but never used, or the first one to John Pierce, of February 2/12,
1620, were, of course, brought within the limits of the First (London)
Virginia Company's charter, which embraced, as is well-known, the
territory between the parallels of 34 deg. and 41 deg. N. latitude.
The most northerly of these parallels runs but about twenty miles to the
north of the mouth of "Hudson's River." It is certain that the Pilgrims,
after the great expense, labor, and pains of three years, to secure the
protection of these Patents, would not willingly or deliberately, have
planted themselves outside that protection, upon territory where they had
none, and where, as interlopers, they might reasonably expect trouble
with the lawful proprietors. Nor was there any reason why, if they so
desired, they should not have gone to "Hudson's River" or its vicinity,
unless it was that they had once seemed to recognize the States General
of Holland as the rightful owners of that territory, by making petition
to them, through the New Netherland Company, for their authority and
protection in settling there. But even this fact constituted no moral or
legal bar to such action, if desirable First, because it appears certain
that, whatever the cause, they "broke off" themselves their negotiations
with the Dutch,--whether on account of the inducements offered by Thomas
Weston, or a doubt of the ability of the Dutch to maintain their claim to
that region, and to protect there, or both, neither appears nor matters.
Second, because the States General--whether with knowledge that they of
Leyden had so "broken off" or from their own doubts of their ability to
maintain their claim on the Hudson region, does not appear--rejected the
petition made to them in the Pilgrims' behalf. It is probable that the
latter was the real reason, from the fact that the petition was twice
rejected.

In view of the high opinion of the Leyden brethren, entertained, as we
know, by