ful if they grasped it at all, or would have acknowledged it
as applicable to themselves, even if they had understood it. The
experiences and reports of their agents in England seem to have taught
them nothing and served only to confirm their belief that a Stuart was a
tyrant and that all English authorities were natural enemies. They had
labored and suffered in the vineyard of the Lord and they wished to be
let alone to enjoy their dearly won privileges. Randolph wrote, soon
after his arrival in New England, that the colony was acting "as high as
ever," and that "it was in every one's mouth that they are not subject
to the laws of England nor were such laws in force until confirmed by
their authority." The colony neglected to send the agents demanded,
alleging expense, the dangers of the sea, the difficulty of finding any
one to accept the post, and their belief that King and council were
"taken up with matters of greater importance," until finally in
September, 1680, the King wrote an exceedingly sharp letter, calling the
excuses "insufficient pretences," and commanding that agents be sent
within three months. Strange to say the colony even then allowed a year
to elapse before complying, and again instructed those whom they sent to
agree to nothing that concerned the charter.

Before the agents arrived in the summer of 1682, the royal patience was
exhausted. Randolph's continued complaints that he was obstructed in
every way in the performance of his duties; the act of the colony in
setting up a naval office of its own; the revival of an old law imposing
the death penalty upon any one who should "attempt the alteration or
subversion of the frame of government"; the opinion of the
Attorney-General that the colony had done quite enough to warrant the
forfeiture of its charter; and the delay in sending the agents, which
seemed a further flouting of the royal commands--all these things
brought matters to a crisis. Therefore, when finally the Massachusetts
agents reached England, they found the situation hopeless. "It is a hard
service we are engaged in," they wrote; "we stand in need of help from
Heaven." Their want of powers provoked the Lords of Trade to say that
unless they were procured, the charter would be forfeited at once.
Randolph was called back in May, 1683, to aid in the legal proceedings
which were immediately set on foot. Other charters were falling: that of
the Bermuda Company was under attack; that of the C