the God of all his, bring us together if it be his will, and keep us in the mean while, and all ways to his glory, and make us servisable to his majestie, and faithfull to the end. Amen.

Your very loving brother,

Leyden, Des: 20. 1623.

JOHN ROBINSON.

These things premised, I shall now prosecute the procedings and afairs here. And before I come to other things I must speak a word of their planting this year; they having found the benifite of their last years harvest, and setting corne for their particuler, having therby with a great deale of patience overcome hunger and famine. Which makes me remember a saing of Senecas, Epis: 123. That a great parte of libertie is a well governed belly, and to be patiente in all wants. They begane now highly to prise corne as more pretious then silver, and those that had some to spare begane to trade one with another for smale things, by the quarte, potle,' and peck, etc.; for money they had none, and if any had, corne was prefered before it. That they might therfore encrease their tillage to better advantage, they made suite [116] to the Gov[erno]r to have some portion of land given them for continuance, and not by yearly lotte, for by that means, that which the more industrious had brought into good culture (by much pains) one year, came to leave it the nexte, and often another might injoye it; so as the dressing of their lands were the more sleighted over, and to lese profite. Which being well considered, their request was granted. And to every person was given only one acrre of land, to them and theirs, as nere the towne as might be, and they had no more till the .7. years were expired. The reason was, that they might be kept close together, both for more saftie and defence, and the better improvement of the generall

1 The pottle, now an obsolete measure for liquids or corn, contained two quarts, or half a gallon.

imployments.1 Which condition of theirs did make me often thinke, of what I had read in Plinie' of the Romans first beginings in Romulus time. How every man contented him selfe with .2. acres of land, and had no more assigned them. And chap. 3. It was thought a great reward, to receive at the hands of the people of Rome a pinte of corne. And long after, the greatest presente given to a Captaine that had gotte a victory over their enemise, was as much ground as they could till in one day. And he was not counted a good, but a dangerous man, that would not contente him selfe with 7. Acres of land. As also how they did pound their corne in morters, as these people were forcte to doe many years before they could get a mille.3

1 The crop raised in 1623 proved a disappointment, because of the drought, and caused a higher price for the grain gathered. This was one of the reasons for the demand on the part of the planters for a more permanent tenure of their plots, and the grant of a single acre for each head of population constituted a further stage in the development from the community system of cultivation to full private ownership of the land. The list of "falls of land" now assigned will be found at the end of the previous chapter (p. 346, supra). It is taken from Plymouth Col. Rec., XII. 4, and accounts for ninety-seven acres; but as four men and one woman have no quantity allotted to them, the original intention may have been to place one hundred acres under this method of cultivation. It will be recalled that in the spring of 1622 about sixty acres were reported to be "well planted with corne besides their gardens well replenished with useful fruits." Smith, Generall Historie (p. 275, supra). The arrangement now made proved effective until the increase in population, the profits on grain, and the exhaustion in the fertility of these one acre lots, led to a radical departure, which is described under the year 1632, vol. 11. p. 151, infra.

Though underlined, the reference is to those of New Plymouth.

Apparently the first mill was established in 1633. In January of that year, “Stephen Deane, desiring to set up a water worke, to beate corne uppon the brooke adjoyning to the towne of Plymouth, for the benefit of the common wealth, was referred to the Governor and Councell for answer, who agreed with him upon these following termes: That, provided the place he made choyce of were no hinderance to a grinding mill intended heereafter, he might bring his worke neere the towne. 2. That hee should receiue one pottle out of every bushell for toll, and no more. 3. That in case the said Stephen can beate all the corne that is or shall be used in the colony, it shall not be lawfull for any other to set up a worke of that kinde, except it be for his owne use, or freely, without toll or any other consideračon whatsoever, to giue leaue to others to

The ship which brought this supply, was speedily discharged,1 and with her m[aste]r and company sente to Cap-Anne (of which place they had gott a patente, as before is shewed) on fishing, and because the season was so farr spente some of the planters were sent to help to built their stage, to their owne hinderance. But make use of the same." Deane accepted the terms, and promised to build in the summer such a mill as would serve the whole colony. Plymouth Col. Rec., 1. 8. One year later his privileges were enlarged, and again on the condition that he would "surrender up his worke and that right and claime he challengeth for the beating of corne, whensoever a grinding mill shall be sett up at the order and appointment of the Governour and Councell of Assistants." Deane died in September, 1634, and so could hardly have made much advance towards using his monopoly, and in July, 1635, the Court agreed that it was "needfull" to build a mill, appointed four freemen to collect the money, agree with workmen, and order all other things for its construction. Ib. 22, 35. Either money was wanting or some obstacle was encountered, for in March, 1636-37, it was "concluded vpon by the Court that Mr. John Jenney shall haue liberty to erect a Milne for grinding and beating of Corne vpon the brooke of Plymouth to be to him and his heires for euer," and his tolls were determined. Ib. xi. 26. Jenney had just been punished for trading in corn with the Indians. If it was the intention to erect a monopoly, the scheme proved futile. In 1637 a mill existed at Scituate, and in the following year the records speak of "diuers other Milnes within this Collony who are allowed competent toule for grinding and do not grind Corn as they ought to doe." Regulations in subsequent years sought to oblige millers to have honest measures and reasonable tolls. Ib. xI. 30, 116.

1 This vessel was the first venture of the Dorchester Company (p. 360, supra), and proved a costly bargain, as upwards of £300 were expended upon her in a "new sute of sayles and other provisions to furnish her." Nor was the result calculated to inspire confidence in the adventure. "Now by reason the Voyage was vndertaken too late; she came at least a moneth or six weekes later then the rest of the Fishing-Shippes, that went for that Coast; and by that meanes wanting Fish to make up her lading, the Master thought good to passe into Mattachusets bay, to try whether that would yeeld him any, which he performed, and speeding there, better then he had reason to expect: having left his spare men behind him in the Country at Cape Ann, he returned to a late and consequently a bad market in Spaine, and so home.” Fourteen men were left at Cape Ann, and the loss on the voyage to the Company was no less than six hundred pounds. The vessel remained to them. White, The Planters Plea, *70.

2 The Council for New England had not derived the expected profits from their patent and grants, and faced the amendment of that patent by the Privy Council. Better to be prepared to take advantage of what the new letters patent might grant,

partly by the latenes of the year, and more espetialy by the basnes of the m[aste]r, one Baker, they made a poore viage of it. He proved a very drunken beast, and did nothing (in a maner) but

the Company determined to exclude from any benefits all those who had not paid their adventure of £110 in full, and to admit others who would be willing to pay that subscription, "provided that they soe to come in, bee persons of Hon[ou]r or Gentlemen of blood, except only six Merchants to be admitted by us for the service and speciall Imployments of the said Councell in the Course of trade and Commerce." This resolution passed in August, 1622, and had for its object purging the body of all who had failed to fulfil their subscriptions and to raise new capital for the needs of the Company. The royal proclamation against unregulated trade with New England gave an apparent monopoly to the Council, to be used by its own vessels and to be a source of revenue from the sale of licences to other ships. In February, 1622–23, one more step was taken towards realizing advantage from the royal favor. Sir Henry Spelman, whose knowledge of the law proved very serviceable to the Council, moved that "from henceforth such Patents as are to be granted, shall only pass to one partner, and others to come in under that and not otherwise." But the feudal idea of tenure suggested itself to the two most active members of the Council - Gorges and Spelman. At two meetings held in March, they alone being present, this idea assumed concrete shape, although it was in conflict with laws then in force in England. "Notwithstanding the Statute of 18 H. 3 [quia emptores terrarum], either according to the Lawes of England, or the Feodall Lawes, or any other Lawes." A division of the New England territory among the actual members of the Council was now determined upon. Two parts of the whole territory were to be divided among the patentees, "into several counties, to be by themselves or their friends planted at their pleasure or best commodity," and the other third part was to be reserved for public uses. The unpractical details of manors, lordships and tenures need not be noticed in this place. The division was announced in Gorges, Briefe Relation,*31, printed in the fall of 1622. One year later, June 29, 1623, Sir Ferdinando, who dearly loved pomp and circumstance, saw the lots drawn in the presence of the King. A map of all the coasts and lands of New England was presented to James, with twenty divisions marked upon it, each division containing two shares. "And twenty lotts conteyning the said double shares made upp in little bales of waxe. And the names of twenty Pattentees by whom these lotts were to be drawne. And for that the Lord Duke of Buckingham was then absent, his Majestie was gratiously pleased to drawe the first lott in his Graces behalf." The full list of names will be found in Records of the Council for New England, 96*. The first lot, that of Gooch, was entered to the west of Cape Cod, and each succeeding lot followed in order. In this easy way was the coast of New England ceded, and the settlers of New Plymouth were involved, their neighbors or landlords being shown on the map, which is reproduced from Purchas, IV. 1872.