( 47 )

be an Opportunity to send from Springfield in a few Days;
he sealed it and delivered it to him to superscribe, and
send it along.

In our Defence, Page 79, we signify that we think
that we have Reason to complain, that in an Affair
wherein our Interest is so much concerned, and yours so
little, you would refolutely proceed, without giving any
Heed to our earnest Remonstrances, and stand aloof from
us when you come into the County, and never so much
as friendly enquire of us, or give us any fair Opportuni-
ty to speak for our Selves; and Page 90, 91, we say you
did in this contrary to what you gave Reason to expect,
who assured the Rev. Dr. Colman, that when you came
you would, before you proceeded, visit us, and not act
without us, much lefs against us: We say that indeed
you proposed that the Association should be called toge-
ther at Springfield, when you came up, to give you their
Reasons, &c. but that it would in our Judgment have
made an odd Appearance for the Association to be called
together to appear before you, to give an Account of
ourselves, submitting our own Conduct as well as Mr.
Breck's Cafe to your Judgment. ' This ( you say ) con-
'tains a complicated Charge, in which there is a Com-
plication of vile Misrepresentations, and that you call them
'to because they must needs be wilful ones.' With re-
spect to your visiting us before you proceeded agreeable

( 48 )

came within a Mile and an half of his House, 'in your
Visit to the Rev. Mr. Chauncey, and went seven Miles
beyond it in your Visit to the Rev. Mr. Rand; we might
well imagine you would have visited Mr. Hopkins, seeing
you was in Springfield from Wednesday Night to the
Tuesday following, before the Council sat, and his House
was but two Miles from your Lodgings: we might well
imagine, that when you came to our Door, you would
not refuse to go in, as some of you did when you was at
Mr. Hopkins's Door; and might we not well imagine,
and say, considering these Things, that you stood aloof
from us, without vile and wilful Misrepresentation. The
Reason you give why you did not visit the Rev. Mr.
Williams of Hufield, is, that he seemed to think himself
ill treated in your Letter, that you say was drawn up in
as respectful Terms as you could do it; and therefore you
dispair'd of his thinking himself well treated by you in a
Visit. That is plainly, that you found Mr. Williams so
touchy and wispish that there was no coming nigh him,
or having any Thing to do with him: But with respect
to that Clause of Mr. Williams's Letter, he declares that
he had no respect at all to your Manner of writing in
your Letter to him, and that there were more Terms of
Respect in it than he desired; but that what he had
Reference to, was your shewing so little Regard to his
repeated Instances and Representations in this Matter,

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the Rule. But secondly, it was far from being equiva-
lent, for if the Choice had been made by the Church
themselves, in a Church-meeting, there would have been
opportunity for any to have offered their Objections
and Reasons against any that should have been nominated,
which was most reasonable; but now there was no such
Opportunity, and those that probably would have objected
never knew who were to be applied to; and it was far
from being equivalent also, because it was liable to far
different Consequences, it put an Opportunity into the
Persons Hands that was to be judged to chuse whom he
pleased, and tho' they accepted of those that he had chosen
by a Vote afterwards, yet that the Church should have
a Negative upon Mr. Breck's Choice (which was all
that their accepting or not accepting amounted to) was
a far different thing from their chusing themselves. But
then the Church did not retain to themselves so much
as this Power of a Negative; but cut themselves short
of it, and gave all their Power of Choice to the Person
that was to be judged, by voting beforehand that the
Persons that he chose should be the Persons. And indeed
not only that part of the Council that came from Boston
and Sudbury were not regularly called according to con-
gregational Principles, but neither that part that belonged
to this County, for the Church never voted to de-
fire the Affirmance of any Church at all, or any of their

( 90 )

And that Mr. *Breck* and his Party, who betwixt them
chose the whole Council, did actually take the Advan-
tage they had, and chose Persons prejudiced in Mr *Breck's*
Favour, is several ways evident. For as to those Elders
that belonged to this County, it has already been obfer-
ved, that they all had openly in Association given their
Judgment for Mr. *Breck* already, and two of the Council
were his Relations, one his Uncle by Marriage, and
the other married his Cousin-Germain; and we think
their Prejudice did many ways evidently appear by their
Conduct. It appears with Respect to some of them by
their laying themselves out to be the Persons that must
be the Judges of the Cafe, long before the Church ever
had any meeting to choose any body; which is particular-
ly evident with respect to the Moderator, by a Letter
he sent up hither directed to the Rev. Mr. *Williams* of
*Harfield*, to get us willing that he should come on that
Business, pretending to be unwilling to come without
our Consent; but when he failed of obtaining that, he
appeared fully resolved to come nevertheless; yea
and against our earnest Remonstrances, as also the
pressing Instances of the Rev. Dr. *Colman* his Colleague,
and Father in the Ministry: And their Prejudice evident-
ly appeared in the driving and violence of their Pro-
ceedings; particularly that when we knowing the Cir-
umstances of the Town and County, forefaw the Mis-

to be influenced by their former judgment, and how it proves so in Fact by your own Confession; infomuch that you publickly declare that that very Judgment was one Thing that you even founded your Judgment upon fitting in Council in this Cafe, and as such insert it in your very Result, and infest upon it afterwards as a very good Ground too.

But then as a further & a more abundantly satisfactory Ground of your Proceedings, you produce his Confession of Faith, and then when you have done, cry out of us, ' It is very strange those disapproving Gentlemen should say in their Defence, that the Council declare in their Result, there was nothing in the Way of his Ordination, without his ever openly making any Recantation, or any Reflection on himself, for the Errors he had vented?' How he should make open Reflections on himself for Errors he has vented, without ever openly owning that he had ever held any Errors, is what we can't understand; this he never did at Springfield, nor in his Letter to Mr. Clap, nor any other Way that ever appeared : He indeed says, in his Letter to Mr. Clap, that tho' he had preached Errors, yet says at the same Time he did not believe them; and yet makes no Reflections on himself,

this Case, upon two Accounts, ift. Because all the Hinderance or Block that was in the Way of Mr. Breck's Improvement in the Ministry, was not an Incapacity in him to be a Teacher of Truth, by Reason of his not receiving the Truth, but maintaining Error; but also there was publick and open Dishonour to Christ and his holy Doctrines, that was to be removed: GOD is openly finn'd against, and thereby a great Wound given to Religion, that is to be healed. You yourself allow, Page 84, that the Things objected against Mr. Breck are of no small and trifling Nature, but on the contrary that you think them of very great Importance, and fuppose you lay as much Strels upon them as we do: And it abundantly appears by the Testimonies that you yourself allow to be good, that he did, after he was a Communi-cant and a Preacher of the Gospel, and a little before he came to Springfield, very frequently and openly treat some of the most fundamental Doctrines of Christianity with great Contempt, in a haughty and proud Manner, afferting the contrary Errors, preaching them from Time to Time, and in various Pulpits, and that he perfisted in it, with abundant Obstinacy, after many gentle Means and Endeavours to reclaim him, or perfwade him to de-fist,