particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a natural right; that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.

II. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain their opinion in matters of religion,

and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.

III. And though we well know that this Assembly, elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this Act to be irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet as we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any Act shall hereafter be passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such Act will be an infringement of natural right.

THE BACKGROUND OF SHAYS'S REBELLION 1

(a) Petition from the Town of Greenwich, Massachusetts
16 January 1786

To the Honourable Senate and the House of Representatives in General Court assembled att their next session :

A Petition of the Subscribers humbly sheweth

That in the time of the late war, being desirous to defend secure and promote the wrights and liberties of the people, we spared no pains but freely granted all that aid and assistance of every kind that our civel fathers required of us.

We are sencable also that a great debt is justly brought upon us by the war and are as willing to pay our shares towards itt as we are to injoy our shars in independancy and constatutional priviledges in the Commonwealth, if itt was in our power. And we beleve that if prudant mesuers ware taken and a moderate quantety of medium to circulate so that our property might sel for the real value we mite in proper time pay said debt.

But with the greatest submittion we beg leave to informe your Honours that unles something takes place more favourable to the people, in a little time att least, one half of our inhabitants in our oppinion will become banckerupt-how can itt be otherwise-the constables are dayly vandering 2 our property both real and personal, our land after itt is prised by the best judges under oath is sold for about one third of

1 MSS. in American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. 2 vendueing.

the value of itt, our cattle about one half the value, the best inglesh1 hay thirteen shilings per tone, intervale hay att six shilings per tone, and other things att the same rate. And we beg leave further to informe your honours that sutes att law are very numerous and the atturneys in our oppinion very extravigent and oppressive in their demands. And when we compute the taxes laid upon us the five preceeding years: the state and county, town and class 2 taxes, the amount is equil to what our farms will rent for. Sirs, in this situation what have we to live on--no money to be had; our estates dayly posted and sold, as above described. What can your honours ask of us unles a paper curancy or some other medium be provided so that we may pay our taxes and debts. Suerly your honours are not strangers to the distresses of the people but doe know that many of our good inhabitants are now confined in gole for det and for taxes: maney have fled, others wishing to flee to the State of New York or some other State; and we believe that for two years past four inhabitents have removed from this State to some other State to one that has come from some other State to settle in this State.

Honoured Sirs, are not these imprisonments and fleeing away of our good inhabitents very injurious to the credit or honour of the Commonwealth? will not the people in the neighbouring States say of this State: altho' the Massachusets bost of their fine constatution, their government is such that itt devours their inhabitents? Notwithstanding all these distresses, we hear of no abatement of sallerys, but his Excellency the Governor must be paid eleven hundred a year out of the moneys collected as before mentoned, and other sallerys and grants to other gentlemen, as your honours very well know. Iff these things are honest, just and rite, we sincearly wish to be convinced of itt: but we honestly confess itt is beyond our skill to reconsile these sallerys and grants with the principles of our Constatution (viz.) piaty, justice, moderation, temperance, etc.

We observe in the proclamation lately sent out by his Excellency that the promotion of piaty and virtue is highly

1 English hay, i.e. hay grown from seed, as distinguished from the wild native grasses in the intervales or river meads.

2 During the war the inhabitants of Massachusetts townships were divided into as many classes as that township had to supply men for the army, and each class taxed itself to provide a soldier.

recommended. We rejoice att the recommendation, and beg leave to mention that maxim, example is stronger than precipt; and who can be more likely to bring forward a reformation by example than the honourable members of the General Court, by a line of conduct agreeable to Scripture and the precipts of the Constatution. If your honours finde anything above mentioned worthy of notice, we earnestly pray that they may be candedly considered, for we have weighted, hoped and expected that the present General Court would point out sum way whereby the people might be releaved. We therefore most humbly pray your honours to admitt a paper currancy and make itt a tender in all payments whatsoever, or some other way to releave your petitioners as your honours in your grate wisdom shall think most proper. And iff no other can be found out, pray send us such a commitee as your honours can confide in to apprise our estates and take them att your own price. And as in duty bound shall ever pray

January 16th 1786.

JEREMIAH Powers.
NEHEMIAH STEBBINS.

ZEBEDEE OSBORN
[and 57 other signatures].

(b) Petition of a County Convention.

28 September 1786

To the Honourable the Senate and the House of Representatives in General Court assembled: The Petition of the Convention in the County of Worcester humbly sheweth :

That your petitioners are delegates from forty and one towns in said county, chosen to meet in convention, to collect the sentiments of the county respecting their present grievances, and to petition the General Court for redressafter mature examination find by the collective sense of the county, that the inhabitents wish, relief from the following grievances, viz. :

The sitting of the General Court in the town of Boston, in transacting the buisness of an infant nation embarrassed with debt, oeconomy and dispatch are absolutely necessary, for which purposes the town of Boston for obvious reasons is by no means adapted.

The want of a circulating medium subjects the inhabitants to the greatest inconveniences, the people in general are extremely embarrassed with publick and private debts-no money can be obtained either by the sale or mortgage of real estate. The produce of the present year and the remainder of our cattle even were we to sell the whole, are totally inadequate to the present demands for money-such has been our situation for a long time past-an amazing flood of law suits have taken place-many industrious members of community have been confined in goal-and many more are liable to the same calamity-in a word, without relief we have nothing before us but distress and ruin.

In this deplorable condition we humbly seek protection and redress from the wisdom of the honourable court and pray that a portable representation of property may be contrived for the relief of the people, and that such prudent laws may be framed as shall have a tendency to correct the evils arising from the present scarcity of cash and to induce the man of wealth to place his wealth in the lands and products of his country rather than in speculations of publick securities or a commercial line, and that our brethren in Boston and the other populous towns may be induced by premiums and encouragements to manufacture the products of our own country in lieu of vending foreign goods.

The existence of the Courts of Common Pleas and Courts of General Sessions in their present mode has given general disgust; these courts are an amazing expence to the subject and in the opinion of your petitioners without the least advantage-not more than one action in forty brou❜t to our lower courts is ever deigned for tryal, and in those cases that are disputable little dependance is placed on their decissionthe feelings of the people are deeply wounded when they see the officers of these courts living in the elegance of eastern magnificence when they reflect that the money is extorted from their distress.

It is with indignation that the good people of this county have seen more money lavished by a single grant of the General Court on one officer of government who has rendered himself generally disagreeable to the people than can be obtained by a long life of industrious labour, and the fees of whose office we apprehend are fully adequate to his services. We feel it a grievance that the revenue arising from the