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Signers of the
authority among One of the old moat hare acqui. that inspired co Mine brood field
Mayflower Compact
There seen* ? nothing strange and elu-tlre about the fi :t tfcat 10 little la known of Got. Carver, id yH from the ootset lie livid the most imftjrtant place* of trust and
he Leyden Pilgrims, st of this little band, be ed the traits of character fidence in his ability, in where education and the
friction of Inter anrse had developed him uatil he became , ruler of men.
??John Carver. Sonne of James fitrnr. .Unccjnihlre. le+nan, pallet! br T? (race of God Governor 01 our Colony, Dec. ye 10th, 1(00, for one Jfcr," came to the Leyden Colon/ unannounced, ao far aa the records place him; still, when it was neccssary to send as envoy tj> England and the West Indian Company lr>ne who would make their it.terett* Hs owi he was the unanimous c^iolue, and the sequence showed that, for the means at his command, he had requited their trust to the fullest extent ?
The die was	The	Pilgrims,	weary
with the well-d^?* that could not secure them peacc dthev of conscience or of mind, surrounded by foreshadowIngs of war in Holland, the de'ogntory intercourse with the people from many lands thrust upon thoir children, milst make for themselves a nrx home. I For this there Was but a small fund, and only by contract -n jth some company, who would surely claim their pound of flesh in return, could It b? made a possibility.
So John Carr>.r an(j Robert Cushman went forth arm'd with the authority to make terras, seel of the Kiof ?freedom to worship their QiJj unmolested in the New World, and of th? Virginia Company, which was established	,	patent	on	which
they might settles
T*IE KINO.
That the King ahould turn a deaf ear to their petition-se.me(} a matter of course. Any liberty, ev*n that of thought, if It had 1>eon in hU. r>- 'we^ would have been denied them. T!	j	f}18-19	Carver	and	Cush-
man were ? Uv.j in x^n(ion. The patent *ns not issuod diltctly to the separatists,
!*?!* 1* ?n , :iame of John Wincob (or Wmkop), a menit'., of Earl o? Lincoln?* hoiiiehokl, who i<tcnaed to join thr emigration In the futnr^ but ue?er dld 4 )d y,, patent was never ;glue<i.
The Virginia ( ,mpany( torn by internal
JOHN CARVER First Signer.
dissensions, the King only playing with their request, never willing to give them terms ?under his hand and seal,? the poor Pilgrims, weary and discouraged, were driven to bay.
They next pleaded their cause with the Dutch traders to Manhattan, but, aa the result shows, all they did was to acquaint them with both plans and hopes, and as a return reap their reward in deceit and double dealing. What wonder that, discouraged on all sides, they turned to one Weston, who appeared on the scene expressing kind sympathy with the situation, offering his services snd means for their benefit, that they should, as the result of his counsels, place themselves in the hands of some seventy English merchants, known as . the ?Merchant Adventurers,? and accept, 1 toough they did it very unwillingly, their terns.
Robert Cushmsn was the one sppointed for the negotiations, and John Carver saw to fitting the ship out.
The little all of the colony was intrusted to their care. The money, so priceless from its scarcity, they disbursed. ?Seven hundred pounds was expended in the provisions and stores, and seventeen hundred pounds was the value of the trading venture they carried.?
The failure or snrrens of the enterprise devolved wholly noon John Carver and Robert Cushman. No word of criticism has ever been given of Carver?s conduct, but, when the Mayflower was finally fitted out and the requirement* of tbe adven-
upon, and says: "He also claimed It w ] unfit for such men a* Deacon Carte? serve a new apprenticeship of seven yea and not a day?a freedom.?
Showing, as this does, a knowledge i Carver?s previous life, there seem* son hope that the present search and writing t of the English guilds mny evolve a reliab record concerning Gov. Carver.
So, with the proceeds of their own estafa and the assistance of the merchant* 1 whom they mortgaged their labor and tr?4 for seven years in return for their ventur two vessels were provided, one in Holla* of sixty tons, called the Speed well,'-whic was intended to transport some of tbei to America, and there remain for one J** in their service for fishing and tbe natari uses of a new settlement; another, of 1J tons, called the Mayflower, rhari^rxt h Mr. Cushman In London, snd sent I Southampton, where Mr. Carver was wai ing to superintend tbe equipment.
?A Governor and two or three assi* ants were chosen from esch ship to ord< the people by the way and see to the di penning of their possessions and such lil affairs.?
/	THE	8TART.
All preparations being made, the ves*e pronounced rcsdy for sea, they sailed Auj ust 5, 1620. Before the start was fairl ninde the Speedwell was reported leak; This scorned bat a trifle, and both vesse returned, the Speedwell waa repaired, an again, August 21, they pat to se*. The troubles were not over; the history of t) turers were known, a strong but impotent / Speedwell was repeated, and, though no 4 spirit of rebellion waa aroused.	]	feet* were revealed on tbe second sear*-:
Pastor Robinson had never approved of the whole thing was attributed to geinr
Cushman?s connection with Carver, ami, proclaimed that ?he was unfit to deal for other men by reason of hi* singularity, and as a man more facile in talk than faithful in service.?
His strictures seemed borne out by tbe terms, which hardly left the Pilgrims any personal control: still, there is something to be ssid in extenuation, when Cushman claims that it ?was one thing to settle matters among themselves in Leyden, and quite another to mnke terms with the other side in London.?
Robinson, writing at the time of the agreement between Cushman and Weston, was very conscious of tbs extortions agreed
weakness, and she was condemned as uni for use.
?Twenty of the paasengers were pat c shore, tbe other*, with their worldly po sessions, transferred to the Mayflower and ?he start for me colony they wer* 1 found made, with the knowledge that thei must be no turning back.
Upon the defection of the 8poedweU o fiee sought John Carver, and he wa? mat Governor of tbe whole colony.
The day of the xiifuing of the compact o Cape Cod John Carver was couGrmed I his office ot Governor, though both Your snd Belknsp stst* that no oath of o(B< waa required, and fc* entered upon bis of