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As yet wee must bee Nicodemusses, or els the inquisition
will make som saye that black is white, and therefore breake
off with a discovery of owr priests and Jesuits in Maryland,
which wander up and down in England apparrelled as Trads-
men and som otherwise, and so are send over, but as soon as
thy com out from the ships shourfoted, appear in their plus
ultra in their chappies, (aske Capt. Miles Cooke and his Com-
pany how thy brought lately 3 sutch passengers and by order
of my Lord in Court hath nothing for their passadge, but a
great deal damage with his ship. These blake spirits dispers
themselves all over the Country in America, and as is saith
have 5. pounds sterling for every turne-coat thy convert, good
reason thy make all the haste thy can to set the protestants
at odds, to propogate the Pope's interest and suppremacy in
America, but will not this in time overturne the Protestants,
for it is decreed to bring them first into a confusion and ruyn-
ated nothing, and then cut of the ashes, the Pope shall spring
aloft, and my Lord Baltemore will bee canonised at Rome as
thy say Hide is. Thus have they prevayled with the Vir-
ginians to hange their best comon wealths men out of the way
by advysing Sir Will Barkly to doe as thy did with Davis,
which they say kept Maryland in Awe from a raysinge which
is fals, for thy did not expect thyr redress by the sword but
from owr souveraigne Lord the King and parliament out of
England, which is the legal way, notwithstanding that it is
otherwise interpreted by the contrary party, who also say that
the papists are no sutch people as thy are blakned. But thy
by their canon law not beeinge bound to keep faith with prot-
estants, the protestants are also not bound to beleeve their fayr
outsides: Remember the solemne Oath made a few yeares
since with Virginia for stending the planting of tobacco that
year and to raise corne and stoks, How thy where foresworne
and swallowed their oath as Babel use to doe) and therefore
say that it is absolute repugnant to the lawes and customs and
several Acts of parliament in England and no ways warrant-
able by Maryland Charter to turne the Province to the Pope's
devotion. Liberty of conscience will not, nor cover that
neither.
These Pope's messengers, hould a secret correspondence
with the french pater nostres, that com now a days from Can-
ada or Nova Franciae over the lake into the sinniko Indian
Country amongst the Indians, Westcoth if from Newyorke
Albany: which Sinnoko Indian beeinge then utter enemys and
moste destroyed the susquahana Indian, severall French cam
downe in Indian apparrell amongst them, and eversince this 3
or 4 years robbed divers plantations in Maryland, and killed
cattle and hoghs, especially uppon Kent Ile, where amongst
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P. R. O.
Colonial
Papers.
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