He was answered that we were so far from coming thither by agreement
or appointment, that none of us knew of the others' coming, and for
the most of us, we had never seen one another before; and that
therefore he might impute it to chance, or, if he pleased, to
Providence.

He urged upon us that an insurrection had been lately made by armed
men, who pretended to be more religious than others; that that
insurrection had been plotted and contrived in their meeting-house,
where they assembled under colour of worshipping God; that in their
meeting-house they hid their arms, and armed themselves, and out of
their meeting-house issued forth in arms, and killed many; so that
the government could not be safe unless such meetings were
suppressed.

We replied, we hoped he would distinguish and make a difference
between the guilty and the innocent, and between those who were
principled for fighting and those who were principled against it,
which we were, and had been always known to be so; that our meetings
were public, our doors standing open to all comers, of all ages,
sexes, and persuasions, men, women, and children, and those that
were not of our religion, as well as those that were; and that it
was next to madness for people to plot in such meetings.

He told us we must find sureties for our good behaviour, and to
answer our contempt of the King's proclamation at the next general
Quarter Sessions, or else he must commit us.

We told him that, knowing our innocency and that we had not