The causes of these alterations are as follows: First and mainly, the many losses and crosses at sea and the abuses of seamen have incurred such heavy expenses for us that we could not continue without impoverishing ourselves, unless our means had been greater and our associates had stuck together. Secondly, there has been a faction against you, which, though influenced to abandon you mainly for want of money, pretended to charge you with being Brownists, etc. But how you or we ought to turn all this to account remains to be considered; for we know the hand of God to be in all these things, and no doubt He would admonish us hereby to see what is amiss. While we ourselves are ready to take every opportunity to further so hopeful an enterprise, it must rest with you to put it on its feet again. And whatever else may be said, let your honesty and conscience remain approved, and lose no jot of your innocence amidst your crosses and afflictions; and surely if you behave yourselves wisely and go on fairly, you will need no other weapon to wound your adversaries; for when your righteousness is revealed as the light, they, who have causelessly sought your overthrow, shall cover their faces with shame. We think it only right that everything belonging to the common stock shall be kept together and increased, rather than dispersed for any private ends whatever; and that after your necessities are met, you shall send over such commodities as the country affords, to pay the debts and clear the engagements here, which amount to not less than £1400. Let us all endeavour to keep an honest course, and see what time will bring forth, and what God in His providence will work for us. We are still convinced that you are the people who must make the settlement a success when all others fail and return; and your experience of God’s providence and preservation of you is such that we hope your hearts will not fail you, though your friends should forsake you,—which we ourselves will not do whilst we live and your honesty of purpose remains unchanged. We have sent you some cattle, clothes, stockings, shoes, leather, etc. We have consigned them to Mr. Allerton and Mr. Winslow as our agents, at whose discretion they are to be sold in exchange for commodities. Go on, good friends, comfortably; pluck up your spirits and quit yourselves like men in all your difficulties, that, notwithstanding all the threats of men, your good work may continue; for in as much as it is for the glory of God and the good of our countrymen, it is a better course for a man to run than to live the life of Methuselah in wasting the plenty of a tilled land or eating the fruit of a grown tree. With hearty salutations to you all, and hearty prayers for you all, we lovingly take our leaves, this 18th of Dec., 1624.