both foreign and intestine enemies, has cost us much expense of treasure and blood; yet in the second year of the reign of his late Majesty, King James II., we had a _quo warranto_ served upon us by Edward Randolph, requiring our appearance before his Majesty’s court in England; and although the time of our appearance was elapsed before the serving the said _quo warranto_, yet we humbly petitioned his Majesty for his favour and the continuance of our Charter, with the privileges thereof; but we received no other favour but a second QUO WARRANTO: and we well observed that the Charter of London, and of other considerable cities in England, were condemned, and that the Charter of Massachusets had undergone the like fate, plainly saw what we might expect; yet as we not judged it good or lawful to be active in surrendering what had cost us so dear, nor to be altogether silent, we employed an attorney to appear in our behalf, and to prefer our humble address to his Majesty, to entreat his favour quickly upon it; but as Sir Edmund Andros informed us he was empowered by his Majesty to regain the surrender of our Charter, if we saw meet to do so, and to take ourselves under his government, we withstood all these motions, and in our reiterated addresses we petitioned his Majesty to continue us in the full and free enjoyment of our liberties and property, civil and sacred, according to our Charter. We also petitioned that if his Majesty should not see meet to continue us as we were, but was resolved to annex us to some other government, we then desired that (inasmuch as Boston had been our old correspondents, and people whose principles and manners we had been acquainted with) we might be annexed rather to Sir Edmund Andros his government than to Colonel Dungan’s, which choice of ours was taken for a resignation of our government; though that was never intended by us for such, nor had it the formalities in law to make it a resignation, as we humbly conceive; yet Sir Edmund Andros was commissioned by his Majesty to take us under his government: pursuant to which, about the end of October, 1687, he, with a company of gentlemen and grenadiers to the number of sixty or upward, came to Hertford (the chief seat of this government), caused his commission to be read, and declared our government to be dissolved, and put into commission both civil and military officers through our colony, as he pleased, when he passed through the principal parts thereof.