A number of treatises upon church government and usage were printed in the memorable year 1643, several of which had previously circulated in manuscript. In 1637 was received the _Letter of Many Ministers in Old England, requesting the Judgment of their Reverend Brethren in New England and concerning Nine Positions_. It was answered by John Davenport in 1639. _A Reply and Answer_ was also a part of this correspondence, which was first published in 1643, as was also Richard Mather's _Church Government and Church Covenant Discussed_, the latter being a reply to _Two and Thirty Questions_ sent from England. By these, together with J. Cotton's _Keyes_ and other writings, and by Thomas Hooker's great work _Survey of the Summe of Church Discipline_ (approved by the Synod of 1643), every aspect of church polity and usage was covered. [g] Hingham church preferred the Presbyterian way. Concord was absent, lacking a fit representative. Boston and Salem at first refused to attend, questioning the General Court's right to summon a synod and fearing lest such a summons should involve the obedience of all the represented churches to the decisions of the conference. The modification of the summons to the "desire" of the court, and the entreaty of their leaders, finally overcame the opposition in these churches. In fact, delegates to the Court, representing at least thirty or forty churches, had hesitated to accept the original summons of the Court when reported as a bill for calling the synod. Although the Court "made no question of their lawful power by the word of God to assemble the churches, or their messengers upon occasion of counsell, or anything which may concern the practice of the churches," it decided to modify the phrasing of the order.--H. M. Dexter, _Congr. as seen_, p. 436. _Magnalia_, ii, 209. _Mass. Col. Rec._ ii, 154-156, also iii, 70-73. [h] "This Synod having perused with much gladness of heart the confession of faith published by the late reverend assembly in England, do judge it to be very holy, orthodox and judicious, in all matters of faith, and do hereby freely and fully consent thereto for the substance thereof. Only in those things which have respect to church-government and discipline, we refer ourselves to the Platform of Church-discipline, agreed upon by this present assembly."--Preface to the Cambridge Platform, quoted in W. Walker, _Creeds and Platforms_, p. 195.