to restore English political liberty when it was at its lowest ebb, carried religious intolerance to its utmost extremity of virulence and violence. These intractables Ralph resolved to shut out from his colony as long as possible. But as a large portion of the laboring class of England, especially the rural class, were adherents of the established Church, and rather indifferent ones at that, it was not difficult to procure colonists among whom religious toleration could be sustained.
The disasters of the Jamestown colony had been kept as secret as possible, and great numbers of English people were willing to go to America. The Virginia Company could have found ship-loads of honest laborers, but they thought a dissolute "gentleman," or even his footman or valet, was more worthy than an industrious peasant. Ralph Morton had no such class prejudice. He wanted educated persons for teachers, clerks, physicians, etc., but for the rest, no man who was unwilling to do six days, good hard manual labor a week.
The time of sailing was fixed so that the colony should arrive at their destination at the end of the winter, yet early enough to clear ground and plant corn and vegetables.
