Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/92

 ordering and strengthening of those disunited, scattered, and ill guarded empires and prouinces in the West: It might very well bee alleaged to the sayde Spanish king, that it were more wisedome for him to assure and fortifie some part of those already gotten, then to begin the conquest, of Guiana, so farre separate from the rest of his Indies: in which hee hath had so many misfortunes, and against whom the naturall people are so impetuously bent, and opposed: were it not, that it exceedeth all the rest in abundance of gold, and other riches. The case then so standing, is it not meere wretchednesse in vs, to spend our time, breake our sleepe, and waste our braines, in contriuing a cauilling false title to defraude a neighbour of halfe an acre of lande: whereas here whole shires of fruitfull rich grounds, lying now waste for want of people, do prostitute themselues vnto vs, like a faire and beautifull woman, in the pride and floure of desired yeeres.

If wee doe but consider, howe vnhappily Berreo his affairs, with his assistants haue of late yeeres, in our owne knowledge succeeded: who can say, if the hand of the Almighty be not against them, and that hee hath a worke in this place, in stead of Papistrie, to make the sincere light of his Gospell to shine on this people? The effecting whereof shall bee a royall crowne of euerlasting remembrance to all other blessings, that from the beginning the Lorde hath plentifully powred on our dread Soueraigne, in an eminent and supreme degree of all perfection. If the Castilians, pretending a religious care of planting Christianitie in those partes, haue in their doings preached nought els but auarice, rapine, blood, death, and destruction to those naked, and sheeplike creatures of God; erecting statues and trophees of victorie vnto themselues, in the slaughters of millions of innocents: doeth not the crie of the poore succourlesse ascend vnto the heauens? Hath God forgotten to bee gracious to the workmanship of his owne hands?

Or shall not his iudgements in a day of visitation by the ministerie of his chosen, seruant, come on these bloodthirstie butchers, like raine into a fleece of wooll? Aliquando manifesta; aliquando occulta; semper iusta sunt Dei iudicia.

To leaue this digression, It is fit onely for a prince to begin and ende this worke: the maintenance and ordering thereof requireth soueraigne power, authoritie, and commaundement. The riuer of Raleana giueth open and free passage, any prouision