Just deserts:

In 1631, in June, this order was given by the General Court in Boston:

"That Philip Ratcliffe shall be whipped, have his eares cutt off, fined 40 pounds, and banished out of the limits of this jurisdiction, for uttering malicious and scandalous speeches against the Government and the church of Salem."

Governor Winthrop added to his account of this affair that Ratcliffe was "convict of most foul slanderous invectives against our government."

Full text from one of the many web sources.

The History of Salem Massachusetts by Sidney Perley, which contains a detailed account on p. 219, vol. I (local copy).

Last update Philip G. Ratcliffe