afterwards, however, roger williams obtained the necessary funds from admiring friends with which to go to england and obtain a charter which united the colonies yet gave to all the first official right to liberty of conscience ever granted in europe or america. prior to that a man's conscience had a brass collar on it with the royal arms engraved thereon, and was kept picketed out in the king's grounds. the owner could go and look at it on sundays, but he never had the use of it.