Answer:
Danforth and Hathorne are attempting to get Proctor to drop the charge that Mary Warren has lied by<u> telling Proctor his wife is pregnant</u>. They say if she is truly pregnant, they will keep her alive for at least a year.
They want him to drop the charge because if what Mary Warren is saying is true, then these reputable judges will look like absolute fools. Essentially, they are terrified of the evidence they are all trying to provide because they are worried about their own reputations, even though hundreds of lives are at stake.
Proctor refuses to drop the charge because his friend's (Giles and Francis) wives are going to hang. He is still concerned about everyone else in the jails/about to hang.
Explanation:
When Proctor and his little entourage come to court and want to cast doubt on the veracity of the girls' testimony, the judges' integrity is at stake and they act in their own defense rather in the best interests of justice and the accused.
The first thing Danforth does after Proctor announces that Mary Warren will testify that the girls are lying is refuse to accept her deposition. If he does not have it, he does not have to deal with it. His panic can be seen in the stage directions surrounding this refusal.
Danforth, instantly: No, no, I accept no depositions. He is rapidly calculating this; he turns from her to Proctor. Tell me, Mr. Proctor, have you given out this story in the village?
When Proctor persists, Danforth tries another tactic: he tries to intimidate both Proctor and Mary Warren. He says,
Do you know, Mr. Proctor, that the entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?
Proctor is not intimidated (of course Mary is, at least a bit) and Danforth continues his questioning.
