Could somone please explain the allusion that Proctor makes to Pontius Pilate in The Crucible?It is in Act II.

When Proctor says this, he is speaking to Reverend Hale.  Elizabeth has been arrested, and the true story of the poppet has been exposed.  It is fairly obvious, if you use any sort of common sense, and if you know-as the reader does-Abigail's motives in accusing Elizabeth, that the poppet was a set-up.  To Proctor, the fact that Abby saw Mary put the needle there is proof of Elizabeth's innocence.  So, he is aghast when they still arrest her and are taking her away.  He turns to Hale for help, asking, "Will you see her taken?" to which Hale responds, "Proctor, the court is just."  In a sense, Hale is saying that he has no power in this situation, and that Elizabeth was in the hands of the courts.  This is where Proctor calls him Pontius Pilate.

In the Bible, when Christ is brought before the courts, Pontius Pilate is in charge.  Pontius questions Christ and finds nothing wrong; he feels that Christ is innocent, and has no reason to be arrested.  So, he brings Christ before the people, and there was a custom on the Passover where one criminal could be allowed free.  Pontius states his case for Christ, and asks the people who they would have be free-Christ or a convicted murderer named Barrabas.  The people vote to have Barrabas released, and Christ crucified.  Pontius disagrees, but doesn't act to save Christ. Instead, he took up water and washed his hands of the affair, symbolically saying the court system and people have spoken-it's out of my hands.  It probably wasn't, and Pontius washing his hands has come to symbolize people doing nothing in the face of a severe injustice, because they are passing blame elsewhere.  So, Proctor is saying that Hale has the power to save Elizabeth from being arrested, but that he is cowering behind the "the courts are just, and if she is innocent she'll be released" argument, instead of acting in his own power and right to save her as he should.  That is very similar to Pontius washing his hands of the matter of saving Christ, pretending to be innocent in the face of a person being unjustly condemned.  I hope that explanation clears things up a bit.  Good luck!