best and safest form of religion; and no one could doubt, as they claimed the power, they would give that church an effective establishment in every colony sufficiently under their control. In almost every province, all denominations, except the episcopal, were regarded as merely tolerated in their own country, and were subject to many unjust demands peculiar to themselves. It was impossible that the great majority of the people could be treated as inferiors; could be denied privileges which they considered their due; or that they could see a small minority of their fellow citi zens regarded as standing in an alliance to the state peculiarly friendly and close, and on that account treated with special favour, without being discontented and uneasy. The declaration of independence was for all such, a declaration of religious, as well as of civil liberty. It is not surprising, therefore, that the non-episcopal clergy entered into the conflict with a decision which, in many cases, would render it more easy to prove that they did too much, than that they did too little.

If it was natural that presbyterians should side with America in that hour of trial, it was no less natural that the episcopal clergy should side with the mother country. They had no peculiar grievances to complain of, nor any fear for the liberty of their church. On the contrary, it was to England they looked for support, for patronage, for legal provision, for that property and pre-eminence which they thought due to them as a branch of the national church. Besides, many of them were born, and all had been ordained in England, and personally had taken an oath of allegiance. They were bound, therefore, by peculiar ties; ties, which, it can well be imagined good men would find it hard to break. Instead, therefore, of its being a matter of surprise that the majority of the episcopal clergy took part with

England, the wonder is that so many sided with America. Those who did so, did it at a great sacrifice. They contended against their own apparent interests; and were either very enlightened patriots, or very indifferent churchmen. Considering, then, the peculiar circumstances of the episcopal clergy at that time, so far from being disposed to make it a matter of reproach that they adhered to their allegiance to the mother country, we are disposed to think that, as a general rule, they were those of most moral worth, and most entitled to respect, who took this course. This, however, must not be considered as an injurious reflection on the patriot clergy. While some of them took commissions in the army, others remained faithful at once to religion and their country. The venerable Bishop White, an ornament to the church universal, was for a long time the chaplain of congress, and acted with deliberation, and wellconsidered principle in the course which he adopted. laymen of the episcopal church did not feel themselves trammelled in the same manner, or to the same extent as the ministers, and hence some of the most prominent and

The

In a letter to Bishop Hobart, he says, "I continued, as did all of us, to pray for the king, until Sunday, (inclusively,) before the fourth of July, 1776. Within a short time after, I took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and have since remained faithful to it. My intentions were upright and most seriously weighed; and I hope they were not in contrariety to my duty."

In another place he says, "Owing to the circumstances of many able and worthy ministers cherishing their allegiance to the king of Great Britain, and entertaining conscientious scruples against the use of the liturgy, with the omission of the appointed prayers for him, they ceased to officiate, and the doors of far the greater number of episcopal churches were closed for years. In this state there was a part of that time in which there was, through the whole extent, but one resident minister of the church in question he who records the fact."-See Address, &c. by William B. Reed. Philadelphia, 1838.

influential of the public leaders of the day belonged to that church.

The part taken by presbyterians in the contest with the mother country, was, at the time, often made a ground of reproach; and the connexion between their efforts for the security of their religious liberty, and opposition to the oppressive measures of parliament, was then distinctly

seen.

1

Mr. Galloway, a prominent advocate of the government, ascribed, in 1774, the revolt and revolution mainly to the action of the presbyterian clergy and laity as early as 1764, when the proposition for a general synod emanated from a committee appointed for that purpose in Philadelphia. This was a great exaggeration and mistake, but it indicates the close connexion between the civil and religious part of the controversy. The same writer describes the opponents of the government, as an "united faction of congregationalists, presbyterians, and smugglers." Another writer of the same period says, "You will have discovered that I am no friend to presbyterians, and that I fix all the blame of these extraordinary American proceedings upon them." He goes on, "Believe, sir, the presbyterians have been the chief and principal instruments in all these flaming measures; and they always do and ever will act against government, from that restless and turbulent anti-monarchical spirit which has always distinguished them every where when they had, or by any means could assume power, however illegally."

As the conduct of the presbyterian clergy during the revolutionary war is not a matter of dispute, all that we are called upon to do, is briefly to exhibit the action of the synod in reference to this subject. One of the first exercises

1 Reed's Address, p. 51.

2 By presbyterians this writer means non-episcopalians.

1

of the power claimed by parliament to impose taxes on America, was the passage of the stamp-act in 1764. The opposition to this measure was so general and vehement, that the British government thought proper to repeal the act, though they accompanied the repeal with the strongest declarations of their right to tax the colonies at discretion, In the controversy relating to this subject, the synod of New York and Philadelphia publicly expressed their sympathy with their fellow citizens. As soon as the repeal was known in this country, "An overture was made by Dr. Alison, that an address be presented to our sovereign on the joyful occasion of the repeal of the stamp-act, and thereby a confirmation of our liberties; and at the same time proposing a copy of an address for examination, which was read and approved," but not recorded. The synod also addressed a pastoral letter to the churches, filled with patriotic and pious sentiments. They remind the people, that after God had delivered the country from the horrors of the French and Indian war, instead of rendering to him according to the multitude of his mercies, they had become more wicked than ever. "The Almighty thus provoked, permitted counsels of the most pernicious tendency, both to Great Britain and her colonies. The imposition of unusual taxes, a severe restriction of our trade, and an almost total stagnation of business, threatened us with universal ruin. A long suspense whether we should be deprived of, or restored to a peaceable enjoyment of the inestimable privileges of English liberty, filled every breast with painful anxiety." They express their joy that government had been induced to resort to moderate measures, instead of appealing to force; and call upon the people to bless God, who, notwithstanding their sins, had saved them from the

Minutes, p. 144.

horrors of a civil war. They, finally, earnestly exhort their people not to add to the common stock of guilt, but "to be strict in observing the laws and ordinances of Jesus Christ; to pay a sacred regard to his Sabbaths; to reverence his holy name, and to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour by good works. We pray you," say the synod, "to seek earnestly the saving knowledge of Christ, and the internal power and spirit of religion. Thus may you hope for the continued kindness of a gracious Providence; and this is the right way to express your gratitude to the Father of mercies for your late glorious deliverance. But persisting to grieve his Holy Spirit by a neglect of vital religion, and a continuance of sin, you have reason to dread that a holy God will punish you yet seven times more for your iniquities." 1

In this letter, as in all the public documents issued before the declaration of independence, there are strong expressions of loyalty, and of the wish to preserve inviolate the union with the mother country. In the declaration of rights by the congress held at New York, in October, 1765, it is said, "The members of this congress, sincerely devoted with the warmest sentiments of affection and duty to his majesty's person and government, inviolably attached to the present happy establishment of the protestant succession, &c. &c., esteem it our indispensable duty to make the following declarations of our humble opinion respecting the most essential rights and liberties of the colonists." The first declaration is, "That his majesty's subjects in these colonies, owe the same allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, that is owing from subjects born within the realm, and all due subjection to that august body the parliament of Great Britain." And

1 Minutes, p. 151.

2 See Pitkin's Political History of the United States, vol. i. p. 446.