tihvavy of t:ht t^heolojical ^mimxy PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY The Estate of Samuel Henry Gapp j Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/financialhistoryOOdesc The Financial History OF THE AND OF ITS SUSTENTATION FUND. BY EDMUND DE SCHWEINITZ, S.T.D. The Financial History AXP OF ITS SUSTENTATION FUND. EDMUND DE SCHWEINITZ. S.T.D. Bishop of the I'nita? Fratnim. BETHLEHEM : MORAVIAN PI BI.lrATION OFFICE. 1S77. PREFATORY NOTE. Tlio iollowiiig jiapor was prepared for the Conferences of the First and Second Districts of the American Province of the Moravian Church. It was comn\iinicatcd to the hitter body at York, Pa., on the 2-l:th of May, and to the former, at New Dorp, Staten Ishvnd, on the 30th of the same moutli. By a vote of the York Conference it was requested for publication and private distribution, t wo friends assuming the cost ; and by a vote of the Staten IsUmd Conference, a committee was appointed to secure an additional num- ber of copies, the Trustees of the Bethlehem Church assuming the cost. At the suggestion of a I'riend, biographical foot-notes have been added. Rktiii.kiikm, Pa., June A. 1877. THE FINANCIAT. nrSTORY OF THE PROVINCE AXD ITS SUSTENTATION FUND. INTRODUCTION. The financial history of our ecclesiastical Province and of its Sus- tentation Fund is so complicated and therefore difficult a subject that I would not have ventured to take it up, if I were not convinced of its importance, and if I did not believe tliat it will prove to be of special interest at this present time. It is inijiortant, because we must under- stand the past, if we would realize the necessities of the present, and our duty in view of them. It is interesting, because nothing shows more clearly, on the one hand, the faith which our fathers had in God's answers to prayer, and in the aid which He grants those who commit into His keeping, with the same implicit trust, both their spiritual con- cerns and their temporal affairs, and, on the other, the singular and mutual confidence which prevailed, that no private ends, i)ut only the good of the Church and the glory of the Lord, would be furthered by the men who administered its funds. The sources upon which this paper is based are the following: John Plitt's MS. History of the Eenetved Church ; MS. Notes of a course of lectures on Brethren's History, by the late Bishop Stengclrd of the Ger- man Province; Bishop Croeger's Geschichte dcr Erneuerten B. K., 3 vols., Gnadau, 1852-1854; a number of original i'7na?tcm/ Papers in the Bethlehem Archives; and, in particular, a voluminous MS. Trea- tise on the American Property of the U. F., and its various Proprietors, by the late Lewis David de Schtveinitz. In order to a proper insight into our provincial finances, it will be necessary, in the first place, to give an account of those of the Unity at large. 4 THE FINANCES OF THE UNITAS FRATRUM. They nuist be tnicod back to the private property of* Count Zinzcn- ilori" and his wife.' The Brethren who fled from Moravia and renewed the C'luireh at Herrnhut. in Saxony, were, without exception, poor, altliough many of them had been rich in their own country. But they left all for Christ's sake. Hence it was impossible for them to originate church-funds. Now when the first immigrants arrived, Zinzendorf, as is well known, took little interest in theiiN aflairs, which he left to his steward. He did not think of renewing the Brethren's Church. His plans were of an entirely ditt'crcnt cliararter. As soon, however, as he began to realize, to use liis own words, that Herrnhut was the parish to which he had been fore-ordained from all eternity — "Seine von Ewigkeit her be- stinnnte Parochie" — and as soon as he met with the Rutio Discipliiue of Amos Comenius and was led both by the lamentations and the hopes of this -work to believe that God had, perhaps, called him to be an in- strument in bringing about the resuscitation of the ancient Unitas Fratrnm, he determined to make every sacrifice for the Moravian refugees which their cause might demand. He says himself {Bu- dinxjische Samlung I. p. G4() and (Ul ): " I could not peruse the lamenta- tions of old Comenius, addn ss( il to the Anglican Church — lamentations called foi'th by tlie idea that tiie Church of the Brethren was come to an end, and tliat he was locking its door — I could not read his mourn- ful prayer a second time, ' Turn thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned, renew our days as of old' (Lament. 5, 21), — without adoi)ting the resolution: I will, as far as I can, help to bring about this end. And though I have to sacrifice my earthly possessions, my honors, and my life, as long as I live, and, as far as I will be able to provide, even after my death, for such a consummation, this little com- pany of the Lord's disciples shall be preserved for Him until He comes !" Accordingly he made no diflerence between the claims of his own ' Nicholas Lewis Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, born at Dresden, ^^ay 20, 1700, died at Herrnhut, May 9, 17C0, was tlie son of George Lewis Count of Zinzendorf, a cabinet-minister at the Saxon court. He was educated for the ser- vice of the state, and tilled a government office for some years. In 1727 he re- signed, and devolccl himself to tlu' c;uist" of the Moravian Brethren; in 17.S7 he was coiisecratcil :i !'.isliii|> ul' (lii. ir (.'hiin h, :il ihu lieuil of whieti he stood until his deatli. He i)ore the title nf .1 ,1 (Ji/iininiis Frdtrum. His wife, whom he married on the 7lli of September, 1722, was Erdmuth Dorotliea (Jountess of Keuss- ICbersdorl, horn at Ebersdorf, November 7, 1700, daughter of Count Henry X Keuss, and sister of Count Henry XXIX Reuss, both reigning Counts. 5 taniily and the wants of the Church; but provided lor both Iroiu his l)rivate property, often giving preference to the latter. It was a noble thing to do, eminently characteristic of tiie man. At the same time, however, it originated a tendency which we cannot but regard as un- fortunate. The Church was taught to rely too much upon funds, and to think too little of the duty of an immediate support of its causes by its members. Zinzeiidorf \va< opposed, upon iniui iplc, to collecticms. He was very willing to receive such gifts as were altogether voluntary ; but he disliked appeals for aid and the gathering in of stated contri- butions. The chief reason which he assigued for this position was, that he did not think it right to interfere with those Christian causes which had existed prior to the renewal of the Brethren's Church, and which needed all the support they could get. As an instance of the mind that was in him in this respect, I may refer to the astonishing question which he put to the Lutherans in Phila- delphia, in 1742, when at their earnest request, he was about taking temporary charge of their church, whose pulj>it was vacant. Assembled in solemn conclave to arrange with him the particulars of his pastorate, he solemnly asked them : " Kd)iat ihr das Gebea lassen ?" (Can you stop giving ?) Now while some of the ordinary expenses of the individual churches, or, rather settlements, as they arose from time to time, were borne by themselves and by the various industries which were established in them, the demands of the Unitas Fratruni as such had to be met by Zinzeu- dorf. These demands were : tlie support of the growing Foreign Mis- sions, and of the Domestic jNlissions on the Continent of Europe, as well as of the extensive itinerancies connected with the latter ; the suj)- port of the schools and of the Theological Seminary ; the rent of domains which had been leased for the Church ; the cost of erecting Brethren's and Sisters' Houses in the vai'ious settlements, as also other public buildings, if they may so be called; the support of what is de- nominated in our history " the Pilgrim Congregation," which consisted of Zinzeudorf and his family together with the other heads of the Unitas Fratrum, and which had its seat sometimes in Germany, some- times in Holland, and sometimes in England, directing the Church and its various enterprises, devising plans for the spread of tlu Gospel, and sending out Ministers and Missionaries into all i)arts of the world ; the support of the Ministers who labored in churches other than those in the midst of which the " Pilgrim (Congregation" happened to be, who, however, received no salary, but merely the necessaries of life ; and, finally, the heavy expenses caused l)y the sending out of tol- ouies to America and elsewhere, and the purchase of lantl lor their u.-e. • 6 It was quite impossible for Zinzeudorf to meet all these demuuds with his mere income, which, at first, was moderate, but, after he had inherited his grandmother's splendid estate, grew to be large. Hence, in addition to his income and to what was voluntarily given by mem- bers and friends of the Clmrcli, he raised extraordinary amounts by mortgaging his domains. Tlu' title to them w-as vested in his wife, to whom he had transferred them in the early part of his career, and thus anticipated an order, which subsequently reached him, from the Saxon Government to alienate his estates. This transfer delivered Herrnhut from the hands of its enemies. The Countess Zinzendorf, who was an extraordinary woman, a princess of God — "eine Fiirstinn Gottes" — managed the finances of the family, and hence of the Church, with wonderful judgment and devoted faithfulness. If she had not displayed such unusual ability, many of the early entcrjirises of the Unitas Fratrum would never have been carried out. Jonas Paulus Weiss was her j)rincipal book-keeper and assistant, and did niucli to further its interests.' About the year 1730, money was raised, inr the first time, on the estates, the rate of interest being six per cent. Six years later, Zinzendorf was banished from Saxony. His erediturs heeanie alarmed and demanded the payment of their loans. Tiiis was the first financial crisis in the history of the Church. But it ([uiekly passed away. For the Lord raised up friends in Hol- land who offered new loans at three per cent. The offer was thankfully accepted and (lie clamorous creditors were paid. In 1741, when Zinzeudorf set out for America, a committee was appointed, under tiie name of the "General Diacony," to advise with the Countess in the management of the finances. About the same time, contributions began on the part of the members. But there was no system. Some ga ve nuieh ; others nothing at all. Missionary Societies, too, were or-aiii/.ed, wliieh helped to support the foreign work. In spite of all this, ho\vev(a-, the expenses of the Church increased in an alarming uuuiner. During Zinzendorf's absence a number of lunv settlements were founded in Germany, calling for heavy loans ; while the Missions in other lands continued to grow. In 1745, that lamentable period began which is known as " the time of sifting," when, in various German ' .lonas Piuilns Weiss, born .Janiiai-v 0, 1690, at NureiiilnTu, .lied Se|.(rinl)er7lli, 1779, at Ilermhnt, was a ricli iiHMrliaut win. scUlcl al llrmiliui, m 1710, and joined the Cliun^h. He devolcd liiinsell' to its service w ith .scl l-dcn v iii^ /.eai, and wivs elected a member of llie Unity's Warden's Board by the General .Synod of 1764. He w;i.s orijfinal in all his words and ways, and one of the few leaders of the Church who maintained llieir independence over against Zinzendorf. churches, not only gross fanaticism showed itself, but the simplicity ami economy also of former yeai-s were forgotten, and money was borrowed and spent in a reckless way. Scarcely had this evil been overcome, when the settlement of Herruhaag, in Middle Germany, was broken up (1750), in consequence of the enmity of the petty ruler to whose domains it belonged. This catastrophe entailed heavy losses upon the Church. Finally, while these were still uncovered, in the beginning of 1753, Gomez Serra, a Jewish banker, with whom large deposits had been made, failed. At that time, there existed three distinct systems of credit, if I may so call them. The fii"st in Saxony, whither Zinzendorf had been in- vited to return by the Government, in 1747, and where he had leased, at its request, the Principality of Barby ; the second in Holland ; and the third in England. As soon as the connection of the Brethren with the bankrupt Jew became known, many of their creditors demanded payment. A second crisis was thus brought on, which carried the Church to the very brink of ruin. Its liabilities amounted to the cnor- sum of 81,328,250. Zinzendorf was in England at the time, and the creditors in that country were particularly urgent. In what way could they be satisfied? Relying upon the aid of the Lord, and making this distressing subject one of earnest prayer, he came forward and offered personally to assume this whole frightful debt, pledging himself, that, if time were given him, the interest should be punctually i)aid, and the principal extinguished in installments. His lawyer tried to dissuade him from such a step, and proposed a compromise, according to which the creditors were to receive only a percentage. . But Zinzendorf would not listen to anything of the kind, and insisted that every dollar, both of the interest and of the ijriucipal, should be paid. The majority of the creditoi-s were impressed with such probity, accepted his orter, and bought the claims of those who refused to do so. In this way the financial ruin and disgrace of the Church were j)re- veuted. But Zinzendorf had assumed a fearful load, and the meeting of his obligations caused him unceasing trouble and called forth un- ceasing prayer. On the 2d of March, 1753, a payment was due which he could not make. He had expected a remittance from Holland, but it did not arrive. Imprisonment in the Fleet, the Debtors' Jail of London, seemed inevitable. He was in momentary expectation of the constable who was to arrest him and Hockel, a merchant that had endorsed the note, when his son-in-law. Bishop John de Watteville, brought him a letter from Cornelius van Laer, of Holland, containing the necessarv amount. Such interpositions of Providence freiiucntly occurred, and helped to strengthen his faith and that of his brethren. At the same 8 time, he fully recognized the mistakes which had been made, taking the chief blame upon himself In a public discoui-se, Avhich he caused to be reported and copies of which he sent to all the churches, he con- fessed his faults, and expressed, in particular, his regret that a better system had not been introduced in the management of the finances. It must be remembered, however, that while such confessions were undoubtedly necessary, neither Zinzeudorf, nor any of his coadjutors, had been guilty of personal extravagance. No one could accuse them of that. Money was s])eiit recklessly for the Church, not for individuals. In order to devise ways and means for meeting the obligations which he had assuineil, the Count, in October of 1753, convened a financial conference, in Lindsey House, London. And after his return to Ger- many, an Administrations Collegium, or Committee of Administrators, was appointed, in the year 1755. This Committee, whose chairman was John Herman von Damnitz,* took charge of the finances, and, in addition to meeting the interest on the debt, provided for the schools and Missions, as also for the support of the Zinzendorf housekeeping, as it was called, which, however, included all the Ministers in the German churches, who received a support through it, but even now no salaries. New sources of revenue were providentially opened about this time. Barons von Zezschwitz' and von Gersdorf,'' both members of the Church, made over to it each an estate, while, at Herrnhut, the linen-weaving and mercantile establishment of Abraham Diirninger began to prosper very nuich, paying thousands of dollars toward the expenses of the Church.' At the Sixteentli General Synod, held at Berthelsdorf in 1756, still further provision was made for managing the finances, and the Administrations Collegium was changed into a Direktorial Colle- ' Jolin HeniKin von Damnitz, born at Wurzen, Saxony, in 1706, died at Herrn- hut in ITtll, \vus .1 (Icsienihint of tlie Holieniian Brelliren, and entered tlie service of the Saxoii (loveinmenl. In 1745 lie joined the Ciiurcli at Herrniiut, to whose interests he faitlifiilly devoted himself. He was constituted a Senior Civilm in 1748. ' .John Henry von Zezschwitz, born near ('ainenz, Saxony, in I(j9(), died, at Herrnhut, December 9, 177(S, liad l)ecn a fellow-stndent of Zinzendorf at Witten- berg. In 174G, he joined tlie Ciiiiri'h, and in 175o was constituted a Senior Civiliis. ' Sigisniund Augustus von Gersdorf, born at Hernisdorf, in Silesia, in 1702, died at Herrnhut, December 5, 1777, joined the Church in 1742, was constituted a a Senior Civil is in 1750, and elet;ted to the Unity's Wardens' Board in 1764. ^ Abraham Diirninger was born at StrassbiUL; in 17(h; :ind died at Herrnhut in 1773, where he liad establislied himself in 1717. in iiis last will and testament he bequeatiied his entire establishment, which still exists, to Trustees who were to manage it for the good of the church at Herrnhut and of the Unity in general. In 1758, he wa.s ordained a Deacon. 9 (jium. In other words, a lioanl ol" Directors, responsible not to Zin- zenilorf, but to the C'hureh, was put at tlie head of its financial depart- ment. The financial distress, which I have now described, was not without its good results. In the first place, it swept away the reniuants of fanaticism ; in the second, it stimulated private beneficence ; in the tliird, it developed the various industries which were carried on, so that they prospered greatly ; in the fourth, it brought out a feeling of unity iu the whole Church, eveu in so distant a Province as our own, and originated the principle that all must stand for one, and one for all ; and, finally and chiefly, it led to the gradual emancipation of the Unitas Fratrum from the autocratic sway of Zinzendorf. The finan- cial committees were the forerunners of the Executive Boards which governed the Chui-ch after the Counts' death. Had these committees not existed during the latter part of his life, and necessarily deprived him of some of his authority, the idea of a successor, monarchical in power as he had been, would have found many advocates. Zinzendorf himself recognized and approved of. the change, and, on his death- bed, plainly intimated that the Church could carry on its work with- out him, and that Executive Boards would take his place. He died. May 9, 1760. Four years later, in the summer 1764, the Seventeenth General Synod met at Marienborn to determine the future constitution of the Unitas Fratrum, and, especially, to consider its fiuauces. It appeared that there still remained a debt of S773,162. But it appeared also that, since the financial conference of 1753, hence in ten years, no less than §555,088 of liabilities had been paid off. This a-stonishing result was due, in particular, to the ability of John Frederic Kober, who now stood at the head of the financial dei)art- ment. He was a lawyer by profession, a financier by nature, and a de- voted servant of God by grace.' But there still remained a heavy burden of debt. How was it to paid, and how were the curreut ex- penses to be covered, now that Zinzendorf and his wife, who had de- ceased iu 1756, were both gone? Their estates had furnished the chief source of revenue. ' John Frederic Kober was born December 10, 1717, at Alteubiirg, the capital of Saxe Altenburg, and died at Herrnhut, August 8, 1786. He \v:is a graduate of the University of Leipzig and entered the service of Baron von Gersdorf. In 1747 he joined the Church, and became one of its leading men, not only in the management of its finances, but also in securing concessions from various Govern- ments. In 17G9, he was elected to tlie Unity's Elders' Conference, and, in 1775, ordained a Senior Civilis. He was chielly instrumental in giving to the Unitas Fratrum its present constitution. 10 Ziuzonclorf left four heirs : three daughters, Benigiia,' Agnes,'-' and Elizabetli,' and Count Henry XXVIII Reuss, a nephew of his wife.* In law, the estates of Berthelsdorf and Hennersdorf undoubtedly be- longetl to them ; at the same time, these domains had, as undoubtedly, been pledged, by their father and uncle, for the |)ayment of the liabili- ties of the Uuitas Fratrum. Its tiiiniiciid lutuic, therefore, rested in their hands. If they chose, they could cause tlie Cluirch untold trouble and practically ruin it, by taking the estates, and disavowing the mort- gages which rested upnii them, as debts for which they were not resi)onsible, but wliieh had l)eeii coiitracttd tnr the Unity; if they chose, they could act in the spirit, and accortUng to the mind, of Zinzendorf, and continue the sacrifices which he had begun. Taught as they had always been to consider the cause of the Lord and of the Brethren of paramount importance, it was not hard to foretell what the issue would be. The heirs came forward, and, of their own free will, declared, that they de- sired no change, that they acknowledged the liabilities of the estates, and that their revenues should be used, as theretofore, for the good of the Cluirch. Its leading men, however, also deserve their share of praise. They might, (HI their jnirt, have said: The (Miormnus liabilities, resting ujion the Zinzendorf property, do not, m ordiiiu- in ihe h tter of the law, concern us. They were assumed by the Count peisonally. It is true, it was done for the Church, but the Church, as such, did not contract the debts, and has not, by the minutest scrap of paper, made itself rc- sjjonsible for them. Such thoughts, however, were not entertained, for a single moment, by any one. On the contrary, the new heads of the ' Zhizendorf had twelve cliildren all of whom died in infancy except the above mentioned three daughters and one son. Count Christian, who died unmarried in 1752. The Countess Beuigua, horn December 28, ITli^, al P,crtiiols,loi-i; died May 11, 1789, al Ilerrnhut, was married, in 174(5, to Baron .Idiii dr \V:iUrvillo, tiy wliom she had several children, two of wIkuii married and had i^^uc, nuinely, the oldest daughter, Anna Dorothy i;iizal)etli, who hecaiiie ihc wife of .lohn ( 'hrisiian .-Vlexander dc Sehweinitz, and anotiier daughter, Maiia .lustina, who lu'caiue the wife of Count Henry LV Keiiss Kostrit/,. John ile Watteville, Zinzeuilorf 's son-in-law, born October 18, 1718, at Walschlehou, iu Thuriugia, rii:iriir.| (' I lit.hiia, liy whom she had one son, who married (hr <;,„nilrss Siollin-, Km (hcd uithoiil issue. ^' The Couulcss Kli/,al«'lh, inani.d I'.an.n fnderic Rudolph de Watteville, a member of tlie Unity's I '.ldcrs' < on fi i i-ncr, hut died, in 1807, without issue. * Count Henry XX\'l 1 1 IN us-, son ol the reigning Count Henry XXIX, was born in 172G and died in 17'.t7. He w.is au assistant of Zinzendorf, a. Senior Civilis, and a member of the Unity's Elders' Conference. 11 lijiitas Fratniiu wore anxious to settle this iiitrii'ate (|iiestion in an honorable way, in a fraternal spirit, and aeeording to the will of the Lord. Consequently they made an ofler which was to stantl by the side of that of Zinzendorf 's heirs. It was this : The interests of the Church and of the Zinzendorf family shall be sej)arated; to the latter shall be paid out a ca])ital mutually agreed upon, and the family shall not be held responsible for the debts ; the Church assumes these, but, at the same time, receives from the heirs, as absolutely its own property, the entire family estates, with all their revenues. In accordance with the views which our fathers, at that time, enter- tained of the use of the lot, this proposition and the ofter of the hcii"s were submitted to its decision. The lot decided in favor of the former. Accordingly a capital of 890,000 was paid out, one half of it, or 845,000, to Count Reuss, and the other half, to Zinzendorf's three daugliters, who, therefore, received only 81o,000 each. The heirs declared them- selves fully satisfied, although the daughters made a great sacri- fice. For if the plan which they proposed had been adoj)ted, they would, after the debt of the Church would have been extinguished, eventually have had two of the finest estates in Saxony, free of all in- cumbrances, for themselves and their heirs. I say this, because I have often been astonished that neither Plitt, nor any other of our German historians, acknowledges, in any way, the patriotism which Zinzendorf's daughtei-s, on this occasion, manifested; and, especially, because a financial statement laid before our Provincial Synod of 1841) contains the amazing assertion, that Zinzendorf's "family transferred all his family estates, subject to all Jus debts, to the Unity." Of personal debts, contracted for his own convenience, Zinzendorf left not a dollar. And now the Synod began, with renewed zeal, to devise means for paying off the liabilities of the Church. The income of the estates, the px'ofits of the trades and mercantile establishments in the various settle- ments, and contributions, which seem, however, to have rather been taxes laid on the individual congregations, were to be used for this purpose. But this last source of income failed in a year or two, and it soon became evident that the enactments of the Synod were insufficient, especially as regarded the governing Boards. There were no less than three of them : namely, the Direc- tory, the Board of Syndics, and the Unity's Warden's Board. The Unity's Wardens' Board took special charge of the debt and of the whole credit system of the Unitas Fratrum. The current expenses were to be made up, as far as possible, by voluntary contributions. But this plan did not work woll, nor was the relation between the three Boards properly defined, so that frequent collisions occm-red, and the 12 ciuise suffered in coiisetiueiice. Hence the Eighteenth Synod, in 1769, united all the Boards into one body, which was styled the Unity's Elders' Conference. The Unity's Wardens' Board constituted its financial department. This union was an excellent measure and proved a r<)in]iletc success. Otherwise, however, the enactments of this Synod as tducliiiig tlie liabilities were still more unfortunate than those of the Synod of 1 764. For it laid down the principle that the members of the Church must personally and singly stand for the debt. This caused great opposition. The Synod, it was said, claimed an unwari-antable right over the private property of the individual. Accordingly the Elders' Conference of Zeist, in Holland, proposed that tlie liabilities should be divided among the several settlements and cluuclies as such, each one promising to assume a certain part. This proposal met with favor in the Unity's Elders' Conference, but otherwise proved very unpopular, especially at Herrnhut, where some of the wealthiest families became so indignant that they severed their con- nection with the Church. A third and most perilous crisis seemed to be aj)i)roaching. Before it actually broke out, however, the semi-cen- tennial anniversary of the founding of the Renewed Unitas Fratrum was celebrated, on the 17th of June, 1722. This occasion God over- ruled for good. A new spirit of love and patriotism was awakened. At Herrnhut, twenty-six single sisters sent a letter to the Church Council jiroiiosiiig a Sinking Fund, to be created through free-will offerings, and pledging their silver plate as a beginning. This proposal met with an cutliusiastic response, not only at Herrnhut, but in all the other churches also, iiu luding those of America. A Sinking Fund was at once I'stablished, undei- tlie superintendence of Kobei", assisted by (^uandt.' These two men were the leading financiers, and the autobi- ogi-ajjhy of the latter is full of instances of the wonderful way in which tlic Lord assisted him, often at times when everything seemed dark, and he had obligations to meet without a dollar in hand. I cannot forbear adducing two instances. On one occasion he found, while at Leipzig, that a note of 1500 Thakr would be due the next day. He had nothing with which to pay it, and retii-ed to rest heavy of heart. On awakening the next morning the following stanza of a hymn suggested itself: Tliii auf den Mund zum Lobe dein, Bereit das Herz zur Andacht fein. Den Glauben mehr, stark den Vertand, Dass uns Dein Nam' werd wolil bekant.'' ' J. CC^uandt was elected to the Unity's Elders' Conference in ]7()9, and died in 1822. Open our months to pi aise Thee ; i)repare our hearts to worship Thee ; let our faith be inereascil, our understanding strengthened, that we may know Thy name. 13 He f'plt vexed with himself that liis heart shoukl .sing anything ex- cept a Miserere. On going out for an early walk, in great anxiety, re- volving in his mind what he should do, he happened to pa-ss the post- office. He went in and inquired whether there were any lettei-s for him. A letter was handed him. He oj)cned it, and it contained a draft exactly covering the amount he was in need of. Again, toward the end of 177'2, he was sitting, one evening in his room at Barby, where the Unity's Elders' Conference had its seat. His heart was ntterly oppressed. At Ea.ster, of the coming year, a capital of more than 100,000 Thaler was to be paid. He studied the case, cast up his accounts, planned and devised many things, until late at night, and yfet saw no light ahead. How was it possible to meet so large an obligation ? In deep distress, he sat and brooded over this question. Suddeidy the watchman in the street below began to sing as he i)assed the house : Was kriinkst Du didi in deinem Sinn Und griimst Dich Tag und Naclit ; Ximni Deine Notli mid wirf sie hin Auf Den, der Dich gemacht." " Heartily ashamed of my unbelief," he says, " I instantly put away my accounts, and retired to bed full of hope. And lo ! very soon, 1 found that the Lord had taken my great trouble upon himself. For I received intelligence that a suit, that had been pending for ten years, had just been decided in favor of the Church, which was to receive 145,000 florins for the improvemeuts which it had made on tlie domain of Marienborn." At the Nineteenth General Synod, held at Barby, in 1775, Quandt and Kober reported that, since the Synod of 1 769, therefore in six years, §220,000 of the capital debt had been extinguished. On the occasion of the Twentieth Synod, in 1782, a still further reduction was reported ; and at the Twenty First, held in 1789, of the enormous amount of 81,328,250, standing against the Unitas Fratrum in 1753, to which must be added the 890,000 paid out to Zinzeudorf's heirs, making the total §1,418,250, there remained only §444,977 unpaid. Consequently in thirty-six years, §974,253, or nearly one million, had been paid off. This result could not have been reached, if some of the wealthy heads of the Church had not maifcsted great liberality. The same Count Reuss, lor example, who had received one half of the capital paid out to the Ziuzendorf family, on one occasion, assumed §6,750, of the debt, and, on another, gave §11,250 to one of the causes of the Unity. Gersdorf and othei-s acted in the same spirit. ' Why art thou sick in spirit? Wliy dost thou grieve day and night? T;ike thy troubles and cast them upon Him wlio created thee. 14 The next Synod, the Twenty Second, held in 1801, proved to be a time of inibounded rejoicing, and raised a Te Deum Laudamus, which was re-echoed by the whole Church. Only $54,000 of the debt re- mained unpaid, and this balance was assumed by the house of Abra- ham Diirningcr & Co., at Hernnhut. The Unitas Fratrum was fi-ee at last. In fifty-four years it had extinguished liabilities amounting to nearly one and a half million of dollars. But new financial troubles soon began, caused by the wars of Napo- leon and losses sustained by single Diaconies. This was the title given to that system of finances which 'the individual settlements carried on. A new debt was created, which, however, was entirely paid off by the middle of tlic present century, prior to the General Synod of 1857. The details of tliis second debt are of minor importance, and would lead me too far. I proceed, therefore, to the finances of oui- own Province. THE FINANCES OF THE AMERICAN PROVINCE. Leaving out of account the temporary settlement of the Brethren in Georgia, and tlie ])urclinse of land in that Colony, I begin with the first invi'stiiu>iit made in Pennsylvania, on the 2d of April, 1741, when Henry Antes, aclini: tor Bishoj) David Nitscliman,' bought of William Allen, ol' riiiladclpliia, five liundred acres of land on the Lehigh, now the site of ISrilildicin. Tliis jnirchase was soon followed by others. Li the same year, llic entire tract "f tive thousand acres at Nazareth, which had beltui-cil to (uoriie Whitefield, was sold to the Brethren. In 1743, tliey houi^lit twd liundred and seventy-five acres, on the south side of tlie Jjoliigli, opposite lieihleheu), of John Simpson, of London, through his attorney, William Allen, of Philadelphia; and, in 1749, two hundred and liltv-tliree acres, also on the south side of the Lehigh, of tlie Widow Ysselstein. In 1755, George Klein, of Lancaster County, Penns\ Ivania, sold liis farm of five hundred and eleven acres, at a low rate, to the Cluucli, for the purpose of a Moravian settlement, which, in memory of that l>arony in Pxihemia on which the Unitas Fratrum was founded in 1457, received the name of Lititz. Hence a body of land of upward of six thousand five hundred ' David Nitsohniaii was born December 27, 169G, at Zauchtentlial, in Moravia. In 1724 he fled to Herrnliiit, and became the tirst Bisliop of tlie Renewed Cluirch, receiving consecration, in 1735, from Bishop Jablonsky. He was the founder of Bethlehem, in 1740 and 1741, where he died, October 8, 1772. In the course of his long and faithful service in the Church, he undertook more than fifty sea voyages. 15 acres, to wliioh, however, more wa.s added from time to time, constituted the basis of our provincial finances ; and, as a matter of course, the settlements at Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz, their three chief centres. I leave out of the (juestion the settlement at Hope, in New Jersey, begun in 1774, because it was again relinijuished in 1808; and the large domain in North Carolina, bought of the Earl of Granville, be- cause it belongs to the financial history of the Southern Province. The money necessary for the i)iirchase of this land was, for the most part, furnished by the Unity at large, and therefore, in jjoint of fact, by Count Zinzendorf. In some instances, however, other brethren appear to have used their private funds for this purpose. Not all the land was paid for in cash. In many cases, merely bonds and securities were given. Thus the American Province came into financial connec- tion with the Church in Europe, and helped to create the debt of the Unity. Now there are two points, of a peculiar character and of special interest, belonging to our provincial finances. From 1742 to 1762, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and the smaller settle- ments which arose in its vicinity, such as Gnadeuthal, Christianspring, and Friedensthal, were united in a so-called " Economy." Of this Economy, Bethlehem was the centre. Lititz, as far as I know, never be- longed to it ; nor was such an arrangement introduced anywhere else by the Brethren, except, for a short time, at Bethabara in North Carolina. It was semi-communistic in its character. The inhabitants of the Bethlehem and Nazareth tracts formed an exclusive association, in which jirevailed a communism, not of goods, but of labor. Those who had private property retained the control of it. But no one worked for himself, or carried on business of his own. All gave their time and the labor of their hands to the Church, whether as iarmers. or mechanics, or storekeepers, or in any other capacity. In return they received the necessaries of life from the Church. This association prospered greatly, by the blessing of the Lord. Not only did it yield the inhabitants themselves a comfortable support, but it also maintained an exteu.sive itinerancy among the settlers in vari- ous of the Colonies, supported the entire Mission among the Indians, and helped to found and and keep up, in the first years of their exist- ence, a number of other Moravian churches which were organized in America, and which were known as " the city and country congrega- tions." Such churches arose in Philadelphia and New York, at Heidel- berg, Hebron, Bethel, and York, Lancaster, Mt. Joy, Emmaus, and Oley. In some cases, however, for example, at Emmaus, Hebron, Heidelberg, individual mendiers gave land for the church-edifices and parsonages, and for the support of the minister; and, in all cases, these congregations did what they could to maintain themselves. They never became, however, origanically factors in the finances of the Province. Whetlier, through the profits of the Economy, any part of the original purcliiise-nioney for tlie land was paid off, I cannot tell, but deem it very probaltle. It must, tlierofbre, never be forgotten that, when the Economy was abrogated, the American property of the lenity bad been immensely improved by the hard and gratuitous labor of the inhabitants of the Bethlehem and Nazareth Tracts, who had made a wilderness to blossom as the rose and introduced all manner of industries, some of which yielded cunsiderable profits. Tile (ither |)e('uliar feature of our finances was the appointing of noiniual Proprietors, who held the real estate of the Church, in fee simple, and the investments in their own name. This arrangement was introduced in order to avoid incorporations. In some instances the Prdprieidis, were, at the same time, the Administratoi's, that is, the men wlio adnuiiistered both the estates and the investments; in others, this was the case. Whenever the Proprietor and the Administrator were two diHcrcnt brethren, the former gave the latter a general power of attorney, which enabled him to act in all cases according to his own judgment. As soon as a Proprietor came into possession of the estates, he executed his last will and testament, leaving them to his successor, who was appointed by the Unity's Elders' Conference. At the same time, he gave to this body a solemn pledge in writing that he would, to the best of his ability, administer the property for the good of the Church, and not in any way use it for personal ends. I consider this feature in our finances one of the most remarkable known in all financial history, and a wonderful instance of brotherly faith and confidence. Kever was there the most distant attempt made to abuse this trust, which, at one time, involved hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Proprietor held not only the pnipcrty of the Unity as such, but also that of the Moravian settlements in America, as also the titles of most of the church-edifices and parsonages of the city and country congregations. In some cases, however, these stood in the name o'f Trustees,' or in the name of the " Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen," organized in 1787, and incorporated in the following year^the first body corporate which our Church in this country ever had. Now it appears that the original purchases of the land were made by various agents who, from time to time, transferred it to what are called in law " -Joint Tenants." These Joint Tenants were Bishop 17 Spaugenberg," Henry Antes,'' and David Nitsolunann." On the 21st of November, 1751, Spangenl)erg and Antes issned a release by which they nominally sold the two-third part of the property to the remain- ing tenant, David Nitschmann, who thus became the sole proprietor, in fee simple, of all the estates of the Church. Thereupon, on the 26th of May, 1757, the said David Nitschmann executed his last will and testament, in which he appointed Bishops Spaugenberg and Boehler his executors, with directions to sell his real estate, as they might see fit, for the payment of the debts of the American Province of the Church, contracted in his name. Nitschmann died in the following year, and his executors sold the estates to Bishop Nathaniel Seidel,* who had been designated as the next j^roprietor, and who, in lieu of purchase money, assumed all the said debts. On the 20th of June, 1770, Seidel exe- cuted his last will and testament, in which he left the entire estates to ' Augustus Gottlieb Spaugenberg, A. M., was born July 15, 1704, at Klettcnbcrg, in Germany. He studied at tlie University of Jena, and became a Professor at that of Halle. In 17.S7, he joined the Brethren. After having visited Georgia and Pennsylvania in 173o to 1739, lie was consecrated a Bishop in 1744, and re- turned to America, where he ])resided over the Church until 174S, and again from 1751 to 1762. From 1702 to 1769, he was a member of the Executive Board in Germany, and, from 1769 to 1792, President of tlie Unity's Eldei-s' Conference. He died September 18, 1792. He was one of tiie most distinguished heads of the Unitas Fratrum. - Henry Antes was a wheelwright, farmer, and magistrate, of Falkner's Swamji, now Frederic Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He leased his farm to the Brethren for the purposes of a school, while he spent five years at Betlile- hem, superintending the erection of mills and houses. In 1748, he was constituted a Consenior Civilis. He died July 20, 1755, and was buried on his form. ^ David Nit-schmann was the uncle of Bishop Nitschmann, and was born on the 29tli of September, 1676, at Zauciitenthal, Moravia. He suffered a severe impris- onment on account of his faitii, but escaped to Herrnhut in 1725. After having labored in tlie W. I., he came to America with his uncle, in 1740, and cut down the first tree, with the assistance of Martin Mack, for the building of Betlilehem. He died April 14, 1758. He was the father of tiie well known Deaconess, Anna Nitschmann. * Nathaniel Seidel w;ts born, October 2, 1718, at Lauban, in Sa.xony, and was of Bohemian descent. In 1739, he Joined the Bretiiren, and served tiie Ciiurch in Germany in various capacities. He came to Americii in 1742, and spent the next sixteen years of his life mostly on missionary tours in Nortii and Soulli America, Germany, England and the West Indies. In 1758, he was consecrated a Bisliop, and, in 1701, succeded Spaugenberg as the head of the American Cliurch, whicii (wsitiou he occupied until his death, May 17, 1782. Frederic William dc Mar.sfhall.' Both in Nitsfhiiuinn'.s aud Seidel's last wills aud testainonts there had been a want ()fexj)licitue8s in setting forth the difierenoe between their private projjerty and what they held for theC!hureh. But their personal lieirs cheerfully gave the necessary releases aud other jiapers, so that, a few years after Seidel's death> Marschall was in full and legal possession of everything that belonged to the Church. He also had the satisfaction of rescuing the North Carolina estates, which were held by James Huttou, of London, and which were in great danger of being coniiscated in the Revolutionary War. Marschall was in England at (In time, and hastened home, where he gave to the Legislature of Js'ortli Carolina a full and true account of the character of the Church's property in that C'olony, and was ackuowdedged by this body as the legal proprietor. Meanwhile, Bishop Bpangenberg, who had managed the Economy like a Spartan lawgiver, was recalled to Europe, iu 1762, in order to take his seat in the Interim Executive Board, as it was called, organ- ized immediately after Zinzendorf's death. Thereupon the P>onomy was given uj), l)y mutual c()iis(Mit, and the inhabitants of the Bethlehem and Na/.iireth Tracts l)uiii;lil ol' the Chuich either land, or the stock and fixtures of the trades which they had been carrying on, and began business on their own account and in their own names. Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Lititz, however, remained exclusive Moravian settle- ments, and a number of Bninchoi, as they wviv denominated, that is, business enterprises of various kinds, were still conducted for the Church. But none of these seltlenients had any property of their own. It belonged to the I'nitas I'ratrum as such, and was managed by what was known as the " General Diacony." This state of affiiirs continued from 1762 to 1771. According to tlie principles laid down by the General Synods of 1764 and 176!), a elKiiii;!' hecaine necessary. Hence, on the 16th of November, 1770, tin re aniveil at Bethlehem a deputation sent to America by the I'liitN 's ]%lders' C'onterenee, and instructed to arrange the financial aiiiiirs of the American Province on the new basis estab- • ' Frederic William de Marschall was born nt Sioliicn, a .Siixmi ^lu i ison-towii, of which his fattier was the commandant. He ic( ci\ cil :i snicl uililimy cliuntioii, but sulise()i l:nit olliccs in the(ierinan Province. In 17G1 he came to America as ( iciu rai Warden and Hishop Seidel's Assistant. In 1708, he was put at llic head nf Ihi- Sdnllicrn Province, with the title of Oecnnnmiii.1. In this posll ion In romaincd luilil his death, l<\'brnary, 1 1 , 1S02. In 1775, he was ordain.,! ,S', /,,../ CV/v7/,v. n,. was one of the nn>st dislin- gnisiied fathers of the American .Morav ian Chnreli. 19 li^■lle(l 1)V tlio Synod. 'Hiis (Icputation consisted of Christian (iregor,' John Luictz,' and John Chiistkin Alexander de Hchweinit/,." Gregor and Loretz were nienihcrs of the Unity'f' Ehlers' (inference; Schwei- nitz was to remain in America as tlie first Administrator of the Unity's Eiders' Conference. The work which this depntation had to do was an exceedingly com- plicated and difficult one, but, after protracted deliberations with the Provincial authorities, the authorities of the Bethlehem Congregation, and its members as represented in church-council, an agreement, satis- factory to all parties, was reached, by the beginning of summer, in the year 1771. Its principal [uiints were these: First, the Church at Bethlehem i^ to be made financially independent, and to he ])ut on the same footing as the Moravian settlements in Europe. Second, said Church accordingly buys of the General Diacony. hence of the Unity at large, three thousand nine hundred and sixty- four acres and eighty-nine perches of its laud, at £2 Penu. per acre, a> also all tho.se buildings, trades, and business concerns of the town which still belong to said General Diacony, the whole property, land, houses, and business concerns, being valued together at £20,000 Penu. Third, said Church pays for this property by assuming .i'20,00o Penu of the debt of the Uuitas Fratrum, equivalent to alioni 887,000. Fourth, said Church pledges itself to pay a certain amount annu- ally, out of its i)rofits, to Provincial expenses, to the American Susten- tation Diacony now first to he established, and to the Sustentation Diacony of the Unity in Euro])e, and begins a Diacony of its own. This agreement — I omit minor details — was signed on the 1st of June, 1771, on the part of the Unity by Nathaniel Seidel, Chri.stian ' Clii'istian Gregor was born at Diersdorf, in Silesia, .January 1, 1723. He was a distinguished musician and editor of the German Hymn Hook of 177S. From 1704 to ISOl, he .served in the Executive Boards and the I'nity's lOldeis' Confer- ence. In 1789 he was consecrated a Bishop. He paid otlicial visits to Holland, England, Russia and America, and died, November 6, 1801. John Loretz was a Swiss by birth, and entered the Unity's Elders' Conference in 1769. He died in 1798. He wrote the Hulio Disciplhm: John Christian Alexander dc Schweinitz was born on his father's estate of Nicder Leuba, in Upper Liisatia, on llic 17th of October, 1740. From ]7(')4 to 17(>9 he was Secretary of the Mission Board. After serving as Administrator for twenty-seven years, he was elected to the Unity's Elders' Conference, and died February 20, 1S02. In ISO], lie was ordained a Sriiwr Cixilh. His second wife, whom be married at Betlileliem, in 177!), was a grand-daughter of Zin/.eudorf. \ Gregor, John Lorez, and John Christian Alexander de Schweinitz ; on the part of" Bethlehem, by Jeremiah Dencke, the "Warden, John Ett- wein, the Stnior ]\riiiistcr, and John Arbo, Jacob Weissinger, and Geortic liulu r, uproseuting the financial concerns of the Brethren's^ Widow",'^, ami Si.-tci-"s Houses. The j)ricc wliicli Bethlehem i)aid for the land is said, by old docu- ments, to have been vi rv hi<;h, especially as one-third of it was Lehigh Mountain land, which w as, it is fuiilu^r said, not worth the taxes. But there was no dissatisiactiDii ex])iesse(l. All jiarties were actuated by true pati'iotisiii to the Cliureh. The Unity's El(h'rs' Conference, when tiiev heard of this settlement, wrote a letter to the Conference at Beth- lehem, saying, " that they had been moved to tears of joy." Subsequently a further promise was given, that the incrementum latens of the pro- perty, that is, jirofits growing out of its increased value, in case its value did increase, shonld be so api^lied that the kingdom of God and the Bretliren's Church would rca]) the benefit. Similar arrangements were made, in 1772 and 1775 at Nazareth, and, at a later lime, at Jvititz. From this lu ici incnunt of the agreement entered into betM-ecn the Unity and the tlirec IMoravian towns in America, it will apjiear, that the iolldwing paragrajih, tuiind in a Statement of Historical Facts pre- sented 111 our I'royin^eial SvikhI nf 1 sri,') (Journal p. 99): namely, " These congregations agreed in a In-olhei-Iy way n(tt to entertain any further ehiims on the property of llie Unity, but, on the other hand, the agrt'cmcnt was understootentalion l-'iind, was e.-tablislied, and, along with it, auotlier, Icnown as tlie Scliool Diacony, for the education of the cliil- dren of ministers. In niodciii times, during the incund)eiic\ of tlie late riiiii]) II. (loejip, tlie two were consolidated. These J)iaconies stood under the control of tlie I'loviucial Helpers' Conference. In the same year, 1771, that part of the Unity's property in America, which had ^lo^be^n sold^ to BethleheiUj Nazaretlvaj^ and which was very considerable, began to be managed, for the good of the Unitas Fratrum at large, as a jiai t of the assets held by the Unity's Warden's Board in Cieimany, liy Scliwcinilz, its lii'st American Administrator. He had an ollicial seat in tlu' J'lovincial Helpers' CVmference. But neither the Sustentation nor the School Diacony owned any funds. Their receipts were exceedingly linntcd. In the course of / 21 yciirs, they ircoivod, occasional ly, small i)C(|Ui'sts, and hc^aii an exten- sive system of credit. But down to nearly the middle of the present century, they had hardly one thousand dollars invested in stocks, and their entire assets were not much more tluxn S?25,000, a large part of which was unproductive. Their chief sourcjes of income were the stated amounts paid, every year, l>y the Bethlehem, Ka/.areth, and Litity. Diaconics,and, espc'ci;ill \ , 1 111 iiniilts of the Boariliiin Silmols. The city and country congi-egatidiis \\\ ro, indeed, pledii-ed In lak<' up annual, or senvi-anuual, collections in aid of the Sustcntatiou, and ol'thc School Diacony, in particular. This was stipulated as early as 1771. But such collections were exceedingly irregular, often very small, and oiteu failed altogether. And yet, in spite of its insufficient income, the obligations of the Sustentation Diacony gradually grew to be, and remain to the present day, the following : The general expenses of the Provincial Coulereucc, tom'thcr with the salaries of such of its members as hold no other otWvv ; aid to ministers serving congregations which do not give them an adecpiate sujiport ; the deficit, if any, on the publications of the C'luircli ; the education of the children of ministers; the expenses of the Tlnuli' lii :il iniii;iry, in so far as they are not made up by its own ivsnurci .- ; ami, e<|iei ially, the pensions paid to suj)erannuated ministers and \vi(h)ws of min- isters. What wonder that the Sustentation Diacony fell into debt, bor- rowing large amounts from the Administration at Bethlehem, aud, hence, from the Unity's Warden's Board in Germany ! What wonder that this Board was obliged, repeatedly, to relieve our American Sus- tentation Diacony, sometimes making annual appropriations tor its benefit, aud sometimes remitting to it t;i|iital debts! It did this on the broad principle underlying, as I have said in another councetiou, the finances of the entire Unitas Fratrum, namely, that all stand I'or one, and one for all. And it did tliis as late as the year 1847, when it canceled an obligation of nearly Sl-^,000, which it held against our Sustentation, on account of Nazareth Hall. After this most generous act, our Pro- vincial Synod j)ledged itself to ask for no more aid. Meanwhile the Diaconies, or the finances, of the three jMoravian settlements in America were developed, and like all other Diaconies, began an extensive system of credit. In course of time, they took large amounts of money from individual mend)ers of the Church, for which they gave bonds, and on which they paid four and a half per cent, interest. Hence they became, in point of fact, church-savings- banks. But they did not prosper. Their property, being mostly in 22 land, yielded tlu'iu l)ut a. small leveiiiu'; they met with heavy losses ; some uf them assumed the lU'tieieiieies of their Brethren's and Sisters' Houses ; Bethlehem was nearly ruined by the enormous cost of its large eluirch-edifice, the ereetiou of whieh, in 1803, constituted, at that early ilay, financially, one of tlie most insane projects ever undertaken by Moravians; in particular, lunvever, all these Diaconies were obliged, in ordei' to maintaiu the exclusive system, to buy up many properties wliii li llicy did not want, and for which they luul no use, so as to pre- vent strano(>rs from ^I'tling possession of them. Hence, on the strength of the liiiaiii-ial union prcvailiiii;' tlirougliout the Church, the Unity's Warden's Boartl came to tlu' assistance of these Diaconies also, not only in the form of heavy loans, but alsn tluoiigii direct apjjropriations and free gifts. In this way our provincial liuances grew continually more involved, and were more and more closely interwoven with those of the Unity at large. About tiic ycai- 1S37, Bethlehem owed the Adminis- tration, and therefore llic I'nity, s.S(M)UO, Nazareth ^iioO/XIO, and Lititz .S12,0()0, on which loans, at lirsl, live [)er cent., and then lour and a half, were paid. At the same time, the Sustentation, as I have said, was likewise, more or less, in debt to the Unity. It became evident that this state of atiairs ought not to continue, and that .some change of system was necessar}'. During all this period, the city and country congregations of the l*i-ovinci' still stood in no (ir^aiiic union with its linaiices, and, indeed, iiad little connection of any kind with them. Whenever a connection did exist, it was to llieir advanlai:c, in as nnich as they borrowed money I'rom the Sustentation i)v the Administration. And now, in order that the change of system which gradually took place, may be understood, I must again take uj) the history of the Unity's property, with its Administrators and Proprietors. From what I have said it nuist be clear, that, although its revenues, for the most part, were sent to Europe, to the Unity's Warden's Board, for the good oi' the whole Unitas Fratrum, the location of this property in America conlcrrcd vci-y great benefits upon our Province. The Ad- ministrator's oliice was a br;iucli oHice of that of flu' 1 1 nity's Warden's Board at Herrnhut, and, whenever an American Diacony, or church, was in difficulties, and needed help, it applied to him, and was generally relieved. John Christian Alexander de Sc^hweiuit/, Jiianaged the Unity's property for twcTify-scven years, from 1771 In 1 7!)'S, Marschall being the J'roprietoi-. in the year la.st namrd, S( hwcinitz was elected to the Unity's FJders' Confei'euce, and returned to (iermany. His sue- fcssor, in the office of Adiiiiiiistiator, was Juliii (u'hliard Cuiiow,' Afar- sc'hall reniiiiuiiiii' Frupriotor. ^^ow, in accoiilaiifc willi the directions of the Unity's KUlers' Conference, Marseliall, in his last will and testa- ment, had left all the estates and tlie entire other property of the Cluu ch, North and Sonth, to Seliweinit/,, as tlu> next PiT)[)rietor, who remained the legatee, even after his removal to Europe. But when the Twenty- Second General Synod, in 1801, re-elected him lo llie lenity's I'^Meis' Conference, and it became evident that he would remain in (!u i niany, lie grew exceedingly nneasy wilh ic^ai'd to this provisinn of iMarschall's will, and the innnnierable diflicultirs which would arise, in ( ase he, now an alien, althouuh fonncily a citizen of the I'niled Stales, should actnally become the heir. He was, moreover, im|)resse(l wilii the idea that ho might die before IMarschall, or soon ni'lvv him, which would complicate matters still more. Accordingly he urged the Unity's Elders' Conference to direct IMarschall i'orlliwilh to execute a new will and constitute some one else the legatee. The Conference yieUk'd to his solicitations, and appointed Christian I^ewis Ik'u/.ieu,' of Salem, as rroprictor in his stead. Hence, on the Kith of ])e( eml)er, 1801, IMar- schall executed a new will, and made Beuzien his heir. It would almost seem as if Schweinitz had been moved by the Lord himself to urge such prompt measures ; foi-, not eights weeks after the execution of this new will, Mar.sehall died, at Salem, and, tlfteen days lal(>r, Schweinitz died at Herrnhut. If the will had not hecu changed, the result would have been most disastrous. There would have been no Proprietor at all lor a period of liiteeu years, in as nuu'h as a settlement would have been out of the (juestion until Schweinitz's youngest child would have become of age, which would not have been the ease until 1810. John Gebhard Cunow was now the Admiuistiator, and ]5eii/,ieii the Proiu-ietor of all the estates, Nin th and South. In 1811, Beuzien died, and left tlie property in the North to Jacob Van Vleck,' and that in ' John Gebhard Cimow was born in Cennany on the (Uli of .January, 17(10. After having scrveil as Secretary to tlie I'nity's fllders' Coni'erenre, ami as a Pro- fessor in the Theological Seminary, lie came to America as Sell weinilz's sueeessor. In 1822 he retired, returned to (ieimany, and was sulisrmiently employed as a Diaspora Missionary at Kiinigsberg, where he died in l>S'i'.). - Christian J.ewis Ben/.ion was born in London, .July I'Jtli, 17.W. In 178(), he became Marseiiall's assistant at Salem, and, in 1802, liis successor as Administrator and Proprietor. He died Kovembcr l.'ith, 1811. ■' Jacob Van Vleck, born in Now York City, March 24th, 1751, diid al I'.eilile- heni, .July 3d, 1831, was a son of Ilem-y Van Vleck, a prosperous hick iiaiit ni' New York, al whose liouse tlie Ilretliren liehl religious services, prior to the build- ing of the Moravian Church. He was educated in the (ierman Province. In 17'J0 24 the South to Cuiiow. Ciinow rcnuiined Administrator for twenty-four years, from 1798 to 1822. During his incumbency, an unfortunate controversy broke out between the Administi-ation and the Betlilehem Church, the only thing of the kind that ever occurred in our financial history. In order to pay off a part of its heavy debt, that Church wanted to sell a tract of land. The Unity's Elders' Conference itself had sugiicstod this measure. Cunow was oj)p()se(l to such a sale, and, as attorney nl' Jacob Van Vlcck, tlio Pro]»rictor, iw'rcmptorily refused to give the necessary titles, inducing;-, at the same time, the Unity's Elders' Ciuifcrence to witlulraw ils sLi-^vstioii. No doubt he had, what he believed to ho, the good of the Cinircli in view. But his acts were arbitrary, and very bitter feelings were engendered, which the Finan- cial Committee of the General Synod of 1818 helped to intensify, by interpreting the agreement of 1771 in such a way as to make it appear that the Moravian settlements in America could not dispose of the land bouglit of tlie Unity, but ineirly lield it on a perpetual lease. These agitations continued until flie spring of l s_>2, and resulted in the retire- ment of Cunow from the oliiee of Administrator. He was succeeded by Lewis David de Schweinil/,,' lo whom Cunow made over the South- ern estates. Those iu the iSorth were still held by Jacob Van Vleck. Schweinitz was fortunate enough to bring the existing controversy to an end. On the 2d of March, 1824, a new agreement between the Unity and Bethlehem was signed, according to which Bethlehem, and he took cliaii^e of tlie Boarding School at Bethlehem, and subsequently became Senior JNlinister at that place; in 1802, lie was appointed Principal of Nazareth Hall, and -.iil.-, , ncnl I v Smier Minisl.T at Xa/.aretli ; ami, from 1812 to 1822, he was I'lrsidenl (if ihc Siiiiilii'i ii rinx inciai r.iiaril. In Isll, he was consecrated a IJisliop of tlio I'nitas Fratnnn. The last nine years of his life he spent in retire- ment at Bethlehem. ' Lewis David dc Seliwcinilz Ph. I)., horn at lid h h hem, Feliniary intli, ITSO, died at the same plaee, Kehriiary Sth, \X'A, t\,<- ,,r.),ilin Clirisiiiiii \l. x:in- der de Schweinit/., ihe lirst Adniinislralor, tlir :indsMii (,| ,l,,|iii iiml Dmi^na dc Watteville, and llir -r. ai .j,an,ls,,n of Zin/endu, f^ He was r.ln. aled In the Faeda- g'oiiiiim and I'lu of iLjir:d Si minai'V of the (ieL iiian Province. In 1S1'_', he was ap- pointeil Beii/.ien's siieeessoi' as iVdniiiiistraior in tlii- South ; in 1S21, Senior Minis- ter and Principal of the Boardint^hejiuid, whieh they oould sell, as they i)leased, provided it was done according to the synodically established rules of the Unity's Warden's Board ; and, further, the Proprietor was pledged to give the necessary titles in case of such sales ; while liethleheni engaged, on its l)art, to make over to the Sustentation, in addition to what it had pre- viously paid, two thirds of its clear profits, after all expenses had been covered, and airothcr promises redeemed. At the same time, Jacob Van Vleck, the Proprietor, issued and signed a declaration, to the end, that he held the property of the jNIoravian settlementji merely in trust, and for their use. Five years later, on the 4th of December, 1829, he transferred, by a general deed, the entire estates in the North to Lewis David de 8chweinitz, who thus became sole Proprietor of the whole cluirch-i)roperty in America. In his will he constituted, by direction of the Unity's Elders' Conference, William Henry Van \'leck' the sole heir of this property. In 1834, Schweinitz died, foreseeing and fore- telling radical changes in the finances of the Province. He was suc- ceeded, in the office of Administrator, by Philip Henry Goej[ypj' William Henry Van Vleck being the Proprietor of all the estates, both North and South. On the 9th of October, 1843, however, the said Van Vleck transferred, by deed, the entire property North to the said Goepp, and, on the 7th of August, 1844, the entire property South to Charles F. Kluge, who had succeeded, in that same year, Theodore ' William Henry Van Vleck, born at Bethlehem, November 14tli, 1790, died at the same place, January 19th, 1853, was a son of Bishop Jacob Xan Vleck, a former Proprietor, and a grandson of Henry Van Vleck, one of the lbundei>; of the (,'liurcli in New York City. He was educated in the American Tiieological Seminary, and was one of its first throe students. After having served as Minister in Philadelphia, as Principal of Nazaretli Hall, and as Minister in New York City, he was, in 1836, consecrated a Bishop, and appointed President of the Southern Provincial Board, which oflice he filled until 1849, when he resigned and settled at Bethlehem, where he became Pastor of the Church. He wnr fathers nianifesteil in all their financial difficulties! PAMPHLET BINDER DATE DUE I