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CHURCH LIFE 
 
 -IN 
 
 COLONIAL M^RYUND 
 
 •B Y 
 
 REV. THEODORE O' GAMBRALL, A. M. 
 
 GEORGE LYCETT, 
 
 No. 44 LEXINGTON SfBEET, 
 
 1885 
 
3451JL 
 
TO MY FRIENDS, 
 
 THE PARISHIONERS OF ST. JAMES' PARISH, ANNE ARUN- 
 DEL COUNTY, MARYLAND. 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, IN RECOG- 
 NITION OF THEIR MANY MARKS OF KINDNESS 
 SHOWN THROUGH MANY YEARS. 
 
 T. C. G. 
 
 MAY 1st, 1885. 
 
 /I 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The author, in offering this volume to the con- 
 sideration of the public, does not desire that it 
 lall be looked upon as a history of the Church 
 • Maryland through the period which it covers, 
 ut rather as one among many aids to the writing 
 }t that history which is yet to be. He is aware 
 of the existence of a considerable body of mate- 
 rials which he has not been able to utilize, and 
 he has been made very conscious through all his 
 labor in this connection, that both the engrossing 
 nature of his i^arochial duties and the remoteness 
 of his residence from all literary centers, would 
 render him unfit for the ambitious plan of the 
 history of the church in this province. The title 
 of the work expresses its object, Clmrcli Life in 
 Colonial Maryland ; for the writer's purpose has 
 been, by the blending of parochial records with 
 documentary and other evidence of a more gen- 
 eral character, along with a continuous glance at 
 the world outside the colony, to give as near 
 as may be, both a peculiar and also a rela- 
 tive insight into the condition of the Church of 
 our fathers. How far he has succeeded in this 
 purpose he must leave it to others to determine. 
 
(j CHURCH LIFE 
 
 The author feels, however, that he has some 
 special qualifications for this work. A Maryland 
 Churchman by birth, he is proud of her tradi- 
 tions, and proud of her eminent position. He 
 also feels the heartiest sympathy with that tone 
 of Churchmanship which permeates all parts of 
 the commonwealth, which had its origin in those 
 days when the Church was the Cliurch in the- 
 minds and mouths of all, when dissent was a 
 small faction w^orshipping in its chapels, and 
 when the parson was the generally accepted 
 presentation of Christ's duly ordained minister. 
 That is Maryland Churchmanship ; and it has 
 been fostered and preserved through all the older 
 rural districts of Maryland, where the old temples 
 still stand, and where the children of a long line 
 of fathers still occupy the soil. 
 
 Another qualification also, he feels that he has 
 in being the rector of one of the first parishes 
 in MaryLand ; first, principally because it was 
 created along with those that were laid out under 
 the earliest act of establishment ; first, because 
 from that earlier day it has been blessed, almost 
 without exception, with a long line of ministers 
 who have furthered the kingdom and done uv 
 dishonor to their holy calling, the parish thus 
 enjoying an even life of high tenor ; first, because 
 those who worship within its sanctuary, love the 
 Holy Name, and are thankful for their Churchly 
 inheritance ; and among the first, because though 
 resources have been severely crippled, and num- 
 bers sadly reduced by untoward circumstances, 
 their is a willingness to help build up Zion, to 
 rex>air the waste places, to make the desert rejoice 
 and blossom as the rose. 
 
IN CO L ON I A L MA R YLA NJ). 7 
 
 Presenting, therefore bi^ claims for attention, 
 he prays for consideration, and trusts that the 
 effect of his labor may be to correct misappre- 
 hension, and to reveal to many the true historical 
 position of their church in this diocese, fostering 
 thereby their zeal in its behalf. 
 
CHURCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CHURCH BEFORE 1692. 
 INTRODUCTOKY. 
 
 The history of a parish in Maryland cannot 
 properly go back beyond the year 1692 when the 
 first act of the Colonial assembly was passed for 
 the establishment of the church of England 
 in the now royal province. Still it wonld 
 be erroneous to suppose that there had been 
 no existence of the church in the colony 
 before. Rather the evidences are various that 
 from the foundation of the colony there had been 
 many members of that church among the settlers, 
 some of them very influential , while also in the 
 Virginia settlement on Kent Island, which had 
 been established in 1629, years before Lord Balti- 
 more's emigrants had arrived in the colony, the 
 church of England services were conducted by a 
 duly ordained minister. Lord Baltimore's en- 
 deavors had been strenuous to secure a large 
 body of colonists, as the "Account" published 
 with the Father White papers shows, and his in- 
 vitation was in no way limited to the members of 
 his own church, as in the nature of things it 
 could not have been. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 9 
 
 The existence of this Protestant element also 
 soon began to show itself, for though we do not 
 have any early notice of a duly established con- 
 gregation ministered to by a clergyman, we find 
 Protestants assembling together for mutual edifi- 
 cation, as in the case of the servants of Corn- 
 wallis in 16:^s ; while also in 1642 we find the small 
 colony disturbed by an attempt to deprive certain 
 '•Protestant Catholics'' of the use of their chapel 
 and to despoil them of the books of the same, a 
 term of designation which Bozman, the chief 
 historian of that period, thinks can only mean 
 members of the Clmrcli of England. Indeed the 
 most recent light thrown upon the history of that 
 time, that from the Jesuit Fathers, whose records 
 in the matter are now^ in hand, shows that beyond 
 all question from the beginning the Protestants 
 were in the majorit}^; the provincial, Henry Moore, 
 writing to Rome in 1642, saying "The affair w^as 
 surrounded with many and great difficulties, for 
 in leading the colony to Maryland, by far the 
 greater part was heretics." Also we are told by 
 the same authority that the assembly which met 
 in 1638, in which all the freemen couJd be present 
 eitlier personally or by proxies, "was composed 
 with few exceptions of heretics ;" of wliom pro- 
 bably the larger part were of the Church of 
 England,seeing that persons of Puritan views w^ho 
 would seek an asylum, would rather prefer the 
 northern colonies where everything was con- 
 ducted so much more to their li^^ing. Consistent 
 only with this fact of the majority of the colonists 
 being Protestants, is the progress of things from 
 the year 1648. For though up to this time Lord 
 Baltimore had consulted his private preferences 
 
10 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 in choosing members of his church for the offices 
 of the colony, yet now we find him aj)pointing a 
 Protestant governor and a Protestant council, 
 with also a Protestant secretary of State ; while 
 also we find the embodiment of the new feature 
 of general toleration in the oath of office, both of 
 the governor and council, with particular definite- 
 ness in the former in favor of Roman Catholics; 
 and the enactment by the assembly, on presenta- 
 tion by the Proprietary, of what is entitled an 
 Act concerning Religion (1649) in which toleration 
 is provided for all believers. 
 
 These things coniirm the previous evidence, if 
 any confirmation were necessary. Maryland 
 continued to be a refuge for Roman Catholics. 
 Roman priests, especially the Jesuit Fathers, 
 continued to be very active, many being sent 
 over to the colony from time to time, though 
 sometimes giving great trouble to the authorities, 
 from the extravagance of their pretensions. All 
 the way along through the whole colonial history 
 members of this church ever wore a threatening 
 aspect to the minds of all Protestants, and jealousy 
 of them gave a war cry that could excite the 
 fiercest passions. Their numbers were always- 
 such as to make them a force and sometimes a 
 terror ; and in the many risings of the people 
 during the first lifty-five years of the colony, 
 dread of them was a largely prevailing cause of 
 fear. 
 
 In 1656 one of Lord Baltimore's friends, Ham- 
 mond, writing in his behalf, states that at that 
 time the population of the colony was composed 
 of Conformists, non- Conformists, and a few Pa- 
 pists, the first in which catalogue being members 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 11 
 
 of the Church of England. The First minister 
 of this church as far is known (not including the 
 one previously settled on Kent Island) came into 
 the colony about 1650, with his wife and 
 daughters, and engaged in ministerial labors. 
 The evidences, however, are that he was compell- 
 ed to seek subsistence in part from sources other 
 than the offerings of the people, a fact that has 
 always held, not only in new countries, but in 
 those where the population is sparse. The sup- 
 port and prosperity of the church in rural districts, 
 have always been dependent upon some form of 
 endowment or external aid. Lord Baltimore, in 
 defending himself from charges made in 1676, 
 asserted that the clergy then in the province 
 had each of them a plantation, which probably 
 they had entered and possessed on the same terms 
 as the other private individuals. For as yet 
 there were no parishes in existence, and besides, 
 there was extreme jealousy felt against church 
 or other corporations acquiring property, and it 
 was forbidden without special license ob- 
 tained from the Lord Proprietary. The 
 statute of Mortmain was made to bear on the 
 matter, the anxiety of Lord Baltimore and 
 the colonial authorities being chiefly excited by 
 the conduct of the Jesuits who took up immense 
 tracts of land for their society, though it was 
 held for them and was taken up in the name of 
 private individuals. They still hold a large por- 
 tion of this their former possession. Altogether 
 at this time their relations in the colony were ex- 
 ceedingly strained, their assumptions of i^re- 
 rogative being very extravagant, even to the 
 point of independence of lay jurisdiction. Their 
 
12 CHVECH LIFE 
 
 own authorities in England disapproved of their 
 presumption, and Lord Baltimore, by consistency 
 and resolution, sustained as he was by members 
 of his own church, finally succeeded in maintain- 
 ing his rights against their unwarrantable en- 
 croachments. 
 
 The facilities, however, for acquiring an estate 
 in the province were so great that no one needed 
 to suffer. For according to the conditions of plan- 
 tation published by Lord Baltimore in 1636, after 
 the year 1635 one thousand acres of land might 
 be held for a yearly rental of twenty shillings, 
 payable in the commodities of the province, and 
 fifty acres for twelve pence, land being granted 
 to applicants according to the number of the la- 
 borers brought into the colony. Under these 
 conditions any minister could secure for himself 
 a personal estate,^ and thus be guaranteed a main- 
 tenance. We are told, however, of two endow- 
 ments that were created about the year 1676, one 
 in Baltimore county and one in St. Marj^'s, in the 
 latter case the corporation of the county being 
 made the custodian of the fund. The clergy of 
 the church began now to increase in numbers. 
 For in 1676, in the answer above noted, we find 
 Lord Baltimore declaring that there were four 
 in the colony ; a small number for the vast 
 amount of work to be done. How far these were 
 an honor to the church or efficacious for its be- 
 neficent purposes is a question ; for of two of 
 those, probably included in the four, John Coode 
 and John Yeo, the history is, that the former was 
 afterwards convicted of atheism and blasphemy, 
 and that the latter was, to say the least of him, 
 a turbulent man. There began now also a de- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 13 
 
 mand for miniisrers. In 1676 the latter of the 
 above parties represented to the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury in the strongest language, the great 
 need of the colony for a duly provided for min- 
 istry to prevent the falling away of many church- 
 men to Popery, Quakerism or fanaticism, and to 
 control the wide spread disregard of the ordi- 
 nances of religion and of the i»roprieties of moral- 
 ity. He describes the colony as a Sodom of un- 
 cleanness and a pest house of iniquity. Nor was 
 this the only demand for Church of England 
 Clergymen. For in the year 1685 we find Mary 
 Taney, wife of the sherilf of Calvert Co., and 
 ancestress of the late Chief Justice of the United 
 States, addressing a letter to the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, in which she pleads for means to 
 erect a church and in part to support a minister, 
 founding her plea upon her anxiety for her own 
 family's welfare and that of her neighbors, dread- 
 ing less they might otherwise be condemned to 
 infidelity or apostasy. She had previously peti- 
 tioned Charles the II for relief, who had sent 
 over a minister, together with a number of Bibles 
 and other church books, and also in this case her 
 petition was received with favor and a clergyman 
 sent over. Nor were her anxieties and those of 
 Mr. Yeo and others groundless ; for in the re- 
 ports of the Jesuit Fathers through this period 
 we find as the fruit of their labors seventy 
 brought over to their church in 1672, in 1673 
 twenty-eight, in 1674 thirty-four, while there was 
 also a mission carried on by the order of St. 
 Francis. 
 
 The times of trouble were now, however, set- 
 ting in upon the colony, religious matters being 
 
14 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 the great disturbing cause. The ferment that 
 had been created in England by the report of a 
 Popish ph)t, in which Titus Gates was the chief 
 agitator, and used by such men as the Earl of 
 Shaftesbury as a tool for political ends, spread 
 also to the colony, and under Fendall and Coode 
 the "No-Popery" cry excited a revolt in 1681. 
 This was successfully quelled, but as the home 
 country continued to be in a state of doubt and 
 anxiety about the Protestant religion, the i)eople 
 not believing in Charles the Second's faithfulness 
 to the Church, and knowing that his prospective 
 successor, afterwards James the Second, was an 
 avowed papist, so the province of Maryland was 
 disturbed ; the more particularly so, because 
 Lord Baltimore was a member of the Roman 
 Church. This was a natural cause for suspicion 
 and alarm throughout all this period when the 
 pretensions of the Roman Church to the right of 
 interfering with states, were so much more avow- 
 ed than now, and when temporal rulers could be 
 found, under blind religious zeal, to proceed to 
 such extremities as that of the Revocation of the 
 Edict of Nantes with its fearfully ruinous conse- 
 quences ; and when the recollections of- the horri 
 ble excesses of the thirty years war had not 
 passed from the memories of living men, and 
 when the echoes of the voice of Cromwell were 
 still heard amongst the Alps shielding the hun- 
 ted Waldensians from the blast of papal fury. 
 Lord Baltimore, neither Cecilias nor Charles, de- 
 served the susyjicion ; for both were liberal mind- 
 ed men, and both of them received from the 
 Assembly of the province, testimonials of confi- 
 dence and esteem, the former in 1671 and 1672, 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 15 
 
 and the latter in 1676, 1682 and 1688. Still pre- 
 judices are generally ungovernable and suspicions 
 incapable of entire restraint, and the dread oi 
 popery and of the effect of its teachings was in 
 the very atmosphere of that time. In 1684 the 
 Proprietary was ordered to put all offices in the 
 hands of Protestants, though he showed the 
 king that all the most important offices we^^e in 
 their hands already, and especially such offices 
 as controlled the military establishment of the 
 colony. 
 
 In 1681 the population numbered over 20,000, 
 and according to an estimate at the time there 
 were thirty Protestants to one Papist, a disxDro- 
 portion that might be supposed sufficient to give 
 assurance to the majority. Lord Baltimore's 
 deputies, however, managed, by some peculiar 
 gift, to excite the anxieties of this body, already 
 sensitive enough, so that when William of 
 Orange was reported about to invade England, 
 the fear of the people was that Maryland was to 
 be placed in antagonism to this movement, which 
 was felt to be, in the colony as well as in Great 
 Britain, the only thing that could preserve the 
 religion and liberties of the country. For the 
 deputies of Lord Baltimore not only failed to 
 proclaim the joint sovereigns when they were 
 raised to the throne, but previously had put the 
 colony in a state of defense by collecting arms 
 and other materials of war, as if to resist any at- 
 tempt that might be made to reduce the province 
 to the new obedience. " No Popery" therefore 
 again rang forth as a cry, an association was 
 formed, the citizens were called upon to take up 
 arms, the dej)uties were dispossessed of their 
 
16 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 authority, a convention was assembled, and a 
 petition and address justifying their proceedings 
 V7ere drawn up and j^resented to the king. 
 
 Tliis was the Protestant Revolution whose ob- 
 ject was, as stated by its friends, "The defense of 
 the Protestant Religion, and the asserting the 
 right of king William and queen Mary to the 
 province of Maryland and all the English domin- 
 ions.*' The convention^ when it assembled in 
 1689, made many charges against the manage- 
 ment of the colony, alleging excessive Jesuit in- 
 tiuence over the officers administering the gover- 
 ni'mt, that the churches were all appropriated 
 tj the use of the Popish idolatary, and that 
 under the permission or connivance of the gover- 
 ment, murders and outrages of all kinds were 
 perpetrated by the Papists upon the Protestants. 
 They charged an arbitrary exercise of power 
 against the Proprietary and that he had ignored, 
 as far as possible, the soverei<j:nty possessed by 
 the crown, allegiance to the Proprietary being 
 alone required in the colony. And they declared 
 themselves discharged from all fidelity to the 
 chief magistrates of the province because they 
 had endeavored to deprive them of their lives, 
 prox>erty and liberties, which they were bound 
 to protect. 
 
 The King of course listened to all this, and the 
 consequence was that Lord Baltimore was de 
 prived of the functions of government, of which 
 he remained disinherited for over twenty-five 
 years, till 1715. and the colony was erected into 
 a Royal province, with writs running in the 
 King's name, and the governor and othe^' officers 
 appointed by his authority. The private rights, 
 
 1 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 17 
 
 however, of Lord Baltimore were coDtinued to 
 him, together with his income from the land, 
 whether his own extensive manors or the quit- 
 rents due him from the settlers. He was the 
 private owner of the w^hole domain. The pre- 
 rogatives and emoluments of office he was 
 stripped of, the excessive sensitiveness of the 
 people rendering it impolitic, if not extremely 
 dangerous to leave authority in his hands or to 
 force back upon the citizens an administratioj: 
 which they had so forcibly disallowed. The year 
 before the final rujDture the President of the 
 Assembly had openly drawn a picture of the 
 prevailing immorality of the colony in respect of 
 drunkenness, adultery. Sabbath breaking and 
 swearing, that, having the endorsement of the 
 lower house, shows that Lord Baltimore's influ- 
 ence in the administration of the colony had not 
 been in the highest degree successful, and that 
 radical measures had now become necessary. 
 The establishment afterwards sprang into exist- 
 ence in answer to that need as the one thing- 
 most likely to prove efficacious; and doubtless it 
 did so in an eminent degree, for from the begin- 
 ning, in addition to the silent influence of the 
 church, we And its authorities doing all in their 
 power under the law to suppress immorality. 
 
18 
 
 CHUBCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 Under the Royal government of the colony the 
 recond act of the first assembly, convened in 
 1692, was that providing for the establishment 
 of the Church of England, nnder which func- 
 tions and prerogatives were given the said 
 church endowing it with great and exclusive 
 privileges. Nor are we to be surprised at such 
 a measure; for the establishment of the church 
 was looked upon throughout the world as legiti- 
 mate and proper, such ideas coming down un- 
 questioned from the remotest Christian antiquity. 
 And even among the barbarians, as well as 
 among the heathen of civilized states, it appeared 
 to the rulers of kingdoms, with their gener- 
 ally arbitary power, to be only proper that 
 they should provide for the support of religion, 
 and in various ways control and direct its minis- 
 trations. Men had not yet outgrown this 
 notion, and so during the period of the Common- 
 wealth in England the Presbyterian church was 
 established, and in New England, and in New 
 York after a manner, as well as in V^irginia and 
 the more southern colonies, establishments were 
 now the rule. There is no great wonder, there- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 19 
 
 fore, that the colonists in Maryland proceeded to 
 this step, in as much also as it appeared to them 
 to be the only means to ends they fondly desired, 
 the restraint of the Roman Catholic Church and 
 the correction and improvement of the morals of 
 the colony. For one of the assigned causes for 
 their overthrow of the Proprietary's authority 
 was the inlluence the Jesuits were able to wield 
 in the government of the colony, a cause for 
 alarm which may or may not have existed. One 
 thing the people knew, the Roman priests were 
 exceedingly energetic; and to counteract their 
 influence, on the one side, as they won away Pro- 
 testants in the dearth of spiritual ministration, 
 and on the other, to save the people from the 
 depths of immorality, into which from the same 
 cause they were falling, provision was made 
 under law by the unanimous voice of the repre- 
 sentatives of the inhabitants, for the support of 
 a Protestant ministry; and the Church of Eng- 
 land was chosen because it had the affections 
 and loyalty of by far the largest part of the 
 people of the colony. All differences were sunk 
 in the Assembly under the sense of a great con- 
 straining necessity. 
 
 Much has been said about the ingratitude of 
 this act and the consequent repression of the 
 Roman Catholics, by whom, as is alleged, great 
 liberality had formerly been shown; and cer- 
 tainly the thing is against all our x^resent Amer- 
 ican" notions But the whole matter of the 
 toleration secured in 1649, and what motives 
 may have impelled the then Proprietary to lay it 
 before the Assembl}^ are too fully presented to 
 us now to justify any further talk about Protes 
 
20 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 tant ingratitude. For as we have seen, 
 there is the best evidence that the Protestants 
 were in a majority in the very lirst body of emi- 
 grants, a prej)onderance in strength which they 
 always preserved ; and any toleration that had 
 ever been in the colony to this time had rather 
 been by them than of them. The act must be 
 looked at in the leading question of how far an 
 establishment is ever justifiable. The Roman 
 Catholics had been tolerated down this far in 
 Maryland history. Consideration for them was 
 opposed by the English ideas of that day. They 
 dared not have established their own church, 
 even had they had the power, or in any way 
 have repressed persons of the Protestant faith. 
 Lord Baltimore ever felt the force cf this, and 
 was earnest to impress upon the powers at home, 
 that Roman Catholic as he was, and associated 
 with the Jesuits as he was, equal liberties Avere 
 enjoyed by all. A royal proclamation or an act 
 of Parliament could at any time have deprived 
 him of power in the case ; as was done in the 
 days of Cromwell, and again when Charles II. 
 directed him to put all offices in the hands of 
 Protestants, and finally when he was deprived 
 of all government jurisdiction at the time of the 
 Protestant Revolution. Also in the days of 
 James II. the writ of quo warranto sued out by 
 his royal majesty, made not only Lord Balti- 
 more tremble, but the holders of many other 
 charters besides. There was no ingratitude at 
 all in the case. Neither Lord Baltimore nor his 
 church ever had any j^ower to establish their 
 form of religion or to disfranchise other bodies 
 than their own : and had they had the power 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 21 
 
 they would not for a moment have dared to 
 exercise it. The thunders of royal wrath and 
 Parliamentary indignation would have over- 
 whelmed the attempt in an instant. There was 
 no ingratitude in the case ; while we can sympa- 
 thize with the colonists in their laying hold on 
 the only available means of repressing a 
 faction whose extravagant pretensions had, 
 even in Maryland, given so much trouble to 
 Lord Baltimore in the past, and whose princi- 
 ples had brought such trouble and mischief ujion 
 the world. For it was only seven year before 
 this that Louis XIY. had revoked the Edict of 
 Nantes which wrought intolerable and wide- 
 spread ruin upon hundreds of thousands of 
 Huguenots, depriving them in many instances of 
 life and in almost all of property, and taking 
 away rights dearer than life or property. It was 
 the personal act of the king indeed, but received 
 the approval both of the country and the church. 
 It was at this time also that James the Second's 
 conduct manifested all the qualities that the 
 Roman Church might tolerate, violating his 
 promises to maintain the Church of England, 
 introducing the rites and customs of the Roman 
 Communion, endeavoring to put places of trust 
 and power in the hands of the members of that 
 profession, seeking to ride down all law by sus- 
 pending, by edict, every statute that might 
 imjDede his will, and imprisoning the best and 
 most exalted men of the realm whose faithful 
 loyalty as citizens and ministers of the gospel 
 prevented them from becoming the weak and 
 pliable instruments for his tyrannical and arbi- 
 trary purposes. These things we must re- 
 
22 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 member ; nor can we forget the great agitation 
 concerning the Popish Plot, which tliough 
 granted, as we now see it, to have been a marvel- 
 ous extravagance, still had some ground to rest 
 on, and was lirmly believed in by almost every 
 one of that day. 
 
 Because of these things we can sympathize 
 with the colonists of that time, and the more so 
 when we recollect what the pretensions of the 
 Koman communion were in regard to civil rulers 
 and what had been attempted against the liber- 
 ties of England in the days both of James I. and 
 of Elizabeth, and that there was no place in Eu- 
 rope where the Roman Church was in the ascen- 
 dency, where there was any toleration of diver- 
 gent opinions. The mountains of the south of 
 France were now ringing with the cries of the 
 Camisards, struggling heroically against fearful 
 odds for home and liber tj^ and life, and the 
 brutality of the house of Savoy, shown in the 
 interests of religion, had not been forgotten. The 
 true i)icture of the times was fearfullj^ vivid 
 to the minds of Maryland men at that period. 
 With our American notions in this nineteenth 
 century we disapprove of establishments alto- 
 gether, and certainlj^ such exclusive ones as that 
 attempted in 1692. But the men of the seven- 
 teenth century were wise in their generation. 
 They were educated by the circumstances of 
 their day. Only the times have changed and 
 we are changed with them. 
 
 The colonists, however, did not immediately 
 succeed in their attempt. The law was not ap- 
 proved by the home government, which was nec- 
 cessary now for its rinal validity, as in former 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 23 
 
 days the ai3proval of the Proprietary had been 
 necessary. The cause of this non-approval was 
 that the king regarded it as too exclusive ; for 
 brought up with his liberal Dutch notions he 
 was far in advance of most 2)ersons in his day. 
 Again and again was the law enacted with modi- 
 fications, but as often rejected, until the year 
 1702, when Dr. Bray, the great friend of Mary- 
 land, and commissary, having returned to Eng- 
 land, obtained permission to have an acceptable 
 law drawn up, with the assurance that having 
 been duly passed by the colonial Assembly it 
 should stand approved. It was done, and in 
 that year the Church of England was iinally 
 established in Maryland. The great hindrance 
 all along had been the difficulty raised chiefly 
 by the Quakers, though the Roman Catholics 
 also exerted quietly some influence. The true 
 position of the former had come now to be better 
 understood, and the days of their persecution 
 were over ; so that the king confirmed the Mary- y. 
 land act with these words, "Have the Quakers -^ 
 the benefit of a toleration 'i Let the established 
 church have an established maintenance." To 
 the north of Maryland there had been granted 
 to William Penn an extensive tract, on which 
 many of his co-religionists were settled, and over 
 which he had established a provincial government. 
 Also by the toleration act passed in England in 
 16S9 the Friends were granted freedom of worship. <^ 
 
 That they should oppose, therefore, the act of 
 establishment that would restrict their liberties 
 was only natural, especially as now they formed 
 a very considerable portion of the population, 
 reckoned at this time at one-twelfth, among 
 
/ 
 
 34 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 wliom were included some of the most intelligent 
 and thrifty citizens of the province. This is 
 proven by various circumstances, as by the 
 names of the j)ersons who were members of the 
 meeting, by the influence they exerted with the 
 authorities, by their readiness and boldness in 
 discussion, and by their threat to prosecute any 
 priest or magistrate who should marry any Qua- 
 ker children without their parents' or guardians' 
 consent. This was done at a yearly meeting held 
 in 16S8, and of itself shows how secure they felt 
 themselves to be. Their opposition w^e have seen 
 w^as influential, but it was not Anally effectual ; 
 for the king was content to secure for them the 
 toleration of their separate assemblages, while 
 they were required, along with all other persons, 
 to contribute according to law to the support of 
 the established church. For the act as Anally 
 passed, provided that the church of England 
 should be established, and that for its support 
 there should be levied annually a tax of forty 
 pounds of tobacco per poll uj)on all the taxables 
 of the colony; to be collected by the sheriff'. The 
 appointment of ministers to parishes Avas to 
 be by the governor without appeal, induction 
 being in his hands; the minister was to keep and 
 provide for a clerk out of his income. Other sec- 
 tions of the law regarded marriages, and a table 
 declaring who might marry was to be set up in 
 the Churches. Only a minister could marry 
 when there was one resident, his fee being Ave 
 shillings sterling. The number of vestrymen 
 was set at six at the least, two to be dropped 
 every year. By a subsequent law in 1730 the 
 two eldest in office were to be dropped and not 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 25 
 
 to be liable again for tliree years. The minister 
 was also a vestryman. A register of births, 
 marriages and burials was to be kept, and by 
 several clauses of the law the vestry was required 
 to meet on a certain day in each month, the time 
 fixed once for all ''to prevent surprise." Pro- 
 vision was made for the current expenses of the 
 parish, to be levied by the county courts. Per- 
 sons refusing to become wardens were fined one 
 thousand pounds of tobacco, to go to the king, 
 a stronger assurance that the fine would be 
 collected. No minister could hold more than 
 two parishes, nor could he hold them without 
 the consent of the vestries of both and the ap- 
 pointment of the ordinary. The vestry had the 
 power of appointing lay readers during a 
 vacancy, who were to take the oaths with which 
 every office was surrounded in those days. The 
 lay readers received compensation. A vestry- 
 man could be removed if he neglected his duties, 
 and parishioners had the riglit to inspect the 
 vestry books and to appeal to the governor and 
 council against vestry acts. "Py th^ twpntj^-tir.'^t 
 section of the law^ Quakers and other dissenters 
 
 were to have the benefit'~~6f~TlTeTolera!ion act, 
 while their j)lacBs o f w^orshi p_Avere-4^^qu4red to 
 be reported and a register of them kept. It will 
 be observed that persons refusing to serve as 
 wardens were to be fined, while there was no 
 such provision covering the case of x>6rsons 
 elected to the vestry. The duties of the wardens 
 were in some degree the more onerous, they 
 being conservators of the peace about the church. 
 And so compulsion in their case was felt to be 
 necessary. It was rather taken for granted that 
 
20 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 a man elected vestryman, would serve oecanse of 
 the lionor of the office, and would attend to his 
 duties. If he did not he was to be disgraced by 
 dismissal. It was found, however, that this 
 law would not work, and by an act of 173(\ the 
 vestrymen were also subjected to line, to be 
 recovered by ]3rocess before a justice of the 
 peace, one half to go to the church and the 
 other half to the informer. Dissenters also were 
 eligible to the office of vestrymen, as w^as declared 
 by order of the Governor and Council in 1751, 
 Piscataway j)arish having refused to qualify 
 one who had been elected. This act was passed 
 at a time of extreme agitation in the colony 
 concerning church matters. In 1706 provision, 
 additional to that in the law, was made for the 
 ]3rotection of Quakers and other Dissenters, by 
 the passage of the English Act of Toleration; 
 though some think, not with good intent, 
 but because of the pains and penalties attached. 
 For the whole English world then knew very 
 little of religious lil3erty. Toleration, privilege, 
 was granted ; though often more as a i)olitical 
 necessity than for any other reason. The right 
 to say what j)ersons should believe, and that 
 they should believe something, w^as supposed to 
 reside in the powers that be; and so Unitarians 
 as well as Roman Catholics were excepted from 
 the public grace bestowed, a grace that could at 
 any time, according to the theory, be recalled. 
 Tolerati(m j)roved to be, however, the embryotic 
 condition out of wdiich has been developed by 
 fostering circumstances, the full grown man of 
 religious liberty, at least in the Protestant world. 
 It may l^e advisal^le here to review for a 
 
I2i COLOmAL MARYLAND. 27 
 
 moment tlie relation of the province of Mar}^- 
 land to the home country, though Avhat maybe said 
 of Maryland could generally be said of the other 
 colonies. A law of England was not binding in 
 the colonies unless it was ex^^ressly adojDted 
 there, or unless it was made for the colonies, as 
 the Navigation Acts were, so that while x^ersecu- 
 tion raged in England against all the various 
 forms of dissent from the days of the settlement 
 of Maryland, and cruel laws were x)assed for the 
 purpose of repressing such dissenters, in New 
 England, in NeAv York, in New Jersey and 
 Pennsylvania, and in Maryland, there were to be 
 found laws in every way contradictory of the 
 English statutes. The freest asylums were pro- 
 vided in the New World for those who by the 
 Test, Conventicle and similar acts, were debarred 
 all the rights of religious freedom. And so the 
 Toleration Act had to be passed by the Assembly 
 of Maryland before it could become a law. On 
 the other hand laws passed by the colonial legis- 
 lature had to be approved by the King, or after- 
 wards by the Proi3rietary, before they could 
 become operative, as was the case with the act of 
 establishment ; though a law passed by the 
 assembly went into effect immediately upon its 
 passage and was regarded as binding until it was 
 disapx)roved by the superior authority. And so 
 the act of 1692 was carried out, the province 
 laid out into parishes, other laws passed laying 
 duties upon vestrymen, ministers settled and 
 taxes levied for their support, years before the 
 act finally became a law. 
 
 Several questions suggest themselves in regard 
 to the act of 1702, one of which is, who were the 
 
28 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 persons on whom tlie poll tax was levied 'i A 
 law passed in 1715 gives iis tlie enumeration, the 
 same x3roviding for the duties of the constable in 
 making up the list under the law : All males and 
 all female slaves above the age of sixteen years. 
 An act of 1662, had fixed the age for slaves at 
 ten years. Also by a law of 1725 all female 
 mulattoes born of white women, and all free 
 negro women were taxables ; the only exceptions 
 being beneficed clergy, jiaupers and aged slaves. 
 For from the foundation of Maryland the negroes 
 had been found in the colony, one having landed 
 in Maryland with the first settlers. Found also 
 to be profitable in working the lands they soon 
 increased in numbers. They early became, how- 
 ever, a great subject of agitation, and continued 
 to be until the institution of slavery ceased. 
 Their great numbers were forced upon the colonies 
 by the cupidity of the English merchants and 
 government. The first matter however, about 
 which difficulty arose with them, was not civil 
 but religious. For it was argued by some that 
 baptism was not possible for them, such being 
 the position taken by some Quakers, as men- 
 tioned by the celebrated Thomas Story who Avas 
 present at a meeting at AVest River, in the year 
 1699 ; the argument being that as the baptized 
 are made in the rite "members of Christ, child- 
 ren of God and inheritors of the kingdom of 
 Heaven" they could not any longer be detained as 
 slaves; not that their care was in this for the 
 slaves, which they themselves possessed for many 
 years after this time, but they rejected the 
 bax)tism. This is the same question, it will be 
 remembered, St. Paul had to deal with. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 29 
 
 In consequence of such notions, in some in- 
 stances the negroes were sadly neglected, neither 
 baptism administered nor instruction given, 
 though the church labored hard, as the Maryland 
 records show, through a long period to correct 
 such false notions and to secure these blessings 
 to the slaves. The state did the same by declaring 
 the fallacy of the Friends' argument, enacting 
 in 1715 the following: ''For as much as many 
 people have neglected to baptize their negroes or 
 to suffer them to be baptized, on the vague 
 apprehension that negroes by receiving the sacra- 
 ment of baptism are manumitted or set free ; 
 be it hereby further declared and enacted that 
 no negro or negroes by receiving the holy sacra- 
 ment of baptism is thereby manumitted or set 
 free, nor hath any right or title to manumission 
 more than he or they had before ; any law, usage, 
 or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 A second question in regard to the establish- 
 ment is, what were the functions of the vestry 
 under it 'i The vestry acted for the state in the 
 erection and care of church buildings. For the 
 churches were not built by private subscription, 
 but in the beginning, and at any subsequent 
 period when renewal might be necessary, money 
 for the erection of churches and also for their 
 repair, was levied upon the taxables of the 
 parishes, either by the Assembly or the county 
 court, as the case might be ; while contracts were 
 made by the vestry with power to draw on the 
 sheriif for the amount assessed. They were also 
 executive officers, in some respects, for the 
 county court, selling immoral women and their 
 children into slavery under the court' s decree. It 
 
30 GHUliCH L ^FE 
 
 was their duty also to authorize the rector and 
 wardens under an act of 1G94 to publicly admon- 
 ish persons living together inmiorally, a form of 
 vice terribly prevalent at that time ; for there 
 were ten separate cases where parties were pub- 
 licly admonished for this crime in August 1698 
 in St. James' Parish alone. The vestry also were 
 preservers of the peace within the limits of the 
 Church and Church yard, in some cases passing 
 regulations directing the acts of the wardens. 
 Afterwards other functions were added more 
 truly secular, as the choosing of counters to i)re- 
 vent the excessive production of tobacco, the law 
 limiting the amount that might be planted to 
 every workman on the place. They also later 
 down in the colony nominated inspectors of 
 tobacco for the warehouses within their parishes ; 
 and at one period we find them returning officers 
 for reporting persons liable to be taxed as bache- 
 lors to meet the expense incurred in the French 
 war. 
 
 Their powers were, however, limited as com- 
 X)ared with those of the vestries of Virginia. 
 For to these was reserved such intiuence as to 
 promote great confusion; while in Maryland the 
 authority of the vestries was so contracted as 
 that clerical licence was often exaggerated, pro- 
 ducing jealousy and contention between pastor 
 and people. For the seeing or imagining evils 
 which they were unable to correct, only irritated 
 the laity and widened immeasurably the dis- 
 tance lietAveen pastor and people. For in Mary- 
 land the vestry had no power but to receive the 
 governor's or his Lordship's appointment of a 
 rector, and when he was settled there was no 
 
ly C()bb)\'IAL MaUYLANV. 31 
 
 legal antliority in existence to remove liim, tliongli 
 we Unci tlie commissary, Mr. Henderson, attenii^- 
 ting to discipline certain derelict men. All power 
 of presentation and induction w^as reserved, both 
 by the charter and the act of 1702, to the civil 
 authority, a fact that often excited extreme 
 indignation on the part of the vestries, but a fact 
 also that had to be endured ; for the Proi^rietary 
 prized all his prerogatives too highly to let one 
 of them ever slip from him. Possibly under all 
 the circumstances it was the best thing that 
 could have happened ; for under the restrictions 
 Maryland w^as saved from many things that befell 
 the church in Virginia, chiefly the last l)itter 
 exx)erience of the latter when the Revolutionary 
 struggle put an end to both establishments. The 
 vestries, however, in Maryland wielded a very 
 decided indirect inlluence, and wdien their opin- 
 ions were strongly exj^ressed, they Avere consid- 
 ered, as well by the governor of the province 
 as by the legislators; and under the stimulus 
 afforded by them the latter tried to i3revent 
 current evils, especially in the clergy; for rejieated 
 efforts were made by the Assembly to discipline 
 offenders. Also, when the vestrymen themselves 
 were men of character, which often they were 
 not, they could hold evil doers in check. All 
 general laws, however, proposed for disciplining 
 the clergy proved abortive, even the best of the 
 clergy, who often grievecl over their offending 
 brethren, resisting the means proposed as not in 
 keeping with their conceptions of the indei3en- 
 dent position of ordained men, the attempt 
 always being to create a court for trial comj^osed 
 in j)art of laymen. 
 
33 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 As it will appear the position of a vestryman 
 under the Establishment was different from what 
 it is now. He was a man clothed with functions 
 and dignities which are not now recognized as 
 belonging to him. His eye was supposed to be 
 everywhere, discerning wrong doing to correct it, 
 and so he was the custodian of the morals and 
 good order of society ; and this he did, not as a 
 grand juror will do now, but his functions were 
 connected with the house of God, which was 
 supposed, under the law, to embrace under its 
 care all the citizens of the province, and so he 
 was custodian of morals as in the sight of God. 
 He may not always have recognized that fact 
 himself, but the Establishment was only a less 
 pronounced expression of that identity of 
 church and state that j)revailed in New England. 
 The meeting of the vestry and wardens monthly 
 was the convening of a spiritual court with a 
 good many secular functions, and their separa- 
 tion from the rest of the congregation on Sunday 
 as they gathered into their x)eculiar j^ews, whence 
 they issued only to repress some irregularity, 
 kept up the same conception. In conformity 
 with this was a law of 1728, which forbade 
 swearing or drunkenness in the presence of a 
 vestryman, a church warden, and other persons 
 named, under the penalty of fine, whipping, or 
 sitting in the stocks ("a freeholder or other reput- 
 able person" being excepted from the latter form 
 of punishment.) 
 
 In addition to these duties of the vestry, the 
 chief vestryman, or minister, had other functions. 
 One of these was the granting of marriage licen- 
 ces, which was appointed to him by Gov. Nichol- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 33 
 
 son's proclamation in 1698. For Maryland has 
 always tlionght it right to raise a revenue by this 
 means, often in this way putting a bar in the 
 path to matrimony. The aberrations, however, 
 of legislators are sometimes striking ; for while 
 Maryland has always insisted on a fee for marry- 
 ing, when she got very much pressed for funds 
 in 1755, she immediately demanded of a man a 
 fee for not getting married, and for years taxed 
 the bachelor as such. Her chief desire evidently 
 has always been not the man's happiness but his 
 money. Another function of the chief vestry- 
 man was the reading of certain penal laws four 
 times a year publicly, such laws being those con- 
 cerning swearing, drunkenness, and the violation 
 of the Sabbath day by work, fishing, gunning; 
 and if he refused or failed to do this he was fined. 
 For the statute books of Maryland have always 
 been marked for liquor and Sunday laws, and the 
 requirement of the Rector of the parish to read 
 these publicly, shows what the Church was, the 
 minister of the state for the working out of its 
 own best condition. We have seen also what 
 the duties of the minister and vestry were in 
 regard to the immoral, whether married or un- 
 married, in the way of rebuke and punishment. 
 
 Altogether the impression left on the mind 
 after reviewing the whole matter, is that while as 
 an establishment, the church had many things 
 to endure, which afflicted her intensely^ for she 
 was often wounded in the house of her friends; 
 yet that she was of immense benefit to the then 
 state of society in the colony, that she was a 
 necessity for the elevation of the tone and 
 character of the people, that there was no 
 
84 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 system that could have taken her place, that 
 she wrought great good for the permanent wel- 
 fare of Maryland, and that Marylanders 
 perceived this; so that though they might be at 
 times spiteful and disposed to strike heavy blows, 
 yet that they instinctively recognized her merits 
 and her good ends achieved, and preserved her 
 integrity to the very last. 
 
/iY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE POPULATION OF THE COLONY. 
 
 ^Before entering npon the closer work of our 
 narrative it will be advisable to take a glance 
 at the general make up of the popnlation of the 
 province, for the reason that the origin and 
 elements of the popnlation mnst have had a 
 very strong inllnence at times, if not all along, 
 upon the experience of the Establishment. For 
 it was then in the colony, as it is now in Eng- 
 land where the Non-conformists are so antagonis- 
 tic to the church. The Establishment was always 
 an occasion of wrangling, freqnently excessive, 
 both in the legislative halls and also in private, 
 at times the question rising to the prominence of 
 a great political agitation. The fact, however, 
 that the Establishment continued to exist down 
 to the Revolution proved that the great majority 
 of the people were its favorers and suj)i3orters. 
 For other great friends it had none, but was 
 rather abused and oppressed and feared by 
 those in power; and yet though the law, as 
 providing for its emoluments was repeatedly 
 altered, no hand was ever laid upon its life. At- 
 tempts were made by indirect means to annul 
 the Establishment, as by declaring that the law 
 
m CHURCH LIFE 
 
 liad never been duly enacted. But these were 
 probably only to feel the general pulse and the 
 investigation told politicians it was a dangerous 
 project. 
 
 Lord Baltimore's colony as first sent out, 
 consisted of about two hundred, though one 
 authority says three hundred i3ersons. Among 
 these there were about twenty gentlemen of ' 'good 
 fashion." These were probably all of either 
 Great Britain or Ireland. At the same time 
 there was a settlement upon Kent Island, of 
 persons from Virginia, whose number was about 
 one hundred. This was the population at the 
 founding of the colony. There were settlements 
 also on the Delaware founded by the Dutch; 
 but as this territory, though originally included 
 in the terms of Lord Baltimore's grant, was 
 afterwards conferred ujion another, we need not 
 ke^p it in mind. 
 
 It is interesting also to observe the sources 
 from which settlers afterwards came. For 
 Maryland gathered within its borders persons 
 from not only Great Britain and Ireland, but also 
 from the continent, as France, Holland, Bohemia, 
 Germany and Spain. The policy on which Lord 
 Baltimore acted from the beginning, was in the 
 highest degree judicious and enterprising. His 
 aim and endeavor were to fill his territory in 
 the quickest possible way. This was different 
 from the plan that controlled some of the 
 earlier settlements, for they were established as 
 asylums from religious persecution, while Mary- 
 land was established, as some of the later 
 colonies, as a business enterprise. Cecilius, 
 Lord Baltimore, by whom the colony was finally 
 
IjV colonial MARYLAND. 37 
 
 sent out, remained himself in England. He 
 regarded it, however, as a safe investment, 
 and spent large sums upon it. He also put 
 forth efforts to send out settlers, as his adver- 
 tisement, already referred to, shows, while 
 Alsop's "Character of the Province of Maryland" 
 written in 1666 is believed to have been 
 prompted by the same cause. We know also 
 in other ways that Lord Baltimore labored hard 
 to this same end, soliciting and entering into con- 
 tract with parties to bring settlers in. For this 
 reason he pursued the liberal x3olicy he did, 
 though certainly his religious views compelled 
 him to the same; for a bigoted policy on his 
 part would not have been tolerated in the British 
 Empire for one day. It was doubtless also a 
 policy harmonious with his own enlightened 
 understanding; for there is nothing either in his 
 words or actions that can make us doubt that. 
 He invited all to come. He gave all a share in. 
 the administration of the colony by giving them 
 a seat in the provincial assembly. He natural- 
 ized those who were of foreign extraction, andj 
 while allowing religious liberty to all of Avhat- 
 ever name, he was content to secure by law the 
 rights and liberties of those of his own faith. 
 And so the emigrants gathered in from all 
 quarters. It was the day of emigration. The 
 Old World was too small and too full. The 
 franchises of men were too contracted. The 
 oppressed Romanist of Britain yearned for re- 
 ligious freedom, and the oppressed Protestant, 
 whose religion had developed within him a 
 desire for broader privileges, sought deliverance 
 from the surviving remains of feudalism whose 
 
38 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 spirit was antagonistic to all political right. 
 Privilege and prerogative, the one the possession 
 of the higher classes, and the other in scanty 
 measure, the gift to all others, were at the 
 fonndation of the old world's legislation. Tlie 
 new world's open doors were hailed as the great 
 refuge. God's intention in this last discover}^ 
 was perceived. Maryland, in her earlier days 
 offering a freer asylum than most of the other 
 colonies did, received her full share of those 
 who were looking for such a refuge. Besides, 
 as the founder's terms were very liberal, the 
 poverty stricken at home could with confidence 
 look forward to competence within his domain; 
 while also it was easy for any one that desired 
 it to secure a passage out by obligating himself 
 to la])or for a certain period when he reached his 
 destination. 
 
 But it was not only the voluntary emigrants 
 that came into the colony. There were others, 
 as the Scotch ]3risoners, who, having taken up 
 arms or shown sympathy for the Pretender in 
 1715 or 1745 were sent out of the country. 
 There was also another kind of emigrant, of a 
 far more objectionable type, the convicts, per- 
 sons found guilty of various felonies. Accord- 
 ing to one authority, quoted by McMahon, for 
 thirty years, ending in 1767, the average number 
 of this class received into the colony and ])ur- 
 chased by the colonists for their labor, had been 
 six hundred. This was a kind of emigrant that 
 the residents of the colony of Maryland, as the 
 residents in every other colony, were most 
 unwilling to accept, as it was a gross injustice to 
 pirecipitate such a class in such numbers upon 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 39 
 
 them. It was, however, very convenient for 
 the government at home. Still another body 
 of the population was the negroes who had 
 grown to the number of 49,675 in the year 1761. 
 This was not by natural increase of course. 
 The slave trade had been fondly nurtured by 
 the English government as one of its dearest 
 possessions, and the provinces also had looked 
 upon it with favor, as affording them a cheap 
 and efficient su]?ply of labor. All the colonies 
 of America rejoiced in the opportunity, except 
 as the cupidity of the English merchants forced 
 uj)on the market an excessive supply. Kidnaj)- 
 ping of grown persons and children was also 
 extensively pursued in Great Britain and Ireland 
 to sux^ply the colonial demand. 
 
 This was, therefore, the population of Mary- 
 land. — of various, and it might seem, of heteroge- 
 neous elements. Except, however, in the case of 
 the negroes, the whole body, convicts, prisoners 
 of war, foreigners of all classes, English, Irish, 
 Scotch, and from the continental nations became 
 amalgamated into a homogeneous body, and at 
 the close of the colonial period the whole people 
 were found united in one aim and kindled with 
 one desire. We would not of coiirse expect to 
 find the social condition of a people so consti- 
 tuted very high. There were wealthy men and 
 men of culture all the way through the whole 
 colonial period, but also the larger body of the 
 inhabitants must have been ignorant and of a low 
 moral standard. We- shall see evidences of this 
 latter condition as we go on; while the absence 
 of any provision for instruction in the beginning 
 and the scanty su^^ply throughout the whole 
 
40 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 time, make tlie former certain. The early want, 
 too, of clinrcli ministrations, from the great 
 scarcity of Christian ministers, helped to keej) 
 the moral and intellectual tone low. For the 
 sparse settlement of the territory made coopera- 
 tion for clerical support almost impossible, even 
 if the people themselves had had any longing for 
 such ministrations; and the colonial authorities 
 did not feel themselves under obligation to make 
 provision in the case. There wepe some ministers, 
 but very few. After the establishment of the 
 church and of the Royal autliority in the colony, 
 religion and education both were provided for, 
 with an attempt to make the provision sufficient. 
 The Establishment so far wrought great good, 
 and in the only possible way, at this time. The 
 opening of a future, however, to all the settlers 
 who might have an ambition to improve their 
 condition, was itself a great educational influ- 
 ence, with the result of developing a tone and 
 character in the population superior to that 
 found in like classes in the home country. This 
 sense of a future has always been to the Ameri- 
 can masses the profoundest cause of their social 
 elevation 
 
 The make up of the colonists in the matter of 
 their religious sentiments, presents as great a 
 diversity as the i^laces of their nativity or the 
 reasons for their coming into the province. As we 
 have seen, the evidence is unquestionable that 
 the great majority of the first colonists were of 
 the Protestant faith. ''In leading the colony to 
 Maryland by far the greater part were heretics,'' 
 says the Jesuit Father; and the assembly that 
 met in 1638 was "composed with few exceptions 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 41 
 
 of heretics," an assembly, it will be recollected, 
 where all freeholders were present either person- 
 ally or by proxy. This throws light upon the 
 ordinance of the following year which secured to 
 "Holy Church" her rights, and which, as now 
 understood meant only to secure the church 
 against exactions of the tem^^oral j^ower. From 
 the beginning these two classes were found in 
 the colony. And Alsop, writing in 1666, inden- 
 titles the heretics, calling them by the now much 
 abused title "Protestant Episcopal," equivalent 
 to Protestant Catholic used in the colony in 1642. 
 "With few exceptions the colony was composed 
 of heretics" so the Jesuit father. In 1681, there 
 were thirty Protestants to one Papist, according 
 to Chalmers; while in 17(H), according to Dr. 
 Bray, the Roman Catholics numbered one twelfth, 
 the same ratio that is given for the year 1754. 
 
 The Protestants, however, i)resented a solid 
 front only to the Roman Catholics. They were 
 greatly divided among themselves, Maryland 
 being by its liberal government a haven of rest 
 to many that were persecuted and driven out 
 from the other provinces as well as from the 
 countries beyond the sea. Among the first of 
 such persons to come in were the Puritans, who, 
 having been ordered to leave Virginia where 
 they had been settled for some years, took up 
 their residence at the mouth of the Severn. 
 Virginia and Massachusetts were at this time 
 acting as twin sisters in repression, only with 
 contradictory antagonisms, Virginia abominating 
 the Puritans as much as Massachusetts abomina- 
 ted all those who in any way disagreed with its 
 own church principles. It was the time when 
 
42 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Puritanism was triumphant in England, when 
 Presbyterianism followed the Anglican church 
 in being driven from authority, when Indepen- 
 dency was sui^reme. Virginia had not hesitated 
 on this account, but compelled the withdrawal of 
 the CO religionists of Cromwell and his army. 
 They entered the province in the year 1649, and 
 for some years took an active part in and 
 fomented the disturbances of the period, defying 
 the authority of Lord Baltimore and refusing to 
 take the oaths which had been imposed as a 
 condition of plantation. Afterwards they quieted 
 down, and probably in the great changes which 
 took place in that part of the colony when the 
 capital was removed thither, became absorbed in 
 large measure in the church. 
 
 Another class that entered the colony in its 
 earlier days Avere the Quakers, whose presence 
 is lirst determined in the year 1657. The first 
 appearance, however, was of persons rather bent 
 on missionary enterprise, travelling members 
 acting in that proselyting spirit that has always 
 more or less distinguished their society until 
 more recent years. Nor were their endeavors 
 without success ; for we see that they were soon 
 able to establish their meetings on both shores of 
 the Chesapeake. In 1672 George Fox, the 
 founder of the sect, attended a meeting at West 
 River which he describes as large and which 
 lasted four days. Members of course came in 
 from abroad as new colonists, to a place where 
 unusual consideration was shown them ; but 
 many converts were made in Maryland ; one 
 reason for which probably was the fact above 
 noted, the difficulty the settlers had in a sparsely 
 
IN COLONIAL iMAK VIAND. 48 
 
 settled country to jDrovide by voluntary 
 contributions for the support of ministers. Often 
 for long periods there were no opportunities 
 offered for public worshi^^, a blessing very many 
 of the people yearned for, and the opening of a 
 Friend's meeting was the best possible provision 
 under the circumstances. The children were not 
 baptized, holy communion was not administsred, 
 the Word was not preached. Quakerism came in 
 with its negations in regard to this whole work 
 of the ministrj^, and, a new thing, it commanded 
 a large amount of attention. Besides, those who 
 represented the new sect must have been men of 
 force who would constrain attention. Certainly 
 they were very sincere and devotedly in earnest. 
 They were willing and did endure all things. 
 Many of them suffered even unto death, though 
 not in Maryland. Here some attempts were 
 made to rei)ress them, but they soon got influence 
 and as early as 1'677 some of them appear to have 
 been members' of the Assembly. They largely, 
 also, increased in numbers, so that in the year 
 1700, when the population of the colony was 
 probably tAventy-five thousand, they numbered 
 about one-twelfth. In subsequent days the law 
 took pains to protect them, as from the presence 
 of disorderly men at their yearly meetings, while 
 already such adaptation of the laws as was 
 necessary in what they esteemed matters of 
 moment, as keeping the head covered, or affirm- 
 ing instead of swearing in the courts, had been 
 made. 
 
 It is a notable thing, however, in Maryland 
 history that where at one time the Quakers 
 abounded and had flourishing meetings, now 
 
44 GHURCII LIFE 
 
 they are not found at all. Tliis is tlie fact in 
 various places, but West River presents a very- 
 marked instance. Here the old burying ground 
 is found, and here are the families whose 
 names adorn the old records, but there is not a 
 Friend anywhere in the whole region. Farther 
 up the country there is an old meeting house 
 standing, but only as a deserted relic of the ]3ast; 
 and farther down the country the site is pointed 
 out of another house. The cause of the disap- 
 pearance of the membership is to be found, of 
 course, in some social change that has affected 
 the body in times gone by ; for in other regions 
 the disciples of Fox have shown sufficient 
 tenacity of life. The great Hicksite-schism may 
 have unhinged the views of some ; but the great 
 probable cause that undermined this ecclesias- 
 tical fabric was the antagonism to slavery, which 
 became in the last half of the eighteenth century 
 so strong a sentiment with the Friends, that to 
 hold slaves debarred persons from continuing 
 members of the society. This final resolution we 
 are told, encountered serious opposition from 
 many members, most jorobably those who lived 
 in that section of the country where slavery 
 continued to be the chief dependence for labor ; 
 and consequently the question being presented 
 of abandoning their farms or abandoning their 
 meeting, many were found who could not see 
 the heinousness of the ancient institution which 
 even the Quaker principles had always allowed 
 to this time. And so it was as the years passed 
 on they lost their former reverence for the 
 peculiarities of their persuasion, and by degrees 
 conformed to the doctrines and practices of the 
 
AV COLONIAL MARYLAND. 45 
 
 people among whom tliey lived. This is the 
 most probable conjecture, and is fortified by still 
 existing tradition. 
 
 Anotlier sect that settled in Maryland about 
 the year 1680, was a com23any of Labadists, a 
 body that lived on communal princii3les. They 
 were few in number, and were in various ways 
 attractive, but though ambitious of proselytes, 
 they gained but few. Their existence, how^ever, 
 was short-lived in Maryland. They came from 
 Friesland, founded by Labadie, formerly a priest 
 of the Roman Communion, a Frenchman who 
 settled in Holland. Their views and i)ractices 
 were in many ways peculiar. 
 
 Of course there were in addition to these all 
 the various forms of dissent from the Established 
 church. For toleration, though for a short while 
 in a measure denied, soon was allowed most 
 fully, the Roman Catholics, also, having all 
 religious privileges, though denied equal 
 political rights. These other sects, however, 
 did not come in with demonstration, but were 
 content to enjoy and rejoice in the liberty which 
 in some cases they were denied at home.' The 
 Scotch brought over their Presbyterian affilia- 
 tions, the Germans their Lutheran organization, 
 while from incidental remarks we know^ that in 
 the earlier period, and probably all the way along, 
 there were Jews as well as other unbelievers in 
 the province. The composite character of the 
 religious proclivities of the people was brought 
 out in the year 1760, when Boston having suffered 
 very greatly by fire, the Governor of Slaryland 
 called on the citizens of the province to contribute 
 for the relief of the sufferers. The resj^onse was 
 
46 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 liberal, one tlionsand, eight hundred and thirty- 
 nine pounds, given approximately as follows : 
 by the Established Church, fifteen hundred and 
 three pounds, by the Quakers one hundred and 
 thirty-four pounds, by the Presbyterians one 
 hundred and seven, by the Roman Catholics 
 seventy-six, by the Baptists seven, by the 
 Dunkers six, by the Lutherans live. These items 
 are interesting as showing not only the religious 
 denominations within the i^rovince, but also in 
 some degree they may be supposed to indicate 
 their relative numbers. Doing so, they show,, 
 also, why the establishment continued to be,, 
 notwithstanding a large amount of wrangling and 
 dispute from time to time, an accepted institu- 
 tion to the close of the colonial days. It 
 contained within it the great body of the people, 
 and it embraced the great influential class that 
 by its intelligence swayed the legislature and bj 
 its wealth supported the government. It takes 
 but a few men to begin an agitation and those 
 few may be controlled by unworthy reasons^ 
 which they may be loth to make known to the 
 world. An institution is fixed in a community 
 because it rests upon the flxed sentiment 
 of the great mass of the people and presents 
 to their heart and mind strong reasons for its 
 existence. Nothing else than this can account 
 for the solidity of the establishment amidst all 
 kinds of agitation that raged around it and in it 
 through the whole period of its existence and 
 the gracious farewell that was extended to it at 
 last, and the quasi recognition of its principle 
 that was contained in the Bible of Rights. The; 
 establishment was always supported by the bestj 
 
IN COLONIAL MABTLANI). 47 
 
 sentiment and willingly sustained by the pre- 
 pondering wealth of the people. 
 
48 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER ly. 
 
 THE CARRYING OUT OF THE ACT OF 
 ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 The Act of Establisliinent though passed in 
 May 1692 was ■ not carried out till January 1694 
 or rather 1695, according to our present division 
 of the year, and that for the reason, apparently, 
 that Gov. Copley, who was the first governor of 
 the now Royal Province, did not feel any strong 
 interest in the matter, with enough of other 
 things during his brief administration, to engross 
 his attention. He was succeeded by Gov. Nich- 
 olson, who reached the colony in 1694, and at 
 once by his vigor the law was carried into effect, 
 and the territory laid out into parishes. Gov. 
 Nicholson was to the province of Maryland in 
 the highest degree a blessing during the period 
 of about four years which he continued in it. 
 No man of that time, may be, has been more 
 severely criticised by our historians than he, 
 though often it would seem with a kind of mock 
 liberality of political sentiment. In fact, fre- 
 quently in reading theii' denunciations of the men 
 and measures of those times there appears a want 
 of true appreciation of the times in which the 
 
/iV" COLONIAL MARYLAND. 49 
 
 objects of tlieir abomination lived and labored. 
 There is no sense in judging a man of the seven- 
 teenth century by laAvs that have grown out of 
 the advancement that has taken place since the 
 seventeenth century. What would be an arbi- 
 trary measure now would not have been an arbi- 
 trary measure then. What would be a lofty and 
 imperious manner now in the case of some ]3ublic 
 X)rotest, in the midst of a people all of whose 
 officers are of their own choosing, x^assing minis- 
 ters of their will, would not have been a loft 5^ 
 and imperious manner in the days when kings 
 ruled, and when the limits of constitutional 
 authority were indefinitely understood both by 
 kings and people. So, to read such strictures now, 
 as we sometimes find our nineteenth century 
 historians indulging in, rather palls upon the ear, 
 and it becomes our desire to leave their judgments 
 and ascertain their facts. Grovernor Nicholson 
 seems to have been a man of hasty temper and 
 impatient of restraint. He seems also to have 
 had the unfortunate faculty of , pursuing any 
 object of his antipathy relentlessly. At the 
 same time, while it is the fashion now to saj^ 
 hard things of him, very pleasant things were 
 said of him while he was governor of Maryland, 
 as the council proceedings show, things highly 
 commendatory of his course; the final testimon- 
 ial of this nature being given in 1698 when his 
 authority in Maryland ceased. In Virginia, 
 also, he was very popular, a handsome donation, 
 as a testimonial, having been voted him, though 
 it is true he was not there uninterruptedly 
 popular. Years afterwards, also, when he 
 became governor of South Carolina, he was held 
 
50 (JHURUH LIFE 
 
 in higli favor, and in such completed a long 
 political association with the colonies. 
 
 This was the man that without any special 
 appointment for this reason, became the patron 
 of the cause of the Church in Maryland under 
 the recently enacted law; and coming into power 
 he immediately set about establishing the 
 church' s influence. Regarding the law as going 
 into effect upon its passage, as it did, he caused 
 the accumulated tax to be used in building- 
 churches, while also he had the gratification of 
 being able to induct eight ministers into Cures. 
 Some of these, it appears, had accompanied him 
 to the colony. His influence, also, made the 
 establishment very popular as far as his influ- 
 ence was needed; and we are informed "the 
 churches were crowded as full as they could 
 hold." This, as already surmised, was not (mly 
 because the governor favored the church and 
 clergy, but probably also because it was the first 
 opportunity furnished for the general assem- 
 bling of the people in protestant places of 
 worship; and there was a strong yearning at that 
 time to worship God under the ministrations of 
 a protestant ministry. The antagonism of the 
 whole protestant body to the Roman Church, 
 with which sentiment the air was charged, both 
 in England and America, made even dissenters 
 glad to embrace the establishment as a strongly 
 felt want. Probably never at any time, either 
 in 'England or in the colony, was there a nearer 
 approach to an accommodation on the part of 
 dissenters and churchmen than now. This had 
 been brought about by the common uprising of 
 all classes against the x)erfidious but plausible 
 
 1 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 51 
 
 designs of James II. Both the Act of Toleration 
 and the proposed Act of Comprehension testify 
 to this. Gov. Nicholson did all he could to 
 make the Church of England accej)table to the 
 whole body of the peojole, and he so far suc- 
 ceeded as that opposition to it was not found 
 among the non-conformists in general, but only 
 among the widely separated bodies, the Quaker 
 and Roman Catholics. 
 
 Another subject which early excited his 
 interest was that of education. Before coming 
 into Maryland, while Lieutenant Governor of 
 Virginia, he had secured the estal)lishnient of 
 the College of William and Mary, and while he 
 did not attempt so elaborate an enterprise in 
 Maryland his aim was to provide free schools 
 throughout the province. In 1696 the attem^Dt 
 was repeated in an act petitioning the king for 
 liberty to establish a school in every county. 
 The idea was, that such schools should be 
 feeders to William and Mary College. The 
 attempt was in a measure successful and various 
 schools were opened. It is highly probable that 
 such a system Avas supplemented by parochial 
 schools conducted by the clergy. There is 
 frequent evidence of this given; though with 
 both opportunities the standard of education in 
 the province must have been low. There were 
 always some men of high attainments, among 
 them a small number who had been sent to 
 Europe to complete tlietr training. The mass 
 of the people, however, had neither the appre- 
 ciation nor the leisure to attain more than the 
 rudiments. 
 
 Besides Governor Nicholson, Maryland was 
 
52 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 also extremely fortunate at the same time in the 
 possession of another eminent man in the 
 administration of her affairs. This was the Rev. 
 Dr. Bray who for some years acted as commissary, 
 a church officer whose duty was to have supervis- 
 ion of the clergy and a certain oversight in the 
 regulation of church matters. It is difficult to 
 speak very clearly about his influence, because 
 the office was at best but a passing adaption to a 
 passing need. He possessed none of the powers 
 of the^ episcopate. He was only the Bishop's 
 representative for supervision to take cognizance 
 of cases, to warn the unruly. In Dr. Bray's case 
 the office was highly respected. Afterwards, 
 however, Avhen it came into other hands, and 
 jealousies were excited, it is questionable whether 
 often it did not do more harm than good. 
 Pretensions were put forth on the one side and a 
 grasping after authority, which were resisted 
 with violence and virulence. Dr. Bray occupied 
 a relatively higher position than any one that 
 succeeded him did. He was in the colony but a 
 short time. Eff'orts were often made by the 
 clergy, sometimes jointly with the civil authority, 
 to secure the residence of a Bishop. Even at 
 this early date such an effort was made. The 
 Bishop of London was ordinary for the colonies, 
 though this title was sometimes given to the 
 Governor of Marjdand ; but of course the benefit 
 of such an arrangement was small compared 
 with the influence a Bishop on the spot might 
 exercise. Discipline was always at fault, and 
 incalculable harm was often done by unworthy 
 ministers. Ordination to the holy ministry 
 could only be obtained by crossing the sea, and 
 
m COLONIAL MARYLAND. 58 
 
 SO the supply was kept down. Dependence was 
 altogether upon clergymen from Great Britain, 
 many of whom left their country for their 
 country's good. Confirmation of course could 
 never be administered. 
 
 To obtain a Bishop, however, was impossible 
 in the then state of things, and so as the next 
 best thing a commissary was chosen and sent out. 
 This was done at the solicitation of the clergy, 
 who desired that the officer sent might be 
 " capacitated to redress what is amiss and supply 
 what is wanting in the church." There was no 
 law of the colony providing for such an officer, 
 neither had regulation been made for his 
 support or for his authority over the person of 
 the citizens, whether clerical or lay ; questions 
 that were to excite in the coming days a great 
 deal of discussion and bitterness. Dr. Bray was 
 readily fixed upon for the office, having by his 
 writings had the attention of Dr. Compton 
 called to himself, and in 1696 he was chosen. He 
 did not immediately, however, go over to his 
 province, but remained in England till the close 
 of 1699, reaching the colony early in the next year. 
 It was the peculiarly good fortune of Maryland 
 to have had at the same time two such ardent 
 friends laboring for her. Governor Nicholson in 
 immediate administration of her civil affairs and 
 Dr. Bray using all his endeavors to forward her 
 best religious interests. For the latter was 
 indefatigable in his efforts to x^^ovide for his 
 Jurisdictions not only ministers to whom he 
 offered many worthy inducements, but also 
 parish libraries of the best works of the day for 
 the information of the clergy, and through them 
 
o4 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 of tlie people. He regarded this as one of the 
 best things he could accomplish. For many of the 
 clergy of the time, though duly ordained, 
 were greatly wanting in training, so that a 
 subsequent governor expressed his surprise how 
 such unprepared men could ever have entered 
 the niinistr}^ The hope of a supply of ministers 
 at all was, of course, chiefly from the poorer of 
 the home clergy. Only such could in any num- 
 bers be expected to brave the difliculties of the 
 long sea voyage with its attendant risks in those 
 days, and to undergo the unknown trials of a 
 colonial life. So he felt parish libraries to be a 
 great necessity, and succeeded in establishing 
 about thirty in Maryland, with others in other 
 parts of America, as well as some also in England. 
 We at this day can hardly appreciate the need 
 there was of such provision at that time. A 
 home far awa}^ from the centre of x>ublication, 
 the price of books high, the salary of the clergy 
 small as a rule, with nothing like our current 
 literature, which whatever may be said of its 
 value, at any rate gives the mind some exercise, 
 an uneducated people wdiose demands upon the 
 clergy were not stimulating, constituted a crowd 
 of obstacles enough to reduce the standard of 
 clerical attainment to the smallest. Dr. Bray 
 endeavored in his capacity of commissary, to 
 l^rovide relief for this, and made personal solici- 
 tations to the wealthy. Where he found an un- 
 willingness to contribute for the use of the colo- 
 ny he endeavored to secure something for feebler 
 parishes at home. The libraries sent out differed 
 very greatly in numbers, that of St. Ann's par- 
 ish, Annapolis, having a thousand and ninety-five 
 
IN COLONIAL MABYLAND. 55 
 
 volumes. Tliey were committed to the care of 
 the rector, being intended for his use, who was 
 bound to see that the books were preserved. 
 Most of these collections have long since been 
 scattered, but from time to time a separate book 
 is picked up in some old parish. St. John's col- 
 lege, Annapolis, has quite a number of them in 
 its keeping. The disorder into which everything 
 fell during the Revolution and subsequently, 
 was the cause of the loss. They would hardly, 
 however, even if they were still in existence, 
 possess more than an antiquarian interest. 
 
 Dr. Bray's efforts to secure clergy for the par- 
 ishes, were so far successful that when he came 
 into the colony he found, including such as came 
 with him, seventeen. These all came expecting 
 to be supported by the provision made for them 
 in the province, that is, by the Act of Establish- 
 ment. For though Missionaries were sent out by 
 the great English Society for Propagating the 
 gospel, to other parts of America, yet Maryland 
 was supi30sed to be able to take care of itself. 
 That Society was indeed the child of Dr. Bray's 
 own heart and mind in a most eminent degree. 
 Its field, however, was in other parts of America. 
 Yet Maryland did not make any abundant pro- 
 vision. Each parish was to take care of its own 
 rector, and consequently there was a great differ- 
 ence in the value of the livings. The supposi- 
 tion was that the average sum for a living would 
 be about one hundred pounds sterling, but ac- 
 tually the income in some places was not more than 
 a quarter of that. The chief cause of this differ- 
 ence was the varying character of the population, 
 some sections of the colony being far more thick- 
 
5(J (JHURCH LIFE 
 
 ly settled than otliers. An attempt was made in 
 the beginning to compensate for this by making 
 the parishes in the thinly settled portions much 
 larger, a means that later produced sometimes 
 irritating and painful results, while in the begin- 
 ning it made the labors of the rector often very 
 excessive. The irritating circumstances arose 
 from the fact that when the territory filled up, 
 the incumbent had far more to do than he had 
 time for, and the people were thus denied Church 
 opi^ortunities, and yet, as the incumbent's salary 
 was contingent upon the number of polls, he was 
 opiDOsed to a division. Besides, inducted into 
 the whole parish he regarded a division as 
 an interference with his vested rights. The di- 
 vision, however, took place ; though sometimes 
 the difficulty was provided for by the erection of 
 chapels of ease and the apj)ointment of assis- 
 tants. Another circunjstance made the income 
 to vary from year to year, the varying quality 
 and market value of the currency in which all 
 .colonial officers were jjaid, tobacco. Attempts 
 were made to fix a rate of commutation in the 
 scrip of the colony, but the planters could al- 
 ways get the better of the parsons in that, by 
 paying in what medium they pleased. Some of 
 the parishes after a few years yielded very hand- 
 some incomes, while some others were always 
 extremely weak. 
 
 The whole arrangement 23roduced many diffi- 
 culties throughout the whole colonial period. 
 In some parishes the scantiness of the clergy- 
 man's income caused better men to make special 
 provision for their support, and a number of 
 cures early received endowments in land. Plur- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 57 
 
 alities were allowed, as we liave seen, nnder 
 certain conditions, but the necessary labor 
 involved often meant practical inefficiency. In 
 some respects Maryland had a show of prosx)er- 
 ity which was not always justified by the facts. 
 
 Dr. Bray, having come into the colony, imme- 
 diately began the duties of his office. In the 
 May following his arrival, having previously 
 visited each parish, he called together the clergy 
 at Annax)olis, now for six years the capital of 
 the colony, when a general discussion was had 
 upon matters bearing upon the good of the 
 church. The visitation lasted several days, and 
 the best feeling prevailed. He exhorted the 
 clergy to diligence in the instruction of the 
 young, in parochial visiting, in Catechising in 
 the church, and in private where great distances 
 prevented families from attending service; to be 
 earnest in teaching the duty of seeking baptism, 
 of which there had been great neglect, the 
 opportunities also in most places having been 
 few; and to begin the regular monthly adminis- 
 tration of the Holy Communion as soon as a 
 sufficient number of persons could be found 
 desirous of receiving the same. Great satisfac- 
 tion was expressed at the recent passage of a 
 new act of establishment, which had been by the 
 unanimous consent of the Assembly; thanks 
 were extended to Governor Blackiston for his 
 support in the matter, and reference was made 
 to the necessity of discipline for the clergy, 
 looseness of morals on their part being declared 
 the greatest obstacle that could afflict the colony. 
 One' minister was severely arraigned in the 
 presence of his brethren, his conduct being 
 
58 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 seemingly most extreme, and a time was ap- 
 pointed for his trial; an assum^Dtion of author- 
 ity on the commissary's i^art that was not 
 accorded to his successors. A scheme was laid 
 out for several visitations a year, one of them 
 to be a general visitation annually, when all the 
 clergy were to be convened. Before their final 
 separation the clergy joined in a request to the 
 commissary that he would return to England 
 to further the cause of the establishment act 
 passed this year, and also to secure, as far as 
 possible, an increase in the number of ministers. 
 One item among their proceedings is of peculiar 
 interest. It was a contribution made by the 
 clergy assembled for the support of a missionary 
 among the Quakers of Pennsylvania. They are 
 described as "sadly deluded into a total apostasy 
 from^ the Christian faith," and the clergy, rejoic- 
 ing in their own privilege, as a kind of thank 
 offering determined to recover as many as possi- 
 ble from the error of their way. Pennsylvania 
 was regarded probably as a field for foreign 
 missions; for there were many Quakers in Mary- 
 land for whose conversion the clergy might have 
 both labored and contributed. The Act of 
 Establishment, however, had not put these 
 latter in a proper frame of mind for conversion; 
 while for some years Pennsylvania had been 
 very greatly excited and divided by a violent 
 religious discussion, in the midst of which a 
 very considerable number of Quakers had repu- 
 diated their former views. This was therefore 
 felt to be an opportunity. The amount sub- 
 scribed was twenty-five pounds sterling, to be 
 paid annually, and the commissary of Virginia 
 
IJV COLONIAL MABYLAND. 59 
 
 was solicited to j)romote tlie same endeavor 
 amongst his clergy. It was a decided advance 
 upon the old way of treating the Friends, and 
 indicates a degree of earnestness which we are 
 sometimes disposed to think did not exist in 
 those days. Many of the pastors who came 
 over to Maryland at that time, were certainly 
 men of Christian tone and devotion. Dr. Bray 
 acceded to the request to return to England, and 
 it was well for the Church that he did; for 
 without his resolute endeavors the act of 1702 
 would never have been finally ai3proved. He 
 did not return to America, though until his 
 death, some thirty years after this time, he 
 continued the steadfast friend of the Church in 
 Maryland. One cause ]jrobably of the cessation 
 of his connection with the Establishment, was 
 his disappointment about his support. For it 
 was expected that as commissary he should be 
 made judge in testamentary cases, an office 
 which would have yielded hiiu three hundred 
 pounds sterling j^er annum. As it was it was 
 denied him, and also again when he sought it in 
 his successor's behalf; and the agitation of the 
 subject produced only bitterness with the civil 
 authority. For the commissary as such there 
 was no provision made. Dr. Bray had been 
 most liberal with his own funds while laboring 
 for the colony, and his means were now greatly 
 contracted. 
 
 As to the immediate influence of the new 
 position of the church for good upon the moral 
 condition of the colony, we are not left in dark- 
 ness. The difference between a community 
 ministered to by clergymen and one where the 
 
60 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 gos23el is not preached, ought to be apparent. 
 A new c(jmnmnity without the gospel is, as we 
 find it in our own day, a place where looseness 
 abounds, and that such was the condition of 
 things in Maryland before the year seventeen 
 hundred there is sufficient testimony. Such a 
 promiscuous gathering of men could not but be 
 regardless of the prox)rieties of life, and the only 
 thing that could save the Maryland manners, 
 was the fact that there were no great communi- 
 ties of men, there being but very few places that 
 had the name and much fewer that had the 
 appearance of towns. The condition of things 
 at the time of the Protestant Revolution, we 
 have seen. Dr. Bray, however, was able to 
 assure the clergy that he had learned, while 
 going from parish to parish, that the effect of 
 the clergy's presence, the preaching of the 
 gospel, and the u]3rightness of life which they 
 themselves exemplified in their various helds, had 
 produced immediate good. Evil men proved a 
 drawback from time to time, but many good men, 
 some of them marked for their excellence, also 
 abounded; and the i^eople received a positive 
 blessing, of which, after the first noted effects, 
 they ceased to be sensible. It is by contrast 
 alone we often get to know of the most import- 
 ant facts, and the immense good the Establish- 
 ment was working all the time, the terrible 
 depravity from which it was saving the colony, 
 was never discerned. It was doubtless the bul- 
 wark of right living till its closing days, when 
 the increase of poj)ulation prepared the way 
 for the introduction of the voluntary princi- 
 ple. 
 
IN COLONIAL MABYLAND. 61 
 
 CHAPTER y. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PARISH. 
 
 We have now come to the organization of the 
 parish and the incidents accompanying it. 
 These i)resent many odd features to our con- 
 ception; though Maryland notions were probably 
 not very different from those of the home 
 country in regard to like things. First must be 
 remembered that this was in the days when the 
 alliance between the church and state was such, 
 to the exclusion of higher thoughts in large 
 measure, that the tone and feeling of the church 
 were greatly secularized. Some of the 
 X^urest and noblest men shone eminently in 
 that period, with Tillotson, • Archbishop of 
 Canterbury at their head. The Church's true 
 relation, however, to the spiritual welfare of the 
 people, was often obscured, and jplace was too 
 frequently the object which priests and spiritual 
 rulers had in their minds. With this of course 
 came about a low spiritual standard among the 
 people. Yet the colonists of Maryland were not 
 wanting in earnestness, though in some things 
 they were wanting in refinement of i^erception, 
 and things were imx)osed upon the clergy by law 
 
(33 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 and methods pursued for the house of God that 
 woukl to us seem impossible. 
 
 The parish of St. James, Herring Creek, was 
 laid out in the year 1694 (O. S.) by certain 
 councillors and justices, Anne Arundel County 
 being divided into four parts. The record runs 
 thus: "Att a court held att London Town ye 
 31st day of January anno Dom. 1694 and in ye 
 sixth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord 
 and Lady Willm. and Mary by ye grace of God 
 of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland King 
 and Queen, Defender of ye faith &c. By ye 
 justices and councillors thereunto authorized, 
 with ye most i3rincipal freeholders and others 
 called for ye laying out of ye county of Ann 
 Arundel into districts and parishes, in pursuance 
 to an Act of Assembly entitulled an act for ye 
 service of Almighty God and ye Establishment 
 of ye Protestant Religion in this province made 
 att ye citty of St. Mary's the tenth day of May 
 Anno Dom. 1692. 
 
 Councillors and Justices present 
 Esa \ ^oi^^^^cil^^^i's. 
 
 Coll Nicholas Greenbury 
 The Hon. Thos. Tench 
 
 Mr. James Sanders, 
 
 Maj. Henry Ridgiey, 
 
 Capt. Nicli. Gasaway, 
 
 Mr. Henry Constable, \ Justices. 
 
 Mr. Philip Howard, 
 
 Mr. John Dorsey, 
 
 Mr. Setli Biggs, 
 
 Whereas, in pursuance of ye authority to us 
 given by ye afore mentioned act, it is found con- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 63 
 
 venient and is liereni3on concluded that this 
 County of Ann Arundell be divided into four 
 parishes, the bounds and limitts of St. James' 
 parish, then called by ye name of Herring Creek 
 parish in Herring Creeke hundred Avith ye 
 residue of West River hundred beginning at 
 ye Southmost bounds of South River j^nrish on 
 ye land of Ewen upon Ewenton, now in the 
 possession of Richard Gallaway, and bounding 
 on ye East with ye Day of Chessepeake lieing 
 down Southerly to ye creek called Fishing Creek 
 then West with ye said creek to ye bounds of 
 Ann Arundel and Callvert Countys to Lyons 
 Creek, then with ye said creek to Potuxan, then 
 up ye sd river to ye land called Whites Plaines to 
 the Southernmost bounds of South River parish. 
 And from White's Plains Easterly including ye 
 
 ^and plantation of Thomas Stockett, Coll. 
 
 Thomas Taylor's quarter, and by his dwelling 
 j)lantation, — by John Wooden, Richard Wigg, 
 Seaborn Batty, Doctor Ferdinandoe Batty, and 
 so to the aforementioned bounds of ye land 
 called Ewen upon Ewenton." 
 
 The commission having so far concluded its 
 labors, the next thing to do was the organization 
 of the parish, which was done under an order of 
 the commission to the sheriff requiring him to 
 give notice "to ye freeholders to meet at ye 
 place hereinafter mentioned on ye second Thurs- 
 day in February next ensuing, and there make 
 choise of six ye most able men to be a vestry for 
 the parish as aforesayd, and that ye clerk issue 
 out summonses to ye sheriff for that purpose, 
 which was accordingly done. Att which day the 
 freeholders of ye i3arish of Herring Creek*^ and 
 
64 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 part of West River liundred (id est) St. James' 
 parish at ye day and time aforesaid mett att ye 
 house of John Willson Sen. in ye said parish 
 and then and there did ellect and choose for 
 their vestry, viz: 
 
 Hon. Thos. Tench Esq. , Mr. James Rigbie, 
 Mr. Selli Biggs, ' Mr. Nicholas Turrett, 
 
 Oapt. Wm. Holland, Caj^t. Robert Lockwood. 
 
 The parish was thus organized, and in the 
 following April the vestry elected the Church 
 wardens, Mr. Wm. Holland and Mr. Abraham 
 Brickhead, to serve for the ensuing year. Their 
 first care was to qualify themselves for their 
 office, and to do so they provided themselves 
 with a copy of the law under Avhich they were 
 acting; according to which, there were various 
 oaths appointed by act of Parliament which they 
 were compelled to take. This was not done till 
 the following August. The oaths were emi- 
 nently ironclad, and covered grounds which to 
 our minds lie outside ecclesiastical relations, pro- 
 perly so called. The only thing that can be said 
 is they were in harmony with the then institu- 
 tions. They were as follows: 
 
 First, I do sincerely promise and swear that 
 I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his 
 Majesty King William. So help me God. 
 
 Second, I do swear that I do from my heart 
 abhor, detest and abjure, as impious and hereti- 
 cal the damnable doctrine and position that 
 princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope 
 or any authority of the see of Rome, may be 
 deposed or murthered by their subjects or any 
 other whatsoever. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 65 
 
 Third, and I do declare that no foreign prince, 
 I)erson, or prelate, or potentate, hath or ought 
 to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, 
 prominency, or authority, ecclesiastical or spirit- 
 ual within the realm of England or the domin- 
 ions thereunto belonging. So help me, &c. 
 
 There was also this test required of every 
 church officer: We the subscribers do declare 
 that we do believe that there is not any transub- 
 stantiation in ye sacrament of the Lord' s supper 
 or in the elements of bread and wine at or after 
 the consecration thereof by any person or per- 
 sons whatsoever. 
 
 Also the following injunction was required to 
 be given: You shall well and truly act and do — 
 in every station, — without prejudice, favor or 
 affection, with equal rights to all persons, and 
 shall not diminish or detain from any minister 
 legally qualified and presented, inducted or 
 appoynted by his excellency or other ways, any 
 right, perquisite or benefit given by law. So 
 help you God. 
 
 These oaths reflect the fears and jealousies of 
 the times, and grew out of that period when the 
 Church of England was so greatly endangered, 
 as well also as the liberty of the people, in the 
 last days of Charles II, and more notably in 
 the time of James II, whose acts looked to the 
 building up of an absolute government in Eng- 
 land and the establishment of the church of 
 Rome, to which both of them had conformed. 
 
 It was also an old claim of the Roman see that 
 the Pope had power to absolve subjects from 
 their allegiance, thereby inciting fanatics to 
 murder their rulers; a claim that had more than 
 
66 ' CHURCH LIFE 
 
 once been acted upon in England. The matter 
 also at this time assumed very imposing propor- 
 tions when the fugitive King James was plotting 
 his restoration, and was in correspondence with 
 many in England who were watching by any 
 available means to secure his restoration and 
 thus undo the work of the Revolution; a danger 
 that threatened England for more than a half 
 century. The whole empire was, therefore, ex- 
 ceedingly jealous, and care was taken by every 
 means to provide against disloyal men getting 
 an opportunity of doing harm. This was in a large 
 measure the cause of the laying of restrictions 
 upon Roman Catholics everywhere in the British 
 Empire. The immense presumption of that 
 church excited suspicion against its members. 
 
 The parish thus established was one of thirty 
 into which the province was divided. This 
 division affords quite a fair opportunity for our 
 seeing how the settlements were then distri- 
 buted, being nearly all adjacent to the water 
 courses; and the subsequent reports made from 
 time to time of the condition of the parishes and 
 number of families, show the relative strength of 
 the population in the different sections. Much 
 of the colony was not occupied at all in 1695, 
 while the immense size of many of the parishes 
 shows that the population in them was exceed- 
 ingly scanty . For one reason of their great extent 
 was that x)ersons enough might be included to 
 provide for the minister of the cure a comjDe- 
 tence; though often they failed to do this, as in 
 some instances the income was not more than 
 twenty -five or thirty pounds. What we call 
 Western Maryland was then hardly known at all, 
 
ZiY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 67 
 
 Prince George's County being without western 
 limits. As the poi^ulation increased new coun- 
 ties were set up, and also new parishes were 
 created. 
 
 When the vestry assumed charge of the parish 
 they found an old church already existing, the 
 church of the original Herring Creek Parish; 
 and curiously enough its name has passed over 
 into popular use to the present jDarish. This 
 older edifice is supposed to have been situated 
 near the present village of Friendship, in the 
 same neighborhood with the Quaker meeting 
 house whose site is still i3ointed out. This is 
 likely, as Herring Creek was a focal designation 
 covering that territory and was the name also 
 of the meeting house. It is probable that that 
 was an earlier center to a considerable population 
 than a more northern point; the settlements hav- 
 ing apparently generall^^ extended up the bay 
 from the original capital of the colony; though 
 it is true, the mouth of the Severn and the parts 
 adjacent down as far as the South River district, 
 had been settled long before this; chiefly, how- 
 ever, by Puritans. Beside this again, there 
 had been in X3revious years several clergymen in 
 Calvert county, Avho could and doubtless did, 
 supiDly this church. One of them was the Rev. 
 John Yeo, who was in Calvert county in 1680. 
 Another was- the Rev. Paul Bertrand, who was 
 sent out from England about 1685 by the king in 
 response to the petition of Mary Taney. He 
 had died in the colony. 
 
 When the old church had been built it is not 
 possible to say, nor by whom. Previous to this 
 time there had been no public provision made 
 
68 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 for building cliurclies or supporting ministers; 
 though efforts were made in 1676 to induce the 
 X3roprietary to make such provision. His reply 
 was that the four protestant ministers in the 
 colony had each a plantation by which he could 
 subsist. Such churches, therefore, as were built 
 and kept ojDen had to be provided by private 
 subscription. That the old church had been 
 built many years before is evident from the fact 
 that in 1695 it had to be covered anew and eight 
 hundred pounds of tobacco were ordered for the 
 work. For some reason, however, either because 
 it was not near enough to the center of the parish, 
 or because it was not sufficiently large, aided by 
 the fact that the means for building were plenti- 
 ful, the vestry immediately set about building a 
 new edifice, the contract for which was given out 
 in 1695. The means were at hand, because it was 
 j)rovided for in the act of establishment that the 
 tax for the support of the church should be 
 levied from year to year; and when there was no 
 incumbent in a parish the proceeds of the tax 
 were to go to the repairing and building of 
 churches. St. James' and most of the other 
 parishes were in this way provided with means 
 for this demand, and worthy buildings were 
 erected; for when the law went into effect there 
 were only three clergymen in the colony and in the 
 year 1700 there were only seventeen, some of them 
 having just come over. Funds therefore rapid- 
 ly accumulated. 
 
 The new church was not very pretentious. 
 We have the following description of it given, 
 a fair type doubtless of most of them in Mary- 
 land: It was forty feet long, twenty feet wide 
 
. IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 69 
 
 and twelve feet high in the side walls, with 
 seven window frames and arched roof. It was to 
 be finished inside with "chancell and table, with 
 rayl and banisters, pnlx3it, reading desk and 
 Gierke's seat, the chnrch to be seeled from top 
 to bottom with half inch plank, batined in pan- 
 nells, j)i^es to be built on each side of the chnrch, 
 shutters to every window, the porch to be seeled 
 after the same manner." The door was on the 
 South side, with a porch nine feet square before 
 it. The description of this j)orch as given is: "Ye 
 door archt, with railes and banisters on each 
 side, ye roof to be shingled as ye church." The 
 capacity of such a building according to our 
 present arrangement of seats would be about one 
 hundred and fifty sittings, though with the old 
 style of square pews economxy of space was not 
 so much considered. As first built, however, 
 it was sufficient for their needs, though as time 
 went on it was in various ways enlarged and 
 additional capacity provided. This was done 
 either by increasing the length of the building 
 or by the erection of galleries, or by taking into 
 use a vestry house as an annex. These changes 
 began as early as 1704, and were made with 
 consent of the vestry by private individuals who 
 obtained exclusive title to the pews so provided, 
 with the right of alienating them. The number 
 of taxables nearly doubled in the first twenty - 
 five years of the j)arish history. 
 
 The church was a long while in finishing, 
 various causes of delay having arisen. Also 
 having already a place of worshijD there was 
 probably not so much urgency, and though 
 money was sure to come in it would require 
 
70 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 several years in which to accumulate a sufficient 
 amount. Besides, though it is said that in some 
 parts of Maryland the churches were without 
 floors save wdiat mother earth j)rovided, certainly 
 that was not the case here. If it was anywhere 
 the fact it is a high testimony to the faithfulness 
 of the people wdio would not wait to have the 
 floors laid to commence their offering of worship, 
 for the Assembly provided the means which was 
 sure to be furnished in a short time. That there 
 was such urgency throughout the colony for the 
 beginning of holy worshii^ there can be no 
 doubt. The opportunity for prayer and praise 
 was not given before there was a demand for it. 
 
 The work on St. James,' however, was not 
 rudely or hastily done. For the "gentlemen" 
 who had comx)osed a large part of the original 
 colony, never died out in Maryland; but all the 
 w^ay through the colonial days we find the evi- 
 dence of their intelligence and force of character, 
 not only in civil but also in social affairs; a condi- 
 tion of society which West River, with its rich 
 and productive soil, was always able to cherish. 
 This was the case at this time, so that we find 
 every care which pride and love could bestow, 
 manifested for the church and its appointments; 
 and though small in size and plain according to 
 our present tastes, it began at once to be and 
 ever continued the center of the dearest and 
 holiest associations. Later down in the century 
 a change took place, and much taste and art 
 were shown in the building and adornment, not 
 only of churches and other public buildings, but 
 also of private residences. In Annapolis and the 
 adjacent country especially, are such examples 
 
IN COLONIAL MABYLAND. 71 
 
 presented, the architecture and elaborate work- 
 manship often putting to the blush many of the 
 pretentious efforts of this x)resent time. Many 
 honorable mechanics doubtless came to America, 
 as to a new field which with its increasing- 
 wealth offered large opportunity to their genius 
 and ambition; while beside there were many who 
 came over involuntarily, men who, of practical 
 skill in the mechanical arts, were for some 
 delinquency or crime, transported from their 
 homes to these shores. Tradition ascrioes more 
 than one elegant piece of adornment to this class. 
 There was employed in the building of the first 
 church of the parish one snch involuntary 
 immigrant whose time was bought by the vestry. 
 
 From the year 1695 till 1698 there was no 
 settled rector in the parish ; but the law had 
 provided for that case by making provision for 
 lay readers, so that we hnd one such reading the 
 service regularly at two hundred pounds of 
 tobacco a month. We find also a person who 
 wandered about America very considerably, the 
 Rev. Hugh Jones, preaching three sermons in 
 the xjarish ; for which he received four hundred 
 pounds of tobacco. He apj)ears a little later as 
 the rector of Christ Church, Calvert co. ; a man 
 who was apparently fond of his pen and used it 
 sometimes skillfully in depicting to the English 
 imagination scenes that had entertained him 
 here. 
 
 In the matter of providing for the church 
 building in those days, there seems to have been 
 some confusion as to the means. We have seen 
 that one of the functions of the vestry was to sell, 
 for a term of years, white women guilty of having 
 
72 CHURGH LIFE 
 
 mulatto children, a crime that in the early days 
 of the colony was very frequently committed, 
 showing the presence of a fearfully debased class 
 of society. Such cases were tried before the 
 county court, the vestries only executing the 
 sentence. Nor was the evil soon abated, for in 
 1715 we find it re-enacted, with the same penalty 
 of seven years servitude inflicted on the father, 
 if a free negro. A white man also was similarly 
 punished who should be the father of a mulatto, 
 so strenuously did they labor against mis- 
 cegenation ; while so radical was the evil that 
 the law was re-enacted in 1717 and 1728. But 
 the strangest part was that such children were 
 supposed to bfelong to the church, and the 
 pecuniary profits resulting from the crime in the 
 sale both of parents and children, went to the 
 use of the church, though afterwards it was 
 claimed by one of the best ministers ever in the 
 colony, that such persons belonged of right to the 
 clergy, a claim that was apparently recognized. 
 
 As at this time there was no rector in the 
 parish we find the vestry using their oppor- 
 tunity and providing out of the thirty- two 
 pounds sterling they had received from the sale 
 of such persons, the following articles along with 
 others. Their order was that the money be laid 
 out in iron work, glass and other necessary 
 things ; but when the account was returned it 
 was found to include in ''necessary things" a 
 surplice, with a ' ' flagon, two cupps, one challice, 
 and one fine mettle bason," for baptisms, as 
 afterwards noted; a rather incongruous associa- 
 tion one would think between the means and the 
 end. The same bill of items enables us to get a 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 73 
 
 little nearer glance at tlie old church and the 
 people's estimate of comeliness ; for we find five 
 pounds sterling paid for five yards of fine green 
 broadcloth, with three pounds for silk fringe and 
 fourteen shillings for four tassels. For embroid- 
 ering the cloth, which was to be used for a iDulpit 
 cushion, thirty shillings were paid ; while for 
 fine down to be used in stuffing the same eleven 
 shillings were given, the whole being made up, 
 along with the cari^et, for ten shillings. Truly 
 they had some regard for what was comely and 
 beautiful ; while also they soon outgrew the 
 anomaly of holy vessels being purchased in the 
 way their pewter service was. For in 1701 we 
 find this entry : ''The vestry of this parish, 
 taking into their serious consideration with what 
 decorous and good order ye Blessed Sacrament 
 of the Lord's supper is administered both in 
 their native country and other parts of this 
 province, and out of a pious and godly desire to 
 follow ye good example of their fellow christians 
 and brethren of the church of England, and in 
 obedience to a canon of ye same church ; have 
 unanimously voted ye buying of plate to be 
 used at ye offertory and celebration of ye same 
 sacrament, and for ye purchase thereof subscribed 
 ye several! sumes following : Coll Wm. Holland 
 four pounds, Mr. Henry Hall three pounds, Mr. 
 Anthony Smyth three pounds, Mr. Chris. Vernon 
 three pounds, Mr. Setli Biggs four pounds, Capt. 
 Kobt. Lock wood three pounds, Mr. Abraham 
 Brickhead three pounds, Mathias Clark one 
 pound, Morgan Jones one pound." To this we 
 find added: "His Excellency Governor Blackston 
 five pounds, Mr. Hen. Robison two pounds, Mr. 
 
74 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Rich. Harwood two i^ounds;" a total of tliirty- 
 four pounds sterling. The plate at this time 
 obtained by the fruits of this "pious and 
 godly desire," is, with the loss of one piece, still 
 in use in the parish. As we shall see, other 
 pieces of valuable plate came to the parish by 
 private gift within a few years from this time 
 and are still retained. The old pewter service 
 soon ceased to be mentioned in any inventory 
 given. 
 
 Among the items in the account above men- 
 tioned is one for nine locks for pews. This seems 
 like an anomaly. For the church was built and 
 afterwards was sustained, by a general tax laid 
 upon all except those incapable of labor ; the 
 vestry in one instance having the jDower to make 
 the assessment. The church would therefore 
 apparently belong to all equally without any 
 reserved rights, a free church in its most perfect 
 manifestation. On the other hand the contrary 
 was the fact to the degree that later down in the 
 history we find it a misdemeanor, with the 
 penalty of corporal infliction attached, for persons 
 to "intrude" in others' pews. The pew doors 
 were locked, and as it was the time of the old 
 high back institution, there was probably not 
 much intrusion done.. The x)ews, it would seem, 
 were regarded as the private possessions only of 
 a few of the wealthier planters. Pews added at 
 private cost might well be regarded as the private 
 possession of those w^ho were at the whole 
 expense, as was sometimes the case. A free 
 gallery also was an idea embodied in the plans for 
 the church ; and the wardens and vestrymen had 
 their oflicial seats to which strangers, especially 
 
ZZV^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 75 
 
 distinguished ones, would be invited. Even in 
 the Quaker meeting, it is said, there were places 
 allotted for the dignitaries of the colony when 
 they might be willing to grace the assembly with 
 their presence. 
 
 With all these allotments, however, the church 
 was not at first too small for the public demands. 
 Rather there was jealousy on the part of the 
 the provincial authorities that the edifice was too 
 large, and the vestry had to make their report 
 that such was not the fact. The desire expressed 
 was that the church should be considered as 
 oi^en to all, an order passed by the vestry in 1698 
 reading "that ye church wardens give notice to 
 ye constables and other persons within this 
 parish, (excex^t Quakers) to come to church every 
 Sabbath day," a rather uncertain action on their 
 part ; for if it was an invitation why did they 
 not invite the Quakers, and why were the 
 constables called into use ? It sounds more like 
 a dim echo of other days when church going was 
 obligatory and they would constrain if they 
 could. The Quakers were, it is to be remembered, 
 a cherished class at this time, at any rate in the 
 mind of William III. and so they were not to be 
 offended even by a seeming invitation. There 
 were also Roman Catholics, as well probably as 
 Christians of other names, residing in the parish. 
 They were all "invited." The Quakers, it is 
 true, had then their own meeting houses, which the 
 others had not ; but this was not a sufficient 
 reason ; for two years after this the church made 
 a subscription to support a missionary among 
 them in Philadelp)hia. Possibly the Quakers in 
 Maryland were regarded as hoj)elessly incorrigi- 
 
76 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 ble and too hardened to come in. They were at 
 any rate not antagonized by an invitation. How 
 far the rest of the workl heeded we are not told, 
 only we know that soon the church had to be 
 increased in size. 
 
 All this time the Governor and council kept a 
 strict surveillance over the vestry's actions, 
 making inquires as to the expenditure of moneys 
 and requiring a copy of the record of their 
 proceedings. The inference to be made, however, 
 from the records, is that there was no occasion 
 for fault ; for down to the period to which we 
 have come, and for a considerable time after- 
 wards the whole tone of the administration was 
 exceedingly worthy. Though acting under the 
 law they evidently rejoiced in the law, and were 
 thankful for the blessed opportunities that the 
 law alone could at that time have provided, of 
 worshiping God in His holy house under the 
 guidance of a duly ordained minister. Every- 
 thing was done decently and in order. 
 Immorality for the first time found something 
 like an effectual check ; and domestic misery 
 growing out of the conjugal infidelity, which so 
 alarmingly prevailed, was in some measure 
 removed, as its cause was rebuked and held up 
 to indignation and scorn. In the establishment 
 Maryland received, as the unanimous voice of its 
 representatives again and again declared, what 
 was in the highest degree necessary for its moral,, 
 social and religious welfare. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 77 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE FIRST RECTORSHIP. 
 
 The rectorship of St. James' parish was first 
 filled by a man in every way qualified to affect 
 the parish permanently for good, the Rev. Henry 
 Hall. He was inducted May 7th, 1698 by Gov. 
 Francis Nicholson, and continued to direct the 
 affairs of the parish till the year 1722, a period 
 embracing many exciting episodes in Maryland 
 church life, in which Mr. Hall bore a prominent 
 part. The form of the induction was as follows, 
 a form greatly changed in the later days of the 
 colony: "Gentlemen, the bearer hereof is ye 
 Rev. Mr. Henry Hall, who is sent by the Right 
 Honorable and Right Reverend Father in God, 
 Henry, Lord Bishop of London, in order to offi- 
 ciate as a clergyman of the Church of England 
 in this his majestie's x^rovince. I do, therefore, 
 in his majesties name, appoint the said Mr. 
 Henry Hall to officiate as a clergyman of ye 
 Church of England in St. James' xDarish in Ann 
 Arrundel County. 
 
 Given under my hand and seale att ye port of 
 Annapolis this seventh day of May in ye tenth 
 yeare of ye reigne of our Sovereigne Lord, Will- 
 iam ye third, by the grace of God of England, 
 
78 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Scotland, France and Ireland King, Defender of 
 ye faith, Annoq. Dom. 1698. 
 
 To ye vestrymen of St. James' Parish in Ann 
 Arrundel County. 
 
 This it will be observed, was entirely the work 
 of the Governor, who, under the present law and 
 condition of things, exercised the power of pre- 
 senting and inducting The function had be- 
 longed to the Lord proprietor under his charter, 
 though of course he had never exercised it; and 
 by the Act of Establishment the right was con- 
 ferred upon the Governor. Afterwards when the 
 province was restored to Lord Baltimore, though 
 for many years the governor continued to induct, 
 under the Act, yet finally Lord Baltimore fell 
 back upon his chartered privileges, and the act 
 of induction ran in his own name and the party 
 presented was of his own choice. This was in 
 harmony with the custom of England at that 
 time, and with the common rule noAv when 
 patrons present absolutely to livings; though 
 there has been much agitation for the purpose of 
 modifying the law within the last few years, and 
 of bestowing some right and influence upon the 
 parishioners in the choice of their ministers, a 
 concomitant of the general development of 
 liberal views in English life. Political views in 
 Maryland were always liberal, and consequently 
 the same agitation took place here more than a 
 hundred years ago. 
 
 For the system was found in Maryland, as it 
 has been found everywhere else, liable to the 
 greatest abuse, and was the occasion of great 
 crying evils through the whole colonial period. 
 For unworthy m^n, finding it to their advantage 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 79 
 
 to leave the mother country, because either their 
 moral or intellectual condition was so low, and 
 hearing of the opportunities in Maryland where 
 the demands on the part of the civil authorities 
 were not so rigorous, were constantly coming 
 over; and as for a long while the supply of 
 clergy was never overfull, it was easy for them 
 to secure positions, and to hold them for life if 
 they would. For once settled, they were raised 
 above the liability of prosecution; and necessar- 
 ily almost, any evil tendency in them, the out- 
 come of vice or ignorance, was only fostered. 
 Many and bitter were the complaints on the part 
 of the better class of the clergy, of the civil 
 authorities, and of the vestries and people. It 
 was an evil, for which, however, no correction 
 could be found till the very last. The appoint- 
 ment of a commissary was tried; but as he could 
 do no more than warn and rebuke, his inlluence 
 was feeble. At times he did assume more, and 
 by some his assumption was acquiesced in; but 
 that was only passing, and the office died of 
 inanition. He was the representative of the 
 Bishop of London, who in spiritual matters was 
 ordinary for the colonies as th^ civil authority, 
 the Governor, was in temjDoral relations; and one 
 of the plans proposed was that the commissary 
 should take evidence and transmit the same to 
 the Bisho}) for final action, as only a Bishop can 
 degrade a minister. In that way the civil rights 
 of a rector in his parish might be vacated. 
 When, however, it was attempted by the Gov- 
 ernor, in 1718, to obtain from the Assembly 
 sufficient power for this procedure, the clergy 
 endorsing the Governor's action, the whole was 
 
80 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 negatived by the non-action of tlie Assembly, 
 tlieir jealousy of such authority causing them to 
 lay the matter over. For America was always 
 afraid of entrusting either legislative or judicial 
 functions to any authority in Great Britain. 
 The clergy also themselves did not heartily 
 approve this scheme, the office of commissary, 
 as xDossessing only delegated authority, not com- 
 mending itself to their judgement as one in which 
 much authority might he reasonably lodged. In 
 some instances, even as it was, it was found in 
 use to create a good deal of trouble and confu- 
 sion. Dr. Bray's difficulty in London with Gov. 
 Seymour being exceedingly painful, and Mr. 
 Henderson's in America with all parties being 
 disastrous in the extreme. The liability to colli- 
 sion from the conflict of jurisdiction was very' 
 great, and even in the hands of a discreet person, 
 who still cared for the honor of his office, conflict 
 was unadvoidable. It was doubtless therefore 
 the leading of a wise Providence that the juris- 
 diction of the commissary was not enlarged, and 
 that the office Anally ceased to be exercised. 
 
 Another plan proposed for abating the evil was 
 the erection of an ecclesiastical court. This was 
 attempted in 1708 by the Assembly during the 
 administration of Gov. Seymour, a gentleman 
 who though well spoken of for his management 
 of the colony's affairs, was bitterly antagonistic 
 to any administration over the church other than 
 his own. This was shown in his aversion to the 
 appointment of a commissary with authority 
 when he was applied to by Dr. Bray. The 
 support proposed for the commissary he 
 utterly rejected, and expressed in no courtly 
 
US' COLONIAL 3IARYLAND. 81 
 
 language his aversion for the office. The court 
 proposed by the Assembly was to consist of three 
 clergymen, three laymen and the Governor; and 
 was to have jurisdiction even to the limit of suspen- 
 ding ministers from their functions. The mention 
 of such acourt shows the great need for some cor- 
 rective discipline; but of course, the plan given 
 excited the greatest ox3position on the part of the 
 clergy, it being clearly seen at the time and stated, 
 that it ignored the first princiiDle of Episcopacy. 
 Protest was immediately entered with the Bishop 
 of London. Governor Seymour, however, did 
 not comfirm the law, on the ground that he had 
 not received instructions from home in regard to 
 the matter. Governor Hart afterwards was dis- 
 posed, on his own motion, to examine into a case 
 where complaint had been made by a vestry of 
 their minister; but was deterred by the jealousy 
 of the clergy against any infraction of the j)rin- 
 ciples of their church government. Nor was the 
 above the only occasion when the attempt was 
 made to set up such a court, as we shall see further 
 on, the attempt being resisted by the same object- 
 tions. 
 
 Another XDlan suggested for the cure of the 
 evil was the appointment of a Bishop for the 
 colonies. Sometimes the petition was for a 
 Bishop for Maryland, sometimes that the settle- 
 ments in America should be provided with two 
 Bishops, one for the Western Islands, the other 
 for the mainland. Sometimes the plea was sent in 
 for a suffragan Bishop, as the representative of 
 the Bishop of London in this part of his jurisdic- 
 ,tion. This desire was expressed, also, not only 
 by the clergy, but also by the commissary, and 
 
82 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 at one time by the civil authority; for all agreed 
 that the only feasible mode of improving the 
 condition of things was the appointment of a 
 Bishop. All such pleadings, however, were 
 neglected. It was proposed that the colony 
 should support the Bishop, as it supported all 
 its clergy. For the clergy of Maryland received 
 no aid from home. The provision for his support 
 was to be obtained by granting him the fees of 
 the oihce for the probate of wills, and by a plan- 
 tation of fifteen hundred acres of knd. This was 
 the plan suggested in 1724. There was no favor- 
 able response, however, from the administrators 
 of colonial affairs in England. At one time it 
 was feared that the appointment of Bishops for 
 America would tend to create a feeling of inde- 
 pendence in the colonies; and therefore of course 
 It was avoided. Later on, about the year 1760, 
 when the scheme was further urged by the Eng- 
 lish Bishops, not for Maryland particularly, but 
 for America, the matter received earnest con- 
 sideration in the English Cabinet. But the 
 difficulties were felt to be at the time insurmount- 
 able. In 1768 both Massachusetts and Virginia 
 are found in their legislative assemblies reproba- 
 ting the establishment of Episcopacy in the 
 colonies, a harmony of o]3inion in widely diver- 
 gent quarters that could not but make i\\Q Eng- 
 glish government halt in carrying out any such 
 purpose. Eddis, also, writing from Maryland in 
 the closing days of the colony, says: "The colo- 
 nists were strongly prejudiced against the Episco- 
 pal order." 
 
 These were the various means proposed for 
 disciplining the clergy and undoing the evil 
 
11^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 83 
 
 effects of tlie ignorance or indifference of the 
 governors in inducting unworthy men. How 
 weighty was the evil it is impossible to say; for 
 in such matters there is always much exaggeration. 
 We have in the year 1723 a picture of ten of the 
 clergy of the time, which will throw some light 
 upon the question as showing the prejudices at 
 work affecting the judgment, and, may be, 
 suggest the ratio of unworthy men to the 
 respectable. It will be observed that political 
 antagonism is strongly expressed, and when we 
 go back to that period, and remember the spirit 
 of faction,' that slumbered,- indeed, at times, 
 but was nevertheless strong, resting on the claims 
 of the pretender as against the reigning house of 
 Hanover, and also the ecclesiastical aversion that 
 was felt against those who were of Scottish ordi- 
 nation, whose forefathers were the non-jurors of 
 the days of the Revolution, we are somewhat 
 disposed to hesitate in accex)ting the judgment 
 passed. The ten are thus described: "Peter 
 Tustian, a stranger recently come from South 
 Carolina, Jacob Henderson, a tory, Giles Rains- 
 ford, a stickler for the present happy establish- 
 ment, John Eraser, a whig, Sam. Skippon, a whig 
 and an excellent scholar and good man, John 
 Colebatch, a whig and one of the best of men, 
 James Williamson, a Scotchman, an idiot, and a 
 tory, Daniel Maynadier, a whig and reputed a 
 good liver, but a horrid preacher, John Donald- 
 son, a grand tory and a rake, George Ross, a 
 tory and belongs to the society." ^N'othing it will 
 be observed is said to the disparagement of any 
 whig except that one is said to have been a good 
 liver, which may mean more than is expressed; 
 
84 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 wliile, if it were possible to stigmatize a tory it was 
 done. The school of Dean Swift had hardly 
 died out yet, and it is possible that men in some 
 degree appeared worse than they were becanse 
 of the bitterness of political prejudice together 
 with the antagonism of English and Scotch 
 churhmen, of 'which latter there were always 
 many in the colony. 
 
 The condition of things, however, was without 
 question, bad enough. To this the testimony is 
 very abundant. Some of the clergy also were 
 extremely illiterate and in no way qualified for 
 their high duties, by which also they destroyed 
 their power for good. Marvel was even expressed 
 how some of them could ever have obtained or- 
 dination. Maryland, by the privileges and the 
 security it enjoyed, was made to suffer ills that 
 other colonies' escaped. The establishment was 
 not an unmixed good. 
 
 The statement above made that the antagonism of 
 persons had something to do in giving color to the 
 reputation of the Maryland clergy at this time, is 
 eminently justified in the history of the adminis- 
 tration of the second commissary of the colony, the 
 Rev. Jacob Henderson. The Rev. Henry Hall, 
 the first rector of St. James' Parish, had, before 
 Mr. Henderson, been appointed commissary of 
 the whole colony, but had declined the honor 
 absolutely. This was given at the time as the 
 onlv reason why Gov. Hart did not suggest his 
 name to the Bishop of London f oi' appointment 
 in place of Mr. Henderson. He was a man of 
 very great force of character, and also apparently 
 of considerable temper ; as we find him, soon 
 after coming into the parish, going to Quaker 
 
ZiY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 85 
 
 meeting, and npon bein^' insulted, threatening to 
 trounce the offenders. His administration of the 
 parish was very successful, for the church emi- 
 nently prospered, and there is no evidence of 
 such wrangling and disputing as we hnd in sub- 
 sequent periods. The congregation loved and 
 cherished the church. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Henderson, the new commis- 
 sary, was a man not unlike Mr. Hall in tem- 
 perament, but also, he was imperious and not in- 
 disposed to magnify his office ; a good man, who 
 afterwards came to be highly honored, and in the 
 administration of his i3arisli was highly success- 
 ful ; also in the use of his private fortune he was 
 very generous. He enjoys the honor of having 
 had erected to his memory in the church of his 
 former cure, a commemorative window, an honor 
 which probably Mr. Hall alone shares with him 
 of all the clergy of that day. Though commis- 
 sioned in 1715, we do not find him assuming the 
 duties of his oflnce till 1717. There had been no 
 commissary since Dr. Bray's time in the colony. 
 Mr. Henderson having convened the clergy, at the 
 very first meeting there began a feud between 
 these men, which continued to be a matter of dis- 
 turbance for years, in the midst of which crimi- 
 nation and recrimination were freely indulged 
 in. According to the record Mr. Henderson 
 called upon the clergy j)resent to produce their 
 letters of ordination and license ; and ux)on Mr. 
 Hall's doing so the commissary put the papers 
 in his bag, to examine them at his leisure. This 
 Mr. Hall immediately resented, demanding the 
 return of his property, saying, ' ' that if the 
 Bishop of London, or even the king himself 
 
8(5 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 should possess himself of his property he would 
 resist the usurjmtion." The commissary refused 
 to restore them and Mr. Hall caused a warrant 
 to be issued for their recovery. At this, of 
 course, Mr. Henderson was deeply offended and 
 the whole matter was carried before the Bishop 
 of London whom Mr. Henderson thought to be 
 insulted in his person. The Governor of the 
 colony and the clergy generally, took sides with 
 Mr. Hall, the Governor particularly bearing- 
 witness to the Bishop of his great worth. The 
 Bishop in his reply justilied Mr. Hall, and 
 promised that if Mr. Henderson should ]3ersist in 
 being troublesome to his brethren he "would 
 take proper means to give satisfaction, particu- 
 larly to Mr. Hall, whose character I am so well 
 l^leased with." 
 
 The feud, however, reached such i^roportions 
 that in 1718 when the attempt was made to 
 strengthen the disciplinary power of the Bishop 
 by securing the recognition of the same by the 
 colonial legislature, it was represented to Mr. 
 Henderson by his brethren that his cause must 
 cease and the charges against Mr. Hall be 
 absolutely withdrawn ; probably because it was 
 feared that if Mr. Henderson was to be the one 
 to administer discipline for the Bishop his 
 conduct to Mr. Hall could not commend the plan. 
 The attempt, however, failed, and Mr. Henderson 
 X)robably was largely the cause of it, for the 
 measure had strong supporters. The commissary 
 at this time was very unpopular with both clergy 
 and laity, and complaints of diiferent kinds were 
 brought against him, His loyalty to the church 
 was questioned, and he seems to have been 
 
/iV" COLONIAL MARYLAND. 87 
 
 generally reprehended. His difficulty with Mr. 
 Hall for years rankled in him. Old age, however, 
 seems at last to have mellowed his sj^irit and 
 time has done much for his memory. He died 
 in the year 1751 ; but for seventeen years he had 
 ceased to do the duties of his office. In 1730 he 
 had been made commissary of the whole province. 
 He was the last one to bear the commission ; as 
 it was found to be practically profitless for any 
 good X)uri30se. 
 
 It was in 1717 the commissary issued the 
 following enquiries, prepared by the Bishop of 
 London, which were to be answered by the 
 church wardens under oath. They w^ere of a 
 nature to excite jealousy and antagonism in all 
 quarters, and would now appear to us exceed- 
 ingly unwise. Similar questions issued since 
 our ecclesiastical independence, have excited 
 much bitterness. These enquiries were arranged 
 under five titles, the first of which bore upon the 
 performance of his duties by the minister, and 
 demanded of the church wardens whether he was 
 of sober life and conversation, w^hether he was 
 diligent in the instruction of children, whether 
 he faithfully observed the laws and rubrics of 
 the church, duly administered Holy Communion, 
 gave faithful attention to the care of the 
 parish, and read the canons, thirty nine articles, 
 &c., as appointed. The second enquiry was 
 about the condition and care of the church 
 building and furniture. The third was about 
 the morals of the people of the parish, and their 
 attendance upon worship, and demeanor in 
 church, and also as to persons above sixteen 
 years old receiving the Holy Communion three 
 
88 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 times a year; for as confirmation was not admin- 
 istered in the colony, an age liad been fixed wlien 
 persons were expected to j)i'^sent themselves to 
 commune. Also enquiry was made about the 
 heads of families refusing to send their children 
 and servants to be catechised. The fourth title 
 covered the matter of the faithfulness of church 
 officers, while the fifth sought into other matters, 
 such as the faithfulness of schoolmasters 
 where there were any, the vestry's faithfulness 
 to their trust of tobacco on hand, and other 
 things not included under the other heads. 
 
 Such an examination could not fail to excite 
 much opposition, especially as it is said there was 
 a good deal of scepticism and immorality in the 
 colony at the time, the former particularly in 
 high quarters; qualities that do not favor the too 
 prying eyes of the church. Beside that, it could 
 only excite antagonism without correcting the 
 evil. For though the queries might be pro- 
 pounded they could not be made legally effec- 
 tive. The ordinary might through his agent 
 learn of the trouble, of the delinquency of which 
 the rector or the church officers might be guilty, 
 or of the neglect of the parishioners to attend to 
 their various duties ; but there his jurisdiction 
 ended, and as we have seen, the attempt made in 
 the following year to secure to the Bishop 
 power in the |)remises, failed. The commissary' s 
 authority therefore excited a great deal more 
 doubt and jealousy than it did good. It was, 
 however, in some degree a bond of union for the 
 clergy of the colony. It brought them together 
 from time to time. It in some measure restrained 
 the liability of the clergy -to fall into excesses. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 89 
 
 Tlie commissary could exliort and denounce, and 
 so far place a delinquent rector nnder tlie ban, 
 and in various tilings lie could give instruction 
 in tliose matters wliicli an isolated minister, how- 
 ever conscientious, is apt to lose sight of. For it 
 requires a moment's consideration to enable us 
 to realize the condition of things at that time. 
 The parishes were sometimes forty or fifty miles 
 long, and in one case the report was made that 
 the parish was forty miles square. In another 
 instance the re^^ort states the length as sixty 
 miles. The iDarishes also were sx)ai;sely settled, 
 sometimes not averaging one family to the square 
 mile. The clergy also were very poor as a rule, 
 and the facilities for communication with the 
 outside world small. In such a state of things it 
 is readily seen that a convocation of the clergy 
 from time to time would be a great blessing, 
 affording intercourse with their brethern, Avhile 
 a commissary, who had a kind heart and good 
 judgement, would be able to direct their attention 
 to many things that, in the retreats of their own 
 cures, would never occur to them. Even with 
 our modern opportunities a convocation of the 
 scattered ministers of a diocese, is found to be of 
 great value in broadening the sympathies and 
 extending the reach of thought. With no cur- 
 rent literature, and with few standard works, 
 (for libraries were not universal and in many 
 cases very small), the clergy had but few of the 
 opportunities for culture and occux)ation which 
 fall to our lot. The absence of such may be one 
 explanation of why various of them fell into 
 unfortunate habits. Besides the standard of 
 learning was far lower and the scrutiny into the 
 
90 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 life much less for those who would enter the 
 ministry then than now; and many men entered 
 holy orders who could have been kept in right 
 courses only by the loftiest zeal or the circum- 
 stances of a high state of society. In the isolation 
 of a Maryland parish and amidst a generally rude 
 people it is no marvel that some fell away from 
 rectitude. Also it will be seen that to forbid the 
 clergy to assemble, as was afterwards done, was 
 in every way a calamity. 
 
US' COLONIAL MARYLAND. 91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PARISH. 
 
 Returning to matters more strictly i^arocliial ; 
 from the year of tlie full establishment of the 
 church we find many things that strongly attract 
 the attention. Amongst these ranks eminently 
 the collection of libraries which the first 
 commissary so freely dispensed to the various 
 parishes. These, as we have seen, varied very 
 greatly in numbers ; among the thirty given one 
 numbering as many as a thousand and ninety-hve 
 volumes, and another only two. Others got ten, 
 fifteen, forty, sixty, one, two or three hundred ; 
 the distribution being as far as can be perceived, 
 without any definite rule ; which w^as the more 
 remarkable"^ as the books were for the use of the 
 minister, and therefore as much needed in one 
 place as in another. Dr. Bray's beneficence was 
 limited only by his ability, and he must have 
 been controlled by circumstances of which we 
 are now ignorant The books were given in 
 charge of the minister of the parish ; who was to 
 submit them from time to time to the vestry for 
 examination. The governor also had the power 
 to appoint a visitor to inspect ; and upon the 
 discovery of neglect or loss the rector could be 
 
92 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 sued for the damage done. Some of the books 
 are still in existence in various places ; though 
 after having been cared for faithfully during tJie 
 whole colonial period, in the days of disorder 
 after the Revolution they became scattered and 
 many of them have i3erished. 
 
 The number that came to St. James' parish in 
 1698 was about one hundred and fifty volumes, 
 twenty of them being in folio, nineteen in quarto 
 and the remainder in octavo. Most of them were 
 in English, though a few were in Latin. Nor 
 were they exclusively theological, but embraced 
 also a small number of historical and scientific 
 works. In theology, however, the collection 
 was rich, and was as comprehensive as that 
 number of volumes could well be made. Some 
 of them were given by their authors , and a 
 review of the dates of publication will surprise 
 one at the activity of that time. What an 
 immense convenience and comfort they were to 
 the parochial clergy of Maryland can readily be 
 imagined. 
 
 Previous to the reception of these books, it 
 had been the intention of somebody to donate 
 various books, through the governor, to the 
 parishes, as will appear from the following 
 section of a proclamation of January, 1697(0. S) ; 
 "I do also in his majestie's name command yt 
 ye vestry of each respective parish return me 
 under their hands by ye next provinciall court 
 or sooner, a full account of what great church 
 Bibles, common prayer bookes, and bookes of 
 homely s they have not received from me as a 
 gift to their parish ; foure ordinary Bibles, four 
 of ye Rev'd Doct. Williams' catechisms, sticht, 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 93 
 
 as alsoe four of liis Lawfullness of Common 
 Prayer, Worship, etc., sticlit, and one Whole 
 Dutty of Man. And if they did not receive one 
 ye Revd. Doct. Bray's Catecheticall Lectures. 
 All x^ersons to whom this is directed, are not to 
 faile to comply with these my commands, as they 
 will answer to ye contrary at theire perrill. 
 
 Signed, Ff Nicholson." 
 
 The vestry escaped the " perrill " by replying 
 immediately that they had not received church 
 Bibles or any other books from the liberality of 
 the unknown donor. 
 
 They did, however, in 1703 receive a second 
 invoice from the Rev. Dr. Bray, containing 
 seventeen different lots ; among which was a 
 number of Bibles, prayer books, catechetical 
 lectures, sermons and tracts. The tracts were 
 for free distribution, while the Bibles, prayer 
 books, lectures and sermons were to be put' in 
 the pews to be used by the congregation before 
 or during service. The tracts, lectures and 
 sermons, were of the most practical character 
 and well adapted to the needs of the community. 
 Nor was this the only provision made for such 
 an object ; for besides one or two smaller gifts of 
 books we find mention made in 1709 of a legacy 
 of twenty pounds sterling from Mr. James Rigbie, 
 (a vestryman and otherwise a distinguished 
 patron of the parish, as we shall see) ''to^be laid 
 out in good and godly books." Whether the 
 vestry ever recovered this amount from the 
 executor is not so certain, for we have repeated 
 notices of their endeavors to do so. The gift 
 shows, however, a strong desire to counteract 
 the existence of scepticism, and the bad influence 
 
94 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 of sceptical works ; the use of which had been 
 fashionable in the colonies as well as in England 
 now for many years. It shows also that the 
 back- woods of Maryland was not a dreary waste, 
 but that intellectually, morally and spiritually 
 there were good men in work and prayer 
 endeavoring to promote the cause of God and of 
 man. 
 
 Another item of interest is the donations that 
 were from time to time through this period 
 made to the suj^port and more proper ordering 
 of the church. It would be naturally supi30sed 
 that, provision being made by law, individual 
 efforts would hardly be called out. The 
 fact that tiie sheriff made his regular call 
 upon the planter and everyone else, and 
 demanded the tax for his family and household, 
 would put to sleep, one would think, all more 
 kindly consideration ; and the minister, as 
 appointed under the law without the parishioners' 
 consent would be left to be provided for by the 
 law. But such was not the fact. Personal care 
 and attention were bestowed upon the matter, 
 so that in a report of twenty parishes, made in 
 3724, thirteen had glebes, others possibly might 
 have had them had the will of the testators been 
 in all cases carried out ; for in 1722 a bill was 
 ]3assed by the assembly providing that hence- 
 forth, if the purpose of the deceased could be 
 be clearly made out from his will, any informal- 
 ity should not prevent the church from receiving 
 the property devised. For glebes were almost 
 always of private gift, though the law provided 
 that where there was a sufficient accumulation 
 of the clerical tax during a vacancy in the 
 
IJY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 95 
 
 rectorship of a paristi, it should be applied to 
 the buying and stocking of glebes. Though as 
 this was not the only use to which it could be 
 applied, but to the building and repairing of 
 churches as well, as was done in St. James in 
 1695, it is likely that but few, if any glebes were 
 purchased. Some of these tracts of land had 
 been given even before the act of establishment, 
 men in the earlier desolation yearning for the 
 X^reaching of the word. There are parishes in 
 Maryland to-day that are in as full a degree or 
 more supx)orted by the gifts of those olden times 
 as they are by the contributions of this present 
 generation. In some instances indeed the 
 present generation does nothing, the generosity 
 of other days affording the whole sujDport of the 
 minister of the parish ; though worse than this 
 again, there have been generations since those 
 times that have alienated, such church property 
 for some passing demand rather than give of their 
 own means for the purpose. 
 
 Among the parishes that received such substan- 
 tial tokens of loving regard was St. James, and 
 that in no scant measure. The first gift in land 
 it received, is noticed in the year 1700, and came 
 by will from a vestryman, James Rigbie, and his 
 wife, the same who donated the twenty pounds 
 sterling for books for the parish. The tract 
 contained one hundred acres, and included what 
 is now in the possession of the church, though 
 forty acres have been alienated since his day. 
 It was the loving act of husband and wife sepa- 
 rately, each contributing one half the amount. 
 A second donation was made of a farm of over 
 seven hundred acres originally, known as Wrigh- 
 
96 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 ton, lying iijoon the Patuxent river, the gift by 
 will of Nicholas Tnrrett, also one of the first 
 vestrymen. The will was dated 1696, though 
 mention is first made of the land in 1719, the 
 church having had a reversionary right according 
 to its terms. This tract long continued in 
 possession of the parish, though it was never 
 apparently very profitable. It has since been 
 sold, having dwindled away to about five hun- 
 dred acres, and the proceeds invested otherwise, 
 yielding to-day a revenue. By the terms 
 of Mr. Turrett's will this property was left 
 to the parish for the use of the minister, while 
 the glebe about the church was left to the 
 minister of the x)arish. 
 
 What the two legacies have been to St. James 
 it is imj)ossible to estimate. There have been 
 periods in the past when the very life of the 
 X)arish has been dependent upon them. Those 
 two old men built better than they knew. The 
 parish from the scarcity of parishioners, or from 
 the stringency of the times, or from the luke- 
 warmness of the people, has been occasionally 
 almost ready to die, as some parishes in Mary- 
 land have died, or have only a name to live. 
 The income from these sources has, however, 
 tided it over its difficulties, and when times have 
 brightened, has given a basis for the assurance 
 of hope to those who loved and prized the old 
 name and its memories, as well as the great cause 
 of which it had always been the powerful instru- 
 ment. The income has been enough to excite 
 confidence, but never enough to cripple effort; 
 and the result has been, that while in the rural 
 parishes of Maryland frequent changes of min- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 97 
 
 ^L-. 
 
 isters have taken place, St. James is marked for ^ 
 the comx3aratively long duration of the residence '^M^^ 
 of many of its pastors. It is also worthy of 
 remark that the j)eriod of such generosity was 
 the very early one of the lirst decade after the X'^nM 
 
 I 
 
 passage of the first act of Establishment, and 
 that from that day down to this, such generosity 
 has never been emulated. The j)arish has had 
 many good and excellent men, who have done f ^i^A 
 their duty generously, according to the j)assing 
 demand; but no one in the whole — nearly two 
 hundred years since that time — has done any- 
 thing of substantial moment for the permanent 
 welfare of the church. Other acts of considerate 
 affection have been done, as the gift of a bell in 
 1706, and various pieces of plate, as we shall 
 hereafter see, but since the year 1700 no one has 
 sought to associate his name with the permanent 
 life of the parish. Why that period should 
 have been so marked it is difficult to say. It 
 suggests, however, that the church as established, 
 was something very dear to the hearts of some of 
 the peo^Dle; and that there was, as all the records 
 prove, a high degree of piety in the backwoods 
 of Maryland, a love for the church and her 
 ways; for worldly men do not make such contri- 
 butions to the cause of religion. 
 
 We have seen how the Establishment was 
 provided for, and the support of the clergy 
 secured. While this in the beginning was gen- 
 erally acquiesced in, the Quakers and Roman 
 Catholics alone aj^parently offering virulent 
 opposition, and acquiesced in because it was 
 recognized as being the best possible thing under 
 the circumstances, vet as time went on and the 
 
98 GHURGH LIFE 
 
 recollection of the first benefits wore away, tlie 
 system was made to encounter a good many diffi- 
 culties. In the first place, trouble frequently 
 aroso between the clergy and the people, with 
 the result of trials at law, which were made some- 
 times to drag on for years, or even carried by ap- 
 peal to England; the result of which was, of course, 
 an alienation between pastor and people. The 
 members of the vestry were protected in their 
 private estates in such suits, as was right; but 
 the effect was, that sometimes, with unj)opular 
 men, forced upon them by the governor, they 
 were reckless about going into such litigation, 
 and having no personal responsibility, were a 
 little too much disposed to hector the parsons. 
 As it happened, they sometimes met a worthy 
 antagonist and the result was unfortunate, as 
 neither knew how to yie^d 
 
 From the very beginning such difficulties 
 arose, though of course they frequently were 
 easily adjusted, with good will on each side. 
 The first rector of St. James in the commence- 
 ment of his rectorship, had such a trouble. It 
 seemed to be a feeling entertained by many of 
 the parsons that under the law they were entitled 
 to the whole income of the year in which they 
 were inducted, though a portion of it had already 
 expired when they began their ministry. The 
 rector of St. James under this impression, claimed 
 the whole tax for the year 1698, and the vestry, 
 after consideration, ordered it to be paid to him, 
 on the condition that should it be found an error 
 of interpretation the amount would be refunded. 
 Upon the determination of the matter the deci- 
 sion was in favor of the vestry, and the 
 
I]^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 99 
 
 rector promptly complied with tlie agreement. 
 But it was not only between pastor and people 
 that difRcnlties arose. It w^as also between the 
 clergy and laity of the colony. For there probably 
 never was perfect confidence on the part of either 
 in the other, that x^erfect harmony that made all 
 relations smooth. It was only the Roman Catho- 
 lics who were disfranchised, and consequently 
 there were always found in the Assembly of 
 Maryland many non-conformists; the number in 
 1718 being said to be about one-third. In the be- 
 ginning all such had welcomed the Establishment 
 as the best possible thing for the colony; but 
 now the clergy always beheld in them, and 
 doubtless with some reason, an occasion for 
 anxiety, believing that if in any way the friends 
 of the Establishment became divided, this 
 minority would be used against the Church. In 
 the last days of the colony, when politics ran 
 very high, such a danger became very imminent, 
 and a great champion of the church, Mr. 
 Boucher, had to remind certain prominent poli- 
 ticians that though churchmen and vestrymen, 
 they were most inconsistently, by their inliuence, 
 leagued with the force of the opposition. It was 
 this jealousy and fear doubtless that stimulated 
 the cry, so often raised about the time above 
 given and afterwards, of the attempts to starve 
 out the clergy by the division of parishes. Even 
 the best men raised this cry. That it w^as with- 
 out reason we may well believe, in most if not all 
 cases; for the division of the parishes must have 
 by this time become necessary in various portions 
 of the colony, from the large increase of popula- 
 tion and the demand for more places of worship, 
 
100 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 and of course more ministers. But the clergy 
 could not always see that, and sometimes it was 
 a great grievance, as to divide made the revenue 
 so small that the alternative was to vacate or 
 starve. 
 
 This minority became, also, formidable on 
 other occasions; for unless the majority was 
 united the balance of power was with it. But 
 majorities are not likely to be always united. 
 Security itself is apt to breed occasions of dis- 
 traction and separation, by new issues arising. 
 So the clergy felt and saw, and apprehended 
 with good reason. For if it were a question of 
 strengthening the Bishop' shands for discipline, 
 the minority could be relied upon to ]3revent it. 
 If it were a question of reducing the clergy's 
 salary, they were trustworthy coadjutors. If it 
 were a question of erecting a court, violating the 
 idea of Episcopacy, for trying clergymen; the 
 voice of the minority was ready, as they knew 
 nothing of the idea of Episcopacy except to 
 abominate it. And this continued through the 
 whole period of the existence of the Establish- 
 ment, so that the clergy could never enjoy ]3er- 
 fect quietness and peace. As to the reduction of 
 their salaries by the reduction of the tax, that 
 was a matter never for many years truly at rest; 
 because it was readily presented as a popular 
 measure, the people being always desirous of a 
 reduction in taxation. Also, it could be with 
 great plausibility urged and defended by rex)re- 
 senting many of the salaries as excessively large, 
 and also by seizing ui3on two or three unusually 
 prosperous seasons, such as tobacco planters 
 have from time immemorial had, when prices 
 
TJV COLONIAL MARYLAND. 101 
 
 ranged high ; the popular mind being oblivious 
 of the fact that such seasons are always followed 
 by years of depression. It is true the colonial 
 authorities attempted to prevent this variation 
 by limiting the supply through lixing the amount, 
 so much for each laborer, to be raised on each 
 plantation. This probably was effective, as far 
 as it went, for it continued to be the practice for 
 years ; and counters were regularly appointed by 
 the vestries, the appointing power under the law. 
 Good care, however, was ta^^en that the clergy 
 should not profit by this ordinancey, for a price 
 was fixed for commutation, so that with tobacco 
 very high, the planters would pay over to the 
 sheriff for the parson's use cash or grain, and with 
 it low the tax was paid in the long leafed cur- 
 rency. The clergy did not, however, always have 
 to contend alone in this matter, for the people 
 became as much irritated against various colonial 
 officers on account of their excessive fees, as 
 against the clergy ; and with better reason, for 
 charges in the various offices were generally very 
 extravagant. A provision for commutation, then, 
 affected them as much as it did the parsons, and 
 without much affection, may be, for the clergy's 
 cause, these influential men were sometimes 
 found united with the clergy in the same battle. 
 The difference in the value of parishes was great, 
 some yielding from four to Ave times as much as 
 others, some in 1767 paying only about one hun- 
 dred pounds, while the cost of living in the .mat- 
 ter of all things brought from abroad was very 
 high. The clergy from time to time complained 
 that when they were paid in tobacco it was only 
 in the inferior grades ; for. so that it was mer- 
 
102 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 €lian table it seems to have Deen receivable. 
 We have seen how parish expenses were to 
 be paid, by a special levy for that purpose from 
 year to year, granted by the county court to the 
 parish applying. The amount of this levy 
 varied, but was never over ten pounds per poll, 
 the amount provided for in the act of 1702. 
 Sometimes the vestry immediately put in the 
 aj)plication, but sometimes they acted only for 
 parishioners who were first called upon to decide 
 what ought to be done and what amount of tax 
 might be necessary. The county court also had 
 the power of granting or refusing; a liberty they 
 sometimes exercised, in obedience i30ssibly to 
 some passing jealousy of the people at some 
 supposed recklessness in the vestry. The earlier 
 law of 1699 gave the vestry itself the power of 
 assessing for this purpose, betraying an amount 
 of confidence which a cooler after-judgement 
 seems to have modified. As current expenses 
 meant not only the keeping of the church and 
 chapel yard in a decent and proper condition, 
 but also renovating, restoring and rebuilding, as 
 for instance, a vestry house when there was 
 occasion, the amount asked for and obtained 
 was not excessive. The whole plan of the 
 Establishment was an economical one as com- 
 pared with our later schemes ; one of its virtues 
 being that none could shirk duty as many do 
 now, but all had to bear a fair proportion of 
 the burden. The only drawback was that some, 
 though less than one- third, of the people who 
 worshiped in other places and derived no spiritual 
 benefit from the Establishment, had to pay a 
 like proportion with everybody else to the 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 103 
 
 Establishment. It seemed like a hardship ; 
 though the indirect benefits in the good order 
 and elevation of society, to which the church 
 ministered as no other body could, doubtless 
 compensated for any amount so levied upon non- 
 conformists. 
 
104 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 1698. BooKES Received by ye Reverend Me. 
 Henry Hall, ye of May. 
 
 A catalogue of Bookes belonging to ye library 
 of St. James' parish in Ann Arrundel county in 
 Maryland, sent by ye Reverend Dr. Bray, and 
 marked thus : belonging to ye library of Herring 
 Creeke Ann Arrundel county. 
 
 BOOKES IN FOLIO — TWENTY. 
 
 PRINTED IN 
 
 1 Biblia Sacra, &c., ab imp. Tremellio 
 
 and Fran, Juno, &c. 1603 
 
 2 Poll Synopsis Criticorum, vol. 4 in 
 
 libr'sS 1696 
 
 3 Dr. Hammond upon ye New Testa- 
 
 ment 1696 
 
 4 Tlie Cambridge Concordance 1698 
 
 5 Mr. Hookers Ecclesiasticall Politie 
 
 in 8 bookes 1682 
 
 6 dementis Recognition : libri 10 &c. 
 
 Opus eruditit D: Irenai : epis: 
 
 Lugd advs, Hares: &c. lib. 5 1526 
 
 7 Dr. Jeremiah Tavlor's Ductor Dubi- 
 
 tantium ^ 1660 
 
 8 Bishoi3 Pearson on ye Apostles 
 
 Creed 1683 
 
IW COLONIAL MARYLAND. 105 
 
 .9 Bishop Sanderson— 36 Discourses, 
 
 life and preface 1689 
 
 9 Bislioj) Sanderson — 21 Discourses 1686 
 
 10 Philippi a Lamborcli &c. , Tlieologia 
 
 Christiana 1695 
 
 11 A: B: Tillotson's workes 1696 
 
 12 The Jesuites Morals by Dr. Tonge 1679 
 
 13 Du Pins Ecclesiasticall History vol. 
 
 7, books 3 1696 
 
 14 A view of Universall History from 
 
 ye creation to ye yeare 1680 by 
 Fran : Tallents 
 
 15 Thomaa Aquinatis summa totius 
 
 Theologie in 3 P : B : 1622 
 
 16 Blomes Geography and Cosmogra- 
 
 phy translated from Y arenius and 
 
 taken from Mons : Sanson 1693 
 
 17 Ludon : le Blane Theses Theologicae 1683 
 
 18 Sir Richard Baker's Cronicle of ye 
 
 Kings of England 1696 
 
 19 Q. Sept. Florentis Tertuliani opera 
 
 qe. hacienus rej)eriri potuerunt 
 omnia 1590 
 
 20 Dr. Bray's Catecheticall Lectures 
 
 vol. 1st, or lectures on ye Church 
 Catechism 1697 
 
 BOOKES IN QUARTO MARKED AS ABOVE. 
 
 1 Robertson: Thesaurus Greece linguae 1676 
 
 2 Ejusdem Thesaurus lingut^ Sanctae 1680 
 
 3 Lingu?B Romance luculent : novum 
 
 Diction. 1693 
 
 4 Luijts (Johannis) Introductio ad 
 
 Geographium 1692 
 
 5 Ejusdem Institutio Astronomica 1695 
 
106 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 6 The Holly Bible with ye Common 
 
 Prayer 1696 
 
 7 Francisci Tiirrentini Compendm. 
 
 Theologize 1695 
 
 8 Vict : Bithneri Lyra Prophetica 1650 
 
 9 Dr. Parker's Demonstratio of ye law 
 
 of nature 1681 
 
 10 Dr. Bray's Bibliotheca Parochialis 1697 
 
 11 A: B: Leighton's practicall com- 
 
 mentary on ye first epistle generall 
 of St. Peter in 2 vols, first in 1693 
 
 second in 1694 
 
 12 Ejusden Prjelectiones Theologicse 1693 
 
 13 Dr. Sherlock Concerning Providence 1697 
 
 14 Dr. Patrick's Parable of ye Pil- 
 grime 1607 
 
 15 Lord B : p : of London-Derry Expo- 
 
 sition on ye Ten Commandments 
 
 with two other discourses 1692 
 
 16 A Commonplace Booke of ye Holly 
 
 Bible 1697 
 
 17 Dr. Comber's Church History clear- 
 
 ed from Roman forgeries 1695 
 
 18 Jonathan Stolham' s Reviler rebuked 1657 
 
 BOOKES IN OCTAVO — VIZ : 
 
 1 An adridgm't of Sir Walter Ra-. 
 
 leigh' s History of ye world in 5 
 bookes 1698 
 
 2 The B : p : of Bath and Wells Com- 
 
 mentary on ye 5 bookes of Moses 
 
 in two volumes 1694 
 
 3 Dr. Sherlock on Death and Judg- 
 
 ment 1694 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 107 
 
 4 Lovis le Comptes Memoirs and ob- 
 
 servations 1697 
 
 5 The workes of ye author of ye whole 
 
 dutty of man in two volumes 1697 
 
 6 Fran : Paheopolitanus Divine Dia- 
 
 logues 2 volumes 1668 
 
 7 The Septuagint &c. 2 volumes 1665 
 
 8 Sanct Salvianus De Gubernatione 
 
 Dei &c. 1683 
 
 9 Elis de Articulis : 39 Ecclesi^ An- 
 
 glican?e 1696 
 
 10 The plaine man's guide to Heaven 1697 
 
 11 B : p : King concerning ye invention 
 
 of men in ye worship of God 169- 
 
 12 The Christian Monitor 169- 
 Mr. Wake's Preparation for death 168- 
 
 13 Lactantii opera omnia 168- 
 
 14 Episc : Sanderson de Obligatione 
 
 Conscienti?e 169- 
 
 15 Idem de Juramento promission. 16 — 
 
 16 Daniel Williams of gospell truth. 1695 
 
 17 Nath. Spinckes of Trust in God 1696 
 
 18 Reflections upon ye bookes of Holly 
 
 Scripture, 2 volumes 1688 
 
 19 Mr. Dod well's two letters of advice 1691 
 
 20 Xenophon de Institutione Cyrii 
 
 Greece 1698 
 
 21 Henipin' s New^ discovery of America 1698 
 
 22 Dr. Bates's Harmony of ye Divine 
 
 attributes 1697 
 
 23 A: B: Leighton's Discourses 1692 
 
 24 Dr. Comber on ye Com' on Prayer 1609 
 
 25 An Inquirey after Hax)piness part 
 
 ye 1st 1697 
 25 An Inquirey after Happiness i3art 
 
 ye 2nd 1696 
 
108 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 26 Part ye third by ye author of practi- 
 
 cal! Christianity 1697 
 
 27 Dr. Scott's Christian life, part ve 
 
 first, vol 1st " 1692 
 
 and i3art ye second of vol. ye second 169 i 
 
 28 Dr. Connant's Discourses 2 vols 1697 
 
 29 Grotius de jure Belli et Pacis 1651 
 
 30 Dr. Busbig's Gr^c^B Graniatices 
 
 Rudiment. 1693 
 
 31 Dr. Jereni. Taylor of Holly Living 
 
 and Dying 1695 
 
 32 Rays' s Wisdom of God in ye 
 
 Workes of Creation 1692 
 
 33 Dr. Pierce Pacilicator : Orthodoxo 
 
 Theolog: Corpuscul: 1685 
 
 34 B: P: Burnets Pastorall Care 1692 
 
 35 P: Lombardi Sententiarum libri . 
 
 4: Colonial 1609 
 
 36 Doctor Stradlings Discourses 1692 
 37Theopli: Dorington's Family De- 
 votion, 4 vols. 1695 
 
 38 Amesius de Conscienta 1631 
 
 39 Dr. Bray of ye Baptismal Covenant 1697 
 
 40 Dr. Falkner's Vindication of Litur- 
 
 gies 1681 
 
 41 His Libertas Ecclesiastica 1683 
 
 42 Ye B: P: of Bath & Wells on ye . 
 
 Church Catechism 1686 
 
 43 Clerici Ars Critica 1698 
 
 44 Doct Barron on ye Apostles Creed 1697 
 
 45 The Snake in ye Grass 1698 
 . 46 B: p: Stillingtieet Concerning 
 
 Christ's Satisfaction 1697 
 
 47 His Vindication of ye Doctrine of 
 
 ye Trinity 1697 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 109 
 
 48 His Discourses, 2 volumes 1697 
 
 49 A Discourse Concerning Lent in 2 
 
 parts ■ 1696 
 
 50 William Wilson of Religion and 
 
 ye Resurrection 1694 
 
 51 Dr. Asliton Concerning Deatlibed- 
 
 Repentance 1696 
 
 62 H. Stepliani Catecliismus Grseco- 
 
 Latinus 1604 
 
 53 Biblia Yulgata p. Robertum Ste- 
 
 plianum 1555 
 
 54 The Life and Meditations of M: A: 
 
 Antoninus R; Emp. 1692 
 
 65 Abbadies Vindication of ye Trueth 
 
 of Xtian Religion ]3art 1st 1694 
 
 — Abbadies Vindication of ye Trueth 
 
 part 2d. 
 6Q The Practicall believer, in two parts 1 688 
 
 57 Wingates Arithmetic 1694 
 
 58 Sr. Math. Hales Contemplations 
 
 Morall and Divine in 2 parts 1695 
 
 59 Fran: Buggs Picture of Quakerism 
 in 2 parts 1697 
 W. A. of Divine Assistance 1698 
 His Christian Justification stated 1670 
 His Animadversions on yt p.t of 
 
 Robt. Ferguson's book, entitled 
 ye Interest of Reason in Reli- 
 gion which treats of Justification 1676 
 
 61 His Serious and Friendly Address 
 
 to ye Non-conformists 1693 
 
 — His State of ye Church in Future 
 
 Ages 1684 
 
 — The Mystery of iniquity Unfolded 1675 
 
 62 W: A: Catholicisme 1683 
 
 60 < 
 
110 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 — The Danger of Enthusiasm Dis- 
 
 covered 1674 
 
 f W. A. of Humility 1681 
 
 I Of ye nature, series and order of 
 
 63 <j Occurences 1689 
 His pursuasion to Peace and Unity 
 
 among Xtians 1680 
 
 64 The First. r^^i,,^.. ^f a. t.. ,,. 1698 
 
 65 The Second. J ^?i™^^ ?^ ^.' ^' ^^' 1696 
 m The Third. Tillot^son's Discours- ^^^ 
 
 67 The Fourth. [ ^^ P^^^' ^^ ^^- ^^^^^ 1697 
 
 — Dr. Tillotson's Rule of Faith 1670 
 
 68 Dr Stillingfleet's Reply to J. S. 3rd 
 
 Appendix &c 1675 
 
 69 The Unreasonable: of Atheisme 
 
 made Manifest 1669 
 
 70 Dr. Hammond de Confirmatione 1665 
 
 71 Dr. Wake, Concerning Swearing, 
 
 Duplicate 1696 
 
 72 HisDiscoursesonSeverall Occasions 1697 
 
 73 Dr. Cockburn's Fifteen Discourses 169- 
 
 73 Ascetecks or ye Heroick vertue of 
 
 ye Ancient Christian Anchorites 
 
 and Coenobites 1691 
 
 74 Theologica Mistica : 2 Discourses 
 
 Concerning Devine Communica- 
 tion to Souls Duly Disposed 1697 
 
 75 Dr, Goodman's Seven Discourses 1697 
 
 76 Dr. Horneck's Severall Discourses 
 
 upon ye fifth chapter of Matthew, 
 
 vol. ye 1st. 1698 
 
 77 Dr. Felling's Discourse upon Hu- 
 
 mility 1694 
 
 78 Concerning Holliness 1695 
 
 79 Concerning ye Existence of God 1696 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. Ill 
 
 80 Jno. Ketlewells Help and Exliorta- 
 
 tion to Worthy Communicating 1696 
 
 81 His Five Discourses on Practicall 
 
 Religion 1696 
 
 82 His Measures of Christian Obedience 1696 
 
 83 Dr. Hody of ye Resurrection of ye 
 
 Same Body 1694 
 
 84 Grotins de Yeritate Religionis 
 
 Christiana 1675 
 
 85 Mr. John Edwards' Thoughts Con- 
 
 cerning ye Severall Causes and 
 Occasions of Atheism 
 
 86 His Socinianism Unmasked 1696 
 — His Discourse Concerning ye Au- 
 thority, Stile, and perfection of ye 
 
 87 Old & New Testament, in three 
 
 vol: 1696 
 
 (Spelling and Style as in the Original.) 
 
113 CHUBCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 OTHEK ITEMS. 
 
 Tliere are various items that suggest tliem- 
 selves at this period of the history which can 
 hardly be brought forward as well at any 
 later time, some of them of moment as parochial 
 matters, and some having a broader interest. 
 Amongst them is the care that was bestowed by 
 the colonial legislature, through almost the 
 whole period of its continuance, to provide for 
 the morals of the people and for their right 
 religious views. We have noticed the Act of 
 1649 ; and though all honor is to be done to 
 Maryland for the lead it assumed thereby in the 
 great cause of toleration, yet privilege was only 
 extended by it under the then generally recog- 
 nized standard of orthodoxy, and all those who 
 came short of that, those, for instance, that 
 denied the Divinity of Our Lord, or the doctrine 
 of the Trinity, were denied its benefit. Such 
 views now do not debar a man from claims to be 
 a religious man or even to be a christian, and 
 they who hold such views set themselves up to 
 be the liberal men of the day. But in 1649, by 
 the instrument then passed, such persons were 
 regarded as blasphemers and were amenable to 
 
. IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 113 
 
 all tlie penalties for that crime. They were 
 disloyal to the Almighty and traducers of their 
 Lordli and their punishment was greater than if 
 they had nsed the foulest language or done the 
 most imxUioral deed. And so also at the period 
 to which w^e have now come. By a law of 1723 
 blas]3hemy is defined, to maliciously and wil- 
 fully curse God, ''to deny the Saviour to be the 
 Son of God, to deny the Holy Trinity, or the 
 Divinity of the several persons of the Trinity;" 
 and for this the punishment was, for the first 
 offence boring through the tongue, the guilty 
 member, and a fine of twenty pounds sterling, or 
 imprisonment for six months; for the second 
 offence branding in the forehead with the letter B 
 and a fine of forty pounds sterling, or imprison- 
 ment for twelve months; and for the third offence 
 the punishment was death. The thunders of the 
 secular power were heavy enough, though it is 
 doubtful whether the bolt did any very serious 
 execution; rather a hriutum fulmeii, so that men 
 might make it as loud as they x^leased. For pro- 
 fane SAvearing, also, the fine was heavy, being for 
 the first offence two shillings and sixi^ence, and for 
 the second, five shillings. Drunkards also were 
 fined. By the law of 1692, Sabbath breaking was 
 punished by a fine of one hundred pounds of 
 tobacco, to go to the poor ; and ordinary keepers 
 who on that day might sell liquor, except in 
 case of necessity, or who might permit tippling 
 on their premises, were liable to pay two hun- 
 dred pounds. By the law of 1723 the guilt of 
 profane swearing was especially deep if it were 
 done in the presence of a vestryman, church war- 
 den, or other parties named ; and also the guilt 
 
114 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 of drunkenness, the punisliment being not only 
 a fine, but also, if tlie iDarty were not a "free- 
 holder or other reputable i^erson," whipping or 
 the discomfort of the stocks. The observance of 
 Sunday also was strictly required by this law, 
 and work, gaming, hshirig, fowling, hunting and 
 other forms of diversion, were strictly forbidden; 
 also the sale of ''strong liquors;'' so early have 
 we provision for that respect for the Lord' s day 
 which has always honored Maryland. Ministers 
 were commanded to read this law x^ublicly four 
 times a year ; and they, or the magistrates 
 refusing to carry out its provisions, were them- 
 selves lined. By this law, which was indeed 
 excessively severe in some of its clauses, is shown 
 the resolution of Maryland to promote the 
 elevation of her people ; and it shows also that 
 there was among the people a great commanding 
 sentiment in behalf of the ordinances and pro- 
 prieties of the christian life. The law was passed 
 about twenty-eight years after the church as an 
 Establishment had been at work ; and witnesses 
 to the high standard which by its influence had 
 been created among the population. It will be 
 remembered also that this was in a time when 
 the church had had to endure very much 
 opposition. Her influence in spite of the antag- 
 onism had evidently been great and blessed. 
 
 A less satisfactory subject of observation is the 
 treatment which they received who were thought 
 to believe too much, Roman Catholics, whose 
 affiliations over and beyond the gospel, were 
 supposed to be equally dangerous with blas- 
 phemy and to imperil the state. We have seen 
 how tliey were brought under the ban when the 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 115 
 
 Protestant Revolntion overthrew the old order 
 of things. Every other form of positive belief 
 could be tolerated except theirs; though for them 
 evidently the law of 1649 had been j)assed. 
 William III. made the existence of the law of 
 1702 to be contingent upon the avowal of the 
 principle of toleration; and in 1706, by the colon- 
 ial action, the principle was enlarged in its ex- 
 pression. For the Roman Catholics, however no 
 abundant grace was found, and that for every rea- 
 son; because they were dreaded politically, and 
 abominated for their false theological views. 
 Their theological views also were feared because 
 they were supposed to be their political guide, 
 and that they could not with them be loyal to the 
 state; doubtless a great misconception, but unfor- 
 tunately very widely pl-evalent. For in periods 
 of great agitation in secular affairs in England 
 the Roman Catholics have always been found 
 loyal. Patriotism has proven stronger than 
 doctrinal views. 
 
 After the Protestant Revolution, a severe lg,w 
 was passed in 1704, entitled an act to prevent the 
 growth of pojoery within the province. Under 
 this act all Bishops or priests of the Roman 
 Catholic Church were inhibited, by severe penal- 
 ties, from saying mass or exercising the spirtual 
 functions of their office, or endeavoring in any 
 manner to persuade the inhabitants to become 
 reconciled to the Church of Rome. Also mem- 
 bers of that church were prohibited from engaging 
 in the instruction of youths. Relief, however, 
 in some measure followed immediately from the 
 stringency of these provisions; for at the same 
 session of the Assembly liberty was granted the 
 
116 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 priests of exercising spiritual functions in pri- 
 vate families of the Roman Church; a relief that 
 was continued from that time onward. A severe 
 enactment also was i^assed in 1715, by which if a 
 protestant father should die, leaving children, 
 and his widow should be a Roman Catholic, or 
 marry a Roman Catholic, it was possible for the 
 Grovernor and council, upon application, to 
 remove such children from the custody of their 
 mother ''to save them from popery." They were 
 also to be educated out of their father' s estate. 
 In 1729 the county court had this jurisdiction. 
 Evidently the thought was that the mother had 
 no inherent rights in her children; and also that 
 after the father the children pre-eminently be- 
 longed to the state, and that the state was the 
 guardian of the children for their highest welfare 
 after the father. The dread and hatred of popery 
 as pestilential to the commonwealth and deadly to 
 the soul, could hardly be more strongly expressed. 
 The spirit of persecution had certainly tlien not 
 died out. There are various social propositions 
 which we regard as obsolete, contained in that 
 act, which after a hundred and fifty years, till us 
 with amazement. It was passed, however, at a 
 time when the name of Roman Catholic was, 
 however unworthily, associated with the thought 
 of rebellion. 
 
 Later on, in 1716, after the attemi3t of 
 the Pretender upon the throne of England, test 
 oaths that had been required of all persons 
 holding office in the colony, were re-enacted, and 
 amongst them the declaration in respect of 
 transubstantiation. This of course prevented the 
 Roman Catholic from holding office, and the 
 
IN COLONIAL MABTLAND. 117 
 
 exclusion from public life was rendered the more 
 complete by a law of 1718 by which such test 
 oaths and declaration could, upon a person being 
 suspected of being a Roman Catholic, be admin- 
 istered as a qualification for voting. This finished 
 their disfranchisement, a burden under which 
 they rested down to the close of the colonial 
 period. Dread and jealousy were always felt 
 towards them, which in many ways made their 
 position painful. Yet it did not apparently affect 
 their numbers, the ratio of which to the whole 
 population, remaining about the same. Nor did 
 their priests cease to be active or to make con- 
 verts, one of the charges, re]3eatedly made, being 
 that irregularity of life in the parsons favored 
 priests, proselyting zeal. Also the clergy, in 
 addressing Gov. Hart in 1714, desired the 
 repression of the Papists and other dissenters, 
 who were accused of abusing their liberty under 
 the law ; an appeal that doubtless found willing 
 ears. For in addition to the other means used 
 for this purpose which we have seen, as early as 
 1708 there was a tax imposed of twenty shillings 
 per poll upon all Irish servants of that faith 
 brought in, "to prevent the growth of Papacy;" 
 a law that was subsequently re-enacted several 
 times. Other articles taxed in the same ordinance 
 were negro slaves and rum. 
 
 Another act of discrimination and equally rep- 
 rehensible according to our notions, was the at- 
 tempt, though it failed, to lay a double burden 
 on Roman Catholics to meet the expenses of the 
 French war , a measure that, though it had a 
 general bearing, was thought rather to be aimed 
 at certain particular individuals. Nor did it fail 
 
118 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 because tliere was seen to be any special injustice 
 in it, but because the whole project, of which it 
 was a part, failed ; the occasion being one of the 
 earlier and more vigorous struggles of the people 
 against prerogative. 
 
 There was indeed a consistent plan pursued of 
 expressing abhorrence of the Roman Catholic 
 Church through the colonial period from the 
 days when the Roman Catholic Lord Baltimore, 
 was deprived, a plan that had its origin and ex- 
 pression in the abhorrence that was conscien- 
 tiously felt. And unfortunately for the members 
 of that church, both in England and in the colo- 
 nies the fires of religious antagonism, were kept 
 burning by almost every leading consideration of 
 the time. The reigning family of England was 
 of the Protestant Succession, while the Pretender 
 was of the Roman church. England was strongly 
 protestant, while France, of which there was con- 
 tinual jealousy and which was supporting the 
 Pretender, was Roman Catholic, Besides, though 
 the Roman pontiff is now, and has for many 
 years been recognized as having but. small politi- 
 cal influence, particularly in those states with 
 which England is brought into close contact, in 
 the last century his power was supposed to be 
 great, and doubtless was so. England, though 
 she felt her way carefully towards Roman 
 Catholic emancipation for many years, was not 
 able to pass the Relief Bill till 1829, when disa- 
 bilities, in the presence of which all those in 
 the colony were almost as nothing, were finally 
 in great part removed. Intolerance born of fear, 
 died very hard. While the Pope of Rome along 
 with his inordinate claims to depose princes, 
 
IjY colonial 3fARYLAND. 119 
 
 and condemn them to death, to exercise temporal 
 jurisdiction in the various states and kingxloms, 
 to appoint heretics to death, and to bind the 
 consciences of his followers to carry out his 
 decrees, was supposed to have power to make 
 these claims effective, there is no wonder that 
 his name was dreaded, and that all that conld 
 become his instruments, were looked upon with 
 suspicion. Self preservation itself demanded 
 restrictive measures. It was the misfortune of 
 the times ; and while individuals were to be 
 pitied, the church itself was the chief cause of 
 their annoyances and discomforts. It ill becomes 
 us now to avow a mock sentiment in regard to 
 the matter, as even some Protestant writers are 
 disposed to do, clerical as well as lay ; thinking 
 that it belongs to their modern liberality. Judge 
 men of the olden times by the force of the circum- 
 stances of those olden times. The lawyers, 
 merchants, and planters of a hundred and fifty 
 years ago, had been moulded by a great combi- 
 nation of facts; and their jealousies and anxieties, 
 whicli we are glad to have outgrown, were then 
 but natural. 
 
 If our Maryland ancestors had a good deal of 
 puritanical zeal, as exibited in their care for the 
 Lord' s day and their antagonism against unbelief 
 or misbelief, as well as their regard for the 
 proprieties of life in the matter of drinking, 
 swearing and licentiousness, for all which they 
 attempted to i^rovide by their laws ; they ex- 
 hibited a good deal of fortitude also, and braved 
 circumstances in coming to the house of God 
 that would apxDal their successors of this day. 
 A celebrated author has recently said that the 
 
120 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 art of keeping warm is of modern invention, a 
 fact wliicli will require no argument to demon- 
 strate. And eminently was the absence of this 
 art seen in the house of God. For down till 
 about two generations ago the churches of Mary- 
 land had no tires in them, nor any means 
 provided for making a tire. So that the worship- 
 ers of that day had to sit through the long 
 service and sermon, (and without the responses 
 by the peoi3le and the singing of the anthems, 
 it must have seemed very long), and shiver. 
 Their rides were often many weary miles, and 
 the roads unspeakably bad, but yet they were 
 found at their place. There was fire in the 
 vestry house, which was a detached building, 
 and doubtless there was in the capacious fireplace 
 there a roaring flame from the logs of the abundant 
 forrest. But at church time they rigidly with- 
 drew to the sanctuary, turning the key in the 
 door to prevent all access to the cheerful blaze, 
 and ordering the sexton to permit no one to 
 enter. There is only one explanation to give of 
 their ability and willingness to endure this, that 
 they were not much accustomed to warmth at 
 home ; for with their small houses, such as were 
 almost universal in the earlier days, the door was 
 almost always open in the sitting room, and 
 heat was secured not by shutting out the blast 
 but by piling on more fuel. They roughed it, as 
 the saying is, and those that were strong enough 
 to stand the roughing, were able to sit in church 
 or anywhere else and not perish. Our standard of 
 comfort is of very modern creation, and even we 
 look back with some wonder how our fathers of 
 a generation ago were able to endure their 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 131 
 
 discomforts patiently. For Maryland habits 
 have been very odd, as witness the experience of 
 the owner of a large plantation whose kitchen 
 was on the opposite side of the public road from 
 the house. One afternoon in summer, we are 
 told, her friends gathered together to partake of 
 her hospitality, but as evening drew near a most 
 violent thunder storm came on, with a drenching 
 rain ; and as the tinder box, and lire, and supper 
 were all across the way hostess and guests had to 
 sit in quietness and hunger and darkness far 
 into the night, till the storm had passed away. 
 They were a sturdy set though, nevertheless, and 
 their comforts, such as they were, were like their 
 principles, more liberal than those they left 
 behind them in the mother country. 
 
 The item of stocks is frequently mentioned in 
 the vestry records of those times, not bank or 
 railroad, tholigh the vestry often had funds to 
 invest, but that peculiar institution contrived to 
 make poor delinquents very uncomfortable. 
 Once also the whipping post is mentioned, an 
 order being passed that one should be set up. 
 This was in 1747. But from the beginning the 
 , stocks are frequently mentioned. The vestry 
 also i^aid for the same out of the parish funds, 
 an account being rendered the vestry in the year 
 1708. They were probably erected as a neigh- 
 borhood convenience for miscreants in general ; 
 they were also, however, regarded as valuable 
 for church discipline ; for in 1765 the rule was 
 made by the vestry that persons intruding into 
 pews belonging to others and refusing to with- 
 draw, should be put in the stocks, and a pair 
 was ordered to be set up near the church. It 
 
122 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 would appear from this that the vestries had 
 more than the power of preserving order about 
 the church ; for to do that an offender need only 
 be held for trial. They did execute the decrees 
 of the county court in cases of immorality, and 
 also they had the power of action in other cases, 
 as admonishing those living in guilt, which 
 implied that they had the power of summoning 
 witnesses and requiring the presence of the 
 accused. This case would seem to indicate that 
 they exercised some of the old manorial right of 
 holding a petty court. The parish was for 
 certain purposes to them as a manor, and in 
 offences against good morals and the violation of 
 peace during the time of worship and the infringe- 
 ment of private rights within the precincts of the 
 house of God, they had power. The ducking 
 stool, the pillory and branding irons were also 
 institutions of Maryland, but not in the hands of 
 the vestry. 
 
 Why a halo should be supposed to surround 
 a church because it was built of English brick, it 
 would be difficult to say. Such, however, is the 
 fact ; for there is hardly an old church in Mary- 
 land built during the colonial period that is not 
 said to have been so erected. Yet the assertion 
 is true of very few. Most of the brick churches 
 in Maryland were built just before the revolution 
 when there was an abundance of skill in Mary- 
 land ; while the clay in very many parts of the 
 state is of excellent quality. "^Also, though 
 English goods were high, yet labor in Maryland 
 was low. Why, therefore, people should have 
 gone to England to buy what they could get as 
 good and cheaper at home, is a difficult question. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 123 
 
 Nor does the size of the bricks indicate anything, 
 for the mechanic, having learned his trade in 
 England, would of necessity almost, use the 
 same mould he had been accustomed to, and also 
 the same process of manufacture. Also, even 
 though granting the charges of freight were 
 nothing, which is doubtful, yet the cost of 
 handling and carrying, ]3erhaps for miles, would 
 be excessive over and above that of bricks made 
 where they were needed. The tradition, there- 
 fore, is probably hardly ever reliable. As early 
 as 1717 we find the vestry of St. James' parish 
 ordering, and in 1718 paying for twenty thousand 
 bricks made upon the glebe ; and the high 
 probability is that as this church stood as near to a 
 port as most of the parish churches, when the 
 time came to erect its substantial walls, the 
 contractor went to the same pit for his clay and 
 from that built this memorial of the Maryland 
 churchman's confidence. 
 
 Our forefathers in the church did not hold the 
 use of liquor in abomination as some of their 
 descendants of this time are disposed to do. It 
 is true that St. James' parish was the field on 
 which the first local option law operated, bat it 
 was not for Maryland churchmen. The Quakers 
 who abounded among them, were grievously af- 
 flicted at their meetings by the resort of "evil 
 and wicked ' ' persons thither to sell strong drink ; 
 and as early as 1 702 they appointed a committee 
 to wait on the Governor and Council to seek an 
 abatement of the nuisance. This was promised 
 them, but again in 1711 they made the same com- 
 plaint, and in 1725 an act was passed by the 
 Assembly to prevent the sale of liquor within 
 
124 CEUBCH LIFE 
 
 two miles of the meeting house at West River. 
 It is not on record how far the Friends were 
 total abstainers themselves, and so differed from 
 their fellow citizens. The churchmen, however, 
 of that day have left no record of their abomi- 
 nation, in any way, of ardent spirits, but rather we 
 find under the date of 1703 an order passed by 
 the vestry for two gallons of rum for the use of 
 the men engaged in underpinning the church, 
 a large amount of rum certainly for a small 
 amount of work. The raising and underpinning 
 implied a large gathering, and the rum was to 
 promote jollity as well as activity ; and, of 
 course, on such an occasion all the vestry were 
 present. This explains the generous supply. It 
 is not on record, however, that the vestry of St. 
 James' had a standing order for the sexton to 
 provide ' ' a quart of rum and sugar equivalent, 
 and as much diet as would give the vestry a 
 dinner," though such was the rule of a parish in 
 Baltimore county until a loud protest was made. 
 Then their rum and diet had to be provided at 
 their private charges. We are not informed 
 whether their zeal flagged on that account ; 
 though it is likely that previously their meetings 
 had been exceedingly well attended, and that 
 without fear of the impending fine, which in 
 other places was thought to be sufficient but nec- 
 essary. 
 
 A review of the parish from this point suggests 
 satisfactory consideration. The church was well 
 filled with a constantly increasing congregation, 
 occasioned partly by an increasing population, 
 though also by an increasing interest in holy 
 things in the people. The population did 
 
IN COLONIAL MABTLAND. 135 
 
 increase very much, as in 1696 the number of 
 taxables was five hundred and seven, and 
 in 1725 eight hundred and seven, three hun- 
 dred in about thirty years. This of course in- 
 cludes the servants who were taxables, and proba- 
 bly only a small ratio was of new families come 
 in. There was probably not a great increase from 
 that source, as it was a new country but recently 
 taken up, and the planters would hardly be dis- 
 posed to divide or part with their land ; while 
 also new settlers had plenty of new country to go 
 out to, where the cost would be much less. In- 
 crease in population, therefore, meant rather in- 
 crease in prosperity among the planters, that is, 
 the increase of servants. The parish also was at 
 peace, and the rector and people harmonious. 
 There is no evidence that the then rector's diffi- 
 culties with the commissary w^ere even known to 
 the people. The income of the rector also was 
 ample ; for beside the jDroceeds of the tax which 
 came almost entirely to him, and which would have 
 yielded at least six hundred dollars of our money, 
 on an average of seven hundred polls, he had the 
 income from the two glebes. Other perquisites 
 also fell to his portion, among them, it would 
 seem, the mulatto children that were born of free 
 women. For these were claimed by the clergy, 
 and in one instance seemingly the claim was 
 allowed in Mr. Hall's favor. He was apparently 
 also a gentleman of considerable private means, 
 from the lands that belonged to him ; for it was 
 not only the disappointed or the penniless that 
 came to Maryland ; but while the love of adven- 
 ture brought some, others doubtless were 
 swayed by the highest Christian motives. 
 
136 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 All the officers of tlie parish, too, took an 
 interest in their duties, and apparently attended 
 to them faithfully. About 1720 a pressure was 
 put upon them and delinquents were fined for 
 absence, as much as one hundeed pounds of 
 tobacco, worth from two to three dollars. In one 
 instance the rector himself was fined, for there 
 was no respect of persons, and he was "principal 
 vestryman." The churches generally would 
 X)resent rather an odd appearance to our eyes, 
 with the various distinctions that were made in 
 their sittings. For beside the rector's pew there 
 were the warden' s and the vestrymen' s pews, to 
 which only they, or strangers by invitation, 
 could go, and there was the private gallery 
 erected by private families at their own expense. 
 There were also the men's j)ews and the women's 
 pews, evidently the free seats, and beside this, 
 in some churches there were appointed places for 
 slaves. Some of the churches had bells which 
 continued to be used down to the Revolution, 
 when some of them disappeared ; tradition says, 
 broken up to be moulded into cannon to utter the 
 voice of destruction, in place of their former 
 invitation to praise and prayer. The surplice 
 with the stole is the only vestment mentioned 
 throughout the colonial period. 
 
 How far the church had wrought a good 
 influence in the community, it is diffiuclt to say. 
 It is observable that certain crimes indicating a 
 low degree of morally, or rather a very degraded 
 class in the parish, had in a large measure 
 apparently ceased. Possibly, of course, the 
 vestry had become lax in the execution of the 
 law, though this is hardly possible. A high 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 127 
 
 state of morality had probably grown up, and 
 the degraded classes had in a measure become 
 reformed. In 1733, however, we find the reap- 
 pearance of the same enormities. A law passed 
 in 1715 and re-enacted in 1717 and 1728 would 
 show that in various parts of the colony there 
 was a very abandoned set, the creation and result 
 doubtless in a large measure of that body of 
 convicts that were emptied out uj)on these shores 
 year by year by the "mother" country. 
 
 The church, however, was not the only good 
 influence at work. The Quakers, we have seen, 
 were very strong in this part of Maryland, and 
 especially in St. James' parish, and their first 
 yearly meeting in America was here. Also their 
 greatest strength lay at points remote from the 
 parish church where the influence of the 
 rector and the church administration would, 
 from their central location be less felt, that is, 
 along the shore of the bay from North to South. 
 The Friends had a meeting house in each direc- 
 tion, and doubtless did much to improve the 
 morals and elevate the religious tone of the 
 community. For the Quaker of that day, with 
 his decided and clear doctrines, was a much 
 more influential factor than his brother of to-day, 
 who, as a follower of Elias Hicks, has so little 
 that is positive to guide him. There were also 
 some Roman Catholic priests, who were allowed 
 full influence u]3on the plantations of those of 
 their own name, and doubtless they helped to 
 ameliorate the condition of the community. 
 They had sufficient liberty to excite the anxiety 
 of the rectors of x)arishes, and if the later fathers 
 were as devoted as the ealier missionaries thev 
 
128 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 were in many ways a blessing. Of otlier forms 
 of churcli ministration apparently there was 
 none. 
 
 How far St. James' parish was a fair index to 
 the general condition of the colony it is difficult 
 to say. There apx3ears scarcely any general 
 reason why it should not be so accepted; and if 
 it was, notwithstanding all that has been said to 
 the contrary, Maryland can only be regarded as 
 having been particularly fortunate. Church 
 ministration was secured to her; and all other 
 Christian bodies, though the Roman Catholic 
 only in a limited degree, were allowed liberty. 
 By the first a great and immovable barrier was 
 fixed to the flood of grossness and licentiousness 
 that had before flooded the colony, and by it, 
 assisted by the other christian bodies, that flood 
 was forced ever within narrower limits, and 
 society delivered from its desolation. Of that 
 other and far higher benefit, wrought in the 
 heavenly ministration, by which individual souls 
 were fed with the Bread of Life, it is impossible 
 to sj^eak. The Establishment secured for the 
 colony what it never had before, and what other- 
 wise it would not have had, the regular, faithful 
 and consistent service of God's ordained minis- 
 try; and thus only was it or could it have been 
 delivered from spiritual ruin. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 129 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 THE SECOND EECTOESHIP. 
 THE CHURCH I:N^ ENGLAND. 
 
 With the period commencing with the year 
 1722 to which we have now come, there are associ- 
 ated many particulars interesting, not because they 
 are pleasing to contemplate, but because they 
 present certain aspects of church life greatly in 
 contrast with our own. The church in England 
 was at this time passing through great trials; for 
 after the death of Queen Anne in 1714, who was 
 devoted to the church, and under whom church- 
 men were favored, whose reputation also in 
 America was fostered by various gifts to the 
 parishes, there arose by patronage of the first of 
 the Georges, an entirely new class of men, pro- 
 fessing latitudinarian views of an extreme type, 
 and as much as possible depreciating church 
 authority. How far this was the outgrowth or 
 reaction from the Jacobite tendencies of the High 
 Church party, cannot be said; but certain it is, the 
 state favored the new school, recognizing its 
 members as safer instruments for its purposes; 
 and they obtained a large part of its patronage, 
 being given the most eminent positions in the 
 gift of the government. 
 
130 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 In harmony with this was the principle on which 
 the government was administered by Sir Robert 
 Walpole. His determination was to preserve 
 everything in quietness, regarding tlie internal 
 prosperity of the state as being the highest 
 consideration for an officer of the government. 
 Acting on this principle he refined down differ- 
 ences, he avoided in legislation every thing that 
 might irritate one or the other of the great 
 classes into which society was divided, the 
 church and non-conformists. Where he could 
 not directly do away with the obstacles to peace, 
 he temporized, as in some of the older repressive 
 laws enacted after the Restoration; and either 
 violations of the laws were overlooked, or else 
 their operation was suspended for a season. 
 This policy had begun before Walpole became 
 Prime Minister, but after he had become influ- 
 ential in the government on the accession of 
 George I.; and it continued to be the policy 
 throughout his long administration, and after- 
 wards. 
 
 Among other things done during this time was 
 the suspension of convocation in 1717, chiefly 
 because it had dared to raise its voice against the 
 growth of extreme latitudinarian views as set 
 forth by the Bishop Hoadly of Bangor. Convo- 
 cation had been the church' s appointed and legal 
 means of expressing its views and desires upon 
 matters of its own concern, and was the great 
 preservative agent of the church against,, laxity of 
 views and practice. The Bishop of Bangor's 
 views were offensive in the extreme, contending 
 as he did, "against the notion of the existence of 
 any visible church, and scoffing at the mainte- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 131 
 
 nance of tests of orthodoxy and tlie claims of 
 ecclesiastical government." Convocation pro- 
 tested against sncli views, with the result that it 
 was prorogued, either because the government 
 did not want agitation in the kingdom, or 
 because the whole school to which Bishop 
 Hoadly belonged, were regarded as being more 
 favorable to whig principles. 
 
 This policy had a very pernicious influence uj^on 
 the condition of the church. Discipline ceased, 
 and laxity both in doctrine and practice became 
 common. We have often heard of the fox hunt- 
 ing parsons of the eighteenth century, but fox 
 hunting was not the only thing in which remiss- 
 ness was shown. The whole tone of the clergy 
 sank. There was nothing to regulate or deflne 
 doctrine or practice. Men were exalted to station, 
 not because they were fitted for it either by learn- 
 ing or devotion, but because they were in harmony 
 with the prevailing principles of the government, 
 and might be useful to the party in power. One 
 result of this condition of things, was the great 
 agitation upon the doctrine of the Trinity, in 
 which Dr. Waterland bore such a leading part, 
 and at this time an attempt was made even so to 
 alter the Prayer Book as to make it harmonize 
 with Arian tenets. Deism also had its strong 
 advocates, and the religion of nature was set up 
 as the antagonist sufficient to displace Chris- 
 tianity. It was this controversy that called out in 
 defence of the truth Bishop Warburton in his 
 Divine Legation of Moses, and Bishop Butler in 
 his Analogy. It was a time of extreme agitation, 
 everything Christian being impugned, frequent- 
 ly by those who held the honors and emoluments 
 of the church. 
 
132 CHUBCH LIFE 
 
 And practice tallied with laxity in principle. 
 Residence by tlie Bisliops in tlieir dioceses, in 
 some instances wlien we would least expect it, 
 was felt to be a burden, and was avoided as niucli 
 as possible. Tlie clinrcli was not felt to be a 
 living body. Trntli was more a matter of pliil- 
 osopliy tlian a guide of life; while practical 
 precepts were rather moral ajDothegms than the 
 voice of the Master and Savior calling. This is 
 the way, walk ye in it. So far had the church 
 lost her vitality that when Seeker, who became 
 Archbishop in 1758, attempted to send over 
 bishops to the American colonies, he found him- 
 self antagonized by the church to that degree 
 that he had to abandon his intention. The 
 church had become only the creature of the 
 state for certain functions, the contests of 
 her members were often only the battles of 
 philosophers for certain ideas; spiritually she 
 was cold. 
 
 One result of this was inevitable. The tone of 
 the clergy and people fell. We hear a good 
 deal about the condition of the clergy in the 
 colonies, and many were painfully derelict, 
 though there has been a very great deal of 
 exaggeration. It was not America, however, 
 that was alone so afflicted. For we find in a 
 description of the clergy of England at this time, 
 that they figured as "courtiers, politicians, 
 lawyers, merchants, usurers, civil magistrates, 
 sportsmen, musicians, stewards of county squires 
 and tools of men in x)ower." They were com- 
 pletely secularized, lived as men of the world, 
 with all the deadening influence of such con- 
 nection. Tlieir separation was a lost fact ; and 
 
IW COLONIAL MARYLAND. 133 
 
 with the loss there was the depreciation of 
 character. The social position of the clergy was^ 
 then very different from what it is now, and 
 with the difference there was less to restrain 
 them. A clergyman now has many more safe- 
 guards thrown around him ; for as a class, from 
 the highest to the lowest, his calling makes him 
 the equal of any other class, and gives him a 
 defined position, which it is easy for him to keep 
 if he will, and which he sacrifices at his peril. 
 All men honor his calling, all men take it for 
 granted that he honors it, as the vast majority of 
 his brethren do, and so none look down upon 
 him or despise him. And all this is a great 
 moral influence about him, irrespective of other 
 considerations, to support him in his i^osition. 
 
 Just the opiDOsite was the case in that day and 
 before. For according to a picture drawn by 
 Dean Swift, in the days of Queen Anne, "the 
 recognized social position of a clergyman and 
 his family was about that of a tradesman. He 
 made no attempt to keei3 up the status of a 
 gentleman. ' The vicar' says he, ' will probably 
 receive presents now and then from his parish- 
 ioners, and perhaps from his squire, who although 
 he may be apt sometimes to treat his parson a 
 little superciliously, may probably be softened by 
 a little humble demeanor. The vicar is likewise 
 generally sure to find, on his admittance to the 
 living, a convenient house and barn in rex)air, 
 with a garden and a field or two to graze a few 
 cows and one horse for himself and his wife. 
 He has a market probably very near him, per- 
 haps in his own village. No entertainment is 
 expected by his visitor beyond a pot of ale and a 
 
134 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 piece of cheese. His wife is little better than 
 goody in her birth, education or dress, and as to 
 himself, he must let his parentage alone. If he 
 be the son of a farmer it is very sufficient, and 
 his sister may decently be chambermaid to the 
 squire's wife. He goes about on working days in 
 a grazier' s coat and will not scruple to assist his 
 workmen in harvest times. His daughters shall 
 go to service, or be sent apprentice to the semp 
 stress in the next town, and his sons are put to 
 honest trades." 
 
 Nor is this picture of clerical life isolated, 
 the representation of one sour- tempered man. 
 There is abundance of proof that the better 
 social standing of the parochial clergy is of later 
 times. One of the laws of Queen Elizabeth's 
 time prescribes rules for the clergy in marrying, 
 one of which was "that no x^riest or deacon should 
 marry without the api^robation first obtained of 
 the Bishop and two justices of the peace for the 
 county, nor without the consent of the parents or 
 relatives of the woman, or of the master or mis- 
 tress with whom she was at service, in case she 
 had no rehatives." Also, we have some pictures 
 of clerical life in the last century subsequent to 
 this date, one of which, recently published and 
 exceedingly beautiful, is supposed to have sug- 
 gested to Goldsmith, in some of its features, the 
 Vicar of Wakefield. At that time the condition 
 of the parochial clergy in England, whatever it 
 may be now, was humble. By his office the 
 curate could claim nothing, though a godly life 
 has always been a power. 
 
 In America, doubtless, the relative position of 
 the clergy in society was higher. This would 
 
ZzY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 135 
 
 necessarily result from the much simpler ways of 
 living in the colonies, and from the fact that the 
 pox)ulation was composed in such large propor- 
 tion of those w^ho came to this country w^ith but 
 little, and whose fortunes w^ere made by them- 
 selves; though it is true that many of the higher 
 orders of society did emigrate from England, and 
 make their homes here. Still, there w^as alw^ays a 
 far nearer approach to equality. In the northern 
 colonies, w^here there w^as an ambition for as near 
 an ax)proach to a theocracy as possible, of course 
 the ministers were awarded all honor and esteem; 
 but in the southern colonies there may have 
 been present some of that English feeling to 
 account for the harsh language and the want of 
 consideration that at times manifested themselves 
 and strongly in the period to which we have now 
 come. Individual men may have been highly 
 respected, as certainly they were; but when from 
 any cause they combined and stood forth as a 
 body, to proclaim any principle or to maintain 
 any right, there w^as nothing in the general 
 esteem for their office or position to compel men 
 to treat them with consideration; and further, 
 the faults and shortcomings of a few w^ould, in 
 the pox)ular imagination and language, be charged 
 against the whole body as a class. 
 
 All these causes, however, united, the low^ 
 esteem, socially, in which the clergy w^ere held, 
 their being mixed up in the ]Dolitical agitations 
 of the day, w^hen every man was distinguished 
 as a Tory and Jacobite, or a Whig and friend of 
 the Hanoverian succession, the taking aw^ay from 
 the church the ]30wer of regulating her own in- 
 ternal affairs w^hen the mouth of Convocation was 
 
136 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 closed and all power of discipline suspended; 
 fearfully depressed the Churcli both at home and 
 in the colonies, paralyzed her efforts, depreciated 
 her standard, lowered her in the regard of the 
 world, caused the truth, which she held in trust, 
 to be questioned and rejected, and made iniquity 
 to abound. And in proportion as these causes 
 operated in England they affected Am.erica. 
 
 But while the Church in the Mother Country 
 could not at this time raise her head proudly be- 
 fore the world by reason of the lethargy of her 
 children, and because of the want of harmony 
 in regard even to the most important matters of 
 the faith, her condition was not without its hope- 
 ful and its redeeming features. For if some of 
 her children questioned the living truths and de- 
 nied the great Christian principles, there were 
 many through this century whose writings and 
 whose lives x)resented in the strongest light the 
 natural hold the Church has upon all the living 
 principles of truth and godliness. Some of these 
 great men have been mentioned, as Waterland, 
 Butler, and Warburton, men of commanding 
 force and discrimination; while there also flor- 
 ished Jones of Nayland, Samuel Wesley, the 
 father of John and Charles, William Law, and 
 Bishop Wilson, men who combined with learn- 
 ing a piety and devotion that have given them 
 an undying name. At this time also there were 
 various religious societies connected with the 
 church in different parts of England, which by 
 their association kept alive a religious spirit and 
 proved instruments for kindling the piety of 
 such men as the Wesley s and Whitfield. Also 
 in 1729 the Society of Methodists was lirst 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 137 
 
 formed at Oxford, composed of members of tlie 
 Cliurch of England. Among the original mem- 
 bers were other men as prominent as the Wesley s; 
 for the society had as its ori'ginal intention to 
 promote the piety of the members themselves. 
 For this purpose they assembled every night to 
 review their individual lives of the past| day and 
 to build themselves and each other up in truth 
 and godliness, by the study of the scriptures and 
 prayer. Further than this, their work was to 
 instruct, as they had opportunity, their associates 
 in the University, and to teach in the schools, 
 work houses, and prisons, wherever indeed they 
 might find an opening. 
 
 Thus began the movement that has accom- 
 plished such vast results, not only in England 
 but throughout the world, the work of men who 
 were rigid in the observance of all rules and 
 ordinances of the Church of England, and whose 
 piety not only burned, but was kindled at her 
 altars. So that though the condition of the 
 Church in England was bad at the time we are 
 in, yet her future and glorious resusciation was 
 already preparing, the ashes of the plienix were 
 already s tiring with life. For it was out of 
 this Methodist movement, though in its later 
 stages, but before separation took place from the 
 English Church, that the evangelical school 
 sprang, with the great names of Cecil, Conyers, 
 Venn, Milner, and Simeon at its head; which 
 did more than any other body of men or any 
 other school of teaching, to work the great 
 revival, in the calm steady heat of which the 
 whole Anglican communion flourishes to-day. 
 Other influences have since manifested them- 
 
138 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 selves, but that both anticiiDated their day, had 
 its own peculiar work for the promotion of piety 
 and good works, and prepared the way for the 
 entrance of these other agencies. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 139 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CHUKCH T^ AMERICA. 
 
 A general review of ecclesiastical affairs in 
 America wonlcl reveal, that with the growth of 
 years there had been a general enlarging of the 
 spirit of liberty. The question, What had 
 brought it about? might be answered differ- 
 ently according as men looked with the spirit of 
 calm investigation u^Don the matter, seeking only 
 the truth, or as they were filled with admiration 
 for the people of any given section of the 
 country. The readiest reason, however, reached 
 for the great change in public sentiment would 
 l^robably be, that religion had not so strong a 
 hold on men's minds and hearts, that in the one 
 hundred years that had elapsed since the estab- 
 lishment of the earlier colonies, when men 
 sought a refuge from religious intolerance, where 
 they might themselves show equal if not greater 
 intolerance, the ardor of their own minds had 
 sensibly cooled down, the distinct lines of an 
 ecclesiastical re]3ublic had been made less dis- 
 tinct by a freer spirit of civilization, by the 
 influence of trade, education, and the apprehen- 
 sion of civil rights. IN'ew England outgrew a 
 commonwealth founded on Mosaic law. as Israel 
 
140 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 had done so long before. This larger spirit of 
 administration, was strikingly exemplified in| 
 the treatment of the Quakers. For during the 
 rule of Governor Belcher, which began in 1729, 
 Massachusetts passed a law ' 'making satisfaction 
 to the posterity of those who endured capital 
 punishment in the years 1658 and 1659; and the 
 same Assembly decreed a compensation to the 
 decendants of the unfortunate victims of the pro- 
 secutions for witchcraft in 1693." Also, "the 
 Legislature of Connecticut in 1729 passed an act 
 for exempting Quakers and Baptists from eccle 
 siastical taxes, and in 1731 a similar law was 
 enacted by the Assembly of Massachusetts," in 
 which they were eminently ahead of Maryland 
 and Virginia. 
 
 What had helped, however, to bring about 
 this change was the difference in the sj)irit of 
 the home government towards the colonies, and 
 particularly towards those of New England. 
 For while in their earlier days the troubles in 
 England secured to them very great licence, and 
 they were able to conduct their affairs after their 
 own wills; and then had every encouragement to 
 do so by the success which attended their friends 
 in the Rebellion, being fortified in every claim 
 and pretension by the supremacy to which Inde- 
 pendency had attained; after the Restoration, 
 and the complete overthrow of the ecclesiastical 
 system of the commonwealth, royal injunctions 
 and commands were heard which had to be 
 obeyed, and toleration of almost all classes came 
 to be the rule. The hated prelacy, against which 
 New England puritanism had protested as 
 against sin, raised its temples in the strongholds 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 141 
 
 tof the faith; and the Prayer Book, with all its 
 papistical ceremonies, guided and directed the 
 worshi]3 of many of the most esteemed citizens. 
 ,rhe dawn of the eighteenth century was the 
 [Oreaking forth of the brightest spirit of civil and 
 [religious liberty that ever glorified the world, 
 c:hough that sj)irit shone in its brightness over a 
 4:erritory that extended but little beyond the 
 realms of the happier empire of Protestant 
 England. 
 
 tj It was before our present date that the exami- 
 aation began at Yale College into the grounds 
 land claims of Episcopacy, that resulted in the 
 jponviction in the minds of its rector and one of 
 jits tutors, and also of Dr. Sam. Johnson, a con- 
 gregational minister and friend of the rector, 
 phat ExDiscopacy was the true scriptural form of 
 church government, and that no orders were 
 'ralid that were not episcox)ally conferred. The 
 i^esult of this conviction was, that they all re- 
 '4gned their positions, and going to England 
 were received into the ministry of the church. 
 Two of them afterward returned to America, 
 ileath intervening to prevent the third, and they 
 ministered as missionaries of the Society for 
 t^ropaga^ting the Gospel, occupying for many 
 years positions of commanding influence, and 
 bompelling the hearing of the church's claims. 
 \ This society was at that time the chief hope of 
 jfche church in all parts of America, Maryland 
 land Virginia excepted. It was the missionary 
 organization of that day, as it still is in very 
 (large measure in the Church of England, though 
 ^ts labors are now supplemented by the Church 
 [Missionary Society, the child of the Evangelical 
 
142 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 movement at the close of tlie eigliteentli century. 
 Its revenue was the free will offerings of the 
 people, and though it was not great, as we count 
 greatness now, yet its existence was a proof of a 
 worthy remnant in the midst of worldliness, that 
 had not bowed the knee to Baal. Maryland and 
 Virginia were excepted from its operations, 
 because by the law in these colonies ample 
 provision was supx)osed to be made for the 
 support of the clergy. There were compensations, 
 however, in favor of the other colonies; for the 
 Society could exercise a scrutiny and'supervision 
 over those whom it acpected and sent out; which 
 was the means of presenting the church in its 
 truest and most acceptable form in those places 
 where clerical shortcomings of any kind would 
 have intensified the already active suspicion and 
 dislike of the people. And so as a fact, though 
 the church was dreaded, and was to the last 
 regarded as the symbol and engine of ecclesias- 
 tical tyranny, and her ministers in times of 
 strong agitation, were placed under the social 
 ban ; yet there was an ever -increasing strength 
 granted her by the gradual appreciation of her 
 true principles. Nothing but a worthy body of 
 high-toned Christian ministers could have secured 
 this blessing. 
 
 In Maryland at this time, from 1722 to 1734, 
 the condition of things was not pleasing. For 
 the church was not in peace, and the occasions 
 of disturbance were various. As to the outside 
 bodies, her relations with them had in no way 
 changed, and there was as much liberality to- 
 wards all exercised in Maryland as any where 
 else probably in the world. The Roman Catholic 
 
m COLONIAL MARYLAND, 143 
 
 continued, of course, to stand in tlie same relations 
 to society and the state in which he had always 
 stood; while probably after 1715, when the family 
 of the Lord Prox)rietary became protestant, and 
 jurisdiction was restored to it, the strain was less 
 than it had been before. The spirit of the 
 English government towards Roman Catholics, 
 was well exemplehed in its treatment of Lord Balti- 
 more at the Revolution of 1688; for while with- 
 drawing jurisdiction, which was felt to be unsafe 
 in his hands, it secured to him all his rights of 
 property in the colony, and when the family 
 changed its faith, jurisdiction was restored. Its 
 deprival of civil rights, however, did not aifect, 
 apparently, the numerical condition of that 
 church, for it was able to preserve a constant 
 ratio to the population down to the close of the 
 colonial days, being about one-tw^elfth. Of 
 course this was only kept up by a large immigra- 
 tion. The number of Jesuit missionaries, how- 
 ever, now in the colony, and they furnished the 
 chief supply for the adherents of the Koman 
 faith, was as large as it was at any subsequent 
 time, as their official records show. For in the 
 year 1723 there were at the Residence of St. 
 Ignatius sixteen members of the society, twelve 
 fathers and four coadjutors. The duty of the 
 coadjutors, who were lay brothers, was to attend 
 to the domestic aifairs of the Residence, and to 
 cultivate the land attached to it, the income from 
 which supported the mission; while the fathers 
 went hither and thither throughout the colony in 
 the performance of their spiritual duties. This 
 had been their rule from the foundation of the 
 colony, and to obtain a certain and secured support 
 
144 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 had been the object of their large acquisition of 
 land which early brought them into conflict with 
 their patron. For there was no appointed 
 income except this, other than the free-will 
 offerings of the people; a fact that doubtless in 
 certain localities gave them a great advantage at 
 times when the matter of expense was a great sub- 
 ject of agitation. Not that it may have caused any 
 persons to go over to the Jesuits, but it 
 increased their opportunity to question and 
 fault the ministers of the Established church, 
 as now we find them doing. For in addition to 
 other trials, the clergy were compelled to enter 
 into public controversy in answer to the Roman- 
 ist' s bold challenge; to vindicate the truth of the 
 Protestant faith against Romish perversion, as 
 they had to vindicate the Establishment and 
 their rights under it against the attacks of those, 
 sometimes of their own household, who bore the 
 Protestant name. 
 
 As regards the other great body of dissenters 
 that had formerly given trouble, the Quakers, 
 they by this time had ceased to excite much 
 attention. They had come to be better under- 
 stood everywhere, and the immunity they had 
 almost always enjoyed in Maryland became more 
 perfect. They had never been feared, but only 
 regarded as extravagant enthusiasts, who, for 
 certain matters of form, were ready to endure all 
 things, and who despised the powers that be in so 
 far as they interfered with their views and 
 practises. But in Maryland things had been 
 adjusted to suit their private notions of what was 
 right ; and as their lives as a body were peaceable 
 and upright, and they were industrious, faithful, 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 145 
 
 God-fearing citizens, all possible liberty was 
 willingly extended. And no anxiety seems to 
 liave been felt by the ecclesiastical authorities 
 about their proselyting, as was felt about the 
 Roman Catholic Church. It is tiue, in the begin- 
 ning they had won over some persons from staunch 
 church families, but this ceased, and they 
 became a close corjioration, living in themselves 
 and to themselves. Thus they shut themselves 
 off from sympathy ; wiiile even the persecution 
 w^as wanting that lirst made them objects of 
 observation. Also they differed from lio other 
 body of Christians on what would be esteemed 
 great principles ; for they were then orthodox 
 in all the great matters of faith, believing in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Since then 
 they have marvelously changed. Their j)osition 
 as a dissenting Dody was that of the negation of 
 rule, form, and ceremony ; while the grand right 
 of private judgement and individual responsi- 
 bility, of which they had at Jirst been eminent 
 exponents, had come to be a part of the creed of 
 all bodies : the English churcli, as we have seen, 
 running to the very excess of that salutary 
 principle. So the Friends in Maryland were 
 now^ no longer feared. They were objects of 
 consideration, but it was for missionary work. 
 An attempt was made to send a missionary 
 amongst them, and one of the tracts circulated 
 was entitled "A Serious Call to ye Quakers," 
 with probably, however, very little effect. 
 
 P^or the closeness of their body w^as rigidly 
 maintained, and a thorough inculcation of their 
 principles was from the earliest years a part of 
 their children's education. They were taught 
 
146 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 that tliey were born in the "meeting" and that 
 they were to esteem it a blessed birthright. 
 Now and then, under the fascination of bright 
 eyes or winning ways, a son or daughter wonkl 
 go off and be married by a " hireling ' ' minister 
 to. one of the outside world, \)\\t such conduct 
 was so strongly reprobated, with threats of 
 prosecution and dire ill to the said hireling, that 
 the offence was not likely to become common. 
 The rigidness with which they maintained their 
 separation is exemplified in their "Enquiries" 
 of the year 1725, addressed to the members of the 
 meeting, one of which was " Are all careful to 
 keep uj) their ancient and Christian testimony 
 against tithes, priest's wages, repairing of their 
 houses, called .churches, or any other ceremony 
 of that nature." This their testimony was both 
 ancient(!) and Cliristian(!) and as it affected not 
 only their principles but their pockets, doubt- 
 less it was kept up. Thus they were brought 
 into conscious antagonism with the great body of 
 their fellow citizens, and as a fact they have 
 always been a sejmrated people in every society. 
 For their segregation w^ent into everything. 
 They worshipped apart, protesting, as we have 
 seen, against the name of church ; they married 
 apart and banished every son or daughter who 
 did not conform in this ; their, language, their 
 views of certain social duties and (vbligations, as 
 of oaths and bearing arms, were different; their 
 dress even made them distinct from all about 
 them. And the discipline of the meeting 
 enforced and compelled these things. In all 
 business matters, also, as far as possible, they 
 kept themselves to themselves ; one of the 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 147 
 
 enquiries running, "AVhether there are any 
 masters of trade that want apprentices, or 
 children of Friends to be put forth, that they 
 apply themselves to the monthly meeting before 
 they take those that are not Friends or put forth 
 their children to such." Nor is this the only 
 instance. Everything was to be done as far as 
 possible within the society; disputes to be 
 settled, the poor to be provided for and educated, 
 and a general supervision to be exercised over 
 various of the common matters of life. After- 
 wards thier views upon the then social institution 
 of the country, slavery, separated them further 
 from the people. 
 
 And this separation is probably the only 
 cause why they have continued to exist. For as 
 some among them believe now, who yet by old 
 habit and education still retain their "birthright," 
 Quakerism has seen its day of usefulness and 
 now may without loss x>ass away. They have 
 swung away from their old moorings in the 
 matter of faith, and their ideas of spiritual 
 enlightenment, and individual responsibility, and 
 private judgment, of which in their earlier days, 
 they were the most j^ronounced expression, have 
 now become common property. One danger 
 they avoided which with the other peculiarities 
 is remarkable, because a danger that, has 
 destroyed so many other like societies, viz: the 
 community of goods. A care for the general 
 body and all its members was requisite, and a 
 large submission of their will to the common 
 voice; but with all the' enthusiasm of earlier 
 days, the rules of private thrift and individual 
 wealth have never been forgotten, wliile the 
 
148 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 comnmiiity lias seldom been dishonored by sharp 
 practices or the dishonesty of its members. 
 
 The churcli in Maryland was now passing 
 through turbnlent days, as extreme, i)robably, as 
 any to which it was ever subjected. It had 
 grown in numbers, the parishes in 1722 amount- 
 ing to thirty-eight, with about three thousand 
 c(mimunicants and eleven thousand families 
 attached to it. The ])arishes also were well 
 supplied, in 1782 the re])ort being made to the 
 Bishop of London that there was but one vacant 
 parish in the colony. Indeed, from this time on 
 Maryland was always well supplied with clergy, 
 and that because of their independent X)osition 
 and the general sufficiency of the support 
 provided. Towards the close of the colonial 
 period there was even a superabundance of 
 ministers in the province. 
 
 But with the general prosperity of the church 
 there was also much misfortune, for as a fact 
 this was a time of unusual dis(^ord. One of the 
 occasions of this, manifest upon the surface, was 
 the attempt to divide some of the parishes, a 
 project to which the cleig^y .^aovved their usual 
 hostility, in which probal)ly they were only too 
 sensitive. For the parishes having been erected 
 when the po])ulation of the (M)lony was very 
 sparse, nuniy of them were exceedingly large, and 
 far beyond the power of one man efficiently to 
 care for; a stretch of teriitory sixty nnles long 
 and containing from four to five hundred families 
 j)recluding frequent ministrations, and (jhurch 
 services were necessarily denied to a large 
 proportion of the people. But the attempt to 
 divide excited the fears and the loud protests of 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 149 
 
 the clergy. They looked upon it as a 1)1 ow aimed 
 at their interests, and an assault upon their 
 rights. They feared also the spirit that was 
 abroad, opposition to them being in the air, 
 and they looked out upon poverty and destitu- 
 tion as their oncoming portion. Even some of 
 the best men of the province had this feeling, 
 Mr. Wilkinson, the commissary of the Eastern 
 Shore and one universally commended, being 
 among the most earnest to protest. The civil 
 authorities, however, went forward, various 
 parishes were divided, and morejaborers entered 
 the field, doubtless with exceedingly good 
 results. 
 
 The spirit that was abroad also manifested 
 itself in another way, and the fears of the clergy 
 were excited by an attempt to reduce the poll 
 tax by which their salaries weie paid, the amount 
 of reduction proposed being one-fourth. This 
 was a sweeping measu.re bearing upon all the 
 ministers alike, and therefore it was ax>t to do 
 far more harm than the other ; for while many of 
 the parishes might be too large, there were some 
 where the income was exceedingly small, and a 
 reduction of one-fourth meant distress and suffer- 
 ing to the minister. The agitation of this 
 question began about the year 1728, and, of 
 course, it excited the liveliest alarm. The clergy 
 sent up their protest and i)etition against what 
 they deemed an iniquitous measure; and truly 
 there was that about it which showed that the 
 authorities were not treating them sincerely. 
 For the plea was that over-production had 
 reduced the price of the staple, and the plan 
 proposed was to limit the growth and so force the 
 
J 50 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 market up as tliat thirty pounds would be of as 
 high a value as forty then were. But their want 
 of sincerity was seen in the provision that the law 
 allowed the planter to pay in money or tobacco 
 as he might prefer, the rate of commutation 
 being fixed, so that when the market was good 
 the clergy would get money, but when it was 
 poor they would get the tobacco. 
 
 Therefore there was good ground for alarm. 
 For the law was passed by the Assembly, and the 
 clergy in their extremity approached the society 
 for the propagation of the Gospel for relief. 
 They also by their agent, whom they sent to 
 England, Mr. Henderson, approached the king, 
 the proprietary, and the Bishop of London, seek- 
 ing protection. As it hapx^ened the proprietary, 
 with whom rested the power of vetoing bills 
 passed by the Assembly, refused to confirm the 
 law, and moreover, assured the clergy of his 
 favor and protection. Probably, as it turned out, 
 the agitation of this measure advanced their 
 interests, as in 1729 a law was passed limiting 
 the production of tobacco. In 1780, however, 
 another measure was passed by the Assembly 
 which allowed the ^myment of one-fourth of the 
 tax in grain, which became a law. The clergy 
 were at first alarmed, as they had been before, 
 though experience of the measure seems to have 
 removed their fears. Like many of the colonial 
 laws it was enacted only for a given period, and 
 was from time to time renewed. The (ujndition 
 of the clergy in the province was now, taken 
 altogether, very much improved, for the popula- 
 tion had in most parts greatly increased and 
 their incomes wei'e generally sufficient. In one 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 151 
 
 parish, and that not an exceptional one, the 
 taxables between 1698 and 1726 had increased 
 about eighty per cent. 
 
 All this agitation, however was symptomatic, 
 for the colony was in a turbulent condition, and 
 as doubtless could not be avoided, the clergy 
 were drawn into the prevailing disputes. Never 
 had their character been higher, nor their con- 
 duct as men and ministers more commendable. 
 Those in authority in the province testified to 
 this. Many of them had long been residing in 
 their parishes and their sympathies and their 
 hopes were identified with those of their people. 
 They were also, notwithstanding their diverse 
 nationalities, more than one-half being English, 
 nearly one-half Scotch, and the remainder Irish, 
 generally harmonious among themselves, and 
 met in convocation from year to year. Still 
 when one came to describe them, as was done in 
 1722, a man might be said to be a good preacher, 
 an excellent good man, a good scholar, or some 
 less complimentary term might be used, but he 
 was always a whig, a tory or a stickler for the 
 present happy Establishment. 
 
 The occasion of this disturbance was a dis- 
 cussion that divided the colony for about ten 
 years beginning with the year 1722 ; the subject 
 being the extension of English statutes to civil 
 and criminal j)i'^><"^clure in the Maryland courts; 
 one of those struggles that marked the spirit of 
 the people and gradually prepared the way for 
 the final effort for independence. According to 
 the rule no statute passed by the Assembly was 
 oi:)erative if disapproved by the proprietary, who 
 under his charter had this authority ; a power in 
 
153 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 liis hands which the people feared would be 
 prejudicial to their rights and liberties ; and 
 they also at this time claimed, what was a fact, 
 that until now, when there was no cohmial law 
 covering a case, the courts had applied the 
 English statutes. The upper house whi(rh always 
 supported the prerogatives of the Proprietary, 
 resisted this claim, and denied the fact ; and the 
 agitation became rancorous, The colonists insis- 
 ted they w ere still Englishmen, and had sacrificed 
 none of their privileges by passing over to the 
 colonies ; though they were inconsistent in this, 
 that they accepted only such English laws as 
 binding as were agreeable to themselves and 
 found to be convenient ; for they dreaded the 
 prerogative of parliament as much as they did 
 that of the proprietary. At that time, indeed, 
 things were very much undefined in the whole 
 matter of colonial administration ; for England 
 had not yet learned how to bring up her children. 
 The question was finally settled with something 
 like a compromise between the contending 
 parties. 
 
 Into this agitation the clergy were almost of 
 necessity drawn ; for it was a subject that deeply 
 concerned the interests of the people, the dispute 
 arising upon the passage of an act in 1722 entitled 
 ''An Act of Linutation of Actions of Trespass 
 and Ejectment." General x>rinciples were soon 
 enunciated and the discussion spread everyw here. 
 It is easy to imagine where the (dergy would 
 be found in this question ; for born and reared 
 as they almost all were, if not all, abroad, they 
 had not that instinctive sense of popular rights 
 which always characterized the American colo- 
 
IW COLONIAL MARYLAND. 158 
 
 nists, that jealousy of interference l)y any 
 privileged person or class, so that now as always, 
 the great body there were ranked upon the side 
 of the proprietary and prerogative. This was 
 almost inevitable ; for prerogative was not an 
 alarming word to them, it l)eing their yearning 
 desire all through the colonial days of Maryland 
 to have the jnerogatives of a bishop brought to 
 bear upon their church life, and their strong 
 conviction that such prerogative ahme could 
 save the chui'ch's fair name. This question was 
 mingled with the agitation now. For it was just 
 before this time that the attempt was made to 
 secure from the Legislature the confirmation of the 
 disciplinary power of the Bishop of London over 
 the persons of the clergy, and it was during this 
 agitation in 1727, that Mr. Colebatch, spoken of 
 in the highest terms for his excellence was 
 prevented by a writ of N^ exeat, issued by the 
 colonial courts, from obeying the summons to go 
 to England to be ccmsecrated for the colonies. 
 And so, in the personal abuse hurled by one of 
 the leaders of the peox)le at this time, Mr. 
 Thomas Bordley, against commissary Henderson, 
 he charges him with going to England to seek 
 the episcopate. 
 
 The instincts of the clergy, therefore, lay with 
 the proprietary during the struggle, and in a 
 proportionate degree they were antagonized by 
 the peop)le. This was the assertion of Governor 
 Calvert in 1726. They were opposed because 
 they were supporters of the king and the j)ro- 
 prietary. They were always on the side of 
 prerogative, and doubtless it would be found, 
 could the matter be fully known, that verv much 
 
154 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 of tlie scandal that was uttered against them, 
 had its origin in the jealousy and hatred born of 
 political prejudice. For it requires but a very 
 small foundation to enable animosity, so born to 
 raise a very large and imposing structure. And 
 so the agitation of the question about their salary, 
 and the attempt to reduce the amount. It was 
 as a punishment for their political opinions and 
 the use of their influence against a popular 
 movement. 
 
 But these were not the only means made use of 
 to express the politicians' ill will. We have 
 seen the attempt to divide parishes, for which in 
 some instances there was some justification ; but 
 the antagonism showed itself also in raising the 
 question whether the act of establishment had 
 been duly passed, the same as was done in 
 another great period of trouble. This, however, 
 was not pushed, as doubtless it could not be. 
 Another attempt was made to establish an 
 ecclesiastical court for the trial (^f clergymen, to 
 be composed in part of laymen; but this also 
 failed, the Governor disapproving of the measui'e, 
 both because lay jurisdiction was not sufficient 
 in the case, and also because there was no call 
 for such a court, the reputation of the clergy 
 being good. Nor was it only by such public 
 measures that antagonism was shown, but 
 also the sjurit that was abroad manifested itself 
 in acts of personal violence, and blows were 
 given, and sometimes returned by, the clergy. 
 Even Gov. Calvert himself descended into the 
 arena, though as it seems only to offer threats 
 which he did not carry out. Mr. commissary 
 Henderson, who stood forward for the clergy as 
 
IJ^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 155 
 
 their chain pion, and who was courageous enough 
 to vindicate their position and their rights, 
 came in for a very large share of the plentiful 
 abuse. A tory of the tories, he was also both 
 by temper and disposition, the man to be in the 
 very thickest of the tight. If his enemies are to 
 be i3elieved, he w^as not wanting in the qualities 
 of a practical diplomatist. 
 
 These troubles continiied down to the year 
 1732, when the colony obtained peace by some- 
 thing like a compromise with the proprietary. 
 Probably also the depressed financial condition, 
 that had earlier ))een felt, had noAv been relieved 
 by a better demand for tobacco ; for the market 
 for that staple has, it is likely, always been 
 subject to rapid fluctuations, and with their 
 increased resources the colonists had lost their 
 irritati(m. Churchmen also doubtless had come 
 to recognize the fact, that for them at least, the 
 establishment afforded clerical ministrations at 
 as small an exaction as any other system could 
 provide, and they became content to let well 
 enough alone; for for thirty years and more there 
 was comparative peace. 
 
 The proprietary at this time was Charles Y I, 
 Lord Baltimore, a young man and new to affairs. 
 He did not rank high amongst his contemporaries 
 even in later years, for good judgment, commit- 
 ting indiscretions that have done more to 
 immortalize him than his virtues have. Possibly 
 his want of experience largely promoted the 
 dissensions of the colony, though he showed a 
 consistency and force during the great agitation, 
 that indicate him to have been a man of force of 
 character. He came into the colonv in 1732, and 
 
156 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 the difficulties that had distracted the church so 
 violently, particularly within the last two years 
 since Mr. Henderson's return from England, 
 were calmed down. For the clergy avowed 
 themselves his strong supporters, and his kind 
 feeling for them and the establishment, which 
 had prompted him to stand their friend earlier in 
 the contest, now made him their advocate and 
 defender, assuring them of his protection. He 
 also favored any attempts made by the commis- 
 sary to execute the duties of his office in the 
 exercise of discipline, though unfortunately his 
 residence in the colony was so short that soon 
 after his departure, Mr. Henderson gave uj) his 
 commissi(m in disgust, having been unable to 
 accomplish any permanent good. With him the 
 office ceased, as possessing but little authority 
 or influence, and the clergy were left destitute 
 of even a nominal head in Maryland. The 
 authority of the proprietary under his charter 
 and the law, could be exercised only to gall and 
 irritate, while the jurisdiction of tlie Bishop of 
 Lcmdon, was for all purposes of administration, 
 only a name. 
 
 It was at this time, about the year 1725, that the 
 non-juring Bishops, Talbot and Welton, were in 
 Maryland, where according to report, they exer- 
 cised their office. They were, however, but 
 coldly received; for they represented a party in 
 the church which were bitterly opposed to the 
 reigning family of Great Britain, and conse- 
 quently they met with no sympathy in Maryland, 
 where the clergy generally were loyal to the 
 house of Hanover. And as also the laity of the 
 province, as of America everywhere, were 
 
JiV^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 157 
 
 op]:>osed to the Epis(Mjpal office, the work of 
 these gentlemen was nothing. It has even 
 recently been asserted, with abundant reason, that 
 in the Nortli one of the great leading causes of 
 the American Revolution was the proposition to 
 introduce Episcopacy: and certainly for years 
 after that Revolution the office was looked upon 
 with fear and suspicion. Maryland was no less 
 sensitive than Massachusetts to the introduction 
 of an irresponsible authority, and hence the 
 failure of these non- jurors. The introduction of 
 Bishops was strongly agitated at this time, and 
 mention is made in 1724 of a legacy of two 
 thousand pounds sterling, left by the late Arch- 
 bishop of Cante^iry, towards the support of a 
 Bishop for the pmnfations. Perha]3S, however, 
 the most fortunate thing that could have 
 happened to the church in the colonies, was the 
 non-introduction of Bishops ; for certainly had 
 they been introduced with the privileges and 
 ju'eroga lives that go with the office, and with 
 the associations that dung about it as an 
 English institutiim, in the extreme suspicion 
 and sensitiveness of the people to any approach 
 to arbitrary power, the church would have lost 
 many sons and daughters, and would herself have 
 been put undei' the ban of public condemnation. 
 For a Bishop hated and abhorred, would have 
 been more damaging than many parsons scorned 
 and maligned. A Divine Providence was doubt- 
 less ordering for the highest good. 
 
158 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE PAKTSII. 
 
 The Rev. Peter Tiistian, the second rector of 
 St. James' Parish, took charge of the same on 
 the twenty-ninth day of March in the year 1722. 
 He had come to America in the year 1719, as a 
 Missionary sent out by the Venerable Society, 
 and had at first gone to South Carolina, where he 
 remained but a short time, being found in St. 
 Margaret's, Westminster Parish, Maryland, in 
 1721 r The form of his induction runs as follows: 
 
 (Maryl'cLSS.) Charles Calvert Esq., Gov. of 
 Maryl'd, Commander-in-Chief, to the (lent. of the 
 Vestry of St. James's Church in Ann Arundell 
 Co. Greeting: 
 
 Whereas, the Rev. Mr. Peter Tustian, an 
 Orthodox Minister of the Church of P^ngland, 
 was sent and recommended by the Lord Bishop 
 of London and Diocesan of this province, to ofRci- 
 ate as such in any part of America, I do there- 
 fore hereby recomend and appoint the said Peter 
 Tustian to be rector of your parish, and direct 
 you to receive him as incumbent thereof, and 
 will you to be aiding and assisting to him in all 
 tilings becoming, to the end he may receive the 
 full bennifits and perquisites to his office apx>er- 
 
IM COLONIAL MARYLAND. 159 
 
 taining, together with the forty pounds of 
 tobacco per poll arising within the parish 
 afores'd. 
 
 Given at the city of Annapolis this 29th day of 
 March in the 7th year of ye dominion of the Rt. 
 Honorable Charles, Lord Baron of Baltimore, 
 Absolute Lord and Prop'ty of the province of 
 Maryland and Avalon, &c., Annoq: Dom. 1722, 
 and in the 8th year of his Majesties reign. 
 
 Cha/ Calvert. 
 
 For some reason this form of the induction of 
 Mr. Tustian did not prove satisfactory to him, so 
 that on the fourteenth day of July "he utterly 
 disclaimed any benihts" arising from it, and 
 presented a second letter bearing the date of the 
 lifth of April, which reads as follows: 
 
 ''By the Hon. Chas. Calvert Esq., Captain 
 Generall, Lieut. Gov. etc., to the Gentle'm of 
 the Yestry of St. James' Parrish in Ann Arund'll 
 County. Greeting: 
 
 Whereas, the Rev. Mr. Peter Tustian has been 
 sent and recomended by the Right Rev. Father 
 in God, Jno. Lord Bishop of London and Dio- 
 cesan of this Province, to officiate here as an 
 Orthodox Minister of the Church of England, I 
 do therefore hereby collate and appoint the said 
 Peter Tustian, to be rector of your parish, and I 
 do will and require you to be aiding and assist- 
 ing to him the said Peter Tustian, so that he may 
 have the full bennihts of the forty pounds of 
 tobacco per poll arising within the parrish afore- 
 said, together with all other bennitits and per- 
 quisites thereunto belonging: Given, &c. 
 
 The two forms, it will he observed, differ in 
 some respects, the second being in some particu- 
 
160 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 lars more expli(^it. There seems to have been no 
 settled form at tliis time appointed, and it was 
 probably to provide against contingencies that 
 Mr. Tustian songht to have everything exact. 
 He may have thonght that difficulties might 
 arise, as afterwards the^^ did, between him and 
 the vestry, and he wonhl provide against techni- 
 calities npon which the vestry might seize. So 
 that the Govern or \s title is more accurately given 
 and the due legal name and style of the Bishop 
 of London. Also, we have the term ''collate'' 
 instead of ''recommend,'' and the clerk's attesta- 
 tion is appended that such is a true copy. The 
 times were l^eginning to get troublous, and Mr. 
 Tustian nuiy have proceeded out of abundant 
 caution. The subsequent difficulty into which 
 he got with the vesti'y proves him to have been a 
 man of great persistency. 
 
 It will be observed also that both these forms 
 differ from that of Mr. Hall in 1698, the reason of 
 which was that in 1715, uj)on the Lords Balti- 
 Tuore bec(miing Protestant again, having abjured 
 the Roman faith, the administration of their 
 cohmv was restored to them, and continued in 
 their 'hands till 17715. Tlie Charles Calvert who 
 wh<^ signed the above, was not the proprietary, 
 as is seen, but of a collateral branch of the 
 family. It is to ))e obsened, however, that he 
 acts l)y his own authority, and says "I collate 
 and ax^point;" for such was a governor's function 
 under the law of 1702, it not being supposable, 
 that while the coh)ny was under the royal juris- 
 di(.*ti(m, the ap]>ointments to benefices in Mary- 
 land should proceed from a higher source. 
 Afterwards when a coronet, and not a crown 
 
/iV^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 161 
 
 adorned the head of the absolute Lord of Mary- 
 land, the governors were, though long after this, 
 deprived of this ^prerogative, and his Lordsliii3, 
 falling back upon his charter, collated the in- 
 cumbents himself, a change in the agent that 
 was not always profitable to the iDeople. For the 
 dignity of his Lordship's title was sometimes far 
 superior to the dignity of his character, and boon 
 companions of his revels in London, were the 
 commissioned objects of his favor for Maryland. 
 
 Nor are we to understand of the Bishop of 
 London's recommendation that it was any guar- 
 antee of the man' s good character or qualification 
 for ministeral work. For on a clergyman's pre- 
 senting his pa]3ers, unless the Bishop knew of 
 some error or fault in him he must receive him, 
 and allow him to become eligible in his diocese 
 to any position that might be bestowed upon 
 him. He could proceed against him if he knew 
 of occasion; otherwise the man was in good 
 standing. That was all that was meant by the 
 words of the induction, "sent and recom- 
 mended." It would be sad to make a Bishop 
 responsible for the bad men that may from time 
 to time afflict his diocese; though it is to be feared 
 that due scrutiny was not always used of the 
 record of those sent over to America. 
 
 As regards Mr. Tustian, however, he was a 
 good man, and at the same time a man of ability 
 apparently. For in the year 1731, when the 
 province was still in the throes of its great 
 troubles, and also excited against the clergy in 
 the matter of the forty pounds, we find him 
 highly commended for having preached an excel- 
 lent sermon before the Governor of the colony 
 
163 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 and the two houses of the Assembly, a good old 
 custom of those days; for if there was some 
 ]3reaching to those honorable gentlemen now, 
 doubtless prayers for them would be more effec- 
 tual. His work in the parish also, would indi- 
 cate that he belonged to a higher class of men. 
 For fortunately we have two formal reports from 
 him concerning the parish's condition. The 
 first of tliese is in the year 1724, two years after 
 he became rector, and from it we learn that there 
 were then within its borders about one hundred 
 and fifty families. Of these about two-thirds are 
 described as attending church, while the dis- 
 senters are declared to have been, of Quakers 
 forty families, of Papists five families, and of 
 Presbyterians and Anabaptists one each. As 
 many as forty persons sometimes received Holy 
 Communion, which was administered monthly. 
 The negro slaves are described as infidels, and 
 their children but rarely baptised. Why this 
 should have been so it is difficult to apprehend ; 
 because, as already seen, one of the difficulties 
 that Mr. Hall had had in the beginning of his 
 ministry, was because of his baptizing negro slaves. 
 It may have been that Quaker infiuence, more than 
 one-fourth of the people in the parish being of 
 that name, or political misrepresentation about 
 the civil effect of baptism, that it freed the slaves, 
 or both, had caused the rite to be neglected. It 
 is certain, however, as the register shows, that Mr. 
 Tustian bax^tised very few of either whites or neg- 
 roes, or if he did they are not recorded. One of 
 the great leading subjects at this time was the care 
 of slaves, and also of the Indians, some of which 
 latter were still found in the province. Many of 
 
IN COLOmAL MARYLAND. 168 
 
 the clergy were diligent in baptizing tlie blacks, 
 and Mr. Tnstian, in liis second report in 1731, 
 says that he has in his parish large nnnibers of 
 ''christian negroes." And it was not only bapt- 
 ism that was insisted on; it was iiistructioa as 
 Avell. Upon this point dwelt the Bishop in his 
 commnnications, and also the commissary; and 
 often their appeals were responded to by not 
 only the clergy, bnt by the masters and mis- 
 tresses also. This is the testimony, while of 
 conrse we lind the masters, in some places, 
 objecting to such instruction becanse it made the 
 servants "rogues," a constituency of grumblers 
 that existed to the last days of the ''twin relic." 
 A man of strong parts was ever able, however, 
 to accomplish this, as all other good things. 
 Mr. Tnstian evidently possesed these parts, and 
 certainly he took a deej) interest in the slave; for 
 in his last report made to convocation, he says, 
 that "ever since he came into the the parish h*^ 
 had had a large number of Christian -^leirroes ' 
 Some of them were commnnicants. a;,'' -i '.'Tei.j 
 many had been bai)tised. The : . - 
 
 between the two reports is j)roba - ^ 
 plained by the fact, that at the time of the hrsi 
 one he was not familiar with the true state of 
 things. 
 
 Bnt it was not religions instruction only that 
 was looked to and i)rovided for. It w^as urged 
 for all classes, the great work of the church in 
 the midst of the unfavorable circumstances of 
 the colony. But secular education was no less 
 aimed at, a law having been passed in 1723 jDro- 
 viding for the establishment of one school in 
 each county, as near the centre as possible. The 
 
104 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 aim also was to make tliem free, and for' that 
 end a farm of one hundred acres of land was 
 to be purchased. Certain lines also were appro- 
 priated in that way. How far the system proved 
 effective is not known; though such schools 
 continued to exist down through the colonial 
 period. Some of them were afterwards combined 
 together to form schools of a higher grade; for 
 the course of instruction proposed for the earlier 
 institutions, was not very thorough, the qualifi- 
 cations for the teacher being ' 'That he be capable of 
 teaching well the Grammar, good writing and 
 mathematics, if such can conveniently be got." 
 Charlotte Hall and Washington College had their 
 origin in these schools. King William's School, 
 out of which St. John's College grew, was insti- 
 tuted much earlier than this, being provided for 
 by an act of the Assembly in 1696. These schools 
 also were to be Christian institutions; and it is 
 one item marking the esteem of the peoi3le and 
 the coniidence in which the clergy were held, 
 that one of them was to be head of each county 
 board of managers. 
 
 In addition to such schools there were various 
 private ones throughout the colony, taught 
 chiefly by the clergy, of whom there were many 
 who were very well qualified for this task. For 
 in all periods there were men of eminent talents 
 and education, like Mr. Skippon, who in 1723 
 was described as an excellent scholar. They 
 were found also able to wield a trenchant pen and 
 whenever the battle of controversy raged they 
 were found in the thickest of the fight. There 
 were also schools sometimes on plantations, 
 family schools with private tutors; though here 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 165 
 
 the grade, one would suppose, was not so liigli, 
 judging from the following advertisement under 
 date of 1774, "To be sold, a schoolmaster, an 
 indented servant, who has tw^o years to serve. 
 N. B. — He is sold for no fault, any more than we 
 have done wdth him. He can learn book-keeping 
 and is an excellent good scholar." Altogether, 
 the standard of education was not generally high, 
 and a great deal of what is called "quaint'' as 
 belonging to that day was simply odd because 
 the work of the unlettered. But at the same 
 time in all the departments of life, there were 
 gentlemen of cultivation and learning, with 
 extensive attainments; some of whom had gone 
 abroad for their training; while the frequent 
 agitation of the times brightened the wits and 
 fostered the the consideration of great questions, 
 so that some of the names of Maryland's worthies 
 of that early x>eriod will never be forgotten. 
 The x^lanters, however, were doubtless not edu- 
 cated, but were blessed with abundant vumiiK/n 
 sense and penetration; while the whole laboring 
 class was ignorant of the commonest ""- 
 
 Some of the things mentioned in th 
 those times surprise and interest us nc . u i i' a- 
 larly because they are associated with some mod- 
 ern causes for discussion. Among these is the 
 question propounded among the articles of 
 enquiry of the year 1717 "Do your parishioners 
 use due and lowly reverence when they hear the 
 name of the Blessed Jesus"? Also " have you a 
 font at the lower end of the church"? How they 
 were answered we are not told, though probably 
 the rules in such cases were observed in various 
 places. If so, they had ceased to be, not only in 
 
lOG CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Maryland, but generally in other parts of 
 America before the hnal disni lotion. There were, 
 however, many irregular things done in those 
 days, as we may well believe ; for if discipline 
 failed in other resx3ects there certainly was not 
 enough of it to keep men from indifference in 
 the matter of rubrical order. Things were not as 
 bad though in Maryland as they were in Virginia. 
 For the picture which the Rev. Hugh Jones 
 draws in 1724, though he had been in Maryland, 
 was of things in the sister colony. Maryland 
 churchmanship was always more orderly, chiefly 
 because the pulpit was more independent of the 
 pews, and consulted its own sense of what was 
 right and becoming. Mr. Jones' words are : 
 "In several respects the clergyman is obliged to 
 omit or alter parts of the liturgy and deviate 
 from the strict discipline to avoid giving offence. 
 Thus surplices, disused there for a long time in 
 most churches by bad examples, carelessness 
 and indulgence, are now beginning to be brought 
 into fashion, not without difficulty ; and in some 
 parishes, where the people have been used to 
 receive the communion in their seats, a custom 
 introduced for opportunity for such as were 
 inclined to Presbytery, to receive the sacrament 
 sitting; it is not so easy a matter to bring them 
 to the Lord's table on their knees." The surplice 
 Avas always used in Maryland, certainly in most 
 places, through the days of the colony. In St. 
 James' Parish this vestment is frequently men- 
 tioned, while there is no allusion whatever to 
 the gown. How the great change could have 
 come about that the gown became the vestment 
 in common use, displacing the surplice, would 
 afford a curious studv. 
 
I^^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. ' 167 
 
 St. James' Parish continued tlirongli all this 
 period to increase in numbers and to grow 
 strong in spiritual life ; nor is there any evidence 
 that the skepticism that existed in certain x^arts 
 of the colony was found here. How far it 
 existed anywhere in the colony it is difficult to 
 say ; for in this, as in a great many other things 
 then, there was a good deal of exaggeration. 
 Preachers preaching the truth were a great 
 preservative against this j)estilence ; and ■ such 
 blessing doubtless most of the parishes of Mary- 
 land, along with St. James,' enjoyed. That it 
 did exist, however, the terrible law of 1723, b^ore 
 noted, indicates, a law like that of 1649, visiting 
 with fine, forfeiture, branding, imprisonment 
 and death any persons "blaspheming" the 
 Holy Name, or denyiiio^ the Trinity, or the 
 Divinity of our Blessecl^Lord ; only the earlier 
 act included under its bcm^t^ose who should fail 
 in reverence for the ^""iitel Mary. Whether 
 such a law could have\Spii enforced in the 
 eighteenth century is doubtful, or whether it 
 was only enacted as a iVotest by the civil 
 authority against what was feared as a growing 
 spirit of the times. Certainly the iniquity did 
 abound abroad and was very fashionable. The 
 law evidences one thing very clearly, that Chris- 
 tianitj^ was felt to be the mainstay and hope of 
 the province, and that offence offered to it was 
 regarded as the highest crime. Maryland was 
 not narrowly dogmatic, for all forms of belief 
 and worship were tolerated ; but it was strongly 
 religious and dreaded unbelief as an elem^^^aAd 
 cause of ruin. 
 
 That St. James' continued to grow in nu] 
 
168 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 is manifested by the further demand made at 
 this time for the enlargement of the parish 
 church. That demand was evidently very large 
 and very pressing, and was satisfied in two ways; 
 in 1722 a gallery being erected across the west 
 end of the building, extending out ten feet, and 
 in 1723 the east end of the church was opened 
 and an addition of twelve feet made to it, thus 
 together increasing the capacity of the church 
 for worshippers much more than one-half, if not 
 nearly doubling it. For outside the chancel in 
 the original building there were probably not more 
 than thirty feet available for pews. The contract 
 for this last work sounds rather odd to our ears, 
 being as follows : "Agreed with John Polston to 
 build an addition to the east end of the church, 
 extending twelve foot, and the same width of the 
 said church, to be sealed within like the other 
 part, to make a handsome altar-piece, a new 
 communion table, two new window frames, and 
 one for the end of the addition, if the vestry 
 thinks convenient ; to fix the bannisters around 
 the said table, as before removed, the said Pol- 
 ston to find everything towards the said structure, 
 having liberty to take framing stuff from the 
 glebe land for the said addition ; all which is to 
 be done workmanlike ; in consideration whereof 
 the vestry agrees to give the said Polston nine 
 thousand pounds of tobacco and liberty of 
 making and disposing of the pews in the said 
 addition, the said work to be done, &c." In due 
 time the work was completed and "the said" 
 Polston sold the eight pews, there appearing to 
 be a very large demand ; for as small as they 
 necessarily were, the most of them were sold to 
 
m COLONIAL MARYLAND. 169 
 
 two persons conjointly, and one of tliem to three. 
 The era of church building had not yet set in, 
 thongli from 1732 onAvards churches were erected. 
 The period of rebuilding came in later, about 
 forty years after this time. The original small 
 frame buildings had to do duty for some years 
 yet. The distinction between communion table 
 and altar is more in agreement with Methodist 
 usage than our own at present, and like the 
 present title, "Protestant Episcopal," found 
 nearly sixty years before this time, shows that 
 more things have been inherited from those days 
 than we give them credit for. AVhat may have 
 been the architectural appearance of the church 
 after all these changes, is a difficult question, 
 but doubtless the longing was fostered for the 
 time when a structure worthy of the parish and 
 large enough to provide room for all that might 
 come to worship, might be erected. 
 
 Things proceeded quietly in the parish during 
 Mr. Tustian's ministry, the vestry attending to 
 their various duties of caring for the material 
 welfare of the church, the moral condition of the 
 people, and the financial aifairs of the common- 
 wealth within their jurisdiction. The last they 
 performed by appointing counters to regulate 
 and control the growth of tobacco, the law for- 
 bidding at this time more than a limited amount 
 to each taxable, 7,000 plants; with half that 
 quantity to non-taxables. Their care for the 
 morals of the people is shown by the following, 
 of the date of 1733: "Upon complaint of Samuel 
 Taylor and Ann Howard's unlawfully cohabiting 
 together, this vestry has ordered that the said 
 Samuel Taylor and Ann Howard be summoned 
 
170 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 to appear before them at the Parrish Church on 
 Tuesday the 24th day of July, to answer to the 
 above complaint." This summons was obeyed, 
 and upon the appearance of the parties they 
 were informed by the vestry that upon examina- 
 tion, the charge was well founded, and they were 
 ordered to mend their ways. Fortunately such 
 cases were now far less frequent. By a law 
 passed in 1780, persons refusing to become 
 vestrymen upon election, were lined a thousand 
 pounds of tobacco, the amount at tirst laid ux^on 
 church wardens for refusing to serve. If they did 
 serve, the service was to be real and not merely 
 nominal, for refusal or failure to attend the meet- 
 ings of the vestry subjected the delinquent to a 
 further penalty. 
 
 The church at this time came into possession 
 of the silver bason which it still has, the gift 
 provided for by the Rev. Mr. Hall in his will. 
 In 1724 Mr. Tustian reported to the vestry that 
 he had received from Mrs. Mary Hall bills of 
 exchange for ten j)ounds sterling, which amount 
 the vestry authorized him to expend according to 
 the terms of the legacy, and in 1726 we have the 
 account rendered for the total of the bason, ten 
 pounds and six shillings. Also in 1723 we find 
 William Loch Esq., informing the vestry "that 
 it was the desire of his wife upon her death bedd 
 to give the sum of ten pounds towards adorning 
 the altar of St. James' Parrish Church with the 
 Creed, Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments, 
 which according to her desire he is ready to 
 comply with. Whereupon he desired the vestry 
 to agree with the joyner for the same." This 
 was done, and according to the lady's pious wish 
 
in COLONIAL MARYLAND. 171 
 
 tlie tablets were set up, the same doubtless that 
 at present are found in the church; having been 
 transferred when the present edifice replaced the 
 old one. 
 
 The last mention we have of Mr. Tustian as 
 rector of St. James' was in the year 1732. In the 
 year 1726 he had gone to England, remaining 
 away probably over a year, as we have no men- 
 tion of him for nearly eighteen months. Nor 
 were any vestry meetings, it seems, held within 
 this time except one, which may mean that the 
 church was closed or that the rector's presence 
 was needed to keep affairs active. After his 
 withdrawal from the parish temporary supply 
 was secured, apparently by the vestry, in the 
 services of the Rev. John Urquhart, for nearly a 
 year, and it is possible that Mr. Tustian made 
 some such provision for his absence. The parish 
 was x)eaceful during his incumbency, as far as 
 we can discern, though the church in the pro- 
 vince was so much disturbed. Later on, however, 
 Ave find him engaged in a lawsuit concerning his 
 salary, having sued the sheriff for sums due as 
 Rector of St. James.' The vestry authorized the 
 sheriff to allow the proceeding, and secured him 
 against loss. The case having been passed ux3on 
 in the colony and decided against Mr. Tustian, it 
 was carried to England by appeal. How it was 
 finally settled there we do not know^, nor do we 
 know what the ground of the suit was. It ran 
 through a number of years, the appeal being 
 taken in 1740. 
 
172 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THIRD RECTORSHIP. 
 GENERAL REVIEW. 
 
 The period we have now reached was, for a 
 large part of it, marked with quietness both in 
 England and the cok^nies. In the former the great 
 series of whig administrations, which reached 
 over an interval of about fifty years, persevered in 
 their policy of peace, laying deep and strong 
 that marvelous foundation on which England's 
 glory and prosperity to this day rest. As before 
 noted she sacrificed nothing in dignity by this 
 policy; for she maintained always a position 
 commanding the respect of the nations of Europe. 
 How far her inactivity may have been the result 
 of choice, or how far it*^may'have resulted from the 
 exigencies of her situation in respect of the house 
 of Stuart, that through this period watched its 
 opportunity to make a successful descent upon 
 England, is a question; but certain it is that 
 there was abundant opportunity for an active 
 foreign policy in the wars upon the continent, 
 had England desired such opportunity. Men of 
 peace were, however, at the head of affairs, who 
 loved peace for its fruits; and bending all their 
 
/iV COLONIAL MARYLAND. 173 
 
 energies, and the force of a wonderful organiza- 
 tion, to maintain tlieir ends, tliey created a new- 
 England, both in the developement of home 
 industries and in the extension of an all-embracing 
 foreign commerce. Afterwards the country 
 broke loose from her peaceful habits and entered 
 upon a course of almost wild indulgence in 
 foreign wars, and luxuriated in the sound of 
 battles and the scenes of carnage. But whether 
 peace or war, every policy advanced England's 
 greatness; for to all quarters of the globe she at 
 this time extended her arms and established the 
 beginnings of the greatest empire that the world 
 has ever seen. She lost America; for she had 
 not yet learned how to keej) her grown up child- 
 ren at home; and she would not recognize that 
 the American colonies were not still in their non- 
 age; but she gained much else in their place, and 
 what she then gained she knows now how to 
 keep, and she is the mother country beloved, 
 admired, glorified, to millions in every division 
 of the globe. 
 
 But these great conceptions had a secondary 
 influence. For whether she regarded the ways 
 of peace as advancing her internal prosperity, or 
 whether as a giant she was struggling with the 
 giants of the earth, so was her attention absorbed 
 in the grander scenes that it became impossible 
 for her to assume the narrowness of religious 
 bigotry; but rather, by the very force of her 
 circumstances her old persecuting edicts became 
 practically obsolete and ready to vanish away. 
 For bigotry and enterprise do not go hand in 
 hand, but rather the former flourishes only in 
 the self -absorption of a provincial temper; and 
 
174 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 to lift a nation or an indi vicinal ont of tliis, and 
 expand its faculties, its sympatliies, its ambition, 
 is the sure and efficient means of doing away 
 with religious or social intolerance. So ancient 
 Rome was tolerant of all religions until they 
 were feared as working sedition. So Charles V. 
 as in contrast with his son, was tolerant, though 
 he lived in unfortunate days. So Holland, in the 
 days of her greatness, was the freest of European 
 states, and William III. of England, her i^upil, 
 the hrst liberal minded monarch of that realm. 
 So the American colonies were in their earlier 
 days intolerant in contrast to the times of their 
 later exx)ansion, when they were brought to con- 
 tend for larger civil rights. Such narrowness in 
 America died a hastened death because of the 
 great questions that led to and were finally 
 determined by the protracted struggles of the 
 Revolution. Small objects become invisible as 
 great ones loom up before the eye. And so 
 the great comprehensive enterprise of the home 
 country worked out its effects there. The 
 national mind had no time for the old subjects 
 that had agitated it. 
 
 To bring about this end had been the policy of 
 whig ministries, a part of their general scheme 
 for peace and quietness. The people must not 
 be agitated, but every party and faction, as far 
 as possible, conciliated. So with Walpole, who 
 was the great leading figure of that i^eriod. His 
 rule was, to off'end nobody, but by every possible 
 device to satisfy or keep quiet all. So with the 
 Test and Corporation acts. Should he enforce 
 these the whole body of non-conformists would 
 be terribly excited, and Parliament itself would 
 
IJ}1 COLONIAL MARYLAND. 175 
 
 be shaken; but should lie repeal tliem tlie 
 cliurclimen, who had lost none of their sensitive- 
 ness, and the Avhole company of English squires, 
 whose only learning then, whatever it may be 
 now, was the traditions of their fathers, their 
 prejudices and antipathies, would have been 
 grievously oif ended. Neither of these things 
 therefore did he do, but avoided danger for 
 himself and his schemes, by allowing the laws 
 to continue and having passed annually an act of 
 indemnity for those who had rendered themselves 
 liable to indictment. 
 
 This was the policy the Whigs pursued, and 
 it has been more or less the policy of the Whig 
 or Liberal party from that day to this, — to 
 provide lirst of all for the things that advance 
 the prosperity of the people at home. It is the 
 party of advance and of constant adaptation, 
 though when a vigorous foreign policy has 
 been found necessary the liberal party has 
 been found abundantly capable of prosecuting it. 
 Speaking of this long continued Whig adminis- 
 tration, an eminent authority of to-day, Green, 
 in his Short History, says ' ' Before the fifty years 
 of their rule had passed Englishmen had for- 
 gotten that it was possible to persecute for differ- 
 ences of religion, or to j)ut down the liberty of 
 the press, or to tami^er with the administration 
 of justice, or to rule without a Parliament." 
 Thus was laid the foundation of the England of 
 to-day. 
 
 But this general delineation must be modified 
 by a few other lines. For it is a necessary 
 question, how far this liability of the govern- 
 ment in regard to religious matters, was the 
 
176 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 result of statesmanship, and liow far it was the 
 result of indifference. It was doubtless the best 
 ]30ssible rule to adojit, but also that time was in 
 a remarkable degree distinguished for the scepti- 
 cism of those highest in position, for depravity 
 in morals and for looseness in the matter of 
 social and domestic virtues. And all this was 
 open and notorious, so that those highest in 
 office as well as society, not only uttered the 
 foulest language, but were guilty of drunken- 
 ness, and thought nothing of parading their 
 excesses before the world. From the court down, 
 the enormity was everywhere presented. There 
 was not enough care for religion in high quarters 
 to persecute because of it. 
 
 And the general rule held good, like people like 
 priest, and that not only in the church but in the 
 dissenting bodies. There was a decay of religion 
 everywhere. England was striving to be rich, 
 and wordly prosperity was abounding. Life, 
 activity, enterprise, tilled the land, and a great 
 future was opening up before the minds of the 
 people; and the inevitable result was that spirit- 
 ual prosx3erity and eternity faded from the 
 people's conciousness. They made no demand, 
 had no interest in a pure, vigorous gospel, and 
 the ministers of the gospel, hardly concious, may 
 be, of the influences to which they were sub- 
 jected, gave way before the deluge of the time. 
 So that the testimony is the strongest possible 
 that laxity ruled amongst the clergy as every- 
 where else. They were described as being ' 'the 
 most lifeless in Euroi3e, the most remiss of their 
 labors in private and the least severe in their 
 lives." Nor is the testimony only by scoffers or 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 177 
 
 by the wits of the ale houses. The clergy them- 
 selves are brought forward as witnesses; and 
 the consequence is, that we must look back u^ion 
 that time, the period which we have now under 
 view, as presenting the saddest conceivable pic- 
 ture of apathy, indolence, self-indulgence, and 
 recklessness of common report. The ale house, 
 and the sporting field constrained the attention 
 of those who wore the surxDlice; so that it was 
 thought no disgrace to advertise: ''Wanted, a 
 curacy in a good sporting country where the 
 duty is light and the neighborhood convivial." 
 And x)ublic ministrations were in harmony with 
 this, dull, cold, lifeless condition. Men were afraid, 
 apparently, of showing interest in their work lest 
 they should be reviled as "Methodists," and all 
 were satisfied with the baldest presentation of 
 heartless sentiments. It was from such x)ersons 
 at home that America had to be supplied. 
 
 But what else was to be expected i It was the 
 day when the slave trade was x3romoted, when the 
 knowledge of human rights was the lowest possi- 
 ble, when the Queen could issue her royal edict 
 for the encouragement of the trade, when the 
 protests of the colonists against the flood that 
 was coming in on them, were regarded as little 
 short of treason. A state of society where such 
 tilings could be done, was not as yet callable of 
 religious feeling of high order, or of response 
 to generous sentiments. Religion is expansive 
 and unless it expands it perishes. No man can 
 love God as the God only of himself; he must 
 love Him as the God of other people as well, as 
 the God of all mankind. This was seen at that 
 time, as in the burning heart of Wesley or of 
 
178 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Wbitlield, who sought not only England but the 
 colonies as the field of their labor. So all great 
 religions movements have resulted in the exten- 
 sion of the gospel, and they have resulted either 
 in the attempt to proselyte the x)eople of the 
 same country, which has often degenerated into 
 persecution ; ^ or else the religious fervor has 
 sought new lields wherein to manifest itself. So 
 the England of that time. It had lost the dispo- 
 sition to proselyte the non- conformists, and its 
 sense of the human rights of the heathen, was so 
 low that missions to them were impossible. The 
 nation that could carry on the slave trade could 
 never so yearn for the souls of men as to send 
 out Missionaries to preach the gospel. The trade 
 was accomx^anied with the very extravagance of 
 horrors. A voice of a Wilberforce that would 
 not cease until it had made England sick with 
 foul loathing of its own dej^ravity, was necessary 
 before England could rise up to the condition in 
 religious matters worthy of the greatness God 
 had bestowed upon her in the midst of the 
 nations. A universal hnancial x^i'^sperity, a 
 devotion to the business of the merchant and the 
 chapman, had destroyed the jDower of ajjprehend- 
 ing better things, the things of God. The jDolicy 
 of Walpole, developed as Walj^ole develo^oed it, 
 was England's greatest bane. The heroic policy 
 of which Pitt was the great exponent, though it 
 drained the country of resources, and burdened 
 it with a hoj)eless debt, jiroved infinitely more 
 valuable for the true welfare of the country. 
 Fortunately for England, and exhibiting the true 
 merit of her peo^Dle, forces were now x)reparing 
 among the young men of Oxford, in the very 
 
IW COLONIAL MARYLAND. 179 
 
 midst of the sx^iritual barrenness there, whose 
 operation was to renew^ the vigor of the cold 
 lifeless body, and regenerate and energize all the 
 strata of society from the highest to the lowest. 
 Now^ such being the condition of things in 
 England, we shonld expect wdiat we hnd, a 
 measnrable reprodnction of the same in America. 
 For the Rev. Thomas Bacon, writing in the year 
 1750 to the Venerable Society, dwells with great 
 emphasis upon the very sad condition of things. 
 Speaking of the prevalent scepticism of the day, 
 he gives ns some insight into the form it assumed 
 by mentioning the influence of Tindal, who w^as 
 a great light in the deistical world. Tindal 
 called himself a ''Christian Deist," choosing that 
 title as best suited to the x30sition he took in his 
 most celebrated work, published in 1730, "Christi- 
 anity as old as Creation or the Gospel a republi- 
 cation of the religion of nature." For the phase 
 of his deism was, that claiming for Christianity 
 the highest expression of a moral code and 
 worthy of "an inflnitely wise and good God," he 
 denied to it all its claim to miracles. He was 
 answered by such men as Dr. AVaterland. He 
 had, however, his day, and was received, because 
 he w^as the expression of a certain morbid senti- 
 ment that at that time afflicted the community. 
 For so without doubt are we to regard such 
 passing states of society, whatever may be the 
 cause. The moral and spiritual natures of men 
 are afflicted with epidemics, as well as their phy- 
 sical frames, and the maladies of the one are as 
 easily traceable to their causes as the other; 
 wdiile also the mystery that hangs about each of 
 them is equal. As these epidemics return from 
 
180 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 time to time, it is a question for us now how far 
 our period is afflicted or tlireatened. 
 
 But scei^ticism, in the great majority of cases, 
 though by no means in all, is closely associated 
 with, even as it has its origin in, a low standard 
 of living, and itself promotes the growth of that 
 which gives it life. And herein, doubtless, w^e 
 have the prime occasion of many of the hard 
 things that were said of the clergy through this 
 time. Some of the clergy deserved, and some of 
 them did not deserve, the reputation for dreadful 
 things which was made to gather about them. 
 A good man rebuking vice or rej)roving the 
 wilt^il, gets scant justice from those whom he has 
 endeavored to correct, and from all others who 
 are in symx^athy with them, and whose ways are 
 frowned upon in the rebuke administered. 
 Besides, if such x^ersons have been able to 
 become sceptics, as in reason they must desire, 
 and if the times favor scex)ticism, as those times 
 did, for it was in the air, the fashion of the day; 
 then the rebuke is regarded as the insolence of 
 of X3i'i<^st-<^i'afli and woe betide the poor x^arson, 
 every ]}2ige of whose record is not written in 
 clear letters of light for all to read. For if there 
 be the slightest ground for a charge, or an 
 ax^x^ai'^i^t flaw on which to hang a misrex^resenta- 
 tion, the whole body of sceptics is excited with 
 apostolic ardor, and the whole company of God's 
 ministers are made to suffer. Our Savior in His 
 day was to some a glutton and a wine-bitter. 
 
 But not only in this way was evil wrought. 
 The whole tone of the day was low. It was a 
 time of transition, notably in America, and 
 highly so in Maryland. Peox3le's minds w^ere 
 
ijSr COLONIAL MARYLAND. 181 
 
 agitated by great questions, bat they were all of 
 the earth. And mixed with the questions were 
 prejudice and bitter passions. Politics ruled the 
 hour with all its clemoralizing as well as its 
 enobling inlluences, and finer sentiments were 
 blunted. And the clergy, whose interests were 
 involved in some measure, and whose instincts 
 and education were in many ways played upon, 
 sank to this level, and it became ''like people 
 like priest." They were secularized, they became 
 Avorldly, they fell from the high position which 
 by their calling belonged to them; and with this 
 secularization they doubtless conformed to the 
 world about them, until the better sjiirits among 
 them looked on in grief and protested, but in 
 vain. The Rev. Hugh Jones writing in 1741, 
 tells us of this, and vainly looked about for a 
 remedy. But remedy there was none*. A 
 Bishop could not be obtained, nor as we see now, 
 would it have been for various reasons advisable. 
 The commissary had surrendered his commission 
 in disgust at his inefficiency; and as it hai^jjened, 
 even what slight influence the Bishop of London 
 had been able to exercise, was now cut off by the 
 disagreement between him and the Proprietary. 
 Bishop Gibson who had occupied that See for 
 twenty-five years, dying in 1748, though in 
 England his control was always felt in ecclesias- 
 tical affairs, yet for Maryland could do nothing. 
 The Proprietary became more and more jealous 
 of interference by any one in his colony, and the 
 same jealousy was felt both by the clergy and 
 the laity in their several si3lieres. For the 
 former dreaded lay control, and the laity desired 
 to retain all the liberty that they might possess. 
 
182 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 The Establisliment with all its great advantages 
 for the time, had also its heavy drawbacks, and 
 its vigor of action for good was. always depressed. 
 The church was in many things the victim of the 
 peculiar circumstances of the day, both in its 
 corporate aims and purposes, and in the condition 
 of its children; and we are judging it now out of the 
 happier circumstances of our time. It should 
 have risen above its surroundings and vindicated 
 in the midst of a naughty world its mission from 
 its Lord. But alas! where is there one of us now 
 that would like to have that judgment passed 
 upon himself'^ for we are all victims of the day 
 in which we exist. 
 
 As we have seen, the state of secular matters 
 in Maryland always had a large influence upon 
 the church, chiefly because all the great questions 
 that agitated the colony grew out of the relations 
 between the proprietary and the people, and that 
 in such questions the sympathy of the clergy was 
 far more apt to be on the side of the x)roprietary. 
 They were generally the supporters of his pre- 
 rogative. And this they were, not only because 
 they were foreign born and educated, and because 
 their church government involved the principle 
 of prerogative, (though many among them from 
 the Scotch universities were deeply tinctured 
 with Presbyterianism, says one of that day); yet, 
 doubtless, also, for the more evident reason that 
 the proprietary, whose income w^as not affected 
 by the forty pounds per poll, was more certain to 
 be their friend, than the people who paid the 
 tax. In some measure also the clergy were under 
 the patronage of the Lord Baron, as they were given 
 their cures by him or his deputy, and many were 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND 183 
 
 the kind speeches he made them from time to 
 time. 
 
 We have seen the troubles to which the clergy 
 were subjected previous to the year 1732 when 
 peace was attained between his Lordship and 
 the colonists ; and from that time the colony was 
 in comparative quiet for several years. The 
 church also enjoyed the benefit of this, and the 
 records show less disturbance than, may be, at 
 any other period during the Establishment. The 
 truce lasted, however, only until the year 1739, 
 when jealousy of the people for their rights as 
 against the presumption of the x)roprietary, once 
 more broke out. The question this time was not 
 about the extension of English statutes, but 
 about the proprietary's revenue, a matter that 
 aroused as much interest and excitement as the 
 other had done. Nor was it a question only of 
 revenue, but of his lordship's rights to revenue ; 
 the people showing a willingness to submit to an 
 imposition, but insisting that it should be 
 applied in a different manner. And this agita- 
 tion lasted as long as the colony lasted, and was 
 in fact very nearly allied to that which finally 
 brought about the great disruption, the question 
 of taxation by prerogative, and not by the laws of 
 the people. The governor and council were able 
 to thwart the will of the lower house, which had 
 to content itself with occasional measures of 
 rejDrisal and with the repeated passage of strong 
 resolutions. 
 
 And what was the effect of this upon the 
 church ? The Establishment was not in any way 
 threatened, as it had been in the earlier agitation, 
 probably because it had been found too strongly 
 
184 CHUBCH LIFE 
 
 established in the hearts of the people to justify 
 at present a second attempt. But we find the 
 old charges renewed against the clergy, and we 
 find that loss of influence which is inij)lied in the 
 prevalence of infldelity and in the rise of new 
 sects so strongly complained of. We also And 
 the old feeling of antagonism renewed in the 
 passage again of the act of 1730 affecting their 
 salaries. This was done in 1747, and probably, 
 nothing can show more strongly the condition of 
 the clergy's minds with respect to the people, 
 than the fact that they were quiescent in the face 
 of this legislation, feeling doubtless that any 
 agitation on their part would be without satis- 
 factory result. 
 
 It was a time of radical disintegation ; for the 
 proprietary and his deputy in the colony, were 
 the only ones that in any way exercised any 
 control over the church . There was no commissary 
 for the previous one had relinquished his office ; 
 the diocesan of the colonies did not utter a word, 
 for it would have been, as to authority, but a 
 sound; the proprietary was jealous of ^his rights, 
 and maintained with consistency his control over 
 ecclesiastical affairs, which the law and his 
 charter gave him. Uafortunately, however, 
 his character was not high, and though he could 
 speak with kindness of the clergy, he could 
 watch that in no way they should add to the 
 difficulties that disturbed his province. In all 
 things else their condition was satisfactory. 
 Their income w^as abundant, and they were pro- 
 tected against any encroachment upon their 
 rights and privileges. In fact the governor, 
 through most of this period, Mr. Sam. Ogle, 
 
/iY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 185 
 
 seems to have been well disposed towards the 
 cliurch and clergy, doing sometimes tlie nnwonted 
 tiling of refusing to place in the care of parishes 
 those whom he had reason to believe were un- 
 worthy. The form of his letter of induction, 
 also, differing so materially from that of his 
 predecessors, would indicate a certain preposes- 
 sion in favor of the clergy, and a desire to do 
 them all the honor possible, and maintain their 
 rights in their cures. This form will hereafter be 
 given. The clergy' s income was generally ample, 
 averaging in 1741, according to one of their own 
 number, about two hundred pounds sterling. As 
 many of them had glebes also, they could live in 
 great comfort, for without land to supply a large 
 part of the necessaries for the household, living 
 was very expensive in Maryland. At this time, 
 1741, there were thirty-eight parishes or more 
 in the colony, and the ministerial sux3ply was 
 generally abundant. ISJ'ot all, however, were 
 rectors, but some were called in only in emergen- 
 cies or to serve during a temporary vacancy. In 
 1748 the population of the colony was reported 
 as being ninety-four thousand whites and thirty- 
 six thousand blacks. Some few of these last 
 were communicants. As in 1722 the number of 
 communicants was estimated at three thousand, 
 the strong propability is that the church' s com- 
 parative strength in 1748 was as great as it is at 
 this time. What the increase was from 1722 to 
 1748 we do not know, but there is no reason why 
 it should not have been equal relatively to the 
 increase in poiDulation. Efforts doubtless still 
 continued for the amelioration of the negro slaves, 
 but as the slave trade constantly poured a great 
 
186 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 number into the colony, their improvement was 
 as constantly retarded. Maryland always, how- 
 ever, felt her obligations to this class, and the 
 influence of her orderly ways is still manifest in 
 those who were formerly the servants of church 
 people. From the present outlook, however, we 
 can only fear, that for generations our power for 
 more direct good is gone. 
 
Ili COLONIAL MARYLAND. 187 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE PARISH. 
 
 The affairs of the parish throw some light upon 
 the experience of the church in the colony at 
 this time. The last mention of Mr. Tustian, as 
 attending the meetings of the vestry, was on 
 Aprit 10th 1732, though evidently for some 
 reason he regarded himself as rector until two 
 years afterwards, and insisted, apparently, on 
 receiving the income of the parish until his 
 successor was inducted. The merits of his diffi- 
 •culty we do not know, nor the ground of his 
 plea. We find, however, that he showed wonder- 
 ful persistency, being convinced of the rightful- 
 ness of his cause; and that in carrying the case 
 from court fo court, and finally by appeal to Eng- 
 land, he gave the vestry a great deal of trouble. 
 The case was probably a notable one at the time. 
 The vestry's counsel were Mr. Philip Key, Mr. 
 Daniel Dulany, and Mr. Gumming. The Rev. 
 Mr. Chase was security for Mr. Tustian, and 
 in 1738 we find the vestry ordering that he be 
 called on to meet the costs of the case, which, 
 however, he refused to do. Mr. Tustian retained 
 possession of parish property as long as j)ossible, 
 for in June 1734 we find the vestry ordering the 
 
188 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 cliurcli wardens to go to Mr. Henderson, his 
 attorney in fact, and demand tlie surrender of 
 the church library. AVhether he prosecuted 
 the case in England we do not know. The vestry 
 immediately engaged a solicitor in London, but 
 from some slight evidence it would appear that 
 the case never came up. 
 
 Mr. Tustian's successor was the Rev. John 
 Lang, a gentleman that had formerly been in 
 Virginia, though he had now been in Maryland 
 for some years, having preached the Visitation 
 Sermon in Christ Church, Kent Island in 1730, 
 being at that time rector of St. Luke's Parish, 
 Queen Anne's County. As we can say of the two 
 preceding rectors, he was a man of strong char- 
 acter, and commanded respect for his intelligence; 
 while at the same time, as the records evidence, 
 he was a man of amiability, and though afflicted 
 with troubles, yet he loved peace and the quiet- 
 ness of his cure. 
 
 His letter of indiiction bears the date of May 
 24th 173 . One year of the two since Mr. Tustian 
 disappeared from the parish, the church was 
 ministered to by the Rev. John Urquhart, possi- 
 bly engaged by the vestry, as they issued to him 
 a certificate of service rendered. How it was 
 provided for in spiritual matters during the other 
 year we do not know. Mr. Lang's letter from 
 the Governor is very peculiar, differing in some 
 respects radically from the earlier forms. They 
 had been addressed to the gentlemen of the 
 vestry, who, however, were commanded to receive 
 the bearer. This is directed to the minister 
 himself, and reads thus: 
 
 Sam. Ogle Esq, Governor and Commander-in- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 189 
 
 Cliief in and over the province of Maryland, to 
 the Rev. John Lang, sendeth greeting: 
 
 I do hereby constitute and appoint you to be 
 rector of the Church of St. James in Ann Arundel 
 County, to have, hold, and enjoy the said church 
 together with all the rights, profits, and advan- 
 tages whatsoever, apx^ertaining to a minister of 
 the said parish: and I do hereby require the 
 church wardens, vestrymen, and all other the 
 IDarishoners of the said parish, to receive, 
 acknowledge, and assist you, the said John Lang, 
 in all matters relating to the discharge of your 
 function. 
 
 Given at Annapolis the twenty-fourth day of 
 May in the twentieth year of his Lordship's 
 dominion. Anno Domini, 1734. 
 
 Sam. Ogle, 
 
 J. Ross, CI. Con. 
 
 What created this change in the form of the 
 letter we cannot be certain of. It would apjDear 
 that there was no set form up to this time but 
 that it depended on the will or wisdom of the 
 Governor for the time being. After the present 
 occasion, however, we find this form used, not 
 only by Gov. Ogle, but also by his successor 
 Gov. Sharpe, and as but a short time before 
 Lord Baltimore had been in the province, it is 
 likely that the new letter was appointed by him. 
 Another thing to be noted is that he does not 
 mention the Bishop of London who was formerly 
 recognized as sending clergy into the colonies, nor 
 the king, the date of whose reign was formerly 
 given. It is made plainly evident that it is his, 
 the iDroprietary' s act, by his deputy, and it is the 
 assertion of his own independent prerogative. 
 
190 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 This was his right under both the law and liis 
 charter. Also just before this he had passed 
 through that long contention with the colonists 
 about the extension of the English statutes to 
 Maryland, a matter involving his rights and prero- 
 gatives over the people, and this letter was only, it 
 is probable, incidental to and a symptom of his 
 sensitiveness about his exclusive privileges. For 
 as noted above, the letter is addressed to the 
 minister, "I do hereby constitute and appoint 
 you." and "I do hereby require the church 
 wardens, vestrymen, and all other jjarishioners ta 
 receive, acknowledge and assist you." Claims 
 could hardly have gone further, and want of 
 consideration for the vestry could hardly have 
 been more strongly exj)ressed. Lord Baltimore 
 was jealous of his prerogative, and afterwards he 
 and the Bishop of London came to an open 
 rupture, and the Bishoii could accomx)lish 
 nothing. Also he expressed himself strongly as 
 the friend of the clergy, and he did indeed show 
 a willingness to help them. How far his friend- 
 ship was part of a scheme to maintain his 
 authority we do not know, but we do know his 
 private life proves that it was not the love of 
 religion that made him the clergy's friend. 
 Gov. Ogle who signed the letter, was a friend to 
 the church, and sought to prevent evil men from 
 entering uxx)n the cure of souls. Nothing, 
 however, indicates more clearly how widely 
 removed we are from those days, how the feel- 
 ings of the people and the spirit of our adminis- 
 tration have changed. It is imx)ossible for us to 
 conceive of a vestry receiving at the hands of the 
 secular X30wer any one without question, whom it 
 
IN COLONIAL MABYLAND. 191 
 
 might choose to give a letter to, with order and 
 command that they should extend to the bearer, 
 not only his vested rights, but everything that 
 might assist the functions of his office. But 
 such was done then, and not only so, but the 
 vestrymen were very earnest and faithful gener- 
 ally in the performance of their duties, submiting 
 quietly as if the thing were exactly as it should 
 be. They grew restive under this system after a 
 few years, and sought to do their own appointing 
 but for a long while they were faithful, attentive 
 and laborious in performing their duties, equal 
 in every way to many vestries under our freer 
 and better order. 
 
 These days were not quiet ones in the parish, 
 but for the first eight years of Mr. Lang's rector- 
 shii3 there was a good deal to irritate. We have 
 seen Mr. Tustian's suit, and out of it grew an- 
 other, which being with the rector in charge, 
 must have created a good deal more feeling ; at 
 one time the excitement being so strong that a 
 vestryman refused to attend a meeting of the- 
 vestry in the parsonage, the rector being ill, when 
 business of great moment was to be considered. 
 The occasion of Mr. Lang' s difficulty, was that at 
 that time the vestry had a large amount of 
 tobacco to its credit, which it was lending out, 
 advertising for borrowers at the then legal rate of 
 eight per cent. ; and that Mr. Lang took over ten 
 thousand pounds of this in the year 1735. The 
 vestry generally required a heavy bond for double 
 the amount of their loans, and well secured; but 
 in Mr. Lang's case that was not given. Thus the 
 matter ran on for some years until 1741, when 
 the vestry made a formal demand for x)rincipal 
 
192 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 and interest, amounting in all to about fourteen 
 thousand i^ounds. This Mr. Lang refused to 
 pay, on the ground that he had become, at the 
 request of the vestry as their agent, responsible 
 in the suit of Mr. Tustian for costs, should the 
 appeal go against the vestry in London ; and also 
 for any charges that might arise from the em- 
 ployment of the agent in London, which they had 
 authorized him to do ; and that he could not in 
 justice be called on to jmy the amount of their 
 claim until there was reasonable certainty that 
 he was not in danger from this cause. The vestry, 
 however, did not admit the plea, and threaten- 
 ed suit, which apijarently was instituted. In 
 the mean time the trouble thickened. Mr. Dan. 
 Dulany was Mr. Lang's counsel, and by his 
 instruction, Mr. Lang refused to let the vestry 
 have the key to the vestry house where the 
 library was, which they were required by law to 
 insx)ect ; and also afterwards he refused them 
 access to the vestry books they being in his 
 possession. He also refused to attend vestry 
 meetings. The case continued till October, 1742, 
 when we have the following interlocutory judg- 
 ment : By the Governor and council, 7rh October, 
 1742. 
 
 Vestry of St. James x^arish: — Upon considering 
 the petition and answer and what has been 
 alleged on each side ; this boai'd judging that 
 some other expedient than a decision on the 
 point in question might be more likely to recon- 
 cile the incumbent and vestry ; they for that 
 purpose think proper to recommend to the vestry, 
 as it is really a matter of justice and compassion, 
 to make Mr. Lang a reasonable satisfaction for 
 
Z/Y COLONIAL MARYLAND. 193 
 
 what lie has expended, or is liable to pay, on 
 acconnt of any such buildings and improvements 
 as he has made on the glebe, and which might 
 be necessary and convenient for the incumbent 
 to have ; Mr. Lang giving sufficient security to 
 indemnify the vestry for any tobaccos allowed 
 him, and that whatever tobacco (if any) Mr. Lang 
 has actually received from the vestry out of the 
 tobacco in dispute to be deemed a part of what 
 shall be allowed to him. 
 
 JoHX Ross, Clerk. 
 
 Mr. Lang accepted this judgment for his part, 
 and on Sunday gave notice to the vestry to meet 
 him the following day. This they did, and in 
 due time a settlement was finally reached which 
 seems to have been satisfactory to all parties. 
 The course of the i)roceeding seems to have been, 
 lirst a prosecution of Mr. Lang for the amount of 
 tobacco loaned him, and then a counter suit by 
 him for imi^rovements made upon the glebe. 
 The agreement at last reached, carried both 
 13oints, and ever afterwards Mr. Lang's residence 
 was sx^ent in peace. His lirst plea about his 
 liabilities in their behalf in London seems to 
 have been withdrawn. 
 
 The large amount of tobacco the vestry were 
 handling at this time, was probably the accumu- 
 lation of the years of the interregnum after the 
 withdrawal of Mr. Tustian. For by the law the 
 tax was always collected, and the amount, when 
 there was no demand for it to pay the incumbent, 
 was to be used by the vestry for the building and 
 rei3airing of churches and the buying and stock- 
 ing of glebes. Li 1740 one joerson stood indebted 
 to the parish for forty-live thousand pounds. 
 
194 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 It is certain that already before tliis time the 
 rectory had been built, though not many years 
 Ibefore, as Mr. Tustian had reported that there 
 was no house on the glebe. Mr. Lang's use of 
 the money that came into his hand was evidently 
 for a legitimate object, though he had not the 
 authority to so aj)ply it. The currency, while it 
 lasted, was a great burden to the vestry, being 
 difficult of recovery when loaned out. What 
 finally became of it is not known. What sur- 
 prises us is, that even with this large amount on 
 hand the vestry from year to year petitioned for 
 various sums for defraying the current expenses 
 of the church, and their petition w^as granted. 
 The vestry were the more reckless about suits pro- 
 bably because they personally were protected, 
 and even their private expenses paid while 
 attending upon the cases. The governor and 
 council, often having had their attention drawn 
 to the matter, as above seen, evidently felt that 
 there Avas need of an examination, and so ordered 
 the vestry of St. James' to return to them the 
 amount of assessments and other sums received 
 within the last ten years since 1732. This they 
 had a right to do, and evidently at times there 
 was need of such scrutiny. The vestry imme- 
 diately required their register to make out such 
 an account and forward it. 
 
 How far the offertory was observed in those 
 days we are not told, though there can be 
 scarcely a doubt that the offering on Communion 
 Sunday was the only one made. That there was 
 one then is evident from the fact that the alms 
 bason was presented by Mr. Hall for "ye perpet- 
 uall use." No demands were made on the 
 
Ili COLONIAL MARYLAND. 195 
 
 j)eople excejDt by the sheriff. Private gifts were, 
 however, made; for at this time, as was done in 
 the previous period, we find a gift of a handsome 
 baptismal bowl provided for as a legacy. Another 
 source of revenue was the fines laid on absent 
 vestrymen, though these were not very numerous. 
 The amount in each case was one hundred 
 pounds of tobacco, recoverable in the County 
 Court. Altogether the tone does not seem to 
 have been so high as it had been, either because 
 of the jarrings of the time and the restiveness of 
 the people against Lord Baltimore's high 
 assumptions, or because of the parish difficulties 
 and irritation against their pastors. Mr. Lang 
 was a man of peace and sought "to prevent 
 future janglings and disputes" by a measure of 
 conciliation. Also he was not a self-seeking 
 man, as he was desirious of renting "Wrighton" 
 on terms that would cut him off from all revenue, 
 proposing that it should be rented for twenty-one 
 years for the consideration that certain imx)rove- 
 ments should be made ui3on it. This was not 
 accepted by the vestry, who required an imme- 
 diate revenue. 
 
 But the authorities of the parish had not only 
 tobacco to manage, and to turn over their capital 
 from year to year at a heavy rate of interest ; 
 though in 1742 the rate was reduced one-half. 
 They were a vestry for other things as well, for 
 we find them at their old functions of endeavor- 
 ing to restrain the immoral and to preserve the 
 proprieties of life in the parish. The sin Avhich 
 was at one time common, when children, the 
 fruit of unlawful miscegenation, were with both 
 parents, the negro and the white, sold into 
 
196 GHURGH LIFE 
 
 slavery, seems now to have been abated, the 
 lowest classes apparently being lifted above that 
 degree of degradation. There was, however, 
 much cohabiting, and the vestry had occasion 
 frequently to sit as a court for the trial of such 
 persons. Their power did not extend beyond 
 the admonishing of the culprits to separate. On 
 one occasion we find them demanding of a man 
 that he come forward and show his marriage 
 certificate, and once we find the husband com- 
 plaining of the bad conduct of his wife and her 
 unlawful relations with some one else. In this 
 way the vestry became a threat to evil doers, 
 and doubtless in a large degree very often 
 restrained men from open sin. The church also 
 was regarded as the law's bulwark against a 
 certain class of misdemeanors; for according to 
 the law of 1723 not only was the minister com- 
 pelled to read the ordinance against blasj^hemy, 
 swearing, sabbath brea^iing, drunkenness and 
 selling liquor on Sunday, but the swearing 
 became a misdemeanor when it was done in the 
 jjresence of a vestryman, church warden, and 
 other persons named. It is to be hoped that the 
 vestrymen and wardens were always so circum- 
 spect as not to render themselves liable to 
 whipping poist or stocks by swearing in their 
 own presence. This was the punishment meted 
 out, the offender not being a reputable person. 
 In 1747 the vestry had both those instruments 
 of shame and pain erected, evidently, near or at 
 the church, for the order forNfhem is given, with- 
 out mention of places, along with an order for a 
 church door, seats in the porch and church yard, 
 and horse blocks. They were evidently regarded 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 197 
 
 as a convenient and helpful provision for cliurcli 
 discipline. We see later how on one occasion 
 they were nsed. 
 
 The vestry of course had the power of protect- 
 ing the congregation in the time of worship, a 
 power we find them exercising January 4th 1737 
 when the following order was passed : 
 
 '^Whereas, sundry x^ersons in the tim.e of Divine 
 service make a constant practice of running in 
 and out of the church to the fire in the vestry 
 house, to the great disturbance of the rest of the 
 congregation; for prevention whereof for the 
 future this vestry have ordered the sexton that 
 before he tolls the bell he lock the vestry house 
 door, and desire all persons to go out; and if any 
 person refuse the sexton is ordered immediately 
 to acquaint the church wardens therewith, avIio 
 are ordered to do their duty by requiring all dis- 
 orderly persons either to better behave themselves 
 or depart from the church." This, it will be 
 observed, was passed in mid- winter, and the 
 reason why persons were so keenly anxioiis to go 
 to the vestry house was, that there was no hre in 
 the church,*^ while a great glorious hre was roar- 
 ing itself away in the vestry house chimney. 
 They had evidently a keen regard to the propri- 
 eties of the house of God, and would not have 
 the hour of worship disturbed. They were evi- 
 dently a sturdy race, look at them as we will, 
 wdiether as to religious earnestness or to physical 
 endurance. There are a good many congrega- 
 tions now for whom it would be well if those old 
 men could come forward and prescribe. 
 
 But it was not only in mid- winter they had 
 trouble. We find in June 1747, a kindred evil 
 
198 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 harassing their patient souls, and again we see 
 the wardens, as officers of the peace, ordered to 
 do their duty. This order was passed at that 
 time: "That the church wardens do prevent the 
 negroes from going in among the white jDeople to 
 disturb them, as frequently they have done, and 
 to prevent their going in and out of the church 
 in time of Divine service, as they often make a 
 practice of it." This is interesting as showing 
 the colored people less under restraint than we 
 could well have imagined them to be. They 
 were at church and attended Divine service, but 
 as they are to this day, they found themselves 
 unable to sit still. And not only in church, but 
 outside also, we iind them moving about freely, 
 going in and out among the white people, their 
 masters, who were standing or sitting about in 
 the church yard. Evidently also it was not one 
 or two who did this, or only occasionally, for 
 that would hardly have called for the vestry's 
 action; nor were they moving about as servants 
 to obey some order; bat it was of their own free 
 will, in numbers, frequently. This is an unex- 
 pected picture of old Maryland life, a degree of 
 simplicity that we do not find now. For first 
 the negro seldom or never comes to the white 
 man's church, but has, because there only he 
 feels free, a church of his own. Or if he should 
 come, he would not be found moving about 
 among the whites, but the few present would be 
 off in a place to themselves, or perched upon the 
 church fence; and they would file into the church 
 after the white peoj)le were in. The relations of 
 servant and master then were evidently not very 
 rigid and stern; and while subserviency was 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 199> 
 
 demanded, and every order Avas necessarily- 
 obeyed, the relation was rather patriarchaL 
 There were communicants of the church among 
 the people of that race throughout all that period 
 and ever since. In fact the kindly feelings that 
 are still mutually entertained between the negro 
 and the white man, bespeak the generous rela- 
 tions in Maryland of that institution. 
 
 But while the vestry possessed such functions, 
 and were thus a power in the land in many ways 
 for good, and doubtless at that time, of very 
 great value for the moral welfare of the commu- 
 nity, they Avere not allowed to feel themselves: 
 above authority in anything, but were required 
 to recognize the administrative officers of the 
 province. Thus we have seen how on more than 
 one occasion they were called on to return an- 
 account of revenue received and how it was dis- 
 bursed. On another occasion we find them com- 
 pelled to apply for authority from the Assembly 
 to lease a given piece of proj^erty, called AYrigh- 
 ton. This was a legacy to the parish for the 
 benefit of the minister, and it seems always from 
 its great remoteness from the church, to have- 
 yielded but a small revenue. Afterwards it was 
 very much neglected, so that in 1744 it seems to 
 have been destitute of many necessary things. 
 The Assembly passed an act empowering the 
 vestry to lease for twenty-one years, and Mr. 
 Lang, the incumbent, showed his generosity in 
 proi^osing terms that w^ould ultimately benefit 
 the parish minister, but be of no immediate good 
 to him, and probably never of any benelit. 
 
 Why an application for an act of Assembly 
 should have been made, is not evident: for the 
 
200 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 property had come to the vestry without other 
 condition than that it was for the use of the 
 minister of the parish, and apx^arently they 
 woukl have the ability to rent it in any way or 
 any terms they might think proper. It may be 
 that the vestry of St. James' found itself' not 
 entirely trusted, and so feared to act on its own 
 judgement. This one thing, however, is evident, 
 the interests of the clergy were looked to not- 
 withstanding the wrangling of the times. Their 
 standing in every way in Maryland was one of 
 independence and honor; their position was 
 impregnable and their interests in every waj^ 
 duly cared for. The second clause of Mr. Ter- 
 rett's will, dated 1693, reads as follows: "I give 
 and bequeath unto my son, Nicholas Terrett, my 
 great Bible and two negro slaves, to be between 
 fifteen and thirty years of age, to be delivered 
 when he becomes of age." Ihe old gentlemen 
 had very evidently a clear apprehension of what 
 constituted the wealth of both worlds, though 
 some would now say that he did not discern so 
 clearly the due proportion of things wdien he 
 transferred to his son the covenant of his own 
 freedom and the bond of his fellowman's slavery. 
 But these are modern notions, and the world then 
 from the beginning had believed the old gentle- 
 man to be right. 
 
 To scan the church at this time, 1748, would in 
 no way afflict one with pain; though it is true 
 that tiie early glow of affection and devotion for 
 it would seem to have paled somewhat; for the 
 gifts that had at one time been frequent, seem 
 now to have ceased. The church had gotten into 
 a groove, and working as an institution, and the 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 201 
 
 spontaneonsness of early relations had ceased. 
 Tliere had been too much discussion about 
 salaries, too much agitation of the forty pounds 
 poll, a question that was at this time affecting 
 the minds of the people. The clergy had had too 
 much to do in the battling for what they esteemed 
 their own. The church, also, as represented by 
 the clergy, had been too much recognized as 
 a distinct power in matters political, and that not 
 in harmony with the great will and growing con- 
 victions of the people. Consequen'tly spontan- 
 eousness had ceased as an expression of church 
 life; but on the other hand regularity and order 
 were eminent. The church was duly cared for in 
 €very way. The officers were required to do 
 their duty. The building was kept in the best 
 possible condition and the proprieties duly 
 observed during holy worship. The ordinances 
 were regularly administered and the young 
 jDeople as they reached the years of discretion, 
 w^ere admitted to the Holy C'ommunion. Suffi- 
 cient authority was committed to the vestries to 
 make them diligent, and the many difherent 
 offices they had to perform in their two-fold 
 capacity of church and civil officers, constrained 
 their attention. Also the requirement of the law 
 that they should meet at a given time every month 
 with or without notice from the minister, though 
 it is true the law does not seem always to have 
 been faithfully observed, saved the parish from 
 that indifference and neglect that is the sole cause 
 of the poverty of so many ]Darishes of Maryland 
 to day. For in many places the vestry meets but 
 onci a year, at Easter, and frequently to perform 
 only certain routine duties. But such was not the 
 
202 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 case tlien, but eight good men, vestry and wardens^ 
 were compelled, under ]3enalty, to meet, and talk, 
 and tliink ovel* cliurcli matters, and the law provi- 
 ded sufficient funds for every purpose. Therefore, 
 though the earlier youthfulness was gone, order, 
 regularity and propriety were in all ways fostered. 
 That, with a sound gosx:)el preached, as doubt- 
 less it was, in the forty or fifty pulpits of the 
 colony; and with the worthy lives of the clergy, 
 (as the great body were worthy), who went in 
 and out among the people, gave to Maryland 
 religion a character which no voluntary organi- 
 zation could have done. 
 
 Mr. Lang ended his ministry the twenty- sixth 
 of September, 1748, having been rector of the 
 parish fourteen years, not an unusual length of 
 time in those days; for then there was no getting 
 rid of a minister if he wanted to stay; while for 
 him the facilities for change did not exist, the 
 whole matter being determined by one man, the 
 Governor. Besides, St. James was a good parish 
 in the light of its revenue, as doubtless in every 
 other light; for in 174S there were one thousand 
 taxables, which at forty pounds per poll would 
 have yielded at least eight hundred dollars. 
 This with the two glebes, was all that was neces- 
 sary for comfort, even with the high price of 
 everything that was imported. The peoj^le soon 
 felt the loss of their regular church ministrations, 
 and November 1st jDetitioned the Governor for a 
 successor to Mr. Lang. This was answered 
 February 23rd of the following year by the 
 presentation of Mr. Charles Lake to the rector- 
 ship. *' 
 
 An inspection of the library at this time 
 
IJ^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 20a 
 
 showed that some of the books were missing, 
 having been loaned out to persons in the X3arish. 
 The following plate and other articles were 
 delivered up by Mrs. Lang: '^One silver llaggon, 
 one silver cup, one silver dish, and one silver 
 salver, two surplices, one Damask table cloth, 
 and one Damask napkin," and it was "ordered 
 that William Journey, sexton, carry the above 
 plate and linnen to Mr. Nath. Dare, Church- 
 warden, to take care of the same, and that Mr. 
 Lewis Lewin, one of the vestrymen, go along 
 with him to see it delivered." That is the way 
 things w^ere done. Also, at this time we read: 
 "Oct. 4th 1748, came before me. the subscriber, 
 one of his Lordship's Justices of the Provincial 
 Court of Maryland, the several i:>ersons under- 
 noted, being all vestrymen and church wardens 
 of St. James' Parish, and took the oath on the 
 Holy Evangely of Almighty God according to 
 the directions of the act of Assembly jDassed in 
 the year 1748, in order to qualify them for the 
 choice of the inspectors in the sd parish." 
 
 John Darnall. 
 We may not like the flavor of the times, but it 
 is only because we have been fed on diffierent 
 diet. 
 
■^04 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 THE FOURTH RECTORSHIP. 
 
 The period to wliicli we liave come, the fourth 
 rectorship of the parish of St. James, beginning 
 with the year 1749, and reaching to 1763, was in 
 many respects one of great activity, not so much 
 in ecclesiastical matters indeed, as in civil 
 concerns, both in the colonies and in Europe. 
 How closely, hoAvever, ecclesiastical and civil 
 concerns were united at this time, how much 
 stronger a hold the cliurch had upon men's 
 minds and filled their thoughts, then than now, 
 is evidenced in the great seven years' war that 
 began in 1755. For during that struggle, which 
 had no more to do with religion than the more 
 recent wars between Prussia and Austria, or 
 Prussia and France, prayers were offered up here 
 in America for Frederick as the great champion 
 of Protestant Christendom ; while the Pope 
 celebrated Austrian victories as upholding the 
 great cause of his church. It was indeed a 
 great contest between Protestant and Roman 
 civilizations, an expression of the inherent anta- 
 gonism which the two systems embodied, a 
 reproduction, after more than a hundred years, 
 of what had been expressed with so much greater 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 20-1 
 
 vividness in the thirty year's war. But Frecler 
 ick of Prussia was not one to expend tlie 
 resources of liis dominions in defence of Cliris- 
 tianity. He was not a second Gustavus Adolplius. 
 !N"or was England at all at that time enthusiastic 
 for the faith. Nor on the parties on the other 
 side can a higher eulogium be passed. It was 
 something far nearer to their x^i'esent interests 
 that moved them, the glory and dominion of this 
 world. Still the great struggle was made to 
 wear that asjject of religion, and for both parties 
 prayers ascended to heaven from those whose 
 minds were deeply impregnated with the thonght 
 of the great cause. 
 
 Associated with this war in Euro^^e was the 
 French war waged by the colonies in America, 
 a war that was momentous in its influences upon 
 the future of the colonies ; for it was by the 
 fruits of it and the destruction of the French 
 power in America, that the colonies, being rid of 
 this threatening neighbor, were enabled to 
 assume such a pronounced position towards the 
 mother country. It will be remembered that 
 this position was assumed very soon after the 
 close of the French war in the discussions that 
 preceded, and the vigorous measures that f ollow^ed 
 the passage of the stamj) act. The whole period, 
 how^ever, was full of jealousy, the colonists 
 always proceeding as far as they dared in antag- 
 onizing the will of the home administration. 
 Nor w^as the jealousy only on the one side, for 
 there was constant fear of the colonies as well, 
 and everything was avoided that could in any way 
 foster the spirit of independence. In this tem]3er 
 we find the mother country acting when Seeker, 
 
^06 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Arclibisliop of Canterbury, who was translated 
 to that see in 1758, attempted to send out bishops 
 to the colonies. It is true a large part of the 
 oi^position is attributable to the very low estimate 
 that was made of the clerical office and even of 
 episcoi3al dignity. For the episcopate had come 
 to be regarded as merely a means of rewarding 
 some minister whose services had pleased or 
 been useful to the state. The grand thought of 
 its true functions before Christ Jesus, was lost 
 sight of. But Archbishop Seeker's attem]3t was 
 reprobated in the strongest terms. The clergy 
 for America must be sent from England, Ameri- 
 ca must be kept in this way, as in all others, 
 dependent. So there was an " enormous outcry." 
 One bishop declared "that the authors of this 
 attempt ought to be covered with contrition and 
 confusion"; and an archdeacon described it "as 
 a mere empty chimerical vision, which deserves 
 not the least regard." The matter, therefore, as 
 so many times before, came to nought. Unfor- 
 tunately there was nearly as much opposition to 
 the scheme in all parts of America as there was 
 in England. For if England dreaded to have the 
 colonies indei^endent in anything, the colonies 
 equally dreaded to have an institution set up 
 such as they knew the English episcopate then 
 to be, and such as tradition had represented it, 
 without iDractical force for the church' s good, and 
 and yet endowed with extensive ^prerogatives. 
 America, therefore, continued to be dej^endent, 
 but the only effect was, that, not having a native 
 clergy, the ministers had no weight with the 
 peoi3le in the great measures and ideas that were 
 more and more engrossing the i^opular mind; and 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 207 
 
 wlien the time came for acting they were cast 
 ed off as having no living connection with the 
 body politic. In the meanwhile they were on all 
 sides suspected and subjected often to harsh 
 treatment. 
 
 Along with the French war there are various 
 things brought to the surface in Maryland that 
 are at any rate interesting and that throw light 
 upon the life of those times. It was begun in 
 America before it began in Europe, and in 1754, 
 Maryland, by a supply bill, made provision for 
 her share of the expenses. Again, in 1756, she 
 attempted the same, but as it happened she did 
 nothing, not because she was not willing, but 
 because of that inherent jealousy on the part of 
 the people, as represented in the lower house of 
 the Assembly, against the xjretensions of the 
 Governor and the u^^per house. As there was 
 no great urgency, and as neither party could lose 
 by the struggle, there was the greater willingness 
 to keep uj) the contest. 
 
 One of the matters was the question of taxing 
 convicts brought into the colony. For, most un- 
 fortunately, for many years there were very 
 many of these brought in, at the rate of four to 
 six hundred annually, a terrible class to turn 
 loose upon a community, as jeopardizing both 
 life and property, and having a most baneful 
 influence upon the morals of the people. Though 
 as the gallows were in such constant demand in 
 England, it was hardly as bad as we should And 
 it now. The proprietary claimed the right to tax 
 this class of immigrants, the tax being laid on 
 those that brought them over; while the lower 
 house claimed the right to tax as their preroga- 
 
208 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 tive, asserting tliat sn ch came under the head of 
 servants, and that they had always, from the 
 days when Maryland was a royal x)rovince, exer- 
 cised this right. We have seen this wdien they 
 taxed Irish servants coming in, ' ' to prevent the 
 growth of Papacy." The revenue to be by this 
 means received, was to provide a sinking fund to 
 meet the supx)ly bill. With such a class precipi- 
 tated upon the colony in spite of frequent and 
 bitter protest, we cannot be surprised at the 
 severe laws that were sometimes passed. It w^as 
 estimated that from 1715 to 1763 there were from 
 lifteen to twenty thousand such persons brought 
 into the province. It is to be said that some of 
 these were sent over for very slight offences ; and 
 that among them Maryland received some of her 
 most skillful artisans, elegant mansions in and 
 around Annapolis having been built or adorned 
 by their hands. 
 
 Another matter connected wdth the supply bill 
 and the tax levied to provide for it, though this 
 bill was never passed, Avas the amount to be laid 
 upon non- jurors or Papists. This item shows 
 the animus of the times, and that very much of 
 the old feeling against the members of this 
 church still continued. As we have seen, the 
 the w^ar that was raging in Europe, the fringes of 
 of whose strife touched America, and were the 
 cause of the supply bill being called for, wore in 
 the minds of many, a semi-religious aspect, both 
 Pope and Protestant praying for the respective 
 sides. This may have been in some measure the 
 cause of the proposed legislation against the 
 members of the Roman Communion, though it is 
 also said that ill will for certain favorites of the 
 
J]^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 201* 
 
 proprietary intiuenced the minds of the members 
 of the lower house. It is hardly possible, how- 
 ever, that so large a section of the people should 
 have been treated so unjustly merely to gratify a 
 little private animosity. The Roman church 
 was still an object of dread and of dislike, and 
 because certain members enjoyed positions of 
 honor or emolument the general feeling of antag- 
 onism was very strongly expressed. 
 
 The j)i'<^>posed law discriminated against the 
 Roman Catholic so far as to lay a double tax. 
 upon him, and as the tax was a very general one, 
 covering all species of property, real, personal 
 and mixed, all debts, and all imported merchan- 
 dise, together with incomes, and as the Roman 
 Catholics were about one-twelfth of the people 
 and many of them were exceedingly wealthy, 
 the intended burden would be very great. A. 
 vast amount of the old leaven was still amongst 
 the peojDle, and the principles of toleration were 
 still unknown. Nor was this merely a passing 
 lit of spleen; for the bill was passed by the Lower 
 House at nine different sessions, showing a set 
 purpose. But it never became a law, the Ui:)X)er 
 House rejecting the bill every time. They were 
 called non-jurors because they would not take 
 the oaths necessary for enjoying the rights of 
 citizenship. They enjoyed privately the right of 
 worship and protection; but as yet they were not 
 emancipated, and were looked upon as not beings 
 safe as citizens. The oaths at this time exacted 
 were exceedingly severe, as we shall hereafter see. 
 
 Another item, provided for in the first supply 
 bill, is worthy of a XDassing notice, especially as 
 it was associated with the duties of vestries. 
 
210 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 We liave seen the intention of the law makers, 
 that it was to tax everybody and everything, 
 and it would seem that they did reach everything 
 that could readily be named. One item, however, 
 surprises us even in their list, and that is bache- 
 lors, for we can not see why a man should be taxed 
 for everything he has and then in addition by a 
 special provision for that which he has not, the 
 best of all possessions, a wife. Nor was it 
 exactly a poll tax, for it was rated according to 
 income and age, those under twenty-five years 
 being exempt, and also those whose income did 
 not amount to one hundred pounds per annum. 
 Above that age a bachelor w^hose income was one 
 hundred i^ounds, had to pay five shillings and 
 one with an income of three hundred pounds had 
 to pay one pound. Whether also it was regarded 
 as a repressive measure we do not know, a nui- 
 sance to be abated. But that seems hardly 
 likely, as it was immediately associated in the 
 category with wines, liquors, and billiard tables; 
 by what law of association we cannot say, though 
 possibly the law makers could. Of course the 
 bachelors paid the tax without protest, which is 
 not what the Roman Catholics did, for they i)ro- 
 tested very loudly against the proposed unequal 
 tax upon them. If the intention of the law Avas 
 to make men marry it was not always successful 
 by any means, as the lists returned by the ves- 
 tries, who were the returning board for this pur- 
 pose, show that some bachelors went through the 
 whole eight years the tax was collected. The 
 tyrannical law of the legislators could not 
 deprive them of their liberty. 
 The law, however, was not so incongruous to 
 
/i\^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 3U 
 
 them as it to us, for we find a law advocated in 
 England in the time of William III. for the relief 
 of his Majesty, by which a tax was proposed on 
 ''marriages, births and burials, and upon bache- 
 lors and widowers for the term of five years," so 
 that by it whether you lived or died, married or 
 remained single, preserved your blessing of a 
 wife or were utterly bereaved, the law would 
 reach you. The Maryland proposition was 
 merciful beside that. It only taxed bachelors 
 along with wines, liquors and billiard tables. 
 
 Among the other immigrants received at this 
 time into Maryland, differing from those they 
 found there, in race, language and religion, were 
 the Canadian French from Acadia. They came 
 involuntarily of course, the English having, in the 
 beginning of the French war in 1755 pursued 
 towards them a most cruel policy. For refusing 
 to take the oath of allegiance to the king upon the 
 British occupation of their territory they were 
 compelled to abandon their pleasant homesteads, 
 which were given up to the flames; and taking 
 what little was permitted them on shipboard, to 
 be scattered everywhere. Some of them even 
 reached Louisiana, while the most of them found 
 refuge in the English colonies. Maryland 
 received some who settled within the j)resent 
 limits of Baltimore. Longfellow in Evangeline 
 has given immortality to this dark and cruel 
 episode of war. 
 
 Looking more narrowly at the church affairs of 
 Maryland at this time we do not find things 
 wearing an attractive ax)pearance, but rather it 
 was a i^eriod of vexation and difficulty. And 
 first of all we find a man possessing the privileges 
 
212 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 of the proprietorshiii of the province, Frederick, 
 the seventh Lord Baltimore, who in nothing 
 attracts favor, being ignorant, conceited, and 
 with an overAveening sense of his own prerogatives. 
 Besides, when he succeeded his father in 1751, 
 he was yonng, being only twenty years of age. 
 He esteemed himself learned, and thought God 
 had given him too much genius, expressing a 
 wish that his Creator had bestowed less mind 
 and more bodily vigor. In addition to these un- 
 fortunate qualities he was very immoral, having 
 companionship with some of the vilest of the 
 land. He was arraigned as a criminal in a very 
 extreme case of wickedness and was commonly 
 believed to be guilty. It was the misfortune of 
 the church that such a man fell upon times when 
 the colony was agitated by great questions, and 
 when the matter of right and prerogative was 
 uppermost. Because of his character, therefore, 
 and the authority he wielded over the church, 
 the better relations thatexisted between the 
 Bishop of London and himself produced very 
 little profit to the church. 
 
 Nor were all things favorable in the church 
 itself. First of all there was a very numerous 
 body of dissenters, Quakers, Presbyterians, 
 Roman Catholics, Baptists, Dunkers, Lutherans, 
 and doubtless others, who by this time had be- 
 come powerful ; and who, with the exception of 
 the Roman Catholics, as voters were able to wield 
 a large influence. These all of course opposed 
 the establishment, looking upon the compulsion 
 on them to support it as being an outrage. The 
 largest two of these bodies had ever kept up an 
 unvarying protest. Associated with these in the 
 
IJSr COLONIAL MABYLAJSTD. 313 
 
 same cause were all those who were skeptical in 
 their views or reckless in their lives ; which was 
 also a large class. So that the establishment had 
 many enemies ; and that it stood the pressnre as 
 it did shows how nnmerous its friends were. 
 
 Unfortunately also the circumstances of the 
 church were rather helpful to the malcontents ; 
 for there were some men, though, doubtless, 
 relatively, but few in number, who were dis- 
 honoring their calling as ministers and exiDOsing 
 the cause to gross misrepresentation. Governor 
 Sharpe tells us of one who "with great difficulty 
 escax)ed the fate of a murderer, who received his 
 thirty pounds poll while in i)rison." The rule, 
 ex uno disce omnes^ however, does not a^iply, for 
 beyond all others the clergy were most earnest 
 to have these things corrected. Besides, 
 instances of shame in all bodies now are too 
 numreous to enable us to compare ratios with 
 certainty with the men of that day. 
 
 But something that is tangible is given us in 
 the statement of Governor Sharpe that the colony 
 and the church then were beset with clergymen 
 from the Scotch universities, and that the cry 
 went u}) that nearly one-half the peox)le were 
 "preached to in an unknown tongue." It will 
 be remembered that this was not the hrst time 
 that such complaint was made. Mr. Wilkinson, 
 the commissary for the Eastern shore, as early as 
 1718 had written that they did not Avant any 
 more of the Scotch clergy, because they were 
 " young, raw, undisciplined, tainted with Presby- 
 terian principles, and not real friends to Episcopal 
 government." And though doubtless some of 
 the charges against them were exas'gerated, yet 
 
314 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 tlie good broad Scotch accent in which they 
 rejoiced, together with the abundant antipathy 
 of race and kingdom which was prevalent a 
 hundred years ago, made them unfit for the 
 English parishes in America; for such the 
 colonial i)arishes were. There could not be 
 much attractiveness in the church, nor much 
 enthusiasm for it, in the nearly one-half of the 
 parishes where these gentlemen were found. 
 
 But there was a deeper cause than this at 
 work. The system itself was wearing out, the 
 Establishment was becoming out of harmony 
 with the times. American sentiment was grow- 
 ing very rapidly, and that sentiment meant 
 absolute equality both as to person and property, 
 before the law; and of this equality the Establish- 
 ment was a curtailment. Other disturbances 
 were rather symptons of this deeper disease; 
 objections were strongly expressed because there 
 was a more or less conscious antagonism to the 
 institution itself. 
 
 This growing instability of the Establishment 
 was perceived by some of the clergy, who during 
 the frequent discusions upon the matter of the 
 clerical salaries, were more apprehensive for the 
 existence of the law of 1702 than they were about 
 their incomes. For the readiness and the facility 
 with which the Assembly tamj^ered with one 
 section of the law, made them fear that the law 
 itself might become a common thing in handling, 
 and at last without consideration be cast aside. 
 And doubtless there was good reason for just 
 that fear. Also, as the records show, there was 
 more than one occasion when the validity of the 
 law was questioned, and that by eminent legal 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 215 
 
 aiitliorities and professing cliurclimen. The 
 tlioaglit was to get rid of what w^as felt to be a 
 burden, by that means. That they did not 
 attempt a straightforward rex)eal of the law, 
 whatever tlie Proprietary might have said in the 
 case, is proof that the church was very ck)se to 
 the hearts of the largest part of the people. 
 That the Pro]3rietary would have resisted such a 
 repeal is i)robable, though by no means certain. 
 He professed friendship for the church and the 
 clergy, but what he cared for chiefly was that 
 which ijromoted his own emoluments and pleas- 
 ures. 
 
 The question of the poll tax was frequently 
 discussed at this time. In 17-i7 the earlier law 
 had been reenacted, making one -fourth of the 
 amount payable in other produce than tobacco, at 
 a fixed rate. This, like many of the colonial 
 laws, w^as to continue in force only for a given 
 time; the x^eople, not having the right of repeal, 
 thus retaining power over the laws in their own 
 hands. Again, in 17o8, the law was enacted to 
 continue in force hve years. And also again in 
 1758 and 1763. On this last occasion the law was 
 further modified by making the poll to be thirty 
 instead of forty pounds. Though this reduction 
 im2:>osed no real burden on the clergy; for owing 
 to the great increase in population the salaries 
 had generally so advanced as that the incomes 
 in some instances were handsome, and in almost 
 all parishes good. By this frequent presentation 
 of the matter the question of salaries was kept 
 alive in the people's minds, and so when any 
 delinquency occurred among the clergy the 
 matter was known far and wide. Such a case 
 
:31G CHURCH LIFE 
 
 did occur a little later than our present period 
 that shows the sensitiveness of the public 
 feeling, and that the abuses of the system of the 
 Establishment were working out their natural 
 and fatal result. The Rev. i)r. Chandler, of New 
 Jersey, distinguished subsequently to this by his 
 activity as a champi(m of the church and church 
 principles, was on a visit to Maryland, and he 
 speaks aboiit a condition of things that was very 
 far from pleasing. The trouble Avas in Coventry 
 Parish, which it was the desire of the people 
 that the Doctor should receive, it being then 
 vacant, and application was made to the Gov- 
 ernor. Instead, however, of listening to them 
 and presenting the man of their choice, wdio was 
 also so eminently worthy, and thus pacifying a 
 people who had formerly shown a restive spirit; 
 l)ossibly for that very reason he chose to ignore 
 their desires; and that his lordshix^ s prerogatives 
 might be fully vindicated, forced upon the x)arish 
 a man whom the peojile knew only too well as 
 one wholly unfit for holy fu actions. 
 
 But the i^arishoners rose to the occasion and 
 refused to receive the letter of induction offered, 
 falling back upon what they esteemed their right 
 of presentation. For they argued, that as the 
 law was of their passing, and the church was 
 sustained by their contributions, however pro- 
 vided, the parish was of necessity in their gift. 
 Warm and acrimonious w^as the discussion that 
 ensued, with even violence threatened, and that 
 against the parson. The result was, however, 
 that the people had to recede from their extreme 
 position, and accept the order of things as it had 
 'fceen from the beginning. Mr. Henderson, 
 
JxY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 217 
 
 formerly commissary, had held the view that the 
 Bishop of London had the power to induct. Mr. 
 Daniel Dulaney, who was the great legal anthority 
 in the colony at this time, as members of the same 
 family were through several generations, showed 
 that their claim had no ground in law, and that 
 over and beyond the privileges that belonged to 
 the Proprietary by his charter, the law of 1702 
 in plain terms put the right of x^resentation and 
 induction in the governor's hands. Out of this 
 difficulty there came other changes in the form 
 of the letter of induction, as we shall see. It is 
 said that this case was carried to England on 
 appeal and decided in favor of the parish. 
 AVhat effect such a decision might have had does 
 not appear, but things went on in this matter as 
 they had })een all along. This incident only 
 shows that the " troubles of the Establishment 
 Avere now thickening, the people restive, the 
 proprietary more exacting, and the colonial 
 authorities just and honorable, but wanting in 
 sympathy. The next ten years were to witness 
 the further progress of these symptoms and 
 eventuate in the death of the institution. 
 
 One of the instances that x^rove the unfortunate 
 position of the church under the ungodly and 
 X^resumptuous ProxMetary, was his action in the 
 year 17f)4. The clergy had not for years met 
 together for conference, whether for mutual 
 edification and x^i'otection, or for the x^romotion 
 of the general welfare of the church. The gov- 
 ernor did not summon them, as had been 
 done earlier in the century, nor was there any 
 commissary to gather them. Any meeting could 
 only be accomx^lished by a common agreement, 
 
218 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 and tliey reached this in the year 1753. What 
 was the occasion of their assembling then we do not 
 know; possibly the fnrther consideration at that 
 time by the Assembly of the matter of reducing 
 their salaries, though there were many things of 
 common interest and general moment that they 
 might find to discuss amongst themselves, and 
 both they and the people would be the better for 
 it. But how was their action regarded by his 
 lordship'^ He professed a warm interest in both 
 the church establishment and the clergy at this 
 time. He immediately expressed to his governor 
 his will and jDleasure that they should not 
 assemble again, and the governor of course 
 issued notice of his lordship's desire. Truly we 
 are living in diiferent times from those when the 
 church of God, as represented in her ministers, 
 was subjected to such tyranny, the whim, the 
 caprice of a young egotist who had only just 
 reached his majority. And this was more than 
 twenty years before the end came. That the 
 clergy should have felt they were wearing a 
 galling yoke could not help but be. The Estab- 
 lishment was to them sustained at a heavy cost 
 of manhood; while the portents that indicated 
 the future deliverance were as yet exceedingly 
 indistinct, the cloud not even as large as a man's 
 hand. The young administrator of such immense 
 estate and weighty duties, may have had kind 
 feelings for the church and clergy, but certainly 
 he was exceedingly obtuse as to what would 
 under the circumstances advance the church's 
 best intrests. 
 
 The church, I have said, commanded no 
 enthusiasm among the people or with the legis- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 219 
 
 lators now. RaMier it was often jostled in debate 
 and many unkind tilings said. On tlie the other 
 hand, justice was meted out to it by the Assem- 
 bly, and the comeliness of its circumstances was 
 cared for by all its children. For we are now in 
 the beginning of the period that was distinguished 
 by the building of many of those structures that 
 have so far withstood successfully the wear and 
 tear of time, and will for centuries to come ; 
 solid, substantial brick edifices generally, that 
 are found in almost all parts of old Maryland. 
 Romance or ignorance often makes them to have 
 been built long before this, some of them, we are 
 told, in 1692, the date when the Act of Establish- 
 ment was hrst jiassed. But the records would 
 show that most of those now standing were 
 erected after the year 1748. And this would be 
 probable for another reason, that previous to that 
 time the parishes were too feeble, the population 
 too sparse to have gone to the great expense 
 necessary for such structures, as well as for the 
 reason that structures of the size now found were 
 not then necessary. 
 
 For it must be remembered how the means 
 were provided. The people would first reach the 
 conclusion that their church then standing was 
 worn out, and no longer able to stand repairs ; or 
 that the large increase in numbers demanded more 
 ample room ; and most probably both causes would 
 be found operating. Then a petition would be 
 sent in to the legislature asking that a levy be im- 
 posed upon the parish, and this being done, the 
 work was entrusted to the builders. The cost of 
 such buildings would be from three to six thousand 
 dollars, and sometimes probably more ; for some 
 
220 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 of the edifices are very large and handsome ; 
 plain enough as we count plainness, but striking 
 memorials of the olden time. And this method 
 of raising the means shows us the estimation in 
 which the church was held through this troubled 
 time. For first, that the people should have been 
 content to assume so heavy a burden, proves 
 their love and devotion to the church, and that 
 the legislature would have been content to 
 authorize such a heavy tax when often one-third 
 of the residents within the imrish were non- con- 
 formists, who could not help but be opposed to 
 having their money taken from them for this 
 purpose, proves that tlie institution as an estab- 
 lishment, was regarded with favor. And a 
 blessed thing it was for Maryland after the 
 depression of the revolution came on that these 
 churches had been built ; for for fifty years after 
 that day the ideas and means were both most 
 sadly cramped, and destitution would have been 
 the result. As it w;as, God in his mercy so pro- 
 vided that the church survived, her children 
 never wanted a place to assemble in for prayer 
 and praise, and when a brighter day did dawn 
 she was able again to enter upon a new career of 
 prosperity. 
 
 The relative position of the church to the other 
 religious bodies in the colony, both as to wealth 
 and numbers, is approximately furnished us 
 in an incident of the year 1760. There was 
 but little intimate intercourse and no organic 
 relation between the colonies at this time. There 
 was, however, a strong fraternal feeling of sym- 
 pathy, which doubtless the instinct of coming 
 things strengthened ; so that when in this year 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 221 
 
 there was the great lire in Boston, Maryland was 
 ready to extend any aid that might lie in her 
 power. Fortunately the Governor issued a call 
 for such aid, and the amount received astonishes 
 us, remembering that Maryland had no city of 
 pretentions save Baltimore and Annapolis, which 
 were insignilicant. The amount forwarded to the 
 sufferers was over eighteen hundred pounds, be- 
 ing contributions in the churches, and of this 
 members of the Establishment gave fifteen hun- 
 dred pounds. These figures furnish evidence of 
 why it was that the Legislature so readily granted 
 the petitions for the heavy tax for the erection of 
 new churches. The members of the Establish- 
 ment were the wealthiest and most numerous in 
 the province. 
 
 We have seen that in 1754 it pleased his lord- 
 ship, the proprietor, to lay interdict upon the 
 clergy, forbidding their coming together for 
 conference, which was all that as citizens they 
 were capable of doing. But this was not the 
 worst evil he now inflicted, for about the same 
 time he instructed Governor Sliarpe that X)resen- 
 tation to i^arishes should only be by his approval, 
 thus taking from the governor an indeiDendence 
 of action that sometimes would protect the 
 church. The governor was so far stripjDed of 
 responsibility, and doubtless degraded in his own 
 eyes ; for his lordship might over his cups give 
 letters to boon comi)anions, and for Maryland 
 there was no deliverance. The old form of 
 induction went on for a while, but the lord 
 baron was the true x)ower in the land. How far 
 he exercised this control, we are not told, but for 
 his favorites a x)lace must as soon as possible be 
 found. 
 
233 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 In fact, Maryland was at tliis time an El Dorado 
 for the parsons, and sometimes they were waiting, 
 so many of them were there in the colony, until 
 vacancies might occur. Some of them were 
 employed as assistants, for division of parishes 
 was greatly opposed by the incumbents, and by 
 means of curates the desire of the people was 
 sought to be appeased. Chapels of ease also 
 were erected in outlying districts, out of which, 
 from time to time, new parishes grew, for divisions 
 did take place occasionally. There is no reason 
 for supposing that the church was a heavy bur- 
 den upon its members. Its misfortune was that 
 it exacted from those who were unwilling to 
 give. But for its members it was not a burden ; 
 for they only X3aid according to the males of their 
 families and their prolitable servants. The 
 churchmen of Maryland to-day, of their own will 
 and desire, contribute far more |pr religion than' 
 their fathers of those days did. 
 
/iV COLONIAL MARYLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER Xy. 
 
 THE PAKISH. 
 
 We have seen the urgency of the vestry to 
 have their parish immediately provided for. 
 Gov. Ogle, in response to their petition, granted 
 the Rev. Charles Lake a letter of induction, Feb- 
 ruary 23rd, 1748-49, who then began as the 
 fourth rector of St. James' parish a ministry that 
 reached to the year 1763, maintaining the general 
 averageof duration of rectorshij) that had held up 
 to that time. Governor Ogle, as far as lay in his 
 power, appointed good men to the parishes ; 
 though, unfortunately, the condition of things 
 was often such that his best intentions were 
 neutralized. Mr. Lake, however, as far as 
 the record goes, seems to have fullilled his best 
 desires ; for, unlike his two immediate i^rede- 
 cessors, his ministry in the parish was without 
 any occasion of dispute or dissatisfaction ; a fact 
 the more notable because his incumbency exten- 
 ded through a period when the tide of agitation 
 ran high, when there were many squalls, if not 
 violent temx)ests in the ecclesiastical atmosphere. 
 These latter came on later, as in some instances 
 they had also preceded this time. Doubtless, in 
 many X3arishes throughout the province this was 
 
234 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 the case, the tide of peaceful life running on, tlie 
 clergy conlident of God's loving, fatherly care, 
 and the peoiile glad in every way to sustain their 
 holy endeavors, unmindful of the jarring world 
 without. 
 
 The form of the letter of induction which Mr. 
 Lake presented was the same as that of his pre- 
 decessor ; after the recording of which he 
 qualified as chief vestryman by taking the various 
 oaths required. The rebellion of 1745 will here 
 be remembered, the last effort of the Stuarts to 
 recover the throne of England ; and this Avill 
 explain the stringency of the oaths of which we 
 find a copy preserved in the church records. The 
 first of these runs thus : I, A. B. do truly and 
 sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify and de- 
 clare, in my conscience before God and the world 
 
 that our sovereign lord, King , is lawful 
 
 and rightful King of the realm of England and 
 all other his majesty's dominions and countries 
 thereunto belonging ; and I do solemnly and sin- 
 cerely declare that I do believe in my conscience 
 that the person pretended to be the Prince of 
 Wales during the life of the late James, and since 
 his decease pretending to be and taking upon 
 himself the style and title of King of England, 
 under the name of James III, hath not any right 
 or title whatsoever to the crown of the realm of 
 England, o\ of any other of the dominions there- 
 unto belonging ; and I do renounce, refuse and 
 abjure any obedience to him. And I do swear 
 that I will bear faith and true allegiance to his 
 majesty King George, and him will defend to the 
 utmost of my power, against all traitorous con- 
 spiracies and attempts whatsoever, which shall 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 235" 
 
 be made against his T)erson, crown, or dignity ; 
 and I will do my best endeavor to disclose and 
 make known to his majesty and his successors, 
 all treason and traitorous conspiracies which I 
 shall know to be against him or any of them; and 
 I do faithfully promise, to the utmost of my 
 power, to support, maintain and defend the suc- 
 cession of the crown against him, the said James, 
 and all other persons whatsoever, as the same is 
 and stands limited by an act, entitled 
 an act declaring the rights and liberties 
 of the subject, and settling the succession of tlie 
 crown to his x^resent majesty and the heirs of his 
 body being Protestants ; and as the same by 
 another act, entitled an act for the further limi- 
 tation of the crown and better securing the rights 
 and liberties of the subject, is and stands limited, 
 after the decease of her late majesty, and for de- 
 fault of issue of her late majesty, to the late 
 princess Sophia, electc^ress and Duchess Dowa- 
 ger of Hanover and the heirs of her body being 
 Protestants : and all these things I do plainly and 
 sincerely acknowledge and swear, according to 
 these express words Jby me spoken, and according 
 to the plain and common sense and understanding 
 of the same words, without any equivocation or 
 mental evasion or secret reservation whatsoever ; 
 and I do make this recognition, acknowledge- 
 ment, abjuration, renunciation and promise, 
 heartily, willinglj^ and truly, upon the true faith 
 of a Christian. 
 
 So help me God. 
 The next oath we lind recorded is as follows : 
 I do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest 
 and abjure, as imi3ious and heretical, that 
 
220 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 damnable doctrine and position that princes 
 exconimnnicated or deprived by the Pope, or 
 any authority of the Church of Rome, may be 
 deposed and murthered by their subjects or any 
 other whatsoever. And I do believe that no 
 foreign prince, person, prelate, state or poten- 
 tate, hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, 
 power, superiorty, pre-eminence, or authority, 
 ecclesiastical or spiritual, within the kingdom of 
 England or the dominion thereunto belonging. 
 So help me, &c. 
 
 A third oath was of a different tenor running 
 thus : I, A. B. do swear that I will faithfully, 
 honestly and justly nominate and recommend 
 such person or persons to be an inspector or 
 inspectors (of tobacco) as I think in my judgment 
 and conscience is or are fit and capable to execute 
 the office of an inspector or inspectors. 
 So help me, &c. 
 
 A fourth oath is as follows : I do solemnly 
 swear and declare that I will justly and truly 
 execute the office or trust of a vestryman of this 
 parish, according to my best skill and knowl- 
 edge, without prejudice, favor, or affection. 
 So help me, &c. 
 
 A fifth and last one is that which had been 
 imposed from the beginning: We the subscribers 
 do declare that we do believe that there is not 
 any transubstantiation in the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper or in the elements of Bread and 
 Wine, at or after the consecration thereof by any 
 person or persons whatsoever. 
 
 These oaths together bear in themselves a 
 history and picture of the times, showing how 
 the currents of feeling and conviction and fear 
 
IN COLONIAL 3IARYLAND. 227 
 
 were running. For tlie first and second were 
 aimed at the lofty but well defined i3retentions 
 of tlie combined adversaries of English ecclesias- 
 tical and civil liberty, pretensions both of Pope 
 and Prince that had more than once formulated 
 themselves in the great argument of arms. The 
 oaths wer.e not framed against an imaginary 
 danger, but one intensely real. These oaths also 
 suggest why it was that the Roman Catholics 
 were treated as they were during this period ; for, 
 the adherents of a pope making extravagant 
 claims, and the supposed friends of a house that 
 for the religion they professed, were driven from 
 England, and were now threatening the kingdom, 
 they were looked upon as suspicious citizens who 
 needed but the opportunity to excite them to the 
 disturbance of the public peace. How far the 
 fears were well grounded is another matter. Proba- 
 bly a little closer knowledge of the times would 
 reveal that the house of Stuart and the pope had 
 certain indiscreet adherents in the i)rovince who 
 gave a stronger tone to the natural suspicion of 
 the people. It is in fact stated that the repressive 
 feature of the proposed supply bill during the 
 French war had its origin in special ill feeling to- 
 Avards certain persons. 
 
 Also the oaths suggest to us rather different 
 views of the duties and obligations of a vestry- 
 man from wdiat are at present held; though the 
 oath of allegiance, required at that time was 
 continued down after the Revolution when the 
 church ceased to be established, though it was 
 then to the state of Maryland. The oaths do 
 not bear the signatures of the vestrymen except 
 that regarding transubstantiation, called "the 
 
228 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 test'^ to wliich alone signatures were required; a 
 proper title, as it was used even to test a man's 
 qualilication for the ballot, the Roman Catholics 
 being by that means excluded. They were all, 
 however,- taken by vestrymen as "prescribed by 
 law," and they continued to be taken down to 
 the American Revolution. And we .can see 
 readily how during the period immediately 
 preceding that event, when men's minds were 
 anticipating the necessity of revolt, such an oath 
 as the first given, if taken by all the vestrymen 
 through many years, should have acted as a 
 restraint against"^ that preciintancy that charac- 
 terized some of the provinces. For Maryland 
 was loth to take the final step and preserved her 
 loyalty to the last moment; she would not 
 sunder the ties that bound her to the mother 
 country until nothing else Avas possible. The 
 church was thus to Maryland a conservative 
 influence. Also we can understand how in addi- 
 tion to the force of education, the clergy, having 
 bound themselves by such solemn oaths, should 
 have found it difficult, and in so many cases 
 impossible, to cast in their fortunes with the 
 newly created state, and have X)referred to return 
 to the mother- country. 
 
 The most important thing that happened in the 
 parish during this i)eriod was the building of the 
 new church. For this was the era of church 
 building in Maryland, most of the old structures 
 that had been erected about the beginning of the 
 century, having by this time Avorn out; having 
 also, many of them, been so modified to meet the 
 growing population, that they were hardly 
 capable of any further enlargement. Almost all 
 
ZZV^ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 229 
 
 tlie more worthy structures of Maryland, what- 
 ever tradition may say, Avere at this time erected. 
 Most of the first buildings had been of frame, 
 the erection of them even liaving been a burden 
 to the scant population. Though not only 
 wooden buildings had decayed within that 
 23eriod, for if we are to take old St. Anne's of 
 Annapolis, as speaking by its next friend, Rev. 
 Mr. Boucher, as witness, even brick walls had 
 ' not been proof against the attack's of time. 
 
 "How changed the times, for now all round 
 
 Where numbered stately piles abound, 
 
 All better built, and looking down 
 
 On one quite antiquated grown: 
 
 Left unrepaired, to time a pre}', 
 
 I feel my vitals fast decay : 
 
 And often I have heard it said 
 
 That some good people are afraid 
 
 Lest I should tumble on their head ; 
 
 Of which, indeed, this seems a proof. 
 
 They seldom come beneath my roof" 
 
 The matter of a ncAv (^hurcli was hrst agitated 
 in the year 1760, Avhen a thorough examination 
 having been made, the old church, having fullilled 
 its holy i)i^iiT<>ses for sixty years, was declared 
 incapable of standing much longer. Besides, the 
 taxables of the parish having increased from 
 about five hundred to about twelve hundred, 
 there could hardly have been room for all that 
 came to worship. The next step was to jDetition 
 the Assembly for a levy upon all the inhabitants 
 of the parish; and the response being favorable, 
 on the twenty-second of June in 1762 an adver- 
 tisement was inserted in the Annapolis paper for 
 bidders. As it turned out the plan was drawn 
 by one of the vestrymen, James Trotter, who 
 received for the same fifteen pounds currency, 
 
330 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 eleven pounds iive shillings sterling, and the 
 building was contracted for by another one, Mr. 
 John AVeems. The notice of the contract reads 
 thus: "Likewise Mr. John Weems, has under- 
 taking the buildino: of a breek church in the sd 
 Parrish according to the draft of the plan that 
 was this day layd before the vestry, and is to 
 build the sd church att fourteen hundred pounds 
 cur. (one thousand and hfty pounds sterling,) 
 without any further charges to the said imrrisli 
 in any shape whatever, in case that the vestry 
 git ann act of Assembley for what tob. will be 
 Avanting of the sum that is to build the said 
 church; for as tliay liant tob. enufe in hand for 
 the tinniching of the sd church." Evidently the 
 schoolmaster was not abroad. Rather his pres- 
 ence was sorely needed in the parish. The 
 church was three years in building. 
 
 The amount granted by. the Assembly was one 
 hundred and thirty thousand pounds of tobacco, 
 to be collected in two levies, and the work began. 
 Fortunately the builder was honest, and the 
 building that he thus associated with his name, 
 a name notable in other ways l^eside, will for 
 many a day be a monument to his memory. 
 The architecture is plain, of course, the interior 
 without galleries. Some parish churches of the 
 period had these, possibly for the servants, 
 though now they are disused, and are a blemish. 
 Whether the bricks came from England we do 
 not know, for the work was done by contract, 
 and no bill of items was rendered. Though there 
 was no need of going to England for them, as 
 there was clay in abundance near at hand, out of 
 which bricks had been made a half century 
 
IjV colonial MARYLAND. 231 
 
 before. The interior arrangements were accord- 
 ing to the order of the time, and the old fasli- 
 ioned, high back, square family pews are still 
 rememl:)ered by some of the old people. The 
 pnlint stood in the middle of the long side on 
 the North, with the chancel in the East end. 
 This was the more common way, though some of 
 the churches, as All Saints', Calvert County, had 
 the pulpit at the West end and the chancel at 
 the East. The ceiling of the church is arched, 
 the windows large, and everything is in due 
 proportion. The dimensions are forty by sixty 
 feet, and the walls are massive. A substantial 
 I)orch of brick with three arched openings and 
 about eight feet square, covers the South door. 
 Standing quietly in the midst of the churchyard, 
 surrounded with many splendid trees under 
 which are resting, in the hope of the resurrection, 
 the mortal remains of those whose voices once 
 rose in prayer and praise from its hallowed walls 
 to heaven, it is a worthy object of our love and 
 admiration. 
 
 Another matter that occupied the attention of 
 the vestry, and whose im]3ortance is 23resented to 
 us by the building of the church, was the ques- 
 tion of parish lines; for it was a question of 
 considerable moment to a man on Avhicli side of 
 a line he lived when nearly fifteen hundred 
 pounds were to be raised by the sheriff; for the 
 church cost in all fourteen hundred and forty- two 
 pounds. By 1751 the old lines of 1695 had 
 become effaced. Barns and quarters had rotted 
 away within that time, and the St. James' people 
 thought that the South River parish people were 
 not acting fairly, but were "abusing" them. 
 
282 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 And SO tliey called in the great light "Mr. Dulany 
 Jr." to plead their canse and have the lines 
 determined. Whether it was done Ave do not 
 knovi^, or whether the Sonth River people went 
 on '^abnsing'' them, as is highly probable. Bnt 
 it has not only for a special levy that the deter- 
 mination of the question was 'advisable. The 
 parson suffered when the other i)arish got what 
 did not belong to it; and so we find the parson of 
 St. James' joining in the endeavor to restrain 
 the encroaching tendencies of the South River 
 neigh])or. 
 
 The parish records throughout this period 
 show a thoughtful care on the X3art of the vestry 
 for the church and its surroundings. The churcli 
 was old enough now to ))e endeared to them by 
 fond memories, as the place Avhere parents and 
 grandparents, friends, brothers and sisters gone 
 on before, had made the rich offerings to God of 
 their hearts and minds. It was the centre also of 
 life's better activities, far more may be than the 
 church is anywhere now ; for there were not as 
 many subjects to engross the mind and affections 
 then as now; though, of course, the devil's 
 allurements were just as seductive to those who 
 w^ere not devoted to the faith. The vestry felt 
 the i^ower of the oath which they had taken, and 
 w^ere diligent in their duties ; sometimes it would 
 apx)ear, even to a narrow rigidness that wore a 
 hard and forbidding aspect, as when within two 
 months of Mr. Lang's death, in the fall of the 
 year when the glebe was protitless save as a 
 residence, they sent the church warden to the 
 widow to demand of her compensation for the 
 same "to lessen the charges accruing to the 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 2^8 
 
 parisli/' They did it, tliev said "to comply 
 Avith their oath " ; but conscience sometimes can 
 €ons train a pitiless narrowness that is con- 
 temptible. Also on another occasion we hnd 
 them solemnly dividing and standing three to 
 three, whether they should allow a contractor 
 for two pairs of hinges for the church gate. The 
 parson stood on the side of liberality, but the 
 man lost his money. In 1751 the church came 
 into possession of the handsome silver baptismal 
 bowl that had been devised by William Loch 
 some twenty years before. The cause of the 
 the delay does not appear, as the administrator 
 of the estate seems to have paid on demand. 
 A " pedestal " was ordered to be made on which 
 the boAvl might be set. We also hnd at this 
 time the old item reappearing of " stocks and 
 Avhipping post," the church premises being 
 graced with them as a permanent institution. 
 Unlike New England customs, hoAvever, thej^ 
 AA^ere still reserved only for those who could not 
 assert their respectability as a bar, and doubtless 
 the misdemeanor that caused the infliction AA^as 
 something more heinous than kissing one' s Avif e 
 on the street on Sunday. For this offence in 
 Massachusetts could be atoned for by nothing 
 less than a plentiful laying on of the lash. 
 
 Among other items noAv mentioned is an order 
 ^' for tAvo yards of cloth for a communion cloth, 
 and fringe suitable for the same," evidentl}^ an 
 altar clotli such as we have seen in the beginning 
 of the century, and such as we also later down 
 lind still i^rovided. We have also in 1754 the 
 folloAAing articles delivered b.y the rector to the 
 vestry, " one silver flagon, one silver challace, one 
 
234 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 silver dish, one silver bason, one silver salver, 
 two snx)places, one silk hood, one table cloth, 
 one napkin." The hood indicates that a man of 
 learning had been in charge of the parish, most 
 probably the Rev. Mr. Lang. The orthography 
 of the word surplice was as uncertain then to 
 registrars as it has often since been to some other 
 persons, we having within a few pages, beside the 
 above, "snriilus," "surplias" and " surx^elias." 
 We also have through eight years, the vestry 
 returning to the county court lists of the bache- 
 lors in the parish to l)e taxed under the supply 
 bill of 1755 Avhich has been already noticed. 
 HoAvever far it may have been one of the objects 
 of the law to exercise a constaining force upon 
 this fraternity to make them change their estate, 
 certainly it in a large measure failed of attaining 
 its purpose, as the record shows. The age of 
 persons liable was not to be less than twenty- 
 ftve years, up to which point they seemed not to 
 have been regarded as responsible, and notable is 
 the eagerness with which those returned would 
 claim their minority if possible. Also if a man 
 could fix his income below the taxable rate, he 
 was ever forward to plead his x^overty. To abate 
 a nuisance, hoAvever, the law does not seem to 
 have had much x^ower ; for while indeed the 
 numbei' returned in 1757 was twenty which fell 
 off in 1759 to twelve, yet in 1763 we find it gone 
 \Y\) again to eighteen, ten of whom were returned 
 -as having an income of three hundred X)ounds 
 and over. Something was amiss. The days 
 were not marrying days, for the number thus 
 given was large to the whole number of the 
 X)eox3le. The income was amx^le. Possibly 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 285- 
 
 eligi])le jDarties of the other part Avere wanting. 
 Of the eighteen, five had continued steadfast 
 throughout, defying the powers both of attraction 
 and constraint. It is noticeable as justifying tlie 
 supposition that the other parties necessary to 
 the marriage contract were not to be had, that 
 no attempt was made to tax them ; though it 
 may have been regarded as a hopeless matter 
 to attempt to verify the age ; and also, as 
 it was perceived that the law was an imposition 
 for delinquency, it may have been felt to be 
 unjust to lay it on the maidens. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Lake, whose ministry in the 
 parish ceased in 1763, probably kept a school, as 
 so many of the rectors did throughout the 
 province, thus by this means also assisting the 
 welfare of the people ; for Avith a scanty public 
 school system, with but one school in each county, 
 the opx>ortunities of the x^^ople were small, while 
 the standard of scholarship in such schools was 
 low. A parish school, therefore, taught by the 
 rector, avIio was often a scholarly man, was a 
 great blessing, and helped greatly in creating 
 and preserving a higher and better tone in society. 
 Mr. Lake, also, evidently kept his school in the 
 vestry house, which stood in the church yard. 
 This was felt by the vestry to be improi^er, and 
 so in Ax^ril, 1764, we lind the following entry : 
 ''This vestry agrees that no choole shall be kept 
 in the vestry house of St. James' parrish." 
 Most evidently it needed to be kept somewhere 
 if the registrars training was a sign of the times. 
 The same registrar recording the notice of his 
 own election in 1763, writes as follows : " Benj. 
 Lane is to continue clarke of the Ridg't for the 
 
286 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 insning yeare at seven hundred and fdty pounds 
 of tob. and if tlie vestry liant tobac. enufe then 
 the said Lane is to be paid at 12s. 6d. in pur^^o- 
 sion to what the sd vestry shall receive." 
 
 After the departure of Mr. Lake from the 
 parish there was no rector for about one year, 
 during which time nothing was done excex)t the 
 building of the new church, which, of course, 
 occupied a great deal of attention. Possibly the 
 church was occasionally su2:>plied as for- 
 merly it had been ; or possibly the governor 
 waited for a voice from over the water. Governor 
 Sharpe had come into the province bringing his 
 commission in 1753. In the removal of Governor 
 Ogle the church lost a friend. Governor Sharpe, 
 while in many respects an admirable character, 
 was evidently also a man of worldly policy, and 
 the adirdnistration of the church at his hands 
 was frequently without any vdue sense of the 
 vast obligations belonging to his office. Parishes 
 were given away without any respect for the 
 preferences or protests of the x^eox)le, and with- 
 out any regard for the unfitness of the candidate 
 for his bounty. He remained about fifteen years 
 in office. 
 
iiY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 331 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FIFTH PERIOD. 
 
 The period upon wTiich we now enter was tlie 
 most active in all the colonial history, not of 
 Maryland only but of all America. For it was 
 the period during which the great questions were 
 agitated that finally resulted in the declaration 
 of American indejiendence. These began soon 
 ( after, and Avere in no slight degree dei:>endent 
 upon, the extinction of the French Emjiire in 
 Canada, the same removing what had always 
 been a cause of more or less anxiety to the 
 colonists, making them look to England for 
 assistance. In another way also did this loss to 
 the French in'omote the American revolution; for 
 it Avas in part the heavy burdens which the 
 French war created, that caused the British 
 government to look to the provinces for pecuni- 
 ary assistance. 
 
 But over and above all other causes, the agita- 
 tion of that last decade that resulted in American 
 freedom, arose from within. The colonies, 
 that had grown up as children, though without 
 much maternal care from the home government, 
 which ahvays thought more of British profits 
 than of the welfare of the provinces, had now 
 
288 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 readied the age of manhood, and sensitive in 
 regard to everything that did not com2)ort with 
 their strength and vigor, they looked with sns- 
 picion npon every proi)osed measure of the 
 British Ministry, however much precedent might 
 seem to justify it. The course of Dr. Franklin 
 in London evidences this, for he seconded meas- 
 ures there that were violently repudiated at 
 home. 
 
 The manhood of the American colonies, how- 
 ever, did not show itself only in the way of 
 jealousy of British measures. It was the matur- 
 ity of a peculiar civilization in which various 
 things had been outgrown which up to that time 
 had been looked upon as essential component 
 parts of a duly organized society. The training 
 of the colonies had been peculiar, diiferent from 
 anything in the iDast history of states. They 
 had been the voluntary creation of individuals 
 on remote shores, with a home government too 
 much occupied in its own affairs to give any heed 
 to them. They had made their own laws, pro- 
 vided for their own defence, determined in many 
 things their own government. They were even 
 in large measiire separated one from the other, 
 not only by non-intercourse, but also by very 
 marked characteristics. So that a strong spirit 
 of self-confidence and self-assertion was engen- 
 dered among them in respect of one another. 
 They ministered to British i^rosperity through 
 the commerce they furnished, while they often 
 felt thej^ received no adequate return for the 
 impositions they had to bear. 
 
 Under these circumstances an independent 
 spirit was develoj^ed in them, and a suspicious 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 289 
 
 disposition toAvards everj^tliing that seemed to 
 affect their independence; so that for a score of 
 years and more before the final rupture, their 
 history was one of watchful protest against some 
 dreaded usurpation, whether the province was a 
 royal one, or whether it was proprietary. Theirs 
 was a civilization in which individuality and the 
 j)rivate rights and liberty of the citizen, were the 
 most eminent conception, the contrary of the 
 leading thought of royalty. And this was in a 
 marked degree the condition of things in Mary- 
 land, where human rights and the true relations 
 of the citizen to the government, as between the 
 people and Lord Baltimore, had always engaged 
 a large degree of attention. Taxation and the 
 right of the people to make their own laws, 
 jealousy against prerogative, government by the 
 X3eoi3le for the people, these subjects agitated the 
 IDeople of Maryland along with all the rest of 
 America, through this i)eriod, kindling it into a 
 flame, as testified to by a resident of this province 
 then. 
 
 And the result was what, may be, no one fore- 
 saw, from this great leading consideration, a 
 great broadening out of sympathies and a lay- 
 ing hold of principles which in themselves are 
 the first basis of all right government. So that 
 when under the common agitation the issue at 
 last was reached, Puritan New England, Quaker 
 Pennsylvania, Church of England Maryland and 
 Virginia, were found in substantial agreement, 
 and all the differences that had existed, whether 
 under statute or not, as to the ground of citizen- 
 ship, ceased to be. All churches were dis-estab- 
 lished and church rates abolished; and even the 
 
240 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Roman Catholic, no longer feared under the 
 clearer light that had at -length dawned, was 
 everywhere accorded equal rights with all other 
 men. And doubtless one cause why the Church 
 of England was disturbed so greatly during the 
 last decade of her existence as an establishment, 
 why some of her most prominent sons in the con- 
 troversies of the time, lifted up the heel against 
 her as an establishment, was that the times were 
 out of harmony with such an institution. It was 
 a burden because it was, though as yet not per- 
 ceived by the citizens of Maryland, abnormal, a 
 violation of the true relations that exist between 
 men in society. That any man should be disfran- 
 chised because of his religion or his want of it, 
 or that one man should be taxed to provide niin 
 istrations and a house of worship for another, 
 for whicli he himself had an aversion, whether 
 conscientious or not, Avas contrary to the devel- 
 oping sense of American freedom. 
 
 That the church through this time had a great 
 trial of afflictions none need question, and that 
 without any oifence or fault of her own. That 
 she was still afflicted with some evil men was 
 true, and that her clergy were frequently out of 
 symi)atliy with the people in the great questions 
 which the people had received as a birthright, 
 but of which the clergy, as ccmiing into the pro- 
 vince only in the full years of manhood, were 
 ignorant. Also many of the clergy, nearly one- 
 half, were foreigners to the colonists, who chiefly 
 sprang from English stock; for Scotchmen and 
 Irishmen were then, even much less than now, in 
 harmony with the English ideas and English 
 feelings inherited by the colonists. Also, as not 
 
US' COLONIAL MARYLAND. 241 
 
 having been chosen by, but imposed upon the 
 people, there Avas no mutual sense of dependence. 
 Rather the clergy represented an extraneous 
 power of whose every act they were jealous, 
 which was also at this time disposed ever to 
 assume a more imperious tone and to be more 
 reckless of propriety in church administration, and 
 who only resisted the introduction of Episcoj)acy 
 lest it should interfere with its OAvn untramelled 
 influence. Unfortunately also circumstances 
 brought the church into conflict with public 
 sentiment at a time when the mind of the x^iblic 
 was violently excited by other questions. 
 
 The great*^ agitation of the year 1765 will here 
 be remembered, and the energetic action of Mary- 
 land in common with the rest of the colonies. 
 The spontaneous outburst of that time was only 
 a Avitness to hidden Are. And the flre never 
 went out afterwards; for there Avas enough in 
 British measures, AAdiether they were proj)osed or 
 repealed, to excite the people's alarm. Here AAdll 
 also be remembered the great excitement pro- 
 duced by the Proclamation act of 1770, when the 
 Grovernor attempted to regulate by his own mani- 
 festo the fees to be paid the officers of the pro- 
 vincial government; an assumx)tion to resist 
 which the peojDle had been prepared for many 
 years. For Maryland had to contend against a 
 tAvofold encroachment, both of the English 
 government and also of her superior Lord and 
 his governors. All kinds of tyranny excited 
 her, but especially that of petty tyrants. 
 
 Unfortunately, therefore, for the church, in 
 the year 1767, the question of the induction of 
 the clergy assumed large projiortions, particularly 
 
242 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 because his excellency tlie Governor in the 
 plentitude of his power, saw fit not only to 
 ignore the people's pleasure in not appointing the 
 man they preferred, but in aiDpointing the one 
 they reprobated One parish even proceeded to 
 extremity and refused to receive the letter of 
 induction, and the matter, taken out of parochial 
 bounds became a general question. The courts 
 of the province decided in favor of the Gfovernor' s 
 unlimited right, and his position was snstained 
 by the best legal talents of the day. The people 
 however, did not know how to yield, and some- 
 what inconsistently with their patriotic claims, 
 carried the matter to England. But Lord Balti- 
 more went on inducting whom he w^ould. This 
 question was strongly agitated in various iDarishes, 
 and private terms were attempted by the vestries. 
 Doubtless had not the Revolution cut all matters 
 short the evils of the system wonld have neces- 
 sarily been remedied in a very few years. For it 
 would not have been x^ossible for any one, and 
 certainly not for one wdiose character could not 
 command the public esteem, as Frederick, the 
 last of his name, to wantonly commit such out- 
 rage ux^on the peojDle's highest interests. The 
 remedy would have been found before long 
 under any circumstances. 
 
 The olcl question that had been coming to the 
 surface all through the century, and particularly 
 when the waters were troubled, again at this 
 time was presented, the question of a bishop for 
 the colonies. And nothing exhibits more 
 strongly the great yearning desire of the clergy 
 for a better condition of things in the church. 
 For they all felt that not only was the effect of 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 243 
 
 the delinquent, whoever he might be, bad upon 
 his own work, but that all the clergy of the 
 province were hindered and their w^ork marred 
 by the evil reports that got abroad. And, there- 
 fore, their urgency for this relief. But, unfortu- 
 nately, they were the only persons in the colonies 
 that had strong faith in that means, and who 
 did not look upon the remedy as fraught with 
 greater ills than it w^as intended to correct. 
 Therefore, also, at this time they were again 
 strongly opposed. First it w^as by his lordship's 
 agent. Governor Sharpe,who in 1767 rejected the 
 notion on the ground that it would interfere 
 with his lordship's rights, while Governor Eden 
 afterwards assumed a more supercilious tone, 
 insisting that a bishop, if appointed and resident 
 in the colony, w^ould be able to effect nothing, 
 because the parishes of Maryland were "dona- 
 tives," over the holders of which the Bishop 
 could have no control. Lord Baltimore in one 
 word, w^ould appoint whom he would, and neither 
 his wickedness nor his mistakes should be 
 corrected, however much the jDCople's spiritual 
 welfare might suffer. Dr. Hawks, how^ever, who 
 argues this question, shows that even being dona- 
 tives, the claims of Governor Eden were false, 
 because a clergyman holding such a living, was 
 liable to discipline for evil manners. Gov. Eden, 
 further chose to assume a sux)ercilious bearing 
 towards the clergy. 
 
 But unfortunately the people at this time 
 cordially endorsed the action and the oi)inions 
 of the Governors. For as Eddis tells us in his 
 fourth letter written in 1770, '^the colonists w^ere 
 str'3ngly prejudiced against the Episcopal order," 
 
244 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 their imaginations clothing a Bishop in the 
 colonies with the extreme functions and preroga- 
 tives that their Lordships x^ossessed in England, 
 a form of power that they both dreaded and 
 hated. We have seen also in a previous period, 
 that people in England equally opposed the 
 Episcopate for America on the ground that it 
 would affect unfavorably the dependence of the 
 colonies upon the mother country. So to the 
 last hour of the existence of the estal)lishment 
 there was a harmony of antagonism everywhere 
 to this proposition, which was found amongst all 
 parties on no other subject; doubtless so ordered 
 in God's good providence. 
 
 And yet there was a qvj for discipline. 
 There w^as a strong desire for some corrective 
 means, and again there was advanced the old 
 scheme that had before repeatedly failed. This 
 was the apx)ointment of a mixed court under an 
 act of the Assembly, for the trial of the clergy. 
 This was first attempted in 170S, but the Gov- 
 ernor immediately disallowed it, the clergy 
 bringing a strong pressure to bear. Again in 
 1724 the attempt had been made, but with like 
 result, the clergy objecting to the trial of any of 
 their order by laymen; claiming that such was 
 against the principles of the church of which 
 they were ministers. Again in 1768 the attempt 
 w^as made, the Governor, as ordinar5% having by 
 the bill disciplinary powder granted him with 
 power to associate with himself three clergymen 
 and three laymen. But again the clergy 
 objected, showing, in addition to the former 
 argument about the principles of the church, 
 that such power would interfere with the civil 
 
TN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 245 
 
 rights of his Lordship in the matter of the livings; 
 and the consequence again was that the Cxovernor 
 did not approve. The clergy offered, in a 
 memorial to the Assembly, to frame a law which 
 should be effective, and at the same time obviate 
 these objections, but their x)roposition was 
 ignored. As we shall see, the clergy, who could 
 be so strenuous for the rights of their order now, 
 coukl also ignore the principles on which they 
 laid such stress. The clergy were a third estate 
 in the province, and were regarded with jealousy 
 by both the other parties. 
 
 An instance of this jealousy on the x^art of the 
 Proprietary was given in 1769. The movement 
 for obtaining the Episcopate about that time had 
 been a general one on the part of the clergy in 
 the several provinces, and the Maryland clergy 
 had acted only upon the invitation of their 
 brethren. Having consulted together they had 
 come to a like conclusion with them. This com- 
 bined action was feared as a precedent apparently, 
 by his Lordship, and at this time an order was 
 issued by the Governor forbidding the clergy to 
 assemble on any occasion. This was a favorite 
 means of the Proprietary, he having done the 
 same in 1754. The clergy evidently did not re- 
 gard his mandate as of any great force, for they 
 did meet as we have seen in 1769. By what right 
 he should have attempted to interdict their assem- 
 bling is difficult for us to jx^rceive. To our ideas 
 such an attempt can only appear as an extrava- 
 gant outrage. It was a stretch of prerogative 
 that could only excite the bitterest feeling' both 
 for its illegality and its injustice. 
 
 But misfortunes had not yet begun to cease. 
 
24() CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Suspi('ion and ooiitiniiely liad been heaped upon 
 tlie clergy, most of wlioiii were an honor both to 
 their calling and to manhood. Yet there was 
 still ]*eserved a bitterness of trial equal to if not 
 greater than any yet passed through. This was 
 in connection with what is known as the Procla- 
 mation and A'estry act question, which began in 
 1770, the origin of which was as follows : It had 
 been the custom in Maryland as well as in the 
 other colonies, for the Assembly, in passing 
 money l)ills, to limit the time of their operation, 
 with the intention of keeping by this means the 
 officers of the government dejiendent u^^on their 
 will. In Maryland also, the state of the currency 
 made such a thing of two-fold value, the price of 
 tobacco being exceedingly variable. AVitli this 
 limitation the inspection bill of 1763 had been 
 passed, the same i)roviding for the fees of certain 
 offices, which were paid in tobacco, as all fees 
 Avere, unless the one pnying should prefer to pay 
 in money at a iixed rate of commutation. This 
 law was ixissed to hold only till 1770, Avhen the 
 attempt was made by the lower house to rencAv it, 
 with (certain modifications in the matter of fees. 
 For the enormous sum frequently exacted was an 
 unwarrantable imposition upon the peo^^le, and 
 the aggregate in various instances altogether out 
 of proportion to tlie duty and responsibility of 
 the officer. 
 
 The law, however, did not pass ; for the upper 
 house, some of whose members were the recipi- 
 ents of much fees, objected, and the Assembly 
 came to a dead -lock It was soon found also, that 
 an accommodation Avas impossible, and the As- 
 sembly was prorogued. In this emergency Gov- 
 
IK COLONIAL MARYLAND. 247 
 
 ernor Eden saw lit to issue a proclamation provi- 
 ding for the fees of office, appointing tliose that 
 had been named in the law of 1763 to which the peo- 
 ple had so violently objected. Then began the 
 war of words and the reign of bitterness, not only 
 the amount of fees being exclaimed against, but 
 also, the principle assumed by the Governor that 
 he could of himself regulate sncli an important 
 matter as the fees of office ; that is, by his own 
 act assess taxes upon the people. His excuse 
 was, and the defence made by his supporters, 
 that he was justiiied in his act by the absence of 
 any j^rovision for the emergency. But this did 
 not in any way satisfy the 2:)eople, and the battle 
 lasted till the j^ear 1773. 
 
 Now most unfortunately the church was 
 immediately associated with this great 
 agitation, though it was some relief that the 
 Governor did not intervene in its behalf. 
 For the same law of 1763 that regulated officers 
 fees provided also for a reduction of the 
 poll tax levied for the l^enefit of the chiirch, the 
 reduction being one fourth of the amount fixed 
 by the original law of 1702. When, however, 
 the law of 1763 lapsed, while the officers fees be- 
 came an open question, the clergy insisted that 
 the provision made for the establishment by the 
 law of 1702 again came in force, as that law does 
 not seem in kwj of its clauses to have been 
 repealed ; only this supplementary act seems to 
 have been passed. And in this their ox)inion 
 they were ably sustained by some of the best le- 
 gal talent of the day. Again, however, it was 
 their bad lot to have the same advocates on their 
 side as had defended the proclamation act ; so 
 
248 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 that their influence was very much weakened, 
 while some of the sons of the clinrch were among 
 her most vigorous and able antag(mists. But it 
 was not only a battle of the lawyers. The clergy 
 themselves did right manful service, notably the 
 Rev. Mr. Boucher, whose stalwart spirit could 
 give as heavy blows as he was called on to re- 
 ceive, and his thrusts were sometimes well aimed, 
 not only at the cause of his opponents, but passed 
 through the joints of their armor, as when he re- 
 minded some of them that the very law that they 
 were endeavoring to overwhelm, was one which 
 as vestrymen they were daily recognizing and 
 honoring. 
 
 For there loomed up in the midst of the contest 
 the question whether the vestry act of 1702 was 
 or ever had been a law at all ; the plea being that 
 King William, in whose name the writs calling 
 the assembly ran, had died before the coming 
 together of the same, and therefore that that 
 assembly was illegal and all its acts void. Of 
 course such a question excited everyone, and with 
 the numerous opponents of the law in the colony^ 
 that is, the dissenters of all names, with some 
 churchmen joined Avith them, and with the whole 
 body of the ungodly and the profane, it was a 
 heavy blow at the Establishment. Whether the 
 facts were as stated, and whether the law was 
 null supposing the facts true, was never deter- 
 mined ; for in 1773 in the month of November, 
 an accommodation was reached, thirty pounds of 
 tobacco being fixed as the poll tax, with the 
 privilege granted the people of commuting at 
 four shillings per poll. The proviso, however, 
 was added that such a provision should in no 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 24JI 
 
 way i^rejiidice tlie question about the validity of 
 tlie law of 1702. Whether that w^asa so^j thrown 
 to the dissenters, because the church was so 
 strong and zeal for its support so great as that 
 fear was felt about destroying the Establishment, 
 or whether it was proposed to keep it an open 
 question for final determination, we do not know. 
 Most probably, hoAvever, it was only the sop, 
 and the church was loved and cherished ])y the 
 vast mass of the peoj^le. For it was a crime to 
 exact the tax a moment longer of Roman Catho- 
 lics, Quakers, and all that race, if the law was 
 not binding, and the bitterness of the controversy 
 for three years, in which the question might 
 have been settled, had prepared the people for 
 any extreme stej^ that might be esteemed justifi- 
 able. Besides, when three years after this the 
 Establishment did cease, the state separated from 
 her companion with a tender and generous 
 salutation. The proviso, therefore, in all 
 probability, was only a peace offering to a very 
 influential minority. 
 
 But even these questions w^ere only incidental 
 to a great raging sea of excitement whose waters 
 were swelling all this time ; an excitement pro- 
 duced by the question of stami^ed paper, the 
 question of non-importation of British goods, the 
 question of sympathy with the other colonies, 
 the question of the destruction of the tea in the 
 Annapolis harbor ; questions over which not 
 only Avere the people excited, but which caused 
 them to organize for the promotion of the ends 
 they Avere determined on and about which they 
 were very clear minded. And again to our sor- 
 row we find a large part of the clergy divided off 
 
250 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 from the peox^le. "All America," said Eddis, 
 "is in aflame. I hear strange language every 
 day. The colonists are rife for any measrnes 
 that Avill tend to the preservation of' what they 
 call their natural liberty." To be antagonistic 
 to the people at that time and on that subject, 
 meant ostracism, and it meant violence too, 
 if the opposition of the clergy should show itself 
 in crossing the jDeople's will in any way, even in 
 the matters concerning religion, or the worship 
 of the house of God. And this could not be 
 avoided ; for as it has always been found, grant- 
 ing any measure of religiousness in a man's 
 temi)erament, let a great crisis arrive and that 
 man will flee to the Almighty if it is only to 
 propitiate Him to become auxiliary for the 
 furtherance of his desired. 
 
 And so at this time, we are told, that cmt of 
 the fortj-flve parishes in Maryland, twenty-eight 
 became vacant at the Revolution, and that only 
 twenty-five of the clergy are reported to have 
 taken the oath of fidelity to the state. How 
 many of these w^ere only half-hearted in the cause 
 and so did not command the confidence or respect 
 of their people, Ave are not told, but probably a 
 considerable ratio according to a general rule 
 that has often been tested ; for it was a sore 
 temptation to a clergyman then, dependent on 
 his imrisli for his daily bread, far away from the 
 home country where only, and then only proba- 
 bly, maintenance could be found for him and his 
 little ones, it was a sore temptation to him to 
 take the oath, though with many qualms of 
 conscience ; and that so many refused to do it, 
 but surrendered their livings, enduring every 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND 251 
 
 necessary discomfort and loss for conscience 
 sake, is a high testimony to their christian man- 
 liness. It was a trial similar to that of St. Bar- 
 tholomew's day 166:^ or to that of 1648 when the 
 covenant was inqiosed ; and what they endured 
 in every way that refused the test, was equal to 
 the burden of those earlier times. For it was not 
 only the loss of church and livelihood, but they 
 were placed under the social ban, and their lives 
 made uncomfortable. For in those days in any 
 part of America to sympathize with the king as 
 against the colonies, made one to be regarded as 
 a traitor and a i3ublic enemy. 
 
 A\'e get some glimpse of the condition of things 
 in the experience of the Rev. Mr. Boucher, 
 before spoken of ; though, doubtless, his heroic 
 fortitude was not emulated by mau}^, and so but 
 few, if any, had to bear his extreme discomfort. 
 His parish was in Prince George's county, given 
 him at the time, he made himself famous by his 
 controvers}^ with Messrs. Paca and Chase over 
 the vestry act questi(m. Here he remained till 
 the bitterness of the times brought things to a 
 climax. This was reached in 177o, when he tells 
 us : ''For more than six mouths I preached, 
 wdien I did preach, with a i:)air of loaded i)istols 
 Ijdng on the cushion, having given notice that if 
 any man or any body of men could possibly be 
 so lost to all sense of decency or propriety as to 
 drag me out of my own pulpit I should think 
 myself justified l)e}'ore God and man in repelling 
 violence.'' Probably the young man's violent 
 self-assertion begot the violence that was shown 
 towards him ; nevertheless he was sincere and 
 felt with terrible earnestness on the subject that 
 was agitating every one. 
 
252 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 But in May of this year his belligerancy became 
 even more prononnced. The eleventh day of 
 that month had been appointed a day of fasting 
 and of prayer, and Mr. Boucher let it be known 
 that he would preach in his church. His text, 
 Neb. vi. 10, 11, shows the nature of the man, and 
 it is extremely improbable that his highest 
 eloquence would have accomplished any good 
 with that theme. He did not, however, then 
 have an opportunity of delivering his mind of 
 its burden. For coming to the church about 
 fifteen minutes before the time for beginning the 
 service, he found that already his curate, who 
 was a Republican, was in the desk, and that a 
 crowd of men were around the church doors. 
 On attempting to enter the leader of the people 
 approached him, saying they did not want him to 
 preach, when he replied that be would either do 
 it or lose his life. The people, however, did not 
 look upon that as the alternative. In the mean 
 time he had gotten into the church and atteni} ted, 
 with his pistol in one hand and bis sermon in 
 the other to reach the pulpit. Finding that 
 impossible, however, and being surrouncled by 
 the excited crowd, he seized the leader by the 
 collar, and told him, with his pistol cocked, that 
 if anyone should dare attack him he would blow 
 his, the leaders, brains out. But the men were 
 as stubborn as he was, and while respecting him 
 enough not to huit him, they escorted him out 
 of church and all the way home, and with music, 
 too, though it was by the tifer playing the 
 rogue's march. There was evidently a good 
 deal of humor in that crowd. Mr. Boucher, 
 howevei', was not intimidated, for on tlie next 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 253 
 
 Sunday he went to the church, and though amidst 
 great confusion. i:)reached his fast-day sermon. 
 Mr. Boucher afterwards went to England when 
 the difhculties of the situation multiplied, and 
 there spent the remainder of his life in a com- 
 fortable parish, and used his talented pen not 
 only on American affairs, but besides the special 
 Avork of his holy calling, also on matters of 
 ^philological science. 
 
 It was in the midst of such agitation as this, 
 though not generally so violent, as there was but 
 one Mr. Boucher in the province, that the estab- 
 lishment at last came to an end. The developing 
 spirit of liberty, that either directly or indirectly 
 caused all this agitation, fully expressed itself 
 when at last the proprietary government Avas 
 overthrown, all allegiance to a foreign authority 
 was repudiated, and the people made their own 
 laws and established their own principles of 
 government. For the first element of that spirit 
 of liberty was equality under the law, and the 
 common enjoyment of all franchises ; every man 
 being accorded the full possession of the same 
 until by his own unworthiness he had been 
 adjudged unfit. 
 
 With this api^rehension on the part of people 
 the establishment of necessity ceased to be ; for 
 the x^rinciple that lay at the bottom of it, was 
 that all should contribute to the support of an 
 institution that before the law had no exclusive 
 value ; for freedom to worship w^as always 
 granted in Maryland to every name and sect, 
 the Roman Catholics being only politically dis- 
 franchised. And this support they were com- 
 pelled to render, though to do so they felt to be 
 
254 (JHURVH LIFE 
 
 a violation of their own rights of j^roperty, as well 
 as in some instances, a violation of conscience. The 
 establishment was an institntion that had ont- 
 livecl its day in America ; and so as soon as the 
 anthorities passed npon the princij^les of the 
 new government, which they did in the conven- 
 tion that closed its sessions November 11, 1776, 
 the establishment passed out of existence. This 
 was by the Declaration of Rights which set forth 
 the x^lainest and simplest principles of civil and 
 religions liberty. The state, however, was tender 
 towards its old associate ; for instead of subject- 
 ing it to the outrage which befell the church in 
 Virginia, the glebes, churches, chapels and other 
 property then owned, were secured to her, and 
 also it was provided that the repairs of sacred 
 edifices then in progress under former acts 
 slnmld still go on. The incumbents also of the 
 ])arishes were to be paid up to November 1st. 
 And further, the declaration recognized that it 
 was legitimate to provide by a tax for the support 
 of the christian religion, with the right of every 
 individual, however, to say to the support 
 of what denomination his money should be 
 applied. This is interesting as showing that 
 the church establishment with all its draw- 
 backs, had not excited that animosity for 
 a state support of religion that the outcry of 
 the time might have led ns to anticipate. 
 Rather there is no reason for believing but that 
 the church was very profoundly the church of 
 the affections ol* the i:><^<^pl^5 ^^ii^l that she only 
 ceased to be the establishment because such an 
 external relation was not in keeping with the 
 sentiments of the times. The church of Ena:- 
 
/iY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 255 
 
 land was always the cliurcli of the peoples' de- 
 sire, and the best and ablest citizens, with a rare 
 exception, were her children. And becanse of 
 the love borne her then, and the traditions she 
 has inherited from that time, the church in Ma-><. 
 ryland holds the eminent position now of having, 
 save in one case, a larger percentage to the whole 
 Imputation than the church in any other state, a 
 fact the more notable when we remember to how 
 relatively small a degree the people are gathered 
 together in towns where the church mostly nour- 
 ishes. The rural districts of Maryland are cov- 
 ered by old i3arislies where there abounds a tra- 
 ditional as well as personal love of the church, a 
 love that has often survived through periods of 
 the most adverse circumstances. 
 
25(5 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER XYIL 
 
 THE PAlilSH. 
 
 St. James' parish presents to us during this pe- 
 riod in various things a minor picture of what 
 was going on in the colony at large, being dis- 
 turbed by some of the causes that so deejily af- 
 fected other churches. It presents, also, some 
 attractive features, and so doubtless is a fair 
 representation of the whole. The Rev. Alex. 
 Adams succeeded to the rectorship September the 
 fourth, 1764, presenting his letter bearing that 
 date. He was i^robably a very good man, for he 
 had been a long while in the province, and is 
 described as very old. A bad man whose re]3u- 
 tation would have been too well known through a 
 forty years residence, w^ould not have been able 
 to secure such a parish as St. James' at that time 
 of life. It is a comfort to remember that he who 
 in 1723 was comi3elled to record such a hard fate 
 as his fortune, debt, destitution and anxiety, 
 should have been able to spend his last days in 
 peace ; for in 1767 when he died, St. James par- 
 ish was reported to be worth three hundred 
 pounds per annum. This was from all sources, 
 probably, as another estimate places the amount 
 at two hundred and thirteen pounds, three shil- 
 
/iY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 257 
 
 lings, whicli Avas received from the tax. Otlier 
 parishes received at this time, St. John's, Balti- 
 more county, three hundred and sixty-four 
 pounds; St. Paul's, Baltimore county, two hun- 
 dred and eleven pounds; St. Anne's, A. A. Co., 
 one hundred and ninety-nine pounds ; Port To- 
 bacco, St. Mary's county, two hundred and fifty- 
 three pounds ; All Saints, Calvert county, one 
 hundred and seventy-three i^ounds. Some i:>ar- 
 ishes received even more. Mr. Adams was the 
 third rector who died during his incumbency. 
 
 It was Avhile he was in the parish that the 
 Church was finally completed, being delivered up 
 by the contractor in 1765, Dec. 17th. The first 
 intention had been to provide only twenty-six 
 pew^s, but this w^as found to be inadequate and 
 so the number was increased to forty. It may be 
 consoling to some persons to know^ that the peAvs 
 were sold, becoming the private and exclusive 
 property of certain jDersons ; certainly a curious 
 feature under an establishment. Aug. 6th, 1765, 
 we have the followdng entry: ''Likewise agreed 
 by this vestry that Mr. Sam. Chew is to have the 
 south-east pew in the church ajoyning to the aul- 
 ter, and the sd. Chew^ is to pay the vestry fifteen 
 pounds current money for the same.'- This 
 Chew" is the same man that about two years after 
 this accepted a challenge from the minister of the 
 parish and went to the duelling ground to meet 
 him. He was a vestryman. His j)i'oximity to 
 the "aulter'' does not seem to have taught him 
 self sacrifice. 
 
 The new building would seem to have given a 
 deal of satisfaction to the vestry, wdio entered 
 upon possession with the determination to pre- 
 
258 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 serve everything in order and peace. Also, tliey 
 were firmly resolved to protect private rights in 
 the pews ; for Dec. 81st, 1765, two weeks after 
 having received the bnilding, they passed this 
 resolution : '' This vestry agreed that if any iDer- 
 son should intrude or come into any pierson 
 or i^ersons' pews without being asked, such 
 person applying to the church warden or vestry- 
 men (they) are to take such person that may in- 
 trude, (who) shall be put in the stockes, which 
 the vestry agrees that a pare of stocks shall be 
 erected att the church for that i)urpus." The 
 grammar and the spelling are worthy of the cause. 
 Who they were that might be so treated we are 
 not told, but evidently "respectability" could 
 not save them if complaint were entered by the 
 pew-holder. It was an eminently i^eculiar way 
 of receiving a seeker after the way of life ; and 
 doubtless it was highly edifying to the favored 
 pew-holders to see such interlopers dragged out 
 of the house of God, and the act of doing so pro- 
 moted decorum and propriety within the hallowed 
 walls. And then their righteous souls were satis- 
 lied, as passing by the culprit on their return from 
 worship, they saw how such presumption and 
 wickedness found its due reward at the hands of 
 the officers of the sacred house. The modern 
 method of accomplishing the same end of ejec- 
 ting and punishing such "intruders" is different 
 and much more graceful, but just as effective for 
 preventing the misdemeanor. It is to walk up 
 to your pew door with as much ostentation as 
 you can command, stand there, look surj^rised at 
 the "intruder," budge not an inch, but frown on 
 him until he lias taken up his hat, arrested him- 
 
m COLONIAL MARYLAND. 259 
 
 self, and carried himself out of tlie "church," 
 filled with anger at you and contemj^t for your 
 religion. That is the modern way, and it is just 
 as effective and a great deal more refined than the 
 horrid stocks. But we do not believe those old 
 men ever acted under that resolution. The par- 
 son was not present wdien it was passed, and only 
 a bare working number of the vestry. It was 
 doubtless a dead letter from the beginning. For 
 poor and rich, "black" brethren and white, 
 have always been welcomed within St. James' 
 sacred walls. 
 
 The vestry felt no hesitation about calling for 
 money at this time, notwithstanding the fact that 
 there had been recently such a very great outlay ; 
 but from year to year a levy was asked for and ob- 
 tained for the maintenance and repair of the 
 church building and its surroundings. This \q\j 
 varied according to the needs of the year, being 
 at one time live poitnds of tobacco per poll at an 
 other two, at another three. The tobacco also, 
 that accrued during an interregnum, went under 
 the law, into the hands of the vestry, to be used 
 for j)arish purposes, nor as far as we can see, 
 were the vestries called on at this time to give an 
 account of how such funds had been laid out. 
 Possibly the clergy absorbed all the public 
 attention that was bestowed upon the church. 
 There is scarcely, however, room for doubt that 
 they used their resources discreetly, for had they 
 not, there was plenty of watchful eyes that 
 would have discerned the delinquency. The 
 church came in for little or no opprobrium 
 in those insolent days. The clergy got it all, 
 surely a high testimony of the church's firm 
 
260 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 position in the general estimation. Were tlie 
 clergy only the scapegoat for the i:)eople's ill 
 will that could not so readily otherwise be 
 expressed^ Did a turbulent minority attempt 
 thus to wreak vengeance as the only open 
 means to express their animosity'^ The sad 
 feature is that any of the clergy w^ere found so 
 derelict as to give a handle for such ill feeling to 
 take hold of. 
 
 The vestry spent liberally on the church build- 
 ing and all that belonged to it, keeping everything 
 in good order and taking x)ride in doing so. In 
 the year 1768 they proposed quite an extensive 
 outlay in painting the church, enclosing the 
 churchyard, and building a new vestryhouse. 
 The money for this purpose, however, was to 
 come from a new source, a private agreement 
 with the Rev. Walter Magowan, who was then 
 serving as a minister in the parish. It will be 
 remembered that at this time the question of 
 ministerial support was agitating the colony ; 
 one of the features of which was that the vestries 
 tried to make private terms with the clergy out- 
 side of the induction by the governor. Mr. 
 Magowan had just come into the parish, and the 
 vestry sought to make terms with him, offering 
 him a given sum of twenty-tive thousand pounds 
 of tobacco, worth about one hundred and sixty 
 pounds currency, together with the parsonage, 
 garden and outhouses on the glebe. The rest of 
 the proceeds from the poll, amounting to about 
 seventeen thousand pounds of tobacco, together 
 with the i^roceeds of the two glebes, they i3ur- 
 posed using ui)on the church property. Mr. 
 Magowan yielded for the time to the proposition, 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 261 
 
 and entered upon liis work. His case was jiecu- 
 liar, and shows what the clergy woukl have been 
 exposed to under the most favorable circumstan- 
 ces without just such a law as Maryland had. 
 That Mr. Magowan should have been in the par- 
 ish without induction, surprises us, but the rea- 
 son doubtless was that there was no Clovernor 
 in the colony, and that he who acted in the in- 
 terval had no authority for this office. Governor 
 Sharx^e had been recalled in August 1768, and 
 Governor Eden did not enter upon his duties till 
 June, 1769. AYithin that time therefore the ves- 
 tries had license, and as in this case, they used it. 
 The vestry had the beneht of this arrangement, 
 however, only for six months, for a letter bearing 
 the date of June twenty-first 1769 wasi^resented by 
 him in August of that year, and he assumed the 
 emoluments as well the authority of rector. The 
 vestry had in the meanwhile proceeded with their 
 plans, tarring ''the ruff of the church with tarr 
 and read oaker," and painting the "head of the 
 church three times over with clouded blew," cover- 
 ing the "ruff" of their new vestry house with "si- 
 prns" shingles, and having new "spike headd 
 gates" and " tarred posts and rales " about the 
 church yard, also causing " Diel post to be sot 
 up." Before presenting his letter let us take \\]y 
 events in their order of time. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Adams died October twentieth, 1767, 
 and a few days after we find a document bearing 
 date of October twenty-fourth, which is alto- 
 gether different from anything seen up to this 
 time. It has a pious guise but is a disguise for 
 conduct as unworthy as usually falls to the lot of 
 a civil officer to conceal. It is also nrobably dif- 
 
262 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 ferent from any letter ever 23enned by a Governor 
 of Maryland. 
 
 MARYLAND Ss. 
 
 HORATIO SHARPE, Esq. 
 
 Lieutenant governor and ordinary nnder the 
 Right Honorable, the Lord Proprietary of this 
 province to the Rev. Bennet Allen of Ann Arun- 
 del county sendeth greeting : 
 
 Whereas, it hath been rex3resented to me that 
 by the decease of the Rev. Mr. Alex. Adams, 
 lately rector of St. James' parrish in Ann Arun- 
 del county, the said parish is become vacant, and 
 whereas it is very expedient that some minister of 
 the church of England should reside and be im- 
 powered to officiate and administer the sacrament 
 in the said parish until another rector shall be 
 appointed and inducted, I do therefore by these 
 presents grant license and faculty to you, the 
 said Bennet Allen, to officiate as a curate in the 
 said i^arish, called St. James' parish, and to 
 continue during pleasure, and during such con- 
 tinuance to have, take and receive from the 
 sheriff of Ann Arundell county the whole 
 amount of the thirty per poll as may be due 
 from the taxahle inhabitants in the parish 
 aforesaid. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal, ect. 
 
 It will l)e observed that this is not a letter of 
 induction, but only the appointment of. a curate, 
 and that not where there is a rector, but where 
 there was a vacancy. Also it is the appointment 
 of a curate to serve until a rector shall be ap- 
 pointed, and yet by a contradiction he is to con- 
 tinue curate during pleasure, evidently the cur- 
 ate's own. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 263 
 
 The history of the whole matter, as brought out 
 in tlie letters of governor Sharpe is this, Mr. 
 Allen, though in orders, was a most unworthy 
 companion and favorite of his dissolute lordshi^i, 
 Frederick, the proprietary. In his desire to 
 help his favorite without cost to himself his 
 lordship first laid his commands upon the gov- 
 ernor to aj)point him to a parish, he to enjoy the 
 emoluments of the same while remaining in 
 England, a curate serving for him. The governor 
 had the courage to tell the x^' opi'ietary that this 
 would not do, that it would be very ill advised. 
 And so Mr. Allen had to come over to America 
 when he was appointed to St. Anne's, Annapolis. 
 But one parish did not satisfy his needs, and 
 Lord Baltimore urged that he be aj^pc inted to 
 two or more ; but the Maryland law was against 
 that unless the consent of both parishes could be 
 obtained, such having been a provision made for 
 a case where two weak parishes could neither 
 separately support a rector. 
 
 This explains rhe letter. Governor Sharpe Avas 
 anxious to |)lease his lordship, but dare not 
 break the law ; for the peo^^le of Maryland were 
 now exceedingly sensitive against all a^^pearance 
 of prerogative. Mr. Adams' death had for some 
 time been expected, he being a very old man ; 
 and as soon as it occurred, knowledge of it was 
 sent' to Annapolis, so that within four days, Mr. 
 Allen's papers were issued. St. .fames' was then 
 worth three hundred pounds. But Gov. Sharpe 
 made a mistake when he thought that by vary- 
 ing the title he might evade the law, and ^\y. 
 Allen made a mistake wh^n lie sup])ose(l the 
 people of St. James' would be satisfied if he 
 
2C4 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 appointed a curate wliile he enjoyed a part of the 
 revenue. His curate was the Rev. Mr. Edmiston, 
 afterwards of St. Anne's, who seems to have 
 been a wortJiy man if Mr. Eddis' notice refers to 
 him. This scheming on the part of the governor 
 finally brought him and liis protege into trouble. 
 For tlie jjeople of St. James' objected, and the 
 people of St. Anne's objected, and as Mr. Allen's 
 temper ax^pears to have been belligerant, the 
 tumult waxed warm. He went, in the former 
 parisli, to see one of his vestrymen, but the end 
 of the pastoral call was that he was turned wit 
 of the house, and with so much emphasis that he 
 felt bound in ''honor" to challenge his parish- 
 ioner to a duel. The challenge was accepted, 
 but of the two, the one not on the ground was 
 Mr. Allen. In Annapolis the feud was as bitter, 
 only it Avas not settled for some years, when, 
 both Mr. Allen and Mr. Walter Dulaney having 
 gone to England, the latter because of his tory 
 principles, the two met on the duelling ground 
 and Mr. Dulaney was killed. 
 
 Mr. Allen's difficulties in St. James' did not, 
 however, make him withdraw ; rather he sought 
 to avoid the trouble by resigning St. Anne's and 
 becoming rector of St. James. Cxovernor Sharpe 
 granted this also, but there is no evidence of his 
 having presented his letter of appointment to 
 the parish. Most probably he did not, because 
 on May 27, 176?^, we hnd*^ him inducted in All 
 Saints', Frederick county, the richest living in 
 the colony, being reckoned at live hundred 
 pounds. It is most likely that l^efore he pre- 
 sented his letter to the vestry of St. James' the 
 oj)portunity was afforded of getting into All 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 265 
 
 Saints', and liungry for income only, governor 
 Sliar])e i^leased him by giving him the l^est tlie 
 province afforded. But tliere now could be no 
 peace for him in any Maryland parish. His 
 reputation had gone before him to his new cure, 
 and the antagonism was so intense, and the con- 
 fusion caused by his appearing so extreme, that 
 he was j^revented from reading service. The old 
 Maryhmd men were very rough, as they were 
 also very ready, and they were just as resolved 
 not to have the welfare of their souls bartered 
 away by the governor's ambition or the lord 
 proi')rietary' s depravity as they were to have 
 their property seized by royal or proprietary 
 presumption. 
 
 Governor Sharpe's conduct in this will be a 
 deep blot always upon his reputation in Mary- 
 land history, lie may have been amiable and gen- 
 erous, as doubtless he Avas, but he was either 
 cowardly or ambitious, at the same time, and he 
 betrayed the very highest of the prerogatives of 
 his position for his present security. But Ne- 
 mesis had her dwelling place in his own actions ; 
 for Avhen lie had tried in vain to satisfy the 
 favorite's desires by betraying the spiritual wel- 
 fare of the people*^ into his keeping, he iinally 
 appointed him agent in charge of his lordship's 
 pecuniary affairs. But that Lord Baltimore did 
 not relish. Mr. Allen might be good enough for 
 the cure of souls, but lie was not good enough for 
 handling the revenue, and the governor found 
 too late that in exalting the favorite he was ruin- 
 ing himself. He was recalled in August, 1768. 
 
 We have seen the circumstances attending the 
 introduction of Mr. MagoAvan to the parish. 
 
266 CHUMCH LIFE 
 
 They were very irregular, but regularity was 
 restored by liis letter from governor Eden, June 
 21, 1769. The letter itself, however, marks an 
 era in Maryland church life. For it runs as no 
 other letter up to this time had run, in this form. 
 
 Maryland ss. 
 
 Frederick al)solute lord and proprietary of the 
 province of Maryland and Avalon, Lord Baron 
 of Baltimore, &c. 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. Walter Ma- 
 gowan sendeth greeting : 
 
 We do hereby constitute and ajipoint you, the 
 said Walter Magowan to be rector of the church 
 of St. James' in Ann Arundell county, to have, 
 hold, and enjoy the said church, together with 
 all the rights, profits and advantages whatsoever 
 appertaining to a minister of the said parish, and 
 we do hereby require the church wardens, 
 vestrymen and all other parishioners of the said 
 parrish, to receive, acknowledge and assist you, 
 the said Walter Magowan in all matters relating 
 to the discharge of your functions. AYitness oui 
 trusty and well beloved Robert Eden, Esq., gov- 
 ernor and commander-in-chief in and over the 
 said province, this twenty-lirst day of June, in 
 the nineteenth vear of our dominion, Anno 
 Domini 1769. 
 
 Signed by order, 
 
 ^ AY. Scott, CI. Con. 
 
 Robert Eden. 
 
 The first thing notable in this is the man who 
 takes this proud title and office to himself For, 
 the last of the Balti mores, he was the most un- 
 worthy that had ever succeeded to the name. His 
 moral life was bad, he is described as one of the 
 
 & 
 
ZiY COLONIAL MARYLAND. 267 
 
 most licentious of liis time. Only in the year 
 1768 he had been tried for his life, being accused 
 of a most infamous assault upon a female, and 
 though acquitted, he Avas believed generally to 
 have been guilty. His son and the inheritor of 
 the i)rovince, was the fruit of his licentiousness. 
 But not only was he vicious ; he was also a most 
 conceited 'fool, bewailing the fact that God had 
 given him so much genius and so little bodily 
 vigor. His conceit took the form of considering 
 himself learned, and he was fond of displaying 
 his talents in publication. In 1767 he published 
 a book with the title: "A Tour to the East in 
 the Years 1763 and 1764 ; with Remarks on the 
 City of Constantinople and the Turks ; also 
 Select Pieces of Oriential Wit, Poetry and Wis- 
 dom," which was described at the time as *'no 
 more deserving to be published than his bills on 
 the road for post-horses." He was immensely 
 wealthy, having an income of thirty thousand 
 pound&\ He died in 1771. This is the man that 
 styles himself Frederick, absolute lord, and 
 thinks it meet for him to dispose of, in a princely 
 way, the livings of Maryland and the cure of 
 souls, livings which neither he nor his ancestors 
 had done anything to create, and whose suiDport 
 had never involved him to the amount of a i)enny. 
 He is the same wdio ex^Dressed his pleasure that 
 the clergy of Maryland should not assemble 
 together for any purpose. He is the one also 
 wdio inspired his trusty lieutenant, governor 
 Eden, t.^ assume a cold and repulsive manner 
 toward the clergy when they came to petition 
 him concerning the episcopate for the colonies. 
 But it is not only the man; it is the office also 
 
268 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 that lie assumes to liimself, wliich is the l)estowa] 
 of parishes in his own name which had formerly 
 been done by his governors. The act of estab- 
 lishment, i3assed while Marjdand was a royal 
 colony, l)estowed that faculty upon the governor; 
 bnt Lord Baltimore could justify his pre- 
 tensions in the matter, not only by the fact that 
 the governor in the colony Avas only his agent, 
 but also by his charter rights which were restor- 
 ed to him in full when the family became 
 Protestant. As w^e have seen this question had 
 been a leading one within the last year or two : 
 and it was probably to vindicate his rights wow 
 that the form of the letter of induction was 
 changed. Nevertheless, as far as it indicated a 
 change in the administration of church affairs it 
 was a great misfortune. For if the governor 
 present, with the whole weight of public opinion 
 about him, and with, at any rate, a knowledge 
 of the clergy already in the province, could com- 
 mit blunders, or would settle improper persons 
 over parishes, how^ much greater the danger and 
 how much more hopeless the attempt at discipline, 
 if he w^ere deprived of all authority and res^ion- 
 sibility, aud made only the witness of what his 
 lordship, resident in England, Italy or Constanti- 
 nople, might do ; for his lordship was fond of 
 travelling. And that this authority in his hands 
 meant more than a mere form, we have seen in 
 Mr. Allen's case. All that was necessary was 
 for him to be aware that a parish was vacant, and 
 any companion of his revels could secure a pre- 
 sentation from him, and he need never hear of 
 the protests and indignation of Maryland 
 citizens. Truly the church was reaching that 
 
A¥ COLONIAL MARYLAND. 260 
 
 last stao-e when deliverance liad to come. Ameri- 
 can citizenship was too manful to endure 
 such pupilage much longer. 
 
 If Mr. Magowan entered upon his duties as 
 rector in times of great disturbance, he certainly 
 did not lind them to become less so through 
 the whole joeriod of his rectorship which lasted 
 till 1784. Xor was it onl}^ the agitation of the 
 times ; it was prevalent largely in his own 
 parish ; for some of the most outspoken, and we 
 must also say violent men of the clay, were found 
 ;, within the limits of St. James' . And yet, blessed 
 1 testimony, the church records bear no evidence 
 rj of such a condition. Church life moved on 
 ^ slowly, church duties were done faithfully ; and 
 ij save that we lind the vestry's functions to cease 
 j abruptly in 1770, and again later its affairs to be 
 j administered by a good many men with a military 
 ^ title, we would not have known from them that 
 !| there had been any warlike commotion in the 
 J land. Mr. Magowan w^as one of those who took 
 I the oath of fidelity and so he was not disturbed 
 { during the war. Thus St. James' was blessed 
 j above many of the cures of the new state. 
 f The Declaration of Independence, and the dis- 
 I establishment of the church in consequence, was 
 llof course immediately felt by Mr. Magowan, as 
 \ by all the other rectors in Maryland ; for the vol- 
 juntary contributions of the people were not equal 
 J to those formerly enforced for the support of re- 
 jligion. And soon the people became unable to 
 ^do what they might desire. In consequence of 
 I'this Mr. Magowan took charge of All Saints', Cal- 
 vert, in conjunction with St. Jame's, and judging 
 from- the large number of marriages lie was 
 
270 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 called on to perform lie was the only minister 
 available witliin a large circuit. The number in 
 17S1 was fourty-four. These afforded him some 
 revenue, and with the two glebes he was at any 
 rate safe from starvation. He thought so api^a- 
 rently himself, for in 1780 he married, the lady 
 being Elizal)eth Harrison, and the officiating min- 
 ister, Mr. Hanna, from north of the Severn. He 
 was the fourth minister who finished his earthly 
 labors while in the i^arish. 
 
 But however much the affairs of the province 
 and of the church might be disturbed prerious to 
 1776, the vestry did not fail to attend to their du- 
 ties. They held their meetings, required the 
 presence of each other even to the i^oint of lay- 
 ing a line upon absentees of ten shillings cur- 
 rency "besides what is directed by laAv." The 
 current needs also were jealously looked into 
 among which weffnd the unusual item that Mr. Ma- 
 gowan was paid four pounds for keeping the sur- 
 X)lice and plate two years, a payment you hardly 
 know how to appreciate. He was paid for the 
 same again the next year, showing it was no acci- 
 dent. Upon its face it would appear that there 
 was great anxiety on the iDarson's part to secure 
 all the revenue possible for however slight a ser- 
 vice, and that the church was an employer to 
 serve rather than a cure of souls to foster. It 
 will be remembered that probably the most vio- 
 lent and long continued struggle the church had 
 ever had with the colony about clerical salaries, 
 was now raging. The consequence was of neces- 
 sity jealousy on the part of the parsons, and a 
 willingness to obtain for themselves all the reve- 
 nue possible. That they were sometimes betrayed 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 271 
 
 into littleness was only to be expected. The ves- 
 try also at this time had abundant means, nearly 
 sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco being in the 
 hands of one man, bought at the high price of 
 twenty- seven shillings and six pence per hun- 
 dred. ^ It had also the attendant difficulties nec- 
 essarialy resulting from such business, with 
 threats to sue for recovery. 
 
 The church ceased to exist as an establishment 
 November 3d, 1776, by the passage of the Decla- 
 ration of Rights. Two days afterwards the ves- 
 try came together and in a most business like 
 way proceeded to settle up its affairs, paying off 
 all outstanding obligations. The change had evi- 
 dently been looked forward to and provided for. 
 It was known to have become necessary. The 
 revolution that was taking place was by the peo- 
 ple in their freedom and sovereignty, and of ne- 
 cessity everything that had its rise or existence 
 in i^artial views of right and liberty had to be 
 done away. Property as well as life was sacred. 
 This Avas the foundation of the American system 
 as now developing, and so a state church, which 
 could only be the fruit of partial legislation, had 
 to cease. This was felt all over America. It was 
 particularly felt in Maryland where some of the 
 sturdiest blows against prerogative had within 
 the few last years been given by a representative 
 of the great disfranchised class, the Roman 
 Catholics, Charles Carroll of Carrollton being the 
 man. The vestry had felt and known this, and 
 so as soon as a messenger could repeat to them 
 the action of the convention they wei^e ready as 
 a corporation to adjust their record and cease to 
 be. Their last act was to give an order to the 
 
272 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 rector on the sheriff for the amount of the assess- 
 ment by him collected. 
 
 But^iough they took things so philosophically, 
 yet doubtless all those who loved the church 
 must have been filled with forebodings ; for not only 
 was a great change wrought in going from an 
 enforced to a voluntary system for support, 
 which is always doubtful, " but this was done 
 when the air was hlled with the sound of war, 
 and when the certain prostration of commerce 
 was to bring to every plantation in Maryland 
 narrow means if not financial distress. The 
 number of polls in 1772 was fourteen hundred 
 and sixty-five, about three times what it had 
 been in 1700, and the revenue from this and the 
 glebe s had been abundant, probably more than it 
 has ever been since. This abundant provision 
 had now to be relinquished, and what w^as to be 
 the result no one knew. And let us not imagine 
 it was the parson only who had apprehensions. 
 The old parish had long since become the admi- 
 ration and love of the people. The church was 
 the church of their fathers and blessed associa- 
 tions had long since clung around it, as they 
 have continued to this day. Besides, what 
 would become of their souls' interests if the 
 doors of the sanctuary should be closed I The 
 word and sacraments, how could they do with- 
 out them ? These thoughts, doubtless, troubled 
 them, but nevertheless tliey had to descend into 
 the darkness. But blessed above many in^ the 
 land, the doors never were closed, God's minister 
 never was silent, and after a brief interval Ave 
 find the corporation showing life again and 
 gathering its resources for the perpetuation 
 of the church's work. 
 
IN COLONIAL MAMYLAND. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 1776—1792. 
 
 Upon lier disestablishment the churcli in Mary- 
 hmd fonnd herself in the midst of wholly 
 nnx^ropitious circumstances. To brave those 
 circumstances and to rise triumx)hant above 
 them, was now her duty, and she was not found 
 incapable. At Urst she was content simply to 
 exist, her existence and her rights preserved. 
 Energy it was hardly possible for her to show 
 when the public mind was so engrossed in the 
 great war and all resources were reduced to the 
 lowest point. For the agriculturists of Maryland, 
 who were the great body of her people, snifered 
 X)robably more than most of the other colonies, 
 seeing that tobacco, Maryland's great staple, 
 was cut off from a market, and the people had 
 to change their whole style of husbandry. Most 
 of the churches were kept open, though with the 
 small salaries and the reduced number of active 
 ministers, a clergyman often had to serve several 
 parishes. Some of the churches were not kept 
 open, but owing to local circumstances, the care- 
 lessness or the poverty of the people, were 
 allowed to go to ruin, to be trespassed upon and 
 torn to pieces either by the w^anton wickedness 
 
/ 
 
 274 CHUBCII LIFE 
 
 or tlie sacriligious spirit of the community. 
 Where such was the sad misfortune of the 
 churcli it required many years to repair the evil 
 and open the sacred honse again for prayer and 
 praise. In almost all instances, however, if not 
 in all, this has been done ; for there are bnt few 
 old rnins in Maryland to mark sx)ots from which 
 the chnrch has "had to recede. The church in 
 Maryland had for too many years been part of 
 the social fabric to allow it an easy death, and 
 when times brightened men l)egan to look np and 
 God answered their prayers ; and old dismantled 
 and desecrated buildings were consecrated anew. 
 As early as April, 1778, within eighteen 
 mcmths of the passage of the Bill of Rights, we 
 find the people in St. James' parish coming 
 too-ether, in "a meeting of freemen" to choose 
 persons to act as vestrymen, and in all probability 
 the records of other parishes would show the 
 same ; for where the church was kept open dur- 
 ino- the war it would soon be found essential to 
 have some persons to attend to its affairs and to 
 be custodians of its property. They do not seem 
 to have been acting under any law, but rather of 
 their own will. Nor was any time appointed dur- 
 ino" which those elected were to serve. They also 
 inmediately went to work to secure funds for 
 the necessary expenses of the church, and judg- 
 ing from the list returned Nov. 15th, 1779, their 
 effc)rts met with a willing response from the peo- 
 ple, for at that time sixty -eight persons were 
 represented as subscribing different sums. In 17S1 
 however, the number of subscribers was one hun- 
 dred and fifty-five, showing a very general dispo- 
 sition to sustain the church. The net they cast 
 
Ilf COLONIAL MARYLAND. 275 
 
 was x)r^ttY large, to catch all manner of lisli, none 
 being allowed to escape by reason of its size ; for 
 tlie lieading to the list in 1779 reads : Whereas 
 no act has hitherto been made for the support of 
 the clergy of the church of England by the legis- 
 lature of this state, we the subscribers do there- 
 fore bind and oblige ourselves, our heirs, execu- 
 tors, or administrators, to pay unto the vestry of 
 the aforesaid parish (St. James) or their order, 
 the sum of money, or quantity of tobacco, wheat, 
 corn, rye, oats, peas or beans annexed to our res- 
 pective names, on or before the first day of Dec. 
 1780, to be applied by said vestry towards em- 
 Ijloying a clergyman to officiate in said x^arish for 
 one year from the date hereof, and to defray 
 other necessary exi3enses of taid parish." No- 
 body, however, seems to have contributed any- 
 thing except money and tobacco, of which there 
 evidently there was still much raised. Among 
 the vestrymen chosen in 1778, was the Rev. Wal- 
 ter Magowan, his holding of the parish for the 
 last eighteen months being apparently by common 
 consent. The spirit of the old institution was 
 also evidently still hanging about them, for the 
 act of 1779, entitled an act for the establishment 
 of select vestries, did not admit the rector of the 
 parish into this body. This act Avas passed in 
 the March session of this year, and was as liberal 
 towards the church as it could well be , for the 
 church itself had by no means been educated up 
 to the expectation or desire of liberal things such 
 as are now looked uj)on as essential in her rela- 
 tions with the state. The preamble to the act was a 
 follows: "'Whereas it is thought expedient- and 
 necessary that select vestries be chosen in every 
 
27() CHURCH LIFE 
 
 parish within the state for the preservation of 
 the churches and for the taking care of glebe 
 lands and other purposes tending to the ha^^pi- 
 ness and welfare of the state." And according 
 to the first section the number of the vestrymen 
 was to be seven, to be elected by persons con- 
 tributing to the support of the parish, and who 
 were qualilied to vote for members of the assem- 
 bly. The members elect, also, were to take the 
 following oath in addition to that of faithfulness 
 in their office : I. A. B. do swear that I do not 
 hold myself bound to yield any allegiance or 
 obedience to the King of Great Britain, his heirs 
 or successors, and that I will be true and faith- 
 ful to the state of Maryland, and will, to the 
 utmost of my power, support, maintain, and 
 defend the freedom and index:)endence thereof, 
 and the government as it is now established, 
 against all open enemies and secret traitorous 
 conspiracies, attempts or combinations against 
 this state or the government thereof which may 
 come to my knowledge: So help me God." 
 Such an oath was afterwards continued under 
 the vestry act of 1798, only it was so modified 
 as to read : "I do swear that I do not hold my- 
 self bound in allegiance to the King of Great 
 Britain, and that I will be faithful and bear true 
 allegiance to the state of Maryland." This 
 oath continued to be administered to vestrymen 
 for more than fifty years after the declaration of 
 American independence. 
 
 Among the other features of the law of 1779 
 was one requiring, as under the old system, a 
 table of marriages to be set up in the churches; 
 and to ensure care and attention on the part of 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 'Hilt 
 
 the people to their church duties, the vestry was 
 required to meet monthly, tines being imjDOsed 
 for absence. Also if any person, a member of 
 the church, and possessing the qualifications 
 named for a vestryman, should refuse, upon 
 election to serve, unless he had sufficient excuse 
 to allege, he Avas fined twenty pounds currency, 
 and half that amount Avas imposed upon any 
 warden Avho in like circumstances, refused to 
 bear the burdens of office. And this is still the 
 laAv in Maryland by the twenty-sixth article of 
 the vestry act ; only the fines are ten and twenty 
 dollars instead of ten and twenty pounds. Such 
 fines also are recoverable before any justice of the 
 l^eace. That any attempt should be made now 
 to collect such fines no one imagines, for it would 
 be recognized not only as an act of extreme folly, 
 but also as violating that principle of free-will 
 offering to God for his church's sake which 
 everybody now recognizes as the true root of the 
 church's prosi:)erity. And the sentiment is that 
 anyone that could only thus be constrained to be 
 a A'estryman, Avould only be a hindrance and a 
 curse within that body. The fiavor of old things 
 still pervaded the church' s new relations ; neither 
 the church nor the state could understand hoAv 
 true and entire their separation had been. All 
 through this period the consciousness Avas ex- 
 pressed, not only that the church AA^as dependent 
 upon the state for protection in temporal things, but 
 that it was for the highest profit of the state that in 
 every legitimate Avay religion should be fostered. 
 It was a mutual partnership for mutual support. 
 Since that day both church and state have enter- 
 ed upon larger ideas. The oath of faithfulness 
 
y 
 
 27a CHURCH LIFE 
 
 to the state of Maryland has been lost in the 
 grander idea of fealty to the general government, 
 and the church in Maryland, while preserving 
 her diocesan autonomy in many things, is a part 
 of the church of America with a community of 
 interests embracing the whole land. 
 
 The act for the establishment of select vestries 
 shows the kindest feeling on the part of the 
 state authorities towards the church, and 
 along with the recognition of the princix)les of 
 the declaration of rights, the utmost desire to 
 promote her welfare. And well might it be so, 
 for at that time almost all the intelligence and 
 influence of the state w^ere found in the body 
 called the church of England. For the great 
 inroads, chieliy by Methodism, upon the 
 church had hardly 'then begun, and everywhere 
 care and affection were felt for the only known 
 mother that had nourished the people, preaching 
 the word, administering the bread of life, minis- 
 tering in the hours both of joy and sorrow in the 
 ho:nes. AVhen the inroads were made they were 
 successful chieily among the poor, but at this 
 time they also were loyal. The great subscrip- 
 tion list of 1781, when one hundred and fifty-five 
 persons combined in the one parish given to support 
 the ministry, very many of them poor and of the 
 humblest walks of life, as shown by their gifts 
 as well as by their names, is an instance and 
 proof of this. AVell, therefore, might the feeling 
 of the legislature be kind, for it rex)resented only 
 the common feeling. 
 
 Under this act the vestries were immediately 
 reorganized, save where both spiritual and pecu- 
 niary destitution al)Ounded. It gave the church 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 279 
 
 a position again, and set the machinery in motion. 
 Seven vestrymen were called for and two church 
 wardens ; bnt care w^as taken to exclude the 
 rector from a seat, probably owing to the old'v'' 
 jealousies of the parson on occount of his former/ ^ 
 impregnable position. Care was now taken and 
 preserved through many 3^ears, that he should 
 not be able to defy the will of the people and 
 stay on. This was accomplished by making him 
 only an employe, wdiich was attained by exclud- 
 ing him from the vestry whose acts would thus 
 be independent of him, by retaining the purse 
 strings in their own hands, and by makiug agree- 
 ments only for short terms. This exclusion of 
 the minister continued till 1790. when by the _^ 
 action of a church convention, held in Easton, it' 
 was recommended that '' the minister and church 
 wardens be joined with the vestry in transacting 
 church business which may come before them." 
 The interposition of the minister had been found 
 so far necessary, and he had ceased to be the 
 mere hireling for certain j)urposes. He was part 
 of the institution. An extract from the records 
 of one parish, St. James', under this date is 
 interesting. The minister entering the vestry, 
 had laid before it the constitution and canons 
 both of the general convention and also of the 
 church in Maryhmd for consideration, of which 
 the vestry expressed its hearty ax)prova], save of 
 one feature, that the diocesan constitution re- 
 strained the convention from choosing more than 
 one bishop. This the vestry regarded as a mis- 
 take, thinking that one could not serve the whole 
 state. But the trouble was that the convention 
 only puri3osed to bestow jurisdiction on its 
 
•280 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 bisliops, and for his daily bread he was to j)ro- 
 vide as he could, by his private fortune or ])y 
 his salary as a jmi^ish minister. Therefore they 
 could have what opinions they might choose. 
 The support of twenty Inshops would be no more 
 than the support of one, for that was nothing. 
 Opinions, therefore, were cheap. It will })e 
 remembered that in 1814 Maryland did elect a 
 uffragan bishop. 
 ^ We have seen that the declaration of rights of 
 ^ 1776, recognized the principle that the citizens 
 / of the commonwealth mio^ht be taxed for the 
 
 support of religion. In the year 1780, in the 
 hour of her distress, the church remembered 
 this and sought to have her needs provided for 
 by a law framed upon that princix^le. This was 
 at a meeting of the clergy and laity held in 
 -Chestertown when the form of a petition was 
 drawn up to be sent around to the various 
 parishes of the state, that being thus numerously 
 signed it might have the needed weight. The 
 form of the petition was "That an act may be 
 passed agreeably to the aforesaid declaration of 
 Tights, for the support of public religion by an 
 equal assessment and laws, and also to enable 
 the vestry and church wardens of this parish hj 
 rates on the i)ews from time to time, or other- 
 wise, as your wisdom shall think tit, to rei^air 
 and uphold the church and chapel and the 
 church yard and burying ground of the same." 
 Surely a striking instance of the acceptance of a 
 false positicm, a church born to new and nobler 
 relations, but still in swaddling bands: for the 
 church proposed to leave it to the "wisdom " of 
 Ihe legislators, who were of all creeds as well 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 281 
 
 as of none, to say what system, if any, slie 
 should pursue in raising funds from her children 
 for her suj^port. From the circumstances of the 
 times, when the time, attention and resources of 
 the people were absorbed by the war, this effort 
 was perceived to be hopeless, and so was not 
 prosecuted. Also it may have begun to dawn 
 ui3on the minds of its favorers as an incongruity 
 that one "society" as even church people called 
 the church at the time, should appeal for a tax 
 upon christians of every name, and also it may 
 have begun to be perceived that a tax at all for 
 religion under the neAv order of affairs and the 
 broad liberty of the new commonwealth, was out 
 of place. . The ground of appeal, however, was 
 not only the maintenance of religion ; thongh 
 church representatives could never ignore that 
 chief consideration ; but in their i^etition the 
 vestries dwelt strongly upon the fact, "That 
 where religion is left to mourn and droop her 
 head, while her sacred ordinances are unsup- 
 ported, and vice and immorality gain ground, 
 even war itself will be but feebly carried on, 
 patriotism will lose its animating princij^le, 
 corruption will win its way from the lowest to 
 the highest places, distress will soon pervade 
 every public measure, our graveyards, the monu- 
 ments of the piety of our ancestors, running to 
 ruin, will become the reproach of their posterity. 
 Nay, more, the great and gloiious fabric of 
 public happiness, which we are striving to build 
 np and cement Avitli an immensity of blood and 
 treasure, might be in danger of tumbling into the 
 dust as wanting the stronger cement of virtue 
 and religion, or perhaj^s would fall an easy prey 
 
282 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 to some haughty invader." To avert such 
 terrible consequences churchmen were asked 
 to petiti(m the legislature for the tax, and 
 from various parts of the state petitions 
 were sent up. And, doubtless, religion 
 was depressed, and immorality in a degree did 
 nourish in consequence ; but, fortunately, 
 religion was delivered by a higher and bet- 
 ter power than a state tax, with an enfranchise- 
 ment that was far more noble and enduring. 
 The church tiourishes best when she does not 
 look to the assistance, whether willing or unwil- 
 ling, of ''the sordid and the seltish, the licen- 
 tious and. profane" whom it was hoped by this 
 means to c(mipel. The measure though failing 
 in 1782 was renewed again in 1788, l)eing fostered 
 by the action of Governor Paca who brought the 
 proposition l)efore the assembly. The church re- 
 garded the establishment of peace and the as- 
 sured position of the country among the nations 
 of the earth as a fit occasion for granting state 
 aid. But though so powerfully supi)oi-ted, again 
 the measure came to nothing. Though such 
 longing eyes looked out, aud such hox^eful hands 
 were in vain extended, yet all of the clergy were 
 not like that brother who in 1784 refused to at- 
 tend a church convention because it had not been 
 summoned by state authority. 
 
 Through all this time the parishes were strug- 
 gling to sustain themselves ; and with sufficient 
 difficulty to please everyone who might have re- 
 membered with aversion their abundance in 
 other days. The common recourse was to join 
 several parishes together, with service on different 
 Sundays ; an unfortunate necessity wherever it 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 283 
 
 prevails, as it still does in many places. For ei- 
 ther loyalty is wounded in our members going off 
 to other houses of worship on the intervening 
 Sundays, or devotion is cooled by their idling at 
 home. But few have the gace to occupy the day 
 for their si:)iritual prolit in their closets. 
 
 Among the parishes that were comj)elled to 
 have recourse to this means for support was St. 
 James', and by the advice of the vestry we find 
 the rector assuming to his care All Saints, Cal- 
 vert Co Mr. Magowan, avIio died in 1784, was at 
 that time performing this double duty, and his 
 successor, the Rev. Dr. Thos. John Claggett, who 
 became rector in 1786, Aug. 1st, gave his care and 
 attention to the same extensive field. This gen- 
 tleman who, while still rector of St. James in 
 1792, was elected to the episcojiate of Maryland, 
 had previously held various parishes, on all of 
 which he doubtless made a strong impression. 
 For he was a man of marked force of character^ 
 and along with his learning, he was exact and 
 business like in his engagements and transac- 
 tions ; one of those men that in a crisis prove of 
 permanent and enduring value to the enterprise 
 in which they are engaged. So as afterwards in 
 diocesan matters, it was now in parochial concerns. 
 Everything was done decently and in order ; but 
 besides he was able to enkindle in the parish he 
 occupied for the six years after 1786, a deep in- 
 terest in all general church affairs, making that 
 parish to be a fair representative of the l^est pa- 
 rochial life of the day. 
 
 He was first chosen for three years, and was 
 afterwards reelected three several times for one 
 year each, probably by his own preference for 
 
284 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 such a sliort term. This election for a limited 
 term was then the nniversalcustom, begotten doubt- 
 less by the unfortunate experience of the colonial 
 times when a man inducted could defy all au- 
 thority to remove him. Tneact of 1779 provided 
 for the election of rectors for limited terms, as 
 well as does that of 1798 still in force. The 
 p)revalence of the contrary custom is the result 
 of the fact that the clergy can in the vast ma- 
 jority of cases, be trusted ; that the old method 
 of electing annually took away from the inde- 
 pendence and self respect of the minister, who 
 became so far an annual applicant for the suf- 
 frage of the people, the question of his tenure 
 entering into every election of vestrymen ; and 
 and also, that the highest welfare of the parish 
 is promoted by the long continued residence of 
 the pastor. 
 
 But if the people provided for their own pro- 
 tection, the clergy in some instances were watch- 
 ful to provide for theirs, and could not be induced 
 to enter upon the duties of a rectorship until they 
 had every guarantee that their salary was well 
 secured ; for there were a good many promises to 
 pay which were never realized by the parsons. 
 Dr. Claggett was one of this careful sort, and be- 
 fore he would enter upon the rectorship, we find 
 this among the parish records: ''Ordered that 
 the Register write to Mr. Thomas John Claggett 
 informing him that the following gentilemen of 
 the vestry, viz : Mr. John Hall, Mr. Ezekiel Gott, 
 Mr. Benjamin Burgess, Capt. William Weems, 
 and one private gentileman, Maj. Richard Chew, 
 had left their obligations with the Register which 
 obligations are to be delivered to the said Claggett 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 285 
 
 on his obligating himself to the vestry for his 
 performance for three years. The other gentile- 
 men of the vestry promise on their honour that 
 they will do everything in their power to make 
 np the remaining part of the sallery." 
 
 In consequence of this communication, the fol- 
 lowing agreement was drawn up and signed : "St. 
 James parish, July 21st, 1786, at a vestry met 
 and held in the veshy room of the said parish by 
 the vestrymen thereunto legally authorized and 
 appointed on the day and year above Avritten, 
 present Col. John Weems, "^John Hal], Ezekiei 
 Grott, Richard Harrison, Benjamin Burgess, Capt. 
 Wm. Weems, and Zechariah Childs, church war- 
 den. The Rev. Doct. Thomas John Claggett ap- 
 pears and agrees to officiate in the aforesaid par- 
 ish church every other sabbath and to perform 
 all the accustomed duties of the said parish for 
 three years unless prevented by sickness or other 
 unforseen casualty. 
 
 For and in consideration of the above services 
 the vestry do hereby license, induct, constitute 
 and appoint him, the said Thomas John Claggett 
 (Doc. in Divinity) rector of the said parish," and 
 give him the free use and enjoyment of all and 
 every the glebes and their appurtenances, to- 
 gether with the exclusive right to the pulpit in 
 the parish church, and all other privileges, im- 
 munities and advantages which any minister of 
 this parish ought to enjoy : This agreement to 
 continue and be in full force for and'during tHe 
 term of three years, to commence from the first 
 day of August, 1786, unless death, sickness or 
 any other unforseen accident should cause the 
 said Claggett to vacate the i3arisli, and in that 
 case only it shall be null and void." 
 
286 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 To this writing is appended tlie name of Dr. 
 Claggett only. Why, as it was a letter of induc- 
 tion and appointment his name only was signed 
 does not appear. The spirit of the old times had 
 evidently not departed, and while parson and 
 people could respect and love each other, as they 
 evidently did, yet they had great confidence mu- 
 tually that business could not be done in too 
 regular and careful a way. — an example it would 
 be well for both clergy and vestries now to follow 
 more frequently than they do. In consequence 
 of this particularity Dr. Claggett' s rectorship was 
 peaceful throughout and he was able to wield a 
 large power for usefulness. Also he was able to 
 stimulate the people to give great attention to 
 the general affairs of the church both in the dio- 
 cese and also in the country at large. Fortu- 
 nately he found men in the vestry who had suffi- 
 cient intelligence and devotion to the church to 
 make them take great interest. He was doubt- 
 less in congenial company, and being a resident 
 in the parish he had ccmstant opportunities to 
 make his influence permanent. How much St. 
 James' parish owes to his residence in it at this 
 time it would be impossible to say. 
 
 One of the first subjects brought to the consid- 
 eration of the churchmen of Maryland in those 
 days was the rights, inherent and necessary, that 
 belonged to the church. This question had been 
 first agitated in 1783 when it had been proposed 
 in the legislature of the state to appoint ordainers 
 for the ministry ; a strong testimony of the at- 
 tachment of the people to the former establish- 
 ment, along with a marvelous ignorance of the 
 very first princii^le of its true position. This 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 287 
 
 proposition was of course immediately and 
 successfully resisted by tlie church clergy, one of 
 whom was publicly heard before the house 
 upon the measure. The fact that such a propo- 
 sition could be made, however, alarmed the 
 church and so at a meeting of a convention held 
 at Anaapolis in August in the ^^ear above given 
 "Certain fundamental Rights and Liberties of 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church of Maryland" 
 were distinctly declared. This convention it will 
 also be remembered, elected Dr. AVilliam Smith 
 to the Episcoi^ate, though for certain reasons he 
 was never consecrated. This declaration, how- 
 ever, of rights and liberties was not at that time 
 submitted to the vestries, because though the 
 convention that passed it was regarded as valid, 
 yet things were still in an inchoate condition. In 
 1788 there a was general review of past action and 
 this Declaration along with certain other com- 
 pleted acts, as canons and rules were sent down, 
 and all the parishes were called on to earnestly 
 consider them. As they embraced ennnent innn- 
 cii3les it was a most excellent means of instruc- 
 ting the i^eople. These rights and liberties which 
 it was felt to be necessary to x)roclaim to the world, 
 but especially to the state of Maryland under 
 whose "constitution and form of government" 
 the church was existing, were enumerated as 
 follows : 
 
 1st. AVe consider it as the undoubted right of 
 the said Protestant Episcopal Church, in common 
 with other christian churches under the Ameri- 
 can revolution, to complete and j)reserve herself 
 as an entire church agreeably to her ancient 
 usages and professions^ and to have the full en- 
 
288 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 joyment and free exercise of tliose jmrely spiri- 
 tual powers which are essential to the being of 
 every church or congregation of the faithful, and 
 which, being derived only from Christ and his. 
 apostles, are to be maintained independent of 
 every foreign or other jurisdiction so far as may 
 be consistant with the civil rights of society. 
 
 2nd. That ever since the reformation it hath 
 been the received doctrine of the church whereof 
 we are members, (and which by the constitution 
 of this state is entitled to the perpetual enjoy- 
 ment of certain property and rights under the 
 denomination of the church of England) that 
 there be these three orders of ministers in Christ's 
 Church, Bishops, Priests and Deacons ; and that 
 an Episcopal ordination and commission are nec- 
 essary to the valid administration of the sacra- 
 ments and the due exercise of the ministerial 
 function in the said church. 
 
 3d. That without calling in question the rights,, 
 modes and forms of any other christian church 
 or societies, or wishing the least contest with 
 them on that subject, we consider and declare it 
 to be an essential right of the said Protestant 
 Episcopal church to have and enjoy the continu- 
 ance of the said three orders of ministers so far 
 as concerns matters purely spiritual, and that no 
 persons in the character of ministers, except such 
 as are in the commission of the said church, and 
 duly called to the ministry by regular Episcopal 
 ordination, can or ought to be admitted into or 
 enjoy, any of the churches, chapels, glebes, or 
 other property formerly belonging to the church 
 of England in this state, and which by the con- 
 stitution and form of Government is secured to- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 289 
 
 tlie said clinrcli forever, by wliatever name the 
 said cliurch or lier superior order of ministers 
 may in future be denominated. 
 
 4tli. Tliat tis it is the rigiit so it will be the 
 duty of the said church, when duly organized, 
 constituted and represented in a synod or con- 
 vention of the different orders of her ministry 
 and people, to revise her liturgy, forms of prayer, 
 and X3ublic worship in order to adapt the same to 
 the late Revolution and other local circumstances 
 of America ; which it is humbly conceived, may 
 and will be done without any other or farther 
 departure from the venerable order and beautiful 
 forms of worship from whence we sprang, than 
 may be found expedient in the change of our 
 situation from a daughter to a sister church." 
 
 This coiDy is taken from the books of St. James 
 parish, on which the vestry had h^id it spread 
 because it was regarded as of such great impor- 
 tance. That the document was important, is 
 evident from the fact that after an interval of 
 live years from its passage it was thought 
 advisable to j)ublish it again a second time. And 
 it was important because, knowing Episcopacy 
 only as it existed in England where immense 
 prerogatives were enjoyed by the Episcopal 
 order, and where the lord bishops had almost 
 always been on the side of arbitrary government 
 and had used their power for the repression of 
 the liberties of the people, the citizens of America 
 from one end of the country to the other, stood 
 in dread of it ; so that the possibility of the 
 institution of Episcopacy was one of the chief 
 causes leading to the Eevolution. The order as 
 represented in the iDersons and office of Bishops 
 
290 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 Seabury, White or Claggett, was something of 
 whicli the American mind had up to this time 
 formed no idea. The church in South Carolina, 
 it will be remembered, was glad to be enrolled 
 among the dioceses of the land, only it did not 
 want a Bishop. 
 
 It was against this prejudice, therefore, at this 
 time the church in Maryland was providing for 
 herself. She was determined to secure the 
 episcopate and had taken the first stej) in 1783, 
 she dreaded to have her altars invaded, as well a.' 
 her property possessed by those whom she could 
 not look upon as duly ordained. She fearer 
 those proposed to be appointed by the state a|?> 
 ordainers to the ministry, and she dreaded le^ 
 the body of enemies who surrounded her and 
 wdiom she had in other days done little to con- 
 ciliate, should be al)le to seize on some lapse of 
 hers,- as the change of her name, or the change 
 of her liturgy, to deprive her of the i^ossession 
 of her churches, chapels, or other devout bene- 
 factions of her children in other days for the 
 support of her ministry. How far there was 
 reason for that fear is questionable. With her 
 declaration, however, her rights were preserved ; 
 how far it was by it we do not know. Certainly 
 the state ot" Maryland looked with favor on the 
 church in Maryland, as was proven when the 
 legislature admitted a clergyman to argue a 
 chnrch question before it and then decided 
 according to his argument. That the great 
 powerful organization of 177G sliould have been 
 compelled in 17^3 to put forth such a document 
 suggests a contrast that excites our sympathies. 
 It was a change, however, out of whicli noble 
 
IN COLONIAL MABYLANB. 291 
 
 fruits were in time to grow. Her hesitation 
 about lier name and that of "lier superior order 
 of ministers ' ' which was expressed in 1783, was 
 to be forgotten in the church's strongly pro- 
 nounced views and claims of the days to come. 
 
 If tlie cliurcli, lioAvever, was so bold in declar- 
 ing her rights and liberties she was not ready to 
 be quite so bold in acting up to her declaration; 
 for in 17S3 Ave find her apx3ealing to the legis- 
 lature of the state for privilege to change her 
 name and adaj)t her liturgy as Avell as to secure 
 for herself the means of perpetuating her niinis- 
 [ry. To make this appeal may have been 
 partly the result of former training and partly 
 .'ear of jeopardizing her property secured to her 
 MS the church of England. But whatever the 
 cause, the fact was felt by others to be un- 
 necessary, and the attempt was looked ux3on 
 with jealousy as in some way an endeavor to 
 secure state recognition for the church. The 
 contest that arose was bitter, but the aj)peal of 
 the church was favorably received by the assem- 
 bly. This was in May, and it was in the Augnst 
 following that the declaration of liberties was 
 made and the Rev. Dr. William Smith elected to 
 the Episcoj)ate. 
 
 Another document of great interest issued at 
 this time was a declaration of ''certain funda- 
 mental principles of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church of Maryland, &c." In it the church labor- 
 ed to minimize her positions, to assert as little as 
 was possible ; these principles being rather as 
 postulates which were to be the basis of the leg- 
 islation which she saw to be necessary, and which 
 she would as soon as micjht be enact. It will be 
 
292 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 remembered that the dioceses had at first to act 
 for themselves, and legislation was necessary in 
 them which was afterwards delegated to the Gfen- 
 eral Convention ; also in the earlier conventions 
 of Maryland down to and including those of 
 1783, only clergy had sat. In 1784 lay delegates 
 were present, and their aj^proval became neces- 
 zary to all acts passed. It was at this time this 
 declaration of "certain fundamental principles" 
 was made to regulate and control the relations of 
 the various orders in the church among them- 
 selves. These principles are as follows : 
 
 "1st. None of the orders of the clergy, whether 
 Bishops, Priests or Deacons, who may be under 
 the necessity of obtaining ordination in any for- 
 eign state with a view to officiate or settle in this 
 state, shall, at the time of their ordination, or at 
 any time afterwards, take or subscribe any obli- 
 gation of obedience, civil or canonical, to any for- 
 eign power or authority whatsoever, nor be ad- 
 missible into the ministry of this church if such 
 obligation have been taken for a settlement in any 
 foreign country, without renouncing the same by 
 taking the oaths required by law, as a test of 
 allegiance to this state. 
 
 "2nd. According to what we conceive to be 
 true apostolic institution, the duty and office of a 
 Bishop differs in nothing from that of other 
 priests except in the power of ordination and 
 confirmation, and in the right of precedency in 
 ecclesiastical meetings or synods, and shall 
 accordingly be so exercised in this church ; the 
 duty and office of Priests and Deacons to remain 
 as heretofore ; and if any further distinctions 
 and regulations in the different orders of the 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 293 
 
 ministry should afterAvards be found necessary 
 for the good government of the church, the same 
 shall be made and established by the joint voice 
 and authority of a representative body of clergy 
 and laity at future ecclesiastical synods or con- 
 ventions. 
 
 "3d. This third section is intended to define 
 or discriminate some of the separate rights and 
 powers of the clergy and was proposed and 
 agreed to as follows, viz. : that the clergy should 
 be deemed adequate judges of the ministerial 
 commission and authority which is necessary to 
 the due administration of the ordinances of 
 religion in their own church, and of the literary, 
 moral and religious qualities and abilities of 
 persons fit to be nominated and appointed to the 
 different orders of the ministry. But the ap- 
 proving and receiving of such persons to any 
 particular cure, duty or parish when so nomi- 
 nated, appointed, set apart, consecrated and 
 ordained, is in the people who are to support 
 them and to receive tlie benefit of their ministry." 
 
 These principles w^ere the outgrowth of the 
 time, and have all been more or less modified as the 
 feelings and circumstances of those days have 
 changed. For the church feared, and doubtless 
 with reason, that its every act and position 
 were watched with jealousy, a perfectly legiti- 
 mate state of mind when we remember the old 
 times before the Revolution just closed, and 
 w^hat x^olitical position so many of the clergy had 
 assumed during the war. So the first principle 
 in regard to allegiance to any foreign power. 
 Some of the clergy on the breaking out of hostili- 
 ties or before, had gone back to England, but 
 
294 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 many had simply STirrendered their parishes and 
 discontinued their ministry. The whole body, 
 was therefore nnder snspicion. Also the infant 
 state was exceedingly sensitive, and did not yet 
 know whom to trust, and consequently the oath 
 of allegiance continued for many years to be 
 generally imposed. Also, various persons, a 
 number from Maryland, were going abroad for 
 ordination, and it was doubtful what they would 
 have to submit to if they would succeed. 
 
 For these reasons this princix^le was enunciated; 
 but as time has since gone on the postulate has 
 been so far modified or ignored as that not only 
 is such oath of allegiance no longer required, but 
 citizens of a foreign state are found in some 
 instances in possession of i)arishes. Even the 
 vestry act of 1798 did not embody this principle 
 though the oath was required of persons ele(^ted 
 vestrymen. 
 
 And so in regard to the second proposition, 
 that according to ''true apostolic institution the 
 duty and office of a bishop differs in nothing 
 from that of other priests except in the power of 
 ordination and confirmation, and in the right of 
 precedency in ecclesiastical meetings or synods, 
 and shall accordingly be so exercised in this 
 church." This was an overwhelming renuncia- 
 tion of that scheme of Episcopal prerogative 
 which was such a bug-bear in the American mind. 
 It is denied that they are a separate order, but 
 are associated with " other priests," to whom 
 only certain additional functions have been 
 assigned. There are no rights of their order 
 that place them outside of or above the law. 
 There are no fatherly prerogatives by which 
 
IJ\r COLONIAL MARYLAND. 295 
 
 eitlier priests or people become to them as chil- 
 dren. The right to ordain and confirm, and 
 precedency in synods are theirs — nothing more. 
 A wonderful contrast with the functions of their 
 order as exercised by his Lordship, Archbishop 
 Laud, who stood out in the American mind as 
 the embodiment of ecclesiastical enormity, though 
 only the strong representative of his class and 
 order. 
 
 But a Bishop is a good deal more than such a 
 functionary as our fathers Avould have made him. 
 Americans are still rigiit jealous of any "prero- 
 gatives" that a bishop may be disT)osed to assert, 
 and our wisest bishops are very chary of assert- 
 ing such, but he is tlie father among his people: 
 his inliuence is powerful in his diocese ; accord- 
 ing as he exx)resses desires, preferences oi' inten- 
 tions will the policy of his diocese become; while 
 his animadversions and rebukes, whether against 
 men or measures will be dreaded. The office has 
 been found of too lofty an origin and its necessary 
 functions too high and holy to allow our fathers' 
 ''fundamental principle" to place cramping limi- 
 tations upon it. 
 
 The third princi])le was also an adaptation, 
 though from a different stand [)oint; for while 
 the other principles were for the purpose, in 
 large measure, of conciliating the i)eople, this 
 was for the purpose of defending the rights of 
 the clergy in a point where those rights were 
 threatened. And so its object as stated: ''to 
 define or discriminate some of the separate rights 
 and powers of the clergy.'' Former! 3^ under the 
 establishment the laity had nothing to do but 
 accept the rector appointed to their parish and 
 
296 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 make tlie best of him. Afterwards, towards the 
 close of the Revolution, as we have seen, the 
 laity, as asseml)led in the state legislature, con- 
 sidered the proposition of appointing ordainers 
 to the ministry. The clergy, therefore, in 1784 
 felt that right views concerning their prerogatives 
 were in danger, and so this principle. They 
 would discriminate or define their separat'e 
 rights and powers. The rights of the laity were 
 of course recognized, thaf it was for them to 
 receive or not any minister into a parish. But 
 the claimed as tlieir own the right to determine 
 upon '' the ministerial commission and authority 
 which is necessary to the due administration of 
 the ordinances of religion in their own church, 
 and of the literary, moral, aud religious qualities 
 and abilities of x^ersons fit to be nominated to 
 the different orders of the ministry.'' They 
 insisted that that ])ower belonged to them, as 
 being by divine right custodians of their own 
 order. And the laity represented in the conven- 
 tion, recognized the princii:>le as sound, and it is 
 one that has controlled the church in Maryland 
 from that day to this ; though for a while, in the 
 enactinent of canons at this time it would appear 
 that this exclusive right of the clergy over their 
 own order was allowed to fall into abeyance. 
 
 It will be remembered that in Connecticut, and 
 particularl}^ in the person of Bishop Seabury, 
 there was an indisposition to admit the laity into 
 church conventions, nor was it a thing which 
 English clei'gymen were familiar with — the direct 
 intluence of the laity ceasing with their power in 
 parliament. Such admission, however, was 
 necesssary in America, and was xevj soon uni- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 297 
 
 versally recognized. But Maryland claims the 
 princii^le and acts on it, tliat the clergy have 
 entire right over their own order, and so she 
 alone, with Connecticut, has a standing committee 
 comi:)osed entirely of clergymen, because one of 
 the chief functions of that standing committee 
 is to pass upon "the literary, moral and religious 
 qualities and abilities of i^ersons to be nominated 
 and appointed to the different orders of the 
 ministry/' Also although the laws under which 
 that committee are to act, are i3assed by a con- 
 vention composed of both clergy and laity, yet 
 the principle is saved and exemx^lified by the 
 large discretion that is placed in the hands of the 
 mend)ers of that committee. And churchmen 
 are lighting against their true principles when 
 they attempt to limit the freedom of that discre- 
 tion. Such a committee should have "power" 
 entrusted to it outside and above all conventions, 
 vestries and all other bodies wherein laymen may 
 sit. So only can we be true to this fundamental 
 principle. 
 
 But Maryland shows her consistency^ with this 
 principle in another of her acts, her ecclesiastical 
 court. She was not always consistent, as we shall 
 see presently, but right thinking attained its end 
 wdien that court was instituted and made to con- 
 sist only of clergymen. This was a point that 
 Bishop Seabury was earnest for, that the right of 
 trial of clergymen should be only in the hands of 
 the clergy, the power of deprival where the power 
 of ordination rests, and Maryland reached it af- 
 ter a while ; because true church princij^les as 
 such have been at the root of Maryland action. 
 It is observable that the two dioceses that have 
 
298 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 been strictest in tlieir adherence to this '' funda- 
 mental jirinciple" are the two whose ratio of 
 comnmnicants to the poi)ulation today stands the 
 highest. 
 
 Another point insisted on at this time was tliat 
 there should be annual meetings of the conven- 
 tion, a symbol and manifestation of power that 
 must have, to the clergy of that convention in 
 1784, contrasted most agreeably with the time 
 when the word of a dissolute lordling could for- 
 bid their meeting together for God's work. And 
 yet only eight years had intervened! Truly it 
 was freedom ! 
 
 One of the first thoughts of the church in Ma- 
 ryland after the enunciation of her rights and 
 princij^les, was the question of discipline, the 
 power to administer which having been the great 
 demand from the beginning. The many attempts 
 that had been made to secure sonie eifective 
 agency for this purpose will here be remembered, 
 attempts that on account of the jealousy of one 
 or other party, had always x^i'oven abortive, the 
 church rejecting the mixed court that the state 
 would erect, and the state and the people refusing 
 to allow a Bishop or the delegation of sufficient 
 T)ower to a commissary. Now the church had 
 the i3ower herself, and by a marvelous inconsis- 
 tency she embodied the principle in her legisla- 
 lion that she had always contended against, and 
 which was in direct contravention of her own 
 above recorded principles. For as Bishop Sea- 
 bury stated, the power of deprival can only be 
 lodged legitimately in the hands that have the 
 power of ordination, which is what the church 
 in Maryland had always said, when contending 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 299 
 
 against a mixed court. They wanted a Bishop 
 for discipline as the only legitimate and effective 
 means. 
 
 And yet one of the lirst acts finally passed 
 upon in 1788, entitled "Additional constitutions 
 or rules respecting the discipline and government 
 of the Protestant Episcoi^al church in Maryland," 
 sets out with the statement that the "General 
 Convention of this church (in Maryland) consis- 
 ting of the different orders of the clergy and 
 laity duly represented, shall have the general 
 cognizance of all affairs necessary to the disci- 
 pline and good gov^ernment of the church, in- 
 cluding x^articularly the poAver and authority 
 necessary for reclaiming or excluding from church 
 privileges scandalous members, whether lay or 
 clerical, and all jurisdiction with regard to offen- 
 ders, the power of suspending or dismissing 
 clergymen of all orders from the exercise of their 
 ministry in the church." 
 
 Also by the second of these constitutions it was 
 appointed, that " Future conventions shall frame 
 and establish rules or canons for receiving com- 
 plaints, and shall annually appoint a committee 
 consisting of an equal number of clergy and 
 laity, (including the Bishop when there shall be 
 one duly consecrated among the number of the 
 clergy) which committee shall have standing au- 
 thority, government, and jurisdiction (agreeable 
 to such rules as may be given for that purpose) 
 in all matters respecting'the discipline and gov- 
 ernment of the church that may arise or be nec- 
 essary to be x)roceeded upon during the recess or 
 adjournment of general conventions.'' This term 
 "general convention" is probably used as in. 
 
300 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 contradistinction from tlie meetings of the sui3er- 
 intending and outstanding committees, each of 
 which was composed, but especially the latter, 
 of a large number of persons. 
 
 For agreeably to the above provision, by the 
 fourth of the rules of 1788, there was ordered 
 "A standing committee consisting of five clergy- 
 men and the like number of laymen, of each 
 shore, the clerical members to be chosen by the 
 clergy and the lay members by the laity, in an- 
 nual convention. Their duty shall be to corres- 
 pond with like committees throughout the states 
 and execute the authority given them by the sec- 
 ond additional constitution as above inserted." 
 By the ninth and tenth rules also, we have the 
 method of proceeding: "Disorderly, scandalous 
 and immoral conduct, neglect of duty or a disre- 
 gard to the canons or rules of the church, are of- 
 fences for which a clergyman may be brought to 
 trial ; to which end application shall be made 
 by the accuser to the president for the time be- 
 ing, who shall without delay call together the 
 standing committee to meet at a convenient place 
 on the shore where the accused person resides ; 
 a majority of whom, both as to clerical and lay 
 members, shall have authority to inquire into 
 the charge or charges in the presence of both 
 parties, and having heard the evidence, shall pro- 
 ceed to state and report the facts to the next con- 
 vention, who having heard whatever may be of- 
 fered by either of the parties in further evidence, 
 i^^all proceed to pronounce such sentence as they 
 may think the offence deserves ; provided that 
 no sentence exceed reproof, suspension or dismis- 
 sion ; and that if any accusation is brought 
 
AY COLONIAL MABYLANB. 301 
 
 against tlie president, aiipiication may be made 
 by the accuser to one clerical and lay member of 
 the standing committee, who shall have the same 
 powers of calling the committee which are hereby 
 given to the president in other cases/' 
 
 "No vestryman shall sit on the examination or 
 trial of a minister belonging to the parish where 
 sncli vestryman resides. Complaints against a 
 clergyman shall be received from the vestry of 
 the parish where he officiates, and from no other 
 lierson or persons whatsoever. They shall be 
 signed by a majority of the vestrj^ and church 
 wardens, without which no comj)laints shall be 
 received, ttc, <S:c." 
 
 Into such loose views of the true relations of 
 the church and her clergy had Maryland at that 
 time come. AVhat was the cause we do not know, 
 how far the clergy had become derelict, how far 
 there were crying evils abroad, how far they were 
 merely bowing to the jealousies of the laity who 
 dreaded an exercise of inherent prerogative in 
 any class, or how far they were providing for a 
 state of things that did not exist. Certainly 
 however, the law was not found to work well. 
 It did not bring the clergy to trial, so that Bishop 
 Claggett had bitterly to "^bewail the condition of 
 things in some instances where the vestry would 
 not institute proceedings. Vestrymen were known 
 to refuse to conqDlain against their x)as tors, what- 
 ever grievance they thought they were enduring. 
 The law was erroneous in fact also, for it will be 
 found that the clergy are more jealous for the 
 uprightness of their order than the laity are. 
 These will gossip about clerical delinquences, but 
 go no further; while the clergy feel every delin- 
 
y02 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 qiiency a stain on their lioly order that ought to 
 be removed, however long suffering they may 
 feel disposed to be. 
 
 A superintending committee was at the same 
 time apx)ointed, five mcmhers for each shore, to 
 whom the general duty of supervision of the 
 church in the diocese was committed. They 
 were to visit the parishes, dividing them amongst 
 themselves. Also they had charge of candidates 
 for orders, to ascertain their htness. Also to 
 them was assigned the duty of receiving clergy- 
 men entering the diocese, and no vestry or con- 
 gregation could receive any minister unless he 
 was able to present the testimonial from the 
 sui:)erintending committee of their shore, that he 
 had conformed to the lavv. 
 
 This was the provisional arrangement of things 
 in Maryland as finally instituted in 1788, and 
 with all its faultiness it was effective to tide the 
 "society'' over its then depressed condition. 
 There was not a great deal of backbone then dis- 
 played in various quarters; the sturdiness of 
 Bisliop Seabury was not a general property, as is 
 seen in the provisional arrangement suggested by 
 Doctor, afterwards Bishop White. This arrange- 
 ment which he advanced in his pamphlet of 
 1782, "The case of the Episco2:)al Church consid- 
 ered" in which an episcopal Church without 
 episcopacy was thought for the time being avail- 
 able, was something that found reponse in 
 various quarters. "Ordainers for the ministry," 
 were proposed in Maryland, and South Carolina 
 wanted the Episcopal Church without a Bishoj). 
 Nowhere did the church thoroughly understand 
 herself or know her true i^osition, save maybe in 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. ;^0a 
 
 New England and New York where tlie clergy 
 liad liold on more vigorous ideas. Everywhere, 
 however, she was working towards a knowledge 
 of her true self Avhich Avas reached clearly after 
 many days. May the Almighty, her Lord, ever 
 preserve her in this knowlege. 
 
 Turning now brielly to parochial affairs, there 
 are a few things to note before we close our 
 Images. One of these is the fact that this is the 
 time when the fine parish libraries of Maryland, 
 not always extensive in numbers, but excellent 
 in quality, began to be scattered. Efforts were 
 made to recover them, but failed, and they were 
 lost one by one b}^ falling into hands that could 
 not appreciate them, and were allowed to be' 
 destroyed. The vestry no longer performed its 
 function of ''visiting ' them, and possibly the 
 the rectors no longer stood in dread of suit if 
 they neglected the charge. There are many 
 volumes in existence, and every now and then an 
 old book comes to light from its hiding place in 
 some out of the way garret. Some are still safe 
 in the library of St. John's College, Annapolis, 
 but in all other iilaces, the folios, quartoes, and 
 octavos are things of the ^last with but little 
 superior to them to take their ydace. 
 
 The world has been a good deal disturbed 
 within the last twenty five years upon the subject 
 •of altar cloths, they being regarded as emble- 
 matical of false and strange doctrine, just like 
 the surplice was regarded as a "rag of jiopery." 
 But like as in the matter of the surplice, the 
 church in adopting altar cloths only went back 
 
304 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 to old tilings. For in 1791 we find in St. James' 
 parish that ''Dr. Claggett reported to this vestry 
 that the vestry of All Saints' Parish, Calvert Co., 
 had three yards of purple broadcloth for sale, 
 which he thought would suit for a communion 
 cloth, and hangings for the pulpit in this parish 
 church, and that the price of the same was one 
 guinea a yard. The vestry directed the doctor to 
 purchase the same." Nor was it only in that kind 
 of embellishment, for we find a church in Prince 
 George's County adorned with a painting over 
 the Holy Table. Our views doubtless have 
 expanded beyond theirs, and ornamentation is* 
 developed in a way that would make them wonder 
 could their eyes be opened in one of our modern 
 temples; but the root of the matter was tl^ere in 
 very distinct form. Also we hear of a few 
 organs, and one parish in 1763 levied two thou- 
 sand pounds of tobacco to pay the organist. 
 
 The church in Maryland has almost entirely 
 lost her hold upon the colored people. In some 
 of the more out of the way parts of the state they 
 are still found to attend her services, especially 
 upon notable occasions, and in some places, 
 though very few, chapels have been erected for 
 them. But in all districts nearer the great centers 
 wdiere they are in frequent intercourse with the 
 peox)le of the cities, their ambition seems to 
 have been excited, and now for many years, since 
 long before their emancipation, they have with- 
 drawn from the church entirely. They desired 
 to have their own institutions, to regulate their 
 own concerns, may be to gratify their emotional 
 temperament, and their masters gave them leave. 
 
 During the colonial period, however, and after- 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 305 
 
 wards this was not so, but the slave knelt at the 
 same table with his master. In St. James' 
 Parish in 1790 we find Dr. Claggett giving a list 
 of the communicants, and out of the total of 
 sixty-one we hnd thirteen ''Black Brethren;" 
 and in 1791 we hnd the same "Black Communi- 
 cants" applying to the vestry for a "piece of 
 ground on the church giel)e adjoining the north- 
 east corner of the church-yard, for a burying 
 place for the said blacks and their descendants," 
 which was granted. This may be to many a 
 revelation of the condition of the slave at that 
 time in Maryland. Appended to the list of com- 
 municants as thus given, is the following note : 
 "Our worthy brethren, Edward Tillard and 
 Walter AYatson, members of our society and 
 other congregations, were present and communi- 
 cated with us this day." 
 
 Dr. Claggett' s rectorship) of St. James' was a 
 great blessing to the parish by the force of the 
 same qualities that afterward made his episcopate 
 a blessing to the diocese of Maryland. A strong, 
 vigorous intellect and clear common sense always 
 distinguished him, and fitted him in the eyes of 
 all that came in contact Avith him, for leadership. 
 His interest, too, in everything that concerned the 
 welfare of the church in the commonwealth at 
 large, had early been manifested, and his 
 thoughtful attention to these things is nowhere 
 so strikingly exemplied as in the records of the 
 parish over whose counsels he presided and 
 whose deliberations he guided. His forecast 
 also of the future needs of his diocese, is seen in 
 the impression which doubtless he created in the 
 vestry, of the necessity for more than one Bislioj) 
 
306 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 for Maryland. This was in 1790 when after the 
 convention held that year in Easton, the minis- 
 ters and church wardens were admitted to seats 
 in the vestry. The effect also of his rectorship 
 was permanent; for from his day the parish was 
 marked by a deep active interest in all that 
 concerned the church's welfare. 
 
 It is painful, however, to remember that the 
 church' s greatest depression had not been reached 
 when he assumed the episcopate in 1792, either 
 in his old parish or in the diocese at large. Ma- 
 ryland was to see darker days than even these. 
 The diocese, notwithstanding his labors, was to 
 decline in its clerical force, doubtless because in 
 all the parishes the ability of the people to suj)- 
 port the holy work declined. They were hours 
 of sadness, and anxiety about existence ; while 
 also as an active cause of depression, the great 
 Methodist movement that began at this time to 
 show the elements of its vigorous power, carried 
 off some of the choicer spirits among even the 
 more influential people, together with a large 
 part of the multitudinous poor who had never 
 been taught to love the church. The schism was 
 the more easily accomplished because church 
 X^rinciples had never been duly understood, and 
 because, it is to be feared, the memory of the old 
 slanders was in too many instances sedulously 
 fostered. 
 
 Between his death, however, in 1816 and this 
 present time, a period that one life spans, what 
 mighty changes have been wrought in Maryland 
 and throughout the land. The little one has be- 
 come a thousand and the small one a strong na- 
 tion. The Lord has hastened it in his time. For 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. m7 
 
 tlieie is Still living one, and there have but re- 
 cently passed away several, who remember Bishop 
 Claggett'S venerable form and appearance, espe- 
 cially on that solemn day when he returned to 
 his old parish to minister for the last time, and 
 when the mortal illness seized him that soon se- 
 cured for him his eternal rest. 
 
 The old parish of St. James, doubtless a type 
 of many in Maryland, is truly crowded with sac- 
 red memories, that hang about the sanctuary 
 where holy men have ministered and holy saints 
 have in their hearts and with their voices com- 
 muned, and that hang no less about the habita- 
 tions of the dead that encompass the sanctuary. 
 For it was a line thought and a sacred desire that 
 made our fathers in the long time past choose 
 the church yard where their remains might lie. 
 When the Angel of God comes to call, this chil- 
 dren home, and the earth yields up its dead, 
 there will be no jDlace so lilting for that waking 
 hour as that spot where in the flesh our incense 
 of prayer and praise had ascended up on high. 
 
808 CHURCH LIFE 
 
 AUTHORITIES USED. 
 
 Original Records of St. James Parish, A. A. Cc 
 Maryland Mss. from Arcliives of Fnllianj. 
 ■Gov. Sharpe's letters in Ms. (copy.) 
 Character of the province of Maryland, Also}). 
 Early Friends in Maryland, Norris. 
 Life of Geo. Fox, vol. II. 
 Anderson's Colonial Chnrch History. 
 Records of Piscataway parish, Md. 
 Eddis' Letters. 
 
 Grahanie's Colonial History of the U. S. 
 Bancroft's History of U. S. 
 Parish Histories in Ms. Dr. Allen. 
 History St. Anne's i)arish. Dr. Allen. 
 History of Maryland, Dr. Allen. 
 Hawk's Ecclesiastical Contribntions, vol. II. 
 History of Maryland, McMahon. 
 History of Maryland, Bozman. 
 Fonnders of Maryland, Neill. 
 The Foundation of Maryland, Gen. B. T. Johns('! 
 Narrative of a voyage to Maryland, Father Whii- 
 Records of the English Province, S. J. Md.lette- ■ 
 Laws of Maryland, Bacon. 
 Archives of Maryland, Md. His. Soc. 
 History of the Church of England, Perry. 
 
IN COLONIAL MARYLAND. 809 
 
 .'otestant Episcopal Church in U. 8. of A. 
 
 Spencer. 
 KSIiort's History of the Church of England. 
 llanke's History of the Popes. 
 The Huguenots in France after the Revocation, 
 
 Smiles. 
 iSliort History of the English Peox)le, Green. 
 •History of England, Macauley. 
 History of England, Knight, 
 "he Lords Baltimore, Morris. 
 J'otes on Virginia Colonial Clergy, Neill. 
 v/enlock, Chistison, &c., Sam. Harrison. 
 Historical Sermon, Rev. W. C. Butler, 
 Oration of Gen. Charles E. Phelps, Baltimore's 
 
 one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, 
 iarisli Institutions of Maryland, E. Ingle. 
 Early Journals of the conventions of Maryland. 
 Articles on .early American church history, J. Y. 
 
 Lewis, I). D. 
 Life of Bishop Claggett, J. N. Norton, D. D. 
 John Adams the Statesman of the American 
 
 Revolution, Hon. M. Chamberlain. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Act conccniiiig Religion, — G — 112. 
 Arcbitecture in the colony, — 68. 
 Anne, Queen, — 129. 
 Alms-basin, — 170. 
 Adorning the altar,— 170. 
 Adams, Rev. Alex.— 256. 
 Allen, Rev. B.— 262. 
 Additional Constitutions, — 299. 
 Altar-clotb,— 804. 
 
 Baptism of Slaves, — 28. 
 
 Bray, Rev. Dr. —52. 
 
 Bisbop, efforts. to secure,— 52— 81 — 242— 267. 
 
 Boundaries of St. James Parish,— 63. 
 
 Bertrand, Rev. Paul, — 67. 
 
 Butler, Bishop,— 136. 
 
 Baltimore, Lord, the colony rcstoied to, — 143. 
 
 Blasphemy, law of 1723,— 113— 167. 
 
 Bacon, Rev. Thomas, — 179. 
 
 Bachelors taxed,— 210— 234. 
 
 Boston, sufferers. by fire in, — 45 — 221. 
 
 Boucher, Rev. Mr ,—229—251. 
 
 Conditions of Plantation, — 12. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 V i^ode, Rev.. John,— 12. 
 Camisavds, — 22. — 
 
 Convict emigrants, — 88 — 127 — 207. 
 ^.Copley, Gov. —48. 
 V/cmmissnry, office of, — 52, 
 Cliapels of Ease, — 56. 
 Gunstables, — 75. 
 Oounters of tobacco, — 101. 
 Comnuitation of currency, — 101. 
 Convocation suspended, — 130. 
 ^eroy, their condition in England, — 132. 
 ' tlieir social status, — 133. 
 
 of Maryland, supporters of prerogative,— 158. 
 lurch Missionary Society, — 141. 
 .lebatcli, Rev. Mr.,— 153. 
 
 V larles, the sixth Lord Baltimore, — 155. 
 Ceremonial in Ya., in 1724, — 166. 
 Communicants, — 185. 
 
 Chase, Rev. Mr.— 187. 
 
 Cohabiting, — 195. 
 
 Chandler, Rev. Dr.,— 216. 
 
 Coventry parish, — 216. 
 
 Clergy forbidden to asscDible, — 218—245, 
 
 Churches built,— 228. 
 
 (. ontract for St. James' church.— 230. 
 
 Claggett, Rev. Dr,,— 284— 285— 304. 
 
 Convention, annual meeting of, — 298. 
 
 i.'ivision of parishes, — 56 — 99 — 148, 
 
 .Donations, — 94, 
 
 j^ifficulties between clergy and laity,— 98. 
 
 Ducking-stool,— 122, 
 
 Dulany, Dan., — 217. 
 
 Donatives, parishes said to be,— 243. 
 
 Declaration of Rights.— 254. 
 
 Endowments, church,— 12. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 EstablisbmeEt of iLe church,— 18. 
 
 Act of— 24— 154— 248. 
 " good effects wrought out by,— 33 
 
 Ecclesiastical court,— 80— 154— 244— 299. 
 Enquiries of 1717,— 87— 105. 
 Eva)igelical school, — 137. 
 ——Education in the colony, — 163. 
 
 Fires, none in churches,— 120— 197. 
 
 Free schools,— 163. 
 
 French war, effects of,— 207. * "' 
 
 French Canadians,— 211. 
 
 Frederick, Lord Baltimore,— 212— 267. \ 
 
 Fundamental rights and liberties,- 287. | 
 
 Fundamental principles,— 291 ( 
 
 Glebes,- 94— 95. | 
 
 Gibson, Bishop of London, — 181. { 
 
 Hammond, — 10. 
 
 Herring Creek parish,— 67. 
 
 Hall, Rev. Henry,— 77. 
 
 Hart, Governor, — 81. 
 
 Henderson, Rev. Jacob, — 85 — 155. 
 
 Induction, forms of,— 77— 158— 159— 188— 262— 266. 
 Interlocutory Judgment <jf Council, — 192. 
 Intruders punished, — 258. 
 
 Jesuit Fathers, Records of,— 9— 13. 
 
 '• " Take up lands, — 11. 
 
 " Missionaries, — 143 
 Jones, Rev. Hugh,— 71— 166. 
 
 Kent Island, Settlement of,— 8. 
 Kidnapping,— 39. 
 
 Labadists, — 45. 
 
 Libraries, Parish,— 53— 91— 95— 303. 
 
(JONTENTH. 
 
 L->udon's, Bishop of, Authority, — 79. 
 
 i ibrary of St. James' Parish,— 104. 
 
 Liquor, use of, — 123. 
 
 T ang. Rev. John,— 188— 202. 
 
 T ike, Rev. Charles,— 223— 235. 
 
 ( . dty ill Church Conventions, — 29<5. 
 
 V' jje, Henry, — 0. 
 3 schanics in the Colony, — 71. 
 
 Malatto Children, Property of the Clergy,— 72— 125. 
 Money From Sale of Mulatto Children and Mothers,— 72. 
 Methodists, — 1 37 . 
 Magowan, Rev. Walter,— 260. 
 
 Negroes, not Baptized,— 162. 
 
 " Disturb the White People at Church,— 198 
 
 " Communicants, — 199 — 305. 
 
 • 
 Organization of the Parish, — 01. 
 
 Oiiths taken by Vestrymen, — 64—224 — 270. 
 
 v)gle,lGovernor,— 184— 223. 
 
 Offertory,— 194. 
 
 Ordain ers to the Ministry, — 280. 
 
 Protestant Catholics, — 9. 
 
 Population,— 15— 35— 124— 185. 
 
 Protestant Revolution, — 15. 
 
 Popish Plot,— 22. 
 
 Puritans, — 41. 
 
 T*ulpit Cushion,— 73. 
 
 Pew Locks, — 74. 
 
 Priests, Roman, Good Influence of,— 127. 
 
 Plate, Inventory of,— 203. 
 
 Proclamation act,— 241. 
 
 Parishes at the Revolution,— 250— 256. 
 
 Petition to the Legislature in 1780,-280. 
 
 Quakers, Population,- 23— 42. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Quakers of Pennsylvania, Missionaiy to be" sent to,— 58. 
 " Good Influence of, — 137. 
 " Descendants of, Indemnified in Mass., — 140. 
 Spirit of,— 144. 
 
 Revolt of 1681,— 14. 
 
 Revocation of Edict of Nantes, — 14 — 31. 
 
 Repairs on Churches, tax for, — 103. 
 
 Ratio of Protestants to Roman Catholics, — 40. 
 
 Roman Catholics, Treatment of,— 114— 110-309. 
 
 Slaves in Maryland,— 38. 
 
 Settlers in Maryland, from whence, — 36. 
 
 " Majority of the first Protestant,— 40, 
 Slave Trade,— 39— 177. 
 School System of 1696,— 51. 
 Service, Silver Communion, — 73. 
 Seymour, Governor, — 8(?. 
 Scepticism in the Colony, — 93 — 167 — 180. 
 Sabbath Breaking, — 113. 
 Stocks and Whipping Post,— 114— 196— 333. 
 Stole and Surplice,— 136— 166— 334. 
 Seeker, Archbishop,— 133— 306. 
 Swift, Dean, — 133. 
 
 Society for Propagating the Gospel, — 141. ■ 
 Salaries, Reduction of, — 149 — 315. 
 School Master for Sale,— 165. 
 Sharpe, Governor,— 313— 331— 343. 
 Select Vestries, 375. 
 Standing Committee, — 397 — 300. 
 Superintending Committee, — 303. 
 
 Toleration in 1648,-10. 
 Toleration, English Act of,— 36. 
 Taney, Mary ,—13. 
 Taxables,— 38. 
 Tobacco, its Varying Price — 56. 
 
 % 
 
 % 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 '• obacco, Amount Limited, — 169. 
 . albot and Welton, Bishops, in Maryland,— 156. 
 ' ustian, Rev. Peter,--158. 
 rindal— 179. 
 'erret's, Nicholas, will,— 200. 
 
 Irquhart. Rev. John,— 171. 
 
 Vestry, Functions of, — 29, 
 
 " Fined,— 170. 
 
 " Ordered to Report to Council,— 194. 
 
 " Act Agitation,— 248. 
 \'isitation, Dr. Bray's, at Annapolis,— 57. 
 violence Toward Clergy,— 154. 
 
 Whites's Father, Narrative,— 8. 
 
 Women, white with mulatto children, — 71. ' 
 
 Walpole, Sir R.,— 130. 
 
 Wesley, Rev. Sam.,— 136. • 
 
 Wesley, Rev. John and Charles,— 136— 177, 
 
 Whitfield,-136— 177. 
 
 War, seven 5^ears, — 204. 
 
 War, thirty j^ears, — 14. 
 
 White, Bishop,— 302. 
 
 ^eo, Rev. John, — 13. 
 
 Yale College, agitation on Episcopacy, — 141. 
 
"--'file Wasliingtoiir^- 
 Life Iiisurarice Goiripariy. 
 
 W. A. BREWER, Jr., President. 
 
 W. HxlXTUN, - - V ice-President and Secretaiy 
 
 CYRUS MUNN, - - - Assistant Secretary 
 
 E. S. FRENCH, - - Superintendent of Agencies 
 
 I. C. PIERSON, . - - . . Actuary 
 
 B. W. McCREADY, M. ]). - - - Medical Examiner 
 
 FOSTER & THOMSON - - - Attorneys 
 
 The dividends of The Washington are deemed to be the inalienable 
 property of the policy-holder, and are applied, at the option of the 
 Insured, in one of several ways : 
 
 1st. The dividends of The WASHINGTON may be applied to the pay- 
 ment of the premium. 
 
 2d. If not so applied, they purchase additional insurance. 
 
 3d. If used to purchase additional insurance, they are recnnvertible 
 into cash for their original amount. 
 
 4th. If the premium be unpaid when due, the whole of the cash 
 lividend to the credit of a policy is applied to continue the insurance for 
 vh© full amount, as so much premium until exhausted. 
 
 5th. The fact that a policy has dividends to its credit is authority for 
 his Company, by virtue of the policy contract, to apply their full cash 
 /alue to the payment of premium irithotit icritten diiections from the pa ty 
 'nsured. 
 
 6th. A policy in The Washington while held by dividends may be 
 !ontinued without medical re-examination, by payment of the balance of 
 *he premium due. 
 
 DANIEL GRANT EMORY, Gen'l Agent, 
 
 8 P. O. Ave., Balto., Md. 
 
>< 
 
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 1 
 
 
11