tect our said Province; and we assure you of our utmost assistance for your security." June 18, 1702.

The arrival of the Rev. Mr. Thomas gave great pleasure to the Province. In a letter from the Governor and Council to the Society, dated at the Councilboard, at Charles-Town, in 1702, they say: “We could not omit this opportunity of testifying the grateful sense we have of your most noble and Christian Charity to our poor infant Church in this Province, expressed by the generous encouragement you have been pleased to give to those, who are now coming Missionaries, the account of which we have just now received, by the worthy Missionary, and our deserving Friend and Minister, Mr. Thomas, who, to our great satisfaction, is now arrived. The extraordinary Hurry we are in, occasioned by the late invasion, attempted by the French and Spaniards, from whom God hath miraculously delivered us, hath prevented our receiving a particular account from Mr. Thomas of your Bounty; and also hath not given us leisure to view your Missionaries Instructions, either in regard of what relates to them, or to ourselves: But we shall take speedy Care to give them all due encouragement, and the Venerable Society the utmost satisfaction. There is nothing so dear to us as our holy Religion, and the interest of the Established Church, in which we have (we bless God) been happily educated; we therefore devoutly adore God's Providence for bringing, and heartily thank your Society for encouraging, so many Missionaries to come among us. We promise your Honourable Society, it shall be our daily care and studypto encourage their pious labours, to protect their persons, to révere their authority, to improve by their Material Instructions, and as soon as possible, to enlarge their anual salaries. When we have placed es in their several Parishes according to

your Missi your dire

your noble

and received from them an account of perefaction of Pooks for each Parish, we

shall then write more particular and full: In the mean time, we beg of your Honorable Society to accept of our hearty gratitude, and to be assured of our sincere endeavour, to concur with them in their most noble design of Propagating Christ's holy Religion."

From the tenour of this letter we can perceive the attachment of the officers of government to the Church of England, and their favourable opinion of its establishment by law. The Governor was its zealous friend, and, doubtless, was gradually preparing the people, for its exclusive support. With this view the General Assembly, on the 6th May, 1704, passed an Act for the more effectual preservation of the government of this Province, by requiring all persons that shall be hereafter chosen members of the Commons House of Assembly, and sit in the same, to take the vaths and subscribe the declaration appointed by this Act, and to conform to the religious worship in this Province, according to the Church of England, and to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, according to the rites and usage of the said Church.

Considerable opposition was made to this Act. It was contrary to the principles of the Charter and the Fundamental Constitutions, and was carried in the Commons House of Assembly by a majority of 12 to 11. In the upper House, Joseph Moreton, a Landgrave, and one of the Proprietaries Deputies, was refused permission to enter his Protest against it. When the Act reached England, Mr. Archdale, one of the Proprietaries, opposed its ratification. But Lord Granville, the Palatine, replied, "Sir, you are of one opinion and I am of another, and our lives may not be long enough to end the controversy: I am for this Bill, and this is the party that I will head and countenance." When Joseph Boone, the Dissenter's* agent in England, requested to be heard by counsel, the

We use this term, under the establishment, in the same sense as it is by Hewatt, i. 140, 149; and Ramsay's So. Ca. ii. 3.

Palatine replied, "What business has Counsel here? It is a prudential Act in me, and I will do as I see fit. I see no harm at all in this Bill, and am resolved to pass it."*

The Rev. Edward Marston, Rector of St. Philip's, expressed himself with great warmth against this act. He appears to have been a man of violent passions and contentious disposition. He involved himself in difficulties by reflecting on the proceedings, and abusing the members of the General Assembly. He was deprived of his Salary, and ultimately ejected from office, for his contumacious conduct. As his dismissal has been complained of on different grounds,t we shall give the proceedings of the Commons House of Assembly in the case.

"Journal of the Commons House of Assembly. Oct. 10th, 1704.

"Read a Letter of Edward Marston, Incumbent of Charles-Town, reflecting on this House.

"The Question is, whether these words, inserted in the reply of Mr. Marston, now before this House, if the Lower House of Assembly now put upon their Bold and Saucy attempt, be a reflection on the Honor and Justice of this House?

"Carried in the Affirmative.

66

'Ordered, That Mr. Stroud and Capt. Guppel, inform the said Marston to attend this House immediately; and also bring the Notes of the Sermon Preached at Charles-Town, on the 17th verse of the 18th chap. of the Acts; and the Sermon he preached at Charles-Town the first day of October in the morning.

"According to an Order, Mr. Edward Marston attended this House, and informed this House, that he knew no power, till he had seen the Charter, but the Bishop of London, and Governor, to call him to

Anon. Hist. British Empire in America i. 481. 482. Second Edition. f Ibid. i. 484. 485.

account for what he Preached, and therefore would lay no Notes of his Sermons before this House, without he were advised by the learned in the Law, for that this House had no power over Ecclesiastical Affairs, and that he would stand by it."

The House then appointed James Smith and William Smith, to draw up the Reflections which Mr. Marston had cast upon the House. Mr. Marston attended the House, Oct. 18th. agreeably to order, and the Committee made the following Report:

"Mr. Edward Marston,

"You are charged by the House of Commons, for that you delivered to one of their meinbers, a paper to be laid before them, wherein you most scandalously Reflect on the House, calling their Proceedings bold and saucy attempts; you were also ordered to lay before the House two Sermons preached by you, wherein we are credibly informed, you did in particular Reflect against this House, but you have most contemptuously refused to obey the said Order, and to lay the minutes of the said Sermons before us, ascertaining [asserting] that you was no ways obliged to give an account of your Sermons to us; and the Sunday immediately before the meeting of the present Session, in a public Sermon, you charged us with calumniating and abusing you in an address formerly made to the Governor.

"And last Sunday you publicly declared in the Church, that whereas we had ordered you to lay your Sermons before us, you did not think yourself obliged to do it, and in your Sermon that day, did assert that you was no ways obliged to the Government for the bountiful Revenues they have allowed you, for that the same was due to you of Divine Right, and that you did not think yourself inferior to us, or obliged to give an account of your actions to the Government, for though they gave you a maintenance, yet you was their Superior, your authority being from Christ, or

words to that effect, and in that Sermon continued reflecting, comparing us to Korah and his rebellious companions; you have been also meddling with the affairs of this House and Government, and reflecting on the proceedings of this House, saying that we proceed maliciously against you, because you visited Mr. Thomas Smith, and that this House had proceeded illegally and arbitrarily against the said Thomas Smith, and that we had done those things which we could not justify.*

"Which said Report was agreed to by the House. According to the Order of the House Mr. Marston

*The charges alleged against Mr. Smith, were the following:

Extract from Governor Johnson's Speech, Oct. 5th, 1704.

"Landgrave Thomas Smith, having in several of his Letters under his hand vilified and abused this Government, and your House in particular, I lay the said Letters before you, that you may take such measures as may make him sensible of his fault, and may deter all other persons for the future from committing the like offences against the Government.

"Mr. Smith attended the House, Oct. 9th, and having acknowledged the Letters, was taken into the custody of the Messenger. The Letters alluded to are as follow:

"Worthy Sir,

Charles-Town, June 30th, 1703.

"If you had not got over the Bar as you did, I believe our famous Assembly would have contrived some irregular proceedings to have stopped you by force. The very day they met, their malice was so much, that they sent two cunning orders to me as I may call them, to bring in the public accounts.

"There is sent hence from our Assembly, a large letter containing several sheets of paper, with complaints, particularly against yourself, but in general against the protesting members and some others, as I hear. This Letter although it be sent hence from authority, yet they would not suffer it to be recorded in their Journals, although several of the members of your County urged that it ought to be entered; they also would have protested, but they would not allow any such thing, saying that it was not precedential in Parliament although you got that liberty, they were resolved it should not be precedent, for you very well know they are following the works of darkness.

"Just at the breaking up of the Assembly, they passed a noble vote, and interpreted the Regulating Bill, so that all foreigners, as well as netural born subjects, had the liberty to vote, if they had been worth Ten Pounds, and had been here three months; and honest Ralph, who loves slavery better than liberty, moved your Honourable Assembly to bring in a Bill to naturalize all foreigners this next spring, which will be in 14 days time; so that unless we have a Regulating Bill, and some other Acts passed in England for the good government of this country, I cannot see how we can pretend to live happy here.

"Worthy Sir,

July 25, 1703.

"Enclosed you will find another copy of the famous vote of our Assembly, for fear the last sent should not come to your hands; also a copy of their Act against Blasphemy and Profaneness, which they always made a great noise about, although they are some of the most profanest in the country themselves, yet you know great pretenders to religion and honesty, for a colour for their Roguery." Journals of the Commons House of Assembly.

The superscription of these Letters is not given in the Journals.