in the Churches," in which he maintains that "if any of our Churches presume to transact their weighty affairs, and such as are of a common concern to the Churches in the neighbourhood," without the use of councils; "or if they shall or if they shall upon grievous differences among them, refuse the advice of those who urge them to make use of this remedy; and, much more, if they shall proceed in matters after the neighbouring Churches have signified that they cannot countenance their proceedings," they virtually "exclude themselves from communion with the faithful," and may be proceeded against, even to excision. On the other side, a pamphlet was published, entitled, "A Brief Declaration of Mr. Peter Thatcher and Mr. John Webb, Pastors of the New North Church in Boston, in behalf of themselves and said Church, relating to some of their late ecclesiastical proceedings," in which they contend that Webb on the "It is an essential right belonging to particular Churches to enjoy a free liberty, within themselves, duly and regularly to enquire" into their own affairs, "and to judge-upon Thatcher and them as becometh creatures endued with reason and conscience, who are ever to be supposed more nearly concerned for their own spiritual interests, than others can be supposed to be for them;" at any rate, that "they ought to have the privilege reserved unto them of regularly determining when and in what cases to call in the help of their brethren." "According to the constitution of these Churches," they said, "neither the declaration of ministers nor of councils to any particular Church is to be received by it as law, only to be understood and so obeyed, but as counsel to be advised on, weighed, and determined upon, according to the Word of God, by the body of Christians to whom it is made, though we freely confess the affair ought to be managed with the greatest honour and respect to those that give their advice in a solemn way and manner, as well as with a due regard to their own both Christian liberty and holy edification."* These were hard sayings to the leaders of the Theocracy," who, in the Cambridge Association, including all the Boston ministers, had claimed, in a resolution on "the power of synods with respect unto particular Churches," decisive authority in questions brought before them; and in a second resolution, "on the power of elders in the government of a Church," the right of the pastor to impose a negative or veto on the decisions of the Church. They were so possessed with a sense of the infallibility of their judgment, and of their transcendent moral excellence, that they could not imagine a Church could act alone with safety in a critical emergency, and without their special guidance. The College in Connecticut, after much discussion, and a series of local difficulties, was permanently established. "The building," says Samuel Johnson, one of the College officers, "went forward apace, so that the hall and library were finished by the Commencement. A few days before Yale College, Commencement, came the news of the good success at New Haven. of some gentlemen's endeavours to procure some donations from Great Britain. For at Boston arrived a large box of books, the picture and arms of King George, and two hundred pounds sterling worth of English goods, all to the value of eight hundred pounds in our money, from Governor YALE, of London, which greatly revived our hearts and disheartened our opposers. We were favoured and honoured, with the presence of his Honour, Governor Salstonstall and his lady, and the Hon. Col. Taylor, of Boston, and the Lieutenant-Governor, * Clark, pp. 132, 133. and the whole Superior Court, at our Commencement, September 10th, 1718, where the trustees present-those gentlemen being present-in the hall of our new College, first most solemnly named our College by the name of YALE COLLEGE, to perpetuate the memory of the Honourable Governor Elihu Yale, Esq., of London, who had granted so liberal and bountiful a donation for the perfecting and adorning of it. Upon which, the Honourable Col. Taylor represented Governor Yale in a speech expressing his great satisfaction; which ended, we passed to the Church, and then the Commencement was carried on. In which affair, in the first place, after prayer, an oration was had by the Saluting Orator, James Pierpont, and then the disputation, as usual; which concluded, the Rev. Mr. Davenport (one of the trustees and minister of Stamford) offered an excellent oration in Latin, expressing their thanks to Almighty God, and Mr. Yale, under Him, for so public a favour and great regard to our languishing School. After which were graduated ten young men, whereupon the Hon. Geo. Salstonstall, in a Latin speech, congratulated the trustees in their success and in the comfortable appearance of things with relation to their School. which ended, the gentlemen returned to the College Hall, where they were entertained with a splendid dinner, and the ladies at the same time were also entertained in the Library; after which, the first four verses in the 65th Psalm, and so the day ended.”* All The following letter of Jonathan Edwards, to his father, gives us a picture of College life : "EVER HONOUred Sir, Letter of "NEW HAVEN, July 21st, 1719. "I received, with two books, a letter from yourself, bearing the date of July 7th, and therein I received, with the greatest gratitude, your wholesome advice and counsel; and I hope I shall, God helping of me, use my utmost endeavours to put the same in practice. I am sensible of the preciousness of my time, and am resolved it shall not be through any neglect of mine, if it slips without the greatest advantage. I take very great content under my present tuition, as all the rest of the scholars seem to do under theirs. * Johnson's MS.; Woolsey's Historical Discourse, pp. 24, 25. Mr. CUTLER is extraordinarily courteous to us, has a very good spirit of government, keeps the school in excellent order, seems to increase in learning, is loved and respected by all who are under him; and when he is spoken of in the school or town, he generally has the title of President. The scholars also live in very good peace with the people of the town, and there is not a word said about our former carryings on, except now and then by Aunt Mather. I have diligently searched into the circumstances of Stiles' examination, which was very short, and as far as I can understand, was to no other disadvantage than that he was examined in Tully's Orations, in which, though he had never construed before he came to New Haven, yet he committed no error in that or any other book, whether Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, except in Virgil, wherein he could not tell the preteritum of requiesco. He is very well treated among the scholars, and accepted in the College as a member of it by everybody, and also as a freshman; neither, as I think, is he inferior, as to learning, to any of his classmates. "I have enquired of Mr. Cutler what books we shall have need of the next year. He answered, he would have me to get, against that time, Alstead's Geometry and Gassendi's Astronomy, with which I would entreat you to get a pair of dividers, or mathematician's compasses, and a scale, which are absolutely necessary in order to learning mathematics; and also the Art of Thinking, which I am persuaded would be no less profitable, than the other necessary, to me, who am "P.S.-What we give a week for our board is £0 5s. Od." * Effect of the The College might have prospered under the care of President Cutler, but a change of views led to his removal by the trustees. In the "large box" from London he found certain books, Books in the the perusal of which decided him in favour "Large of Episcopacy, and he could no longer be content without ordination at the hands of a prelate. * Memoirs of Edwards, prefixed to his Works. Box." On the 5th of November, 1722, accompanied by Samuel Johnson and Daniel Browne, he embarked at Boston for England. On the 15th of December they landed at Ramsgate, and proceeded the same evening to Canterbury. Their first visit the next morning was to the Cathedral. They were exceedingly charmed with the beauty of the service. In the afternoon they presented themselves at the Deanery, as "gentlemen from America come over for holy orders." The object of their visit was well known to the Dean, who told them that their declaration in Connecticut, in favour of the Church of England, had already been published in the English journals. Their reception in London by Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dawes, Archbishop of York, and Robinson, Bishop of London, was equally flattering. Cutler was appointed to a new Church to be opened in Boston; Browne was to be entrusted with a mission at Bristol, in Rhode Island; and Johnson to be stationed at Stratford, in Connecticut. The completion of these arrangements was prevented for a time by the illness of Cutler, who had a severe attack of small-pox, but at the end of March he and his two friends were ordained Deacons and Priests. Within a week after, Browne was seized with the fearful malady from which Cutler had suffered, and died on Easter Eve. The newly-ordained Priests were received with acclamations at Oxford. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was given by diploma Oxford. to Cutler, and that of Master of Arts to American Johnson. James Wetmore now joined their ranks, and, in |