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WHITEFIELD AND THE SEPARATISTS.

gational State Churches. The Churches of the Standing Order were filled with unconverted persons, with many who had grown up in them from infancy, being introduced at that time by christening; and but a small proportion of their members made any claim to a spiritual regeneration. The intuitions of a converted soul recoil from Church associations with those whose only claim to membership in Christ's inystical body is a ceremony performed over an unconscious infant, for the renewed man seeks fellowship with those who, like himself, have exercised faith in Christ's saving merits, and he is likely to take the Scriptures for his guide in seeking his Church home. Whitefield himself taught his converts, when preaching on Rom. vi, 1-4, that their death to sin enjoined another order of duty. He says: ‘It is certain that in the words of our text there is an allusion to the manner of baptism, which was by immersion, which our Church [Episcopal] allows, and insists upon it, that children should be immersed in water, unless those that bring the children to be baptized assure the minister that they cannot bear the plunging.' In these and similar words he showed his hearers that the New Testament disciples were a body of immersed believers; and when Jonathan Edwards repudiated the Half-way Covenant, numbers embraced his views; some few new Baptist Churches were formed in Massachusetts, but many Whitefieldians and Baptists attempted to build together in what were popularly known as New Light or Separatist Churches. Of course such a compromise between Baptist and Pedobaptist principles could not long be practiced, and gradually the Baptists withdrew to form their own congregations. Backus says that for the twenty years between 1760 and 1780 two new Baptist Churches were organized each year.

The life and ministry of Isaac Backus himself illustrates the sweep of the Baptist movement in New England. He was converted to God during this great awakening, and with many misgivings united with the Congregational Church at Norwich, Conn., but afterward joined with fifteen others in forming a Separate Church, composed of Baptists and Pedobaptists. Two years afterward, 1748, having now reached the age of twenty-six years, he formed a Church of this mixed order at Middleborough, Mass. Soon the question of baptism began to agitate the body, and a number of his people rejected infant baptism and sprinkling as baptism. After a time Mr. Backus followed them on conviction, and in 1756 he formed the First Baptist Church at Middleborough. The story of his change of faith and denominational relations is a type of the inward and outward changes through which many earnest men passed at that time, and united with the Baptists or formed new Churches of that order and Backus acted as a leader in this direction.

We have seen that James Manning was first a student at Hopewell; after spending four years at the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, from which he was graduated in 1762 with the second highest honors of his class, he was intrusted by the Philadelphia Association with the arduous task of establishing a denominational college' on some suitable part of this continent.' After consulting largely with

friends, amongst them Gardner, the Deputy-Governor of Rhode Island, he established a Latin School at Warren, and organized a Baptist Church there in 1764. This school was subsequently removed to Providence, where it is still continued as the University Grammar School. In 1765 he was appointed 'President of the College of Rhode Island, and Professor of Languages and other branches of learning, with full power to act in these capacities at Warren and elsewhere.' He began his work with one student, William Rogers, from Newport; three others were added within a year, and at the first commencement, in 1769, he graduated seven. A college charter was obtained from the General Assembly of Rhode Island, and $2,000 were subscribed for building and endowing the college. He saw at once that his success depended on the interest which the Churches took in the institution, and seeing that this could only be accomplished by united effort, he and Hezekiah Smith determined on forming an Association, with the double purpose of resisting the oppressions of the Standing Order in New England and of securing an educated Baptist ministry. This was accomplished at Warren in 1767. For six years the college remained at Warren, when a contest arose between Warren, East Greenwich, Newport and Providence for the honor of the permanent location, and in 1770 the college was removed to Providence. Manning then resigned his pastorship at Warren, accepted that of the Providence Church in 1771, and for twenty years held the twofold relation of pastor and president. The Warren Association was intimately identified with the development of the college for many years, thus making them mutual blessings. Backus tells us that a number of elders being together in consultation about the affairs of the young institution, they sent invitations to other brethren, and the result was the meeting at Warren of representatives from eleven Churches, with three ministers from the Philadelphia Association for consultation concerning the organization of the new Association. John Gano was pastor of the Baptist Church in New York at that time, and brother-in-law of President Manning. Gano presided over their delegations, and Isaac Backus acted as clerk. After full deliberation, some of the Churches, fearing that an Association might assume jurisdiction. over them, faltered, and that body was formed by the representatives of four Churches only, namely, Warren, Bellingham, Haverhill and Second Middleborough, but the latter Church withdrew at the second meeting, 1768.

President Manning then drew up a statement closely defining the objects of the Warren Association, adapted to remove misapprehensions, and in 1670 the Middleborough Church, with Backus as pastor, returned, upon the express condition. that no complaint should ever be received by the Association against any particular Church that was not of the Association, nor from any censured member of any of our Churches.' This body of Churches defined that its union was consistent with independency and power of particular Churches, because it pretended to be no other than an advisory council, utterly disclaiming superiority, jurisdiction, coercive right and infallibility. On these principles the Association won its way, and in 1777

The

it embraced in its membership 31 churches and 1,617 communicants.
service which it rendered to Baptist interests in those days of weakness and trial
was very great, for it was a missionary society as well as a fraternal body. It
organized an Educational Fund for ministerial education; it appointed a committee
to present serious Baptist grievances to the government of Massachusetts and Con-
necticut; it sent an agent to England to lay their case before the king; and it
appealed for subscriptions to all the Baptist Churches of this continent, admonishing
them to rally to the support of their own college as a Christian duty. Also it
appointed Benjamin Foster and others to prepare a spelling-book, a good English
grammar and a Baptist catechism. Foster was a graduate of Yale, was appointed
to defend the Pedobaptist position in the exercises of that college, and became a
Baptist on conviction as the result. The hallowed influences exerted by the Phila-
delphia and Warren Associations in molding the Baptist denomination in the New
World can never be told.

Justice, however, demands as high a tribute to Morgan Edwards as to James
He says
Manning, for his zeal and ability in establishing the college. Indeed, Dr. Guild,
the present librarian of Brown University, frankly pays him this tribute.

of Morgan:

'He was the prime mover in the enterprise of establishing the college, and in 1767 he went back to England and secured the first funds for its endowment. With him were associated the Rev. Samuel Jones, to whom in 1791 was offered the presidency; Oliver Hart and Francis Pelot, of South Carolina; John Hart, of Hopewell, the signer of the Declaration of Independence; John Stites, the mayor of Elizabethtown; Hezekiah Smith, Samuel Stillman, John Gano and others connected with the two Associations named, of kindred zeal and spirit. The final success of the movement, however, may justly be ascribed to the life-long labors of him who was appointed the first president, James Manning, D.D., of New Jersey.'

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It is right to say here that he, being a Welshman, it was meet that he should be the 'prime mover' in establishing the first Baptist college in America on the very soil where Roger Williams, his countryman, had planted the first free republic of this land. There is also very much poetic lore in the thought that he should leave his Church in Philadelphia to enlist the men of Wales in the interests of the young institution. He brought back a large sum of money for this object, and had so stirred the sympathies of Dr. Richards, of South Wales, that he bequeathed And now, probably, there is not such a his library of 1,300 volumes to its use. collection of Welsh books in America as is found in the town of the brave Welshman who founded Providence. Welsh affection for Brown merits that 'poetic justice' which led its present librarian to bless the memory of the other immortal Welshman, Morgan Edwards, as the prime mover in its establishment. Mr. Edwards was thoroughly educated and became pastor of the Philadelphia Church, on the recommendation of Dr. Gill, in 1761, and remained there till 1771, when he removed to Delaware, where he died in 1795. His influence was very great, but

REV. MORGAN EDWARDS.

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would have been much enlarged had he identified himself with the cause of the colonies in their struggle with the mother country. His family was identified with the service of his majesty of England, and Morgan was so full of Welsh fire that he could not hold his tongue, which much afflicted his brethren and involved him in trouble with the American authorities, as we find in the following recantation: 'At a meeting of the Committee of White Clay Creek, at Mr. Henry Darby's, in New York, August 7th, 1775, William Patterson, Esq., being in the chair, when the Rev. Morgan Edwards attended and signed the following recantation, which was voted satisfactory, namely:

'Whereas, I have some time since frequently made use of rash and imprudent expressions with respect to the conduct of my fellow-countrymen, who are now engaged in a noble and patriotic struggle for the liberties of America, against the arbitrary measures of the British ministry; which conduct has justly raised their resentment against me, I now confess that I have spoken wrong, for which I am sorry and ask forgiveness of the public. And I do promise that for the future I will conduct myself in such a manner as to avoid giving offense, and at the same time, in justice to myself, declare that I am a friend to the present measures pursued by the friends to American liberty, and do hereby approve of them, and, as far as in my power, will endeavor to promote them. MORGAN EDWARDS.'

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How sound his conversion was to Revolutionary measures' is not a proper question to raise here, but as the offense was one of the tongue, he made the amend as broad as the sin, and there is no known evidence that he ever gave too free rein to the unruly member thereafter on the subject of the noble and patriotic struggles for the liberties of America.' It is sure, however, that when American liberties were secured he brought forth abundant fruits, meet for repentance,' in the labors which he devoted to the cause of American education. He also traveled many thousands of miles on horseback to collect materials for the history of the Baptist Churches in the colonies which he had done so much to build up. His purpose was to publish a history in about twelve volumes. He issued the first volume in 1770, which treated of the Pennsylvania Baptists; the second volume related to the New Jersey Baptists and was published in 1792; his treatment of the Rhode Island Baptists was not sent forth by him, but appeared in the sixth volume of the Rhode Island Historical Collections of 1867. He left the third volume in manuscript, concerning the Delaware Baptists, which is now in possession of the Baptist Historical Society, Philadelphia. He was as noble, refined and scholarly a servant of Christ as could be found in the colonies. He died in Delaware in 1795; his body, which was first buried in the Baptist meeting-house, La Grange Place, between Market and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, now rests in Mount Moriah Cemetery, and every true American Baptist blesses his memory.

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CHAPTER VIII.

THE BAPTISTS OF VIRGINIA.

O chapter of Baptist history, European or American, fills honest hearts with warmer gratitude and thanksgiving than that of Virginia. The first settlers of this colony were cavaliers, from the upper classes of English society, profoundly loyal to the English government and zealous of religious observances. The Virginian charter of April 10th, 1606, made the Church of England the religion of the colony, and devotion to the king, its head and defender, the test of loyalty; hence all were taxed for its support. Before Plymouth Rock was known, and nearly a quarter of a century before Massachusetts Bay Colony was organized, the soil of Virginia was hallowed by praise to God in public worship. Captain John Smith tells us this beautiful story of his religious acts at Jamestown:

'When I first went to Virginia, I well remember we did hang an awning, which is an old sail, to three or four trees to shadow us from the sun. Our walls were rails of wood, our seats unhewed trees, till we cut planks, our pulpit a bar of wood nailed to two neighboring trees. In foul weather we shifted into an old rotten tent. This was our church, till we built a homely thing like a barn, set up crotchets, covered with rafts, sedge and earth, so was also the walls, the best of our houses of the like curiosity, but the most part far much worse workmanship, that could neither well defend wind or rain. Yet we had daily common prayer, morn ing and evening; every Sunday two sermons, and every three months the Holy Communion, till our minister, Mr. Hunt, died. But our prayers daily, with a homily on Sunday, we continued two or three years after, till more preachers came. And surely God did most mercifully hear us, till the continual inundations of mistaken directions, factions and numbers of unprovided libertines, near consumed us all, as the Israelites in the wilderness."

Happy had it been for the colonists if this freedom and simplicity of voluntary worship had been continued amongst them, as this noble character cominenced it in his rude Jamestown temple, without doubt the first ever erected in North America. The charter made withdrawal from the Episcopal Church a crime equal to revolt from the government. It further required that if any one were drawn away from the 'doctrines, rites and religion, now professed and established within our realm of England,' the person so offending should be 'arrested and imprisoned, until he shall fully and thoroughly reform him, or otherwise when the cause so requireth, that he shall with all convenient speed be sent into our realm of England, here to receive condign punishment, for his or their said offense.'

Each successive Governor promulgated his own code of laws, directing his