Church, the same was accepted, to be returned whenever demanded, with the thanks of this Board."

It appears by the following entry on the minutes, that there were always two collections in the morning on Communion day:

"Resolved, That the money collected in church on those days when the Communion is administered, shall be added to the sum collected at the Communion, the whole to be applied by the Rector for the use of the poor of the congregation."

Shortly after the building was completed, Mr. Laight laid before the Board a plan for a ring of bells for Trinity Church. They were not actually ordered however till 1796. In the following year they arrived from England in the ship Favourite, Captain Drummond, who received a formal vote of thanks from the Vestry for his care and attention in the transportation of them.*

The charge of the bells was given to a committee, who were authorized to permit any number of men or ringers to ring them by way of practice, but without any compensation for so doing; and the said committee were also authorized to contract with such ringers for compensation for their services when they might be called upon, but it was not to exceed for any one day's service a greater sum than thirty dollars.

*On this occasion the chairman of the committee of repairs was requested to present the thanks of this Board to Doctor Kunze, the senior Pastor of the Lutheran Church, for the use of the bell which had been so courteously loaned to them, and to return the same, with the fixtures belonging to it.

Before this resolution, however, the treasurer had been ordered to pay them forty dollars for their services on the 4th of July. It seems a little singular, that while the compensation was so large for a full set of ringers for a single day, that Mr. Moller was allowed but forty pounds for chiming the bells throughout the year.*

By a resolution of the Vestry, it was ordered that the bells in the different churches should not be rung on account of any public rejoicings, unless by the express permission of the Rector.

The organ for Trinity Church, which was also imported from Great Britain, though of no great power was a sweet-toned instrument, and well adapted to the size of the building. Mr. John Rice was appointed, in 1791, the organist for one year, with a salary of £50, which was afterwards raised to £75, and it was made his duty to attend on Sundays, Prayer days, and such other occasions as the Rector might think proper.

A set of lustres was presented to the church by Mr. George Knox, father-in-law of one of the members of the Vestry at the present day;† and in 1802 the committee of leases and repairs was ordered to provide three large suitable chandeliers for Trinity Church, and a set also for St. George's and St. Paul's.

About this time a petition was presented by William Post, and one hundred and seventy-two other persons,

*The Bellows blower was allowed to receive two shillings a piece for showing the bells.

+ Mr. Robert Hyslop.

members of this church, praying that the Rev. Joseph Pilmore might be called as an Assistant Minister, and a Sunday evening lecture established. A special committee was appointed to consider the propriety of calling another Assistant Minister, and the means of supporting him. Mr. Pilmore had been a follower of Mr. Wesley, and for several years an itinerant preacher among the Methodists. From his enthusiastic temperament, and the peculiar strain of his discourses, he was probably not acceptable to the more judicious and soberminded members of the parish, for the committee made no formal report on the subject, and the Vestry very shortly after proceeded to the appointment of the Rev. John Bisset. The friends and admirers of Mr. Pilmore, unwilling to submit to the disappointment, in a spirit of frowardness and discontent broke off from the parish, and set up a distinct church, with their favourite at its head. The Vestry, by the following resolutions, seem to have regarded the course of these wilful persons as unchristian in its temper, and the act itself as almost schismatical:

"Resolved, That the late separation which has been made from the congregation of Trinity Church, appears to be unjustifiable, has a tendency to create discord and confusion, and ought to be discountenanced;

"Therefore, Resolved also, That the admission of delegates from the persons who have so separated, into the Convention of the State, or the acknowledgment of them as a distinct church by that body, would, in the opinion of this Board, be highly improper, and ought to be opposed.

"A letter from John Rutherfurd, Esq., was presented to the Board, and read in the words following, to wit:

"GENTLEMEN :

"NEW-YORK, October 2d, 1787.

"My intended removal from town, induces me to resign the offices of vestryman and clerk to the corporation of Trinity Church. Be assured that it is with regret I take leave of your body, and sincerely hope that my conduct while in office may meet with your approbation.

"I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your most obedient servant,

"JOHN RUTHERFURD.

"To the Rt. Rev. Rector and the Church Wardens and

Vestrymen of the Corporation of Trinity Church."

"Therefore, Resolved, That the said resignation be accepted.

"Mr. Bleecker, from the committee on accounts, reported that the committee had met Mr. Rutherfurd and examined his accounts, and the minutes of the proceedings of this Board kept by him. That they found the said accounts were kept by him with great good order and regularity: and that the utmost attention has been paid by him to the interests of the corporation, and the duties of his station as clerk: and that in their opinion he is entitled to the esteem and thanks of this Board for his faithful conduct.

"Resolved, therefore, That the Right Reverend Rector be requested to present the thanks of this Board to Mr. Rutherfurd, for his faithful services in the execution of the said offices.

"Mr. Rutherfurd's resignation being accepted of, the Vestry proceeded to the choice of a person to officiate as clerk in his stead. Whereupon the votes being taken, there appeared to be a majority in favor of Richard Harison, Esq., and he was accordingly elected clerk to this corporation."

In 1793, a legacy of £1000 was left upon certain trusts to this corporation by Mr. John Leake, and the charitable purposes of which have ever since been faithfully fulfilled. The interest of this sum was to be applied to the purchase of good and wholesome bread for weekly distribution in the church among the needy members of the parish. For more than fifty years the poor have had occasion to remember and bless the bounty of the giver, as we trust they may forever in generations to come.

Shortly after this, in 1795, the sum of one thousand pieces of eight, Danish West India currency, was left to this corporation and the poor of the same, by the will of John Stratford Jones, of the island of St. Croix, the whole of which when received was applied to the benefit of the Charity School.

In the same year Mr. Hugh Gaine made a voluntary gift of fifty Common Prayer Books, to be placed in the hands of the Rector, and distributed among such country congregations as might stand in need of the same.

In 1792, a committee was appointed to confer with Mr. Stuyvesant upon his proposal for building a church on his land, towards which he engaged to give £800 and a lot of ground one hundred and fifty feet in width, and one hundred and ninety feet in length.