service to them, whereby the English, who had never a Minister among them have the benefit of public Worship, and are in good hopes of bringing the Dutch to a conformity.

The Rev. Mr Hepburn has at present small encouragement from the people, but chiefly under God depends on the kindness and bounty of his Excellency the Governor of this Province. WM VESEY.

ALBANY.

A large frontier town where most of the people are Dutch, who have from Amsterdam a Dutch Minister, one Mr Lydius, but there are some English families, besides a garrison of soldiers, who are a considerable congregation. A church of England Minister here will, in all probability, do signal service not only by setting up a public worship to the joy & comfort of the English, who impatiently desire a minister, and persuading the Dutch and others to conform, but also in instructing the Indians which come in great numbers thither.

Mr Moore missionary to the Mohawks, is coming to settle here for sometime by the directions of his Excellency, my lord Cornbury, who gives him great encouragement, and has been particularly pleased to promise him presents for the Indians.

COL. HEATHCOTE TO THE SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.

SIR:

[Hawk's Church Rec. ]

Manor of Scarsdale, Nov. 9, 1705.

I am indebted to you for your's of the 11th Jan. & 9th April, and am wonderfully surprized that the Society should make choice of me for one of their members. It was a very great satisfaction to me, that any thing I could offer was acceptable to them, and should very joyfully embrace any opportunity of doing service to the Church, and I bless God for it, I am not conscious to myself of ever having slipt one fair occasion therein, when

government would give me leave. I beg of you, Sir, to present my most humble duty to that honourable body and thank them for the honour they have been pleased to do me, and may assure them that I shall not only endeavour to give them satisfaction as to any thing they shall desire of me; but if any new matter occurs, which I believe may be of service to the Church, I will not fail laying it before them for their consideration.

If I mistake not the several heads you desire satisfaction of in both your letters now before me are, first, An exact and impartial account of all your Ministers-Secondly, what fruit may be expected from Mr Moor's mission-Thirdly, what my thoughts are of sending Mr Dellius into those parts again-Fourthly, my opinion of the Society's having appointed that good man, M Elias Neau as Catechist to the Negroes and Indians and the Cause of misunderstanding betwixt him and Mr. Vesey.

As to the first, I must do all the gentlemen which you have sent to this Province that Justice as to declare that a better Clergy were never in any place, there being not one amongst them that has the least stain or blemish as to his life or conversation, and though I am not an eye witness to the actions of any save those in this County, yet I omit no opportunity of enquiring into their behaviour, both of the friends and enemies of the Church, and they all agree as to the Character of the gentlemen; and that they use their best endeavours to gain over the people. And as to their diligence in the faithful discharge of their trust, the society I hope will in their instructions have laid down such rules as they wont fail coming at it without being imposed on.

Mr Urquhart, minister of Jamaica, has the most difficult task of any missionary in this government, for although he has not only the Character of a good man, but of being extraordinary industrious in the discharge of his duty, yet he having a Presbyterian meeting house on the one hand, and the Quakers on the other, and very little assistance in his Parish, except from those who have no interest with the People, that his work can't but go on very heavily, as I understand it does: But Mr Thomas of Hempstead having better assistance, the leading men in his parish not being disgusted, are helpful in the work; and having no other sectaries to oppose him by their meetings but

the Quakers, makes very considerable progress, as I have been told by some of the most sensible of his parish. As for Mr Mackenzie he has a very good report from the people of Staten Island, and I shall not fail making further enquiry concerning him, and let you know in my next.

But when all is done, what I can tell you concerning any Minister, except in this County, is only by information from others which is often very uncertain; for some gentlemen may many times and very deservingly have a fair and good character by the generality of their neighbours, and yet at the same time, by one misfortune or other not perform much of the service of the Church, in which I will give you this plain instance.

There is not any Gentleman whom the Society hath sent over that is clothed with a fairer Character than Mr. Bartow of West Chester, and truly he is a very good and sober man, and is extremely well liked of and spoken of by his parishioners in general; yet although he has been three years in that Parish not many are added to the Communion nor baptized, and few Catechized; and if he is directed to send an account how he has advanced on each of these heads annually since his coming here it will be found accordingly.

For this and many other reasons, I can't help still to be pressing that the Society should lay the gentlemen which are sent over under exact rules, and methinks it is no difficult matter to have it ordered so as to know almost as well what is done as if they were present in every parish.

The people of West Chester were very angry with me because I was for having this County divided into three Parishes, and every Minister to have £70 instead of £50. and I had brought the County except that place to a willingness to have it so, as I formerly acquainted you, and had they permitted that projection to have taken place it would have been a great ease to the Society: for first, what Mr Bartow had more than the £50. he now hath, might reasonably have been deducted at home; Secondly, Mr Bondet would have been provided for; And thirdly, one Mr Morgan who was Minister of East Chester promised me to conform; that there would not have been occasion of another being sent to us, and by that means have saved £50. a year more

at home, and wholly out of all hopes of any dissenting Minister getting footing amongst us, and it will never be well until we are in three parishes; and I shall not fail, when I have a fair opportunity, to push for it again. And to satisfy you of the reasonableness in what I offer, I believe there has not six public taxes been laid on this County by the Assembly this fifteen years past, but I have been at the proportioning of, and when the places in Rye parish pay £50. the town in West Chester parish were allotted £120. and there are two places more, which both together are one third as big as Rye Parish which are now in neither of them.

And now I am on this subject, it comes in course to make out what I told you in my former letters, viz. that there is no parish in the government but what is able to pay twice as much as they do. For Rye parish which is not by one half so large as the least parish established by law in the government here, since my living here maintained two dissenting Ministers, viz. one at Rye and Mamaroneck, and one at Bedford; and gave the former £50. and the latter £40. a year, which I think makes it out very plain what I have offered on that head; and you may be assured I shall omit no opportunity of serving the Society therein. But the work must be done in a great measure by the Minister's taking pains, and bringing the people into a good opinion of the Church, for though the reason hereof is very plain, it must be a business of time to effect it.

We have had it reported that the Queen would be at the charge of maintaining a Suffragan Bishop in these parts. If that was granted, I question not but a great many who have had their Education in Boston College would conform, and would be content with the benefices as settled by Assembly, without being very burthensome to the Society.

I have been so long wandering from one subject to another, that I had almost forgot to give you my thoughts of Mr Muirson, whom my Lord of London has sent to this parish. He has been here about three months, in which time he hath by much outdone my expectation, having very fully retrieved all that unfortunate gentleman, Mr Pritchard lost; And if he continues so faithful in the discharge of his trust, of which I have not the least doubt

but he will, he'll be able to give as large account of his services as any that has been sent over to this Province. And I must do him the justice to own that he is deserving of the Society's favors. For as some of his Parishioners told me, and which I know in a great measure to be true, that although they have had a great many Ministers amongst them since the settlement of their town, yet Mr Muirson did more good amongst them the first six weeks after his coming than all they ever had before. And I question not but when you have the particulars of his proceedings transmitted, you will find what I have said of him to be true.

As for Mr Brooks whom the Society have sent to the Jerseys, he has an uncommon good Character given him from those parts; and it is reported of him that he makes wonderful advances for the service of the Church, and I question not but Col: Morris will be very particular concerning him, that being properly his watch. For though that Province is not above 50 miles from my house, and Staten Island about 40, yet by reason of the difficulty of water passages, I have never been at either of them above twice since my coming to America. And I am now more tied at home with a family, and my private affairs than formerly, for which I humbly crave an allowance. My principles and natural temper lead me to do the Church all the service I can every where, but I dare not promise for more than this County at present, and my best endeavours in the Westermost towns in Connecticut colony when the Church is well rooted here. And it has always been my opinion, and is so still, that there is no part of this Province or even America, that would be of greater use or service to have the Church thoroughly settled in; for it is not only large in extent, and the land very good and near the City; so consequently will, in time, be a great settlement. But bordering on Connecticut there is no part of the Continent from whence the Church can have so fair an opportunity to make impressions upon the Dissenters in that Government, who are settled by their laws from Rye parish to Boston Colony, which is about 35 leagues in which there are abundance of people and places. As for Boston colony, I never was in it, so can say little to it. But for Connecticut, I am and have been pretty conversant,