Production Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. It was scanned using Xerox software and equipment at 600 dots per inch resolution and compressed prior to storage using CCITT Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1984. The production of this volume was supported in part by the New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials and the Xerox Corporation. Digital file copyright by Cornell University Library 1994.REASONS FOR THANKFULNESS: A DISCOURSE DELIVERED IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ROCHESTER, N.Y. ON THE DAY OF ANNUAL THANKSGIVING, DECEMBER 15, 1836. BY TRYON EDWARDS, PASTOR OF SAID CHURCH. ROCHESTER: PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES. Bumphrey, Cook & Tinkham, Printers. 1837.RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION, And to the inhabitants of the City generally, as a proof of the Author’s sincere desire to promote among them a knowledge of the History and Character of the Founders of our Nation, and to aid them justly to appreciate and rightly to improve the blessings by which, both as a nation and a city, we are so highly distin- guished.SERMON. PS. CXVII, 1, 2. 0 praise the Lord, all ye people—for his merciful kindness is great toward us. Praise ye the Lord. The words of the text, originally had reference to the Jewish nation. The Psalmist has been recounting some of the manifold mercies of Jehovah, both temporal and spiritual, to his own chosen people. He has reviewed the bounties of God’s providence, and the richer bounties of his grace; and as they rise up before him, one after an- other, like so many visions of mercy, his heart is filled with gratitude to the Lord, and he pours it forth in the full, and clear, and sweet streams of thankfulness and praise. O! how unlike the great mass of men, who receive, and enjoy, and possibly review, numberless bless- ings, while they are heedless of the giver—who sail joy- ously onward, with the prosperous breeze, and the un- ruffled tide of mercy, while they forget the kind power that guards them from the storm of adversity—the hand that holds its lightnings—the voice that checks its thun- ders, and that says to its every rising wave, “ Peace, be still 1” But to return. So far as the principle of the text is concerned, there is a striking analogy between our own nation and the ancient covenant people of God. Not that,6 like them, we are surrounded by the visible displays of God’s peculiar glory; not that we breathe an atmosphere of miracles; or enjoy the personal guidance of the Angel of the Covenant; or receive our daily bread by showers of food from heaven. These things, like the burning bush of Horeb, or the fiery-cloudy pillar of the desert, were peculiar to days for ever past, and will never be known to our experience. But still, in many, very many parts of our past history, and in our present condition as a people, we, as well as ancient Israel, find abundant rea- son to exclaim, in the sentiment of the text, u His merci- ful kindness is great toward us? and still more, to add, with heart-felt and glowing gratitude, its commencement and conclusion, “ Praise ye the Lord.” This, then, is the subject to which your attention is in- vited—to a glance at the past and present kindness of God’s dealings with us as a nation, and to the fact that these have ever been such as should call forth our devout, and thankful, and constant praise. The text, as applied to ourselves, reminds us, that thus far in our history, we have ever been highly exalted by God. Our nation, as such, has been peculiarly favored in many respects, a few of which may be noticed. And, I. In its founders.—With nations, as with indivi- duals, the desire is universal, of knowing their progeni- tors and founders. We love the memory of departed beings, and past events, and ancient days, which are woven in with our own history. And on these things it is sometimes well to linger—especially, if they furnish motives to noble enterprize and elevated goodness in our- selves, or of gratitude and praise to God. In this respect, we, as a people, have been signally favored of Heaven. With most nations that have existed, all that is distinct and definite in the character of their founders, is long since buried in forgetfulness; or if there be any which7 are exceptions to the remark, they are generally, like Rome and some of the early Grecian states, obliged to exchange oblivion for infamy—having been founded by out-laws and desperadoes. Not so however with us. “ God sifted three kingdoms, that he might plant the American wil- derness with the finest wheat? The founders of this country were a self-denying and noble band, “ of whom the world was not worthy.” They were, in part, the Presbyterians of Scotland, and the Huguenots of France, but especially the Dissenters of England—all bound together by persecution and by the sympathies of a com- mon faith, and all known as the “ Puritans”—a name in which every American should delight to glory, and to share in which, even in the remotest degree, I would es- teem the noblest birth-right that earth can give ! Henry the Eighth, had indeed given its death-blow to Popery in England; but so inwrought were its corrupt and persecuting principles, into the very texture of socie- ty, that they “ long maintained a fierce and bloody conflict, with the rights of conscience, and the dearest hopes of man.” During the reigns of Mary, Elizabeth, and one or two subsequent sovereigns, laws were passed in refer- ence to religious sentiments and worship, which were regarded by many as tyranny to conscience, and opposi- tion to God. Two acts, especially—one declaring the Gueen the supreme head of the church, and the other re- quiring conformity in all things to the established religion, excited immediate and powerful resistance. Though the plains of Smithfield were still reeking with the blood of martyrs, and the funeral fires of hundreds* were scarcely quenched, still there were men of heroic and daring spirit, who fearlessly withstood these oppressive * Even Hume admits that in three years of Mary’s reign, 277 persons were burnt at the stake, beside those who were punished by fines, impri- sonments and confiscations. The number was probably much greater.8 laws, and demanded greater liberty, and simplicity, and purity of worship. And in this they persevered, notwith- standing their incredible sufferings from unjust laws, and bitter calumnies, and severe persecutions—persevered, till by voluntary exile from their native land they gained their long sought end. By way of ridicule and reproach, they were called “ Puritans a term which their own char- acter has rescued from contempt, and identified with all that is great and noble and glorious in man. That charac- ter I cannot better present than in the abbreviated senti- ments of another*—one who will hardly be suspected of prejudice in their favor, when I mention that he is con- nected with the established church, and a native of that country from which our fathers fled. “The Puritans,” he says, “were the most remarkable body of men which the world has ever produced. The odious parts of their character lie upon the surface, and by malicious observers have often been made the theme of unmeasured invective and derision. As a body they were unpopular, and were therefore abandoned to the attacks of the press and the stage, when the stage and the press were of all times the most licentious. But it is not from ridicule alone that the philosophy of history is to be learnt. Most of their absurdities were in external things in which indeed they might have been more attractive. But above all external things, the Puritans were men whose minds had derived a peculiar character from the daily contem- plation of superior beings and eternal realities. Not con- tent with acknowledging, in general, an over-ruling Pro- vidence, they habitually ascribed every event to the will of that great Being, for whose power nothing was too vast, and for whose care and inspection nothing was too minute. To know, and serve, and enjoy him, was with * Hon. Thomas Babbington McAuley, in the Edinburgh Review, vol. XLII. p. 337.9 them the great end of existence. They rejected with contempt the ceremonious homage which other sects had substituted for the pure worship of the soul. Instead of catching occasional glimpses of the Deity through an obscuring veil, they aspired to gaze full on his infinite brightness, and to commune with him face to face. Hence their contempt for all earthly distinctions. They recogni- zed no title to superiority, but the divine favor; and confi- dent of that favor, they despised the accomplishments, and honors, and dignities of the world* If unacquainted with the works of philosophers and poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God. On the rich and the eloquent, on priests and on nobles, they looked down with contempt; for they regarded themselves rich in a more precious trea- sure, and eloquent in a sublimer language—nobles by the right of an earlier creation, and priests by the imposition of a mightier hand. The meanest of them esteemed himself a being, destined before heaven and earth were created, to enjoy a felicity which should for ever continue, when heaven and earth should have passed away. For his sake empires had risen and flourished and decayed; and for his sake had sounded the voice of the Evangelist and the harp of the Prophet. He had been rescued by no common deliverer, from the grasp of no common foe- rescued, by the sweat of no common agony—by the blood of no earthly sacrifice. For him it was that the sun was darkened, and the rocks were rent, and the dead had arisen, and all nature had shuddered at the pangs of her expiring Lord. The Puritan was made up of two different menthe one^ all penitence, and affection, and gratitude, and self-abasement; the other, proud, calm, inflexible, sagacious. He prostrated himself in the dust before his Maker • but he set his foot on the neck of his king. Men might sneer at them with contempt or deri- 210 sion ; but those had little reason to laugh who encountered them in the hall of debate, or the field of battle. In civil and military affairs, they displayed a coolness of judg- ment, and a fixedness of purpose, which were the neces- sary effect of their zeal; for the very intensity of their feelings on one subject, made them calm and tranquil on every other. In one over-powering sentiment, were swal- lowed up their pity and hatred, ambition and fear. Death, to them, had no terrors, and pleasure no charms. They had smiles and tears, raptures ana sorrows, but not for things of this world With their minds cleared of every vulgar passion and prejudice, and raised above the influ- ence of danger and corruption, they went through life, like Sir Artegales’ iron man Talus, with his flail, crush- ing and trampling down every form of oppression—min- gling with human beings, but having no part in human infirmities—insensible to fatigue, to pleasure,' to pain not to be pierced by any weapon—not to be withstood by any barrier.” Such were the Puritans to the eye of the candid politician. Baptize the picture in the spirit of heaven, and such, substantially, were they to the eye of the Christian; and such, so far as their good qualities are concerned—such they were made by their religion. They deserve a record in the brightest pages of earth’s history. They have a record in the pages of heaven, “ They had their faults—their false logic and their extra- vagance, the effects of the age in which they livedbut they came to this country, the friends of liberty, of edu- cation, of religion; and “ in the learning of many of them, and in the wisdom and results of their plans and labors, they still stand forth a noble race, altogether supe- rior to the ancestors of any other nation.” Well may we exclaim with the Psalmist, “ His merciful kindness is great toward us. Praise ye the Lord.”11 Again, our nation has also been highly favored, II. In the objects for which it was founded.—No other nation has ever been founded from such elevated motives, and for such noble and benevolent ends. The Grecian and Roman colonies were intended only as a means of wealth and conquest; and the same is true of the colonies of Spain, and those of Great Britain in the East and West Indies. Not so, however, with the Puri- tans. Oppressed and persecuted, where they should have been protected, and then exiled and banished as felons, they resolved for liberty's* sake, and religion's^ sake, to leave the homes of their fathers for the then trackless wilds of this Western world. Persecution hunted them in all their movements, but they escaped its fangs. The sword rose up to oppose their progress, but they evaded its point. The tempest followed them on their ocean-way, but on its every cloud, God had planted his bow of mercy. * Twice in their native land did the Puritans save the British consti- tution from being crushed by the usurpations of the Stuarts. Even Hume, who is never backward to ridicule both their character and their principles, is compelled to admit, “ That the precious spark of liberty had been kindled and was preserved by the Puritans;” and that to them 44 the English owe the whole freedom of their Constitution.” This spirit they brought with them to this country; and ere they left the cabin of the 44 May Flower,” they formed themselves, by a written article, 44 into a civil body politic,” &c. It is worthy of notice that this is the first wriU ten constitution of government that can be found in the history of civilized nations, and that it recognized the fundamental principle that all should be ruled by the majority—the very germ of all republics. t14 One of the main ends of all these undertakings,” says one of the first emigrants, 44 was to plant the Gospel in these dark regions of Ame- rica.” And says an early historian of our country, 44 This was not only their main end, but their sole end.” Accordingly we are not surprised to hear that 44 profane swearers and drunkards were not known in the landor that an eminent minister, speaking of this period, in a sermon before the British Parliament, should be able to say, 441 have lived in that country seven years, and have never heard a profane oath or seen a per- son drunk in the land.”12 The savage met them on their arrival, but the same hand that restrained the tempests, held his power in check, till they were able to repress it. Through all these, and a thousand minor obstacles, they persevered with unwaver- ing purpose, till they had secured to themselves a refuge from oppression, an asylum for conscience, and a temple for God. That refuge—that asylum—that temple, were the same. Its foundation was our everlasting hills—its topmost spires, the peaks of our loftiest mountains—its dimensions, the length and breadth of our land—its mourn- ful music, the sighing of our autumn forests—its sweeter strains, the murmuring of our lakes and rivers—its wilder anthems, the tornado’s voice and the cataract’s roar—its acceptable sacrifice, the Pilgrim’s prayer, breathed forth from the chambers of an humble, grateful heart. Here they found rest from their wanderings—here conscience was untrammelled, and the voice of the oppressor un- heard—and here they poured forth their prayers and their praises, “ with none to molest them, or make them afraid.” No other nation has ever been founded from such holy motives—for such noble ends. Surely “His merciful kindness is great toward us. Praise ye the Lord.” Our nation, as such, has also been peculiarly favored of God, III. In its preservation in seasons of trial and danger*—On the first arrival of our fathers, as we have seen, the power of the savage was mercifully restrained, till by their own increase, they were adequate to the work of self-protection. Still later in our history, France covet- ed our possessions, and for more than half a century strove to wrest them from us. On the west, she hemmed us in “ by a chain of fortresses, and on the east our shores were defenceless to her carnage.” The barbarous natives were excited against us, and hordes of foreigners, scarcely less * See a discourse by Rev. Dr. Nott, July 4, 1801.13 savage, were poured in for our destruction. Danger and death were on every side. The laborer was murdered in the field—the family in the slumbers of midnight—the babe in the arms of its mother, and the worshipper at the very altar of God ! For a time it seemed as if utter de- struction were inevitable. But “he that transplanted, sustained us ;”* and in great mercy we were saved, and brought off conquerers. To mention but one of many instances in which the schemes of our foes were providentially defeated, we may advert to the great fleet which they fitted out in 1746, to ravage our defenceless coasts. For weeks it was shut up in the ports of France, by what has well been called, “ an embargo from heaven.” In crossing the ocean, it was so shattered by tempests that only a part of it ever reach- ed our shores. By these disasters, the first and second in command were so disheartened, that they put an end to their own lives ; and the third had no sooner effected a landing for his men, than the angel of the Lord smote them with a pestilence, so that their camp, like that of Assyria of old, was full of dead men. Thus the Al- mighty compelled them “to return by the way they came,” without so much as lifting a spear or shooting an arrow against the cities which they designed to destroy. Thus the tempest, and the elements, and the pestilence fought against our enemies, while our fathers “ stood still, and saw the salvation of God.” In all this contest we were aided and protected by the mother country, for George II. was a father to his colonies. George III. however was their oppressor and their tyrant. His policy toward us was cruel and enslaving. It was met on our part, first by petition, then by remonstrance, and when these were in vain, by an appeal to arms. The struggle was long, and desperate, and for us seemed almost * “ Qui transtulit, sustulit”—the state motto of Connecticut.14 hopeless; for while the hosts of our adversaries were numerous, and their resources immense, and their gene- rals distinguished both by courage and experience, ours was a little band, destitute of arms and ammunition, un- used to battles, having no resources but their valor, no hope but the justice of their cause, and no leader but the providence of God. During the early part of this un- equal contest, the prospect before us was indeed dark and gloomy. “ Our embarrassments were numerous—our sufferings immense. Our cities were burnt or plundered, our fields covered with dead bodies, and our valleys soak- ed in blood. Of the flower of our country, many were cut off in battle, many perished in prison ships, and many became the victims of hardship and disease. Our fron- tiers lay naked to the stroke of the tomahawk, and our seaports were open to the ravages of British arms/” . Dis- aster and alarm from without, were attended by alarm and disaster within. A miserable paper currency, daily depreciating in value, excited mutual distrust, embarrass- ed private business, and even palsied the very energies of government. At this fearful crisis, when anxiety was on every brow, and fear in every heart—when America, like ancient Israel, stood trembling on the brink of the sea, alike unable to withstand or escape from her foes, then the Almighty appeared for our deliverance. He smote the sea whose waves were ready to overwhelm us, and at his stroke its deep billows were divided, and we passed through in safety, to independence and freedom. This memorable event, however, though it gave a new aspect to our affairs, did not end our trials. The nation was exhausted by war, and oppressed with debt. The insufficiency of the old confederation, which was unfelt so long as we were bound together by common dangers, now became manifest. “ Its bonds were seen to be a mere parchment, its commands a mere request.” Taxation too,15 excited discontent. One state was distracted by insurrec- tion, and all were perplexed or shaken, by discordant sys- tems of policy, or jarring interests. The powers of the general government were feeble; its rights dubious; the bonds of union were evidently relaxing, and the whole system was tending to dissolution. But the same kind hand that had led us safely through the sea, did not for- sake us in the wilderness. The same power that had guarded us from external danger, now saved us from in- ternal ruin. Guided by the finger of Providence, the patriots and sages of our country again assembled, and formed the American Constitution, which thus far has been, and we would hope may ever be, the firm basis of our liberty and our union. Time would fail us, to dwell further even upon the out- line of our unexampled career, from infant colonies to a mighty nation. Suffice it to say, that from the first set- tlement of the country, up to the present hour, we have ever been borne as on eagle’s wings, and guided by infi- nite wisdom, and girded, and sheltered, and upheld by Almighty power and goodness. What abundant reason have we, with the deepest thankfulness, to exclaim, “ His merciful kindness is great toward us. Praise ye the; Lord.” Our nation, as such, has also been eminently favored, IV. In its increase and prosperity.—Two centu- ries ago, a few barks tossed upon yonder billows contained our entire population, and a few settlements in the howl- ing wilderness were all the extent of our territory; and the title even to that was disputed by wild beasts, and the wilder and fiercer savages. Even at the revolution, our territory was comparatively limited, and our population small. Now we have a territory extending from ocean to ocean, comprising more than 2,000,000 square miles, or about one-twentieth of the habitable globe, and contain-16 ing within its borders more than seventy distinct Indian tribes, with thirty of which we have treaties* and with most of which we are at peace. The public lands of our States and territories, contain 340,000,000 of acres* Our frontier lines are nearly 10,000 miles in extent, about 4,000 of which are sea-coast. Already our population is 14,- 000,000; and so varied is our climate, and so productive our soil, as to be capable of sustaining a population nearly as large as that of the entire globe. The annual value of our exports is $122,000,000, and of our imports $173,- 000,000—of all of which nearly nine-tenths are carried in American vessels. The aggregate of our foreign and coasting tonnage is not far from 2,000*000 of tons, beside that on our internal waters—in all, employing 200,000 boatmen and seamen. The whole value of the produce of our commerce, manufactures, and agriculture is from 1800 to 2,000,000,000 of dollars annually. And still our immense physical resources are continually developing, more and more, by our various increasing facilities for mutual intercourse, and especially by our rail-roads, and rivers, and canals—of which the former, in their speed, seem almost striving to be rivals of thought, and the last two, like the arteries of the country, are sending the pul- sations of commerce, by their mighty throbs, through the length and breadth of the land. We are at peace at home, and respected abroad. Our banking capital is about $300,000,000. Our annual income, is not far from $50,- 000,000; and while many nations of the world are bur- dened with immense debts,* we are actually perplexed and disputing among ourselves, how to dispose of a surplus revenue of over 40,000,000! Emigration is rolling its fertile tide westward to the Pacific. Cities of wealth, and splendor, and intelligence, have long been set, like noble *The national debt of Austria, is $200,000,000; of Russia, $220,- 000,000; of France, $480,000,000; and of G. Britain, $3,400,000,000117 gems, along our eastern coast, while in the interior, others are rising with a giant growth to rival or outstrip them; The arts and sciences, manufactures and general intelli- gence, are all on the increase. “ A little one has become a thousand, and a small one a mighty nation.” “ A new department in God’s moral empire is rising—has risen up; A new world—a world of freemen is created, and is filled with people,” and surrounded with blessings. Truly “ His merciful kindness is great toward us. Praise ye the Lord.” We are further peculiarly favored, as a people, V. In the enjoyment of the comforts of life, and the fruits of our own labor*—In no other land are these so fully and freely enjoyed, as in our own. In Nor- way and Sweden, the ordinary food of the peasantry is oat-meal, and occasionally a little dried fish, while their dwellings are mere log cabins covered with bark br turf. In Denmark, they are bought and sold with the land ofi which they live, with as little ceremony, as if they were part of its brush-wood. In the freezing climate of Russia, few* if any of them, have beds. In Poland, their condi- tion is still more degraded. For one of them to strike a noble, is death. And in both these last mentioned coun- tries, their daily food is often such as would scarcely be offered to the meanest American beggar. Throughout the continent of Europe, the highest wages of cotton manufacturers is only from four to ten shillings per week; and of the 32,000,000 inhabitants of France, more than 22,000,000 are compelled to live, or rather to starve, on from five to eight cents per day; and even of this poor pittance, one fifth is demanded for taxes. In 1820, one- seventh part of all the inhabitants of Paris received sup- port from public charity, and one-third of those who died, died in hospitals. In France, only 1 in 196 is allowed to * See Nor. Am. Rev. for Oct. 1835, Art. V. 318 vote for his rulers, while in this country, if we may take our own state as a standard, nearly one-sixth of the entire population are voters. In France and Germany, 1 in 20; in Holland, 1 in 7; in Great Britain, 1 in 6; and in Ire- land, 1 in 3, are paupers! Of the 1,400,000 houses in Ireland, one in six, or 230,000, are occupied by paupers; 700,000 have but one hearth in each; while multitudes are described as “four mud walls, without chimney or window, and with no bed except the clay floor, or the straw which may be on it.” In one parish in that coun- . try, of 9000 inhabitants, 3136 had not, for five years, been able to purchase a single important article of clothing, and of 1618 families—the entire population—1011 had but one blanket each, and 229 had none at all. The high- est average wages of the Irish laborer, is only from 9 to 11 cents daily; and even that of the manufacturing classes is but little better. Even in England, highly favored as it is, compared with most countries, from 30 to 40 per cent, of every man’s property is every year demanded by taxation, to meet the enormous expenses of the govern- ment ; and the poor rates of that country are annually more than $>30,000,000—a sum greater by some millions than all the ordinary national expenses of the United States. The wages of laborers are various—in some parts as high as 60, in others as low as 12 cents, daily; and generally, so miserable is the condition of the great part of the English laboring classes, as almost fully to justify the statement of a writer in the London Quarterly, that “ every English laborer must pass through the poor house to get to his grave /” These, and similar state- ments, I might easily and almost indefinitely extend ;* but enough has been said to show you that burdens so few and light, comforts so numerous, and blessings so abundant as * Let any one who would see this subject in all its harrowing details, read (in addition to the article already referred to) Art. II, in the London Quarterly Review for December, 1835.19 we enjoy, are not vouchsafed to any other nation on earth. Enough has been said to show you that every one in this country who is out of the poor-house or hospital, may well think himself rich, and that no one who is in them even, has comparatively any reason to complain of the hardships of his lot. In view of our comforts, as a peo- ple, well may we say, in the sentiment of our text, “ His merciful kindness is great toward us. Praise ye the Lord.” We are also greatly favored, as a nation, VI. In our facilities for education and general in- telligence.—In Ireland, as also in many other Euro- pean states, hundreds of thousands of children are desti- tute of all means of education; and of those in schools, the instruction of many is worse than useless. Taking France as a whole, only 300 of every 1000 are able to read; while in Massachusetts, probably 999 of every 1000 can both read and write; and in Connecticut, a few years since, as was ascertained in taking the census, there were but three men in the entire state who could not both read and write. Most of the States, as such, are engaged in the work of instructing the young. In our own state, (which has one of the best devised and most efficient com- mon school systems in the land,) are annually expended for that object, from state funds, more than $300,000, and in all, more than $1,200,000—affording instruction to 541,401 of the 543,085 children in the state between the ages of 5 and 15. Apart from our educated ministry, and our great benevolent societies, and our Sabbath schools, with their hundreds of thousands of pupils, we have about 1300 newspapers, (more than are possessed by the 200,000,000 of Europe,) and 130 moral, scientific and religious journals, beside our larger Quarterly Reviews. Then we have 8 Law schools, with their 12 professors, and 250 students; 23 Medical institutions, with 135 pro- fessors, and 2200 students; 32 Theological seminaries,20 with 88 professors, and 1150 students; and 86 Colleges* with 150 instructors, 15,000 living graduates, 9000 pupils, and 398,000 volumes in their libraries:—all of which, are so many fountains of light and knowledge to our land. These again, are but a small portion of the facts that might easily be adduced to illustrate the point before us, They are sufficient, however, to show us that there is no country where all kinds of knowledge and means of in- formation, are so open and free to all—no country enjoys ing so many facilities for possessing an intelligent, health- ful, respectable, and useful population;—sufficient to show us, in this respect, the “ merciful kindness” of God, and to lead us with the Psalmist to charge our souls, u Praise ye the Lord.” It is further true, that as a nation we are eminently favored, VII. In our RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES AND BLESSINGS.rrrr- Our great benevolent societies, (the annual income of the most important of which is more than $1,000,000,) are accomplishing a vast amount of good, in the way of pre- ventive charity—for the extension of sound intelligence, find the advancement of pure religion * Unlike most *In foreign lands, our Missionary Societies have 750 Missionaries and assistants, 19,000 church members, and 140,000 pupils. In our own country, they employ more than 1000 preachers, who are proclaiming the gospel in places that might otherwise be destitute. Our Education Socie- ties are aiding more than 1900 young merj, who are preparing to be teach- ers or ministers of the cross. The American Bible Society, since its commencement, has published nearly 2,000,000 copies of the Bible and the New Testament. The American Tract Society has issued 827 differ- ent publications, and has circulated 39,000,000 of tracts, containing more than 614,00Q,Q00 of pages. The American Sunday School Union, is supposed to have in its connection, about 100,000 teachers, and 800,000 pupils. The American Temperance Society has 8000 Auxiliary (23 of them, State) societies, containing 1,500,000 members; and through its influence 4,000 distilleries have been stopped, 8,000 merchants have aban- doned the traffic in ardent spirits, and 12,000 drunkards have been re- formed.21 countries of the earth, we have no legally established form of religion. The state is free from the burden of the church, and the church from the curse of the state. We are exposed to no civil disabilities and oppressions, on ac- count of our religious profession or opinion. Sentiment is free, and conscience unshackled, by legislative enact* ments or the dogmas of popes. God?s word is the only standard of our creeds—evidence the only rule of belief. Our religion is, to a great extent, not one of mere forms and ceremonies, but of the mind, the heart, the spirit. Our own denomination numbers its 2,225 ministers, its 2,807 con- gregations, and its 219,126 communicants; while in the churches of other Evangelical denominations, so far as known, there are not far from 10,282 ministers, and 1,575,- 334 communicants. What a mighty host to do good, if they all would but live for God! In our own state, there is, on an average, one evangelical preacher to every 979 inhabitants; and even in the ten Western states last ad* mitted to the Union, there is one minister of the gospel (including all denominations) to every 1,400 inhabitants— a greater proportion than in Scotland even, which is pro- bably better supplied than any other nation, except our own. If we may judge from New England, and a large part of the Presbyterian church, the world does not con* tain so enlightened, and evangelical, and useful a body of men, as the ministry of the United States. Not that they are as laborious and finished critics as the German theo- logians, or as accomplished classical scholars as many of the English clergy. But in the intelligent, and compre- hensive, and consistent knowledge of divine truth—in thorough preparation for their work, and in active devo- tion to it, I hazard nothing in saying that, as a body, they are unequalled. They have done more for the interests of education, and sound morality, and true religion, and in past times, more for the literature of our country, than22 all other clashes of the community together. In our coun- try, as a wholes, and especially in our own church, inclu- ding the orthodox churches of New England, there is an intelligence and soundness of faith, a vigorous moral sen- timent, and a vitality in religion, unequalled by that of any other nation in existence. And if we have not rival- ed some others in extensive biblical learning, we have far surpassed them in deep theological research, in pungent and powerful exhibitions of truth, in discriminations, of immense importance, respecting personal religion, and especially in an experimental acquaintance with revi- vals of religion, when the Holy Spirit breathes upon his churches, and multitudes, through their efforts, are gather- ed into the kingdom of Christ. Yes—my hearers—in the rich enjoyment of religious privileges and blessings, God has unquestionably favored us, more than any other na- tion on earth. How deeply should we feel that “ His merciful kindness is great toward us /” How fervently obey the monition, " Praise ye the Lord P But turning from blessings peculiarly national, we may also find abundant reasons for thankfulness, VIII. In the origin, and growth, and present Prosperity of our own beloved city.*—Forty-eight years ago? the ground on which our city now stands, was only known as a part of the hunting ground of the rem- nant of the “ Six Nations.” The person who first left Massachusetts to explore it, took public leave of his family, his neighbors, and the minister of the parish, who had assembled, all in tears, to bid him, as it were, a final adieu! At that time, a tract of 24 miles in length, by 12 in breadth, was given by the Indians for a mill yard ! So vast, as will soon be seen, has been the increase of the yalue of landed property! It was not until 1821, that part of this territory was organized as Monroe county. * See Appendix A.23 Rochester, now the capital of this county, 25 years since, had no existence. The first log house, on the east side of the river, was erected in 1808; the first on the west side, in 1811:—and the first white person born in the village, (in 1810,) is now a member of this congregation. At this time the mail was carried eastward, once a week, on horse- back, and part of the time by a woman! In 1812, part of the ground on which the city now stands, was first laid out in lots, and offered for sale. In this year, also, a Post-Office was established in the village, and its first quarterly in- come was $3 42 cents! In 1814, the settlement was threatened with an attack from the British fleet, which came to anchor at the mouth of the river; and all the male inhabitants capable of bearing arms, (being only 33!) turned out with the militia of the adjoining towns, to pre- vent the landing of the enemy, leaving but two men to take care of the women and children. In 1815, the first religious society, that of this church, was organized with 16 members; and it will give you some idea of the condi- tion of the country, when 1 tell you that it was the only congregation in at least 400 square miles—that the second meeting of its session was held on “ Brighton ridge,” and that no church meeting was legally called, unless notice had been sent to the settlements on the ridge in Gates, and in the east part of Brighton ! At that time the popu- lation was only 331. Twenty-one years have since passed away, and now we behold Rochester the fourth, if not the third city in the “ Empire State.” Its limits include about 4200 square acres ; its population,* according to the census just taken* is over 17,000; and the estimated value of its property, is $17,500,000. The annual income of its Post-Office,t which is a good test, both of its literary taste, and com- mercial prosperity, is over $14,000. Its Custom-House * See Appendix B. t See Appendix C.24 income is $60,000 per annum; and its Canal revenue $192,000—larger than that of any place west of the Hud- son. Its Boat-yards, (which, on the enlargement of the canal, will become ship-yards,) supply not only our own canals, but those also of other states. Its interest in the “Forwarding Lines,” is about $320^000—more than is owned in all the other cities of the state, so that it exerts a controlling influence in the navigation of the canal. Many of our Hotels, some of which are of the largest class, would do credit to any city whatever. We have 2 daily, 5 weekly, 1 semi-monthly, and 2 monthly papers; an Athenaeum, with a library and reading room attached to it; a Library Association; an Academy of Sacred Mu- sic, with a professor and 150 pupils; 12 Agencies for In- surance Companies; 11 miles of broad and well flagged side-walks; 3 Banks, with an aggregate capital of $950,- 000, and allowed to issue between two and three millions; and 1 Savings Bank, the annual deposits in which amount to $100,000* The known annual sales of Merchandize, of various kinds, amount to more than $5,500,000.* In addition to 9 lines of Daily Stages, there is constant com- munication with the city, by rail-roads, and steam and canal boats. Our water power is of immense magnitude and value. The two great falls and several rapids of the river within the city limits * make an aggregate descent of two hundred and sixty feet, or about one hundred feet more than the perpendicular descent of Niagara! The value of this water power, as computed by the standard of steam power in England, is almost incredible, exceed- ing $10,000,000 for its mere annual use ! This is the moving power to most of the great manufactories,! and to our mills. These immense establishments-^-our flour * Dry Goods, &.C., $1,900,000. Groceries, &c., $1,200,000. Manu- factures, exclusive of Flour, $2,470,000. t Also to 9 Saw mills, annually cutting 10,000,000 feet of lumber.25 Mills—sustained by the enterprise and skill of our mil- lers, have already rendered Rochester celebrated as the greatest flour manufactory in the world * * * § They are 20 in number, having 94 runs of stones, and are capable of manufacturing 25,000 bushels of wheat daily! They actually do make on an average from 500*000 to 600,000 barrels of flour per year, worth, at present prices, nearly $6,000,000.t We have 2 Female Seminaries* with 11 teachers and assistants, and about 180 pupils; 3 Charity Schools,t sus- tained by our ladies, who are thus educating 250 orphan or destitute children; 1 High School for both sexes, the largest in the state, with a principal, 11 assistants, and during the year 654 pupils; 18 Private Schools, including some of those just mentioned; 14 Common School Dis- tricts, in the schools of which, (including the high school and the African school,) 2782 children are annually taught. Our “ Female Charitable Society,”§ for the wisdom and benevolence of its plans, and the usefulness of its efforts* has no rival in the country. Our 20 Sabbath Schools, have 593 teachers, 2,978 pupils, and 3,331 volumes in their libraries.il We have 20 Religious Societies,IT 16 of which have permanent houses for worship. These edi- * The “ Allen Mill” (see note) was erected in 1789, for the sake of gaining a title to the adjoining land. A person, now living in the city, returning from that mill, has been followed to his own door by wolves ! And so late as 1800, the mill not supporting itself, was left vacant; and any of the settlers, as they had occasion, went to it, ground their own grain, closed the mill, and returned at their leisure. And this in a place Which is now the largest flour manufactory in the world! t The annual cost of the single item of cooperage for these mills, &c., is from $200,000 to $250,000 ! t One by the young ladies of the First Presbyterian Church; one by the young ladies of St. Luke’s Church; and one by the Rochester Fe- male Charitable Society. § See Appendix D« jj Soe Appendix E. IT See Appendix F. 426 fiees, several of which are massive and majestic struc- tures, not surpassed by an equal number in any city in the Union, cover 60,106 square feet, or nearly square acres ; the number of square feet in their audience rooms is 48,255; afid the extent of their pew-room, 15,853 run- ning feet. Two of these societies are “Friends,” and two Roman Catholic. Of the remaining 16, which are evangelical in sentiment, 5 are Presbyterian, 2 Episcopal, 2 Baptist, 2 Methodist, 1 Reformed Presbyterian, 1 Free Will Baptist, 1 Congregational, 1 German Lutheran, and 1 African. All but four of these churches have settled pastors, and all of them are regularly supplied with the stated ministrations of the Gospel. The whole number of their communicants is 3,540—of which 1,076 have been added within the year, 675 on profession of their faith, and 401 by certificates from other churches. The whole number of additions to our own church,* in the 22 years of its existence, is 941—of which 250 have been added in the last four years. The average annual addition for the whole period is 41—for the last four years, more than 62. The first organized Temperance effort in Ire- land, if not in Great Britain, was made by the former pas- tor of this church, the Rev. Dr. Penney. The noble plan of supplying the whole United States with the Bible, ori- ginated in this city. Two of our churches have contri- buted more, the last year, to the cause of benevolence, than any churches, (with two exceptions,) in the Presby- terian connection. Fifteen missionaries have gone from our churches to foreign lands. No place in our country is so distinguished as Rochester, for its revivals of religion-— for the comparative number and size of its churches, or the elegance of their edifices; and but few can compare with it in sound morality and intelligence, in social or- * See Appendix G.27 der, in enlightened enterprize, and in stable, permanent prosperity. Such is a brief sketch of the kindness of God’s dealings with us, as seen in our origin as a nation; in our preserva- tion in seasons of trial and danger; in our national in- crease and prosperity; in the abundance of our resources and comforts; in our facilities for education and general intelligence ; in our religious privileges and blessings; and finally in the origin and growth, and present condi- tion of our own city—=a city which twenty-five years since had no existence, and which is now the ornament and the pride of our state. Who, as he reviews these multiplied, and constant, and signal blessings, does not feel his heart glowing with thankfulness to God ? From every thing in our past history, and our present enjoy- ments, and our prospects for the future, who does not hear the declaration coming up like the voice of many waters, uHis merciful kindness is great toward us!” Who does not hear—who will not rejoice to obey the ex- hortation, “ Praise ye the Lojid!” In the Improvement of this subject, we cannot but re- mark, I. That the sins of this country are sins of peculiar aggravation, and must be regarded by God, with pecu* liar abhorrence.—Would to heaven, that this topic might be spared—that there were no dark spots on the escutcheon of our country’s glory—no tears of lamentation and sor- row to bedew the harp of thanksgiving—-no dark fore- bodings to mingle even with our paeans of praise! But conceal it we may not—there are sins of deep and dread- ful dye, resting upon us as a nation. Ambition, and world- liness, and pride, and profaneness, and intemperance, and Sabbath breaking, and infidelity, and licentiousness, still stalk abroad with unblushing front, and unholy purpose,28 to disgrace and pollute our land. And then there is our recent disregard of law, and the scurrility of party abuse, and the violence of party feeling, and the actual practice of that doctrine of devils, ^ that all is fair in politics,” and that, too, by men who, in other matters, would scorn the meanness and the wickedness which it involves. And last, but not least, there is the bondage of 2,000,000 of our fellow-men, which rests upon our country as a dark and dreadful sin, and threatens us with a still deeper and a darker curse. When I think of the tendency of these and a thousand other sins—when I hear them calling with an iron voice on Heaven for vengeance, and when I remember the holy indignation with which God regards the abominations of earth, I often tremble for my coun- try ! True—the Lord hath long borne with us; but to the believer in Divine Providence, there is something fear- ful, even in his forbearance: for the longer he spares, the fuller will be the vials of his wrath, and the more fearful the day of our visitation, unless we avert it by sincere and speedy repentance. I hardly need say, II. That this subject should lead us all to the exercise of lively and devout gratitude to God,—Deeply should such gratitude be cherished in our hearts, and clearly and constantly manifested in our lives. And, above all, it should lead us to turn from our sins, and to engage at once, and heartily and forever in Jehovah’s service. This is the design—this the proper tendency of all God’s mer- cies to us, and this should be their effect. This is our best good—our highest privilege—our noblest end—our first duty, to ourselves, to our country, to our God. This only can save us from an aggravated ruin, and make the bless- ings of earth the pledge to us of the purer, the nobler, the endless blessings of heaven.29 Finally, we are taught by this subject, III. Our immense obligations, both to our ancestors and to posterity,—To our forefathers, whose character we have traced, we are indebted, under God, for all the blessings we now enjoy. We may indeed, and we ought to venerate their memory, and study their history, and cherish their noble principles, and imitate their lofty Chris- tian virtues. But all this will not discharge our immense and sacred obligations to them; for they are beyond the reach of our service and praise. “ These obligations should rather bind us to the living and to posterity,” Standing, as we do, on the mount of mercies, between the past and the future—holding in our hands the destinies of unborn millions, we are bound to transmit to them, not only unimpaired but improved, the precious legacy receiv- ed from our fathers. By proper care, and watchfulness, and effort, we may do this. And on the other hand, by a little neglect—by neglecting education, by abusing liberty, by disregarding law, by violating the Sabbath, by refusing to maintain the institutions of our fathers and the wor- ship of God, by being the apologists of irreligion, or im- morality, or vice, we may mark out a path to those who come after us, and train up a race that shall be a curse to themselves, to the community, to the world, and to our-! selves for ever hereafter1. Would you then avoid all this? Would you have the generations that come after you, an honor, a blessing to the world, and hereafter an ornament to heaven ? Then do all in your power, that their minds may be enlightened by knowledge, and their hearts sanctified by grace. Teach them, both by precept and example, to be the friends of liberty, of education, of wholesome laws, of upright rulers, and of every good in- stitution, whether civil, social, or religious—to be the con- stant worshippers of God, and the active opposers, and30 discreet reformers of every vice. Teach them to think— to weigh arguments, as well as to read letters. Let their morality be that of religion, their politics founded in hea- venly principles, and their habits of thought and action those which are drawn from the unchanging word of God. Teach them that liberty without virtue is a curse, and that the greater a nation’s prosperity, if misimproved, the deeper will be the damnation that must follow it Teach them that without religion, and the Bible, and the Sab- bath,* and the worship of God, there is no more safety for our country, than there is salvation for our souls—that without these we shall assuredly sink into the same mo- ral putrefaction and death, in which “ civil despotism has entombed the millions of China.” Yes—my hearers—let us remember and transmit to all posterity, the sacred les- son received from our Puritan Fathers, that only right- eousness can truly exalt a people, and that happy is that nation, and only that, whose God is the Lord. Pure re- ligion is the only hope op nations. Without this, all that you may do to elevate and bless a people with permanent prosperity, with abiding greatness, is utterly in vain. You may throw around them the proprieties of life, and the refinements of art and taste; but these will but cover and conceal the wickedness which they cannot destroy. You may look to the restraints of civil law; but laws are ever the offspring of public opinion, end * Our Puritan fathers were remarkable far their regard for the Sab. bath. One reason which they gave for leaving Holland was, “ that in ten years time, whilst they sojourned amongst” the Dutch, “ they could not bring them to reform their neglect of the observation of the Sabbath.” It is also an interesting fact, that on one of the first expeditions, made by the Puritans, to explore the country on which they had landed, when they were overtaken by Saturday night, instead of returning to the ship, they camped out until the Sabbath was past—and this in the middle of a severe December 131 when that is corrupt and abominable, they will be the same. You may tell them of the excellence of mere morality; but selfishness will sneer at its beauty, and as to its power, it will perish like a garland-—like the splen- did bubble of a thousand hues, in the first grasp of tempta- tion, You may give them intelligence; but if unsancti- fied, it will be like the intelligence of devils, used only to blight and destroy all that is bright, and beautiful, and glorious, both here and hereafter. You may talk to them of the greatness and the honor of their country; but a mere appeal to pride will not stay the violence of party divisions, or the clashing of jarring interests, or the law- less ragings of open sin, which may yet break forth in moral earthquakes, rending us in pieces, and consigning us to the grave of ruin, with republics that were and are not. No—my friends—there is no safeguard for a nation, like that afforded by sound intelligence, blended with pure re- ligion ; nothing that will so richly bless it in all its civil, social and moral relations; nothing that will so surely secure the smiles of that God, whose favor is life, and whose loving kindness is better than life. While then, with united hearts and voices, we send up to Jehovah the strains of thanksgiving and praise for all our mercies, as individuals, as citizens, as a people, let us also , with united hearts and voices send up the petition that our temporal mercies may be continued—that sound intelligence may be extended, and especially that revivals of pure religion, kindled up as the quenchless Watch-fires of heaven on every hill and in every valley, may purify our land from every sin, and make us as distingushed for holiness, as we are for prosperity—as distinguished for the improvement as we are for the reception of mercies. Let us pray that he who hath so long been our protector and leader, will32 still be our guardian and guide—that he who hath so long blessed us, will bless us still—that he who hath been the God of our fathers, will dwell with us, and be our God— that he will be a wall of fire round about us, and a glory- in our midst—that he will take up his abode in our city, and our nation, and ever make us that happy people, whose God is the Lord*APPENDIX A. History, &c.—Forty-eight years ago, the tract of country, of which Monroe county is a part, was only known as the hunting ground of such remnants of the “ Six Nations,97 as had survived the chastisement of Sulli- van, and the more destructive influence of frontier civilization. The pre- emptive title to all this territory was claimed by the state of Massachu- setts, under the grant of its colonial charter. With this claim however, the charter of the state of New-York interfered j but an adjustment was finally made in 1786, by commissioners who met at Hartford, (Conn.); Massachusetts ceding to New-York the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the territory, and New- York ceding to Massachusetts the property of the soil. In 1787, Massachusetts sold this tract, containing 6,000,000 of acres, to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham for $1,000,000. In the following spring, Mr. P., who lived in Massachusetts, prepared himself with men and means to explore it—with great intrepidity taking leave of his family, his neighbors, and the minister of the parish, who had assembled on the occasion, all in tears, to bid him, as it were, a final adieu 1 He persevered, penetrated the wilderness, and made a treaty with the Indians, by which they ceded to him the title to about 2,250,000 acres of his purchase. An incident connected with this treaty may not be unwor- thy of notice, as illustrating the change in the value of landed property since that time. Mr. P. proposed to erect mills at the Falls of the river, (now Rochester,) and asked for a competent space around them for a mill-yard. To this the Indians assented, and a tract was taken for that purpose, of 12 miles by 24! After a mill had been erected, and the In- dians came to see the quantity of land requisite for a mill-yard, they ex- pressed their surprise, as well they might, but still did not recall their gift. In 1821, part of this territory was organized as Monroe eounty, of which Rochester is now the capital. Rochester is situated on both sides of the Genesee river, which, within 3| miles, descends by falls and rapids 226 feet—the highest fall being one of 97 feet, within the city limits. The mill-lot, so called, lying on the west side of the river, and containing 100 acres, was given in 1789 to a Mr.34 Allen for building a mill for the accommodation of the settlers who might move into the adjacent region. But the settlements being mostly made in other directions, the mill went to decay, and the lot was repeatedly sold. In 1802, Nathaniel Rochester, William Fitzhugh, and Charles Carroll, of Maryland, purchased the lot, and left it unsold until 1812, when they sur- veyed it into village lots, opened it for sale, and gave it the name of Ro- chester. The center of the city, east of the river, was originally purchased of the Phelps and Gorham estate, in 1789, for Is. 6d. per acre, New Eng- land currency. A log-house and a saw-mill were erected on this tract in 1808; but it was not much improved until 1817, when 80 acres were laid out in building lots and offered for sale. In the northwest part of the village, (now Frankfort,) the first improvements began to be made about 1807, and in the northeast part in 1813. James S. Stone, son of Enos Stone, was the first white person born in Rochester—May 4, 1810. The first bridge over the Genesee was commenced in 1810, and completed in 1812. In 1812, the first tavern and the first store were opened. In 1813 there were three houses built and occupied on the west side of the river; and in that year the square in front of the First Presbyterian Church, was cleared and sown with wheat, and afterward used as a pasture. In 1815 the first census was taken, population 331; and the first Religious soci- ety was organized, with 16 members. In 1816 the first newspaper was established. In 1817 the village was incorporated as “ Rochesterville,” which name was changed by the Legislature in 1819, to Rochester. In 1820 the first court of record was held in the village. In 1822 the first canal boat left the village, laden with flour. In 1824 the first bank was incorporated; B. Table op Population. Year. Population. 1815........................... 331 1818.......................... 1,049 1820...........................1,502 1822............................2,700 1825...........................5,273 Year. Population. 1826... ..*i T 1830... 1834... 1835... 1836... C. Post Office.—So late as 1810, the mail was carried eastward from Rochester, once a week, on horseback, and part of the time by a woman! In 1812, a Post Office was first opened in the village; and its first quar-35 terly income was S3 42 cents! So late as 1815 one of our present citi- zens had authority from the Postmaster-General, to locate Post Offices wherever he would deliver the mail weekly, for all the postage he might collect, in all the country between the Genesee and Niagara rivers, and from the Canandaigua and Buffalo road, northward to Lake Ontario—a region of 2500 square miles in extent! JVow? there are ten daily mails re* ceived and transmitted by the Rochester Post Office; the receipts for postage for the last quarter of 1836, are about four thousand dollars; and the receipts for the entire year, between fourteen and fifteen thousand dollars. D. The Rochester Female Charitable Society.—This noble institu- tion, embracing in harmonious union all denominations, has been in exis- tence for 15 years. Its objects are, the establishment of a Charity School, and especially, the relief of indigent persons or families in cases of sickness or distress. It divides the entire city into (now) 30 sections, to each of which it assigns a committee of one or more of its members. Each com- mittee is bound by the constitution to visit its section at least every month, and as much oftener as may be needful—to ascertain the condition of all the poor—in all cases to see that they are provided with employment or assistance from the proper sources, and if sick to supply them with food, and to aid them by the loan of proper clothing, &c. The society also sup- ports one of the three charity schools of the city, gathering the pupils, by the aid of the visitors, from the various sections of visitation, and supply- ing them with books, stationery, &c. The funds of the society are deri- ved from the contributions of its members, and from a sermon annually preached in its behalf by some one of the ministers of the city. E. Sabbath Schools.—The first Sabbath School in Rochester, was com- menced in the summer of 1818, with 30 pupils. In 1819 there were 120, and in 1820, 100 pupils. In neither of these years had the schools any superintendant. In 1823, “ the schools were distributed to 5 or 6 differ- ent places, without however any sectarian division.” In 1825, the Month- ly Concert of prayer for Sabbath Schools was first observed. Before 1826 all the Schools had been discontinued during the winter; from this date, however, the Presbyterian schools began to be continued through the en-36 tiro year. At this time there were S Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Baptist, and 1 Methodist schools. The present state of the Sabbath Schools in the city, may be seen from the following TABLE.* First Presbyterian............................... Brick Presbyterian,.......................... Third Presbyterian,.......................... Free Presbyterian,........................... Bethel Free Presbyterian,....................... St. Luke’s, (Episcopal,)..................... Grace, (Episcopal,).......................... First Baptist,............................... Second Baptist,.......... First Methodist,............... Second Methodist,............................ Free Congregational,..................... St. Patrick’s (Roman Catholic,)....,......... Zion Church, (African,)......................... Frankfort, (Episcopal,)...................... Cornhill, (Presbyterian,).................... Carthage, (Presbyterian,).................... Sand-hill, (Presbyterian,)................... White School House, (Presbyterian,).......... Brick School House, (Presbyterian,)............. Total, £ 1 1 H 0 1 a £3 66 273 460 64 269 267 35 193 275 39 254 250 26 125 100 42 178 230 8 65 200 38 173 225 30 165 aoo 26 166 250 28 175 259 34 161 135 60 300 250 20 70 20 7 45 00 21 76 75 8 65 00 8 45 35 10 70 00 23 110 > 00 593 i2978 1 3331 * The numbers here given are the largest nnmbers connected with each school, at any one time within the year. The school of the Bethel Free Presbyterian Church was formed in the latter part of the year, and is in part a colony from that of the First Presbyterian Church. The highest monthly average of actual attendance, in the Protestant schools, is 508 teachers, and 2,554 pupils. One or two of the last mentioned schools are open only a part of the year.Churches not completed,, and pew-room estimated, as accurately as possible. 37 P. 3 £3 S g £5 S’8 3-3 3 gL *3 ®ffl®2?3So2-go o’s'n Q2*^3 i I S ^3 2 o- -n. -t S i cr a 2? a: >> 3 3 =r bq 3 '-§S(3W« 3i° W|o < o (W =T 3 a _ £ *1*0-S r-- t S —•3 CD CQ >T3 »TJ OQ O CD JJ CD H->5 a's'o=!*•' ihRs-s- P'S:^3 O o ^ " CD 1 o--v “a S'h ■»1 §*2 8.8 S’ ^ X CD CD • ^Lvj 3. ® 3 cd • £Z3 „ p CF cl. |2. 2^3 J® p W CD - O f 2 * P 03 |_^ CO “ gw g-l-s- Wg'Ef. &-a ^ S’ o pi hdJ® *-t CD |_i co Pj erne ^ S* S o S"P SB'S, P w 3 § P’S Q- a hrt co ?r ^ CD CD »s- 'Zf<, § 3 ”3 QDGDGDOOODQOOOODQDQOQOOOCDOOOOQOOQODOOOD wuwwuuosuuuwutotOtOtOMMHM When Organized. 05 <33 <33 03 03 Crt tn .Is, txa fv3 i__. m <“■> /“> /-#> ^ ■» ^ -* 03 tn 4^ O ^WO cy» oo rfs. i—i _ . fc© Or i— to 00 js*. t© cn to Cn <1 OWMWOOCJI 230 03 t© ■<{ t© 05 CJ1 03 cn -a .— to No. of Communicants. 05 <1! tn 1 4*. fc© »-* >£*. O 05 ©3 t© a^. oo cn or t© 1—A CJ? co 45. co oo CD Oi 1 t© 00 1 | On Profession. || rfs.i sj I S3 ©TlOi—lO*— MtU^cOl!© os 05 <* rf* 03 o 00 05 |By Certificate. O W, Bo n 3 o i—f »— t-1 O i© fc© 00 £k C* <* 00 CO 00 Total Added. ?-«-( •P S3 00 B 05 cn co t© CJ* — -<3505O5 oo'i-i co'rf^.'o HJ S ** O Crr CD O m ►—i 00 O “vF ffl rji a> q rr» OSOCD 00050000® (o^oo5o”o°a External arena in square feet. GD 1© C* C?t J©JLO ° - « H _©3 ©3 j£». cT j_ fcOWODi— ^ ©3 r‘'co o,'bn'©3 oljolkVc cr't© co^-'bo cd'U oo CD^CD tnCJti—i^-Orf^ODcD C000OCytCn03eotn.S. Mao-tnoowawa^SoSocDoSSSn Arena of Audience Room in square ft. 'bo Cn ©3 g. a r~ >r*ar s; w t© h-h- 05 03* •^©S^fcOtOfcOODr’W — Oo'iss'©3 £. to'ji.'©, | Pew-Room in £E§fe2g®2gS;|ron"i“efe Livingston Date of Appointment. .August 22, 1815. << tc a ft tt a it tc te July 7, 1816. .August 4, 1822. «( tt it .July 18, 1824. tt tt tt tt tt u January 27,1828. tt tt tt 'April 21, 1833. tt tt u Present Trustees of the Congregation. Frederick F. Backus, I Theodore Chapin, William H. Ward, I Fletcher M. Haight, Everard Peck, 1 Robert M. Dalzell.