The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-01-10

the First Methodist Preachers.
Having traced the secular history of
the county to Il period within the recol-
lection Of persons of middle age, we will
now resume the history OF the churches
and take 4 glance at the state Of society
at the time of the introduction Of Meth
odiSm.
The clergy of the established church
probably. with very few exceptions, adj
hercd to the Royal cause during the long
controversy between the mother country
and the colonies. which preceded the Revo-
lutionary war. This was natural, because
their ivings depended upon their loyalty.
With the exception of Il few Self-dcnying
and godly missionaries who labored un-
der the auspices o.. the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel. they had al
ways been the pampcred f;tyorites Of the
Executive, who had foisted them, i'll many
cases, upon an unwilling people. For
nearly century before this time, an in
discriminate poll tax had been levied for
their support. Nor was this all that tend
ed to make them unpopular and lesSened
their influence among their parishioners.
By the act of | 16i the vestrieS, of which
the clersymen were CT oHclo members.
were enjoined to nominate, annually, four
suitable persons, in each OF the large par
ishes. for inspectors Of tobacco. OF this
number, two were to be selected by the
Executive and. when once commissioned,
could be retained in Office as long as was
mutually agreeable to themselves and the
vestry.
The reason for vesting this power in
the vestries may be found III the fact that
the clergy were to be paid by means of
promissory notes. issued by the inspect
ors for the value of the tobacco in their
charge. and payable by them upon de
mand. BY this act, the inspectors be
came. to some extent, the bankers OF the
province: and as their continuance in of
flee depended upon the vestries, the lay
members of which were generally the in
innate friends and companions of the cier-
nymcn. it is easy to see that the latter
were invested with power and influence
in secular affairs which seems to have
been incompatible with the proper dis
charge of the duties of the clerical office.
In 1856. when it WAS thought necessary
to levy a per c"pun tax on the bachelors
in the province in order to defray the ex-
pense incurred in prosecuting the French
and Indian war. the veStrieS had been
made the agents to effect its assessment.
This mixing up Of spiritual and temporal
things was not calculated to increase the
godliness of the clergy, or to strengthen
their allegiance to the Prince of Peace.
under whose banner they We're ostensi-
blv enlisted. but whose teaching. there is
reason to believe, many Of them disre-
gartled. choosing rather to be votarics of
the race course, or to follow Il pack of
hounds, than to attend to the irksome
duties of the closet and the chanccl. The
clergy, until after the Revolutionary war.
had never been amenab,e to any episco-
pal authority on this side of the Atlantic
| ocean: and it is more than could have
| been reasonably expected, under all the
surrounding circumstances, that they
should have developed a high degree of
| piety or experimental religion. Ander-
son, in his history of the Church of Eng
| land. says that the acts of the Colonial
Legislature had provoked the opposition
| Of all opposed to religious establish
| ment iii Maryland, us early us the begin
ming of the eighteenth century, and that
| one of the crying evils. under which the
| church laborcd. was the appointment of
unworthy clergymcn. Previous to 1,2a
| (when the clergy We're laharing under
the auspices OF the Society for the Propo-
cation of the Gospel, and were subject to
the Bishop of London) the batter part of
| them wished a bishop for the colony, but
failed to get one appointed, after many
trials.
Shortly before this time. Anderson in
| Inmates that Il controversy occurred in
| the province in reference to the office Of
Commissary, in which the clergy are be-
| lieved to have taken part. We are ignor~
ant Of the nature Of this controversy. as
well as of the duties imposed upon the
commissaricS at this time. but they were
| invested with certain duties in regard to
the teStmentary disposition of property,
which made them obnoxious t. the pe0-
| pie. There is reason to believe that the
office was. in some way. Intimately con-
| nec:ed with the established church. In
1885,. which was the time of the Border
war. Il petition from the commssary and
| clergy of the province was presented to
the Kings council, stating among other
! things that the Quakcrs and other secta-
rics were dissatisfied with the established
church. and that they had induced some
Of the inhabitants of Maryland to trans
fer the acknowledgment of the right OF
their lands from Maryland TO Pennsylya-
MIA. They therefore prayed that regu-
lar clergy might be encouraged to reside
on the bordcrx and in the province of Penn
sylvania. in order to overawe the secta.
ries and prevent 4 recurrence of this trou-
BILE. Nothing came of the petition, and
the Quakers and Presbyterians of Not.
tingham and elsewhere on the borders
were not troubled with ministers of the
establishment to awe them into sHhieG
ton. Rev. Mr.. Henderson was the first
signer Of the petition. He is believed t.
have been comniSsary at this time.
The act of 1868, which fixed the com.
pensation Of the civil officers. and the
poll tax for the support Of the clergy
expired by limitation in 1866, and the
feeling between the people and the pro,
prietary government not being good, a
controversy arose about how certain OF
the civil officers and the clergy were to
be paid The clergy in this case, as il
- ~ %; ia ,f