Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-05-22
EPISCOPAL COUNCIL.
sxcoxDDArs PROCEEDINGS.


Dsshiell secretary. Ia lieu Of SER
mon the paper prepared by Rev. Philip
Slaughter, ID. d., on
YuY COLONIAL CHURCH IN viR-
GINA
was read by that venerable and dis
tjnvuishcd clergyman. lie began by
saving that there is q God in history,
and 10 his mind one Of the greatest OF
allmarvels Is that myriads Of men, each
doing bis own will, are all marching
unwittingly, ii may bo--towards the
realization Of the Divine idea as
seemingly antagonizing forces in the
heavens result in sublime harmony.
Ieannot think, said he, that il was a
mere coincidence that the revival OF
letters and OF the arts, the discovery Of
printing and Of the polarity Of the
needle. just succeeded the Reformation
Of Religion and just preceded the dis
covery OF America. Ii looks as If the
new ideas and the new instruments Of
that era demanded new world for
their development, and as q fulcrum
for the new levers which were to lift
the old world out OF the old routine
and bring it under the influence OF Sc
rener heavens and Of an awakening
spring. The minds ofmeditative men were
expectant Of great changes, and Of a
new world as the scene of them. The
old fable OF the Islands Of the Blessed,
Of the Golden Gardens Of the Hesperi-
des, of the Lost Atlantis Of Plato, and
Of the lngeous Tellus of Seneca were
revived. And more remarkable still,
james Harrington, little later, pre-
dicted and pictured a coming free re-
public fairer than had yet been seen,
which he thought could not be realized
in England, but was reserved for the
descendants Of Englishmen in new
Atlantis beyond the seas.
The discovery Of America overturned
the geographical systems Of the ancients.
The opening of her minds produced a
revolution in commerce. The planta-
ton OF her colonies gave land to the
landless, a home TO the adyenturer, and
an asylum TO the exile from all lands.
where each might find freer life and q
fresher nature. IL disclosed an open
field where truth and error might have
q fair fight and where the Church aud
State, which had 90 long been leaning
on each other, might, in the contempls-
ton OF a new world, fresh as il
were from the hands of the Creator,
outgrow the letters which impeded their
progress, and by toilsome marches
through sloughs of despond and over
mountains OF difficulty, with bleeding
feet, at last reach that serene height on
which, according to that laurelled poet
Of England, d" Freedom sat of old, " and
under her inspiration accomplish a reyo-
luton which had no parallel in the an
nails Of the world, and reared civil IA
brics which had no model on the face
Of the globe.
THE FIELD DURING THE COLONIAL
ERA.
The attraction Of the New World was
added to the moving forces let loose by
the Reformation. Then began the series
OF battles from Louis XIV. TO Napoleon
Bonaparte, which Professor Holmes, of
the University of Virginia, long ago,
and Professor Seely, Of Cambridge,
lately, have shown by a large induction
OF particulars, were fought for the pos
session of the New World how this
view invests with new interest the bat
ties Of which Virginia was the field
during the colonial era. Alexander vi.
of Rome, claiming by Divine right, had
given to Spain and Portugal the West
ern World, but the King Of France re-
fused TO acknowledge the title unless
Jus he humorously said they
could produce Father Adams
will authorizing the grant. Char
tiers had been given by the kings Of Eng
land to divers companies for settle
mept in Virginia, which name covered
the whole eastern coast Of America.
In 1907 three frail banks from Eng
land were driven by a storm into the
capes Of Virginia. On May l4th they
landed and laid the foundation Of the
first permanent plantation Of English
men on the continent, the site of the
first city, the first parish, the first
church, the scene Of the first baptism,
the first marriage, the first holy COM
munion in his Majesty's colony, and
Of the first representative assembly in
America. On the 2lst Of June, 1907,
they had their first public service in a
grove. The pulpit was plank nailed
TO two trees. The seats were unhewn
logs. The congregation numbered
about one hundred. We have a list of
them. The Rev. Robert Hunt Off
ciated ut this first service. Thus was
ipsuguratcd the Colonial Church Of
Virginia.
The speaker then gave an interesting
account Of the expedition up the river
by Captains Newport, Smith, Archer,
and Percy, TO discover the head Of the
river their interviews with the Indians
at Weynoke their arrival at the foot
Of the falls, where the passage was OBJ
structed by great craggy stones; the
erection on Whit-Sunday, May Gath,
on the islet at the feot of the falls of a
cross, with this inscription, Jacob
Rex, 1907" and in a fit Of loyalty,
but with wretched taste, they changed
the name Of the former imperial Pow
hatan to Royal James, proclaiming
King James of England TO have most
right to IL.
A NEW CAREER or DEVELOPMENT.
Just before the landing Of the Pill
grims at Plymouth Dutch ship brought
TO Jamestown twenty African slaves,
and the white man and the black man
and the red man stood face 10 face in
the New World. From this time the
three races started upon new career
Of development. The white man hav-
ing all the advantage over the Indian,
the red man was pushed further and
further West, until now only small
remnant Of that great nation is left.
Hut how came the black man 70 escape
Abe fate of the lndiany Through the
imanual-labcr school Of slavery he was
borne onward and upward until he
reached an intellectual, moral, aud
-