The Press., 1888-12-27

stone is more true than the figures and
 poetry on the slab are artistic :--
 ''Lo here the sacred dust of Wyman lios Who fell to death glorious sacrifice. Humility and meekness were his robes
 His patience seemed to equal holy Jobs. His Masters service was his chief delight
 In which his strength he wasted day and night. At length God calls, My wynnn, come away
 His soul consents and springs to eternal day"
 Mir. Hammond gives the names of Trask,
 Phelps and Draper who candidated during
 the four years succeeding MT. Wyman's death. MT. Draper and Mir. Bacon, who
 preached before Mir. Wymau,. received calls, which they declined. Rev. Caleb Hitchcock was settled June 21, 1749. His
 salary was said to have been G400 and his
 settlement G700, but this was continental
 money, and had depreciated greatly, SO that
 e400 was no more than el00 would have
 been when Mir. Wyman was settled. A lit.
 tie idea of what it would buy may be had
 from fact recorded in regard to the salary
 of Rev. Mir. Pomeroy of Hebron, who was
 settled in 1735, and was to be paid in grain,
 or as grain goes in the market. In 1747,
 two years before the settlement of MT.
 Hitchcock, it took G420 lawful money to
 pay his original Gl00 salary. This G420
 was payable in corn at 12 shillings per
 bushel, pork at IS pence and beef at II
 pence per pound.
 Mir. Hitchcock was pastor of this church
 about niue years, from JHu. 2l, 1749, aud
 was dismissed and deposcd from the min
 istry for intemperancc. That is a sad
 record. But we would cover bis memory
 with the mantle of charity, for who knows
 what temptations beset the man, when
 all classes, high aud low, were in the hab. it of using intoxicating liuuor
 Tbe latter part of Mir. Hitchcocks min
 istry was amid most stormy events abroad, the breaking out of another French war
 in 1754. the expedition of Washington
 to Fort DuQuesn", and the defeat of Brad
 docks army. The spiritual results of Mir.
 Hitchcock's ministry are indicated by the fact that 8 joined the church by proies. sioh and l9 by letter, and 126 children
 were baptized. These facts show that it
 was a time of growth in the town, by
 births and by immigration, as the number of
 infant baptisms would indicate the birth of at least l15 children year. Also it is suid that
 Is joined the church on the haIf-tooy coUenouf plan.
 There was quite an interesting council con vened for the settlement of Rev. MT. Horton
 June 13, 1739. It held a two days session { because while the people were unanimous as to having Mir. Horton settled as their r'pastor, they were not agreed as to how he should be settled, and the final result of council leaves
 it in doubt in the minds of the readers how ho ) was settled at last.
 The general assembly of the state in l70S had imposed on the churches a certain con
 fession of faith, and regulations for discipline , drawn up by a convention of ministers at Say brook the September before, a convention not
 iarger in number than many ordinary councils
 now. Those churches which united in that confession and Heads of Agreement, as h was called, were to be owned and acknowledged as established by law.
 . The 1st article for the administration Of ' , church discipline was somewhat ambiguous. U It reads thus That the elder or elders of Il ' particular church, with the consent of the Il brethren of the same, have power and ought 8 to exercise church discipline according to the e rule of Gods word, in relation to all scandals ' that fall out within the same
 0 By some this article was interpreted ac- n cording to the usual Congregational custom, l. that is, that the pastor acts according to the decision of the ma iority of the church. Others, d however, beld that the pastor or pastors had a al veto power on the action of the church, tho 'a idea being that the membership of the church - was "silent democracy and the pastors the y ruling aristocracy.'
 a So we find the Union church stating to the - council that they were desirous that Mr. Ezrn ~ Horton be settled under the ecclesiastical con l. stitution, that is the Saybrook platform, "with 1 the exception that ye pastor shall not negative U ye brethren iu ye church procedure" The u final result was Eye council finding that tho d inhabitants are to a man desirous to have yt le said Mir. Horton settled under ye Presbyterian Ie form of government. This council declares k that we have no objections against actiog ir
 the settlement of minister under said form I. of government, and in hopes that ye dissent ,e ing brethren and inhabitants of Union may V be united, either in ye articles aforesaid, o if the church see iit in the Presbyterian gov ,, ernment.
 |, We have thought it our duty considering ,v the great unanimity and affection which ap n pears in the church and town for the said Mir o Horton, to proceed to the ordination of y, e said MT. Horton to ye pastoral office in.th d place."
 Ie Whether Mir. Horton was ordained 'as g Presbyterian or not we are left in doubt by
 the record. But of this we are sure, that h, ], administered his office as a Congregations Ot minister.
 8 And as Rev. Dr. Hawes of the First church v Hartford, wrote under the title of a book oi e which was inscribed The First Presbyterian r. Church, 'this is not and never has been st Presbyterian church." 30 we may conhdentl, 10 assert that the church in Union is not Pres = byterian church and never has been. It wni :? the fashion in those early days to confount s Congregational with Presbyterian. And prob U, ably what was meant by the Presbyterian gov lo ernment was meant the Congregational gov n- ernment as it exists now in our churches c Mir. Horton dwelt among his own peopl le and loved them with tender affection H Or was with them during the trying times of tn, t. Revolutionary struggle, when his charge wer h. in such straitened circumstances that the, IT. became in debt to him for more than tw, ..I years salary. ThiI was in l776. We cal ,e better understand those causes which hav K operated upon the more strictly religious his F tory of people by knowing the circumstance
 in which they are placed.
 ', In this case the dark side of the picture | :. on record in the state archives in Hartford le drawn out at length by the select men wh H. memorialized the general assembly to abat 'a their taxes. It seems that they never Ina, l' paid taxes to the colonial government an,
 never had enjoyed representatives among tn ks delegates to that body, fact which remin, or the legislature of and also that they canno I conscientiously take the oath as 1t now stands e. In 1876 they, with other towns, were re s. quired to make out a list of taxable propert of and send to the general assembly for taxation ,d Some extracts from the memorials and ahi or davits in 1876 and 1878 will tell their ow story. d "This town was originally granted to I l...A -.a n-