The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-19
M E N w o M E N
 A N D T H N c s

Did you know the drum not the bell,
 was used 10 summon the Puritan
 meeting going animal" as John Adams defined the New England man
 to the frequent religious exercises. You'll not understand the Puritan or the land in which he dwelt unless you realize that the warp and wool of early New England life were essen tially ecclesiastical, and that by 1876 five sixths of the men in the colony had no vote in civil affairs. The church members did the voting.
 But what now seems curious con tradiction, the rites of marriage and burial in the earliest days, even in Boston "the hub of the universe" were not performed by the ministers, but by the civil functionaries. If one will study the effort of man to frame laws to suit his environment, he will find many seeming inconsistencies.
 Without the slightest wish to take sides or stir up any religious con troversy, I trust as am writing about blue laws and conditions which brought them into being, that l may history without starting anything. Congregationalism was the keynote of the Plymouth colony, and this was one of the main things which brought them this Ia af
 They believed that they had the right, according to their understanding of the Scriptures, to choose and ordain their own ministers. Without passing on the merits of the question, the real basis, therefore, of their dispute with the established church in England was, "Who makes ministers?" Now this has been battle royal between the rival schools for many, many years.
 I only bring it out here to show that the ministers played a great part in the life of the Puritans. It was often customary, in laying out a new town settlement, to set aside for the minis ters use some of the best land near the meeting house, this sometimes being given to him outright, and sometimes being set aside as ministry land" This is Of interest at present among the Baptists of Alabama as for years there has been an effort to have a pastors home with sufficient ground to locate a pastor conveniently to serve four churches where they have preaching once a month.
 Times have not changed human ma ture much, for it is strangely up to date to learn that the old Pilgrim fathers in fixing the salaries of the ministers, did not forget their week day shrewdness, and always made the stipend small. But while there was no talk of clergymens benefits or pen sions Plymouth at one time voted that where Gods providence shall cast any whales (upon the shore) that they shall agree to set apart some part of every such fish or pyle for the encour- agement of an able and, godly minister among them.
 There were some other perquisites Ono marriage or burial fees) for we read of Plymouth's voting at one time Gin 1665) that "one of the townsmen be appointed to secure the necessary wood; and in 1866 that "the Towne agree to allow unto MT. John Cotton tthe minister) the sume of so pounds out of which saide sume hee is to find and provide for himselfe firewood, without any charge of the towne the manner of the pave to be. one third pte thereof in wheat or butter and one third in rye or barley or pease and the other third in Indian corne.' In addi- tion to his salary free pasturage was also given to the minister's horse, and for this purpose the village burial ground was generally "assigned,' and we learn further that in Plymouth the Rev. Chandler Robbins being requested mot to have more horses than shall be necessary on burial hill?" No won der it's waste of time to try and out-trade New Englander when hun dreds of years ago they could drive close trades with preachers and set it all down in contract.
 On account of religious freedom which had been the basis of all the ssachusetts settlements, there had emigrated to New England many min isters. These men, by reason of their high moral qualities and strong per- sonal traits, had so deeply impressed themselves upon the people that they became the real makers of the law. The Rev. John Cotton frequently used his Thursday lectures in Bostyn for giv- ing almost authoritative advice on points of issue in the secular court. This is not strange as many of the ministers who had hand in bringing to life congregationalism in England were graduates of the great universi- ties.
 It may be of interest to insert here the fact that among the Salem emil grants of 1929 there had come over d preacher. one Ralph Smith. concerning whom Matthew Cradcock the English governor of the Massachusetts. Bay company, had sent word to Endicott that he was suspected of being sepa- ratist and that unless he be con formable to our government ye suffer him not to remain within the limits of our grant," As the Salem colonists were then denying that they were 'separatists there was talk of sending smith back to England. This becom- ing known to him. he with his family left for Hull, where he lived 'in a poore house that would neither keep him or his goods drie.''
 Just a little more about this the first minister in the colony. When boat from Plymouth put in at Hull, he asked to be taken with his family to the Plymouth colony and, being an ordained minister and able to adminis- ter sacraments, he was made the pas- tor of the Plymouth church. This solved situation that might have brought trouble, for Robinson. the leader in Amsterdam, who had given his Blessing to the little band on the