History of the Baptist Churches in the North of England, From 1648 to 1845
By David Douglas, 1846THIRD PERIOD - FROM 1717 to 1770
CHAPTER I.
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The times - Mob persecutions - Executions - Mr. Paul, a clergyman - The Court favours Dissenters - The Presbyterians - Arian question - The Baptists in the North - The ministers - Their learning - Cold Rowley Meeting - Hamsterley - Bridlington - Jonathan Angus - His family - Newcastle Tuthill Stairs Chapel purchased - Mr. West - Broughton - Hamsterley - Knaresdale - Richard Coultherd - Bridlington - Hamsterley Tottiebank - Oulton - Mr. Tiffin - Mixed Marriages - Broughton from 1727-1740 - no knowledge of associations - Death of George the First.THE period of our narrative, on which we now enter, was quite a new era in the history of Britain, and of the Christian Church within its limits. The Hanoverian Family was now firmly seated on the throne; the rebellion of the Pretender and his adherents being overthrown, and the councils of the nation directed by the consummate ability of Sir Robert Walpole. It is, however, matter of regret, rather than surprise, that the different sections of the professed Christians, engaged in compassing the Revolution and the Hanoverian succession, did not cease from their previous animosities. The old principles of persecution and resistance came again into play. The high church party had still the will, if not the power, to persecute; and, at times, both by mobs, and the introduction of
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certain motions in parliament, they tended much to annoy the Dissenters, and to disturb public tranquillity.*The affecting executions, also, that took place, at this time, of such of the nobility, gentry, clergy,+ and of others, engaged in the rebellion of 1715, produced the unhappy effect of continuing the nation in an alienated state upwards of forty years. Executions generally produce martyrs to principles, however noxious; but generous forgiveness to fallen greatness, on the brink of ruin and death, has, generally speaking, the happy result of conquering the heart and unnerving the arm, in the cause of future opposition. As honesty is said to be the best policy so it will be uniformly found, that the truest policy for man, whether as nations, or as individuals, is to act on; the mild, peaceable, and forgiving principles of Christianity.
The Nonconformists acquired, at the period of the Revolution, toleration to carry on their own worship unmolested, and it was surprising how instantaneously they seized the advantage, to sustain the enfeebled communities
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* A number of mobs were excited at Oxford, Birmingham, Chippenham, and Norwich, under the influence of the Sacheverel mania. At Oxford, the Presbyterian, Quaker, and Baptist Meeting-houses were gutted, the windows broken, and doors Carried away.+ One Wm. Paul, a clergyman, was hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn, for high treason against King George II, 13th. July, 1716. The end of his dyiiig declaration was, "As to my body, I wish I had quarters enough to send to every parish of the kingdom, to testify that a clergyman of the Church of England was martyred for being loyal to the King," (James the Third). Lord, what is man, that a man should be found to die in defence of the divine-right of kings to do wrong, and rule as they please. Well might Paul, another Paul from the present, say, "Though I give my body to'be burned, and have not charity, I am nothing." - Bogue and Bennetts History of the Dissenters, Vol. iii., p. 122.
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among them, and to fit their ministry for more extended, usefulness; but still time was needed to bring both the nation and the church into something like a settled condition. This, however, though not fully, was yet, to a considerable degree attained, after the extinction of the insurrection of 1715. In that matter, having given unequivocal evidence of their attachment to liberal principles and the Hanoverian succession, the Dissenters became decided favourites with George the First and his ministry. The king, to evince his personal attachment, bestowed on them an annual grant, which has since been continued, under the name of the Regium Donum, to the present time. From this period, then, may be dated, that outward prosperity, which for nearly one hundred and fifty years, they have enjoyed, sitting under their own vine and fig-tree, none daring to make them afraid.The Presbyterians were, at this time, by far the most numerous party among the Dissenters in England. This arose from the greater number of the ministers who left the Establishment, on the passing of the Act of Uniformity, in 1662, being of that persuasion. A considerable number of the nobility and gentry accompanied them in their dissent; but, gradually, as vital godliness relaxed, and ambition grew, their descendants withdrew, and returned to the bosom of the State Church. In the meantime, their ministers were learned men, the majority of them very pious and orthodox |n their views; but others much given to speculation and the spirit of the world. In 1717, began among them, the baneful Arian question, which, in the course of forty years, became the grave of most of their churches; and most of those of the General Baptists were drawn into the same vortex. The Independents, and the Particular Baptists, still retained their orthodoxy; though
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many of the latter, through the circulation of the writings of Crisp, and the influence of Dr. Gill, Mr. Brine, and others, imbibed the supralapsarian doctrines of eternal justification, &c., which tended much to direct their minds to fruitless speculations, chilled the piety of the churches, and greatly checked their usefulness in the world.Having made these remarks, respecting the state of the nation, the Dissenters in general, and the Baptists in particular, through the period we are now surveying, we now proceed to trace the progress of the Baptist cause in the North of England. It is however, the subject of much regret, that so few of the churches have any records of their former state left. The hints we have are very meagre, and with regard to these, except as exhibiting a connecting link with the chain of former and latter events, to the general reader they have but comparatively little interest; with the exception of the incidents which led to the connexion of the distinguished Robert Hall with the Baptist denomination; and also those which had the same effect on his antagonist, on the Free Communion Question, Mr. Joseph Kinghorn
Among the different arrangements of Providence we are led to admire, one is the gradual melting of one generation of human beings into another. In what a dreary state would the race of men he left, if, during the infancy of one generation, the whole of the former had passed away. Thanks to infinite wisdom, it is appointed otherwise; the light of one age is reflected by another; and thus knowledge is perpetuated and increased, as the successive generations of men pass across the stage of time. Blacket and Ward had passed away, from the superintendence of the church lying bet ween the Tyne and the Wear; but, Mr. William Carr, a man in a
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great degree taught by themselves, now sustained, by his skill and energy, the sacred cause, from which death had called them away.Mr. Carr obtained an assistant, in 1710, in the person of Mr. Michael Wharton; and he was indeed not obtained till needed. This need arose from the growing infirmities of Mr. Ward, and his own distance from the southern branch of the church. Other two brethren, also, appear to have been called soon after, to his assistance; Mr. Simon Shaw, in 1714; and Mr. Gabriel Fell, probably about the time of Mr. Ward's death, as he was recalled by the church with which he was originally connected the church at Torver, in Furness-Fells, to assist themselves, who were then in a state of destitution, in 1718.* Besides these, three others of the brethren ministered among them occasionally, Mr. Samuel Nicholls, Mr. Samuel Blehkinsop, and his brother Robert, as referred to in Mr. Ward's letters.
With regard to the natural capability of these persons, and the amount of their information, we have no direct knowledge. They were, however, selected like the first Christian bishops, by a voluntary society, to instruct them in the knowledge of the will of God as revealed in the Bible. Of the amount of their knowledge and their ability to impart it, the society had had clear proof, in their teaching, previous to their selection. It is true they were all men employed in some humble calling; but so were the apostles; so was Bunyan; so was Fuller; so was Carey. Genius is not confined to either birth, rank, or learning; the mantle of the poet
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* Owing, probably, to the temporal circumstances of Mr. Fell, he did not seem disposed to return. This being contrary to church order at that time, the church at Hamsterley took the precaution to suspend him from communion, till the church at Torver and he came to a proper understanding. The affair ended in Mr. Fell's continuance at Hamsterley.
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the linguist, the philosopher, or the theologian, in descending [order?], often alights in the most fitful manner, as we may suppose, on those, who, of all others, in their genearation, were least likely to wear it.As to Messrs. Ward and Carr, there is reason to believe that they were both, in some degree, classical scholars. The former on his decease, gave, not only his hundred pounds to the support of the cause, but his library for the benefit of his successors in the ministry. Of this, we have a list in the archives of the church, containing not only books in theology, but of history, and the learned languages. In Latin, we have Figures Grammaticae, Corderius, Ovid and Horace, a Bible and Testament, Institutio Logica, De Sacramentum, &c.; also a French Grammar. In Greek, a Grammar, a Clavis Linguae, and a New Testament. In Hebrew, there is the Gritica Sacra, Thesaurus Biblicus, &c. In church and general history, Eusebius, Josephus, &c., Cromwell's Life, Eikon Basilike, Bennet's Reformation, &c.; and in theology and scriptural exposition, Dr. Owen on the Hebrews, and on the person of Christ; Caryl on Job; and some of the works of Crisp, and Goodwin, and Baxter, and Bunyan, Flavel, Usher, &c. The amount, in all, was above one hundred and eighty. Surely these men, could not be said to be ignorant, if they closely studied their Bibles, with the help of all these. They were men who did not love ignorance; as one of their books was entitled, "The Excellency of Learning." Their library was one that far excelled Bunyan's, when, in Bedford goal [gaol = jail British], he wrote, his immortal Pilgrim['s] Progress."Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark, unfathomed, caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
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Learning greatly aids genius; but genius often soars above it. Many of the Baptists, however, in the age of Bunyan, with all their native talent, felt, like him, their want of education; and therefore, in their first General Assembly, after the Revolution, one of their great objects, in raising a denominational fund, was to assist their ministers in acquiring a knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, with a view better to understand the lively Oracles of God, and teach them to their people.As the section of the church, on the Wear, had had a meeting-house erected for their use, so, the section on the Derwent erected one for themselves. Its site was on the bleak heights, above the vale of the Derwent, on what was called the Maynesfield, contiguous to the little hamlet of Cold Rowleys.* The year of its erection is not stated; but Mr. Carr is said to have preached at Rowley, January 12, 1717; and, on the 16th November, the same year, it was resolved, by the church, that he should preach one Sabbath at Hamsterley, and the other at Cold Rowley.+
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* Connected with the building of this Chapel, there are stated a few historical incidents. 1st. It cost L33 3s 3d. Money raised L26 7s 6d. Mr. Carr had to collect the money on Tyneside, and other places. He had one pound paid him for his expenses. 2nd. Part of the money seems to have been collected at Newcastle, as Mr. Carr is said to have gone twice there; and Mr. Daniel West, and others there, very probably, gave L5 9s. Mr. West, was probably, the father or relative of Mr. George West, who afterward purchased Tuthill Stairs, and was a member of the church there for a considerable time. 3rd. Caleb Jopling seems to have obtained the principal sum for the building of it. This Caleb was a member of the church. He was probably the eldest son of Andrew Jopling, of Satley. He had a son of his own name, who went to London, and was hence called London Caleb. His daughter's name was Mary, married to John Angus, of Dotland Park.+ Another resolution was also at this time passed to the following effect: Bro. Jos. Hall, and Bro. Hen. Hall, were appointed by the
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1718. The annual association was held in 1717 and 1718, at Hamsterley. Much complaint is made of the withered state of the churches, owing chiefly to dissensions among the members. The churches are enjoined, to humble themselves before God, and to endeavour, in his strength, to maintain, for the future, "the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace." They are also called to repeat their thanksgivings, for the deliverance of the nation, from foreign and domestic enemies.1719. The next annual meeting was held at Bridlington, in 1719. At this association, an unanimous request, from the church at Broughton, was presented to the church at Hamsterley, that they might be favoured with the ministrations of Mr. Samuel Blenkinsop, whose name has already been mentioned, as a member and minister at Hamsterley. It was decided, "that it seemed to them desirable that Mr. Blenkinsop should comply with the prayer of the invitation.
1720. The year 1720 affords some incidents of special interest. Mr. Jonathan Angus was chosen deacon of the church at Rowley and Hamsterley: a man to whom the Baptist cause is deeply indebted for the piety, zeal, fortitude, and perseverance, which he
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church, to take care of the church's stock, as trustees for the church. These gentlemen were brothers, living at Monkfield, near Hamsterley; probably, the sons of Mr. William Hall, to whom, along with others, an index of the works of Bunyan, was "presented by Charles Roe and William Marshall, because of his good will in the printing of this folio, 1692." This William is supposed to be the brother of Mrs. Abigail Angus, mentioned in the succeeding page. Their father's name is at present unknown. The above Joseph Hall, was father of Mr. Jonathan Hall, of Monkfield, married to Miss Sarah Stobbs, both members of the church at Hamsterley, and whose family has long occupied the same place, and opened their house for the preaching of the gospel to others. Several other descendants of Mr. Jos. Hall, have either been supporters of the cause, or members of Baptist churches.
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maniested during the lengthened period of fifty years that he held the office of deacon.*The church at Newcastle, is, this year, prominently hrought under our notice. How long Mr. James Turner, the pastor in 1674, continued to he the pastor of this people, is unknown. A Mr. John Turner, is said to he a minister at Newcastle, in 1689. Whether there iis a mistake in the name, or whether he was the son of Mr. James Turner, or another person of the same name, are circumstances now heyond our decision. Mr. Richard Pitts, is said to he pastor of this church, in 1689 and 1691. In 1698 Mr. Pitts was still alive, as he assisted at the ordination of Mr. Prudom, at Bridlington. It is probahle, however, that a few years afterwards he was either removed in a declining state, or dead; as the case of the church at Newcastle, is urged on the churches at the association of 1704, and the same in 1706, along with that of the church at Pontefract. Thus
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* Mr. J. Angus was the eldest son of John Angus, second son of Henry Angus, of Row House. His mother was Abigail Hall, of Monkfield. Of her, it is said, that when certain persecutors came to apprehend her husband, she so ably vindicated him and his dissent, that the leader, Sir. B. Fenwick, turned away, saying, "Thou art a clever hussy, it is a pity thou shouldst be a fanatic!" Her son Jonathan inherited her spirit and capacity, for in 1715, he stood single and alone among the tenantry of Derwentwater, on the side of the House of Hanover, where the Earl summoned his retainers to sustain the claims of the Pretender. Mr. Angus had two brothers: 1st. William, who settled in Sunderland, but had no issue. 2nd. John, who became a Quaker. He had also three sisters, but of them we know nothing. He married Priscilla, daughter of his uncle George, of Newcastle, and had by her seven daughters. 1st. Mary Soppit. 2nd. Hannah Hall. 3rd, Abigail Angus, second wife of William, of Styford. 4th. Priscilla Surtees, Slaly. 5th. Deborah Angus, wife of Jonathan, of Hindley. 6th. Ruth Robson, Yorkshire. 7th. Catharine Leybourne. He had one son, Mr. George Angus, of Styford.
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we have slight notices of the existence qf this church, till within fourteen years of the present, date, 1720.Where the church had met, previously to this period, we are not informed. At this time, however, we are told that Mr. George West, a wealthy member of the church, purchased for L120, an old building, for the use of the society. It stood on the east side of Tuthill-stairs, opposite the Mansion House. The lower part was a large room, the ceiling of which is highly ornamented, and the walls covered with a neat wainscotting, on which was a wooden tablet, with the figures 1588, The original use of this room is unknown; but it is clear, that the Corporation of Newcastle, previously to the Revolution, attended it as a place of worship, as there were affixed to the old pews two hands, for holding the sword and the mace of the corporation. At the period of our narrative, this room, was converted into a meeting-house, for the Baptists of Newcastle and the upper part of the building into a dwelling-house for the minister. Who the minister at this time was, however, or what was the condition of the church, we are not informed.
1721. - In 1721 the association was held at Broughton. Mr. Samuel Blenkinsop would now be minister of the church in this place. The letter again laments the low state of the church, and calls on all their members to mourn over this, the want of spiritual gifts, and that they would pray the Lord of the harvest, that He would thrust forth more labourers into his harvest.
1722. - The annual meeting was held at Hamsterley, in 1722. Complaints are made this year, of the want of love to the brethren and the cause in general; mixed marriages also, and formality in preaching, are deeply lamented. To remedy these, the churches are requested to fast and pray; to put on holy resolution; to turn to the Lord; to keep a spirit of watchfulness over their
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own hearts; to be fcequent in the use of means; and to have a strict regard to discipline. The Annual Letter, is concluded by a recommendation, to make a liberal contribution once a year, to be disposed of by the mesengers, for the benefit of the poorer churches.Baptist principles seem, hy this time, to have taken root in Knaresdale, the south-west corner of Northumberland, lying between Alston and Haltwhistle. It is also a mining district, and it is not improbable, that Messrs. Ward, and Carr had preached in this neighbourhood, and had not preached in vain, as a church seems to have been formed here. A Mr. Richard Goltherd appears to have been a gifted brother among them; and as it was the practice at this period, for one church to receive supplies of ministers, and pastors to be set over them, from other churches, so, in relation to the church in Knaresdale, they were requested, by the church at Torver, or Hawksheadhill, to allow Mr. Coltherd to become their mmister. To this, the Knaresdale people consented, under the following proviso: "That the church at Torver shall not lay any claim to brother Coltherd or yet detain him any longer from the friends in Knaresdale, than during their pleasure; and he, the same Richard Coltherd, promises to be subject to his own church's call, whenever they called him; he going into Lancashire, only as lent for a time to that people; and, furthermore, by God's assistance, he would be with the Knaresdale friends to preach, and to be amongst them, three Lord's days, in every quarter of the year, during his stay in Lancashire, and oftener if required. Nov. 5, 1722.
Testes. JACOB BROUGH.
(Witnesses,) WILLM. CARR."1723. - At Bridlington, still under the able ministry of Mr. Braithwaite, the association was held in 1723. In their letter to the churches this year, the ministers
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and messengers gave thanks for their religious liberty, the peaceful state of some of the churches, and the increase of others. The state of some of the other churches is deplored; and they request that the minutes of the general meeting should be preserved in their church-books, that they may be ever at hand, when required.1724. - In 1724, the association met at Hamsterley. The letter to the churches is very brief, and contains nothing of any particular historical importance.
There is another circumstance that occurred this year, that deserves to be noted, namely, the making, of the will of Wm. Tiffin, Esq., Thornby, Cumberland. This will has a relation to the property this gentlemen left at Stanger, near Cockermouth, for the endowment of a small place of worship, at Oulton, a village near to Wigton, Cumberland. This property consists of a messuage [sic], a tenement, and some parcels of land. The reason of the bequest we are unacquainted with ; but, it is probable, that either Mr. Tiffin was a Baptist himself, or connected with the Baptists in some way, which induced him to take a deep interest in their comfort and usefulness.*
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* The terms of the Will are to the following effect: "The trustees to pay the rents and profits thereof, lay out, and apply to, and for, the maintenance of the teachers and preachers of the meeting or congregation, commonly called by the name of Anabaptists, now held at Oulton, aforesaid, and their successors, for the time being, for ever, and to such other public uses, for the support and maintenance of the said meeting, whensoever they shall meet and assemble within the county of Cumberland, aforesaid, as to them, the said trustees shall seem meet." Might not a judicious arrangement, in connexion with holy zeal, enable the trustees to devote this endowment in assisting two ministers the one at Broughton, and the other at Wigtou, embracing Oulton? The Home Mission might usefully assist in such an arrangement.
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The commencement of the cause in this village is also unknown; but tradition says that there were in it some Baptists, who attended at Broughton, a distance of nearly twenty miles. To remedy this inconvenience, they got a small chapel erected for them- selves; and the minister of Broughton, with his gifted brethren, preached to them. Oulton may therefore be regarded, from the beginning, as a branch of the church at Broughton.1725. - The annual meeting was again held at Hamsterly, in 1725. As the letter, this year, is exceedingly well written, and refers to a deeply interesting subject, we shall give the whole. A question was presented, to be solved by the meeting, for the benefit of the churches, namely, "Whether it be orderly, for church members to marry such as cannot give a demonstration, iu some measure, of a work of grace in the hearts of those to whom they are united?"
In reply, it was resolved, "Nemine contradicente, that, both in respect to the Divine law, whereby all such practice is prohibited, and the fatal consequences on the disobedient and unbelieving, in the days of old, as well as what we have observed, in our own days, it can neither be convenient, orderly, nor lawful, for those who believe, to take such as would crucify the Saviour afresh. We look upon such practice as a piece of the enemy's great artillery, and one of his chief engines, to batter the walls, and storm the camp, of the saints; for when Israel could not be cursed by the enchanter, he enchanted them by this means, to draw the Lord's curse on themselves. And so it has bred the utmost misery in churches and states, and occasioned the overthrow of both: as seen Genesis vi. 2, 4; Leviticus xxiv. 10; Numbers xxv. 1, &c.; Ezra x. 9; Nehemiah xiii. 23; 1 Corinthians vii. 39; 2 Corinthians vi. 14-16.
We recommend to the churches, therefore, not to
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run any such dangerous risque; and where there is not an outward profession of inward grace, satisfactory to the church, that no man, or woman, proceed to, or in, such an affair, on his, or her, own private opinion of such person's grace, with whom there is a prospect of entering into the married state, it being natural for persons, under such circumstances, to hearken more readily to their affections than judgment; but let them advise with such of the church, as the person thinks it convenient to acquaint with the matter. And, since a want of due care is herein indulged, by many professors; since there are visible decays of love, humility, and self-denial, and an increase of formality, pride, earthly-mindedness, conformity to the world, followed with a neglect of the Lord's table, &c., in such measure, that Zion mourns for the fewness that tread her courts, nay, she is ashamed of the backslidings and looseness of her professing sons and daughters, latter day evils are rampant, and latter day calamities tread fast after them. The Lord has gone out, in such providences, as are like to try, purify, and separate his gold from dross. Judgment is begun, in some parts, at the house of God, and by such a voice, we are called on, to prepare to get ready to meet the Lord."Let not the distance of our lands, from the sensible effects of the persecutor's fury, at this day, satisfy us, as to sit still and settle ourselves on our lees. The penetrating eye of the Lord sees what there is among us. O let us humble ourselves, and cry mightily to the Lord to relieve, cover the heads, and warm the hearts, of them on whom the scorching sun of persecution has risen, as well as preserve our lands, enlighten our minds, establish our hearts, in the doctrine of free grace and justification, by the righteousness of Christ? alone, and to make us every way sound in the way, and holy in life."
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The persecutions referred to in this letter, seem to have been, those raised, at this time, in France, against the Huguenots, by the Duc de Bourbon, prime minister of Louis XV. Nearly all the horrors of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, under LOUIS the 14th, were reenacted; and would, doubtless, have become still more severe, and also of longer continuance, had it not been for the interposition of the Dutch and English governments.Mr. John Sedgfield, of Liverpool, by the advice of the Lancashire Association, took, in 1725, the pastoral charge of the church, at Tottlebank.*
1726. - The association was held in 1726, at Broughton, in Cumberland. Another iateresting question was now proposed, namely, "How a church ought to conduct itself to those who have withdrawn from the Lord's table?" The substance of the reply is, "That as the Lord has commanded the ordinance to be constantly attended to, in order that his power and wisdom may not be impeached, or the authority given to his church, in reference to offenders, be not slighted; where every means has been repeatedly tried, and tried ineffectually, we judge, it is the church's duty, in love and faithfulness to Christ and the souls of their brethren, to deal with them as disorderly persons, and withdraw from them." This decision, to every candid mind, speaks for itself. These men, though employed in business, were nevertheless, mighty in the scriptures, and far exceed our expectations in the clearness of their views, and the forcible manner in which they express them.
1727. - The next association was appointed to be held on the 4th and 5th days of the second whole
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* The reason of this advice was, that Mr. Sedgfield could not support his family in Liverpool, and there was a greater probability of his doing so at Tottlebank. M.S. Record of Church at Tottlebank. How wonderfully times have altered!
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week after Whitsuntide. This meeting, doubtless, took, place as usual, but we have no letter of the association for that year. The most of the letters from the churches are, however, preserved. At least, this is the case with those of the churches at Bridlington, Broughton, Hawksheadhill, and Knaresdale. As to this latter church, they express their gratitude to the church at Hamsterley, for the frequent visits they have had from Messrs. Carr and Wharton, but particularly the latter. From this year, 1727, we have no letters, either from the churches, or from the association, till 1740. There is reason, however, to believe that the annual meetings were held as usual, as the letter of 1740 mentions, that "they had met as they were wont."Religious persecution, or freedom, as has been already remarked, depends so much on the nature of the government of any country, that scarcely any portion of ecclesiastical history can be written without reference to the character of the powers that be. This is the case, with that part of church history, written under the guidance of the pen of inspiration; and so it is, more or less, with every other. As we have seen, our own country is no exception. We scarcely can write the history of any section of the Christian church in Britain, without giving something like a history of the country itself. The days of persecution, that we have reviewed, have led to this in our own case; and now that these days have fled, we ought not to be unmindful of the good we now enjoy, nor of the instruments by whom we enjoy it. We began this chapter by a reference to the blessings Dissenters possessed in the early part of last century, through the prudent, sway of George the First; we close it now, by a reference to his death, this year, 1727; and, in doing so, we desire to raise our tribute of thankfulness, in the first instance, to Him who has the hearts of all
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men in his hands, and turns them as he turns the rivers of water, for giving to our never-to-be-forgotten forefathers, the firm, the indomitable determination that they would be free that they would worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, without being placed under the trammels of a state church; and, in addition, we give thanks for the generous willingness of the Brunswick family to accept of the onerous duties attached to a limited monarchy, and their patriotic determination to maintain, entire, those undying principles, that placed them on the throne of the British empire.George the Second succeeded his father, and the helm of the state remained in the hands of Sir Robert Walpole, the steady friend of the Protestant Succession; the strenuous maintainer of national peace; and the warm advocate of the rights and liberties of the Dissenters.
========================== [From David Douglas, History of the Baptist Churches in the North of England, From 1717 to 1770, London, 1846. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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