1745. I think you have now, in the plan, execution, and these articles, a pretty good account of that remarkable affair. There is, among the papers which I have, a complaint made by the French ambassador or somebody else (for I have it not now under my eye) of the breach of some of these articles, but I know not whether you will think it material to your purpose. When I was at Boston I borrowed 4 Abstracts of the Society for Propagating the Gospel, from 1776 to 1779, in which I find many complaints of persecutions and cruelties exercised by the rebels on the Church of England clergy, which I think, if true, are a great disgrace to this country, and, if not (for those abstracts were not usually the asylum of truth), , deserve to be contradicted and the matters set in a true light. The scene of them all is so remote from my knowledge, that I am unable to form any proper judgment. One circumstance you may possibly recollect something of, as it* happened in New York, while General Washington commanded there, before the arrival of Lord Howe in 1776. 'Tis part of a long account from Mr. Inglis: "On a Sunday while he was officiating, a company of about 150 rebels marched into the church with drums beating and fifes playing, their guns loaded, and bayonets fixed as if going to battle. The congregation was thrown into the utmost terror, and several women fainted, expecting a massacre was intended. Mr. Inglis took no notice of them, and went on with the service, exerting his voice, which was in some measure drowned by the noise and tumult. The rebels stood in the aisle for near fifteen minutes, when being asked into pews by the sexton they complied. Still, however, the people expected that when the collects for the King and royal family were read, he would bejired at, as menaces to that purpose had been frequently flung out. The matter, however, passed over without any accident. He was afterwards assured something hostile and violent was intended; but He that

6 stills the raging of the sea and the madness of the people' overruled their purpose, whatever it was." Abstract for 1777, p. 03.

It is added to the long account of which this is a specimen, " Were every instance faithfully collected, it is probable that the sufferings of the American clergy might appear in many respects not inferior to those of the same order in the great Rebellion of the last century, and such a work would be no had supplement to Walker's 6 Sufferings of the Clergy.'"

My friend 's situation is still that of uncertainty

and perplexity, arising from a division among the persons with whom he is connected, and their disposition to evade and delay rather than to do business in a proper manner. When any thing appears that looks like decision, you shall know it. I have given the extracts from Joselyn to Dr. G. Adieu, and believe me yours affectionately and sincerely.

Respects from all my family connexions.

To Ebenezer Hazard, Esq.

HAZARD TO BELKNAP.

Philadelphia, July 1, 1782.

My Dear Sir,—Since my last, I have attempted to consider your " Thoughts on the Original Population of America," but have not had time to make up my mind fully upon the subject. However, as far as I can yet determine, I think I would not venture to publish them, unless as a fugitive piece in a newspaper without any name annexed to them. A sensible, judicious friend, to whom I communicated your thoughts, observed that he thought you were mistaken in your sentiments about " the whole world" and gave the expression too extensive a signification; for it was evidently used in a more limited sense, in some parts of Scripture, as in Luke ii. 1, a decree " that all the world should be taxed," meaning the Roman Empire. Komans i. 8: "Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole ivorld" &c. He added that it did not appear that the Apostles themselves understood their commission to be more extensive; for at first they preached only in Judea. Being persecuted there, they went to other nations, but preached only to Jews and proselytes; and it was not till about twelve years after Christ's ascension that their commission was further opened to them by the Centurion's sending for Peter, and the Vision of the sheet. From reading the story, you will find that Peter thought it unlawful for him to go to preach to Cornelius, who was not a Jew. For these reasons he thinks your argument from the Apostle's commission inconclusive. To which I add that the Apostles were not sufficiently numerous to execute a commission as extensive, as upon your hypothesis, theirs must be thought to have been. How could twelve men preach to the whole world,— to every creature under heaven? Had their lives been as long as Methuselah's, they would have been too short for such a business. If you consider the commission as not confined to the first twelve, but including all Gospel ministers to the end of time, no argument in favour of the antiquity of America can be drawn from this source. My friend observed that reasoning from the reigns of kings, &c, was inconclusive, for a nation might exist long before it had a king (which was the case with the Jews, who were near 900 years before they had a king), and consequently may be much older than the reigns of its kings would make it appear to be*

But it is time I should proceed to answer yours of 19th ult., which came to hand this morning. What I proposed with respect to your friend was, that he should keep a kind of academy in this city, in which the English, French, Latin, and Greek languages might be taught, together with Writing, Arithmetic, the most useful branches of the Mathematics, Geography, Bookkeeping, &c. A plan of this kind you see might be enlarged almost ad infinitum. The principal difficulty would be to procure good assistants. I think such a thing would answer, but yet I may be mistaken, and therefore would be cautious about urging a removal, the expence of which would be great; and, should the success not be equal to your friend's expectation, my feelings would be more hurt than I can well express.

I am glad the Metropolitan lives so comfortably. His letter to me informing of his marriage was very rapturous indeed. It might easily be known to have come from the pen of a young husband.

Yes, I wrote the oration, but the orator did both himself and it great justice in the delivery, and kept the audience in good humour all the time he was speaking, though some of them growled confoundedly about it when they got out of the hall.

I have lately met with Goldsmith's (the author of the Deserted Village) "History of the Earth and Animated Nature." It contains a general system of Natural History in eight or nine volumes 8vo. I am reading the second, and have met with many things which are new to me delivered in a pleasing stile. If you can meet with the book, you will have great satisfaction in reading it, though I do not apprehend it to be such a natural history as you want. I suppose you would wish for something to direct your enquiries, rather than an account of what others have observed. I think there is something in Sir Robert Boyle's works, which would answer your purpose. I send you some newspapers, and am, with my best respects to Mrs. B.; your friend and very humble servant,

Eben. Hazard.

BELKNAP TO HAZARD.

July 26,1782.

I Thank you, niy.dear sir, for your very friendly remarks on my conjectures concerning the population of America. They are such as I wished them to be, free and critical. I also thank your "sensible and judicious friend/' whoever he is, for his opinion. In the same strain of freedom, and with the same regard to what appears to me to be the truth, I will communicate to you such thoughts as arose in my mind on the perusal and consideration of what you wrote. I acknowledge that the phrase "all the world" or "the whole world/7 is sometimes used in Scripture in a popular sense, i.e. in conformity to the custom of the Romans, who vainly supposed their empire to extend over the whole world. When it is said that " all the world" were to be taxed by a decree of Augustus, it is very natural to understand (without any criticism on olteovfiiwi) all the subjects of his empire, and it is probable that the evangelist here quotes the very words of the decree.* When Paul tells the Romans that their "faith was spoken of throughout the whole world/' it is natural to understand him as making use of the same popular style. But, my dear sir, when the Lord of heaven and earth, when He who made and governs the whole world in the most extensive sense, who gave his life a ransom for all, who hath reconciled all things to God by the blood of his Cross after rising from the dead, in proof of his being the Saviour of the world, in proof of his appointment to "judge the world;" when He, I say, just before his ascension, gives commission to his apostles and 70 disciples (for they were all assembled at this time) to go and disciple all nations, to go into all the w,orld>