by most others. I allude to George, last Earl of Halifax, who filled the office of President of the Council of Foreign Plantations from 1748 to 1760, at which date he was appointed Viceroy of Ireland. Secker speaks of Halifax in one of his last letters to Johnson, as being 'very earnest for Bishops in America ",' and heartily supporting his own exertions towards their appointment. But the obstacles which I have described above were still existing, and strong enough to frustrate even the efforts of one whose official position might have given hopes of success. And, before Halifax was able to resume a yet higher post in England, that fatal measure, the Stamp Act, had passed, which, according to the admission of Secker himself, made the further prosecution of the scheme at that time impracticable. I will not venture to give expression to the feelings which I have experienced in relating the various incidents contained in this chapter, and which the attentive reader can hardly fail to share. That which prevails over every other, at the present moment, and which alone I wish to leave on record, is the feeling of deepest gratitude to those men of Connecticut, who, not from a mere hereditary attachment to the Church of England, or indolent acquiescence in her teaching, but from a deep abiding conviction of the truth that she is a faithful 'witness and keeper of Holy Writ,' have shown to her ministers, in every age and country, the way in which they can best promote the glory of their heavenly Master's name, and enlarge the borders of His Kingdom. And, as for the hindrances cast in their path by the policy of secular rulers at home, let 72 Chandler's Life of Johnson (Appendix), 182. us now only think of them in contrast with the willing readiness, which we have seen exhibited by Statesmen of all parties in our own day, to strengthen the hands, and increase the efficiency, abroad and at home, of the Church of which they are members. CHAPTER XXX. REMAINING NOTICES OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN RHODE ISLAND, NEW YORK, THE CAROLINAS, GEORGIA, AND THE WEST INDIES. A.D. 1700-1776. THE names of many persons and places have occurred incidentally in the course of the foregoing narrative, which demand a yet further notice; and this I propose to give, as briefly and faithfully as I can, in the concluding chapter of this Volume. Rhode Island. Rhode Island, for example, which comprises not only the island of that name, but Narragansett, and other adjacent parts of the continent, the asylum of Roger Williams in the hour of his persecution, and the residence of Dean Berkeley, in the day when he strove (but ineffectually) to realise his noble scheme,-was one of the first Colonies which besought the help of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In Newport, its chief town, Lockyer, a Clergyman of the Church of England, had gathered a small flock, and Nicholson, Governor of Maryland, had laid the foundation of Trinity Church, before the Services of end of the 17th century. Honyman was appointed to it by the Society, in 1704. He returned to England upon his private affairs in 1708, but was soon again at his post; and the whole period of his services, which were uniformly conducted with active and prudent zeal, lasted for 45 years. Besides his regular ministrations at Newport, he visited Portsmouth, at the southern extremity of the island, and Freetown, Tiverton, Little Compton, Providence, and Narragansett, on the continent. The charge of the three first-named towns on the continent was, in 1712, delegated to a second Missionary; that of Providence, thirty miles north-west of Newport, and now the most flourishing town in the State, was undertaken, as we have seen, by Pigott, who removed thither from Stratford; and that of Narragansett, where a Church had been built in 1707,was, for a short time, entrusted to Christopher Bridge, an assistant to Myles, at King's Chapel, Boston,and, afterwards, to Guy, who arrived in 1717, but, through ill health, removed soon afterwards to South Carolina. Mc Sparran then succeeded to the post; and, from 1721 to the end of 1757, continued, with scarcely any intermission, discharging his duties with a fidelity which has won for him a reputation second to none of the Society's Missionaries'. But, whatsoever success may have waited upon labourers who came afterwards, the foundation of the work was undoubtedly laid by Honyman. His earnest entreaties and unwearied diligence made it impossible for the Society, even in the infancy of its existence, not to do its utmost to help him. Finding, in his earliest visits to Providence, that he gathered around him 1 Updike speaks of him as the most able divine that was ever sent over to that country.' History of the Church in Narragansett, 266. larger numbers there than in any other place, he writes home, and says, 'There is a great prospect of settling a Church here; and, if the Society will send a Missionary to a people so much in want, and yet so desirous of receiving the Gospel, perhaps this might prove one of the greatest acts of charity they have ever done yet.' Soon afterwards, his prayer is renewed: 'I have preached there again, and the number of people is so increased, that no house there could hold them, so that I was obliged to preach in the open fields. The people are now going about to get subscriptions to build a Church. If the Society knew the necessity there is of a Missionary here, they would immediately send one. In the mean time I shall give them all the assistance I can.' These were no vain words. The benefit of Honyman's assistance was felt in every way; not only by urgent remonstrances and unwearied ministrations, but by the help which few Missionaries had the power to give, that of money offerings. When the Church at Providence was built, he contributed £10,-a seventh part of his Missionary income; and when, in 1726, a new and larger Church was completed in Newport, his offering was £30, and, mainly through his exertions, was raised the remainder of the required sum, amounting to nearly £2000. Benefac tions of Mr. Kay. Of the Lay-members of the Church who assisted Honyman, Nathaniel Kay, collector of the Royal revenues in Rhode Island, stood foremost; and although, amid the extensive mismanagement of estates in trust which followed the Revolutionary war, the property has been lost, it ought not to be forgotten that the piety of Kay be queathed a house, lands, and money for the founda tion and endowment of schools in connexion with the Church at Newport and Bristol; and that, within a |