128 



as an advocate of the patriotic movement. They should be 

 read with due allowance for the excitement under which Mr. 

 Pynchon labored when writing upon this subject to his loyalist 

 friend in London. 



But these various activities finally involved Dr. W. in so 

 many troubles, that in connection with the general persuasion 

 of his moral turpitude, and his Presbyterian heresy, they 

 proved his ruin. Indeed, reports of a very scandalous nature 

 gained credence, and when he was called upon to clear them up 

 by explanation to the church, he assumed a defiant tone and 

 demanded a set investigation before a Presbytery. The num- 

 ber of attendants on his ministry diminished with very signifi- 

 cant rapidity, amounting to a general flight. 



Finally, in February, 1784, an ex-parte council was called 

 by the Church, which summarily deposed Dr. Whitaker from 

 his pastoral office. The complaints laid before the council were 

 that " Dr. W's ministerial walk had been, and still was, irregu- 

 lar ; his deportment overbearing and tyrannical ; his moral 

 character very suspicious, and his adherence to the Presbyter- 

 ian form of government obstinately tenacious." These charges 

 were virtually endorsed by the Council, and the Doctor dis- 

 missed in disgrace. He on his part vehemently denied the 

 accusations brought against him, and challenged his opponents 

 to institute a legal investigation of them before a Presbytery 

 which was to assemble at Groton. But the church did not 

 think it worth while to pursue the matter in this direction. 



The Doctor published an elaborate pamphlet soon after his 

 dismission, entitled "A Brief History of the Settlement of 

 the Third Church in Salem, in 1769 : and also of the Usurp- 

 tion and Tyrannny of an Ecclesiastical Council in 1784." He 

 denounced the charges against him as calumnious and libelous, 

 and said : — 



" I really, believe, and on good grounds, that had I preached smooth 

 things ; promised heaven to works of natural men ; been delicate and 

 modest in reproving the fashionable vices of the times : In a word, if I 

 had studied and preached people's tempers more, and my Bible less, and 

 conformed to the Congregational mode of government, and asked noth- 

 ing for my services. I should have been, this hour, as quiet, reputable, 

 and esteemed in the world, at least, as common ; and the crimes charged 

 on me would not have been mentioned." 



When the Presbytery assembled in Groton, — he being Pres- 

 ident and the guiding spirit thereof, — the case of his dismissal 

 was taken up, and the Doctor fully justified ; and ultimately 

 the same body recommended him as a worthy minister and 

 much abused man. There soon appeared in Salem a pamphlet 

 entitled "The Mutual Care the Members of Christ's Body 



