The Churches 255 



and having then the command of the militia, I sent an order 

 to all captains, requiring them to call their men under arms 

 and to acquaint them that in case they would not, in every 

 town, agree amongst themselves to appoint readers and pass 

 the Sabbath in the best manner they could, till such times as 

 they could be better provided ; that they should every Sunday 

 call their companies under arms, and spend the day in exercise, 

 whereupon it was unanimously agreed on thro' the county, 

 to make choice of readers; which they accordingly did, and 

 continued in those efforts some time. After which the people 

 of Westchester, Eastchester, and a place called Lower Yonkers, 

 agreed with one Warren Mather, and the people of Rye with 

 one Mr. Woodbridge, both of New England, there being at 

 that time scarce six in the whole county who so much as in- 

 clined to ye church. After Mr. Mather had been with them 

 for some time, Westchester Parish made choice of me for one 

 of their church-wardens, in hopes of using my interest with 

 Colonel Fletcher to have Mather inducted to ye living. I 

 told them it was altogether impossible for me to comply 

 with their desire, it being wholly repugnant to the laws of 

 England to compell the subject to pay for the maintenance of 

 any minister who was not of the national church, and that it 

 lay not in any governor's power to help them." 



It will be remembered that Governor Benjamin Fletcher 

 had intentionally misconstrued an act of the Assembly and 

 had declared the Church of England to be the Established 

 Church of the Province. Colonel Heathcote tried to have 

 called to the living a French Protestant living in Boston, the 

 Reverend Mr. Bondett, who had taken holy orders; but though 

 the vestry at first agreed, they afterwards refused to allow of 

 his induction. Appeal was then made to London, to the 

 Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Faith in Foreign 

 Parts, whose province it was to furnish clergymen to the 

 colonies of England. 



