THE TOWN OF BEDFORD. 



59 



Under the act of 1693, the Church of England (which had been 

 guaranteed her freedom under Magna Charta, upon which the common law 

 is founded,) was settled throughout the Province and became therefore en- 

 titled to the public encouragement, leaving the Dissenters at liberty to 

 maintain a minister of their own persuasion, but obliging them to sup- 

 port the clergyman settled by law. Surely Independents or Congrega- 

 tionalists had no right whatever to complain of this; for, while under the 

 laws of Connecticut, they taxed Churchmen without mercy and all others 

 to support their established religion and blue-laws, and that too without 

 representation. This, the Church in all her plenitude of power, 

 never practised; for all tax-payers might be represented at parish meet- 

 ings, if they so desired it. In consequence of the Church being settled 

 by law, all lands set aside at public town meetings for the provision of a 

 minister, all glebes and parsonages voted for their habitation and mainten- 

 ance, and all meeting houses raised by public tax or distress on the 

 people, unless particularly named, became vested in the ministry settled 

 by common law and coeval with its existence. 06 



Pursuant to the act of assembly, a meeting of the parishioners was 

 held at Rye, Feb'y 28th, 1695, when Deliverance Brown and Isaac 

 Denham were chosen vestry-men for Bedford. In 17 n, this precinct 

 paid towards the rectors support and poor of the parish, ^5, .5-5. 



At a town meeting held at Bedford, Oct. 4th, 1702, we have the fol- 

 lowing minute: — 



"The town doth by a maiger vote desire that they may be by themselves as to 

 maintain one amongst them selves e theyr desire is that they may be clear from 

 y' former ackt of ye assembly of being ioyned to rye e memerinock and the 

 town doth desire mr. Jacobus van Cortlandt to present theyr desirp e pertision to 

 the genarall asernbly e ye town is willing to satisfie sd Cortland for his trouble. & 



In a summary account of the state of the Church in the Province of 

 New York, as it was laid before the clergy convened at New York, Oct. 

 5th, 1704, it is therein stated that : — "There is an Independent church 

 at Bedford, where the minister designs to leave them; they are well affec- 

 ted to the Church, and it is hoped when he is gone they will be in com- 

 munion with her." 



It appears, however, that although many of the inhabitants might 

 have been well disposed towards the Church yet the ubiquitous Zach- 



a In 16S0 the proprietors of Bedford laid out a town lot or parsonage land to be set apart 

 for a minister (without naming to what particular denomination he should belong) of said 

 town ; contrary to law, this land which of right belonged to a minister settled by the common 

 law, was given at a town meeting in 1704 to one John Jones a violent Dissenting minister "to 

 encourage him to settle and preach among them." The parsonage land seems to have em- 

 braced 40 acres in 1699. 



b 1st Book of Bedford Rec, p. 10. 



