ment; DO, by these our Letters Patents, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intended Desires."

In the charter of privileges granted by William Penn to the province of Pennsylvania, in 1701, it is recited: "Because no People can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship; And Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience, Father of Lights and Spirits; and the Author as well as Object of all divine Knowledge, Faith and Worship, who only doth enlighten the Minds, and persuade and convince the Understandings of People, I do hereby grant and declare," etc.

Coming nearer to the present time, the Declaration of Independence recognizes the presence of the Divine in human affairs in these words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare," etc.: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

If we examine the constitutions of the various states we find in them a constant recognition of religious obligations. Every constitution of every one of the forty-four states contains language which either directly or by clear implication recognizes a profound reverence for religion and an assumption that its influence in all human affairs is essential to the well being of the community. This recognition may be in the preamble, such as is found in the constitution of Illinois, 1870: "We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations,” etc.

Even the Constitution of the United States, which is supposed to have little touch upon the private life of the individual, contains in the First Amendment a declaration common to the constitutions of all the States, as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," etc. And also provides in Article I, section 7 (a provision common to many constitutions), that the Executive shall have ten days (Sundays excepted) within which to determine whether he will approve or veto a bill.

There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning; they affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not individual sayings, declarations of private persons; they are organie utterances; they speak the

voice of the entire people. While because of a general recognition of this truth the question has seldom been presented to the courts, yet we find that in Updegraph vs. The Commonwealth, 11 S. & R. 394, 400, it was decided that, "Christianity, general Christianity, is, and always has been, a part of the common law of Pennsylvania; not Christianity with an established church, and tithes, and spiritual courts; but Christianity with liberty of conscience to all men." And in The People vs. Ruggles, 8 Johns. 290, 295, Chancellor Kent, the great commentator on American law, speaking as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, said: "The people of this State, in common with the people of this country, profess the general doctrines of Christianity, as the rule of their faith and practice; and to scandalize the author of these doctrines is not only, in a religious point of view, extremely impious, but, even in respect to the obligations due to society, is a gross violation of decency, and good order. The free, equal and undisturbed enjoyment of religious opinion, whatever it may be, and free and decent discussion on any religious subject, is granted and secured; but to revile, with malicious and blasphemous contempt, the religion professed by almost the whole community, is an abuse of that right. Nor are we bound, by any expressions in the Constitution as have strangely supposed, either not to punish at all, or to punish indiscriminately, the like attacks upon the religion of Mahomet or of the Grand Lama; and for this plain reason, that the case assumes that we are a Christian people, and the morality

some

of the country is deeply ingrafted upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or worship of those imposters." And in the famous case of Vidal vs. Girard's Executors, 2 How. 127, 198, this court, while sustaining the will of Mr. Girard, with its provision for the creation of a college into which no minister should be permitted to enter, observed: "It is also said, and truly, that the Christian religion is a part of the common law of Pennsylvania."

If we pass beyond these matters to a view of American life as expressed by its laws, its business, its customs and its society, we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth. Among other matters note the following: The form of oath universally prevailing, concluding with an appeal to the Almighty; the custom of opening sessions of all deliberative bodies and most conventions with prayer; the prefatory words of all wills, "In the name of God, amen"; the laws respecting the observance of the Sabbath, with the general cessation of all secular business, and the closing of courts, legislatures, and other similar public assemblies on that day; the churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town and hamlet; the multitude of charitable organizations existing everywhere under Christian auspices; the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe. These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation. In the face of all these, shall it be believed that a Congress of the United States

intended to make it a misdemeanor for a church of this country to contract for the services of a Christian minister residing in another nation?

Suppose in the Congress that passed this act some member had offered a bill which in terms declared that, if any Roman Catholic church in this country should contract with Cardinal Manning to come to this country and enter into its service as pastor and priest; or any Episcopal church should enter into a like contract with Canon Farrar; or any Baptist church should make similar arrangements with Rev. Mr. Spurgeon; or any Jewish synagogue with some eminent Rabbi, such contract should be adjudged unlawful and void, and the church making it be subject to prosecution and punishment, can it be believed that it would have received a minute of approving

thought or a single vote? Yet it is contended that such was in effect the meaning of this statute. The construction invoked cannot be accepted as correct. It is a case where there was presented a definite evil, in view of which the legislature used general terms with the purpose of reaching all phases of that evil, and thereafter, unexpectedly, it is developed that the general language thus employed is broad enough to reach cases and acts which the whole history and life of the country affirm could not have been intentionally legislated against. It is the duty of the courts, under those circumstances, to say that, however broad the language of the statute may be, the act, although within the letter, is not within the intention of the legislature, and therefore cannot be within the statute.

HE first bishop of a Christian body to be consecrated on American soil was the first bishop to be buried in the crypt of The Bethlehem Chapel of Washington Cathedral.

In 1898, the General Convention, meeting in Washington, decided that the mortal remains of the Rt. Rev. Thomas John Claggett, D.D., and his faithful wife, should be transferred from the obscurity of a Maryland country parish (Croom) to the capital. On November 1, of that year, Bishop Satterlee officiated at the committal services.

Bishop Claggett was elected the first Bishop of Maryland at Annapolis, May 31, 1799

Recently four letters, written by Bishop Claggett from 1808 to 1813, brown with age but still legible, were given to Washington Cathedral and they are here presented for the first time to the public.

The letters were written to Bishop Claggett's daughter, Priscilla Elizabeth Chew, and to his son-in-law, John Hamilton Chew, and were presented to the Cathedral by Elizabeth Chew Williams.

Croom, February 17, 1808

My dear Sir,

I take this opportunity by Mr. Jorland who is about to cross to your Shore to inform you that your friends here are in tollerable good

health, except my own which is as good as it usually has been for several years past-We have not heard from you or your's for a great while past; the Doctor told us, that Prissy intended over in all this month & we have looking towards ye woods on every good day for a week or two past "hope travels with us thro life nor quits us when we die." Before this reaches you you will have heard that ye Prince regent of Portugal with his family has left his country & his throne there, for ye Brasils rather than give up his ancient allies, & benefactors ye British, & succumb to Bonepartee. What an instance this of gratitude & magnanimity? How rare in our degenerate age! Pray what do you think will be its effects on ye politicks of ye World? The World is too much sunk (you will say) in iniquity to suffer it to have any effect in stopping it, in its mad career to destruction. "The Lord reigns, let ye Earth rejoice."—I have by Mr. Jorland, sent the two last numbers of your & Mr. E. Reynolds Magazines together with ye index, the Publisher has advertised for his pay, the price is 2$ & a quarter for ye sett, postage & all; be pleased to inform Mr. E. Reynolds of this circumstance before you come over. Our tenderest love for our dear Children & I remain my dear Sir,

Very affectionately
Your Father

Thos. Jno. Claggett.

Croom July 13th, 1809

My dear Child

you; that your Mother & myself are both very anxious for you to come to Croom as soon as you can make it convenient; to be sick anywhere is bad, but to be so on the bay side in ye autumnal season during ye prevalence of bilious diseases & muskotow is distroying indeed; if you will agree to come up (illegible) shall meet you anywhere you will appoint to assist you in getting up at any time you will fix on. The smallpox is in Nottingham & ye young blacks have had ye measels here very slightly, but they have been all well of ye measels for a fortnight past, & if any more should take it they might be easily kept at a distance from your children. My health, (thanks be to God) has been better since Whitsuntide ytn usual & I should have been to see you before now but have been impeded by a press of business as well as that of ye Church as my own little affairs. (Illegible) brought in letters from your brothers in Montgomery, they are all well, & anxiously enquire after their friends at Upper Bennet-your mother is in good health, your sister Polly pretty well, Betsy has been at Major Williams & at George Town for 10 days past, we expect her at home on Friday next. I expect to set out on Monday next on a visitation to ye City of George Town which will employ me most of the next week. Our tenderest love to Mr. Chew & our dear children-tell Mr. Chew I have had his money for ye horse ever since I returned from Baltimore, but have had no opportunity to send it to him, & even now I fear to send it by (illegible) as he is such a heedless fellow, but if he will send a careful person to Nottingham ferry, at any time he will fix on, I will ride down & send it over if he should want it much

It has been so long since we have heard from you & yours that we are uneasy and have sent Manney & Will to know how you all are, and to tell

before you & he come over. Your Mother wishes you to enquire whether she could get a couple of counterpains wove like your cotton one on your side ye water & at what price? She sends by (illegible) a frock apiece for the children, and a shawl for her name sake. I do not know whether it is like Joseph's coat or not as to colours, but I suspect (tho' she will not own it) that she has some of Father Jacob's partialities about her-but be that as it may, I am sure she joins me fervently in prayers & best wishes for the temporal and eternal happiness of you & yours. Into God's Holy keeping I commend

My dear Daughter

My desire to see you & my dear grand children is, & has been for a long time past very great; but my age, many & painful infirmities, & the bad weather this winter have prevented all exertions to give myself that pleasure, & a late Spring attack of my disorder in my breast & shoulder precludes all hope of ye gratification of seeing you untill you come up in the Spring. I hear with pleasure yt Saml. & Mary are rapidly progressing in Science & I hope their master will early endeavor to initiate them in ye knowledge of their duty to our great Creator, without wh. knowledge all other Science is vain & will serve only to make them more dangerous seducers of their unweary fellow creatures here & will enhance their guilt hereafter. Your love for them I am well assured will induce you to spare no paix to " up in ye fear & nurt

The examples records

them

particularly ye Call of Monica (?) give great reason to hope that ye admonitions & prayers of a pious mother will be attended to. I have nothing new worthy of your attention to write you, the world hereabouts goes on much as usual, some dying, & some marrying to fill up ye chasm & almost all too regardless of the awful realities of ye eternal world. May God give us grace my dear daughter to use this world in not abusing it. May the one thing needful be ye good part which we may choose here, & when we go hence may we meet in that happy place wh. our dear Redeemer has gone before lowers-My tenderest love to Mr. to prepare for all his faithfuil folChew & to particular friends on ye bay who may inquire about me. May God bless you all in time & in eternity particularly prays

Your affectionate father,
Thos. J. Claggett.

Croom May 25th 1813—

Very dear Daughter,

Our desire to hear from you and yours has induced me to send your Brother Charles Nicholas down for that purpose, we hope on his return to hear that you are all well & that your fears from ye enemy have subsided. sided. It is said there is a large French Fiect expected by Admiral Warren on our Coast, & that, that was ye cause of his so suddenly leav ing our Bay, if they do come, I suppose they will afford him some employ & for a time at least will divert his attention from our coasts & bays

My anxiety to see you has been for A long time very great-I have for *.1 works past laboured under a sewre ht of my gouty complaint which continues to affect me severely,