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FAREWELL ADDRESS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PAYSON CHURCH, SOUTH BOSTON, 
 
 Delivered November 22, 1857. 
 
 ^ 
 
 BY REV. J r , h; fairchild 
 
 11 By this I know that thou favorest me, because mine enemy doth not 
 triumph over me." 
 
 BOSTON : 
 PEINTED FOE THE "AUTHOR 
 
 18 5 8. 
 
3 {nzuo 
 
 PRINTED BT 
 
 GEORGE C. RAND & AVERY 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF MY LATE CHARGE, 
 
 AND TO ALL WHO, LIKE THEM, 
 
 HAVE BEEN A COMFORT UNTO ME IN MY TRIBULATIONS, 
 
 | most giffxttionatelg §zVxcutt 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The reader will find appended to this Address, my letter 
 of resignation, and the action of the Payson Church thereon. 
 He will also find the doings of the council which installed 
 me over said Church. These documents, I think, will deepen 
 the interest of every one who shall carefully read the Address. 
 As to the note A, in the Appendix — that will speak for 
 itself. 
 
 It may be thought by some that certain parts of the dis- 
 course are marked by an unbecoming severity, and exhibit 
 an unforgiving and censorious spirit. I am aware of the 
 difficulty which a preacher finds whenever he attempts to 
 rebuke wickedness in high places, and to show to his hearers 
 what is as often true in our day as in the time of David, that 
 "men of high degree are a lie. ?> This is the difficulty 
 which has beset me in preparing and delivering the following 
 Address. If anyof my readers should feel disposed to make 
 this complaint, I would refer them to the words of the 
 greatest and the best of all preachers, " Ye serpents, ye gen- 
 eration of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" 
 And this he said to the Scribes and Pharisees who were 
 officers in the church, and were regarded as the most pious 
 and holy men in all the nation. Is this a censurable severity, 
 or an exhibition of a bad and vindictive spirit ? I would 
 make the same inquiry in relation to Paul when he thus 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 addressed one of his hearers by name — tl full of all sub- 
 tlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of 
 all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right 
 ways of the Lord?" 
 
 These preachers spoke the truth, and spoke it in love, 
 though some might deem them harsh and severe. I have 
 likewise spoken the truth, and have endeavored to speak it 
 in love. Therefore whatever of severity may be found in 
 the Address, I am sure it is the severity of truth. And for 
 such severity, on such an occasion and under such peculiar 
 circumstances, I have no apology to make. 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 "For he oet refreshed me, and was not ashamed op my chain." 
 
 2 Tim. i. 16. 
 
 Farewell addresses from the pulpit are not 
 uncommon, and on all ordinary occasions the topics 
 selected are strikingly similar. But our circum- 
 stances, my brethren, are so peculiar, and diverging 
 so widely from the usual state of things existing at 
 such times, that I feel myself compelled, on your 
 account as well as my own, to address you in a 
 train of thought which was probably never before 
 required of a preacher, or expected by his hearers. 
 God grant that it may never be so again ! I regret 
 that there should be occasion for such frequent 
 reference to ourselves. But I need offer no apology 
 to those who have the slightest acquaintance with 
 our history, and are willing to listen to a discourse 
 naturally suggested not only by our peculiar posi- 
 tion, but by my text : " For he oft refreshed me, 
 and was not ashamed of my chain." 
 
 On reading the history of Paul we at once per- 
 ceive that he was a singular sufferer. He was 
 reviled, and persecuted, and traduced, and ridiculed, 
 
8 
 
 and stoned till his enemies thought that he was 
 dead. Thrice was he beaten with rods, and thrice 
 he suffered shipwreck. He was in perils in deep 
 waters, in perils among robbers, in perils by his 
 own countrymen, in perils in the city, in perils in 
 the wilderness, in perils by the heathen, and (what 
 was worst of all) in perils among false brethren, 
 who forsook him and then slandered him. He was in 
 prisons frequent, and in deaths oft. On five differ- 
 ent occasions he received forty stripes save one. 
 The great French preacher, Saurin, after enumer- 
 ating this sad catalogue of sufferings, exclaimed, 
 "Good God, what a salary for a minister ! — stripes, 
 stones, bonds, prisons." But even this is not all. 
 On one occasion, more than forty men entered into 
 a conspiracy against him, and even took an oath 
 that they would neither eat nor drink, till they had 
 killed him. And if any friend of Paul had asked 
 them, " why do ye these things ? " they would doubt- 
 less 'have replied, " we do it for the glory of God 
 and the good of the church ; for he is a wicked im- 
 postor, deceiving the people ; and it is not fit that 
 such a vile wretch should live." 
 
 But, in the midst of all his sufferings, Paul had 
 friends who sympathized with him, and whose kind- 
 ness and affection he was ever ready to acknowl- 
 
edge, as in the text : " He oft refreshed me, and was 
 not ashamed of my chain." The person to whom 
 he particularly alludes here was Onesiphorus. It 
 seems that when the Apostle was imprisoned at 
 Eome for preaching Christ crucified and proclaim- 
 ing his attachment to his cause, Onesiphorus visited 
 him, and not only sympathized with him, but fur- 
 nished him supplies for his temporal wants. He 
 was not ashamed to confess himself the friend of 
 Paul, notwithstanding the disgrace under which he 
 was suffering by being chained in a prison. He was 
 kind to him, not once or twice merely, but often. 
 He even sought him out diligently, and would not 
 rest till he found him. Such philanthropy — such 
 kindness called forth from the Apostle expressions 
 of gratitude and affection. He was poor, and in 
 prison. He had, therefore, no rewards of a tem- 
 poral nature to bestow on his friend. The only 
 way in which he could repay him for his kindness 
 was by prayer and supplication : " The Lord give 
 mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, and grant 
 unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in 
 that day; for he oft refreshed me, and was not 
 ashamed of my chain." 
 
 It strikes me, my brethren, that this story of 
 Paul and his friend Onesiphorus is well adapted to 
 
10 
 
 lead our minds into a train of thought peculiarly 
 appropriate to the present occasion. I think it 
 will not be travelling far out of the record to say- 
 that there is some resemblance, at least, between 
 their case and ours. True, I have not been liter- 
 ally chained or cast into prison, as Paul was ; but 
 you well know that there has been no want of dis- 
 position and effort to put me there, and that, too, 
 not by the avowed enemies of the gospel, as was 
 the case with Paul, but by men of the same profes- 
 sion, with whom I once took sweet counsel, and 
 walked to the house of God in their company, and 
 from whom better things might have been expected. 
 And you know equally well (certainly I know it, 
 and shall never forget it, or cease to be grateful 
 for it) that you have often refreshed me by your 
 sympathy, and counsels, and prayers, and " were 
 not ashamed of my chain," or afraid of any re- 
 proach which might come upon you in consequence 
 of your kind assistance and unwavering confidence. 
 It is not my design in this address, to go mi- 
 nutely into any matters of detail with regard to 
 the remarkable incidents of my life. On this point 
 nothing could be said with which you are not 
 already quite familiar. Neither shall I allow my- 
 self to mention the names of persons in an invidi- 
 
11 
 
 cms manner, because it is not adapted to the occa- 
 sion which has brought us together, nor is it 
 appropriate to the day and the place. But in 
 justice to you as well as to myself, I must allude 
 somewhat frequently to certain well-known indi- 
 viduals who have been the most prominent in dis- 
 turbing our peace, and whom you will find no 
 difficulty in recognizing by their portraiture, with- 
 out the announcement of names. That painful 
 task, which I am happy to avoid to-day, has already 
 been done in a volume of nearly five hundred 
 pages, the circulation of which is daily increasing 
 in the community, and leaving on the minds of all 
 candid readers a firm conviction that such an in- 
 stance of clerical oppression and persecution is 
 rarely found in a Protestant country. The persons 
 implicated are there named and challenged to deny 
 the statements made. But no one accepts the 
 challenge, or calls in question the correctness of the 
 narrative. If the adage be ever true that " silence 
 gives assent," it is true in this case ; for more pow- 
 erful motives to break the silence, if it could be 
 safely done, have seldom existed. 
 
 In reference to this volume I have only to 
 request that it may be placed in each of your 
 families, (if it has not already been done,) and 
 
12 
 
 retained there, that you and your children and 
 your children's children may be effectually taught 
 the wisdom and kindness of our Lord in his cau- 
 tion to his disciples — "beware of men," and that 
 they may learn the safety of trusting in God when- 
 ever assailed by the tongue or the pen of calumny, 
 with the confident assurance that, in his own good 
 time, he will appear for their deliverance, and 
 " bring forth their righteousness as the light, and 
 their judgment as the noon-day." I am especially 
 earnest that you should possess this book, on your 
 own account, that" those who come after you may 
 see that your course in the matter is not only fully 
 vindicated, but really deserving the commendation 
 of all good men and good citizens. 
 
 I stated in my letter of resignation, that the 
 twenty-second day of November, (which is to-day,) 
 would be the completion of thirty years since my 
 installation over the Phillips Church, from winch 
 this church was gathered; and that the nineteenth 
 day of November, (which was last Thursday, 
 would complete twelve years since I was installed 
 over you * Tor more than eleven years previous 
 to these thirty, I held the pastoral charge of a 
 large church in Connecticut, so that I am now xn 
 
 * See Appendix, note B. 
 
13 
 
 the forty-second year of my ministerial and pas- 
 toral labors. During the first twenty-five years 
 of my ministry, I had perhaps as few trials as it 
 usually falls to the lot of a pastor to endure. I 
 must, however, except certain difficulties originating 
 with my deacons, in 1833, an account of which will 
 be found on the fourth page of my book. But in 
 1841, having then been in this place about fourteen 
 years, I found myself, as did Paul, to be truly " in 
 perils among false brethren;" and from that time 
 till within the last two years and a half, I have felt 
 somewhat as the Apostle felt when fighting with 
 wild beasts at Ephesus. 
 
 I choose not to dwell at length on the history 
 of that church from which you were gathered, and 
 over which I presided for more than fourteen years. 
 It is enough for me briefly to allude to what has 
 taken place among them, since that memorable time 
 when their then deacons, in conjunction with a 
 certain member not in office, saw fit to assail me 
 in a manner the most cruel and reprehensible.* I 
 said to them, more than once, that the curse of 
 God would follow them in their connection with 
 that church, for such an unjustifiable and outrageous 
 act. And that it is so, and has been so from that 
 
 * See my book, p. 4 
 
14 
 
 day to this, is a matter of public notoriety. Their 
 alienations, and contentions, and heart-burnings, and 
 divisions, and separations, all go to prove that God 
 has frowned upon them. Previously to that time, 
 you can hardly name the church more united and 
 happy in their pastoi* than that church, or one on 
 which God smiled more approvingly, or blessed 
 with greater prosperity. 
 
 But now, how changed the scene ! They have 
 recently felt themselves obliged to call a council to 
 look into their affairs, and determine whether they 
 ought to be re-organized or sustained as they now 
 are. And that council, after due consideration, 
 have unanimously resolved that "that church and 
 its officers are worthy of the confidence and love 
 of all the churches." Why, the senior members of 
 that council had passed that resolution, in sub- 
 stance, more than twelve years ago, and have been 
 laboring earnestly and unceasingly to fulfil it ever 
 since. And what has been the result of their la- 
 bors ? One would have thought that their past 
 experience might have taught them the folly of re- 
 solving " to bless whom the Lord hath not blessed." 
 No resolutions of ex parte councils can conceal from 
 the public eye the wrongs and injuries done and 
 tolerated by the leading members of that church. 
 
15 
 
 Their history is like the letter spoken of by Paul, 
 "open and read of all men." * 
 
 The published narrative of my life exhibited such 
 a scene of iniquity on the part of my enemies and 
 persecutors as filled the minds of all candid readers 
 with amazement and indignation, and constrained 
 many of them to give utterance to their feelings in 
 such thunder tones of rebuke as completely to si- 
 lence the batteries which had been opened upon me 
 for twelve long years. The Lord having thus de- 
 livered me, as he did David, " out of the paw of 
 the lion, and out of the paw of the bear," you can- 
 not wonder at my desire to be released from the 
 cares and responsibilities of a pastor, and my wish 
 to spend the few remaining years which it may 
 please God to give me, not indeed in idleness, but 
 in a way less trying to my feelings, and less ex- 
 hausting to my bodily and mental powers. Espe- 
 cially will you cease to wonder at my present 
 course, when you consider how remarkably the 
 providence of God has prepared the way for my 
 resignation at this time, with so much credit to you, 
 as well as to myself. And this I would say, not 
 boastingly, but with feelings of gratitude to him 
 
 * See Appendix, note A. 
 
16 
 
 " who hath caused us to triumph in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord." 
 
 I have had strong hopes, brethren, from the be- 
 ginning, that God would spare my life, and pro- 
 long my pastoral relation to you, until the arrival 
 of that day when the depth of the conspiracy against 
 me would be explored, and the names of the chief 
 actors in it would be ascertained, and proclaimed 
 to the world. And if any credit is due to the uni- 
 versal voice of the press, or to the written and 
 verbal declarations of gentlemen standing high in 
 the legal, medical, and theological professions, then 
 that day has arrived, and we all have seen it j those 
 names have been proclaimed, and we all have heard 
 them. 
 
 If you ask me whether any change has taken 
 place in the views and feelings of the men who 
 have so cruelly persecuted and annoyed us, I will 
 answer your question by proposing another. Did 
 the men who burnt John Rogers at the stake, or 
 those who kindled the fires of Smithfield, ever con- 
 fess to any change in their opinions ? Did they or 
 any of their friends who connived at those deeds 
 of horror, ever express regret at what they had 
 done, or even admit that they had acted wickedly ? 
 Did they not affirm to the end that they were gov- 
 
17 
 
 erned by the best of motives — even the honor of 
 God, and the purity of the church? And who does 
 not know that human nature is the same now as 
 then ? Who does not know that the conscientious 
 stubbornness of persecutors is as unyielding in our 
 day, as in the days of the martyrs ? 
 
 My brethren, when we look back on the past 
 twelve years, and consider the singular transac- 
 tions of that* day which united us as pastor and 
 flock, and the many disadvantages under which we 
 have since labored; when we call to mind the 
 many disgraceful and unheard of means which 
 have been employed for our ruin, what a convinc- 
 ing and consoling evidence have we of the special 
 interposition and care of our heavenly Father, and 
 what abundant reason for gratitude and praise ! 
 Our relationship had scarcely been formed when 
 the prediction went forth from high places that 
 this church would become extinct in one year, and 
 the doings of the installing council be rendered 
 null and void. But behold, what hath God 
 wrought? Our connection has been continued, 
 not one year only, but twelve. And during this 
 period its original number of members (fifty-six) 
 has more than doubled, though many have removed 
 from us, and some have died. And to say nothing 
 2 
 
18 
 
 of the untoward circumstances just alluded to, how 
 rarely has it been known that a religious society, 
 under the most favorable auspices, with the sym- 
 pathy and assistance of 'surrounding chitrches, has 
 been able to retain even a nominal existence for 
 twelve years, or one half that length of time, with- 
 out an edifice erected expressly for public worship ! 
 To commence an enterprise like ours without such 
 an edifice is not uncommon ; but the enterprise 
 usually fails in less than four years, if no such edi- 
 fice is provided, especially if nothing but opposi- 
 tion is manifested by neighboring pastors and 
 churches. And can you name the church in this 
 city, with such a combination against them and 
 their pastor as against us, persevered in with un- 
 tiring energy and zeal for a decade of years, and 
 by means so unscrupulous and reckless, — I ask, 
 can you name the church which would probably 
 have been able to contend more successfully than 
 we have done against such fearful odds, against 
 the combined influence of wealth, and sophistry, 
 and malice, and duplicity, and falsehood, and fraud, 
 and perjury, and bribery, — -yes, bribery, thrice 
 resorted to, five hundred dollars being promised 
 in the first case, two hundred in the second, and 
 an indefinite sum in the third, or, as expressed in 
 
19 
 
 the language of him who offered the bribe, " You 
 shall be handsomely remunerated, for there is 
 plenty of money in the bank;" referring to an 
 officer in a certain bank, who, as he said, sent 
 him.* Yes, brethren, all these strange and wick- 
 ed doings have been brought to bear against us 
 with tremendous power. Verily, "if it had not 
 been the Lord who was on our side when men 
 rose up against us, then had they swallowed us up 
 quick. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given 
 us a prey to their teeth." 
 
 And then with what gratitude should sve remem- 
 ber those noble and trusty men — members of the 
 installing council — who were not afraid or ashamed 
 to appear openly in our defence, and gave us their 
 aid and influence in our time of needlt And 
 among them all, no one stood forth more conspicu- 
 ously than that venerable and venerated man of 
 6od,J that learned and devoted minister of Christ, 
 who for forty years was at the head of our Theo- 
 logical Seminary, and universally regarded as the 
 ablest and most beloved and influential clergyman 
 of our denomination, and who continued to us his 
 confidence and affection till the day of his death. 
 
 * See my book, pages 41-45, 351. 
 
 t See Appendix, note C. . J Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D. 
 
20 
 
 We shall never forget his appearance or his ser- 
 mon on that occasion. Nor shall we forget with 
 what grief and righteous indignation he received 
 the message sent him by the inveterate disturber 
 of our peace, that if he preached the sermon, or 
 took any part in the doings of that council, " his 
 well-earned reputation as first among the Orthodox 
 clergy of New England would suffer;" as though 
 a motive like this, so sordid and selfish, could 
 reach that good man's heart, and cause him to 
 swerve from the discharge of a duty which, after 
 many prayers to God for direction, his own con- 
 science told him he owed to me, his injured and 
 persecuted brother, and to you, my faithful and 
 confiding friends. And there are other gentle- 
 men who were connected with that council, both 
 among the living and the dead, standing high in 
 the affection and confidence of the churches, whom 
 we remember with gratitude, and bless God for 
 their assistance and sympathy at a time when both 
 were so much needed. But four of them are rest- 
 ing from their labors, and their good works are 
 following them. The moderator,* the preacher, t 
 and he who gave the charge, J are no more with 
 
 * Rev. Joseph Bennett. t Rev. Dr. Woods. 
 
 i Rev. Jonathan French. D. D. 
 
21 
 
 us. And my college classmate, who had been inti- 
 mate with me for more than forty years, and long 
 a well-known and much-respected resident of this 
 city, was also a member of the council. * But he 
 too has since finished his course, and entered into 
 rest. Those members who survive are affection- 
 ately remembered by us, and especially that much- 
 beloved brother who extended to me the right hand 
 of fellowship^ and who well understood what is 
 implied in that significant and pleasing service, who 
 has since "oft refreshed me, and has not been 
 ashamed of my chain. " 
 
 I come now to speak of another class of clergy- 
 men, who have acted a part towards us widely dif- 
 ferent from that to which I have just adverted. 
 And here, brethren, I feel my conscious need of 
 "the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness 
 of the dove," lest I overstep the bounds of Chris- 
 tian moderation and calm discretion. This, I con- 
 fess, is the most difficult and painful part of my 
 address ; and I would gladly pass it over in silence, 
 if fidelity to you and myself, and the outraged 
 cause of humanity and religion did not forbid me. 
 And my regret at referring to these clerical gentle- 
 men does not spring so much from the deep wrong 
 
 * Rev. Louis D wight. f Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, D. D, 
 
22 
 
 they have clone me and my friends, as from the 
 lasting reproach which they have brought upon the 
 Christian ministry, especially upon those of our 
 denomination, and the serious injury they have 
 done to the souls of men. Though I have suffered 
 from these brethren calamities which I cannot de- 
 scribe, and encountered obstacles the most appal- 
 ling, thrown by them in the pathway of my pro- 
 fession, and been compelled to sacrifice all my 
 earthly substance to defend myself from their un- 
 righteous and pertinacious attacks, still I honestly 
 declare to you that none of these things, nor all 
 of them combined, are so trying to my feelings, or 
 so grievous to be borne, as the injuries they have 
 inflicted on that sacred cause which we regard as 
 dearer than life. The gay and thoughtless look on 
 with pleasure, and they jeer and scoff. The infidel 
 and the sceptic look on with delight, and are con- 
 firmed in their infidelity and scepticism. Plain, 
 honest-hearted Christians in the common walks of 
 life look on, and they sigh and weep. And when 
 we attempt to apologize to those who ask for an 
 explanation of such conduct, our mouths are shut, 
 or we speak to no purpose. We may tell them of 
 the infirmities of men, — that the best are liable to 
 err, — that clergymen are not perfect, and that we 
 
23 
 
 must exercise charity. But this will not satisfy 
 them. If they admit all that we say, yet they do 
 not see its application to the present case. They 
 will say, Here are clergymen deserting an accused 
 brother, whom they had solemnly promised to stand 
 by and defend, till proved guilty of crime, — de- 
 serting him even before his trial, and doing all 
 they can when on trial to convict him ; and when 
 they fail, through the acknowledged incompetency 
 of the tribunal, then, with great apparent kindness 
 and affection, they assure this brother that if he 
 will come to the tribunal which is competent to do 
 justice in the premises, and is by that tribunal ac- 
 quitted, "they will haste, with unutterable joy," to 
 extend to him the hand of fellowship, and " reckon 
 him again among the faithful ministers of Jesus." 
 Being thus assured, he voluntarily presents him- 
 self to' this very tribunal, is by them thoroughly 
 tried, and pronounced " not guilty," the judge and 
 the public press concurring with the jury in the 
 verdict, as a righteous one. This injured and 
 calumniated brother, being thus relieved, though 
 at great expense, looks around for those brethren 
 who had made such kind promises, expecting them 
 ."to haste with unutterable joy "to fulfil their prom- 
 ises and redeem their pledges. But, alas ! he looks 
 
24 
 
 and waits in vain. Where he expected to find 
 truthfulness and honesty, he finds deception and 
 treachery, just as it was in the days of the prophet, 
 when he said to the people, " Trust ye not in any 
 brother, for every brother will utterly supplant." 
 And when you, my brethren and friends, who had 
 known this clergyman for years, invite him, after 
 his honorable acquittal, to become your pastor, 
 then behold, these same clergymen, who had given 
 such assurances of sympathy, send a remonstrance 
 to the installing council, protesting against their 
 recognizing that brother as a minister of Christ, 
 declaring that "it will be impossible for them," (I 
 quote their own words, written by the hand of 
 him who had taken the lead in this conspiracy,) 
 "it will be impossible for them to give him," 
 (meaning me,) " or to any church that may employ 
 him," (meaning you,) "their ministerial fellow- 
 ship." Yes, impossible is the word. And yet the 
 very same doctor in divinity who wrote this papal 
 bull, and three other doctors whom he prevailed 
 on to sign it with him, did afterwards read letters 
 missive to their churches for the appointment of 
 delegates to become members of an ex jtarte coun- 
 cil to sit in judgment on our affairs, thereby ac- 
 knowledging you as a sister church, and myself as 
 
25 
 
 your pastor; for surely they would never have 
 presumed to adjudicate in the affairs of a Baptist 
 church, or Unitarian church, or any other church 
 with which they were not in fellowship. And why 
 this acknowledgment just then, and never, after- 
 wards ? Because they designed, by the action of 
 that council, so unrighteously called and so un- 
 fairly composed, to silence me as your pastor, and 
 leave you as sheep having no shepherd. These 
 gentlemen seem to have acted on the principle so 
 sternly rebuked and fearlessly condemned by Paul : 
 " Let us do evil, that good may come." ; But God 
 interposed in our behalf. In the appropriate lan- 
 guage of Scripture, " He put a hook in their nose 
 and a bridle in their jaws. He broke the snare 
 of the fowlers, and we escaped. " 
 
 These, my brethren, are sad statements indeed, 
 and I am truly sorry for the occasion of them ; but 
 when men standing high in the church, as high as 
 did the Scribes and Pharisees, the Priests and 
 Levites, the Rulers and Elders of old, — when 
 such men will do wrong, and persist in the wrong 
 for many, many years, in spite of the decisions of 
 courts and councils, — a wrong designed to rob a 
 brother of that priceless jewel, a good name, and 
 a church of the pastor whom they love, though it 
 
26 
 
 may be done under the most sanctimonious forms, 
 
 and with the most solemn protestations that in all 
 
 this there is no unkind feeling, no hatred, no vin- 
 
 dictiveness, and nothing but love and good will, 
 
 and a holy regard for the purity and honor of the 
 
 ministry, — I say when men standing high in the 
 
 church will do this, it is right that they should be 
 
 exposed, that others may be on their guard, and 
 
 take heed to the caution of qur Lord, " Beware 
 
 of men." However unpleasant it may be to make 
 
 the disclosure, it is due to the ministry, to the 
 
 church, and to the world. All are taught by it to 
 
 I 
 watch against the encroachment and tyranny of 
 
 ecclesiastical domination, as well in the Protestant 
 as in the Romish church. 
 
 That the innocent may not be involved with the 
 guilty, I will here state that the clergymen who 
 have acted in a manner so inconsistent with their 
 profession, and in a spirit so persecuting and vin- 
 dictive, are few in number, residing chiefly in Bos- 
 ton and vicinity. Indeed, had it not been for two 
 doctors in divinity, whom I need not name, our 
 overwhelming troubles would never have been 
 known, and that heavy load of reproach which has 
 fallen on themselves and their apologizing friends 
 would never have been felt. One of these gentle- 
 
27 
 
 men has removed to the far West, and will proba- 
 bly never again be located in this region. And if 
 the other would remove as far South, whither his 
 proclivities evidently incline him, the hearts of 
 many good people in our churches would no longer 
 be pained at hearing a clergyman preach in whom 
 they have so little confidence, and for whom they 
 feel so little respect. 
 
 And lest I should be deemed uncharitable in 
 saying this, or accused of giving vent to some 
 private pique, I will here quote a single sentence 
 from a religious paper published near us, and one 
 of the organs of our denomination. The editor, in 
 speaking of the clergyman to whom I refer says, 
 " It is a fact that many and many a congregation in 
 New England would feel it to be a calamity and 
 grief to see him ascending their pulpit stairs." 
 Although the editor when he thus wrote had no 
 reference to us, but to the publication of a book 
 by that gentleman which he regarded as pernicious 
 in its tendency, yet there are multitudes in the 
 many congregations of New England who do, in- 
 deed, deem it a calamity and grief to see a man 
 ascending their pulpit stairs who is extensively 
 known to have called a brother clergyman — "hell" 
 — against whom no crime had been proved, being 
 
28 
 
 simply accused; who had denounced him as "an 
 unscrupulous man;" as a man who "had ceased 
 to discriminate between truth and falsehood " 
 — "as worse than the infamous Aaron Burr/' 
 and " bad enough to go out of the world with a 
 lie upon his lips." And yet, after saying all this, 
 and professing to believe it all, he writes the 
 kindest and most affectionate letter to this same 
 clergyman whom he had thus, denounced, calling 
 him " My dear, dear brother," and assuring him, (I 
 quote his own words,) "I feel prepared to do or 
 suffer any thing for you, in any event. However you 
 may prove to have acted, right or wrong, the feel- 
 ing which will ever govern every other, will be that 
 of tender sympathy, weeping for your injuries, if 
 you prove to be innocent, or weeping at your fall." 
 And, as though this assurance were not sufficiently 
 affectionate and winning, he soon sends him a kind 
 message with the alluring promise that if he will 
 surrender himself to be tried by a jury of his peers, 
 and is by them acquitted, he will be the first to 
 invite him into his pulpit, and by this act publicly 
 declare that he does indeed regard him as his 
 " dear, dear brother," and that " the feeling, which 
 governs every other, is indeed that of tender sym- 
 pathy ;" and then utterly refusing to fulfil his prom- 
 
29 
 
 ise. Who, I ask, can wonder that Christian men 
 and women should regret to see a clergyman 
 ascending their pulpit stairs, who has acted in a 
 manner so deceptive, and so unbecoming his sacred 
 profession, and who, to this day, has made no 
 apology for what he has done, but, (if I am cor- 
 rectly informed,) still justifies his conduct, as 
 though he had done nothing amiss ? 
 
 I come now to a more pleasing side of the pic- 
 ture. The great body of the Congregational pas- 
 tors in New England have treated us, so far as 
 they have had an opportunity, with Christian kind- 
 ness and courtesy. True, some of them have 
 seemed not to trouble themselves so much about 
 what was right in the case, as about what was 
 expedient — as though it was not always both right 
 and expedient to do as they would be done by.* 
 
 * I am aware that there are clergymen who have said that it was 
 inexpedient for me ever to enter the pulpit after I was accused, and 
 equally inexpedient even after my honorable acquittal, lest the ministry 
 should svffer reproach, — thus adopting a principle which, if universally 
 acted upon might expose every faithful minister in the land to the loss 
 of his office, by putting it into the power of a few disaffected men, who 
 should combine to drive him from the pulpit by bribing some lying 
 wanton to testify against him, — a principle which virtually says that 
 a clergyman accused of crime, though triumphantly acquitted by 
 court and council, has forfeited his rights, not indeed as a citizen, but 
 only as a clergyman, as though his rights were not his rights in the one 
 capacity as truly as in the other. Such clergymen, in their opinions 
 
30 
 
 But most of them have acted towards us as Chris- 
 tian ministers should act. They have been ready, 
 when requested, to give letters of recommendation 
 to membership with us. More than fifty clergymen 
 of the denomination have expressed their sympathy, 
 either by an exchange of pulpits, or by preaching 
 gratuitously for us on the Sabbath,. or by inviting 
 me to preach for them. Especially is it a bright 
 side of the picture to notice those younger breth- 
 ren in the ministry, who were ready to exchange 
 with me, having the independence to do right with- 
 out asking leave of those Metropolitan clergymen 
 who had fixed their ban upon us, and cast out our 
 names as evil. It was truly refreshing to my heart 
 to be thus assured of the affection and regard of 
 these brethren, and that they " were not ashamed 
 of my chain." 
 
 In reference to the other denominations of Chris- 
 
 and feelings very much resemble Job when he said, in his prosperity, 
 " I shall die in my nest." But let a reverse of circumstances take 
 place — let them be accused, and tried, and acquitted, and there will 
 soon be quite a reverse in their opinions and feelings. I surely do not 
 wish any such calamity to befall them; but if it should so happen, cer- 
 tain I am that their views of the doctrine of expediency would be sud- 
 denly and thoroughly changed, and they would wonder how they could 
 ever have indulged views so erroneous, and of such pernicious tend- 
 ency. They would furthermore soon deem it far more inexpedient to 
 tolerate those men in the church and ministry who thus pursued them, 
 than it would be for them to re-enter the pulpit. 
 
31 
 
 tians in our immediate vicinity, 1 would say that, as 
 neighbors and friends, they have treated me with 
 respect and kindness. I know not that I have an 
 enemy among them all. This is especially true of 
 our Methodist brethren, whose pftlpit was the first I 
 entered after being liberated from my "chain." 
 And in all my travels abroad, the Methodist clergy 
 are ever ready to welcome me to their pulpits. 
 
 There is another bright side to the picture. If 
 you will cast your eye over the more than eight 
 hundred names of gentlemen appended to my book, 
 who have contributed to aid us in the erection of a 
 church edifice, you will find among them the most 
 respectable and influential men of all denominations 
 in religion, many of whom gave their names avow- 
 edly for the purpose of letting it be known that 
 their sympathies were with us, and that they were 
 desirous of bearing public testimony against perse- 
 cution. And had it not been for these times of un- 
 paralleled depression and embarrassment among 
 our merchants and men of business, I am confident 
 that these gentlemen would have enabled us to 
 carry our enterprise to a successful issue. If it be 
 ever lawful for a man to be proud, I must say that 
 I am proud of such a list of names. To feel as- 
 sured that such men "were not ashamed of my 
 
32 
 
 chain," was then, is now, and ever will be truly re- 
 freshing to my soul. And from the conduct and 
 conversation of these gentlemen, I have learned a 
 lesson which I shall never forget. I have learned 
 to think little of *human creeds, and to query with 
 myself whether it might not have been as well for 
 the church, and far better for the world, if there 
 had never been any creed but the Bible. I have 
 learned that denominational distinctions are of little 
 consequence — that the only safe criterion by which 
 we are to determine the Christian character of any 
 people, is by their works — that wherever we see 
 the fruits of religion, we may safely infer that re- 
 ligion is there — that Christians may differ as wide- 
 ly in their doctrinal views as in their personal ap- 
 pearance, and yet be Christians still- — and that 
 while I claim the privilege and the right of think- 
 ing for myself, I am led most cheerfully to grant 
 the same to others. And I must say, that if I ever 
 had any bigotry or sectarian feeling, it is all gone, 
 never to return. It used to be said of me some 
 years ago, that my orthodoxy had a few sharp cor- 
 ners. Be this as it may, I must confess that while 
 I still adhere to my orthodoxy, yet, if those sharp 
 corners ever existed, the mill through which I have 
 passed has ground them off so effectually, that I 
 
83 
 
 can extend the hand and the feeling of charity to 
 those of a different creed. Within a few years 
 past, I have come in frequent contact with many 
 professors of other denominations, who were as 
 kind, and charitable, and prayerful, and apparently 
 as upright and holy as I have ever known. And if 
 I should he so happy as to reach heaven at last, I 
 expect to meet them there. This is particularly 
 true of their pastors. They have generally shown 
 themselves to be kind-hearted and sympathetic men. 
 And I do honestly believe that the clergy of no 
 other denomination in the land would ever have 
 treated a brother in like circumstances, as a por- 
 tion of my brethren have treated me, being the first 
 to denounce and forsake him before his trial, and 
 the last to embrace and defend him after his acquit- 
 tal. Whatever of honor or disgrace may attach to 
 this conduct, the orthodox clergy must take it all. 
 Yet these same gentlemen will tell you that they 
 are bound to regard every accused brother as 
 innocent until guilt is proved. Have they acted on 
 this principle, which is in perfect harmony with the 
 laws of God and man ? They will tell you, too, 
 that when an accused brother has been tried and 
 pronounced innocent by the only earthly tribunal 
 competent to sit in judgment ojx his case, they are 
 3 
 
34 
 
 then under special obligations to come around him, 
 and give him their sympathy and assistance more 
 readily than ever, because, having passed through 
 scenes of suffering and sorrow wholly undeserved, 
 duty requires them to say to him, " Come, brother, 
 cheer up. We have come to give thee our hands 
 and our hearts." Have they done so ? Nothing 
 like it. And yet the very men, (can you believe 
 it ?) the very men who have been leaders in this in- 
 glorious enterprise, or connivers at it, are great 
 sticklers for orthodoxy, and appear to be very much 
 alarmed lest some of their brethren should be de- 
 parting from the faith of the Puritan fathers, — lest 
 they should be laboring, in some covert way, to 
 bring into the churches " damnable heresies," as 
 though what they call a sound creed, was of greater 
 importance than sound practice, — as though faith 
 in certain doctrines would ensure a man's salvation, 
 without much regard to the works of love and fruits 
 of holiness, so frequently and solemnly enjoined in 
 the gospel. 
 
 Perhaps I ought here to state that this strange 
 procedure is owing, in part at least, to our ecclesi- 
 astical polity. The Congregationalism of Massa- 
 chusetts may have its excellencies; but that it has 
 also its s&d defects, oiir history has strikingly mani- 
 
35 
 
 fested. It will do very well when all is peaceful 
 and calm ; but in a storm, when the wind blows and 
 the waves run high, it is little better than an ark of 
 bulrushes. If pastors and churches were always dis- 
 posed to do right, then Congregationalism would be 
 all that is necessary. And so, if our legislators were 
 all good men, thinking right and acting right, then 
 we might dispense with the senate and the execu- 
 tive, and safely leave our affairs of government to 
 the house of representatives alone. But legislators 
 do not always think alike, or act in harmony; but 
 will sometimes enter into fierce contention; and, 
 under the influence of passion, or prejudice, or self- 
 interest, or party spirit, might enact laws very un- 
 just and oppressive, if they were not checked by 
 the senate, or the senate might concur with the 
 house and pass such laws, were it not for the veto 
 of the executive. And just so it is at times with 
 pastors and delegates. They are not always the 
 most dove-like in their doings. They sometimes 
 get angry, and act very wickedly, (though of course 
 very conscientiously,) and commit a grievous out- 
 rage on the feelings, and rights, and reputation of a 
 brother, and it may be, suspend or even depose 
 him from his office ; but he has no redress — no 
 ecclesiastical court of appeal, as in the Presbyterian, 
 
36 
 
 and Methodist, and Episcopal churches, where the 
 wrong can be righted, and the injured brother vin- 
 dicated and restored. 
 
 And if this be true of our ecclesiastical councils, 
 how much more distressing is the case as some- 
 times exhibited by pastors in their associations ? 
 Let me give you a single instance, which, as you 
 know and I know to my sorrow, has actually taken 
 place. Here is a clerical association, without any 
 authority whatever, either ecclesiastical or civil, 
 deliberately and falsely inserting in their book of 
 records that one of their number has been proved 
 guilty of three infamous crimes, and on that ground 
 and no other, expelling him from their body, thus 
 branding his name with infamy by their false record, 
 knowing it to be false, but utterly refusing to alter 
 it in conformity with the truth. But, as there is 
 no ecclesiastical tribunal before which they can be 
 summoned for trial, they escape unscathed. They 
 can do an act over which good men grieve and 
 devils rejoice, without responsibility to any ecclesi- 
 astical court whatever. True, they did at last 
 rescind their libellous record when they saw that, 
 if longer retained, they must meet the case in the 
 civil court acknowledging by this very act that 
 they had borne false witness against this brother 
 
37 
 
 for more than ten years. And then, to cap the 
 climax of wrong, they immediately resolve to expel 
 this brother again from their body, when he had 
 not been a member for years, and had repeatedly 
 assured them that he never would be a member. 
 Yes, after rescinding these ten years' falsehoods, 
 through fear of the civil law and not the law of 
 God, they still go on to discharge their bile on one 
 whom they had already injured beyond their power 
 of reparation. What a sad comment on the reli- 
 gion of love and good will which they profess and 
 teach ! Why, the inquisition itself could hardly 
 have done more or worse that this. 0, who can 
 wonder that the clerical profession should have lost 
 its wonted hold on the confidence of the commu- 
 nity, after such an exhibition of its unmanliness 
 and trickery ? And who can wonder that infidelity 
 is so rife among the people, when they witness such 
 strange proceedings, so abhorrent to the views and 
 feelings of every honest man among them ? 
 
 Can you blame me, then, when I say not only 
 "beware of men," but beware of ministe?*s? Re- 
 spect and love them so long as they confine them- 
 selves to the appropriate duties of their office ; but 
 when they leave their proper sphere of action, and 
 claim the exercise of authority not belonging to 
 
38 
 
 them, — when they trample under foot the solemn 
 decisions of our civil courts, and set up their own 
 irresponsible opinions as paramount to the opinions 
 of judges and juries acting under the awful sanc- 
 tions of an oath, — when they attempt "to lord it 
 over God's heritage," instead of ruling the people 
 in a spirit of love and kindness, — when they 
 assume the power and dictation of popes, with a 
 determination to " crush out " and victimize the 
 clergyman who thinks for himself and is too inde- 
 pendent to call any man master, — of such minis- 
 ters (and, unhappily, there are such) marvel not 
 that I repeat it — beware ! * 
 
 * I will here state a fact with which most of my readers are familiar, 
 — that the leader in the matter of that false and libellous record was 
 summoned to appear before a jury of his country to answer for his 
 offence, and that I very unwisely consented to submit the case to the 
 judgment of three referees, who decided that Dr. Nehemiah Adams, 
 the chief offender, was privileged not only to write but to utter slander 
 against me in the worst possible form. His plea, by his counsel, was 
 that he did it all for the glory of God, and that his only motive was to 
 keep the ministry pure. This is the battery behind which he sought to 
 shelter himself and ruin me. Such an apology is a gross aggravation 
 of the offence, and an insult to that religion which it pretends to vindi- 
 cate and honor. Even in Old Testament times, Jeremiah under the law 
 had made greater progress than Neliemiah under the gospel; for the old 
 prophet did not let off transgressors who attempted to shelter themselves 
 from the penalties which attach to their conduct by exclaiming, " The 
 temple of the Lord — the temple of the Lord are we! " Nor was he 
 
39 
 
 The day for the clergy to claim deference and 
 respect on account of their official station or hon- 
 orary titles is past. Whatever honor and influence 
 they may deserve on account of their virtues and 
 talents will be most cheerfully accorded to them ; 
 but if they expect that their profession or titles 
 will raise them in public esteem, without real 
 merit, or that they shall succeed in exalting them- 
 selves by depreciating and vilifying their brethren, 
 they will, in the end, be sadly disappointed. Cler- 
 gymen, like other professional gentlemen, must 
 henceforth stand or fall on their own merits. 
 
 I must say a few words, in this connection, with 
 regard to the calling of ecclesiastical councils. In 
 a case of difficulty in a church, requiring advice as 
 to the discipline or exclusion of a member, or any 
 other matter where no important interests are in- 
 volved, it may be well enough to call a council ; 
 but where the case is one coming directly under 
 the cognizance of the civil law, I would say, let the 
 civil law decide it ; for if our civil courts fail to do 
 justice in the premises, it will be folly to expect it 
 from ecclesiastical councils. On this point I will 
 
 more indulgent to those claiming exemption from punishment with the 
 salvo, " We are delivered," that is, privileged, " to do all these abomina- 
 tions." 
 
40 
 
 take the liberty of quoting the words of one who, 
 by common consent, was the ablest jurist in the 
 country, — words which I had from his own lips.* 
 Said he to me, "A person placed in circumstances 
 like yours should have nothing to do with ecclesi- 
 astical councils. They are the last body of men 
 on earth, however wise and honest, to sit in judg- 
 ment on such a case. Their education, their hab- 
 its, their profession, are all unfavorable to the 
 exercise of that discrimination so essential to the 
 right understanding, and thorough sifting, and safe 
 application of human testimony.' ' This, brethren, 
 is sound advice, confirmed by observation and ex- 
 perience ; and I cannot but indulge the hope that 
 the time will soon come when clergymen will 
 utterly refuse to sit in council where they are 
 both judges and jurors, in any case of alleged 
 crime cognizable by the civil law. But if they 
 must sit in judgment on such a case, they will 
 show "their wisdom by not coming to a verdict of 
 condemnation on the ground of impressions, but 
 fads, — never allowing themselves to be swayed 
 in their judgment by prejudice or one-sided testi- 
 mony, but by evidence clear and incontrovertible. 
 And, above all, let them never commit themselves 
 
 * Daniel Webster. 
 
41 
 
 against an accused brother before he is tried ; for 
 it was this hasty committal; and a pertinacious 
 refusal to retract, which has been the chief source 
 of all our difficulties. And, brethren, there has 
 been no retraction to this day, and no regret ex- 
 pressed, — a fact which the wise and good regard 
 with grief and wonder. And if there had been 
 this retraction and regret, I should have been 
 spared the painful necessity of uttering, and you 
 the painful necessity of hearing, a large portion 
 of this address ; for when Christian men have made 
 gospel reparation for the wrongs and wounds they 
 have inflicted, to recapitulate those wrongs and 
 open afresh those wounds is inexcusable, and by 
 me would never have been done. This retraction 
 would have saved both them and us much vexa- 
 tious controversy, the church and the ministry much 
 disgrace and reproach, and have caused all our 
 troubles to be buried in the grave of oblivion 
 years ago. 
 
 In glancing again at the bright side of the pic- 
 ture, how much, my friends, do we owe to the pub- 
 lic press, which has always been with us, when 
 men of wealth and influence were plotting and 
 planning our destruction ! If it had been other- 
 wise, — if the editors of the various papers, polit- 
 
42 
 
 ical and religious, had been against us, where should 
 we have been ? To these editors I confess I owe 
 a debt of gratitude which I can never pay; for, 
 under God, I am as much, perhaps more indebted 
 to these gentlemen for deliverance from "nay chain" 
 than to any other cause whatever. In my poverty, 
 occasioned by my vindictive pursuers, I can do no 
 more than thank them for their independence and 
 kindness, and pray God to reward them with abun- 
 dant blessings. 
 
 But the brightest side of the picture is still to 
 be presented. In the letter which you sent me, 
 after I was liberated from " my chain," inviting 
 me to become your pastor, you said, " Come back 
 again to your brethren and sisters in Jesus, doubly 
 endeared to many of them on account of your in- 
 strumentality in bringing them to the Lamb of 
 God. Come back to us, and we are ready to wel- 
 come you with our whole hearts. 0, it was cruel 
 in your enemies to hunt you like a partridge on 
 the mountains — to drive you to the verge of dis- 
 traction ! Come back, and may the God of heaven 
 bless both you and us ! " The hand of our brother 
 who wrote this letter, and to whom we were so 
 much indebted for his efficient aid, lies buried in 
 
43 
 
 the dust; but the soul which indited it we trust 
 has gone to heaven. 
 
 The kind feeling here expressed has been con- 
 tinued without diminution, till this day. As I said 
 to you in my letter of resignation,* " our relation- 
 ship during these twelve years, has been one of the 
 utmost harmony and brotherly affection. A kind 
 Providence has not permitted any thing to take 
 place among ourselves, to trouble us or even to 
 indicate a want of mutual love and confidence." 
 And in confirmation of this statement, I will here 
 quote a single paragraph from the document which 
 the clerk of the church, by your direction, has put 
 into my hands, in reply to the above letter. You 
 there say, " As we have labored together with per- 
 fect harmony and with mutual sympathy under 
 severe trials, we cannot separate from our beloved 
 pastor without some expression of our sorrow. 
 This, however, is mingled with thanksgiving to God 
 that this separation does not take place until he 
 has fully vindicated himself from the vile asper- 
 sions cast upon him, and has come forth from the 
 furnace without the smell of fire on his robes. 
 Our best wishes will go with him, and our prayers 
 ascend for his continued health and usefulness." 
 
 * See Appendix, note B. 
 
44 
 
 I thank you for these kind expressions, and bless 
 God for raising me up such friends ; and as I said 
 in my first sermon to you, (and if true then, it surely 
 is not less true now,) " friends who have clung 
 to me with a love so firm, so constant, so ardent, 
 so true ; friends who have stood by me in my 
 trials and persecutions, while others forsook me, 
 and joined hands, and hearts, and heads, and pens, 
 and tongues against me." 0, how often have I 
 had occasion to reflect, (though not in reference to 
 you,) on that old, but true proverb of Solomon: 
 "Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble 
 is like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint," it 
 being impossible to eat with the one or walk with 
 the other ! We have known nothing of alienation 
 or distrust. Our experience has indeed taught us 
 " how good and how pleasant a thing it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity." But the 
 time has now come when we must separate ; but 
 only as pastor and flock — as minister and people. 
 For I design still to reside among you. And let 
 me here say to you that if hereafter you need my 
 counsel or services as a clergyman in times of 
 sickness and affliction you may call on me with the 
 utmost freedom. I do not intend ever again to 
 assume the pastoral charge of any church. As I 
 
45 
 
 said at the beginning, having held the pastoral 
 office for more than forty years, I feel that I am 
 now justified in seeking a release from its respon- 
 sibilities and cares. I shall be willing to preach 
 so long as God gives me health and strength ; for 
 this is my much-loved employment. And should 
 any church wish me to supply them a few Sab- 
 baths, or any brother desire me to assist him as a 
 labor of love, I will do so most readily. 
 
 There is one thing, brethren, in our affairs on 
 which we may always look back with satisfaction ; 
 we have never been the aggressors — have never com- 
 menced an attack on any one. We have only 
 defended ourselves from the attacks of others. 
 And we have abstained from this defence until 
 forced to make it, or cease to claim the character 
 and reputation of Christians. And the wisest and 
 best men in the community, who had no particular 
 sympathy with us, but simply looked on as disin- 
 terested spectators, have declared with perfect 
 unanimity, after making themselves acquainted with 
 the facts, that we have accomplished a most diffi- 
 cult work — a work which neither law, logic, nor 
 gospel required us to do — have proved our own 
 innocence. This, brethren, should be with us a 
 matter of joy and rejoicing; for our case will be 
 
46 
 
 referred to by those who come after us to the latest 
 posterity; so that our memory will not suffer, nor 
 our descendants blush at the mention of our names. 
 You will hardly expect me to give you any advice 
 as to your future course. I am glad to see in the 
 document just referred to, that you are resolved not 
 to give up at present your organization as a church. 
 You will do well to wait and watch the indications 
 of Providence. But wherever your future lot may 
 be cast, I trust you will not forget that the vows of 
 God are upon you. Ever act consistently with your 
 high and holy calling. Never tarnish your reputa- 
 tion, or bring disgrace on your sacred profession by 
 any conduct or conversation unbecoming the gospel. 
 I have endeavored faithfully to point out your duty, 
 — to teach and confirm you in the faith and prac- 
 tice of Christianity, — to exhort you to live so holily 
 and unblameably — so justly and truthfully, that if 
 others will speak ill of you, they shall be compelled 
 to speak it falsely. Continue to live and love as 
 brethren, that the God of peace may be with you. 
 Your earthly course, as well as mine, will soon be 
 finished, and our accounts sealed up unto the judg- 
 ment of the great day. And may we all meet at 
 last in the kingdom of our Father, where we shall 
 u shine together as the brightness of the firmament, 
 and as the stars forever and ever." 
 
47 
 
 I have a few words to say to those who make no 
 pretension to religion, and may possibly feel dis- 
 gusted with " regard to the whole subject, because of 
 the inconsistent conduct of certain clergymen and 
 laymen, as depicted in this Address. But, my 
 friends, be not hasty in your judgment. You do 
 not deem that there is no honesty among merchants 
 because some are swindlers. Consider the matter 
 calmly and deliberately before you decide. Let 
 not the equivocations and duplicity and treachery 
 of these men infuse into your minds any doubts as 
 to the reality and importance of religion. For it 
 is a glorious reality — it is infinitely important. 
 Think of the multitude of clergymen to whom I 
 alluded under the bright side of the picture, who 
 have adorned their profession, and acted on the 
 principles of their holy religion. Let the conduct 
 of these men banish from your minds every feeling 
 and thought of scepticism, and constrain you to 
 believe and embrace that religion which is the true 
 ornament and glory of man in this life, and assures 
 him of immortal happiness in the life to come. 
 
 To you who have attended constantly on my min- 
 istry, I can truly say that your treatment of me has 
 been all that I could desire. But how have you 
 treated my blessed Lord and Master, whom I have 
 
48 
 
 so frequently urged on your belief and acceptance ? 
 You can bear witness that I have declared unto you 
 the whole counsel of God, and have kept nothing back 
 which might lead you to Christ, and through him to 
 heaven. You can bear witness that I have often 
 warned you of your danger, and entreated you with 
 tears to be reconciled to God. But my voice of 
 warning and entreaty you will hear no more. My 
 last message to you is — " repent and be converted, 
 that your sins may be blotted out." 
 
 And now, beloved brethren and friends, as your 
 pastor and teacher — not as your neighbor and fel- 
 low-citizen — I would say to all of you most affec- 
 tionately — farewell — and especially to those who 
 have oft refreshed me, and were not ashamed of my 
 chain. 
 
 At the commencement of the services, the follow- 
 ing psalm was sung : 
 
 " My spirit looks to God alone ; 
 My rock and refuge is his throne ; 
 In all my fears, in all my straits, 
 My soul for his salvation waits. 
 
 " Trust him, ye saints, in all your ways ; 
 Pour out your hearts before his face ; 
 When helpers fail, and foes invade, 
 God is our all-sufficient aid." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 It has been intimated to me that the preceding remarks in 
 reference to the Phillips Church were rather severe, and 
 might as well have been omitted. I must therefore subjoin 
 this note, by way of explanation. # 
 
 In the original draft of my Address I had scarcely alluded 
 to that Church at all, and had determined to say as little 
 about them as possible ; but when the result of the late 
 ecclesiastical council was published, in which it is said " that 
 the Phillips Church and Society are laboring under the im- 
 pression that certain untoward events in their past history, 
 beyond their control, have operated and may still operate 
 unfavorably to their continuance as a church and society 
 under their present organization/' I then felt in duty bound 
 to defend myself from this new attack. The elder members 
 of that council well knew that the deacons were suffering in 
 public esteem on account of their past transactions in relation 
 
 * In speaking of the officers of the Phillips Church, I wish it to be 
 distinctly understood that I refer to those who were in office at the time 
 of my dismissal from the pastorship of that church. I should be sorry 
 to implicate one of the present deacons, who is a worthy gentleman, 
 and, for aught I know to the contrary, deserving " the confidence and 
 love of all the churches. 1 ' Neither do I mean to censure all the mem- 
 bers of that church; for I know that some of them (at least before the 
 late secession) were friendly to me, and ready to admit that I had been 
 unkindly treated. I mean those only who have sympathized with the 
 deacons, and justified their unchristian conduct. 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 to me ; and in order to exonerate them from all blame in 
 this matter, they virtually tell the world in their result that 
 the officers of the Phillips Church had no control oyer those 
 untoward events in their history, and thus, in a covert way, 
 throw at me another poisoned arrow ; for surely, if they were 
 not to blame for those untoward events, then great blame, as 
 well as much reproach, must justly fall on me. 
 
 This is the reason, and the only reason, for my alluding to 
 them in the manner complained of. And this I believe 
 every candid and unprejudiced mind in the community will 
 say was a justifiable reason. And the truth compels me 
 here to state, in relation to a part of " those untoward events 
 over which the officers of the Phillips Church had no control/' 
 that the senior clerical member of that council had sat 
 in judgment as a referee, and had said, u after a severe and 
 thorough scrutiny," that " there was not even the shadow of 
 a shade against brother Fairchild," and had written the fol- 
 lowing declaration, to which he and his brother referees ap- 
 pended their names: "Nothing has appeared in any part of 
 his life which prevents us from according to him our full 
 confidence as a minister of Christ," and he then thought 
 that the deacons had so much " control over those untoward 
 events," as justly to subject themselves to the discipline of 
 the Phillips Church, and fully to justify sister churches in 
 withdrawing* fellowship from said church, if they declined 
 this act of discipline. Such was his opinion then; but now 
 he says that they had no control at all " over those untoward 
 events," and that they are " worthy of the continued confi- 
 dence and love of all the churches." Here, then, is a result 
 of council, exonerating those men from all blame or censure, 
 as though they " had no control over such untoward events " 
 as watching their pastor from skylights, and behind window 
 blinds, and signing an obligation to pay fifty dollars a year 
 
51 
 
 for ten years to my accuser, "if she would adhere to her 
 first story," and obtain my conviction; as though the senior 
 deacon of the Phillips Church had no control over himself or 
 his pen when he appended his name to that false and scur- 
 rilous pamphlet, the " Medical Fact," the materials for 
 which were furnished by the leading clerical member of the 
 late council, whose result says that those men who did this, 
 and of course those who aided them in doing it, or tolerated 
 them afterwards, " are worthy of the confidence and love of 
 allthe churches! I" 
 
 And who aided the council in this result, aside from Dr. 
 Adams ? Rev. J. W. Alvord and Rev. William W. Pat- 
 ton. The former of these gentlemen was a member of that 
 council, and was once pastor of the Phillips Church, and 
 was scribe of the Suffolk South Association at the time 
 when I made application, as I was directed by my counsel, 
 Judge Curtis, for a copy of that part of their records which 
 related to my case, as I have stated on the 216th page of my 
 book. But Mr. Alvord utterly refused to give me a copy, 
 or even to let me see the records. And when this gentle- 
 man was summoned to appear in court, that he might be 
 compelled to give me my just rights, he testified that he 
 could not give up those records " without exposing himself 
 to a criminal prosecution;" and further testified that "he 
 did not know absolutely that Dr. Adams was a member 
 of the Association," when, as scribe, he had often recorded 
 his name as being a member, and as presiding in his turn as 
 moderator, and whose membership could not have ceased with- 
 out his knowledge as scribe, and at last acknowledged that 
 his refusal to testify was approved of by Dr. Adams, who 
 said "it would be a defence to him" (Dr. Adams.) This 
 is one of the gentlemen whose testimony aided the council in 
 coming to their result, so expressive of their confidence and 
 
52 
 
 love for the officers of the Phillips Church. If I had been 
 guilty of such swearing, I should hardly have escaped an 
 indictment for perjury. 
 
 The other gentleman named was Eev. William W. Pat- 
 ton, my immediate successor as pastor of that church. He 
 was not present in person ; but I am told that a letter from 
 him was read, highly lauding the officers of the Phillips 
 Church. This is the gentleman who, in company with his 
 deacons, (Vinton and Drake,) was present at the Exeter 
 council,, acting in concert with them to procure my convic- 
 tion, and who afterwards signed the remonstrance against my 
 installation, written by Dr. Adams, and acted so indecorously 
 on the day when that council assembled. This is the gentle- 
 man who wrote that filthy letter to Deacon Drake, an account 
 of which will be found on the 157th page of my book, in 
 which he says to the deacon, (i Will you please show this 
 letter to Eev. Nehemiah Adams, as it will save me the 
 trouble of writing to him? I thought that these things 
 would interest you, and might, some way, be put to use. 
 We must not despair ; God will yet bring out the truth 
 about Mr. Fairchild, and his almost unparalleled guilt will 
 be exposed." The written testimony of this gentleman is 
 taken by that council as satisfactory proof of the good Chris- 
 tian character of the officers of the Phillips Church. Why, 
 these two witnesses and the leading member of that council 
 had virtually pledged themselves years ago not to rest till 
 they had driven me from the pulpit. Now, for an ecclesias- 
 tical council, on such committed and one-sided testimony,* 
 gravely to tell the world that the " Phillips Church and its 
 officers were worthy of the continued confidence and love of 
 all the churches," is a transaction not likely to add much to 
 the respectability and influence of ecclesiastical councils. 
 
 When these gentlemen, unprovoked by me, and not re- 
 
53 
 
 quired by the legitimate business which they were called to 
 transact, went out of their way to give another thrust at my 
 reputation, am I to be censured for referring to them and 
 their doings in my Farewell Address, which was designed, in 
 part at least, as the final vindication of myself and my friends, 
 from the aspersions which had been cast upon us ? . I act in 
 this matter solely on the principle of self-defence. On this 
 principle I have acted from the beginning, and shall do so to 
 the end. I wish those gentlemen no ill, who have so long 
 and so eagerly sought my ruin. I have not an unkind feel- 
 ing in my heart towards them. There is not one of them 
 whom I would not most readily forgive, on the confession of 
 his wrong. My prayer is that God would grant them the 
 grace of repentance, and constrain them henceforth to mani- 
 fest the spirit and temper of their Master, and obey his gold- 
 en rule. 
 
 But I have not done with that result of council. In its 
 closing paragraph, I find a severe censure on some of those 
 who have seceded from the Phillips Church. If I have been 
 correctly informed, this censure was called forth principally 
 by the fact that a certain paper was read to the council which 
 had met to organize the seceders into a church, containing re- 
 flections on some of the members of the Phillips Church, 
 which would, if true, as they alleged, prove them unfit to be 
 connected with any Christian church. It seems that the late 
 council convened by the Phillips Church to give them ad- 
 vice, called for the paper containing those charges, and that 
 it was not produced. In consequence of this refusal, it is 
 intimated in the result, that the new church will not have the 
 fellowship of sister churches, without that " repentance and 
 acknowledgment which is essential to their esteem and confi- 
 dence." " * Fair play is a jewel,' was the saying of the boys 
 when I was one of them ; and the spirit of the saying is as 
 
54 
 
 good for men as boys, and quite as good for ministers as for 
 the people." On the 318th page of my book, the reader will 
 find that a certain document containing grave charges against 
 me, which, if true, would forever banish me from the pulpit 
 
 — was read to certain members of my church, for the 
 purpose of convincing them that they were sustaining a 
 man as their minister, who was a vile and polluted wretch 
 
 — a document which it was promised should be deliv- 
 ered up for my use, as soon as it could conveniently be 
 copied, but which, instead of being thus delivered, was 
 destroyed at the suggestion of the leading member of the 
 late council ; or, to use the words of those who destroyed the 
 document, " Dr. Adams did advise us, and told us that it 
 was very important that we should know what the law was 
 on the subject." Here, then, was a document seriously im- 
 plicating my moral character, and promised to my friends, 
 that I might see it, but which was withheld by the direction 
 of Dr. Adams, who, as they said, " was their spiritual ad- 
 viser," and was allowing them all the while to commune 
 with his church at the Lord's table. And now he calls for 
 repentance and acknowledgment for withholding a document 
 which had never been promised by the writer, and which 
 he might legally withhold. He even threatens him and the 
 seceding church which sustains him, with excommunication 
 from Christian fellowship ! " Thou art inexcusable, man ! 
 that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou con- 
 demnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same 
 things." "Physician! heal thyself." 
 
55 
 NOTE B . 
 
 LETTER OF RESIGNATION. 
 
 To the members of the Payson Church and Society : 
 
 Brethren and Friends : — I take this occasion to pre- 
 sent to you my request to be released from my connection 
 with you as your pastor and religious teacher. 
 
 A few years ago, in accordance with your wishes, I entered 
 upon the enterprise of seeking pecuniary aid from Christians 
 of different denominations to enable us to erect a church edi- 
 fice as our future place of worship. I commenced that ardu- 
 ous undertaking with strong hopes of success ; but at the 
 same time with a firm determination that if the enterprise 
 failed, I would forthwith resign my office. I soon succeeded 
 in obtaining funds sufficient to commence operations, and to 
 prepare the foundation for the reception of the walls. After 
 I had gone thus far, the commercial affairs of the community 
 became, such that I found it difficult to obtain additional con- 
 tributions ; but still I did not wholly relinquish the hope of 
 success until the recent distressing embarrassment which has 
 befallen our merchants and men of business, to whom alone I 
 could look for further aid. But as the case now stands, I 
 feel compelled to give up the enterprise, and to notify you 
 of the fact without delay. True, I have quite an amount 
 subscribed and promised beyond what has been paid and ex- 
 pended ; but it is all conditional, none of it being payable 
 unless the whole amount required is subscribed, and within a 
 limited time, which will soon expire. Hence my present re- 
 quest, which I hope you will grant, as soon as you can con- 
 veniently meet to act in the case. 
 
 If agreeable to your wishes, my pastoral relation to you 
 
56 
 
 will continue until the nineteenth day of November, as that 
 day completes twelve years of my ministerial labors among 
 you. And as the twenty-second day of November, (which 
 is the Sabbath,) will be the completion of thirty years since 
 my installation over the Phillips Church, from which this 
 church was gathered, there seems to be a peculiar propriety 
 in selecting that day as the time for delivering to you my 
 farewell address. 
 
 While tendering my resignation, I would say, with grati- 
 tude to God, that our relationship during these twelve years, 
 has been one of the utmost harmony and brotherly affection. 
 A kind Providence has not permitted anything to take place 
 among ourselves, to trouble us, or even to indicate a want 
 of mutual love and confidence. In the exercise of this feel- 
 ing we came together at first, and in the exercise of the same 
 feeling we separate. 
 
 By accepting my resignation, to take effect at the time 
 specified, you will confer a favor on 
 
 Your affectionate pastor, 
 
 J. H. FAIRCHILD. 
 
 South Boston, October 4, 1857. 
 
 DOINGS OF THE PAYSON CHURCH IN RELATION TO THE 
 PRECEDING LETTER. 
 
 The Committee of the Pay son Church appointed to con- 
 sider the request of our pastor, Rev. Joy H. Faircliilcl, to be 
 released from his pastoral relation to us, and to recommend 
 to the church such action thereon as they might think proper, 
 beg leave to report : 
 
 That after deliberate reflection, they are satisfied that Mr. 
 Fairehild, having labored faithfully among us, while we were 
 
57 
 
 not able to give him any sufficient compensation for his sup- 
 port, ought to be released from the care and responsibility of 
 the pastoral office, and they recommend 
 
 1st. That his resignation be accepted. 
 
 2d. That we express to him our gratitude for his perse- 
 vering efforts to advance our prosperity, and especially to 
 provide for us a church edifice. A foundation has been laid, 
 though the erection of the building is of necessity suspended. 
 
 3d. That having, for twelve years, listened to his preach- 
 ing and witnessed his manner of life, we declare our full 
 confidence in his moral and Christian character. 
 
 4th. That, as we have labored together with perfect har- 
 mony, and with mutual sympathy under severe trials, we 
 cannot separate from our beloved pastor without some ex- 
 pression of our sorrow. This, however, is mingled with 
 thanksgiving to God, that this separation did not take place 
 before he had fully vindicated himself from the vile aspersions 
 cast upon him, and had come forth from the furnace without 
 the smell of fire on his robes. Our best wishes go with him, 
 and our prayers ascend for his continued health and useful- 
 ness : And, 
 
 5th. That though the Payson Church is a feeble vine, we 
 earnestly recommend that our holy organization be not sud- 
 denly dissolved, but that we still continue our present organ- 
 ization, until such time as God, in his Providence, may make 
 our path of duty more plain. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 JOSEPH NICKERSON, Chairman. 
 
 At a meeting of the Payson Church, on Monday evening, 
 November 9th, 1857, the above Report was read by the 
 Chairman, and unanimously adopted. 
 
 Attest, LEVI WALLBRIDGE, Clerk. 
 
58 
 
 NOTE C . 
 
 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL CALLED 
 TO INSTALL KEV. J. H. FAIKCHILD. 
 
 South Boston, Nov. 19, 1845. 
 
 In compliance with letters missive from the Pay son Church 
 and Society in this place, for the purpose of installing Rev. 
 J. H. Fairchild as Pastor of said Church, an Ecclesiastical 
 Council convened here this day, consisting of the following 
 ministers and brethren, viz : 
 
 Rev. Leonard Woods, D.D., of the Theological Seminary 
 at Andover. 
 
 Eev. Reuben Emerson, Pastor of the Congregational 
 Church in South Reading. 
 
 Rev. Jonathan French, Pastor of the Congregational 
 Church in North Hampton, New Hampshire. 
 
 From the First Church in Ipswich, Rev. D. T. Kimball, 
 Pastor, and brother Josiah Caldwell, Delegate. 
 
 From the Congregational Church in Easton, Rev. Luther 
 Sheldon, Pastor. 
 
 From the First Church in Woburn, Rev. Joseph Bennett, 
 Pastor, and Rev. Luther Wright, Delegate. 
 
 From the First Church in Dedham, Rev. Ebenezer Bur- 
 gess, D.D., Pastor, and brother John Bullard, Delegate. 
 
 From the First Church in Bradford, Rev. Nathan Mun- 
 roe, Pastor, and brother John Benson, Delegate. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of Saco, Maine. 
 
 Rev. Louis Dwight, Boston. 
 
 From the First Church in Exeter, N. H., brother Isaac 
 L. Folsom, Delegate. 
 
 The Council was organized by the choice of Rev. Joseph 
 
59 
 
 Bennett, Moderator, Rev. D. T. Kimball, Scribe, and Rev. 
 Nathan Munroe, Assistant Scribe, and opened with prayer, 
 by the Moderator. 
 
 Letters were read from Rev. Dudley Phelps, of Groton, 
 Rev. Nathaniel Bouton, of Concord, N. II., Rev. Gardner 
 B. Perry, D.D., of East Bradford, and Rev. Alfred Ely, 
 D.D., of Monson, in excuse for their absence as follows: 
 
 Groton, Nov. 11, 1845. 
 
 Dear Sir : — The day after I received the letter missive 
 from the Committee of the Payson Church and Society, 
 requesting my attendance, with a delegate, at a Council for 
 your installation on the nineteenth instant, I received a simi- 
 lar letter from the Church in Pittsfield, N. H., to attend a 
 Council there on the same day. I am under obligation to 
 preach the sermon on that occasion. I am sorry for this 
 coincidence of time, as I should like to be present at your 
 installation. 
 
 Accept my most earnest wishes for your usefulness and 
 happiness in the relation which is about to be formed be- 
 tween you and that new church and people. 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 
 -p TU , DUDLEY PHELPS. 
 
 Rev. J. H. Fairchild. 
 
 Concord, N K, Nov. 13, 1845. 
 Rev. J. H. Fairchild. 
 
 Dear Sir : — The letter missive inviting the attendance 
 of my Church, by Pastor and Delegate, on the Council for 
 your installation, was duly received. A previous engage- 
 ment to attend a Council at Pittsfield, on the same day, 
 renders it impracticable for me to attend yours. You have, 
 however, besides me, a large and truly respectable Council 
 
60 
 
 invited. Please make known my reason for not being 
 present. May yon and the Council enjoy the presence, 
 direction and blessing of the great Head of the Church. 
 Very sincerely, I am, dear sir, 
 
 Yours in the Gospel, 
 
 NATHANIEL BOUTON. 
 
 Bradford, Nov. 15, 1845. 
 Rev. Mr. Fairchild. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I am sorry to be under the necessity of say- 
 ing that, owing to the state of my health, it will not be prac- 
 ticable for me to be present at your installation. I have been 
 mostly confined to my house for several weeks — was not able 
 even to attend meeting last Sabbath, and have no rational 
 prospect of being able to do it to-morrow. I hope the Lord 
 will be with you on that day, and with the good and worthy 
 brethren who are called to aid on that important occasion. 
 You will please present my best respects to the Council, and 
 communicate the reason that I do not attend. 
 
 I am, dear sir, with sentiments of due respect and affec- 
 tion, Yours, 
 
 GARDNER B. PERRY. 
 
 Monson, Nov. 13, 1845. 
 Rev. J. H. Fairchild. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I received the invitation of the Payson 
 Church and Society to sit in the Council to be convened on 
 the nineteenth instant, for your installation. I am sorry to 
 say that the season of the year, together with my age and 
 infirmities, will probably prevent my attendance ; but you 
 will have enough without me. As I have been fully 
 acquainted with your character and religious views from the 
 beginning, and also have been informed of all the proceed- 
 ings in your late trial, I should fully acquiesce in that result 
 
61 
 
 which shall install you as Pastor of that Church and minis- 
 ter of that people. That such ought to be and will be the 
 result, I have no doubt. 
 
 Yours, with Christian affection and sympathy, 
 
 ALFRED ELY. 
 
 Soon after the organization of the Council, a communica- 
 tion was presented to the Moderator, by Rev. G. W. Blag- 
 den, accompanied by Rev. Silas Aiken, of Boston, which 
 was read and remarked upon by the members. After 
 which, on motion of Dr. Woods, the following resolution 
 and vote were passed : 
 
 Resolution : Resolved, that it is the judgment of this 
 Council that, on the ground of the evidence exhibited before 
 the court of justice, and the verdict of the jury, taken in 
 connection with the result of the Ecclesiastical Council at 
 Exeter, the Rev. Mr. Fairchild ought of right to be, and is 
 regarded by us, as in good standing as a minister of the 
 gospel, and that, if we proceed to install him as Pastor of 
 this Church, it will be on this principle." 
 
 Preamble and Vote : " Whereas, a communication of 
 the nature of a remonstrance has been presented to this 
 Council, signed by fourteen ministers of the Gospel in Bos- 
 ton and the vicinity, stating reasons why they think the 
 installation of the Rev. Mr. Fairchild is not expedient, 
 
 " Voted — That a Committee of three be chosen to make 
 a respectful reply to said communication." 
 
 The Council then chose Rev. Messrs. French, Sheldon 
 and Burgess as the Committee. 
 
 The call of the Payson Church and of the religious So- 
 ciety to Mr. Fairchild, and his acceptance of the same, were 
 read and found regular. Mr. Fairchild made a comprehen- 
 
62 
 
 sive but full statement of his religious sentiments, answered 
 various questions proposed by different members of the 
 Council, and gave an account of his religious experience. 
 On which it was 
 
 " Voted, unanimously, that the Council are satisfied with 
 the qualifications of Mr. Fairchild, and are ready to proceed 
 to his installation." 
 
 The public services were then assigned, as follows : 
 Invocation and reading the Scriptures to Rev. Mr. Mun- 
 roe ; Prayer to Rev. Mr. Sheldon ; Sermon to Eev. Dr. 
 Woods ; Installing Prayer to Rev. Mr. Emerson ; Charge 
 to Rev. Mr. French ; Right Hand of Fellowship to Rev. 
 Dr. Burgess; Concluding Prayer to Rev. Mr. Kimball. 
 The services, in the presence of a deeply interested and 
 very solemn assembly, were performed according to assign- 
 ment. 
 
 After the public services, the Committee appointed to 
 make a respectful reply to the communication of Rev. Mr. 
 Blagden and others, reported ; and *their Report was adopted 
 by the Council, and is as follows : 
 
 " The Ecclesiastical Council convened in this place, at 
 
 the request of the Payson Church, to the Rev. Messrs. 
 
 Blagden, Aiken, and other ministers in Boston and the 
 
 vicinity. 
 
 " Rev. and dear Brethren : Your communication ad- 
 dressed to us, through our Moderator, was read and seriously 
 considered. 
 
 "In reply, we would fully express our respect for your 
 character, and our regard to you personally. We trust you 
 have, with sincerity and from Christian motives, stated your 
 views. We doubt not that, when you are called to act as 
 
63 
 
 members of ecclesiastical bodies, you do it in the fear of 
 God, and in reference to the account to be rendered at the 
 last day. We hope you will allow us, also, to act on our 
 own convictions of duty ; and it is with this conviction of 
 duty that we have unanimously voted to install the Kev. 
 Mr. Fairchild as Pastor of the Payson Church. 
 
 " We have found that this Church was regularly organ- 
 ized by a Council fully competent, and well acquainted with 
 the circumstances of the churches in this vicinity. 
 " In behalf of the Council, 
 
 "D. T, KIMBALL, Scribe:' 
 
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