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 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 
 
 
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 BRITISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS 
 and in the MAURITIUS. 
 

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THE 
 
 TWO CHARTERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SOCIETY 
 
 FOR 
 
 ADVANCING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 
 
 IN THE 
 
 Sinaia Si^Ianae, 
 
 AND ELSEWHERE, 
 
 WITHIN THE DIOCESES OF JAMAICA AND OF BARBADOES, 
 AND THE LEEWARD ISLANDS, AND IN THE MAURITIUS : 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 
 
 A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 CHARITABLE FUND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY RICHARD CLAY, BREAD-STREET-HILL, 
 doctors' COMMONS. 
 
 1830. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/twochartersofsocOOsoci 
 
A 
 
 ( So d V eXy 
 
 SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ORIGIN AND PRESENT STATE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHARITABLE FUND. 
 
 The Honourable Robert Boyle, by his Will, 
 dated the 18th of July, 1691, directed the 
 Residue of his personal Estate to be laid out 
 by his Executors '“for Charitable and other 
 pious and good Uses, at their discretion but 
 recommended to them to lay out the greater 
 part thereof “for the Advance or Propagation 
 of the Christian Religion amongst Infidels.’'’ 
 
 His Executors accordingly agreed to lay out 
 5400/. (which was the greater part of the 
 Surplus of his personal Estate) in the Pur¬ 
 chase of an Estate at Brafferton, in the county 
 of York, with a view to the settling of such 
 Estate, so that the Income might be for ever 
 applied for the Advancement of the Christian 
 Religion : And for effecting such design, the 
 same Estate was vested in Trustees, and the 
 Rents and Profits (subject to a Rent-charge in 
 perpetuity of 90/. per annum, to a Society 
 
 A 2 
 
4 
 
 FOR PROPAGATING THE GospEL in Ncw England 
 and Parts adjacent in America, to the Re¬ 
 ceiver’s Salary, and other incident Charges) 
 were to be applied for the Advancement of the 
 Christian Religion amongst Infidels in Virginia, 
 in such manner as the Earl of Burlington and 
 the Bishop of London for the time being 
 should appoint; who thereupon directed the 
 clear Rents to be remitted to the College of 
 William and Mary in Virginia, to be applied 
 for the Education and Instruction of such 
 Indian Children as should be received into the 
 said College, according to such Rules as were 
 then appointed for that Purpose. 
 
 All these Proceedings took place under the 
 orders and sanction of the Court of Chan¬ 
 cery. 
 
 The clear Rents of this Estate were accord¬ 
 ingly remitted to the College, to be so applied, 
 down to the American War; but during that 
 War, the Rents were not remitted to the Col¬ 
 lege, though received by their Agents in 
 England. Some time after the Conclusion 
 of it, the Right Reverend Beilby, then Bishop 
 of London, conceiving that Mr. Boyle’s Charity 
 was intended for the Conversion of Infidels in 
 some part of His Majesty’s foreign Dominions, 
 and therefore ought not to be remitted to a 
 Country which no longer formed a Part of 
 those Dominions, caused an Information to be 
 filed in the Court of Chancery, to obtain an 
 application of the Charity in some part of His 
 Majesty’s foreign Dominions, and to restrain 
 
5 
 
 the College Agents from receiving the Rents 
 in future, or remitting Abroad the Sums in 
 their hands, and for the appointment of a 
 Receiver; and pursuant to several Orders of 
 the Court, 3243^ Ts. Id. in the hands of those 
 Agents, was paid into the Bank of England to 
 the Credit of the Cause, and a Receiver was 
 appointed by the Court. 
 
 Very considerable Sums had also, before this 
 Suit, been paid into the Bank, in the former 
 Causes which had arisen from the Sale of Tim¬ 
 ber on the Estate. 
 
 On the 9th of November, 1790, this Cause 
 was heard, and it was decreed that a Scheme 
 should be laid before the Master, for the Dis¬ 
 position of the Produce of the said Estate and 
 Charitable Fund, according to the Intention of 
 Mr. Boyle. 
 
 The Bishop thereupon formed such a 
 Scheme, and therein proposed, that the whole 
 of the Charitable Fund (subject to the said 
 Rent-charge and other Out-goings) should be 
 applied for the Conversion and Religious In¬ 
 struction and Education of the Negro Slaves 
 in the British West-India Islands (they being 
 Infidels in His Majesty’s Dominions) under the 
 Direction of a Society to be incorporated by a 
 Charter from the Crown, if His Majesty should 
 think fit to grant the same. 
 
 This Proposal, approaching as near as pos¬ 
 sible to the original Intention of Mr. Boyle, 
 
G 
 
 was approved by the Court, with this Addition, 
 that the Pastors, or Ministers, for carrying into 
 effect the said Proposal, should be appointed 
 by the Society intended to be incorporated : 
 and that the said Bishop should be at liberty, 
 at the Expense of the Charity Fund, to apply 
 to His Majesty for, and to obtain (if his Ma¬ 
 jesty should think fit to grant the same) Letters 
 Patent, creating a Corporation as before men¬ 
 tioned ; and, in case such Letters Patent should 
 be obtained, that he should be at liberty to 
 apply to the Court to carry his Proposal into 
 full execution. 
 
 His late Majesty King George the Third, 
 on the 30th day of October, in the Thirty- 
 fourth year of his reign, was graciously pleased 
 to grant such Letters Patent, and thereby 
 created the corporate body by the name of 
 
 The Society for the Conversion and Reli¬ 
 gious Instruction and Education of the Negro 
 Slaves in the British West-India Islands,’’— 
 and the Bishop of London applied to and ob¬ 
 tained from the Court an order for carrying 
 his said Proposal into full execution. 
 
 The Fund, which had arisen from the Cha¬ 
 ritable Donation of Mr. Boyle, and which was 
 to be appropriated for the Furtherance of 
 the Charitable Purposes mentioned in the First 
 Charter, consisted of the following Particulars, 
 when that Charter was granted ; viz.— 
 
7 
 
 £ 
 
 The gross Rental of the Estate .... 474 
 
 Out-goings—The Rent-charge . . £901 
 
 Land-tax. I 152 
 
 Receiver’s Salary, and other | gQ [ 
 Out-goings, about . ' J 
 
 s. d' 
 8 8 
 
 0 0 
 
 322 
 
 About £22,000 8 per Cent. Consolidated 1 
 Bank Annuities (from Rents, and Timber ! 
 sold), which at 3 per cent, produced per | 
 Annum.J 
 
 8 8 
 
 0 0 
 
 £982 8 8 
 
 And about 750Z. Cash in the Bank and in the Receiver’s 
 hands. 
 
 Shortly after the Grant of the first Charter, 
 the Society were duly put into possession of 
 the Estates belonging to the Charity: the 
 sum of 22,000/. Stock was transferred into their 
 name, and the Cash Balance of 750/. was paid 
 over to their Treasurer, and they have ever 
 since continued to execute their Trust, whereby 
 many thousands of Infidels have been con¬ 
 verted to Christianity, and instructed in the 
 precepts of that holy Religion. 
 
 At the period of instituting the proceedings 
 in the Court of Chancery hereafter noticed, 
 the annual income of the Society was 2,170/., 
 arising as follows :—viz. 
 
 Net yearly produce of the Estates (after 
 payment of the Rent charge) 
 
 Carried forward. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 650 0 0 
 
650 0 0 
 
 Brought forward , . . . . 
 
 Annual Dividends of the sum of 39,000/. 
 3 per Cent. Consolidated Bank Annu¬ 
 ities, the excess of which, beyond the 
 22,000/. had arisen from the invest¬ 
 ment from time to time of the Dona¬ 
 tions and Annual Contributions to the 
 
 Charity. 
 
 Amount of Annual Contributions . . . 
 
 A 
 
 >1,170 0 
 
 350 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Annual income subject to the Paymentl 
 of Salaries and other Outgoings . .) 
 
 2,170 0 0 
 
 And there was a balance in the hands of the Treasurer 
 of 596/. 15s. nd. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1834 the 
 Society were advised, that, in consequence of 
 the Act of Parliament which had lately passed 
 for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the 
 British Colonies, they could not continue to 
 use the Title given by the first Charter, and 
 that it would be necessary to apply to the 
 Court of Chancery for authority to change the 
 name of the Corporation, and for directions 
 as to the future application of the funds. 
 
 An Information was therefore filed in Chan¬ 
 cery at the instance of the Right Reverend 
 Charles James, Bishop of London, the object 
 of which w'as, either to obtain the Decree of 
 the Court that the Funds of the Society 
 were, under their Charter, still applicable for 
 the benefit of the Negroes in the British West 
 India Islands, or, if it should be considered 
 that the effect of their enfranchisement had 
 been to render the Negroes no longer objects 
 of the Charter, then to obtain the approval by 
 
9 
 
 the Court of some new scheme for the ad¬ 
 ministration of the Charity^ and its sanction to 
 an application to the Crown for the confirma¬ 
 tion of such scheme. 
 
 On the 27th April, 1835, the Cause was 
 heard, when a reference to the Master was 
 decreed, to approve of a new scheme for the 
 administration of the produce of the Estates 
 and charitable Fund, and to state his opinion 
 as to the propriety of any application to the 
 Crown. 
 
 In forming their new scheme, the Society 
 considered, that notwithstanding the change, 
 which had been effected in the civil condition 
 of the Negroes by the Emancipation Act, they, 
 as being the persons chiefly contemplated by 
 the Charter, should still be the principal 
 objects of the Corporation—and the more 
 especially from its having been strongly repre¬ 
 sented, that at this period of their change from 
 slavery to conditional freedom, religious in¬ 
 struction and education were even more needed 
 among the Negroes than at the time when the 
 Charter was obtained. 
 
 It was also considered desirable, that the 
 purposes of this Charity should not be con¬ 
 fined exclusively to the British West-India 
 Islands, but that its benefits should be extended 
 to the Negroes and Coloured Inhabitants of 
 other parts of our Colonial Possessions, very 
 many of whom were still unconverted to 
 Christianity, and who in all respects stood in 
 
10 
 
 the same need of religious instruction as the 
 people of the British West-India Islands. 
 
 It was also thought desirable, with a view to 
 the removal of religious distinctions between 
 the White and the Coloured Inhabitants of 
 the countries intended to be included in the 
 scheme, that the Society should he authorized 
 to exercise all the powers conferred on them 
 by their first Charter for advancing the Chris¬ 
 tian faith in those countries, without regard to 
 the colour of the persons to be benefited, and 
 that more general powers should be given 
 to them than they then possessed. 
 
 A scheme was accordingly submitted to the 
 Court, in which it was proposed that the whole 
 of the charitable fund should (subject to the 
 rent charge of 90/. payable to the New 
 England Company) be applied by the Society 
 in such manner as might from time to time 
 appear most desirable, for advancing the Chris¬ 
 tian religion in the British West-India Islands 
 and elsewhere, within the Dioceses of Jamaica 
 and of Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands, 
 and also in the Mauritius, under the same 
 regulations as were prescribed by the first 
 Charter, with regard to the rendering accounts, 
 and the appointment of Ministers to be em¬ 
 ployed by the Society. 
 
 And it was further proposed that the Society 
 should be at liberty, at the costs of the Trust 
 Fund, to apply to his Majesty to grant them 
 the name of “ The Society for Advancing the 
 
11 
 
 Christian Faith in the British West-India 
 Islands, and elsewhere, in the Dioceses of 
 Jamaica, and of Barbadoes and the Leeward 
 Islands, and in the Mauritius,” instead of the 
 name then used by them, and to grant them au¬ 
 thority to exercise the powers contained in their 
 first Charter for advancing the Christian faith 
 in the said Islands, and elsewhere in the said 
 Dioceses and the Mauritius, by all such lawful 
 means as from time to time should be de¬ 
 sirable, without regard to the colour of the 
 persons to be benefited. 
 
 On the 24th July, 1S35, the Master made 
 his Report to the Court in favour of this 
 scheme, and such Report was confirmed by 
 the Court, by whom also liberty was given to 
 the Society to apply to the Crown to accept a 
 surrender of their existing Charter, and to 
 grant them a new one conformable to such 
 scheme. 
 
 His present Majesty was graciously pleased 
 to comply with this application, and on the 
 11th day of January, 1836, Letters Patent 
 were granted under the Great Seal accordingly, 
 which constitute the Second Charter. 
 
 All persons who are desirous to support and encou¬ 
 rage this most useful Charity by Donations, Legacies, or 
 Annual Contributions, are requested to signify their inten¬ 
 tions to Christopher Hodgson, Esq., Treasurer to the Society, 
 at the Bounty Office, Great Dean's Yard, Westminster, from 
 whom they will learn further particulars concerning the 
 general objects of the Society. 
 

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THE FIRST 
 
 CHARTER OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 ^c. ^c. 
 
 by the grace of God, 
 King of Great Britain, Fr^ince, and Ireland ; Defender 
 of the Faith, and so forth; Co all to whom these Pre¬ 
 sents shall come, greeting; iDj^ECca^ the Right Reve¬ 
 rend Father in God, Beilby, by Divine permission, 
 Bishop of London, hath, by his Petition, humbly 
 represented unto Us, That in the British West-India 
 Islands beyond the Seas, belonging to our Kingdom 
 of Great Britain, there is a certain class of people 
 called Negro Slaves, whose number is about Five 
 Hundred Thousand; and who are all of them (with a 
 few exceptions) Infidels and Heathens, in the literal 
 sense of those words. That, as they are made to 
 labour there for the benefit of our Subjects, it is, the 
 Petitioner conceives, fit and reasonable that they 
 should in return have communicated to them the Doc¬ 
 trines and the Precepts, the Advantages and the 
 Blessings of the Christian Religion, which were in¬ 
 tended for all ranks and conditions of Men; and 
 would render the said Negro Slaves, more virtuous, 
 more comfortable, and more contented here, and open 
 to them (through the Merits of our Redeemer) a 
 prospect of endless Happiness hereafter: That this 
 would not only be an act of true Christian Charity and 
 Benevolence, but, as the Petitioner conceives, a mea¬ 
 sure of the soundest Policy, by promoting the Pro¬ 
 sperity and the Commercial Interests of those Islands; 
 because the Principles and the Practice of the Chris- 
 
 Recital of Peti¬ 
 tion for the 
 Charter. 
 
14 
 
 tian Religion, diffused among the Negro Slaves, 
 would tend more effectually than any thing else can 
 do, to check and extinguish those pernicious and 
 destructive vices so prevalent among them, which are 
 the great obstructions to Population, and prevent that 
 natural increase which is essential to the proper Culti¬ 
 vation of those Islands.—That it has been found by 
 experience, that those Slaves who have been made 
 real Christians, are much better Servants, more sober, 
 more honest, more industrious, more tractable, more 
 faithful, and more obedient to tbeir Masters, than 
 those who remain Heathens; and of this the Planters 
 themselves are so sensible, that they have of late 
 given the greatest encouragement to the instruction of 
 their Slaves in the Doctrines and Duties of Chris¬ 
 tianity, and have expressly enjoined it in the Laws 
 lately made for the Regulation of the said Negro 
 Slaves: That it is, however, utterly impossible that 
 this most desirable purpose should ever be accomplished 
 by the sole labours and exertions of tbe Parochial 
 Clergy settled in our said Islands ; who are few in 
 Number, have very extensive Parishes, and are hardly 
 equal to the care even of the White Inhabitants, much 
 less to the additional Superintendance of many thou¬ 
 sand Negroes : That it will be highly conducive to the 
 Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education 
 of the Negro Slaves in the said Islands, if a suitable 
 Maintenance be provided for a sufficient Number of 
 Clergymen or other persons of the Church of England, 
 as by Law established, (to be appointed by the Society 
 hereinafter mentioned,) to be resident there as Assist¬ 
 ants to the Parochial Clergy of those Islands, and to 
 be solely employed in the Conversion and Religious 
 Instruction of the adult Negroes, and in the Education 
 and Religious Instruction of the young Negroes under 
 the Superintendance of the Parochial Clergy, and 
 subject to the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Peti¬ 
 tioner and his Successors, and also to such other 
 Provisions and Regulations as may be necessary for 
 accomplishing those ends and purposes : That, if We 
 would be graciously pleased to erect and establish a 
 Society or Corporation for the receiving, managing, 
 
15 
 
 and disposing of the Charitable Contributions of our 
 Subjects, divers Persons would be induced to extend 
 their Charity to the Uses and Purposes aforesaid. 
 
 That the Petitioner, for the attainment of those ends 
 and purposes, therefore most humbly prayed Us, by 
 our Royal Charter, to constitute and appoint the Peti¬ 
 tioner Beilby, Bishop of London, and the Bishop of 
 London for the time being; the Right Honourable 
 Charles Lord Hawkesbury, President of the Committee 
 of Council, appointed for the Consideration of all 
 matters relating to Trade and Plantations, and the 
 President of the said Committee for the time being; 
 the Right Honourable Henry Dundas, Esquire, our 
 Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, 
 and the Principal Secretary of State for that Depart¬ 
 ment for the time being; the Deans of the Cathedral 
 Church of St. Paul, London, and the Collegiate 
 Church of St. Peter in Westminster, now, and for the 
 time being; the Canons Residentiary of the said Ca¬ 
 thedral Church of St. Paul, now, and for the time 
 being; the Prebendaries of the said Collegiate Church 
 of St. Peter in Westminster, who shall be resident in 
 their Prebendal Houses, now, and for the time being; 
 
 Sir James Sanderson, Knight, Mayor of the City of 
 
 London, and the Mayor of the City of London for the 
 
 time being; the two senior Aldermen of the said City f 
 
 of London, now, and for the time being; Sir William 
 
 Scott, Knight, Chancellor of the Diocese of London, 
 
 and the Chancellor of the Diocese of London for the 
 
 time being; the Archdeacons of London and Middlesex, 
 
 now, and for the time being; the Rectors of St. George 
 
 Hanover-Square, St. James and St. Anne Westminster, 
 
 St. George Bloomsbury, St. Giles, St. Andrew Hol- 
 born, and St. Michael Cornhill, respectively, now, and 
 for the time being; the Vicar of St. Martin-in-the- 
 Fields, now, and for the time being; the Rector of 
 St. Paul Covent-Garden, now, and for the time being; 
 the Heir at Law of the Honorable Robert Boyle, 
 deceased, now, and for the time being; and John 
 Braithwaite, Richard Neave, Beeston Long, and Wil¬ 
 liam Manning, Esquires, West-India Merchants or 
 Planters, residing in or near the Cities of London or 
 
16 
 
 Names of the 
 Members or 
 Governors of 
 the Corpora¬ 
 tion. 
 
 Westminster, and such other West-India Merchants 
 or Planters residing in or near the said Cities, or one 
 of them, as shall be from time to time appointed, as 
 thereinafter mentioned, to be one Body Politic and 
 Corporate of themselves in Deed and in Name, by the 
 Name of The Society for the Conversion and 
 Religious Instruction and Education of the 
 Negro Slaves in the British West-India 
 Islands, and to grant unto them and their Successors 
 such Powers, Authorities, and Privileges, as in the 
 said Petition are particularly mentioned ; or in such 
 other Manner and Form as to Us should seem meet 
 and proper: We, being graciously pleased to encou¬ 
 rage so laudable and charitable an Undertaking, are 
 graciously pleased to condescend to the Petitioner’s 
 Request: Iftnoto therefore, that We, of our especial 
 grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have 
 granted, constituted, declared and appointed, and by 
 these Presents, for Us, our Heirs and Successors, do 
 grant, constitute, declare, and appoint the said Beilby, 
 Bishop of London, and the Bishop of London for the 
 time being; the said Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Presi¬ 
 dent of the Committee of Council appointed for the 
 Consideration of all Matters relating to Trade and 
 Plantations, and the President of the said Committee for 
 the time being; the said Henry Dundas, our Principal 
 Secretary of State for the Home Department, and the 
 Principal Secretary of State for that Department for 
 the timebeingj the said Deans of the Cathedral Church 
 of St. Paul, London, and the Collegiate Church of St. 
 Peter in Westminster, now, and for the time being; 
 the said Canons Residentiary of the said Cathedral 
 Church of St. Paul, now, and for the time being ; the 
 said Prebendaries of the said Collegiate Church of St. 
 Peter in Westminster, who shall be resident in their 
 Prebendal Houses, now, and for the time being; the 
 said Sir James Sanderson, Knight, Mayor of the City 
 of London, and the Mayor of the City of London for 
 the time being; the said two senior Aldermen of the 
 said City of London, now, and for the time being ; the 
 said Sir William Scott, Knight, Chancellor of the 
 Diocese of London, and the Chancellor of the Diocese 
 
17 
 
 of London for the time being; the said Archdeacons of 
 London and Middlesex, now, and for the time being; the 
 said Rectors of St. George Hanover-Square, St. James, 
 and St. Anne Westminster, St. George Bloomsbury, St. 
 
 Giles, St. Andrew Holborn, and St. Michael Cornhill, 
 respectively, now, and for the time being; the said 
 Vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, now, and for the time 
 being; the said Rector of St. Paul Covent-Garden, 
 now, and for the time being; the said Heir at Law of 
 the Honourable Robert Boyle, deceased, now, and 
 for the time being; and the said John Braithwaite, 
 
 Richard Neave, Beeston Long, and William Manning, 
 
 West-India Merchants or Planters, residing in or near 
 the said Cities of London or Westminster, and such 
 other West-India Merchants or Planters residing in 
 or near the said Cities, or one of them, as shall be 
 from time to time appointed, as hereinafter mentioned, 
 to be one Body Politic and Corporate, in Deed and in 
 Law, by the Name of The Society for the Conver- Style of the 
 SION AND Religious Instruction and Education Corporation. 
 OF THE Negro Slaves in the British West- 
 India Islands, and them and their Successors, by the 
 Name of The Society for the Conversion and Reli¬ 
 gious Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves 
 in the British West-India Islands; J©e do, for the 
 Purposes aforesaid, by these Presents, for Us, our 
 Heirs and Successors, really and fully make, erect, 
 create, ordain, constitute, establish, confirm, and de¬ 
 clare, to be one Body Politic and Corporate, in Deed 
 and in Name: And that they and their Successors, by 
 that Name, shall and may have perpetual Succession; 
 and that they and their Successors, by the name afore¬ 
 said, shall and may for ever hereafter be persons able 
 and capable in the Law, and may have power, not¬ 
 withstanding the Statutes of Mortmain, to purchase, Capable of 
 have, take, hold, receive, and enjoy, to them and their holding Here- 
 Successors, Manors, Messuages, Lands, Rents, Tene- ditamentsof 
 ments. Annuities, and Hereditaments, of what nature 
 or kind soever, in Fee and in Perpetuity, or for Terms 
 of Lives or years, not exceeding the yearly value of 
 Three Thousand Pounds, in all Issues beyond Re¬ 
 prizes, so far as they are not restrained by Law: And 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 all manner of Goods, Chattels, and Things whatsoeVv,i, 
 of what nature or value soever, for the better Support 
 FvHLibeSup- and Maintenance of a sufficient Number of Clergy, or 
 clergy and Other Persons, to be appointed by the said Society, 
 others to be ap- and employed for the accomplishment of the ends and 
 pointed by the purposes bcfore-mentioned: And also to sell, grant, 
 Pui-^oLfiVthe ^®oiise, exchange, and dispose, of any of the same 
 Charter. Manors, Messuages, Lands, Rents, Tenements, and 
 Hereditaments, whereof or wherein they shall have 
 With License Estate or Interest as aforesaid. 5Cnti tog bO hereby 
 Corporations to Heirs and successors, give and grant Uur 
 
 convey, &c. especial License, full Power, and lawful and absolute 
 to the Society, Authority, to any Person or Persons, Bodies Politic 
 
 Hereditaments ri . .i • tt • e i.* i 
 
 of that Value, Corporate, their Heirs or successors respectively, 
 to give, grant, sell, alien, assign, devise, bequeath, or 
 dispose of, in Mortmain, in Perpetuity, or otherwise, 
 to, or to the Use and Benefit of, or in trust for, the 
 Society, for the Conversion and Religious Instruct 
 tion and Education of the Negro Slaves in the British 
 
 West-India Islands, and their Successors, any Manors, 
 M essuages. Lands, Tenements, Rents, Heredita¬ 
 ments, Annuities, Sum and Sums of Money, Goods 
 and Chattels whatsoever, not exceeding the yearly 
 Value of Three Thousand Pounds above all Charges 
 and Reprizes, for the Charitable Purposes above- 
 mentioned, in any manner not repugnant to, or made 
 void by the Statute passed in the ninth year of the 
 reign of Our late Royal Grandfather, King George 
 To prosecute the Second, intituled, “ An Act to restrain the Dis- 
 and defend ac- pQgjtJons of Lands, whereby the same become unalien- 
 their corporate able. And that the said bociety, and their Succes- 
 Name. soi’s, by the Name aforesaid, shall and may be capable 
 
 to sue and be sued, plead, and be impleaded, answer 
 and be answered unto, defend and be defended, in 
 whatsoever Courts and Places, and before any Judges, 
 or Justices, or Officers of Us, our Heirs, and Suc¬ 
 cessors, in all and singular Actions, Pleas, Suits, 
 Plaints, Matters, and Demands, of what kinds or 
 quality soever they shall be ; and to act and do in all 
 matters and things relating to themselves in as ample 
 manner and form, and as fully and amply as any of our 
 subjects of this our Realm of Great Britain, lawfully 
 
19 
 
 may or can act or do, sue or be sued, plead or be im¬ 
 pleaded, answer or be answered unto, defend or be 
 defended : And that the said Body Politic, and their 
 Successors, shall and may for ever hereafter have and 
 use a Common Seal, for the Business and Affairs of And to use a 
 the said Corporation : And that it shall and may be common Seal, 
 lawful to and for the said Corporation and their Suc¬ 
 cessors, the same Seal from time to time, at their 
 will and pleasure to break, change, alter’, or make 
 new, as to them shall seem expedient. 51!nD <©Ui: fur- And to extend 
 ther Will and Pleasure is, that the said Corporation and the Charity to 
 their Successors shall and may have Power for ever 
 hereafter, to extend the charitable designs and pur¬ 
 poses aforesaid to the Caribhs, or native Inhabitants 
 of the said Islands, and to the People of Colour, or 
 Mulattoes there, as they shall from time to time think 
 fit. 5CnD, for the better execution of the Purposes 
 aforesaid, and the more regular Government of the 
 said Corporation, 3©e do declare and grant, that the First Meeting, 
 said Corporation, or as many of them as can, shall, as 
 soon as conveniently may be after the passing of these 
 Presents, meet and assemble together at such Place 
 and at such Time as shall be appointed by any five or 
 more of them, to treat and consult concerning the 
 Business and Affairs of the said Society, and the good 
 Rule, Order, and Government thereof: SCnD that they. To choo?e a 
 or the major Part of such of them as shall then be Fresident and 
 present, shall choose one President, and one or more 
 Vice-President or Vice-Presidents, out of the Mem- Officers, 
 bers or Governors of the said Corporation for the time 
 being ; and also one or more Treasurer or Treasurers, 
 and one Secretary, and such other Officers, Ministers, 
 and Servants as shall be thought fit and convenient 
 for carrying on and executing the charitable ends and 
 purposes aforesaid, each of them respectively to con¬ 
 tinue in their several and respective Offices until the 
 first Tuesday in the month of March next ensuing, 
 and from thenceforwards until other fit Persons shall 
 be duly chosen in their respective rooms in manner 
 hereinafter mentioned. 51ln6 Wt will, that the Presi¬ 
 dent and Vice-President or Vice-Presidents, and the 
 rest of the Members or Governors of the said Corpo- 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 Three Ordinary 
 General Courts 
 in March, June, 
 and December, 
 andat such other 
 times as the Pre¬ 
 sident, &c. shall 
 appoint. 
 
 For the dispatch 
 of the Business 
 of the Corpora¬ 
 tion. 
 
 And make By- 
 Laws, Rules, 
 &c. ; 
 
 And repeal the 
 same, j 
 
 But no By- 
 Laws, &c. to be 
 binding till 
 confirmed at a 
 subsequent 
 Court. 
 
 ration for the time being, or as many of them the said 
 President, Vice-President or Vice-Presidents, and 
 Members or Governors, as conveniently can, do 
 meet and assemble together at some convenient 
 place, to be appointed by them or the major part 
 of them, on the first Tuesday in the several months 
 of March, June, and December, in every Year 
 for ever, (which said three Meetings or Assem¬ 
 blies shall be called General Courts,) and also on 
 such other Days and at such other Times, as to 
 the President or any of the Vice-Presidents of the 
 said Corporation for the time being shall seem meet, 
 or as the major Part of any Committee of the said 
 Corporation to be hereafter appointed, or any five of 
 the other Members or Governors thereof for the time 
 being, shall demand of the said President and Vice- 
 Presidents or any of them, in Writing under their 
 Hands respectively. 5l!nti that the said General 
 Courts shall and may direct the Custody and Applica¬ 
 tion of the Common Seal of the said Corporation, and 
 have power to do and dispatch any Business relating 
 to the Government and Affairs of the said Corpora¬ 
 tion ; also to make, constitute, ordain and esta¬ 
 blish such and so many reasonable By-Laws, Rules, 
 Orders, and Ordinances, from time to time, as they 
 shall think fit and useful for the good Government of 
 the said Corporation, and of all the Officers, Ministers, 
 Assistants, and Servants, employed by the said Corpo¬ 
 ration ; and for the Application of the Revenues, and 
 carrying into effect all the Purposes of the said Corpo¬ 
 ration ; ^CnCi also all or any of the same By-Laws, 
 Rules, Orders and Ordinances, at their pleasure to 
 repeal, annul, or alter: Which several By-Laws, 
 Rules, Orders and Ordinances so to be made, not 
 being contrary or repugnant to the Laws and Statutes 
 of this Our Realm, shall be duly observed and kept. 
 ^CObiDeb nevertheless, and Our Will is, that no such 
 By-Law, Rule, Order, or Ordinance so to be made by 
 this Corporation, shall be binding or have any force or 
 effect until the same shall be agreed to and confirmed 
 by the next succeeding General Court, whether ap¬ 
 pointed as hereinbefore mentioned, or extraordinary ; 
 
21 
 
 and that the same method be observed in the altering 
 or repealing any such By-Lavrs, Rules, Orders or 
 Ordinances, after they shall have been so confirmed. 
 
 Out furtljCU IlDill i^, that all succeeding Presidents xhe Preside ut, 
 and Vice-Presidents, Treasurers, Secretaries, and other Vice-Presi- 
 Officers of the said Corporation, shall be annually 
 elected and appointed at the said General Court to be 'jjy e*iected''in*^ 
 holden on the first Tuesday in the month of March, March, 
 to continue in their respective Offices until the first 
 Tuesday in the month of March then next following, 
 and until others shall be chosen and appointed in their 
 respective rooms; and that the said President and 
 Vice-Presidents shall be elected and appointed out of 
 the Members or Governors of the said Corporation for 
 the time being. ProbiDch and our further On the Death, 
 
 Will is, that in all cases of Vacancy by the Death, 
 Resignation, or Removal of any of the said Officers, ^ 
 
 it shall and may be lawful to and for the surviving or 
 continuing President, or any one of the Vice-Presi¬ 
 dents, to issue Summonses to the several Members 
 or Governors of the said Corporation to meet at the 
 usual Place of Meeting of the said Corporation, at 
 such Time as shall be specified in the said Summons; 
 and that such Members or Governors who shall meet 
 upon such Summons, or the major Part of them, shall 
 and may elect and appoint an Officer or Officers in the 
 room or place of such Person or Persons so dead, 
 or who shall have resigned or been removed from 
 their respective Offices, as to the said Members or 
 Governors, or the major Part of them, present at such 
 Meeting shall seem meet, such Officer or Officers to 
 continue in their respective Office until the first Tuesday 
 in the month of March then next following, and until 
 others shall be chosen and appointed in their respec¬ 
 tive Rooms. aliSO, that all Presidents, Vice- President and 
 
 Presidents, and all other Officers who shall be elected Vice-Presi- 
 into any Office or Offices belonging to the said Cor- 
 poration, shall, beiore they act in such their respective to the faithful 
 Office or Offices, take an Oath to be to them severally Execution of 
 administered by any one or more of the Members or Office. .. 
 Governors at any Meeting of the said Corporation, for 
 the faithful and due execution of their respective Offices 
 
22 
 
 and Trusts; to which one or more Members or Go¬ 
 vernors, We do hereby for Us, Our Heirs and Suc¬ 
 cessors, give full Power and Authority to administer 
 When any of sucli Oath accordingly. 5Cn& ID 0 fUCtljec toill, that 
 the four West- whenever any or either of them the said John Braith- 
 chanLwhoare waite, Richard Neave, Beeston Long, and Witliam 
 Members of the Manning, or any Other or others to be appointed in 
 Corporation their room, shall happen to die or resign, it shall 
 others*^to be’ lawful to and for the President of the said 
 
 ciiosen in their Corporation for the time being from time to time at the 
 room. next General Court, or as soon as conveniently may 
 
 be after such Death or Resignation, to nominate and 
 appoint some other West-India Merchant or Mer¬ 
 chants, Planter or Planters, residing in or near the said 
 Cities of London or Westminster, to be a Member or 
 Governor, Members or Governors, of the said Corpo¬ 
 ration, in the room and place of such Person or Per- 
 The Corpora- sons SO dying or resigning, as aforesaid. 5Cni3 
 tiou may ap- that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said 
 tee": Members or Governor of the said Corporation and their 
 
 Successors, at any General Court, to elect, from and 
 amongst the said Members or Governors, such and so 
 many Committees for transacting any particular Affairs 
 and Business of the said Corporation, and to be vested 
 with such delegated Powers, and limited by such In¬ 
 structions, as to the said General Court shall seem 
 meet: 3CnCi to elect and admit from time to time such 
 and so many Persons to be Members or Governors of 
 the said Corporation, and upon such Terms and Con¬ 
 ditions as such General Courts shall think proper. 
 ^CObiCiCtl that no Person or Persons who shall 
 
 be elected into the Place or Office of Treasurer or 
 Secretary of the said Corporation, or into any other 
 inferior Offices thereunto belonging, shall at any time 
 or times after such his or their Election respectively, 
 act as a Member or Governor of the said Corporation 
 at any Court or Committee, or otherwise ; any thing 
 herein contained to the contrary thereof in any wise not¬ 
 withstanding. <Oui: fUCtfjei: IDllI that all Elections 
 of Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Treasurers, Secretaries, 
 and other Officers or Servants of the said Corporation, 
 and all other Affairs and Businesses of the saidCorpo- 
 
 And admit 
 Members; 
 
 OfHcers not to 
 act as Members. 
 
 The Business 
 of the Corpo¬ 
 ration to be de¬ 
 cided by Vote. 
 
23 
 
 ration, to be transacted at any General Court or other 
 Meeting; and all Questions to arise thereupon, shall 
 be decided by Vote; and in all such cases, the Act or 
 Opinion of the Majority of the Members or Governors 
 so voting, shall be conclusive and binding upon all the 
 rest of the Members or Governors of the said Corpo¬ 
 ration. 5Inh fUCtl^CC JIDUI t^, that in every General The Pres,ident 
 Court of the said Members or Governors, the Presi- ,.p 
 
 dent for the time being, or in case of his absence, the side; or in his 
 Vice-President, first named in the List of Vice-Presi- Absence the 
 dents for the time being, then present, or any of the 
 other Vice-Presidents, in their order for the time 
 being; or, in case of the absence of such President 
 and all the said Vice-Presidents, then such one of the 
 said Members or Governors as the major Part of 
 them, then present, shall choose or appoint for that 
 purpose, shall take the Chair and preside : And that. The Chairman 
 in all cases of an Equality of Votes, such President, 
 Vice-President, or other Member or Governor of the 
 said Corporation, as for the time being shall be entitled to 
 take the Chair, and preside at any such General Court, 
 shall have a double or casting Vote : PcobiDcti ncbCC- Five Members 
 and Our Will is, that no General Court shall constitute a 
 have power to proceed upon or transact any Affair or * 
 
 Business of the said Corporation, unless there should 
 be Five or more of the Members or Governors thereof 
 present at such Court: toill moceotcc, that the said To solicit Gifts, 
 
 Corporation and their Successors shall have power to 
 solicit, ask for, and receive, from such of our Subjects 
 as shall be inclined to contribute towards the Charitable 
 Purposes aforesaid, such Gifts or Subscriptions of any 
 Sum or Sums of Money as any Person or Persons, 
 
 Bodies Politic or Corporate, Companies, or other 
 Societies, shall be willing to give or bestow for such 
 Charitable Purposes : And to authorize and appoint And appoint a 
 such Person or Persons as they shall think fit to take Collector. 
 Subscriptions, and to ask of all or any of Our good 
 Subjects, and gather and collect such Monies as shall 
 by any Person or Persons, Bodies Politic or Cor¬ 
 porate, Companies, or other Societies, be contributed 
 and given for the Purposes aforesaid; and may revoke 
 and make void such Authorities and Appointments as 
 
24 
 
 To keep Ac- 
 eounts. 
 
 To be audited. 
 
 And Dupli¬ 
 cates to be de¬ 
 livered to the 
 Lord Chancel¬ 
 lor and Chief 
 Justices of the 
 King’s Bench 
 and Common 
 Pleas, 
 
 The Charter 
 to be construed 
 to the best ad¬ 
 vantage of the 
 Charity. 
 
 often as they may see cause so to do. ?[nD <©Ui: furtfjcr 
 iDifI anD pleasure iiS, that the said Corporation and 
 their Successors shall and may cause fair and just 
 Accounts in Writing to be kept of all Receipts, Pay¬ 
 ments, and Doings, by them, their Officers, and 
 Agents, respectively, in relation to the Premises, which 
 shall be liable to the view and inspection of any 
 Subscriber or Subscribers, Benefactor or Benefactors, 
 upon occasion; which said Accounts shall, at the 
 first General Court, in every year, or within ten Days 
 after, be examined, audited, adjusted, and subscribed, 
 by the Members present at such General Court, or 
 the major Part of them: And that such Accounts, or 
 Duplicates thereof, shall yearly and every year, be 
 given or delivered to the Lord Chancellor or Lord 
 Keeper or Commissioners for the Custody of the Great 
 Seal of Great Britain, for the time being; the Lord 
 Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, and the Lord Chief 
 Justice of the Common Pleas, or any two of them: 
 And lastly, JDe Oo by these Presents, for Us, Our 
 Heirs, and Successors, grant unto the said Corporation 
 hereby established, and their Successors, that these 
 Our Letters Patent, or the Inrollment or Exemplifica¬ 
 tion thereof, shall and may be, in and by all things, 
 good, firm, valid, sufficient and effectual in the Law, 
 according to the true intent and meaning thereof, and 
 shall be taken, construed, and adjudged in the most 
 favourable and beneficial sense, for the best advantage 
 of the said Corporation and their Successors, as well 
 in all our Courts of Record, or elsewhere, by all and 
 singular Judges, Justices, Officers, Ministers, and 
 other Subjects whatsoever of Us, our Heirs and Suc¬ 
 cessors ; any nonrecital, misrecital, or any other omis¬ 
 sion, imperfection, defect, matter, cause or thing 
 whatsoever, to the contrary thereof in any wise not¬ 
 withstanding ; without Fine in our Hanaper, &c. 
 3in IDitnc^^ We have caused these our Letters 
 
 to be made Patent. Witness Ourself, at Westminster, 
 this thirtieth Day of October, in the thirty-fourth year 
 of our Reign. 
 
 By Writ of Privy Seal, 
 
 WILMOT. 
 
THE SECOND 
 
 CHARTER OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 ^C. &'C. 
 
 SBilItam tpe 4?ourti), by the grace of 
 God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith: sR tO 
 
 tof)0ni these Presents shall come, greeting. 
 by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Bri¬ 
 tain, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirtieth day of 
 October, in the Thirty-fourth year of the reign of His . 
 
 late Majesty King George the Third, after thereby charter.” ” 
 reciting, that the Right Reverend Beilby, then Bishop 
 of London, had, by his Petition, humbly represented 
 unto His said late Majesty, that in the British West- 
 India Islands, beyond the Seas, belonging to the 
 Kingdom of Great Britain, there was a certain class of 
 people called Negro Slaves, whose number was about 
 Five Hundred Thousand, and who were all of them, 
 
 (with a few exceptions) Infidels and Heathens in the 
 literal sense of those words : That as they were made 
 to labour there for the benefit of His Majesty’s Sub¬ 
 jects, it was, the Petitioner conceived, fit and reasonable 
 that they should have in return communicated to them 
 the Doctrines and the Precepts, the advantages, and 
 the blessings of the Christian Religion, wLich were in¬ 
 tended for all ranks and conditions of Men; and would 
 render the said Negro Slaves more virtuous, more com¬ 
 fortable, and more contented here, and open to them 
 (through the Merits of our Redeemer) a prospect of 
 endless Happiness hereafter : That this would not only 
 be an act of true Christian Charity and Benevolence, 
 
26 
 
 but, as the Petitioner conceived, a measure of the 
 soundest Policy, by promoting the Prosperity and 
 Commercial Interests of those Islands; because the 
 Principles and the Practice of the Christian Religion, 
 diffused among the Negro Slaves, would tend more 
 effectually than any thing else could do to check and 
 extinguish those pernicious and destructive vices so 
 prevalent among them, which were the great obstruc¬ 
 tions to Population, and prevented that natural In¬ 
 crease which was essential to the proper Cultivation of 
 those Islands : That it had been found by experience, 
 that those Slaves who had been made real Christians, 
 were much better Servants, more sober, more honest, 
 more industrious, more tractable, more faithful, and 
 more obedient to their Masters, than those who re¬ 
 mained Heathens ; and of this the Planters themselves 
 were so sensible that they had of late given the greatest 
 encouragement to the instruction of their Slaves in the 
 Doctrines and Duties of Christianity, and had expressly 
 enjoined it in the Laws then lately made for the Regu¬ 
 lation of the said Negro Slaves : That it was, however, 
 utterly impossible that the same most desirable pur¬ 
 pose should ever be accomplished by the sole labours 
 and exertions of the Parochial Clergy settled in the said 
 Islands; who were few in number, had very extensive 
 Parishes, and were hardly equal to the care even of the 
 White Inhabitants, much less to the additional Super¬ 
 intendence of many Thousand Negroes. That it would 
 be highly conducive to the Conversion and Religious 
 Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves, in 
 the said Islands, if a suitable Maintenance were 
 provided for a sufficient number of Clergymen, or other 
 persons of the Church of England as by Law esta¬ 
 blished (to be appointed by the Society thereinafter 
 mentioned) to be resident there as Assistants to the 
 Parochial Clergy of those Islands, and to be solely 
 employed in the Conversion and Religious Instruction 
 of the adult Negroes, and in the Education and Reli¬ 
 gious Instruction of the young Negroes, under the 
 Superintendence of the Parochial Clergy, and subject 
 to the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Petitioner and 
 his Successors, and also to such other provisions and 
 
27 
 
 regulations as might be necessary for accomplishing 
 those ends and purposes. That if his said Majesty 
 would be graciously pleased to erect and establish a 
 Society or Corporation, for the receiving, managing, 
 and disposing of the Charitable Contributions of His 
 Majesty’s Subjects, divers persons would be induced 
 to extend their Charity to the uses and purposes 
 aforesaid. His said late Majesty did thereby grant, 
 constitute, declare, and appoint the said Beilby, then 
 Lord Bishop of London, and the Bishop of London 
 for the time being; the Right Honourable Charles 
 Lord Hawkesbury, then President of the Committee of 
 Council, appointed for the consideration of all matters 
 relating to Trade and Plantations, and the President of 
 the said Committee for the time being; the Right 
 Honourable Henry Dundas, His Majesty’s then prin¬ 
 cipal Secretary of State for the Home Department, 
 and the principal Secretary of State for that Depart¬ 
 ment for the time being; the Deans of the Cathe¬ 
 dral Church of St. Paul, London, and the Colle¬ 
 giate Church of St. Peter, in Westminster, then and 
 for the time being; the Canons Residentiary of the 
 said Cathedral Church of St. Paul, then and for the 
 time being; the Pi'ebendaries of the said Collegiate 
 Church of St. Peter in Westminster, who should be 
 resident in their Prebendal Houses, then and for the 
 time being; Sir James Sanderson, Knight, then Mayor 
 of the City of London, and the Mayor of the City of 
 London for the time being; the two senior Aldermen 
 of the said City of London, then and for the time 
 being ; Sir William Scott, Knight, then Chancellor of 
 the Diocese of London, and the Chancellor of the 
 Diocese of London for the time being; the Arch¬ 
 deacons of London and Middlesex, then and for the 
 time being; the Rectors of St. George Hanover- 
 square, St. James and St. Anne Westminster, St. 
 George Bloomsbury, St. Giles, St. Andrew Holborn, 
 and St. Michael Cornhill, respectively, then and for 
 the time being ; the Vicar of St. Martin in the Fields, 
 then and for the time being; the Rector of St. Paul’s 
 Covent Garden, then and for the time being ; the Heir 
 at Law of the Honourable Robert Boyle, deceased, then 
 
28 
 
 and for the time being; and John Braithwaite, Richard 
 Neave, Beeston Long, and William Manning, Esquires, 
 West-India Merchants or Planters, residing in or 
 near the Cities of London or Westminster, and such 
 other West-India Merchants or Planters residing in 
 or near the said Cities, or one of them, as should be 
 from time to time appointed as thereinafter mentioned, 
 to be one Body Politic and Corporate in Deed and in 
 Law by the name of The Society for the Conver¬ 
 sion AND Religious Instruction and Education 
 OF THE Negro Slaves in the British West-India 
 Islands, and them and their Successors, by the name 
 of The Society for the Conversion and Religious In¬ 
 struction and Education of the Negro Slaves in the 
 British West-India Islands; His said late Majesty 
 did thereby, for the purposes aforesaid, for himself, 
 his Heirs, and Successors, really and fully make, 
 erect, create, ordain, constitute, establish, confirm, and 
 declare, to be one Body Politic and Corporate, in 
 Deed and in name : And that they and their Succes¬ 
 sors by that name should and might have perpetual 
 succession, and that they and their Successors by the 
 name aforesaid should and might for ever thereafter 
 be persons able and capable in the Law, and might 
 have power, notwithstanding the Statutes of Mort¬ 
 main, to purchase, have, hold, receive, and enjoy, to 
 them and their Successors, Manors, Messuages, 
 Lands, Rents, Tenements, Annuities, and Heredita¬ 
 ments, of what nature or kind soever, in Fee and in 
 Perpetuity, or for terms for lives, or years, not ex¬ 
 ceeding the yearly value of Three Thousand Pounds, 
 in all issues beyond reprizes, so far as they were not 
 restrained by Law ; and all manner of goods, chattels, 
 and things whatsoever, of what nature or value soever, 
 for the better support and maintenance of a sufficient 
 number of Clergy, or other persons to be appointed by 
 the said Society, and employed for the accomplish¬ 
 ment of the ends and purposes before-mentioned: 
 And also to sell, grant, demise, exchange, and dispose, 
 of any of the same Manors, Messuages, Lands, Rents, 
 Tenements, and Hereditaments, whereof or wherein 
 they should have any estate or interest as aforesaid: And 
 
29 
 
 his said late Majesty did thereby, for himself, his Heirs, 
 and Successors, give and grant his especial license, 
 full power, and lawful and absolute authority to any 
 person or persons, Bodies Politic or Corporate, their 
 Heirs and Successors respectively, to give, grant, sell, 
 alien, assign, devise, bequeath, or dispose of, in Mort¬ 
 main, in perpetuity, or otherwise, to or to the use and 
 benefit of or in trust for The Society for the Conver¬ 
 sion and Religious Instruction and Education of the 
 Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands and 
 their Successors, any Manors, Messuages, Lands, 
 Tenements, Rents, Hereditaments, Annuities, sum 
 and sums of money, goods and chattels whatsoever, not 
 exceeding the yearly value of Three Thousand Pounds, 
 above all charges and reprizes for the charitable 
 purposes above-mentioned in any manner not repug¬ 
 nant to, or made void, by the Statute passed in the 
 ninth year of the Reign of His Majesty King George 
 the Second, intituled, “ An Act to restrain the Dis¬ 
 position of Lands whereby the same become unalien¬ 
 able;” and that the said Society and their Successors 
 by the name aforesaid, should and might be capable to 
 sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and 
 be answered unto, defend and be defended, in what¬ 
 soever Courts and Places, and before any Judges or 
 Justices or Officers of His Majesty, his Heirs, and 
 Successors, in all and singular Actions, Pleas, Suits, 
 Plaints, Matters, and Demands of what kind or quality 
 soever they should be, and to act and do in all matters 
 and things relating to themselves, in as ample manner 
 and form, and as fully and amply as any of His 
 Majesty’s Subjects of the Realm of Great Britain law¬ 
 fully might, or could act or do, sue or be sued, plead 
 or be impleaded, answer or be answered unto, 
 defend or be defended; And that the said Body 
 Politic and their Successors, should and might for 
 ever thereafter have and use a Common Seal, for the 
 business and affairs of the said Corporation: And that 
 it should and might be lawful to and for the said 
 Corporation and their Successors, the same Seal from 
 time to time, at their will and pleasure, to break, 
 change, alter, or make new, as to them should seem 
 
30 
 
 Recital of Act 
 4 William IV. 
 for the Abo¬ 
 lition of 
 Slavery. 
 
 Petition of the 
 Society to His 
 Majesty. 
 
 expedient. And his said late Majesty’s further Will 
 was that the said Corporation and their Successors, 
 should and might have power for ever thereafter to 
 extend the charitable designs and purposes aforesaid, 
 to the Caribbs or Native Inhabitants of the said 
 Islands, and to the people of colour or Mulattoes 
 there, as they should from time to time think fit. And 
 his said Majesty thereby made and gave certain other 
 declarations and directions relative to the Government, 
 Regulation, and Administration, of the said Society, 
 and the construction of the said Letters Patent. 5InD 
 tofjECCa^ by an Act passed in the fourth year of Our 
 Reign, intituled, “An Act for the Abolition of Slavery 
 throughout the British Colonies, for Promoting the 
 Industry of the Manumitted Slaves, and for Com¬ 
 pensating the Persons hitherto entitled to the Service 
 of such Slaves,” Slavery was, from the first day of 
 August, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, 
 utterly and for ever abolished and declared unlawful 
 throughout the British Colonies, Plantations, and 
 Possessions abroad : iUfjcreajS the said Cor¬ 
 
 poration have by their Petition humbly represented 
 unto Us, that many of the Negroes and other people 
 of colour, not only in the British West-India Islands, 
 but also elsewhere, within the Dioceses of Jamaica and 
 of Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands, and also in 
 the Mauritius, are still unconverted to Christianity, 
 and there is still the same need of Religious Instruc¬ 
 tion and Education in the said Islands and elsewhere 
 within the said Dioceses and the Mauritius, as there 
 was at the time of the Grant of the said Letters Patent: 
 That since the abolition of Slavery by the said Act of 
 Parliament, the good effects which might otherwise 
 be produced by the said Corporation will be likely to 
 be diminished or prevented if the said Corporation 
 were to continue the use of a name implying the exis¬ 
 tence of Slavery in any part of Our Dominions, and 
 the said Corporation are therefore desirous of being 
 authorized to take and use some suitable name in the 
 stead of the name at present used by them : That with 
 a view to the removal of Religious distinctions between 
 the White Inhabitants and Coloured Inhabitants of 
 
31 
 
 the said Islands and elsewhere within the said Dioceses 
 and the Mauritius, it is desirable that the said Corpo¬ 
 ration should be authorized to exercise the powers, 
 liberties, and privileges, contained in the said Letters 
 Patent of his said late Majesty in and for advancing 
 the Christian Faith in the said Islands and elsewhere 
 within the before-mentioned Dioceses and the Mauri¬ 
 tius, without regard to the colour of the persons to be 
 benefited by the exercise thereof: And that the only 
 means expressly mentioned in the said Letters Patent 
 of his said late Majesty of carrying into effect the 
 charitable designs and purposes of the same, is the 
 support and employment of Clergymen, and other 
 persons in the said Islands and elsewhere, within the 
 before-mentioned Dioceses and the Mauritius, and the 
 said Corporation are desirous of being expressly autho¬ 
 rized to use any other lawful means for the purposes 
 aforesaid, which from time to time may be desirable. 
 
 IBc Oa by these Presents, for Us, our Heirs and Succes¬ 
 sors, give and grant unto the said Corporation and 
 their Successors that they and their Successors shall 
 and may for ever hereafter have and take and use the 
 name of The Society for Advancing the Christian New name of 
 Faith in the British West-India Islands ^nd 
 
 ELSEWHERE WITHIN THE DiOCESES OF JAMAICA AND 
 
 OF Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands, and in 
 THE Mauritius, in the place and stead of the name of 
 “ The Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruc¬ 
 tion and Education of the Negro Slaves in the British 
 West-India^Islands,”and shall and may by the name of 
 The Society for Advancing the Christian Faith in 
 the British West-India Islands and elsewhere within 
 the Dioceses of Jamaica and of Barbadoes and the 
 Leeward Islands, and in the Mauritius,” exercise and 
 enjoy all the powers, liberties, and privileges, granted 
 to them by the said Letters Patent of his said late 
 Majesty. 5lInD Our further Will and Pleasure is, that Society may ex- 
 the said Corporation and their Successors shall and 
 may have full liberty and power for ever hereafter to Ifst'charter for 
 exercise all the powers, liberties, and privileges, con- the purposes of 
 tained in the said Letters Patent of his said late Charter. 
 Majesty in and for advancing the Christian Faith in 
 
32 
 
 the said Islands and elsewhere within the said Dioceses 
 of Jamaica and of Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands, 
 and in the Mauritius, by all such lawful means as 
 from time to time shall be desirable, without regard 
 to the colour of the persons to be benefited thereby. 
 This Charter to 5l!nti We do by these Presents, for Us, our Heirs 
 
 be construed to and Successors, grant unto the said Corporation and 
 the best ad van- Successoi’s that these our Letters Patent, or the 
 
 poration. Lnrolment or Lxemplification thereof, shall and may be 
 in all things sufficient and effectual in the law, accord¬ 
 ing to the true intent and meaning thereof, and shall 
 be taken, construed, and adjudged in the most favour¬ 
 able and beneficial sense, for the best advantage of 
 the said Corporation and their Successors, as well in 
 all Our Courts of Record as elsewhere, any nonrecital, 
 misrecital, omission, imperfection, defect, matter, 
 cause, or thing to the contrary thereof in anywise not¬ 
 withstanding; without Fine in the Hanaper, &c. 
 5In iufjcrgof, We have caused these our 
 
 Letters to be made Patent. Witness Ourself, at Our 
 Palace at Westminster, the eleventh Day of January, 
 in the sixth year of Our Reign. 
 
 By Writ of Privy Seal, 
 
 EDMUNDS. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 R. CLAY, YRINTER, BREAD-STRXET-HILL. 
 

 
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