USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. II > Part 9
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a Girardin, 150, 151; Wirt's P. b It is in the Revised Code, i. 34- Henry, 144; Tucker's Jefferson, i. 38. 90, 91.
c Vol. i. 330, 346.
134
CONSTITUTION.
[CHAP. II.
fined to men owning a freehold estate, in one hun- dred acres of unimproved, or twenty-five acres of improved land, or in a house and lot in some town.a The concurrence of both Houses was necessary to the passage of a law; all bills originated in the House of Delegates, but might be altered by the Senate with the assent of the House. But money bills must in no case be altered by the Senate, but always either rejected or approved.
A Governor was to be chosen annually, and was not to be eligible more than three years successively, nor, after going out of office, was he to be chosen again until four years should have expired. He had no voice in making laws, nor was he to ex- ercise any power or prerogative by virtue of any statute or ordinance of England. He was to be aided in his duties by a Privy Council of eight members, to be chosen by the Assembly, and who were, from their own number, to choose a Presi- dent, who, in the absence of the Governor, was to act as Lieutenant-Governor. The Governor and Councillors were liable to impeachment by the House of Delegates, for offences against the state, and in such case they were to be prosecuted by the Attorney-General, and tried by the General Court. Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and of
a Jefferson's Notes, 121; Girar- but it seems this act never received din, 151. See the various changes the royal sanction. In 1785, by Act of the Legislature, this reduction was fully confirmed. Unless we re- gard the law of '69 as valid, the Legislature invaded the Constitution. in the law of suffrage, detailed in note to 1 R. C. 38, 39. By an act of Assembly, passed in 1769, the quan- tity of unimproved land required, was reduced from 100 to 50 acres,
135
PATRICK HENRY GOVERNOR.
1776.]
the General Court were to be elected by joint bal- lot of both Houses of the Assembly. They were to continue in office during good behaviour, and were to have fixed and adequate salaries, and they, to- gether with other men holding lucrative offices, and all ministers of the Gospel, were to be incapable of being elected members of the Legislature. Jus- tices of the Peace for the County Courts, were to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice of the Privy Council.a
With design to close for ever a source of dan- gerous dispute, this constitution generously con- firmed to the Colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, the territories claimed by them under their respective charters, but with these exceptions, the claim of Virginia was fully asserted to all the lands held and defined under the Charter of King James, in 1609, and the Peace of Paris, in 1763. And it was declared that no pur- chases of land from Indians should be valid, unless made for the public, and by authority of the Gene- ral Assembly.
And finally, in order to set the machinery of the new government in motion, it was provided, that the Convention should immediately choose a Go- vernor and Privy Council, and such other officers as might be necessary. Without delay the votes were taken, and we are not surprised to find Pat- rick Henry made the first free Governor of Vir- ginia. Edmund Randolph was elected Attorney-
a Art. 14 and 15. b See vol. i. 160-163, with autho- rities.
.
136
CONSTITUTION CONSIDERED.
[CHAP. II.
General ; eight Councillors of State, five Commis- sioners of Admiralty, and two Commissioners for Accounts, were duly chosen.ª
Thus was the Old Dominion snatched by her own sons from the grasp of Britain, and erected into a free and independent state. She has the honour of being the first of the American Colonies that totally discarded the rule of the mother coun- try ; for though South Carolina and New Hamp- shire had adopted constitutions, they were ex- pressly declared to be temporary, and intended only to endure until the difficulties with Britain were settled. How different from this temporizing policy was the blow which at once severed the chains of English dominion, and threw them from the arms of her dependant to be felt no more !
This Constitution had been prepared with some haste, and it is not singular that it should have had defects and vices. Our surprise should be that it should have accomplished its purposes so well, rather than that it should have exhibited imperfec- tion. And though during its continuance, many voices were raised against it, and many fingers pointed to its deformities, yet it is believed that its greatest evils existed in theory rather than in prac- tice. These evils may be briefly declared : al- though the Constitution pronounced the several branches of government distinct, yet under its pro- visions it seems evident, that both the Executive and the Judiciary were dependent on the Legisla-
: The names are in Girardin, 152 ; b Girardin, 150; Tucker's Jeffer- son, i. 91.
Wirt, 147.
137
1776.]
CONSTITUTION CONSIDERED.
ture. For to the Assembly belonged the power, not merely of electing Governor, Council, and Judges, but of providing for their subsistence while in office, and under such circumstances it was not probable, that any act of legislation, however un- constitutional, would be resisted by the Executive, or declared void by the Courts.a Next, it will be perceived, that each House was left to fix its own quorum, or in other words, to decide how few of its members might bind the whole State, by making law. The danger of this must be obvious, for if the law-making power might rest with a small number, to be decided on by themselves, the temp- tation to diminish the number would be strong. From forty, the number might be reduced to four ; from four to one, and thus despotism would have been established.' But the feature of the Constitu- tion to which most censure has been applied, was the narrow right of suffrage. To require that all voters should be freeholders, excluded a number of men full of intelligence and patriotism, and liable to be called on to fight the battles of their country in time of war.c This restriction was a source of constant uneasiness until the new Constitution was adopted in 1830 ; but whether the right of suffrage in Virginia, as it now exists, be preferable to the former system, is matter of extreme doubt to re- flecting minds.
a See Jefferson's notes, 124, and Tucker's Blackstone, i., Part i., Ap- perdix, 81, 82.
b Jefferson's Notes, 130.
c On this point Mr. Jefferson and Judge Tucker do not perfectly agree. See Notes, 122, 123, and Tucker's Blackstone, i., Part i., Appendix.
138
CONSTITUTION CONSIDERED.
[CHAP. II.
Another objection, afterwards strongly urged, arose rather from the circumstances under which the Constitution was formed, than from its intrinsic character. It was contended that this instrument was not paramount to the authority of the Legisla- ture, and that it might at any time be changed by an act of Assembly.ª Those who held this opinion, supported it by arguing that the Convention which formed the plan of government, had not been re- gularly empowered so to do by the people-that this body could not bind subsequent Legislatures -that all it had done, was to provide a suitable scheme for the emergency under which the State was then placed, and that the people had never in solemn form ratified and adopted the Constitution. But on the other hand it was urged, that the atten- tion of the people had been particularly and ear- nestly called to the circumstances under which members of the Convention were chosen-that the old government had fallen in ruins-that a new government was indispensable-that the Conven- tion was in its very nature, different from, and pa- ramount to, an ordinary legislative Assembly- that its action in recommending independence, and in providing a committee to frame a constitution, had been received with enthusiasm by the people -that six weeks passed between the appointment of this committee and its final report, and yet not
a Mr. Jefferson was foremost among those who held this ground.
See his Notes, 125-129. The other
side of the question is argued, and, I
think, fully proved, by Judge Tucker, Com. on Blackstone, i., Part i., Ap- pendix, 83-95.
139
CIVIL FREEDOM GAINED ..
1776.]
one voice of dissent was heard from the country, and that the Legislature being itself the creature of the Constitution, was subordinate to it, and was bound by its requirements.
The power of these last-noted arguments was re- cognised by Virginia. Her Constitution remained in force until it was regularly remodelled by a convention chosen for the purpose by the people, and her General Court, by a sound judicial decision, declared that this instrument was supreme, and that an act of Assembly running counter to its demands, was void and of no effect.a
And whatever may have been the defects of her form of government, one of the grand objects for which it was intended was accomplished. Vir- ginia was free from all foreign control. The dominion of Great Britain was totally destroyed. No royal governors were hereafter to be sent to obey a selfish monarch, or to reflect the views of an unscrupulous ministry, or to pillage on their own account, the people of their charge. No veto power was to be exercised by a distant king. No laws of navigation were to fetter her commerce and force it by unnatural means into the lap of her mother. No taxes were to be imposed to swell the revenues of an establishment three thousand miles from her shores. And the personal rights of her people were secured. England had often claimed the power to seize her Colonists and transport them for trial to her own soil, but the " Bill of Rights"
a Kamper vs. Hawkins, Nov. 16, Wilson's opinion in that case. 1793; 1 Virg. Cases, 20. See Judge
140
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY WANTED.
[CHAP. II.
of Virginia, at once placed each one of her citizens upon a firm basis, and threw around him the safe- guards of law.
Civil freedom was rendered absolutely secure in the " Old Dominion." But there remained ano- ther possession necessary to her happiness which she had not yet obtained; this was Religious Liberty. Her declaration of rights did indeed announce principles on this subject, which, if expanded, would have produced all she could desire, but the force of positive law was necessary to cut up by the roots the system which had grown in such strength on her soil. The church establishment, with its legal incidents, had so woven itself into society, that it was difficult at once to destroy it. The rights of conscience were yet invaded, and men were still liable to injury, who did not conform to the teachings of one favoured sect. We shall see with pleasure these evils removed, and all men placed upon equal ground in their religious rela- tions. But in entering on this subject, it will be necessary to review the progress of religion in Vir- ginia, and to trace the steps along which she passed in effecting this great object. If well ascertained facts, and legitimate inferences may be trusted, it will be made apparent, that for perfect freedom in the exercise of the rights of conscience, the people of Virginia, and of America, are indebted neither to Thomas Jefferson, nor to any other secular re- former, but to men in whose hearts burned the fire of love to the Redeemer of mankind.
CHAPTER III.
Religion-Man naturally religious-Christianity the only true religion --- Its intrinsic evidences-Union of church and state-Its evils-Reforma- tion-Church of England established-Bishops-Church established in Virginia-First ministers-Church under martial law-Establishment of parishes and glebes-Bigotry of Sir William Berkeley-Archbishop Laud-Stephen Reek-Intolerance-Its effects - Church in time of Governor Spotswood-Parishes-Progress of the Established Church- Her apparent prosperity-Real condition-Evils of the Establishment in Virginia-Rights of conscience infringed-Injustice to Dissenters-In- tolerance-Cruelty-Wicked clergy-Irreligious people-Conduct of the Parsons-Rise and progress of Dissenters-Huguenots from France- Congregationalists from New England-Regular Baptists-George White- field visits Virginia-Effect of his preaching in America-Separate Baptists -Their rapid progress in Virginia-Their zeal-They are opposed by the. Episcopal clergy-Persecution-Patriotism of the Baptists-Presby- terians in the Valley-Stone Church of Augusta-John Craig-Origin of Presbyterianism in Eastern Virginia-John Organ-Samuel Morris -Luther and Bunyan-Fines-William Robinson arrives-Effect of his preaching-Samuel Davies-His character and eloquence-His great success-Hampden Sydney and Liberty Hall-Methodists in Vir- ginia-They co-operate with the Establishment-Legislature of 1776- Struggle for religious freedom-Memorials-Mr. Jefferson-Severe con- flict-Bill in favour of Dissenters-Partial establishment of Religious Liberty.
RELIGION is natural to man. Were he now per- 4 , fectly pure and upright, it would be his most eagerly sought privilege to look to the Great First Cause, and with warm love to acknowledge de- pendence. Even his present depravity has not shut his mind entirely to the claims of Deity.
142
RELIGION ..
[CHAP. III.
There is a ceaseless struggle between the intellect and the heart, the first admitting the existence of a God and ascribing to him all conceivable perfec- tions, the last abhorring his holiness, and turning away from the light so unwelcome to its own darkened impulses. Atheism is the fault not of the head, but of the heart;" and it has seldom been avowed, and never fully believed. Man has not been able to resist the convictions of his own judg- ment, strengthened by the voice of conscience, the mystic witness for the truth, who lives in his bosom. And therefore throughout all ages, how- ever dark, and among all nations however savage, the belief in the existence of a God has been found to prevail, and to keep alive the prominent motives of religion. But on this subject the sophistries of depraved affections have never been silent. They have been constantly pleading against the truth, and though they have not availed entirely to cover it, yet they have obscured its lustre, and degraded its majesty. Hence it is that no nation, however enlightened, has been able by its own wisdom to provide a religion which would either restrain from vice or guide to virtue.
Had Christianity been of human invention, it would have borne the marks distinguishing all re- ligious systems of man. The same lowering of the Divine character; the same arguments from human frailty ; the same compromise of the claims of reason and appetite would have been found, which attend the most refined theories of heathen
a " The fool hath said in his heart there is no God."-Ps. xiv. i.
143
CHRISTIANITY.
philosophers. The religion of Christ stands alone in its holiness, and as it is the only true religion, so does it carry in its own teachings the infallible evidences of its truth. It has indeed its external demonstrations ; miracles proved by testimony above the possibility of falsehood, or of undesigned error, and prophecy which gathers power with the unfolding of each successive page in history ; but these are evidences which can only be appreciated by the learned, and which may convince the intel- lect without moving the heart. The Author of Christianity designed that it should carry with it power to convince by its intrinsic authority. The man who will apply his mind to its teachings, will believe as certainly as the man who will open his eyes in the sun's rays will see the light around him. It is because it provides an adequate remedy for every ill, that the recipient of its benefits knows it is from the Author of good. Pardon for sin ; purity for corruption ; comfort for sorrow ; unerring precepts for doubt in duty ; a life of usefulness ; a death of peace, and an eternity of happiness : these are gifts offered by the religion of Christ, in a form which no man resists who desires to know the truth. But to accomplish its object, it must be pure as when it was first taught by its inspired originators. Mixed with human devices, it loses its force for good, and becomes the more dangerous because of its exalted claims.
Among the unhallowed inventions which have been applied to this system, none has produced so unhappy results as its union with civil government.
144
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
[CHAP. III.
Christianity, if truly possessed, will make a man a good citizen, but the law of the land can never make a man become a Christian. It was a sad day for religion when the Emperor Constantine adopted the church as his ward, and began to enforce her lessons by the arm of civil authority. The fires of persecution were better than the splendours of a seeming prosperity, which dead- ened her soul, and threatened to destroy it. From this time we trace the decline of virtue and the growth of corruption ; but power was too sweet to be rejected; and in the old world Christianity has not yet thrown off the shackles which have so long confined her. The church is linked to the state, and, like the dead body chained to the living victim, it gains no vitality for itself, and gradually destroys its hapless companion.
At the time when the settlement of Virginia commenced, England had laid, broad and deep, the foundations of her Episcopal Church establish- ment. The dominion of Rome had been rejected, Popery was discarded, and English reformers had striven to give to their country a system of religious rule which would secure her welfare. But their reformation fell below the demands of liberty. We may not be surprised at this when we re- member how long the human mind had been moulded by habit, and how far the boldest re- formers of Europe then sank beneath the prin- ciples of true religious freedom. Two remnants of a corrupt age were unhappily retained in re- modelling the ecclesiastical system of England.
145
1
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
These were, first, the principle of church esta- blishment, the King himself became the head of Christ's kingdom on earth ; clergymen, as such, sat among the peers of the land, and voted for her laws; and men, whatever might be their opinions, were compelled to pay tithes to support their spiritual teachers. Secondly, an order of clergy superior to the rectors or pastors, who overlook particular congregations. This superior order has long been distinguished by the title of bishops, but they are not the bishops designated and appointed by the New Testament;ª they are the successors of the Apostles of the primitive church. It is true the Apostles were all inspired men ; were all distinguished by having seen Christ in bodily form, and were so exalted in their duties and character, that, to a common understanding, it would seem impossible that they should have suc- cessors ; but this difficulty has been removed in England and in Rome. The bishops of the Epis- copal Church bear the same relation to the Apostles that the Pope does to Peter, and few who acknow- ledge the exclusive claims of the first will be long disposed to deny those of the other. History, whose province it is to search for the truth, dis- covers with surprise that there was a time when the claims of each were equally unknown; that in
a This is distinctly admitted by ture. Bishop Ravenscroft in Evan. high Episcopal authority. See Dr. and Lit. Mag., ix. 563, 590, 591 .- Stillingfleet's Irenicum, edit. Lon- Bishop Croft in Miller's Ch. Minis- try, edit. 1830, 168, 169. See Dr. Miller, from page 157 to 182. don, 1662, passim, but particularly on pages 236, 237 .- Bishop Onder- donk's Episcopacy Tested by Scrip- VOL. II. 10
146
CHURCH
[CHAP. III.
the first and purest ages of Christianity, Pope and Prelate had no existence; that bishops were then what the New Testament requires them to be,- overseers of a single flock,-humbly ministering the bread of life to a single congregation, and uniting together when the interests of the Church required it; and that centuries of darkness and vice were necessary to make men believe that the Apostles needed successors, and that the Pope held the keys of St. Peter.ª
But definite form, though important for the per- fection, is not essential to the being of a church. Her diocesan bishops might not have injured the Church of England on her own soil and ruined her in Virginia had no other causes operated to her detri- ment. The unholy link which bound her to the state was the iron that entered her soul and con- tinued to corrode until life was destroyed.
The first ship which conveyed settlers to the banks of the Powhatan, brought a minister of the Gospel to promulgate Christianity among the hea- then. This was the Rev. Robert Hunt, who, in many things, proved himself to be possessed of the spirit of his divine Master.b King James, in his articles of instruction, required that the Church of the mother country should be established for her Colony, and nominally, at least, the settlers claimed
a Acts xx., compare verses 17, 28, Comment. edit. Paris, 1706, vol. iv. in orig. ; Clemens Alexandrin., edit. 414; and see John Anderson on Ch. Paris, 1641; Pædagog. lib. i. 99, Govern., edit. Glasgow, 1714, pages lib. iii. 248; Papias in Eusebius, 159-185. Eccl. Hist. edit. Amsterd. 1695, tom. b Hawks, 17, 18. See vol. i. 89. i. lib. iii. cap. 39, page 89; Hieronym.
147
IN VIRGINIA.
1607.]
the character of Christians. How far they con- formed to the precepts of their creed, may be in- ferred from the review of their course already pre- sented, their folly and riot, sedition and debauchery. Yet, for the crimes and wretchedness of the early Colonists, we may not blame their preachers. We have reason to believe that the ministers did their duty, and that, as they had braved a life of self- denial for the sacred cause of their adoption, so did they afterwards persevere in efforts for its progress.
Such men as Hunt and Thorpe would now be welcome accessions to the ecclesiastical bodies of the United States.
Among the first buildings commenced at James- town was a church, and though its structure was rude, a sanctity seems to have surrounded it, per- haps more imposing, because of the wild turbulence which it sought to check in its worshippers. It was destroyed by a fire, which, at the same time, burned up the books and clothing of Mr. Hunt, and left him even more destitute than his com- panions in trial. The church, however, soon rose from its ashes; it survived the miserable scenes of the "starving time," and, when Lord Delaware arrived in 1610, he assembled the people in the sacred edifice, and Mr. Bucke, the chaplain of the Somer Islands, "made a zealous and sorrowful prayer, finding all things so contrary to their ex- pectations, so full of misery and misgovernment."a
a Purchas, iv. book ix. in Hawks, was brought out as chaplain by Lord 22, 23. Dr. Hawks' account would Delaware, but this was not the case.
give the impression that Mr. Bucke See vol. i. 167.
148
RELIGION AND
[CHAP. III.
Except the instructions of the King, the first Colonists had been left without positive written law, and in the times of trouble they encountered, it would have been impossible to do more than leave them to their own wishes as to religious worship. But when Sir Thomas Dale assumed the Govern- ment, in 1611, he introduced the stringent laws pro- vided by the Treasurer, and on no subject was this system more arbitrary than in its government of the Church. It commanded that military and civil officers should take care that "Almightie God be duly and daily served ;" it required that blasphemy against the Trinity should be punished with death ; that cursing and swearing, or the irreverent use of God's name, should be punished by a bodkin thrust through the tongue, for the second offence, and by death for the third : that any one who behaved im- properly to a preacher, should be openly whipped three times, and publicly ask forgiveness. The tolling of the bell was to be the signal for all men and women to repair to church; and stripes, the galleys, and finally death itself, visited its neglect. Men were required to give account of their faith and religion, and to submit to catechising by their minister, and if they refused, daily whipping was to be inflicted until they gave signs of repentance.a
These were times when religion was to be taught with the whip, when the heart was to be affected by the punishment of the body, and when prayer
a These are the " laws divine, mar- published by William Strachey, Lon. tial, and moral," once in force in Vir- don, 1612 ; Hawks, 25, 27. ginia. They have been collected and
149
MARTIAL LAW.
1611.]
was the only means of escaping the gibbet. This code was too cruel to be rigidly enforced, yet we have reason to believe it was not entirely a dead letter. When Argal became Governor, he took special delight in reviving it, and many Colonists learned in sadness that the Church was the occa- sion of stripes and slavery, rather than of freedom and happiness.
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