acknowledging any Jurisdiction in any Civil Court within tliis Province in and over the private affairs of our Church meerly Consistoriall and amongst ourselves in answer thereunto or unto so much thereof as we are advised is material for us to answer We do answer and Say That we are very heartily sorry for the unhappy differences which have lately happened amongst our Congregacon wliich is made up of Members altogether free and voluntary and under no manner of Compulsion or Restraint And we are humbly of Opinion that the measures We liave lately taken to remove the Cause thereof has in a great measure given occasion of this Complaint now laid before Your Excellency in Council It is not unknown to your Excellency that the Frencli Protestants in the Kingdom of fifrance now a Considerable body of people who for many years have subsisted in that Kingdom and have had used and enjoyed amongst themselves a particular and peculiar form of worship doctrin disciplin and Church Government without being maintained and Supported therein as the national Church which in ffrance is Roman Catholick but by way of Dispensation or toleracon so that it was not in their po\A'er even to Compell any of the flfrench Subjects to Submitt unto their disciplin and Government nor to restrain or punish any of their number who had submitted to their form of worship Doctrin Disciplin & Government who were minded to forsake them and alter their Profession untill Their King was pleased to Revoak the Edict commonly Called the Edict of Nantz ; And those flfrench Protestants were by all natic^nall protestant Chui'ches in Europe received and treated as if they had been a nationall Protestant Sister Church however depressed or oppressed by the violent Counsels and practices of the Roman Catholicks, In the Enjoyment of that liberty or rather dispensation or toleracon their method and rule was to make an agreement with their Pastors and Ministers (that is to say) each Consistory for every Particular Congregacon voluntarily and freely united togetlier and entered into an agreement with their Pastor & Minister upon a Certain speciall mutuall Contract, which when either party failed in performance of their part of the Contract the other was at liberty and freed therefrom on the other part ; and this no wayes regarded by the Civil Government, who took care only to