to t ne honourable His Majesty's Council of the same

Province.

In Conformity to your Excellency's Recommendation witli tlie

Advice of Council, of t;ie first day of August last, to lay before

the honourable Board our Answer, to tne Representalion of Mess"

Abel Hard.nbroek, Jacobus Stouten burg'i and Hubert Van

Wagenen, who are therein said Xm be appointed to act for

tliemselves, and manvot'ier members of therefvirmed Protestant

Dutcli Churc'.i of rhe City of New York, complaining of divers

Grievances and praying Relief &c. We beg Leave, in order to

give Your Excellency anil the honourable Board, a clear Idea of

the un'sappy Dispute, w!»ic!i has Ibr some Time past subsisted in

our Congregation, briefly to relate tlie Facts respecting tlie Call

of a Minister to i)reac'i in English, hi one of our Cliurches,

wluc'i lias been made t'le Pretence of all the Uneasiness.

But bef -re we })rocecd, it may be necessary to premise, that the Consistory of our Cluirch, consisting of Ministers, Elders and Deacons, have from t'le Time their Charter was granted by King VVillidm the Tiiird, which was in tlie year IC'96 without any Inteiru[)tion, on a cei-tain Day mtnlioned for tliat Piu-pose in t'le C \arier annually elected their Successors, and that the Consislory s> cliosen, as albresaid, with their Ministers have 11 linterruptedly been the sole Directors and GcAernors of the sail! (;]nirc 1 -- T!iat no Member of the said Churcli, otiier than the Consistory did ever \ote f -r any Churcli officer ; nor was tlie exclusive Authority of the Consistory were called in Question, until the late Disputes which first began hi 17C2. To proceed -- i\\*i Want (4' an English Minister had lor many years been very apparent, Gr.-at num')ers of our Congregation had actually left, and many more declared they must leave our Churcli, ami that for tlie sole Reason, of their not understanding the Dutcli Vol. hi 33