He continued the pastor of these Churches until his death, which occurred on the I9th March, 1782. He was a strong and decided opponent of American Independence, and his influence over his flock was such " that scarcely a single person of his congregations at Newtown and Reading but persevered stedfastly in his duty and loyalty." He continued to pray for the King to the last, though it is said he was handled roughly by the Whigs. His writings are mostly polemical, and his doctrines are representee' as decidedly Arminian.

1054 STATE OF THE

that the churches in the several Missions of that province are shut up, one or two excepted, where the prayers for the king and royal familj- are omitted. The Churches in Philadelphia are open. How matters are circumstanced in the more southerly colonies, I cannot learn with any certainty ; only that tlie provincial convention of Virginia liave taken upon tliemselves to publish an edict, by which some collects for the king are to be wholly omitted in tlie liturgy, and others altered ; the word "commonwealth"' being substituted for the "king." For my part, I never expected much good of those clergy among them who opposed an American episcopate. If such should noAv renounce their allegiance, and abandon their duty, it is no more than what might naturally be looked for. There are, however, several worthy clergymen in those provinces, some of whom I hear have tr.lven sanctuary in England, particularly from Maryland. This province, although the most loyal and peaceable of any on the continent, by a strange Vitality is become the scene of war, and suffers most. This city, especially, has a double portion of the calamities brought on by the present rebellion ; and perhaps a brief detail of our situation for some months past, may gratify curiosity, and convey to the Society the clearest idea of the state of things here.