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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Letter from James Reed to Daniel Burton [Extract]
Reed, James, d. 1777
December 27, 1762
Volume 06, Page 745

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[From North Carolina Letter Book. S. P. G.]
Mr. Reed to the Secretary (Ext)

No Carolina, New Bern, Decr 27 1762

Revd Sir;

The hardships we labor under in this Province are so great that were it not for the benevolence of the Society, we could not subsist with the least decency, Every Clergyman that has attempted to settle in this Province, for these 10 years past, upon the sole dependence of the legal stipend, have been obliged to leave it, and 'tis our misfortune at Present to have no legal Stipend at all; or rather there is no law at present by which any stipend can be recovered. At an Assembly held at New Bern in Novr last a bill for the encouragement of an Orthodox Clergy and a bill for the establishment of Vestries, were presented to his excellency the Governor for his assent, the latter of which was rejected on account of some exceptional Clauses, and as the 2 bills depended on each other in such a manner, that the one cannot operate without the other, we are therefore at present without any legal encouragement. Very probably something may be done in our favor at the next Assembly, especially if it should please God to prolong the life of our present worthy Govr. But we cannot expect his abode with us much longer, for he is far advanced in years and has lately had a slight stroke of the Palsy; so that I every day expect to hear the disagreeable news of his death, in whom the Clergy will lose a faithful friend, and the Christian Religion an able advocate.