OF THE REV. AMMI ROGERS A. M. EDUCATED AT YALE COLLEGE IN CONNECTICUT, ORDAINED IN TRIN- ITY CHURCH IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, PERSECUTED IN FALSELY ACCUSED AND IMPRISONED in Norwich Jail, for two years, on the charge of crimes said to have been committed in the town of Griswold, in the county of New-London, when he was not within about one hundred miles of the place, and of which he was absolutely as innocent as the judge who pronoun- ▲ CONCISE VIEW OF THE AUTHORITY, DOCTRINE, AND WORSHIP, IN "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see, if there be any sorrow like un "Quis talia fando temperet a lacrymis ? "—Virgil.—i. e.—“Who can refrain from tean SIXTH EDITION WITH ADDITIONS, OMISSIONS AND ALTERATIONS. TROY, N. Y... PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR County of Saratoga-State of New-York, SS. May 28, 1836.-We, the undersigned, do certify, that we reside in the neighborhood of the Rev. Ammi Rogers, and have been personally and well acquainted with him for many years last past, ("Mr. Rogers was a settled minister in this county for many years; has resided a great part of the time, and been well known and acquainted in this county for more than forty years last past,") and we do consider him to be a man of truth and veracity, a man of integrity, punctual in his dealings, and as far as we are acquainted, of good moral character. And we having examined his LETTERS of ORDERS; it appears from them and from other documents produced by him, that he now is (May 28, 1836,") a Minister of the Gospel in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and in good standing. CERTIFIED BY BENJAMIN COWLES, Justice of the Peace. Supervisor of the Town of Corinth. I, Alpheus Goodrich, Clerk of said County of Saratoga, do certify, that Benjamin Cowles, Winsor Brown, Edward Edwards, and Obadiah Wood, Esqrs., are at this date acting Justices of the Peace in the Town of Corinth in said County. And I further certify, that Winsor Brown, Esq., is reputed and believed to be the acting Supervisor of the Town of Corinth in said County; and further, that Charles Carpenter is reputed and believed to be the acting Town Clerk of the aforesaid Town of Corinth at this date. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official Seal, this 15th day of August, 1836. A. GOODRICH, Clerk, N. B. Mr. Rogers was ordained by the Right Rev. SAMUEL PROVOOST, D. D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New-York, in Trinity Church in the City of NewYork, A. D. 1792, and there never has been any complaint, hearing or trial of Mr. Rogers in any way or manner prescribed by the authority of God's word, and the constitution and canons of said Church in any State or Diocess. TO THE READER. WHEN a citizen, by groundless prejudice, by false representations and by palpable perjuries, has been made a victim to eclesiastical denunciations and civil prosecutions; when the privileges arising from civil liberty and religious freedom have been wrested from him, he still has one privilege left, the privilege of complaining. A statement of his case, and an appeal to the public, is the dernier resort of an injured man; such an appeal supported by satisfactory evidence, secures a sentence in favour of the oppressed. To disregard such a sentence would not be just, and even if it were just, it would not be possible. There has been, for years past, much animadversion on the union of Church and State. I have practically felt the operation of this two fold chord which is now happily broken in Connecticut, and which has almost prostrated me in the destruction of it. But I still survive, and amidst the heavy artillery of a departed Bishop, and the artful machinations and cruel batteries of a Connecticut State's Attorney, I have been sustained by a consciousness of my innocence, and by the blessing of that merciful Being " who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," I live to make this my last effort through the press, which, Heaven be praised, is still untrammelled, to evince my innocence and my integrity. Equal justice is due to all men, and the lovers of truth are so far the lovers of God. I cannot therefore but indulge the hope, that an enlightened and compassionate public will give the following pages an attentive reading, and an impartial consideration. To render railing for railing is no part of my profession, and to expose the real faults of my fellow-citizens is no pleasure to me, and I intend not to do it, any further forth, than a religious regard to duty shall compel me. All human tribunals, whether civil or eclesiastical, may and do err, and that which has been solemnly approved and sanctioned at one time has been no less solemnly disproved and discarded at another But without referring to former examples, those of a recent date will serve my purpose 162552 |