At a general Meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

Held on the 16th. day of July 1762 [...]

A Letter from the Revd. Mr. Earl Missry. at St. Paul's Parish Chowan County in North Carolina dated Edenton April 2d. 1762, in which he writes that since his last of November the 21st. he has baptized in his own Parish 70 Infants, & has 36 Communicants. He has Preached to four several Congregations in Society Parish and baptized 125 white & 18 black Infants & 15 black Adults. He likewise made a visit to St. Barnabas Parish, & baptized 15 white Infants, & intended to visit them at Easter, & administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there, at the request of some of the Inhabitants, who have been grievously afflicted last Winter with uncommon disorders, & frequent sudden deaths, from which no part of the Province has been clear. Has drawn for his Salary.

A Letter from his Excellency Arthur Dobbs Esqr. Governor of North Carolina, dated Brunswick March 30th. 1762, complaining he has not had a Letter for above two years, & imagining that a long Letter which he desired might be laid before the Board has miscarried. In the Letter referr'd to he stated the situation of the affairs of the Apostolic Church in this province, since which time notwithstanding the Laws he got enacted & amended for the support of the established Clergy, the number of Clergymen is diminished, and the Inhabitants are becoming more dissolute, & sectaries & idleness increasing for want of Clergymen & Schoolmasters to educate youth, there being not even a Parish-Clerk in the province to serve as a Schoolmaster or Reader upon occasion, where Clergymen are wanting, or when attending the out Chapels, as most Counties contain only one Parish. This Province therefore demands a further supply of Missionaries or Clergymen to be sent over, the provision ^at present^ made for them by Law is £100, this Currency, & 20£ in lieu of a House & Glebe, till they can be provided, besides which in most Parishes they may receive near 50£ by Marriages, & when they make excursions to neighbouring Counties which want Clergymen, they are allowed handsomely for it. However as that Currency is at present much depreciated by issuing Notes to raise supplies for their defence, it makes a considerable abatement, and what is a further discouragement is, that the several parishes provide only annually for their Incumbents, and therefore he cannot properly induct them and ascertain their residence. The reason the Vestry gives for this practice is, that they may oblige the Clergyman to do his Duty, which as there is no Bishop or Superior with Episcopal Jurisdiction they will be apt to neglect. The Governor therefore thinks it of infinite consequence that the Society Address his Majesty to appoint two Bishops at least for that Continent, to visit the Clergy, confirm & ordain proper persons within those Colonies (as a sufficient number cannot be procured from Europe) with a power of suspension & degradation of the Clergy for immoralities or Heresies, or for neglect of their Cures, with a power of inflicting mild censures & Discipline on the Laity by depriving them of Church Communion, when dissolute & profligate. This he thinks, with a provision for Parish Schools to educate Youth in Christian principles, would soon improve the province, get rid of Sectaries, & encourage the Inhabitants to become industrious. In his former Letter he proposed sending over a Schoolmaster with a proper appointment to civilize & Convert the Catawba Indians, and that he would add to it during his residence. That Nation then consisted of 300 Warriors in strict friendship with us, but since that time by the small-pox they are reduced to 60 Warriors with a proportionate number of old Men, Women, and Children, & have quitted their Town in this Province, & have removed into South Carolina where they have laid them out a Township. The Governor proposes at next Assembly to recommend the making of a Law to empower each Vestry to raise a small Tax for a Clerk & Schoolmaster in every parish. He adds, that the Town of Wilmington & Parish is now without a Clergyman, parson Smith having been refused to be restored to his Mission, & their parson Mr. Macdowell talks of quitting them, as he expected to be made a Missry. but hath heard nothing of it, he therefore begs leave to recommend the appointing if possible more Missionaries to this unfortunate province, where sectaries & corruption of Manners are increasing, where they have but seven Clergymen to near 30 parishes, most of them Counties, & one of them Mr. Moir an abandoned Missionary, who does little or no Duty with out a Parish, & totally neglects his Mission.

The Committee recommend to the Society that the Secretary be directed to write a Letter of Thanks to Governor Dobbs for his attention to the interests of Religion, assuring him that all possible regard shall ever be paid to whatever he shall please to suggest on that subject; that the Society will take into consideration his Proposal about sending more Missries. to North Carolina, & that Mr. Moir shall be admonished of the misbehavior with which the Governor charges him.

Resolved to agree with the Committee. […]