History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

208 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [1749.
reasonable ; a fair hearing was all he desired, and he was
willing to admit to his pnlpit any person whom the committee
should designate to reply to his arguments. Thereupon
the committee submitted a proposition fairly on a par
with the one in which Mr. Edwards offered to resign his
pastorate. Mr. Edwards was to preach upon the subject at
issue, but his sermons must first be submitted to the committee,
who were to lay them before some clergyman, who
should read his reply immediately after Mr. Edwards had
concluded his sermon. With this proposition Mr. Edwards
was unwilling to comply unless he should be allowed to
examine his antagonist's sermon before preaching his own.
So this battledore and shuttlecock method of argumentation
did not materialize. Objection was also made by Mr.
Edwards to the precinct's taking the initiative in the management
of an ecclesiastical affair of this nature. It should
be done he said by the church.
The Committee Re- Unable to come to any Satisfactory agreeports
to the Pre- meut with the pastor, the committee sub-
mitted a report to the precinct, at an adjourned
meeting held on the 9"' of November. They were
unanimously of the opinion that the precinct should request
the church to apply to some of the neighboring min-
isters for advice and counsel.
Mr. Edwards Objects.
This report was put iuto the hands of Mr.
Edwards on the evening before the pre-
cinct meeting. But having no opportunity to confer with
the committee after perusing it, he forwarded a communi-
cation to the meeting. In it he made strong objection to
the precinct's requesting the church to call an ecclesiastical
council to "issue the dispute between the minister of the
Precinct and the Precinct." If the church should call a
council, it would be for the purpose of considering difficul-
ties of its own, and not the precinct's disputes. He said
that it was "not yet certain that there was any dispute or
difference between the pastor and the church, for this had
aiever been properly tried." He still further objected to
the church being limited by the precinct to any course of
action. The precinct had no more riglit to direct or limit