one passage of wider range, which is eminently characteristic of the distinguished man in honor of whom Dorchester was named.

"I know," he says, "it will be pretended that all manner of restraint is prejudicial to liberty, and I grant the name of liberty is precious, so it be liberty to do good,- but no farther."

Such a sentiment is worthy of being recalled, and commended to our whole country, in these later days, when there is so much to be apprehended, in all quarters, from the abuse of the glorious liberty which our fathers achieved for us.

Accept my best wishes for the success of your interesting celebration, and my renewed thanks for the invitation with which I have been honored, and believe me, dear Mr. Chairman,

Very faithfully yours,

ROBT. C. WINTHROP.

QUINCY, June 7, 1880.

THOMAS J. ALLEN, Esq., Chairman, etc.:

My dear Sir, I regret that I shall not be able to be present at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Parish of Dorchester. As it will be a day of reminiscences, I venture to recall a connection I once had with that ancient town.

In 1842, I projected a railway between Boston and Quincy, had the surveys made, and presented a petition to the Legislature, headed by the venerable Thomas Greenleaf; whereupon, according to a copy of the records that was sent me, the following action was taken:

At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Dorchester, qualified, as the law directs, to vote in town affairs, at the town-house, in said town, on Wednesday, the second day of February, 1842, Col. Walter Baker was chosen Moderator. It was, by the inhabitants of Dorchester, in town-meeting assembled,

Resolved, That, in the opinion of the inhabitants, the railroad petitioned for by Thomas Greenleaf and others, if located upon either of the lines designated upon their plan, will be of incalculable injury to the town generally, in addition to the immense sacrifice of private property which will also be involved. A great portion of the road will lead through thickly-settled and populous parts of the town, crossing and running contiguous to public highways, and thereby making a permanent obstruction to a free intercourse of our citizens from one part of the town to another, and creating great and enduring danger and hazard to all travel upon the common roads.

Resolved, That if, in the opinion of the Legislature, there can be shown sufficient evidence of public utility to justify the taking of private property at all,

for the construction of this projected railroad, it should be located upon the marshes, and over creeks bordering the harbor and Neponset River, and as remote as possible from all other roads; and by which a less sacrifice will be made of private property, and a much less injury occasioned to the town and the public generally.

Resolved, That our representatives be instructed to use their utmost endeavors to prevent, if possible, so great a calamity to our town as must be the location of any railroad through it; and, if that cannot be prevented, to diminish this calamity, as far as possible, by confining the location to the route herein designated.

Attest:

A true copy from the Dorchester records.

DORCHESTER, February 3, 1842.

Such were the anticipations, thirty-eight years ago, of the effect of any railroad through the town of Dorchester; and their fears were shared by many of the citizens of Quincy. At a meeting held there, opposition was made to the project on the ground that the locomotive, which was likened to the car of Juggernaut, would crush all the children; and, besides, would interfere with Mr. Gillett, who drove the stage.

The town of Dorchester retained Judge Fletcher to oppose me, and I had leave to withdraw. But the anticipated evil was not thereby averted. Associated with the late J. H. Loud, and gentlemen from Plymouth, a charter for the Old Colony Railroad was subsequently obtained, and the line laid out over my original survey, against which the inhabitants of Dorchester protested.

I am happy to believe that, notwithstanding the anticipations, real estate is yet of some value in Dorchester; and to know that enough children escaped in Quincy to enable the town to organize the "new departure" in education. As to Mr. Gillett, I think he would have found himself unable, with his three-horse stage, to have carried the forty thousand passengers that, on one holiday, passed over the line between Quincy and Boston.

Again, regretting that I shall be unable to accept the invitation with which I have been honored by your committee, I am very truly yours,

JOSIAH QUINCY.

Messrs. THOMAS J. ALLEN, EDWARD B. CALLENDER, E. HERBERT CLAPP, Committee on

Invitations.

Gentlemen,

296 BEACON STREET, May 18, 1880.

I thank you for your very polite invitation to be present at and take part in the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the First Parish Church of Dorchester.

I have often heard my father* speak of his seven years' residence, as pastor, at Midway, Georgia; but I can give no information about the families from Dorchester over whom he was settled. If I could tell you anything about them, I should regret, even more than I do as it is, that I cannot have the pleasure of being with you on an occasion of so much interest as that to which you invite me.

I am, gentlemen,

Yours very truly,

O. W. HOLMES. THOMAS J. ALLEN, Esq., EDWARD B. CALLENDER, Esq., E. HERBERT CLAPP, Esq., Committee, etc.

NEW YORK, June 14, 1880.

My dear Sir,— Your kind letter of yesterday is just received. It has been my purpose to be present at your celebration on the 17th, but, I regret to say, it will be impossible. I was much troubled, at Chicago, by an inflamed eye, which is still (although nearly well) under treatment. ... Hence I must relinquish, greatly to my disappointment, my visit to your interesting old town, in the hope, however, of soon being there; for I shall take occasion to go there on my next visit to Boston. Be kind enough to express to Mr. Allen, your Chairman, my extreme disappointment that I am prevented from availing myself of his flattering invitation; and my hope that he will be able to send me a copy of the proceedings, in which all of my name and blood will take much interest. With great regard,

EBENEZER CLAPP, Esq.

Yours truly,

E. W. STOUGHTON.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., May 28, 1880.

Gentlemen, I thank you for your invitation to the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement, in Dorchester, of your society. It will give me pleasure to be present, if I can; but I fear my engagements will not permit.

* Rev. Abiel Holmes, father of O. W. Holmes.

I am much interested in the history of these old parishes, and especially of one whose age approaches so nearly the one over which I have been minister for several years.

Although our first place of worship was not erected until 1638, we find the prayer-books and communion service in use in the "Great House" of the settlement for a period reaching several years farther back. We still have the wardens for our officers of the parish, showing the Episcopal character of our first settlers. I notice that I am the tenth minister during this long record for an American church, as Mr. Barrows is with you.

Another fact that the student of history cannot escape, and must call to mind with gratitude, is the high character of the early ministers in these settlements. Take, for example, the clergy of the Church of England in the Colony of Virginia, and we find them easily falling into the dissipated habits of the planter-life, so that the Bishop of London was once appealed to to know at what point intoxication became a scandal in a minister; while, at the same time, the clergy of New England were, as a rule, among the purest and most scholarly men who, in true apostolical succession, have filled the office of Christian clergy.

I rejoice in your great and unbroken prosperity for the past, and trust you will have an interesting anniversary, and a long future of still more abundant life.

I remain most truly yours,

JAMES DE NORMANDIE.

THOMAS J. ALLEN, EDWARD B. CALLENDER, E. HERBERT CLAPP, Committee.

Letters expressing regret at their inability to be present were also received from Hon. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, President CHARLES W. ELIOT, Prof. CHARLES CARROLL EVERETT, D.D., Rev. JOHN CORDNER, D.D., and Rev. EDWARD H. HALL.