YAUHANNAH HISTORY
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Petition and memorial of the protestant inhabitants of
Brittons Neck, Nov. 26, 1776
To the General Assembly of the State of S.C., the petition and memorial of the under-written protestant inhabitants of the said State humbly sheweth, That during the connexion (sic) of this State with, and its dependence upon the Court of Great Britain, there hath been by law established and maintained, a particular denomination of Protestants, in distinction from, and in preference to, all other denominations; and that the expense and change for the support of the religious establishment of the same, hath ever been born equally by all denominations, although the members of other churches have always made a large proportion of the inhabitants. That by virture of the same establishment, not only a discrimination hath been made between the peaceable and orderly inhabitants of this government, but while the Church of England enjoyed diverse privileges and immunities, denied to others, Protestant dissenters have been subjected to many inconveniences, in addition to that of being obliged to contribute to the support of a Church with which they did not worship. That although this unequal distribution of public favour hath been submitted to without complaint, for a long time, yet it hath occasioned great uneasiness in the minds of many of the worthy inhabitants of this State, and in the opinion of your petitioners, lays a foundation for future discord and unhappiness. That liberty in religious matters, appears to your petitioners, the most invaluable of all kinds of liberty; and that the abridgment of it, in any respect, is not only injurious to the common rights of mankind, but lays a foundation for perpetual jealousy, at the same time that it operates as a check upon the growth, opulence, and power of any state where it takes place. That your petitioners cannot but consider an establishment of any religious denomination, at the expense of others, as an abridgment of that free and equal liberty in religious matters; which all good and orderly subjects and citizens ought to be intitled to, in a free State. That while the laws of the colony were subject to the controul (sic) of a foreign power, the numerous Protestants in it, who had the misfortune to dissent from the establishment, were discouraged from applying for redress of grievance. But now, that by the providence of God, government has returned to its just and native channel, and a Constitution is framing, with a view to perpetuate the freedom and happiness of the good people of this State; it has seemed to your Petitioners the most proper time to apply for redress; and they should never be able to answer it to posterity, if they permitted a Constitution to be formed by the consent of the people, without endeavouring to obtain an entire religious, as well as civil freedom. And whereas it is possible that a future Legislature may be induced to abridge the religious liberties of other denominations in favour of some prevailing one; even though the present should be disposed to grant relief in the premises; that the best security may be given against the encroachments of any one denomination or sect whatever which the nature of the case will admit; and that the utmost freedom in religious matters may be forever maintained: Your Petitioners humby pray, that there be inserted a clause in the _____Constitution of this State, by which it shall be enacted, "That there never shall be an establishment of any one denomination of sect of Protestants, by way of preference to another, in this State. That no protestant inhabitant of this State shall, by law, be obliged to pay towards the maintenance and support of a religious worship, that he does not freely join in, or has not voluntarily engaged to support; nor be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles; but that as Protestants, demeaning themselves peaceably under the government established by the Constitution, shall enjoy free and equal privileges, both religious and civil."………..BRITTONS NECK 25th Nov. 1776
JOHN DOZER
FRANCIS BRITTON
JOHN RAE
JAMES BARROWS
WILLIAM BRITTON
ABRAM GILES
JAMES ROGERS
JOSESPH GREAVES
CHARLES FLADGER
WILLIAM HARTLEY
PETER PORT
_______GERS
WILLIAM KEEN
THOMAS TYLER
CONNER TIMMONS
JAMES ADKINS
FOWLER DAWSEY
AMOS WIGGINS
FRANK GODDARD
SAML JENKINS
PETER BUCKHOLTS
DAVID WEAVING (?)
JAMES JONES
SAML SMITH
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