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Whitaker, a Man not only unfit for the Station in which he
was placed, but so infamously profligate that it would have
been a discredit to any Person of Character to admit him to
the Regard and notice of a common acquaintance, and it is no
uncommon thing for Resentment to exceed the proper Bounds,
for the Remembrance of a former Evil to raise a dread of its
happening again, and for such Dread to beget excessive Jeal-
ousies and Suspicions, In this Case particularly therefore, I
cou'd wish that the Heats the Vestry have fallen into, may
rather be allayed by Lenity, than that their Irregularity may
be severely censured. It must be in the Memory of some of
the Parishioners that great Pains were taken to deprive Whit-
aker of his Parish. I was of Counsel against Whitaker when
his case was agitated in the Provincial Court, where he was
called upon to answer for a supposed Breach of the Peace, and
an Information on this Account was moved for against him,
he having broke and entered into the Church. His defence was
that He was Incumbent in virtue of the Governor's appoint-
ment, without any Ceremony of admission, and that what he
had done was to remove an Obstruction to the performance
of his Duty. He founded his plea on the words of the Act of
Assembly, and they being clear, and the Court having no
doubt that the Appointment proprio Vigore conferred the
Benefice, the Case was taken up against Whitaker upon an-
other point more material, viz. that the Governor's Appoint-
ment could not operate when the Appointee was not in Priest's
Orders, as it was urged that Whitaker had, at most, obtained
only Deacon's Orders. The objection proceeding upon a Nega-
tive, it was alledged, that Whitaker ought to prove the Af-
firmative, which could only be done by producing the Letters
of Orders, on the other side it was Answered, that the Gov-
ernor having the Right of Appointment implied all preceding
requisites, that however there was sufficient Proof in Whit-
aker's case of his Qualification, he having before been in an-
other Benefice, and no Surmise of his not being in Priest's
Orders, that it would be hard and inconvenient to call upon
him to produce his Letters of Orders, which he might have
left, and which he might well think it was unnecessary for
him to be very careful of, after he had obtained his first Bene-
fice and held it without objection for many years; The Justices
were divided, but finally Whitaker was discharged by having
the Voice of the Chief Justice on his side, which gave him
the Majority. Every One, I believe, was at the time satisfied,
I am sure the Counsel against Whitaker were satisfied, that
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Lib. C. B.
No. 20
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